What We Believe

Scriptures:

We believe in the verbal, plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in their original writings. The Scriptures are the word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit, infallible, God breathed and the final authority on all matters of faith and living (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Matt 5:18)

Godhead:

We believe in the unity of the one Triune God, eternally existing in three distinguishable yet indivisible persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, co-existent in being, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections (Deut 6:4; Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 13:14).

Jesus Christ:

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order to reveal God and redeem sinful man. Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as our substitutionary sacrifice, and our justification is made certain by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and is now seated at the right hand of God, where he fulfils the ministry of representative, intercessor, and advocate. We believe in the imminent and personal return of Jesus Christ to gather his people to himself, as he promised, to judge the living and the dead (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke 1:16-35; Romans 3:24; 14:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; 4:5; Eph 1:7; Acts 1:9-10; Heb 7:25; 9:24; Rom 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2 2 Tim 4:1).

Holy Spirit:

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the new birth and regeneration of the believer into the Body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption. We believe that the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a real, distinct and necessary experience for all believers to have if they are going to be fruitful as witnesses of the Gospel. It is normally evidenced by speaking in tongues and is ultimately evidenced by Jesus Christ’s power in our lives for mission as the Book of Acts reveals to us. (John 16:8-11; 2 Cor 36; 1 Cor 12:12-14; Rom 8:9; Eph 5:18; Acts 1:4-5; 8; 2:1-39; 10:46; 19:2-6).

Total Depravity of Man:

We believe in the beginning that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but because of Adam’s sin all humanity fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became totally alienated from God, thus man is utterly depraved and unable to remedy his own sinful condition of his own volition. Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Romans 3:10-19; Jeremiah 17:9). Because of this we understand why the human condition and the world we live in is in utter turmoil apart from God (Gen 1:26-27; Rom 3:10-18; 23-24; 5:12; Eph 2:1-3; 12).

Salvation:

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to humanity by grace and received by repentance of sins and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. This experience is also known as the new birth and is an instantaneous operation of the Holy Spirit whereby the believing sinner is regenerated, justified and adopted into the family of God, becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus, heir of eternal life and continuing in salvation by faith (Eph 2:8-10; John 1:12; Eph 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Romans 10:9-10; Heb 9:12; 12:23).

Security:

All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ as they continue to live by faith (John 10:24-30; Romans 8:1, 35-39; 1 Cor 1:4-8; Col 1:21-23; 1 Peter 1:5). They are born again (John 3:3-5; 1 John 5:1; 1 Peter 1:23), made new creatures in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17; 2 Peter 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1 John 4:4), enabling their perseverance in good works (Ephesians 2:10). A special providence watches over them (Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Philippians 1:6, 2:12-13; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 13:5).

Church:

We believe that there is one, true, universal church under Christ’s headship made up of all born again believers in the body and bride of Christ, composed of local churches exercising autonomous authority in various localities free of any external control. Each believer born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church of the first- born whose names are written in heaven (Eph 1:22-23; 2:22; Heb 12:23).

Sacraments:

We believe in the importance of believers being baptised in water by full immersion in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in obedience to Scripture and symbolic of our identification with Jesus death, burial and resurrection. We believe that the Lord’s Table (communion) is a symbol expressing our sharing in the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ and was intended for all believers to be participated in regularly as a Scriptural means of testimony for the Church (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38-39; 10:47-48; Rom 6:4-5; Col 2:12; Matt 26:26-28; Luke 22:15-20; Acts 20:7)

Ministry:

We believe that Christ intends his church to manifest the gifts of the Spirit according to the grace God has given to each member of the body and to operate the gifts of the Spirit in the present day. We believe in the operation of the five fold ministry gifts of Christ. We believe that God hears and answers the prayer of faith, in accordance with his will, for the sick, emotionally wounded, and demonised. (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:8-10; Eph 4:11-13; James 5:14-15)

Creation:

We believe that the heavens and earth and all original life forms, including humanity, were made by the specific, immediate and creative acts of God as described in the account of origins presented in Genesis, and that all biological changes which have occurred since creation are limited to variation within the species (Gen 1-2).

Satan:

Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44), and he with his demons opposes all that is true and godly by blinding the world to the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4), tempting saints to do evil (Ephesians 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:1-10). We believe in the reality of spiritual warfare and eternal judgment in the lake of fire for the devil and his angels (Gen 3:1-15; Matt 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; John 13:2; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8).