What We Believe
WHAT WE BELIEVE
THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God, inerrant in its original documents, and it is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice (2 Tim 3:16-17; 2 Pet 1:19-21).
CREATION
We believe that the heavens and the earth were created by God in six literal 24-hour days. Therefore, all things that exist had a beginning, except God Himself. (Ex 20:11, Ps 90:2; Col 1:16).
GOD
We believe there is one God, existing from eternity past to eternity future in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt 28:19, Eph 4:4-6).
JESUS CHRIST
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God and truly human, born of a virgin and without sin. His substitutionary death was voluntary and was made for the forgiveness of every person who would ever believe. He rose bodily from the dead and ascended to His Father’s right hand where He now ministers as the believer’s Great High Priest (John 10:15; Rom 5:8; 1 Pet 2:24-25).
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person, the third Person of the Godhead. He convicts the world of sin (John 16:8), and indwells, seals, and places into the body of Christ all believers at conversion (1 Cor 12:13; Eph 4:30, Rom 8:9).
MAN
We believe that Adam was created perfect in the image of God, but when Adam sinned, it brought both physical and spiritual death to all mankind. Therefore, man is totally depraved and is subject to the wrath of God (Gen 1:26; Jer 17:9; Rom 1:18; 3:23; 5:12-14).
JUDGMENT
We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Those saved are eternally blessed in Heaven, while the lost experience everlasting, conscious eternal punishment in Hell (Dan 12:2; Matt 25:41; 1 Thess 4:16-17).
SALVATION
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins through the shedding of His blood on the cross. Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Christ Jesus and not on the basis of human merit. Only those who repent and trust Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord are born again and have eternal life (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8-9). We also believe that those who are truly born again have been elected by God and will persevere in their faith to the end (John 10:27-29; Acts 13:48; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:1-2)
THE CHURCH
We believe that the church began on the Day of Pentecost and will be concluded when Christ comes to rapture His church (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We also believe that all those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ become part of the church. The local church is the local community of believers who gather for worship, prayer, edification, and witness. Government and discipline are a divinely given responsibility to the local church, under the leadership of elders. The Lord Jesus Christ is the giver of spiritual gifts for ministry in the church, such as evangelists, pastors, teachers, etc. These gifts are given so that the believers may be equipped for His service and that the church may be built up (Acts 4:11-16).
ORDINANCES
We believe there are two Christian ordinances, believers’ baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism signifies that the believer, having died with Christ, is buried with Him and is also risen with Christ to walk in the newness of life (Matt 28:19-20; Col 2:12). The Lord Himself instituted the Lord’s Supper. In the observance of this supper, believers retell the message of the Lord’s death until His return (1 Cor 11:23-26). We celebrate the breaking of bread each Lord’s Day (Acts 20:7).
LAST THINGS
We believe the personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to rapture His church is imminent (1 Thess 4:16), followed by the outpouring of God’s wrath on earth, known as the tribulation (Matt 24:42-44). Following a time of tribulation, there will be a future thousand-year Millennial Kingdom where Christ will rule on the earth (Rev 20:1-6). This will be followed by an eternal kingdom where there will be a new heaven and new earth (Rev 21:1-4).
MARRIAGE
We believe that God created man and woman as male and female. God instituted marriage between a man and woman as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, we believe that marriage is exclusively the union of one male and one female (Gen 1:27; 2:24; Matt 19:5; Rom 1:26-28; Eph 5:31).
COMPLEMENTARIANISM
We believe that God created male and female as complementary expressions of the image of God, as both male and female are gifted in many spiritual ways. Yet God has specifically given men, who are deemed to be qualified by the church, the task to serve as elders and deacons (1 Tim 3:1-13). It is also the biblical role of husbands to lead their wives and children (Eph 5:22-24).