Doctrinal Belief

As well as the Bible, the Trustees hold to one of the historic Reformed Confessions of Faith (The Three Forms of Unity, Westminster Confession, Second London Baptist Confession [1689], Savoy Declaration) as their own theological and ecclesiastical conviction.

BRIEF STATEMENT OF FAITH

We believe in:

1) The full and verbal inspiration of the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures as originally given and of these alone, being in themselves the Word of God, without error and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine; their final authority and perpetual sufficiency in all matters of faith and practice.

2) The unity of the Godhead and the divine co-equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption.

3) Those doctrines commonly known as the ‘Doctrines of Grace’ -  namely:

 a) The total depravity of human nature in consequence of the fall, and the necessity for regeneration.

 b) The unconditional election to salvation by God of an innumerable number of sinners,

 c) Their particular redemption  by the atoning sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 d) Their effectual call through the gospel, wrought by the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit.

 e) Their perseverance in faith as they are kept by the power of God, thus assuring them of eternal salvation.

4) The true and proper Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; His virgin birth; His real and perfect manhood; the authority of His teaching; and the infallibility of all His utterances; His work of atonement for sinners of mankind by His substitutionary sufferings and death; His bodily resurrection and His ascension into Heaven; and His present priestly intercession for His people at the right hand of the Father.

5) The justification of the sinner solely by faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

6) The Holy Spirit: Scripture teaches the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit.  He convinces of sin, righteousness and judgement, regenerates, baptises believers at conversion into the body of Christ, indwells, seals, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts them.  The work of the Holy Spirit is essential for a true and spiritual understanding of the Scriptures and for truly spiritual ministry and worship

7) TheUniversalChurch, the body of which Christ is the Head, embracing all the redeemed, called by God through the Gospel, born of the Spirit and justified by faith; the local church, comprising such believers as the expression of the universal Church; and fellowship between like-minded churches, manifesting the unity of the body of Christ.

8) The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper as being instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, but not in Baptism as conveying regenerating grace, nor in the Lord's Supper as being a sacrifice for sin nor involving any change in the substance of the bread and wine.

9) The personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory.

10) The resurrection of the body; the judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, with the eternal blessedness of the righteous and the eternal conscious punishment of the wicked.

11) Creation: in the beginning God created all things, including the first man and woman who were made after His own image in perfect righteousness. The biblical record of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis is historical, not mythical, hence the theory of evolution is contrary to the teaching of Scripture.

12)Providence: in His infinite power and wisdom, God sustains and governs all creatures and things by His most wise and holy providence. Nothing happens by chance or outside the sphere of His providence. He is not, however, in any way the author or approver of sin, nor does His providence detract at all from the responsibility of intelligent moral creatures.

13) Sanctification: those who are justified by faith in Jesus Christ are progressively renewed after the image of God. This is a work of the Holy Spirit Who dwells in all believers. They are thus increasingly enabled to pursue a life of holiness, though never attaining to perfection in this world.

14) Evangelism and mission: as faith comes by hearing the Word of God, it is the duty of every church to seek to extend the gospel to all men everywhere. In so doing only those methods which do not conflict with biblical principles are to be used.

15) The Law of God: God has commanded us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. These two principles have been set forth in the Ten Commandments. While no man can be justified by keeping the law, the Christian strives to obey it out of love for God, as it reveals His will and comes with His authority.

16) The Lord's Day: God has set apart one day in seven to be kept holy, the observance of which is binding upon all men. This day, designed for man's benefit, is to be used for rest from secular labour so that the whole person might be refreshed, and the whole day occupied, in the worship and service of the Lord. Although no detailed instructions are given in Scripture as to the way in which this day is to be kept, allowance is clearly made for works of mercy and necessity.

17) The State: civil government is ordained of God and it is the duty of Christians to obey those who have the rule over them provided that no demands made by the State conflict with the teaching of Scripture.

WORSHIP

We believe in a reverent worship of God, which is governed only by the Word of God. (Regulative Principle of Worship)