THE BIBLE
The sole basis of
our belief is the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and
New Testaments. We believe that Scripture in its entirety originated
with God, and that it was given through the instrumentality of chosen
people. Scripture thus at one and the same time speaks with the
authority of God, and reflects the backgrounds, styles and vocabularies
of the human authors. We hold the Scriptures are infallible and inerrant
in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full and final
authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other
writings similarly inspired by God.
GOD
We believe that there is one true, holy God, eternally existing in
three persons, - Father, Son and Holy Spirit -each of whom possesses
equally all the attributes of deity and the characteristics of
personality. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and
all the things therein, thus manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom
and goodness. By His sovereign power He continues to sustain His
creation.
GOD THE FATHER
We
believe that in reference to the relationship with each other the
members of the Godhead are the same in substance, equal in power and
glory. We believe God the Father gives oversight to the ministries of
the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. He has laid down a plan for
the ages and is working all things together to fulfill that plan.
GOD THE SON
We believe the Lord Jesus
Christ is God the Son. We believe in His complete deity and humanity,
His virgin conception, His sinless life, His death on the cross for the
sins of the world, and His bodily resurrection from the dead. He
actively intercedes on behalf of the church and is preparing for His
personal return to earth.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that God the Holy Spirit convicts people of sin. He
gives spiritual life, baptizes, indwells seals and sets apart for holy
use everyone at the moment they become a child of God. He bestows
spiritual gifts upon believers, and empowers them for daily living.
SATAN
We believe Satan is a created spirit
being, the originator of sin, who revolted against God and now works in
opposition to the people and purposes of God.
PEOPLE
We believe the first couple, Adam and Eve, were
divinely created in the image of God. Originally innocent, pure and in
fellowship with God they fell from that position through the sin of
disobedience. Their sin has left all people separated from God,
condemned to physical and spiritual death and helpless to restore the
original state.
SALVATION
The
central purpose of God’s revelation in Scripture is to call all people
into fellowship with Himself. Originally created to have fellowship with
God, humans defied God, choosing to go their independent way, and were
thus alienated from God and suffered the corruption of their nature,
rendering them unable to please God. The fall took place at the
beginning of human history, and all individuals since have suffered
these consequences and are therefore in need of the saving grace of God.
The salvation of humankind is, then, wholly a work of God’s free grace,
not the result, in whole or in part of human works or goodness, and must
be personally appropriated by repentance and faith. When God has begun a
saving work in the heart of any person, He gives assurance in His Word
that He will continue performing it until the day of its full
consummation.
THE CHURCH
The
corollary of union with Jesus Christ is that all believers become
members of His body, the church. There is one true church universal,
comprised of all those who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
Therefore, the church is people. Scripture commands believers to gather
together to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word,
observance of baptism and communion , fellowship, service to the body
through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to
the world. Whenever and wherever God’s people meet in order to fulfill
any or all of these practices, there is the local expression of the
church. Under the supervision of supportive leadership, its members are
to work together in love and unity, intent on the one ultimate purpose
of glorifying Christ.
THE FUTURE
We believe in the visible and bodily return of the Lord Jesus
Christ to earth. Death seals the eternal destiny of each person. Those
who are children of God will receive a resurrected body and live in the
full enjoyment of God’s presence forever. Those who are outside the
family of God will be resurrected to spend eternity in everlasting
punishment.
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
We believe marriage is a lifelong covenant between a man and a woman.
Like God’s complimentary creation of man and woman, marriage holds great
significance in revealing aspects of God’s character and His
relationship to humanity. The permanence and monogamy of the marital
bond mirrors God’s faithfulness and singular devotion to his church and
his church’s singular devotion to him.
Marriage
symbolizes and supports the inherently procreative relationship that
exists only between a man and a woman. It is also the relationship that
forms the foundation of family and community life.
The family is to provide physical, emotional and spiritual care for its
members as it enables them to serve God, other persons and creation.
Parents have the privilege and unique responsibility of leading their
children to know God and his ways as well as the world around them.
As Christians, our understanding of the structure and nature
of marriage is founded on the biblical account of the creation of man
and woman. Genesis 1 and 2 state that God created man and woman to
fulfill their need of intimate partnership and to carry out the mandate
given by God in Gen. 1:28; "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it". Jesus reiterated this understanding when he said,
Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them
male and female,’ and said, "For this reason a man shall leave his
father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become
one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has
joined together, let no one separate." (Math. 19:4-5, NRSV).
As Christians, we believe marriage is rooted in the way we are
made. Marriage is founded upon the biological reality that we humans
exist in two sexes. It expresses the complementarity of the sexes, and
therefore requires both sexes. Marriage was established for the purposes
of companionship and sexual fidelity between husband and wife. Marriage
is the social, cultural and religious context for the conjugal
relationship, which is exclusive to male and female. Properly
understood, marriage is covenantal, not merely contractual. Marriage has
the unique power to promote the exclusive and permanent sexual,
psychological and emotional bonding of a man and a woman. That is why
marriage is called a covenant, not merely a contract that can be formed
and broken with the casualness of a business transaction.
