We believe the central truths of Christianity, as revealed in the Bible, including: |
God | - There is one holy, loving and true God
- He exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
- He is the almighty creator, saviour and judge who sustains and governs all things according to his will.
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Jesus Christ | - The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is fully God and fully human.
- He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life.
- He died on a cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
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The Holy Spirit | - The Holy Spirit enables people to turn to God and trust in Jesus Christ.
- He lives in all who trust in Christ and produces in them increasingly Christ-like character and behaviour.
- He empowers them to live for him, serve him and make him known.
- The Holy Spirit works in conviction of sin, conversion, regeneration and sanctification; He also works in ministry and worship, and in the exercising of spiritual gifts through the body of believers; also in empowering our discipleship and enabling our witness
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The Bible | - The Bible can be trusted because God himself inspired it.
- In it he has revealed himself and all that we need to know to follow him and live for him.
- Because it is God’s voice, it has supreme authority in all matters of what to believe and how to live.
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People | - All men and women are created in the image of God and have equal dignity, worth and accountability.
- God created people to have fellowship with him, but we have all defied him and incurred his anger by sinfully going our own way and by inheriting at birth Adam's fallen nature.
- Each person therefore needs to be forgiven and reconciled to God, born again and indwelt by the Holy Spirit in order to be restored to true fellowship with him.
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Practice | - Baptism by immersion of new believers; the Lord's supper (Communion) as a commemoration of our Lord's death
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Salvation | - Sinful people can be rescued from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ in their place.
- Those who turn to God in repentance and trust in Jesus as their saviour, are forgiven, accepted by God and granted eternal life. They can experience the indwelling Spirit of God transforming and changing their way of living into holier fruitful lives.
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The Church | - The worldwide church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who trust in him belong.
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The Future | - God will bring the world to an end at his appointed time and Jesus will return in person.
- Everyone who has ever lived will experience bodily resurrection and all will be judged.
- Those who have rejected Jesus as their saviour will suffer eternal separation from God. Only those who have been saved by Christ will enjoy eternal fellowship with God in heaven.
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