There is one God, creator of all things. He is perfect, infinite, and eternal in all His ways. He exists in three separate, but equal, Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

See Deut. 6:4; Gen. 1:1; John 6:27; Heb. 1:8; Acts 5:3,4; 2 Cor. 13:14

Jesus Christ is true God and true Man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, died on the cross, was buried, and arose on the third day. He later ascended into Heaven where He is presently seated at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

See John 1:1; Phil. 2:5-8; Luke 1:30-35; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Cor. 15:3,4; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1

The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity whose ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. He accomplishes this ministry by convicting individuals of the sin of unbelief, by regenerating, sealing, baptising and indwelling the believing sinner permanently at the moment of conversion, and by empowering the Christian (now a saint and new creation in Christ) for godly living and service with the manifestation of supernatural gifts, should the believer desire them.

See John 16:7-15; Titus. 3:5; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:13; Rom. 8:2,4,12,13; 1 Cor 14:1

The Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, are the verbally inspired and inerrant Word of God. Divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts and words of the Bible, so that the whole Bible, in the original manuscripts, is without error. The Bible is God’s revelation to man and is therefore the final authority for all Christian faith and practice.

See 2 Tim. 3:16-17

God created man in His image for His glory. However, Adam disobeyed God and as a consequence died spiritually. This spiritual death has been transmitted to the entire human race. Thus, every person comes into this world with a nature that does not have the ability to please God, and is therefore in need of divine grace.

See Gen. 1:26; 2:17; 3:1-7; Rom. 3:10-18; 5:12; Eph. 2:1-7

God has provided the remedy for our disobedience by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the sacrifice for our sins. God has determined that we do not receive forgiveness as a result of our religious deeds or other good works, no matter how well intended, but only by personal faith in Jesus Christ. Those who receive Jesus Christ as their Saviour are at that point born of the Spirit and are assured of an eternity in Heaven.

See Rom. 5:6-9; Rom.4:5; Eph. 2:8,9; John 3:5-18

The ‘true Church’, which began at Pentecost, is composed of all individuals who through faith in Jesus Christ have been united together in one body, of which Jesus Christ is the head.

See Matt. 16:18; Acts 1:5; 2:41, 42; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:15

Each ‘local church’ is a physical body of believers by which the ‘true Church’ of Christ is shown to the world. God stresses the importance of the local church by giving it officers and ordinances. We believe that each local church is autonomous, having the right and responsibility to decide and govern its own affairs under the authority of Jesus Christ, through the guidance of Scripture.

See 1 Cor. 1:2; Acts 14:23; 20:28; Heb. 13:7,17

Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism follows his/her conversion as a public declaration of his/her identification with Christ. The Lord’s Supper is to be taken regularly during the believer’s life as a memorial of Christ’s sacrificial death. Each of these is to be practiced as a testimony to the world, but neither of them is to be construed as a means of, or an additional requirement for salvation.

See Acts 10:47,48; 1 Cor. 11:26

Believers live with the constant hope and expectation of the imminent return of Jesus Christ. He will come first for His saints and then return with His saints.

See John 14:1-3; Titus. 2:11-14; 1 Thess. 4:13-18

Everyone, after death, will be resurrected, believers to everlasting life in Heaven, unbelievers to judgment and everlasting, conscious punishment in Hell.

See John 5:28,29; Rev. 20:11-15

Eschatology is the doctrine of future things. We hold to a pre-tribulational, pre-millennial position. That is, we teach that a literal thousand-year period of time (the millennium) lies ahead in the future (Rev. 20:1-8). At the conclusion of this time period, there will be a final judgment of non-Christians and then the eternal state will begin (Rev. 20:11-15). Immediately preceding this millennial period, a period of tribulation, lasting seven years, will dominate the earth (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6:1-19:21). However, just prior to this, all believers will be removed from the earth (the rapture) and thus escape this period of tribulation (1 Thess. 4:13-18).

Repentance. The New Testament word for repent (metanoao) means to ‘change one’s mind.’ It does not mean to ‘turn from sin’, a current day definition. We believe that salvation is based upon the one condition of faith of which repentance is a vital part. In the New Testament when a person heard the gospel and agreed with it, he was changing his mind, thus in the process of repenting. He was going from doubt, confusion, or unbelief to belief in Christ as Saviour. It is in this way that repentance is related to salvation. It should be made clear that it is possible for a person to understand the gospel and yet refuse to accept Christ as Saviour. However, one cannot truly believe in Christ without having first repented. Additionally, turning from sinful acts may and should result from repentance and faith in Christ, but is neither a requirement for nor a part of salvation. In the same way, a sorrow for sin is neither a requirement for nor a part of salvation. Were this the case, then our salvation would rest, at least in part, on our own works and merit, something that is quite foreign to the Scriptures.

A dispensation is a specific manner in which God governs during a particular period of time. We believe that God has chosen to administer or govern His purpose on earth through man under varying dispensations. These changes in government are a result of God’s choice, and do not indicate that His character ever changes. At least three of these dispensations are mentioned in the Bible and are the subject of extended revelation, viz.: the Dispensation of the Mosaic Law, the present Dispensation of Grace, and the future Dispensation of the Millennial Kingdom. In interpreting the Bible, we believe that these are distinct and should not be intermingled or confused.

Christian growth and service flows from living by persistent faith in the finished work of Jesus which results in Spirit-led desire (Php. 2:13; Heb. 8:10). By emphasising Jesus and His finished work, the Holy Spirit’s fruit and activity increases in a believer’s life (Gal. 3:5). The Spirit will lead the believer to find their place in the Body of Christ by revealing their gifts and personal calling (1 Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:7). In this age, a Christian is to glorify God (Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 6:20; Eph. 3:21), build the church (Rom. 14:9; 1 Cor. 14:12; Eph. 4:12), and advance the gospel (Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; 2 Cor. 3:6), as led by the Spirit of God. Since all things will burn up apart from what is done for the Lord, inspired by His grace, the best way a Christian can live is to serve God in this present evil age (1 Cor. 3:15; Gal. 1:4; 1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 3:11). Persevering in faith does not keep a believer saved. It keeps them useful. Saving faith is a one time thing that results in justification and the new birth. Serving faith is an ongoing process that, if developed, results in fruit that lasts (John 15:16).