Beliefs
The Scriptures
The Scriptures, as originally written (ie) the sixty-six (66) books of the Protestant Bible, are infallibly inspired by God. They alone constitute the final authority in all matters pertaining to Christian faith and practice.
The Old and New Testaments are not to be added to, superseded, or changed by later tradition or supposed revelation; and because the Bible is the completed Word of God, whatever is not contained therein is not to be declared as an article of faith. All articles of faith are held because they are understood to be the central or main teaching of the Scripture and are therefore always subject to the authority of the Scripture.
Matthew 4:4, 5:17-18, 24:35; John 5:39, 10:35, 17:17; Acts 28:23; 1 Corinthians 2:7-16; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21.
God
There is one God, perfect and holy, existing eternally in loving community as the three persons of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; who is the Creator and Preserver of all things, physical and spiritual, visible and invisible.
These three persons are co-eternal, equal and distinct in every respect, though each person of the Godhead possesses His own characteristics, and each performs His own specific divine works in total unity and harmony with the others.
Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:16-17; Romans 2:20, 1 Corinthians 12:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 2:18, 4:4-6.
God the Father
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is personal, ever present, sovereign, self-existent, immortal, holy, unchanging, good, merciful, all-powerful, all-knowing, loving, gracious, faithful and just.
The Father gave His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of all people.
1 Corinthians 15:24-28; John 3:36; Matthew 6:13; 19:26; Hebrews 12:7.ff; 1 John 1:3; Revelation 4:11; Leviticus 11:44; 20:26; Acts 17:27-28; Genesis 17:1; 18:14; 21:33; Mark 14:36; Luke 1:37; 18:27; John 4:24; Malachi 3:6; Numbers 23:19; Exodus 3:6, 13-14; Deuteronomy 4:39; Daniel 4:35; 2 Corinthians 1:3; Psalms 5:4-5; 25:8; 89:26,28; 90:2; 102:25-27; 103:13; 107:1; 139:1-12; Isaiah 40:25, 28; 46:9-10; 57:15; 63:11-16; Romans 2:4; 8.8; 12:1
God the Son, Jesus Christ
As the eternal Son of God, Jesus Christ is the Lord of all creation and the eternal Word. He was made flesh when he was conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit through the virgin Mary, being then truly God and truly human, perfect in nature, teaching and obedience to the Father.
He is the only Saviour for our world, living a sinless life and dying a vicarious sacrifice as the Representative Human, shedding His precious blood for the forgiveness of sin for all people.
Victorious over all the powers of darkness, He rose physically from the dead, ascended into heaven, reigns over creation at the right hand of the Father, and will personally return in glory to consummate His redemptive work.
He is the Head of His body, the Church, which He loves, directs, empowers, and grows.
John 1:1-3; Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; John 14:9; 17:1,5; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 7:23-28; Acts 1:11; Matthew 24:30; Acts 10:36; Matthew 26:28; Romans 5:1,18; Acts 13:39; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 1:3; 8:1; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22; Colossians 1:15-20
God, the Holy Spirit
As the eternal Spirit of God, He is the giver of life, and draws people to Jesus Christ in faith, bringing about the new birth and the full outworking of the salvation process. He unites himself to people who put their trust in Christ, producing in them righteous character and conduct.
The Holy Spirit inspired the great Old Testament prophets, priests, judges, and kings. He anointed and enabled Jesus Christ to outwork His saving mission on earth. He filled the Church with Pentecostal power and equips believers to outwork God’s purposes.
John 14:16-17,26; 16:8-11; 1 Corinthians 12:13; John 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9-11; Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; 1 Peter 1:2, 10-12; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Luke 4:1, 18-21; Acts 2:4; 4:31.
Humanity
All people are created by God in his own image and for Him by a specific act of creation. Genesis 1:26-31, 2:7, 2:18, 9:6.
Though originally created to be morally upright and perfect, expressing a creative and dignified purpose, humanity has fallen short of God’s glorious design through individual and universal moral weakness, commencing with the original sin of Adam and Eve. This fall has corrupted human identity and purpose, impacted sexuality, family and social relationships and consequently, all people find themselves separated from intimate union with God. Genesis 1:26-31,3:1ff; Romans 1:18-32, 3:23, 5:12; Titus 3:3-7
Apart from the intervention of Jesus Christ, no person can resolve their moral dilemma and alienation from God. Despite a person’s character and achievements, they remain lost and without hope apart from the salvation provided by Jesus Christ.
God has created humanity as distinctly male and female and has ordained a normative connection between binary biological sex and a person’s right self- conception as male or female. Genesis 1:27; Matthew 19:4.
God has instituted marriage between one man and one woman for life to be the only Scriptural covenantal, sexual and procreative union for humankind which signifies and mirrors the covenant love between Christ and his Church. Any sexual practice that occurs outside of a marriage between one man and one woman is contrary to God’s will.
Genesis 2:23-24; Matthew 19:5-6; Ephesians 5:22-32.
God has instituted the family as the central social structure with parents primarily responsible for the upbringing of children. Genesis 1:28; Mark 12:17; Romans 13:1-7.
The Devil
The devil, a fallen angel, is the spiritual enemy of all people, who enslaves humanity by empowering their choices against submitting to Christ’s authority and salvation.
The death and resurrection of Christ empowers believers to exercise authority over the devil’s works, until the day of final judgement when the devil and his evil spirits will be consigned to eternal punishment.
Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 25:41; Luke 10:18-19; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2, 6:11-12; Colossians 2:15; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8-9; 1 John 3:8; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9, 11-12, 20:1.0
Salvation
Salvation is the direct consequence of the great redemptive act of God in Christ. It is the free and gracious gift of God to all who turn to Him in genuine repentance and wholehearted trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. It results in union with God and a life characterised by love, repentance, trust and moral uprightness. There is no other means, except through the salvation provided by the Lord Jesus Christ, by which people can be saved. Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8.
Salvation describes the effect of Christ’s work on the cross upon people. It entails a secure relationship with God, freedom from guilt, discovery of God-endowed dignity, the liberating presence of the Holy Spirit and His instantaneous regenerative work and introduction to the family of God. It is depicted in the Bible as rescue, new birth, adoption, new life, new creation, eternal life, certain hope, heavenly citizenship, coming into light, legal justification, sacrificial atonement, release from bondage and freedom.
Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:1, 8, 6:23; Acts 2:38, 3:19-21, 4:12, 13:31; Titus 3:4-7; Ephesians 1:5, 7, Galatians 6:14-15; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:17.
The Church
All spiritually reborn believers are Members of the body of Christ, the one true Church universal. Spiritual unity is to be expressed among Christians by acceptance and love of one another across ethnic, socio-economic, national, generational, and denominational lines.
The local Church is a congregation of believers who under Christ’s leadership, gather for worship, prayer, instruction, encouragement, mutual accountability, and community with each other. Through it, believers invest time, energy, and resources into the Church’s primary task of fulfilling the Great Commission – reaching lost people, making disciples and empowering them to be fully devoted to Christ.
Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:27 ff; Ephesians 5:23, 26-27, 2:22; 1 Peter 2:5, 9; Titus 2:14; Matthew 28:19-20.
The Ordinances
There are two perpetual rituals to be observed by Christians – baptism and communion. They are ordained by the Lord Jesus Christ, and equally proclaim his death, burial and resurrection. When through the preaching of the Word from the Scriptures, the real meaning inherent in these ordinances is understood and faith is aroused in the recipients, the Holy Spirit produces great benefits through them.
Though they are important in Christian worship, they are not essential for salvation. Romans 8:11, 10:17.
Water Baptism
Baptism is an integral part of Christian initiation. We practise baptism of believers by immersion in water upon profession of faith in Christ. It signifies identification of the believer with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection; separation from the old way of living without Christ; and the newness of life now discovered in Christ.
Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38, 41, 8:12-13, 36-39, 9:17-18, 10:47-48, 16:14-15,18:8, 19:4- 5, 22:16, Romans 6:3-5, Galatians 3:26-27; Colossians 2:12, 1 Peter 3:20-21.
Communion
Communion is the ceremony in which bread and wine, symbolising Jesus’ body and blood, are shared in remembrance of Christ’s death, in proclamation of His presence, and in anticipation of His return.
Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:15-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17, 11:20-26
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The spiritual experience called Baptism in the Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2:1-4 is distinct from and subsequent to the “new birth” and is normally accompanied by the manifestation of speaking in other tongues as the initial evidence. This experience was not only for the early disciples but continues for generations to come (Acts 2:37-39) and is a gracious and supernatural gift available to all believers and is received by faith.
The purpose of the Baptism in the Spirit is to supernaturally empower the effective witness of Christ’s followers (Acts 1:8, 4:31) and to edify and build them up. (1 Corinthians 14:4; Jude 20).
Mark 16:15-20; Luke 24:49, John 7:37-39; Acts 1:8, 2:1-40, 8:15-19, 10:44-47, 19:1-7; Luke 11:13.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
Though everything in the Christian life can be talked about in terms of “gift”, the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit recorded in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 in particular, such as word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles, prophecy, distinguishing between spirits, tongues and interpretation of tongues are an integral part of the worship and ministry of the Church.
They are given by the Holy Spirit and are exercised through the believer by faith. The gifts are to edify and equip the Church for ministry and should operate in harmony with the fruit of the Spirit.
1 Corinthians 12:1 ff; Romans 15:19; Hebrews 2:4; Acts 3:4-7, 5:3, 11:28-30, 13:9-1, 16:18, 27:10, 22- 25; 1 Corinthians 12:7, 13:1-2.
The Fruit of the Spirit
The life of the true believer, being genuinely united with God’s Holy Spirit, will be characterised by growth in His love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, compassion and humility which the New Testament calls the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’ (Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:12)
This fruit also characterises the true ministry of the Church.
Galatians 5:22-26; Colossians 3:12ff; 1 Corinthians 13:1ff John 15:1ff.
Divine Healing
The Bible contains a healing covenant affirmed in both Testaments, providing a promise of spiritual, psychological and physical health and well-being for the whole person, and divine deliverance from all bondage to the power of Satan. The basis of this covenant for every believer is God’s compassion and mercy and because of Christ’s atoning work on the cross.
Jesus expressly gave His disciples authority and power through the Holy Spirit to heal all kinds of sickness and disease, and to minister deliverance to those bound with demonic power. Divine healing and deliverance are available to all through active faith in the redemptive death, victorious resurrection and continuing ministry of Jesus Christ.
Exodus 15:26; Psalm 103:3; Matthew 8:16-17; James 5:14-16; Matthew 10:1; Mark 16:17-18.
Prayer
Prayer is the two-way communication between God and people. God freely invites His people to discuss all aspects of their lives with Him, offering to Him their petitions, intercession, and thanks. Through prayer, the believer can receive forgiveness, deliverance, provision, comfort, guidance, reassurance, encouragement and strength. God promises not only to listen to believing prayer but to respond to it, therefore believers can pray with faith and authority and so see the transforming power of God set in action.
Psalm 100:4,· Jeremiah 33:3,· Matthew 7:7-8, 11; 21-22·, John 14:13-14; 16:23-24; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6-7,· James 1:5-6,· l John 5:14-15,· John 4:24; Romans 8:26-27,· 1 Corinthians 14:14-15,·Jude 20,· Matthew 6:9:1-15.
The Return of Christ and the Resurrection
God is in charge of human affairs and history. This present era, in which God rules through His Church, will end when Jesus returns to earth. His return will be visible, personal and glorious. Though the timing of events is undetermined, Jesus’ return will be associated with His judgement of all people, their resurrection, the outworking of His judgement on all satanic powers, and the introduction of the glorious and prosperous new heaven and earth. Matthew 24:36-44; Acts 1:11; 2 Peter 3:1-14.
At the end of the age, when Jesus returns and all people, righteous and unrighteous, will rise bodily from the dead and all people will give an account of their life before Christ. For the former, it will be resurrection into reward and eternal life with God; for the latter, it will be resurrection into judgement and eternal separation from God. Genesis 1-3, 1:26-27, Romans 5:12, 16-17; Jeremiah 17:9; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; John 6:44; John 3:3-7; Acts 4:12; 2 Corinthians 11:3.
The eternal punishment of the wicked will occur to those who maliciously do evil to others and who have hardened their hearts by wilfully rejecting and despising the love of God which was demonstrated by God giving His only Son on the cross for their salvation.
Isaiah 26:19, Daniel 12:2-3, 13, John 5:28-29, 6:39-40, 1 Corinthians 15; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15; Philippians 3:21.