"Releasing the Kingdom of God by the power of His love."
A SUMMARY OF BASIC CHRISTIAN TRUTHS
The doctrinal basis of the church's current teaching and preaching:
1. The Bible - The Word of God
God has revealed himself in the Bible which consists of the Old and New Testaments. Every word was originally given by the inspiration of God through human authors, so that the Bible in its entirety is the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible not only contains but is itself the Word of God. The New Testament is fully reliable in its testimony to the character and authorship of the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to have a true understanding of the Scriptures and He helps us to see truth more and more clearly. The Holy Scriptures constitute our only standard and rule of faith and practice.
References: Ps 19; Is 8: 20; Matt 5: 17, 18; Lk 2: 26, 27, 44-47; John 10: 34, 35; John 16: 13; Rom 3: 1, 2; 1Cor. 2: 6-16, 13: 9, 12; 14: 37, 38; Eph 1: 17; Phil 3:15; Heb 1: 1-4; 1Thess 1: 5, 2: 13,5: 21, 2Tim. 3:15-17; 1Pet 1: 10-12; 2Pet. 1: 19-21; 3: 15, 16.
2. The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit - One God
There is one God who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons - the Father being God, the Lord Jesus Christ the Son being God, the Holy Spirit being God, these being equal in power and glory, one Lord God Almighty - Sovereign in Creation, Providence and Redemption. He is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is all present, all knowing, and all powerful. He alone is worthy of our worship.
References: 1Kings 8: 27; Neh 9: 6; Is 6: 1-8; 45: 1-25; 46:10; Matt. 3:16-17; 28: 19; Rom 1: 18-20; 2 Cor. 13: 14; John 1: 3, 14, 18; John 17:1-10; Luke 1:37; 10: 22; Eph 1; 4:4-6; Heb 4: 13; 11: 3; 1Jn 4: 16; Rev 4: 11.
3. Jesus Christ - True God - True Man
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. We believe in the essential, absolute and eternal Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; in His conception by the Holy Spirit; in His birth of the virgin Mary; in His real but sinless humanity; in the authority of His teaching and truthfulness of all his words; in His voluntary humiliation in life as a Man of Sorrows culminating in His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross where he bore the wrath of God and shed His precious blood as the sacrifice for sin; in His bodily resurrection on the third day; in His ascension into heaven as the only and eternal Mediator between God and Man; in His present High Priestly intercession and reign as King for His people at the right hand of the Father; and in His personal return in power and glory.
References: Is 9: 6, 7; Is 53; Mark 10: 45; Luke 1: 29-38; Acts 1: 1-14; 2: 33-36; 20: 28; John1 1-16; 10: 14-16; 17: 1-9; Ch 20; Rom 8: 34; 1Cor 15; 2Cor 5:21; Gal 3: 13; Eph 5: 25-27; Phil 2: 5-11; Col 1: 15-22; 2: 9; 1Tim 3: 16; Hebrews 1; 4: I4-16; 7: 25, 9: 14, 15, 23-28; 1Peter 2:24.
4. The Holy Spirit - Giver of Life
God the Holy Spirit is a person and has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts of sin and gives spiritual life. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He is absolutely necessary for the building up of the Church and we need his gifts and need to know his power to worship, serve, minister, heal and evangelise. Through the power of the Spirit the Church is enabled to be an effective agent and instrument of the Kingdom of God.
References: Mt 28:19 Luke 3: 16, 22; 4:14: 5:17, 24: 49; Acts 1: 8; 4: 8, 31; John 3: 3-8; 4: 23, 24; 15: 26; 16: 13, 14, 17: 17; Roms. 8: 2-4, 26-27, 30; I Cor. l: 12; 12-14; 2Cor 3: 18; 13: 14; Eph 2: 1-10; 4:30; 1Th 5: 19; Heb 2: 4; 1Peter 1: 1-3, 23.
5. Fallen Man - A Sinner
All men and women being created in the image of God have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of Adam and Eve, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted so that all men and women are without spiritual life, are guilty sinners and hostile to God and in danger of hell. Man is unable to will any spiritual or meritorious good to achieve salvation and therefore needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God.
References: Genesis 1: 27; ch 3; Jer 13: 23; 17: 8, 9-10; Mt 15: 17-20; John 3: 7; Roms: 1 – 5; 8: 7, 8; 1Cor. 2: 14; 2Cor 4: 1-6: Gal 5: 19-21; Eph 1, 2: 1-10; 4: 17-24; 1Jn 1: 8.
6. Human Sexuality and Marriage
Man, male and female, is made in the image & likeness of the Lord, the Triune God: to reflect his harmonious inter-personal relationships & interdependence,(The Word was face to face to with God, John 1), his equality of personhood, dignity & worth, his distinctive functions & roles within the Trinity. Equality does not thus deny the uniqueness of the sexes.
The N.T. sees the unfallen creation order as normative for sexuality and marriage: the body and sex are good. Marriage is good; and the calling of a single person to celibacy is neither inferior nor better.
Christian marriage has these marks: heterosexual, monogamous, voluntary, sexual exclusivity, intimate in oneness – physically, emotionally and spiritually. The latter unity calls for marriage to be between believers. It reflects the union between Saviour and Church / Bridegroom and Bride – the husband and wife being “corresponding opposites”, precluding same-sex marriages and homoerotic sexual practice for the Christian
The husband as head provides loving, considerate, sacrificial, Christlike leadership, the wife voluntary submission out of devotion to Christ. Love will put each other first, avoiding harshness, aggression, and passivity or usurping of roles.
Marriage is ideally a stable, permanent union. Divorce and remarriage are permissible on certain grounds such as sexual unfaithfulness & desertion.
References: Gen 1:26-28, 2:20-24, 5:1,2; Ex:20.14; 21:10,11; Lev 18:22, 20.13; Ps 127, 128; Pr 2:17, 5:15 -19; ch 31; Ecl 9.9; Song; Jer 3; Ezek 16; Hos ch1-3; Mal 2:14-16; Mt 5:32; 19:3-12; Mk 10.2 -12; Lk 16.18; Jn 1:1,2,18; 2:1-11; Rom 1:24-27, 7:1-5; 1 Cor 6: 9-20; 7:1-16,32-36; 11:1-12; ch 13; 2 Cor 6.14; 11.2; Gal 3.28; Eph 5.3,21f; Col 3.18,19; 1Th 4.3-7; 1 Tim 1.9-10; 2.11-15; 3.2; 4:1-5; 5.14; Heb 13.4; 1 Pet 3.1-7; Rev 19.6-9
Bibliography:
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Baker: “Marriage, Theology of.”
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, Paternoster: “Marriage”, “Sexuality, Human”
New Bible Dictionary, IVP, “Marriage”
New Dictionary of Theology, IVP, “Sexuality”
New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Zondervan, “gameo/gamos”
Systematic Theology, W Grudem, IVP, chapter 22 “Man as male and female”
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Kittel, Eerdmans, “gamos / gameo”
Faith, Hope and Homosexuality, Acute/Paternoster, Evangelical Alliance 1998
7. Salvation by Grace through Faith
God in his love grace and mercy offers salvation to mankind whom he has chosen and called, through their repentance and faith. He justifies and acquits them forever, this is only by their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose death and righteousness is put to their account (i.e. is "imputed” to them). God accepts and adopts them into his family, making them joint heirs with Christ and ensures their certain perseverance and eternal security. This salvation is entirely the result of God's sovereign grace.
References: Ps 32: 1-2; Mt 1: 21; 11: 25-30; John 6: 37-44, 64, 65; 15: 16; 10: 27-29; ch.17; Acts 13: 48; Roms: 3: 24, 28; 5: 9, 10, 17-19; 4: 5-8; 8: 17,28-30; Eph ch 1; 2: 8-10; 1Cor 1: 30, 31; 2 Cor 5: 21; Phil 1: 6, 3: 8-9; Roms 6; Hebrews 6: 17-20, 7: 25; Jas 1: 18; 1Peter 1: 3-7; 1John 2: 19; Rom 8: 17; 2Tim 1: 12; 4: 18.
8. Holiness - Evidence of Conversion
A holy life and walk with God on the part of professed believers is a necessary evidence of their conversion to God.
References: Mt chs 5-7; 1 Jn. chs 1-5; Roms chs 6, 8, 12; Eph chs 3-6; Col: chs 3-6; James chs 1-5; 2Cor 7: 1; Eph 1: 4; 2: 10; Titus 2: 11-14; Heb 12: 14.
9. The One Church - Called to be Pure
a. The Universal Church comprises the redeemed of all ages; there is a spiritual unity of all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. They have a duty to maintain in themselves and in the Church a standard of life and doctrine that is in conformity with the teaching of God's Holy Word. Active fellowship between like-minded churches expresses the unity of the body of Christ. There can be no true fellowship with churches that are unfaithful to the Gospel.
References: Matt 16: 18; John 17; Acts 20:28; Eph 1, 4, 5; 2Tim 1: 13.
b. The local church is the visible, historical demonstration of the universal church, comprising believers gathered together in commitment to one another and to their leaders, under the Lordship of Christ as Head of the Church. It is vitally important for individual Christians to commit themselves to such true local churches and to be living active members of the body of Christ. The marks of the local church include steadfast adherence to the Biblical faith and gospel, to the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and to the maintenance of true godliness, truth and love among the members.
References: Acts 2: 38-42; 8: 1; 13: 1; 1Cor 1: 2, 3: I0, 16, 17; 12: 14ff; Eph 4: 11-16; Phil 1: 1, 2; 1Th 1: 1; 2: 14; 1Tim 3: 15; 5: 17: Heb 10: 24, 25; 13: 17; 1Pet 2: 4, 5, 9; 1Cor 5; Mt 16: 19; 18: 18; Titus 3: 10, 11.
10. The Ordinances of Believers Baptism & The Lord’s Supper
Baptism and the Lord's Supper have been given to the church by Christ as visible signs of the truths of the gospel and for our spiritual good. The baptism of believers is into the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and is by total immersion in water upon the confession of Christ as Lord and Saviour, symbolising union with Christ. Baptism is a means of spiritual blessing but does not convey regenerating grace.
The elements of bread and wine in the Lord's Supper are symbols and pledges commemorating the one self-offering of our Lord on Calvary. Those believers who partake in faith express their continuing union with Christ and receive and are strengthened by Christ spiritually, not physically. The Lord's Supper is not a sacrifice for sin and does not involve any change in the substance of the ordinary bread and wine. Attendance at the Supper is the privilege and duty of the Christian.
References: Matt. 28: 19; Acts 2: 38-47; 1Cor 10: 16, 17; 1Cor. 11: 23-26; Rom. 6: 4-6.
11. The Future – Heaven or Hell
The Lord Jesus will return in power and glory. He will raise the dead and judge all men in righteousness. Then will begin the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost. God will make all things new and there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
References: I Cor. 15; Phil 3: 20, 2l; 1Thess. 4: 1-17; Matt. 24; 25: 31-46; Luke 16: 26; Jn. 5: 22-29; 11: 21-27; 14: 1-6; Rom 2: 6-8; 2Cor 5: 1-11; Titus 2: 11-14; 2Peter 3; Rev 21, 22; 2Thess 1: 5-10.