Doctrine

What we believe matters

We are passionate about theology. That might sound a bit odd to many people, but all it means is this: we don’t want to have just vague ideas about spirituality, but very clear convictions about God, us, and what life is all about. For that reason, we’re also passionate about the Bible, because it’s there that our questions about those things are answered most fully. That’s why we put our sermons online; that’s why the biggest chunk of our services is devoted to Bible teaching; that’s why we encourage our people to get into the Bible as much as possible.

Below is our attempt to explain what we believe. It’s a balance between theological precision, and using language that is understandable to most people.

We believe in…

1. The divine inspiration and infallibility of the holy Scriptures as originally given and their final authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
Psalm 19; Luke 1:1-4; 2Timothy 3:14-17: Hebrews 1:1,2,4; 2 Peter 1:16-21, 3:1,2; Revelation 22:18-21

2. The unity of the Godhead and the divine co-equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption.
Psalm 8:96,104; Genesis 1,2; Isaiah 40:12-31; Daniel 4:33-37; John 17:1-10; Romans 11:33-36; Ephesians 1:3-14; Revelation 21:1-7.

3. The depravity of every part of human nature in consequence of the Fall rendering man subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
Genesis 8; Psalm 51; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Matthew 15:17-20; Romans 1:18-32, 5:12-21; Ephesians 2:1-10

4. The deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His sinless life, His perfect satisfactory and meritorious atonement by which sin alone can be expiated, God’s wrath propitiated, and sinners saved. His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven to be our Great High Priest, His personal universal future and final return in glory.
John 1:1-2, 14:7-10; Matthew 16:15-18; Philippians 2:5-12; 1 Timothy 3:16; Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7; Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Galatians 4:1-4: Mark 13:31; Luke 4:22,24,25-32; John 5:45-47; Isaiah 53; Romans 5:8-12; 2 Corinthians 5:10-21; 1Corinthians 15; Acts 1:9-11; Ephesians 4:8-10; Hebrews 2:17,18, 4:14-16

5. The justification of sinners solely by grace through faith in the atoning merits of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Romans 4,5; Galatians 3; Ephesians 2:1-10

6. The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, conversion, sanctification, ministry and worship.
Ezekiel 36:23-27; Titus 3:4-7; John 1:11-13, 3:1-7, 6:63; Romans 8; John 14:17-26, 16:7-15; 1Corinthians 2:11-14; 2Corinthians 3

7. The ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as being instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, but not in Baptism as conveying any regenerating grace, neither in the Lord’s Supper as being a sacrifice for sin nor involving any change in the substance of the bread and wine.
Matthew 28:16-20; Mark 14:17-25; Acts 2:38-47, 8:26-39; Romans 6:1-5; 1Corinthians 11:23-24

8. The resurrection of the body, the final judgement of all mankind by our Lord Jesus Christ with the eternal punishment of the wicked, and the eternal blessedness of the righteous.
John 14:1-6, 5:24-29, 11:21-27; Acts 1:6-12; 1Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; Revelation 1:4-8, 19:1-9,21.

9. Marriage as instituted by God, which of necessity involves a public commitment between one man and one woman to lifelong union to the exclusion of all others.
Genesis 2: 20-25; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7; 1Corinthians 7.