Beliefs

Beliefs

What we believe

Our beliefs are revealed in the Bible. They are summarised in the 39 Articles of Religion, and worked out in the principles and theology of the Book of Common Prayer.

We are evangelical, which means we are Christian and give ultimate authority to the Bible as God’s Word, desiring to maintain a Reformed and Protestant character in the expression of our beliefs. From the time of the Apostles, Christians have laid out doctrines of truth. They are definitive statements set forth in a concise fashion as guided by scripture and enable us to guard one another from error and show our unity in Christ.

We affirm the truths laid out in the Nicene, Apostles and Athanasian Creeds and our core doctrines are summarised below:

Core doctrines

  1. The divine inspiration and infallibility of the Holy Scripture as originally given and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct;
  2. The unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead;
  3. The universal sinfulness and guilt of human nature since the fall, rendering man subject to God’s wrath and condemnation;
  4. The conception of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit and his birth of the Virgin Mary;
  5. Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death, as our representative and substitute, of Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Son of God;
  6. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead;
  7. That Jesus Christ ascended to the right hand of God and is now the all-sufficient High Priest of His People;
  8. The necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit to make the death of Jesus Christ effective in the individual sinner, granting him repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ;
  9. The indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit in the believer; and
  10. The expectation of the personal return of Jesus Christ who shall reign forever

Given this foundation, we believe that:

  • The Bible is the clearest way you can know God and is our authority in matters of life and practice
  • You can come to God because of Jesus Christ
  • Church is to be an important time where we meet, learn from the Bible, serve, pray, sing and encourage one another
  • The great news about Jesus Christ is not only for private consumption, but with respect and gentleness, is to be offered to all people.