What We
Believe

What we believe about God

There is only one God eternally existent in three co-equal persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit who created the heavens and the earth and all that exists in them. He continues to care for and govern His creation, working out his purpose for everything he has made. (Genesis 1:2-26; Deuteronomy 6:4; John 1:1-28; Colossians 1:16-17)

God the Father
In God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. He concerns himself mercifully in the affairs of men and women; that he hears and answers prayer; and that he saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.

(Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36; John 5:21)

Jesus the Son
That Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to this earth as both God and man. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life of perfect obedience, and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice by dying on a cross for the sins of all people. He rose from the dead, ascended to heaven and as the High Priest intercedes to the Father on our behalf.

He will return visibly and victoriously from his Father’s presence to gather his people to himself and to complete his conquest of sin and evil.  He will judge the world and reign as King and Lord of all in power and glory where believers will enjoy eternal blessings in God’s presence. 

(John 1:14; Romans 8:3; Romans 3:24-25; 1 Peter 1:18 -21; Romans 4:25; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 4:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17, Hebrews 9:27-28)

The Holy Spirit 
The Holy Spirit is present in the world to convict people of sin and of their accountability to God. The Holy Spirit gives new life and resides in every believer of Jesus Christ.  He makes them holy and enables them to grow in the likeness of Christ. He gives understanding of spiritual truth and empowers all believers for Christian life and service and gives them spiritual gifts for the wellbeing, functioning and mission of the church. 

(John 16:8-11; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:7-11)

What we believe about the Bible

God speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. Being inspired by God, they are fully trustworthy and are our authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

(2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

What we believe about People, Salvation and the Church

God created people in his image, male and female, intending that we live in fellowship with him. However, tempted by Satan, God’s adversary, the first man disobeyed God. As a result we are all sinners by nature, falling short in our responsibilities to love God and neighbour and to care for the world. (Genesis 3; Romans 3:23)

That our sin alienates us from God and we rightly deserve his punishment. We believe we cannot make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works and that God, because of his grace and great love for all people, sent his Son into the world to save us.

We are saved when we turn from our self-ruled life, repent and by faith receive Jesus as Lord. When we are saved, our rebellion and failings are forgiven and we are adopted into God’s family forever.
(Psalms 53:2-3; Luke 19:10; Romans 5:6-19; 8:5-7)

Jesus Christ alone is the Head of the Church, which is a community, called into being by God in both its universal and local expressions. It consists of people who have personally and knowingly received Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and have pledged themselves to worship, follow and serve him and do his will as the body of Christ. Therefore, being accountable to God, Christians are not to despise their fellow believers but to accept one another as Christ’s servants, allowing each other freedom of conscience.
(Colossians 1:18; 1 Peter 2:9-10)

All Christians are commanded to love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, and their neighbours as themselves. We discover what love means in practice through searching the Scriptures, which reveal God’s character and will. Such love includes the responsibility of every Christian to participate in the proclamation of the Good News throughout the world.
(Mark 12:29-31; 1 John 4:19; Matthew 28:18-20)

The will of Christ for each church is to be found as the Holy Spirit brings direction and conviction to that congregation gathered to seek his will in the light of the Scriptures. Decisions made at the Members’ Meeting are the final authority for a congregation. Finding Christ’s will through the Members’ Meeting involves prayer, searching the scriptures, mutual counsel through the exercise of the members’ gifts and learning from the experience of other congregations.
(Acts 15)

Christ gives leaders to his Church. It is the duty of the local church through the Members’ Meeting to recognise and affirm Christ’s call to such leaders and to set them aside to serve, thereby charging them with the responsibility to lead and delegating prescribed authority to lead. Mutual accountability is to operate between leaders and church. While not in any way diminishing the autonomy of the local church, it is appropriate for Baptist Churches to cooperate in a Union of Churches in which it is essential for all member churches to practise mutual care, support, and accountability.
(Hebrews 13:17)

What we believe about the Sacraments

Baptism is the immersion of believers on their profession of faith, an act of identification with the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It involves a commitment to a life of discipleship in fellowship with his people.
(Acts 2:37-38; Mark 16:16; Matthew 28:19)

In the Lord’s Supper, believers remember Christ’s sacrificial death, share in fellowship with their risen Lord and with one another, and look forward to His return.
(Luke 22:19 -20; 1 Corinthians 11:28 -32; 1 Corinthians 12:13)