THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books, as originally written, comprising the Old and New Testaments were verbally inspired by the Spirit of God and therefore entirely free from error; that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and the true basis of Christian union.
(2Pet. 1:21; 2Tim. 3:16-17)
GOD
We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
(Gen. 1:1; 1Tim. 2:5; Psa. 90:2; 2Cor. 13:14)
CHRIST
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ, in His eternal existence with the Father in preincarnate glory, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry, and personal return.
(Jn. 1:1-3; Heb. 1:1-8; 1Tim. 2:5; 1Pet. 3:18; 1Cor. 15:4; Acts 1:9-11)
HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit, Who convicts of sin, of righteousness, and judgment; Who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ.
(Acts 5:3, 4; Jn. 16:8-13; Ti. 3:5; Rom. 15:16; Jn. 14:16-17)
SATAN
We believe that Satan exists as an evil personality, the originator of sin, the arch-enemy of God and man.
(Isa. 14:12-14; Gen. 3:1-15; Eph. 2:2)
MAN
We believe that man was divinely created in the image of God. That he sinned, becoming guilty before God, resulting in total depravity, thereby incurring physical and spiritual death.
(Gen. 1:27; 3:1-6; Rom. 5:12-19; 6:23)
SALVATION
We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly by grace (Eph. 2:8) by faith (Eph. 2:8; Acts 20:21) and not of works (Eph. 2:9). That this salvation is instantaneous and not a process (2 Cor. 5:17; Jn. 5:24; Acts 9:1-6); that in salvation the sinner is made a partaker of the Divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4) and receives eternal life as the gift of God (Rom. 6:23); that all who are saved by faith in Christ are kept by the power of God unto eternal salvation and shall never perish (1 Pet. 1:5; Jn. 10:28-30); and that the proper evidences of salvation appear in fruits of repentance, faith, and newness of life (Eph. 2:10; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 Tim. 6:11; Ti. 2:11-12; 3:8, 14).
FUTURE THINGS
We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgment and eternal conscious punishment of the wicked.
(1Thess. 4:16-17; Rev. 1:7; 21:1-5; 20:10-15)
THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that the local church is a company of believers, who have been obedient to the Lord in baptism by immersion, who have been called out from the world, separated unto the Lord Jesus, voluntarily associated for the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, the propagation of the faith and the observance of the ordinances.
(Acts 2:41-47; 1Cor. 1:2; 12:4, 8-11; Eph. 4:11; 1Tim. 3:1-13)
ORDINANCES
We believe that there are only two ordinances for the Church regularly observed in the New Testament in the following order:
A. Baptism which is the immersion of the believer in water, whereby he obeys Christ's Command and sets forth his identification with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. (Acts 8:36-39; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 6:1-6)
B. The Lord's Supper which is the memorial wherein the believer partakes of the two elements, bread and wine, which symbolize the Lord's body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes. (1Cor. 11:23-26)
THE LORD'S DAY
We believe that the first day of the week is the Lord's Day and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise.
(Matt. 28:1-6; Acts 20:7; 1Cor. 16:2)
MARRIAGE
A. The Biblical Definition of Marriage
We believe that God is the originator and designer of marriage, that He has communicated His design through the Bible, and that His design is binding on how we define and practice marriage.
The term “marriage” is reserved for the formalized covenant relationship between one man and one woman who commit themselves through public declaration to exclusive, intimate companionship and sexual union with the intention of permanence.
Marriage is monogamous, heterosexual, and intended for the purposes of:
The purpose of partnership (Gen. 2:18)
The purpose of parenthood (Gen.1:28; Psa. 127:3-5)
The purpose of pleasure (Pro. 5:15-20; Heb. 13:4)
The purpose of preventing fornication (1Cor. 7:2-5)
The purpose of picturing the Church (Eph. 5:31-33)
B. A Biblical Understanding of Human Sexuality
On day six of the creation week God created humanity in His image, represented by two specific genders, male/man/boy and female/woman/girl, who constitute one race.
God’s revealed will for the fulfillment of human sexual desires, only in faithful heterosexual marriage, provides for human flourishing as individuals and families, and marriage, in obedience to God’s will, serves as an illustration of God’s relationship to His people.
The Bible teaches us that God’s will is that we choose to express our sexual identity either in faithful heterosexual marriage or celibate singleness.
God created humanity in His image as relational beings existing biologically as either male or female. God’s created design is honoured when we align our self-identity with our biological sex. Gender distinction is honoured when each sees the opposite sex as their equal and when the natural object of sexual desire is agreed to be the opposite sex.
The Bible affirms that all people are loved by God because they are made in God’s image. God’s love for persons who define their sexuality and sexual orientation contrary to biblical principles, does not imply His approval of that definition or orientation, or of the practices associated with these perspectives.
As creatures made by God, our true identity and highest joy are found in obedience to the revealed will of our Creator, in respect to both our sexual identity and the friendships we have with men and women.
The Bible teaches that celibate singleness, like marriage, is a gift from God. The inability to act on one’s sexual desires does not render one less human. Rather, celibate single people demonstrate aspects of what God intends for us as humans that are less apparent in married people.
C. The Fall: Human Brokenness and the Distortion of God’s Design for Human Sexuality
The Bible declares that humanity’s fall into sin has profoundly distorted human relationships with God and others, including the distortion of our human sexuality.
Sexual brokenness results from this distortion and causes confusion and temptation to violate God’s will in the expression of our sexual desires. Although sexual temptation is not itself sin, Jesus taught that the decision to act on this temptation in thought or behaviour is sinful.
The Bible declares that sexual sin harms everyone involved. It is counterproductive to the flourishing of society and individuals, and it sometimes results in humiliation, degradation, abuse, or exploitation that violates the inherent dignity of all people as God’s image bearers.
The biblical doctrine of original sin teaches us that many human desires are inherently sinful and thus must be managed for good and denied in practice, and this truth is recognized implicitly by all people.
D. Redemption: Christ’s Restored Design for Human Sexuality
The Bible declares that the Son of God became human to reconcile sinners to God through His obedient life, death, and resurrection. As new creations in Christ, we are transformed in both our understanding of human sexuality and our sexual practice.
Jesus Christ reaffirmed, through His teaching, God’s creational intention. Namely, that the fulfillment and enjoyment of sexual desire takes place only within the context of the covenant marriage of one man and one woman.
The risen Christ bestowed upon all His followers the Holy Spirit, who indwells and empowers all believers to obey God’s will and enables us to express holiness and purity in the expression of our human sexuality.
The Church is designed to be an eternal community where people are enabled to experience healthy, restored relationships with God and others. Sexual gratification, while a good gift from God, is not necessary for the enjoyment of this glorious Church community, nor does its glory compare to it.
The Church is called to affirm the dignity of all people, treating everyone with respect and creating a grace-filled community where our sexual brokenness can be restored through repentance and sanctification, even as we experience sexual temptation or sin. The Church is called to provide love, support, and accountability.
Sexual experience is not absolutely necessary for human flourishing and fulfillment, as evidenced by the life of Jesus Himself and His call to some of His followers to live in celibate singleness.
E. Genesis 1-2 as Normative
Following the interpretive approach of both Jesus Christ (Matt. 19 and Mark 10, on divorce) and the apostle Paul (1Cor. 11; 1Tim. 2, on male-female order), we are convinced that the creation narrative in Genesis 1-2 reveals both facts about creation and patterns for human life.
The pattern established by God indicates that the appropriate counterpart for a man is a woman, and for a woman is a man, not multiple women or another man (and vice versa), and this pattern is confirmed by Scripture as a whole.
