What we believe ....

Quite simply we believe that the Bible is the Word of God and that it is full and complete. There are no parts of the 66 books we do not accept as God’s Word and we do not have any other books or writings that we have set up as equal in authority to the Bible.

Below we have set out our key beliefs together with the scriptural basis for them :

We believe in :

a. The full verbal, divine inspiration of the 39 books of the Old and the 27 books of the New Testament Scriptures and none other, as originally given by the Holy Spirit. These alone are the Word of God and are without error and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine. They are the only authority and are perpetually sufficient in all matters of faith and practice.

Passages for study: Psalm 19; Matthew 5: 17-20; Luke 1: 1-4; Acts 1: 15-22; 2 Timothy 3: 14-17; Hebrews 1: 1-4; 2 Peter 1: 16-21

b. The one true God who is distinct from all his creatures in his being and glory. This one God exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are co-equal and co-eternal in true deity, the same in substance, power and glory and who is sovereign in creation, providence and redemption.

Passages for study: Deuteronomy 6: 4; 1 Corinthians 8: 4-6; 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6; John 10: 30; Acts 5: 3,4, 9; Psalm 104; Daniel 4: 33-37; Ephesians 1: 1-14.

c. The inherent evil of every part of human nature from conception, in consequence of the fall of Adam into sin, rendering man unable to do right and justly subject to God's wrath and condemnation.

Passages for study: Genesis 6: 5, Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51; Jeremiah 17: 9,10; Matthew 15: 17-20; Romans 1: 18-32; Romans 5: 12-21; Ephesians 2: 1-10

d. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ who is holy, righteous, and full of grace, mercy, compassion and love; his free and sincere offer in the gospel to all people everywhere to come to him by repentance towards God and faith in his Son and to have eternal life.

Passages for study: Exodus 34: 5-7; Ephesians 1: 3-8; Luke 13-34- 2 Peter 3-9; John 3: 16-18.

e. The full deity and true manhood of our Lord Jesus Christ; his eternal pre-existence and glory as the Son of God; the true literal fact of his virgin birth and sinless life; the authority and infallibility of all he said and did; his perfect, all-sufficient meritorious atoning death by which alone sin can be expiated. God's wrath propitiated and sinners saved; his bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven; his triune ministry of prophet, priest and king and thus his intercession for his people at the right hand of the Father; and his personal, universal, future and final return in glory.

Passages for study: John 1: 1-2; Philippians 2: 5-11; John 17: 1-5; Matthew 1: 18-25; 1 Peter 2:21-24; John 8: 28; Isaiah 53; Romans 5: 8-12, 9:5; 2 Corinthians 5: 10-21; Luke 24: 36-52; Romans 8: 34; Acts 1: 9-11; Matthew 2 5: 31-34; Hebrews 1:8; John 1:18; Titus 2:13; John 20-28-2 Peter 1:1; Acts 20: 28.

f. The full deity of the Holy Spirit, and that his work is essential for regeneration, conversion, assurance, sanctification, witness, ministry and worship and a true spiritual understanding of the Scriptures.

Passages for study: 1 Corinthians 2: 12-14; John 3: 1-8; Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11; Acts 1:8

g. The justification of the sinner solely by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Passages for study: Romans 3: 21-24. Romans 5; Galatians 3; Ephesians 2: 1-10

h. The grace of God, by which we mean his free unmerited favour. Those he loves he unconditionally chooses, predestines to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, calls, justifies, sanctifies and glorifies.

Passages for study: Titus 3: 3-7; Romans 8: 28-30; Ephesians 1: 3-14; 1 Corinthians 1: 30.

I. The final return of the Lord Jesus in glory, bringing about the bodily resurrection of all the dead and the final judgment by him of all mankind; the eternal blessedness of the righteous and the conscious eternal punishment of the wicked.

Passages for study: Matthew 25: 30-46; John 5: 22-29; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 2 Thessalonians 1: 5-10; Revelation 20: 11-15

We are in broad agreement with The Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 (otherwise known as the Old London Confession). However, in accepting this and the above statement of faith, we plainly and firmly assert that it is only binding in so far as it is biblical. It has no inherent authority, nor is it above revision, clarification and/or improvement. It will be subject to modification if it is in any way found to be unbiblical.

All religious controversies are to be settled by Scripture and by Scripture alone. It is the Word of God alone that is the all-sufficient, infallible, inerrant rule and standard of the knowledge, faith and obedience that properly constitute salvation.