ARTICLES OF FAITH

We adhere to the Scriptures as God’s infallible, inerrant

Word; therefore, His Word is our final authority in faith and practice. However, in order to give a clear statement of what we believe the Bible teaches, we subscribe to The London Confession of Faith of 1689, as republished in 1974 under the title “A Faith to Confess”: and, The Philadelphia Confession of Faith of 1742.  The following is a brief summary of those Articles:

THE SCRIPTURES: 

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are given by inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.

DOCTRINE OF GOD: 

There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all. To him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience.

THE TRINITY:

God is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

CREATION: 

God created all things from nothing. Adam and Eve were created by God in his own image, possessing knowledge, righteousness and true holiness. The account of creation in Genesis 1 and 2 is historical, not mythical; thus, evolution is a theory contrary to Scripture’s teaching on creation.

PROVIDENCE:

God from eternity decrees all things that come to pass, and perpetually governs all creatures and events. However, he is not in any way the author or approver of sin, nor does he destroy the responsibility of intelligent creatures.

THE FALL OF MAN: 

Adam, through Satan’s temptation, broke God’s commandment and fell from his original righteousness. All Adam’s descendants fell with him and as a result have inherited a corrupt nature and are guilty before God. From this corrupt nature proceed all actual transgressions of the law of God. By virtue of this fall man is unable to please God or choose Christ as his Saviour and Lord.

GOD’ S GRACE AND OUR SALVATION:

A.  THE MEDIATOR:  Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, is the divinely appointed Mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the law, suffered, and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried, rose again the third day, and ascended to the Father, at whose right hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest and King of the church, and Sovereign of the universe.

B.  ELECTION:  Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons to eternal life not because of foreseen merit in them, but because of His mercy. Those who have been predestined to be saved are called, justified, sanctified, and glorified.

C.  REGENERATION AND CALLING:  Regeneration is the implanting of spiritual life brought about by the Holy Spirit. God calls us into fellowship with Jesus Christ by His Word and His Holy Spirit, our minds being spiritually enlightened and our wills and affections being renewed.

D.  REPENTANCE:  Repentance is a saving grace. The repentant person, by the Holy Spirit, is convicted of the evil of his sin and humbles himself for it, with godly sorrow, hatred of it, self-abhorrence, and a purpose to endeavour to walk before God so as to please Him in all things.

E.  FAITH:  Faith is a saving grace by which we receive and rest upon Jesus Christ alone for salvation as He is freely offered to us in the Gospel.

F.  JUSTIFICATION AND ADOPTION:  Justification is an act of God’s free grace. He pardons our sins and accounts us righteous. This is not based on anything we have done but only on the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Once justified we are adopted into the family of God.

G.  SANCTIFICATION:  Those who are united to Jesus Christ are renewed in their whole nature after the image of God. This is a progressive work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in all believers.  We are thus enabled to press after a heavenly life in obedience to all the commands of Christ, though never obtaining perfection in this life.

H.  PERSEVERANCE:  Those whom God has accepted in the Beloved and sanctified by His Spirit will never totally or finally fall away from the state of grace but will persevere to the end.

THE CHURCH: 

The Lord Jesus is the Head of the church which is composed of God’s elect in every age. According to His commandment, Christians are to gather in local churches. To each of these churches He has given authority for worship, discipline, and administering order. The officers of a church are elders and deacons.

A.  BAPTISM:  Baptism is an ordinance of the Lord Jesus, obligatory on every believer, in which he is immersed in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is a sign of his union with Christ in His death and resurrection, of remission of sins, and of his giving himself to God to live and walk in newness of life.

B.  THE LORD’S SUPPER:  The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and wine, and to be observed by His churches until Jesus Christ returns. It is in no sense a sacrifice or a means of having sins cleansed. Its purpose is to commemorate Christ’s death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond and a renewal of their communion with Christ and their fellow believers.

C.  EVANGELISM AND MISSIONS:  It is the duty of every church and every Christian to extend the Gospel to all men everywhere. As faith comes by hearing the word of God, we are to seek by all methods sanctioned in the Word of God to persuade men to seek Jesus Christ and His salvation.

THE CHRISTIAN LIFE:

A.  THE LAW OF GOD:  God has commanded us to love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The Christian’s guide is laid down in His law, especially in the ten commandments.

B.  THE LORD’S DAY:  The Lord’s Day is to be kept holy. It is given for our benefit, through resting from normal occupations and giving ourselves to the worship and service of God.

C.  THE STATE:  Civil government is ordained of God and it is the duty of Christians to obey those who have the rule over them in all matters consistent with the teaching of the scriptures.  Christians are also to pray for their rulers.

THINGS TO COME:

A.  THE RETURN OF CHRIST:  We believe in the visible, personal and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

B.  RESURECTION:  The bodies of men after death return to dust but their spirits return immediately to God - the righteous to rest with Him, the wicked to be reserved under darkness until the judgment. The bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will be raised.

C.  THE JUDGMENT:  God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when everyone shall receive according to his deeds. The wicked will go into everlasting punishment in hell with the devil and his angels. The righteous, with glorified bodies, will live and reign with Christ forever.