What We Believe

For a comprehensive statement of the things most surely believed among us, see the Westminster Confession of Faith.

To know what makes us different from many churches today, see What We Contend For.

Below is a very brief summary of what we believe, expressing our adherence to all the fundamental doctrines of Reformed, Calvinistic (not merely “Evangelical”) Christianity. These doctrines are not only stated or implied in the verses referenced in parentheses, but also in extended passages of Scripture. To understand the God’s Word correctly, it should be studied as a whole, and verses should be compared with other verses.

1. Scripture. The Bible is the fully inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God, and therefore the only supreme rule for faith and life (2 Tim. 3:16-17, Eph. 2:20).
2. God. There is one God, who decreed all things from eternity, created the entire universe in six days, and governs the whole creation continually (Deut. 6:4, Eph. 1:11, Gen. 1:1-31, Ps. 103:19, Matt. 10:29-30).
3. Trinity. This one God exists eternally in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19, 1 John 5:7).
4. Man. Man was originally created in the image of God, and his main duty in life is to know, love, glorify and enjoy God (Gen. 1:26-27, John 17:3, Matt. 22:37, 1 Cor. 10:31, Ps. 73:25).
5. Sin. All fell with Adam in his first transgression (Rom. 5:12,19 and 1 Cor. 15:21-22). Everyone is guilty of sin (which is disobeying God’s law), and deserves to be punished in hell for ever (Rom. 3:23, Rom. 6:23, Matt. 25:46).
6. Election. From all eternity God sovereignly elected some of fallen mankind to salvation and eternal life, and entered into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery (Eph. 1:4, 1 Thess. 1:4; 2 Thess. 2:13).
7. Jesus Christ. God in His mercy sent His only begotten Son to be the Saviour of sinners (John 3:16). By taking human nature into union with His divine Person, Jesus Christ is both God and man (Rom. 9:5). He was born of the virgin Mary, lived a perfectly sinless life, died on the cross, rose bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven (Luke 1:35, Heb. 7:26, Phil. 2:8, 1 Cor. 15:4, Mark 16:19).
8. Atonement. When Jesus Christ died on the cross, He was punished in the place of His people for their sins, as the only way to satisfy divine justice (2 Cor. 5:21, Eph. 5:2).
9. Faith. Those who trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins, and repent, are accepted by God and will go to heaven (Acts 20:21). No one can be saved in any other way (John 14:6).
10. The Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can bring people to faith and repentance, which He does when He regenerates them into spiritual life (John 6:45, Tit. 3:5-6, Eph. 2:8).
11. The Second Coming. Jesus will return bodily at the Day of Judgment, when everyone who died will rise again (Acts 1:11; 17:31). Those who trusted Him for salvation will go to heaven with Him for ever, but the rest will be cast into hell to endure conscious torment for ever (Matt. 25:46).