We believe that the story of the world can be summarised in five points:
-
Creation – In the beginning, God made the universe and all of its living creatures. God also created humankind in His own likeness to be the crowning jewel of all creation, to be His representatives on earth, and to worship and enjoy Him forever.
-
Fall – Human beings decided to disobey God. We thus broke our relationship with God, with each other, and with the rest of creation. Suffering and death entered the world as punishment for our rebellion. The human race began worshipping things that are not God and became enslaved to all kinds of evil.
-
Redemption – God did not abandon the world to utter destruction but granted mercy and forgiveness, pointing us to the only way of salvation, which is through faith in Him. Still, God’s justice required that full payment be made for human sins. Therefore, in the fullness of time, out of divine love, God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die as a sacrifice for sins and then to be raised to life on the third day, so that those who believe in Him would not perish but would share in His everlasting life.
-
Renewal – The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ ushers in a new creation. Those who put their faith in Him experience a transformation of their hearts and lives through the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. We are gathered into a community to worship God and to spread the good news of Christ’s redemption through our words and our actions. God uses us, His people, not only as recipients of renewal but also as agents of renewal. God has not abandoned His good creation but in Christ and through Christ is renewing all aspects of creation that were corrupted by the fall.
-
Consummation – One day, Jesus will return as king and judge of the universe and will bring the renewal of our world to perfection. Those who have trusted in Him will then enjoy eternal life and fellowship with Him forever.
Our beliefs are determined by the Bible, a collection of 66 books which we recognize as the true and inerrant words of God. We also believe that the Apostles’ Creed (see below), the Nicene Creed, and the Westminster Standards are faithful summaries of what the Bible teaches.