| | Statement
of Faith 14th
November 2004 (updated 23rd September 2004) THE
HISTORIC FOUNDATIONS OF OUR FAITH The
Bible and Creeds - The
Trinitarian, Christ centred, redemption oriented faith of the Bible embodied in
the historic ecumenical creeds of the early undivided church, being the Nicene
Creed, the Apostles' Creed and the Creed of Saint Athanasius.
Anglican
Foundations - The
Anglican foundational documents, being the Thirty-Nine Articles, the Solemn Declaration
of 1893 and the 1962 Book of Common Prayer.
THESE
ARE SUMMARIZED IN THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT OF FAITH The
Trinity
- There is
one God, self revealed as three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God
The Creator - God
created the universe, good in every way.
Sin-Separation
From God - Sin
and the devil intruded into creation, through the rebellion of his creatures,
separating us from God. Human sin is prideful rebellion against God's authority,
expressing itself in our refusing to love both the Creator and His creatures.
Redemption
- God loves His
creation and has ordained its redemption through Jesus Christ.
Jesus
- God the Son, Jesus
Christ, the Word made flesh, born of the Virgin Mary, was sent by God into the
world, fully God and Fully man, to redeem the world.
- He
was sinless, but took upon Himself the sin of the whole world on the cross, thereby
overcoming the devil.
- He
died and was buried. God raised Him bodily from the dead and He ascended into
heaven. He is alive and will come again in glory.
- He
-is the sole mediator between God and ourselves, the only way of salvation.
Salvation-Reunion
With God - We
are redeemed and justified through faith in Jesus Christ, by grace and not by
works.
- Through
the blood of Christ on the cross, we are cleansed and made a new creation.
- Through
repentance and turning to Jesus, we have the assurance of forgiveness of sin,
adoption as God's children and life eternal with Him.
- We
are transformed through the forgiveness of sin and the power of Christ living
in us by the Holy Spirit.
The
Holy Spirit - The
Holy Spirit discloses the glory of Jesus Christ, gives us new life, empowers us
for service, equips us for righteousness, leads us to holiness (sanctification),
enables us to overcome sin and the devil, and inspires us to do the works of God.
The
New Life In Christ - God
made human beings in the divine image so that they might glorify and enjoy their
creator forever. We have a personal fellowship with God and are citizens of the
Kingdom of God, being His ambassadors in the world.
The
Authority Of Scripture - The
Old and New Testaments are "God's Word written," inspired and authoritative,
inerrant (true and trustworthy), coherent, sufficient for salvation, living and
powerful as God's guidance for belief and behaviour.
- The
church may not judge the Scriptures, selecting and discarding from among their
teachings. Rather,the Scriptures under Christ, judge the church for its faithfulness
to His revealed truth.
The
Church-The Body Of Christ In The World -
The
Church is a community of believers, under the authority of Holy Scripture as the
Word of Christ. -
We
are called to glorify God in worship and to serve Him in the world through evangelism
and social service. -
We
each have distinctive gifts to use for the purpose of glorifying God and the building
up of the church in truth and love. The
Family-The Ordained Unit Of Society -
The
family is the ordained focus of love, intimacy, personal growth and stability
for women, men and children. -
God
designed human sexuality not only for procreation but also for the joyful expression
of love, honour, and fidelity between wife and husband. These are the only sexual
relations the biblical authority deems good and holy. -
Singleness also is
a gift from God and a holy vocation. While single, Christians are called to celibacy
and God will give them grace to live in chastity. | |