The Bible
Our authority for life is the Bible. We believe that it is God’s handbook for living and so we seek to shape our lives by its teaching and by its subject—Jesus. Although the Bible does not tell us all we might like to know, it does tell us what we need to know so that we can become right with God. The Bible is made up of two parts, called Testaments. The first one looks forward to the coming of Jesus and the second one reveals Jesus. Jesus is the key to understanding the Bible.
God
We believe that there is only one God who has spoken and acted in history. He has made Himself known in the Bible, and supremely through Jesus Christ. If we are to know God and live life in a way that pleases Him then we need to look to Jesus and follow Him.
The Human Condition
We believe that men and women were created by God and made like Him. We therefore have great dignity. However, we have all turned away from God, and become the ‘God’ of our own lives, creating our own idols to worship, for example, those of money, popularity and academic success. We have stained our lives by our selfish living. This stain cannot be erased simply by doing good—it runs too deep. Because of our guilt, God will judge all of us at the end of time. This makes the need for our forgiveness urgent.
Jesus Christ
Jesus has always existed and became a man in order to rescue us. We believe that Jesus is both God and man. Jesus lived an exceptional life without any stains on his character. His teaching was wise, authoritative and challenging—perhaps no more so than in his claim that he is God! His great task was to die on the cross to save us. God punished Him for our sin, so that all who entrust their lives into His care will be safe. For us to become friends with God, or to be reconciled with Him, is God’s great passion. It was because of His love for us that He sent Jesus to die. He did this because there is no other way for us to be forgiven. Jesus Christ is the only perfect sacrifice.
Salvation
We believe that everyone needs to trust Jesus in order to be rescued from God’s judgement. This trust includes turning from living life our own way to obeying Jesus. It comes about as we look at who He is, and trust what He has done for us on the cross.
Holy Spirit
Being rescued by Jesus makes a radical difference to life now because He gives us help, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to live as we should; life that starts now, and leads to heaven. These things form the heart of what we believe, and we seek to make them clearer as we explain the Bible on a Sunday.
You can download our Statement of Faith here.