What We Believe

I. The Holy Scriptures

We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of 66 books which constitute the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and unalterable special revelation of God, and our final authority. We believe in the normal, literal, and consistent interpretation of the Scriptures; and a dispensational understanding of God’s progressive revelation. (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12-13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21)

II. The Trinity

We believe in the one triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)

III. The Person and Work of Christ Jesus

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, and lived a sinless life. He came that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice sufficient for the sins of the whole world, and our justification is verified by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24-25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5, 2:24; 1 John 2:2) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfils the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9-10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25, 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2)

IV. The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead who in this present age convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; who regenerates and baptises into the body of Christ those who believe; and who indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13-14) We believe the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and it is the privilege of believers to be filled with, and their duty to walk in, the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

V. The Total Depravity of Humanity

We believe man was created in the image and likeness of God; in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and mankind is totally depraved and unable to remedy its lost condition. (Genesis 1:26-27; Romans 3:22-23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)

VI. Eternal Salvation and Eternal Security

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for all people and all who trust Him are saved by grace through faith on the grounds of His shed blood, accepted in the beloved, kept by God’s power, and thus secure in Christ forever. (John 1:12; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5, 18-19) We believe every saved person is a new creation with provision made for victory over sin through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The sin that is present in us is not eradicated in this life. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 6:13, 8:12-13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9) We believe it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God’s Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13-14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; 1 Peter 2:13-20) '

VII. The Church

We believe the Church, which began with the baptising work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, is the body and bride of Christ. It is the spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age. (Acts 2:1-36; 1 Corinthians 12:13-14; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:25-27) We believe the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27, 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ established two ordinances for the Church in this present age. These are believer’s water baptism, practiced by immersion, and the Lord’s Supper, observed as a memorial of His death. (Acts 8:12, 35-39; 10:47-48; 1 Corinthians 1:14; 11:23-34)

VIII. Gospel Mission

We believe that Christ commissioned individuals in the church to make disciples from among all people groups, to baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and to teach them to be obedient to all things He has commanded. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19-20)

IX. The Spiritual Gifts

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ gives the Church evangelists and pastor-teachers. These gifted men are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:7-14) We believe the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers for Christian service and the building up of the Church. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10-11) We believe the church age was initiated through the ministry of the apostles and prophets accompanied by sign gifts to confirm their message. These sign gifts gradually ceased by the time of the completion of the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31, 13:8-10, 14:1-28; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 2:3-4) We believe God hears and answers prayer in accord with His own will for healing of the sick and afflicted. (John 14:13-14, 15:7; 1 John 5:14-15

X. The Second Coming of Christ Jesus

We believe in the personal, imminent, pre-tribulational and pre-millennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. We believe that at the end of the seven-year tribulation He will return to earth with the saints in power and glory to reign for a thousand years. (Zechariah 14:4-11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13-18, 5:9; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10, 19:11-16, 20:1-6)

XI. The Eternal State

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28-29; 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13) We believe the souls of believers are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection when spirit, soul, and body are reunited and glorified to be forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 20:4-6) We believe the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the lake of fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Matthew 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:19-26; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Revelation 20:11-15)

XII. Creation

We believe the triune God, by a free act and for His own glory, without the use of existing materials or secondary causes, brought into being – immediately and instantaneously in six literal days by the word of His mouth – the whole visible and invisible universe. (Genesis 1:1-27; Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 104:25-26; Isaiah 40:21-31; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:16-18; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:14; James 4:4-5; 1 Peter 2:9, 16-17; 1 John 2:15-17)

Statement of Faith of Bible Centre ©2019