Our common faith is what primarily defines us as a Church and directs our life together as Christians. Our beliefs are historic, protestant and evangelical.
Our beliefs have a few distinctives:
- The Supremacy of God - The Bible describes God as soveriegn over all people, places, and times
- The Grace of God - Even though man is unable to cleanse himself from sin, God has shown us lavish, unmerited grace through the Cross of Christ. We take hold of God's grace by faith alone.
- The Reliability of the Bible - The Bible is God's innerant, authoritative word and is a trustworthy guide for all of life.
- Personal Faith in Jesus Christ - No one is born a Christian but must be born again through faith in Christ.
- The Importance of the Body of Christ - Our faith is personal but not private. Christians are meant to live in committed fellowship in a local church.
Our Statement of Faith
1. GOD: There is one Triune God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom, mercy and love. He is the almighty Creator, Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
2. THE BIBLE: God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists solely of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.
3. THE HUMAN RACE: All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship, love and enjoy God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.
4. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST: The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. His miracles attested to the authority with which he taught and all his words are true. He died on the cross in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead, and in his resurrection body, ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. As the sole mediator between God and man he intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.
5. SALVATION: Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God, in his love, forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, credited with the righteousness of Christ, adopted into the family of God, and receive eternal life.
6. THE HOLY SPIRIT: The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He lives in all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He incorporates believers into the Body of Christ, builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.
7. THE CHURCH: The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.
8. BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism symbolizes union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. It is our practice to baptize, by immersion in water, only those who profess repentance towards God, faith in, and obedience to, our Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
9. THE FUTURE: The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment in hell and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.
Scripture references to ECCD Statement of Faith
- Deut. 6:4; John 17:5; Gen 1:1-2; Js 1:17; Ps 102:27; 1 Sam 15:29; John 1:1; Isa 6:3; Deut 32:4; Rom 16:27; Eph 2:4; 1 John 4:16; Ps 115:3; Eph 1:11; Rom 11:36.
- Heb 1:2; 2 Tim 3:16; Jude 3, Rev 22:19; Eph 2:20; 2 Pet 1:21; John 10:35; Ps 119:160; Matt 4:4.
- Gen 1:27; 1 Pet 3:7; Deut 6:5; Rom 5:12; Eph 2:1-3; Jer 17:9; Rom 8:7-8.
- John 1:1, 20:28; Rom 9:5; Gal 4:4; Heb 4:15; Mark 1:24; John 14:6; Isa 53:5; 1 Cor 15:3; Eph 1:7; 1 Cor 15:4; Acts 1:9; Heb 1:3; Rom 8:34.
- Eph 2:8-9; 2 Tim 1:9; Tit 3:5; Heb 7:27; Matt 11:28; Rom 10:13; 1 Cor 1:24; Acts 11:18; 2 Tim 2:25; Rom 3:28; Rom 5:19; 2 Cor 5:21; Rom 8:15; John 3:16.
- John 16:14, 8; Tit 3:5; John 3:6; 1 Cor 2:14; Eph 1:17-19; Ps 119:18; Rom 8:9; Eph 1:11-14; Rom 8:15; 2 Cor 3:18; Act 1:4; 1 Cor 2:4-5; Eph 5:18; Acts 4:31.
- Matt 16:8; Heb 12:22-23; Col 4:15; Eph 2:19-22, 5:19-21; Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 1:22; 2 Cor 6:14; 1 John 1:7; Eph 3:10.
- Matt 28:19; Rom 6:3; Col 2:12; 1 Pet 3:21; Lk 22:19; 1 Cor 11:23-26.
- 1 Thes 4:16; 2 Thes 1:10; 1 John 3:2; Mark 13:26; Matt 25:46; Rev 21:5.