Statement of Faith

RC Statement of Faith

The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, and will endure eternal punishment (Rev. 20:7-15), but the righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new (Rev. 21:1-5).

Doctrine of God

We believe in one God eternally existing as one essence and three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each person is fully, equally and eternally God, yet there is one God. Each person has precisely the same nature and attributes and is worthy of precisely the same worship, honour and praise. The entire Christian faith is bound together with the confession of God’s Trinitarian nature (Matt. 28:18-20).

We believe in God the Father, the Creator of heaven and earth. We believe in God the Son, God from God, eternally begotten but not made, who in history assumed to Himself a human nature for the sake of our salvation (John 1:14; Heb. 1:3). He is fully God and fully man. Through Him, all things came into being and were created. He was before all things, and in Him, all things hold together by the word of His power (Col. 1:15-20). He suffered, died, was buried, resurrected, ascended and sits at the right hand of the Father until He returns for the final judgment and consummation of the Kingdom. We believe in God the Holy Spirit who eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son and is sent by the Father and Son to give new life (John 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit unites believers to Jesus Christ in faith, brings about the new birth and dwells within the regenerate (Eph. 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit has come to glorify the Son who, in turn, came to glorify the Father. He will lead the Church into a right understanding and rich application of the truth of God’s Word. He is to be respected, honoured and worshiped as God, the third person of the Trinity.

Doctrine of Creation and Revelation

We believe that God has revealed Himself to us in His Son, Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word (Heb. 1:1-2), in Scripture, the inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16), and in creation (Ps. 8; Rom. 1:20). Jesus Christ is the perfect revelation of who God is—He is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15), “the exact imprint of his nature” (Heb. 1:3) and a perfect reflection of God the Father (John 5:19).

We believe that God created the world from nothing and His design was good. He governs all things at all times in all places— all things are held together in Himself (Col. 1:17).

We believe the Scriptures—the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments—are the inspired Word of God and are therefore without error in their original writings. These writings alone constitute the inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative. The Scripture is sufficient for all that God requires for us to believe and do and is therefore to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises (Is. 40:6-8). As God’s people hear, believe and obey the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel (Rom. 10:14-17).

Doctrine of Humanity

God made humanity—male and female—in His own image (Gen. 1:27-30). As His image bearers, we are His sacred creation and in possession of intrinsic worth and dignity. Men and women are also meant to represent God in His creation (1 Cor. 10:31) and act as His agents to care for and manage it. They enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to significant private and public engagement in family, church and civic life. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union in the covenant of marriage that establishes the only God-ordained pattern of sexual relations for men and women. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable but are created as unique entities for the benefit of human flourishing.

Distinctive || Men and Women

Men and women are absolutely equal in essence, dignity and value but are distinct by divine design. As part of God’s good created order, we believe that the primary relationship of men and women in the church is one of brotherly and sisterly love—partnering and leading together for the sake of the kingdom.

We believe that women are called to lead and serve in the church, alongside men. We also believe God has called men to a unique role of sacrifice, protection, and responsibility for the family, which includes their spiritual family (Eph. 5:25). This is represented in the home as husband and father and, for some qualified men, in the church as elder. As such, stewardship of the church through the role of elder is the unique responsibility of men qualified to be spiritual fathers whereas deacons are ministry leaders (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1).

Doctrine of Sin

Through the temptation by Satan, humanity rebelled against the command of God and fell from their original holiness and righteousness (Gen. 3). Now the entire human race inherits a corrupt nature that is opposed to God and His law (Rom. 3:9-20). Therefore, all humans are under condemnation. This depravity is radical and pervasive; it extends to the mind, will, body and affections. Unregenerate humanity lives under the dominion of sin and Satan (Eph. 2:1-3, Col. 1:13). We believe that sin has broken all things, leaving the world in desperate need of salvation and restoration.

Doctrine of Salvation

We believe that, due to universal death through sin, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless born again (John 3:5-8); that salvation is only by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ; and that all who receive the Lord Jesus Christ through faith are declared righteous by God and become children of God (Heb.10:19-25).

We believe the Scriptures teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is the act of God by which the Holy Spirit imparts a new nature and a person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus (Gal. 2:20). The mind is given a holy disposition and a new desire to serve God, the dominion of sin is broken, and the heart is transformed from a love of sin and self to a love of holiness and God.

Doctrine of the Church

The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples (Matt. 28:18-20) through worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, fellowship and observance of the ordinances (Acts 2:42). The Word of God and the Spirit of God create and preserve the Church, which is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel.

We believe there are two ordinances of the Church: believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Water baptism is only intended for those who have received the saving benefits of Christ through the new birth of the Holy Spirit (1 Pet. 3:21). In obedience to Christ’s command and as a testimony to God, the Church, oneself and the world, believers are baptized by water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that a former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts the release from the mastery of Satan, sin and death.

The Lord’s Supper is also to be observed only by those that have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as it serves as a reminder that we are bound together as a community of faith by His death and resurrection (1 Cor. 11:27-29). This ordinance symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death (Rom. 10:9). As we come to the table with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body.

Distinctive || Gifts of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the life of the church. These gifts did not end with the close of the New Testament or the death of the last apostle (1 Cor. 12:1-11).

Distinctive || Baptism by Immersion

The precedent we find in the New Testament is baptism by immersion into water following conversion. Baptism by immersion is meant to symbolically depict the believer’s real union to Christ in His death, burial and resurrection (Rom. 6:1-14).

Doctrine of Final Restoration

The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, and will endure eternal punishment (Rev. 20:7-15), but the righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new (Rev. 21:1-5).