STATEMENT OF FAITH
Introduction
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! Almighty God we thank and praise You, for You are worthy of our love and worship and ceaseless praise. You have created us to know You and to find our joy and life in You alone. Our hearts yearn for You, and they are restless until they find their rest in You. Holy Father, Whom no eye has seen, Who dwells in unapproachable light, we praise You and exalt Your name above this city and above this earth. We thank You for Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sake and for Your glory, became a man and died in our place at Calvary to redeem us from our sin and secure our salvation. We thank You for the Holy Spirit, our Comforter and Helper. Sanctify us in Your truth, forgive us our sins, guide us into the light of Your presence. Though we see dimly now, knowing only in part, may these doctrines and rules be according to Your Holy Scriptures, accurately representing Your majesty and eternal splendour. Amen.
Dochum Glóire Dé Amháin (To the glory of God alone)
Mission Statement
Statement of Faith
1. We believe in the one true God, who is Lord and High-King over all over all creation, as the Holy Scriptures testify the LORD our God, the LORD is one. He is Creator and Sustainer of all there is, He upholds the universe by the word of his power and is worthy to be praised. He is uniquely Trinitarian, the first and last, one and three, one in power, three in person, three in name, one in essence, the One Who Is, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, co-equal and co-eternal, one God without beginning or end. While we acknowledge that God’s Trinitarian nature in its fullness is beyond human comprehension we testify on the authority of Scripture that the secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever and so through our Triune God’s self-revelation to us in Scripture we recognize and affirm the Trinity working our salvation by the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ.
2. We believe that God the Father is un-begotten, uncreated, without beginning and without end. He is the Sovereign Lord over heaven and earth.In His love for the world He sent His only-begotten Son to be the substitutionary atonement for our sin. No eye has ever seen the Father but his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
3. We believe that Jesus is the eternal Son of God, begotten not created, he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature. He is the Divine Word that was with the Father before creation. He took on a human nature when He was conceived in the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit and was born in Bethlehem. The distinction of His divine and human natures was by no means taken away by the union, but rather the property of each nature was preserved, and concurring in one Person, not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same Son, and only begotten, God the Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. Fully God and fully man He lived the perfect life fulfilling the Old Covenant and achieved our salvation by His death and victory on the cross.
4. We believe in the Holy Spirit, that He is the Comforter and Helper sent from the Father through the Son. He is fully God, un-begotten, proceeding from the Father. He is the giver of new life, of spiritual gifts and church offices and the One by Whom the Father is known and the Son is glorified. He convicts the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment and He clothes the Christian in power and applies the work of salvation to the life of the believer, making the Christian a holy dwelling place for the presence of God.
5. We believe in the final authority of the Holy Scriptures in all matters of faith and practice. All doctrine must submit to, and be in accord with, the teaching of the Bible. We affirm the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures as originally given. All Scripture is uniquely authoritative as it is not just from the pen of man but ultimately from the mouth of God, and by such when the Bible is read and faithfully expounded it is not merely a book by men about God but God speaking to all mankind. Concerning the Canon of Scripture, we recognize the 39 books of the Old Testament entrusted by God to the Jews and the 27 books of the New Testament revealed to the Church. The Canon has been established not by the Church but for the Church, this is the function of the Holy Spirit, leading us into the truth.
6. We believe by faith that the universe was created by the word of God and that Almighty God is the only source and sole creator of everything visible and invisible, by the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He alone is the Lord Sovereign over creation, which He declared as very good.28 Creation was formed to declare the glory and righteousness of God. The first man, Adam, was entrusted to minster and work in it and have dominion over it.
7. We believe that men and women are made in the image of God, thus they are a unique part of God’s creation, invested with a dignity as His image bearers and capable, through Christ, of union with God’s divine nature. The sanctity of human life derives from God’s image which is present in all human life, even in the unborn child in the womb. Humanity is morally accountable to God and subject to His rule.
8. We believe that humanity was first created without defect or sin. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, introduced sin and death to humanity by means of their disobedience to God in Eden. Eve by means of her being deceived by Satan and Adam by means of his deliberate exaltation of his will above God’s law. In seeking glory for themselves they separated all of humanity from unbroken fellowship with God and subjected all of creation to God’s curse. The subsequent marring of God’s image in mankind results in men and women seeking to dominate or destroy each other and applaud sin as virtue. The Fall means that all humanity is subject to the wrath of God.
9. We believe that Satan is an angel, who though created good, has rebelled against God and is subject to His wrath.38 Satan’s sinful pride means that he refuses to worship and serve his Creator and desires instead that God and men worship him. He along with some of the angelic host led a rebellion against God in heaven and suffered defeat. He seeks to turn people against God and opposes the work of the Church but he will never thwart the purpose and plan of God. Satan is the enemy of God, the adversary of the saints, the accuser of the faithful, the father of lies, and the deceiver of the whole world. Along with the other fallen angels he will be judged by God for his sin and rebellion and be cast into hell for all eternity.
10. We believe that men and women are saved by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, not by any merit or good works of obedience done by them. All who are saved are justified by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. All who are justified are a new creation, born-again of the Holy Spirit; united to Christ and inheritors of a glorious future.
11. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the New Covenant at the Last Supper, thereby declaring the Old Covenant of the law fulfilled and obsolete. Christ by offering Himself as the sacrifice for sin is the Mediator of this New Covenant, which declares the Christian not under the law but under grace, empowered by the Holy Spirit to live God-pleasing lives that display God’s holiness and moral character.
12. We believe that Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, died, was buried, and physically rose again on the third day. He bodily ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will physically return again to receive His bride the Church and judge the world. No one knows the time of Christ’s return except God.
13. We believe that everyone who is born again is joined to Christ and part of His Church. The Church belongs to God since He purchased it with His own blood. There is only one Church universal with Christ as its head and leader. The Church is marked by love, faith, fellowship, unity, consecration and spiritual power. The Church is called by Christ to glorify and enjoy God, proclaim the Gospel, and teach the word of truth with sound doctrine.
14. We believe that Christ instituted two ordinances or symbols for the Church, whereby we could testify of Him, namely water baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is an ordinance of testimony, a visible expression of faith in Christ whereby the Christian publicly confesses Christ. The mode of baptism (by submersion in water) is a picture of the Christian as a new creation united with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance of remembrance and thanksgiving and also of testimony. When Christians partake together in the bread and the cup, which are symbols of the body and blood of Christ, they remember Christ’s sacrifice and proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
15. We believe that the gift of the Holy Spirit has been given to all Christians at conversion; the Holy Spirit in turn bestowed a variety of spiritual gifts to the Church for its edification and empowerment. All believers have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ and are empowered with different gifts in order to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. All gifts from God are to be used for the service of the Church and the praise of God. The fruit of the Spirit, especially love, should be the context for the operation of the gifts of the Spirit.
16. We believe God created Hell as a place of punishment for the devil and his angels, and for all who have sinned and reject Christ and scorn God’s call to repentance. Hell's punishment is eternal, the fire is not quenched, and certain for all who are under the wrath of God and are judged by Him, for whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
17. We believe that Christ will ultimately receive His bride, the Church, into glory. Every tear will be wiped away and there will be no more sickness, suffering or pain. The Christian will receive a new body, a glorious inheritance, and will be freed from the presence, influence and effects of sin. Christ will delight in welcoming those whom He has redeemed to His banqueting table and He will gladly and boldly declare their innocence before the throne of His Father. The ultimate glory and joy that the Christian will experience and display is that of being a restored image bearer of God, as one completely conformed into the image of Christ, the second Adam, welcomed back into the presence, joy, and fellowship of Holy God.