What we Believe

We are an Evangelical Church which means we try and base everything we do, as Christians and as a Church, on the Bible.

Many people Use or Dismiss the Bible as a set of Rules and Rituals. However, the message of the Bible is to show us how we can have a Relationship with God through his son, Jesus.

Therefore, at its simplest level, our aim as a Church is to  
“Open the Bible and Get to Know Jesus”

The Bible tells us
Firstly - Who Jesus is, why we need him, and how we can know him
Then - How we should live once we know Him and in order to know him better.

So in a sense, we could put the whole Bible in this section and invite you to come and join us  week by week as we “Open the Bible” and try and “Get to Know Jesus” better.  We would love it if you did! 

You could also look at the "What is Christianity" section of our website which will get you started with the main message of the Bible.

However, there are a couple of useful summaries of what we believe as a Church.

• The Articles of Faith of the Association of Grace Baptist Churches (East Anglia)
• The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches (FIEC) Statement of Faith

These documents are quite long and a bit technical and so we have tried to summarise some of our fundamental beliefs below.

1.) About the Bible

We believe that the bible is in its entirety the Word of God, written by humans under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 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.

2.) About God

We believe in one true God who has always existed as three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom 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.

3.) About Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son who became human. We believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to the virgin Mary. In his life, he totally obeyed his Father in everything and never sinned, he showed himself to be God and taught with authority and all his words are true.
As he died on the cross, he died 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. Now he intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.

4.) About the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son and was sent to glorify Jesus and make him know, convict people of sin, give spiritual life and true understanding of the Bible. He now lives in all believers bringing assurance of salvation, making us more like Jesus and enabling the Church to follow Jesus

5.) Becoming a Christian – Salvation

We believe that our salvation is only possible through God’s grace which we do not deserve. God made it possible for us to be saved through Jesus’ death and resurrection, where he took the punishment that our sin deserved. We are saved when we admit we are sinners, ask for forgiveness and place our trust in Jesus as Saviour and commit ourselves to follow him as Lord. It is only through this belief and acceptance that we can enter the kingdom of heaven and it cannot be received purely by good deeds, actions, rules and rituals.

6.) Living as a Christian

i) Baptism
We believe that after someone becomes a Christian, baptism (by full immersion in water) is the next step. Baptism is commanded by Jesus as a visible illustration of a spiritual event that cannot be seen. Baptism symbolises the death of our old lives lived in rebellion against God and the start of our new lives lived following Jesus. It also marks the public joining of the church.
 
Being baptised does not make you a Christian but it is the way to show that you have become a Christian and are joining the church. Two things that always go together in the Bible.

ii) The Christian Life
We believe that being a Christian means to try and live with Jesus Christ as your Lord. This means that a Christian will show their salvation as they learn from the Bible and try and put it into practice. This is a lifelong task which can only be pursued with the help of the Holy Spirit and through a local church

iii) Communion (or the Lord’s Supper)
We believe that remembering Jesus’ death in our place is vital for our ongoing growth as Christians. This is achieved in various ways and the Communion service is a key command of Jesus to help us in this.

Taking Communion does not make you a Christian, but when a Christian is serious about living in obedience to Jesus, the communion service is a great reminder of what the Christian has received through Jesus and a source of strength for the ongoing Christian life

7) The next life

We believe that the world as it is now will not continue forever. One day, the risen Jesus will return to judge this world and after that, creation will be made new.
Those who have rejected God’s rule in their lives and refused his salvation in this life will be sent to Hell.
Those who have accepted Jesus provision of salvation in this life will then spend a completely fulfilled eternity in what the Bible describes as the new heaven and the new earth.