We Believe... (Doctrinal Basis)

Warning: This doctrinal basis is written assuming you have knowledge of the Bible and the Christian faith. If you do not understand parts of it, please ask a member of the Leadership Team, or your church leader, or alternatively see the doctrinal basis in a version which is easier to understand (see below).

The basis of the Fellowship shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:

1. There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

2. God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgment.

3. The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.

4. Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God's wrath and condemnation.

5. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.

6. Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.

7. Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.

8. The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.

9. The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.

10. The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.

11. The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.

The Doctrinal Basis (‘Dejargonified’)
This version has a bit more explanation, and you may find it easier to understand:

1. There is one God, but there are three distinct people who make up the one God: the Father, the Son (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit. No one fully understands how three people can be one person, but it's true.

2. God is the King and rules over everything. He created everything; He reveals everything that is revealed; He's the only one who can restore our relationship with Himself; He will decide whether we've lived up to His standards.

3. The Bible, as originally written down, was inspired by God. As such it‘s God‘s message to us: His words, and it's infallible. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.

4. Since Adam and Eve rejected God's rule over their lives, the whole of humankind is in a state of rebellion against God, not living up to His standards, and is guilty, so that everyone deserves God's anger, condemnation and punishment.

5. The Lord Jesus Christ, God's Son born on Earth, is fully God; He was born miraculously (his mother was a virgin at the time); He's fully human, but He's perfect and has always lived up to God's standard; He died on the cross, was physically brought back from death and is now the King, ruling over heaven and earth.

6. Human beings who have rebelled against God and don't live up to His standards are bought back (repossessed, freed) from the guilt, penalty and control of sin (godlessness, hostility towards God) only through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. He was a substitute for them, representing them to God and being punished instead of them. The death of Jesus was a one-off event, and it applies to all people for all time. Nothing more is needed. Jesus is the only mediator (go-between, representative) between them and God.

7. We need to believe everything about Christ: who He is, what He said and what He did, and we need to trust Him. Those who do are forgiven for their rebellion against God and all the times they haven't lived up to His standards. They are seen as perfect by God and reconciled with Him only because He sees Jesus' perfection when He looks at them; this is God's act of undeserved mercy, received only by those who trust Jesus, accept the forgiveness He offers us and give Him control of their lives. They recognise that they can't be good enough for God by themselves.

8. We can only recognise the problem of our rebellion against God and find the solution to it if the Holy Spirit shows us. It is the Holy Spirit who shows us our faults, enables us to turn towards God and recognise who He is, and enables us to believe everything about Jesus Christ and to trust Him.

9. The Holy Spirit lives in all those He has reintroduced to God. He makes them more like Jesus in character and behaviour and gives them the power to represent Jesus in the world and tell the world about Him.

10. There is only one church. It's set apart as belonging to God and it's universal. It is referred to in the Bible as the Body of Christ, ie it is living, it functions as a body would, and Christ is the head of it. All true believers belong to it.

11. The Lord Jesus Christ will return to the world in person to measure everyone against God's standards, to condemn and punish those who haven't had their relationship with God restored (God has given Him the authority to do this), and to take the believers (those who have had their relationship with God restored) to be in heaven with Him forever.