This is what I believe and teach on this site. I hold these truths gladly and firmly, because I believe they are what the Bible teaches.
Scripture
I believe the Bible, all sixty-six books, is God’s Word: verbally inspired, without error in the original writings, and faithfully preserved. It is clear enough to be understood by the Spirit’s help, it is the only sufficient and final authority for what I believe and how I live, and it is sufficient for the care of souls. God’s revelation of Himself in Scripture is complete; He is not adding new revelation today.
Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 19:7; Psalm 119:105; John 17:17; Hebrews 1:1-2; Jude 3
God and the Trinity
I believe in one living and true God, infinite, eternal and perfect in holiness, love, wisdom and power. He exists eternally in three Persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and each worthy of worship. He sovereignly decrees and governs all things for His glory, yet He is never the author of sin, and people remain truly responsible.
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 4:24; Ephesians 1:11; Psalm 103:19; Habakkuk 1:13
Creation
I believe God made the heavens and the earth and everything in them, visible and invisible, out of nothing, by the word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good. He made it through His Son, and He goes on upholding and directing everything He made.
Scripture: Genesis 1:1-31; Exodus 20:11; John 1:3; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 1:2; Hebrews 11:3
Angels and Satan
I believe angels are created beings who serve and worship God and must never be worshipped. Satan is a created angel who rebelled, drew other angels with him, and brought sin into the human race. He is a real enemy and deceiver, but he was defeated at the cross and empty tomb and will be punished forever in the lake of fire.
Scripture: Hebrews 1:14; Revelation 22:8-9; Genesis 3:1-15; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 Peter 5:8; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10
Man and Sin
I believe God created man directly in His own image, male and female, and that every human life is sacred from conception. Adam was created upright, but he disobeyed God, and in him the whole race fell into sin, guilt and death. Every person is now a sinner by nature and by choice, spiritually dead, unable to please God or save himself, and under His just wrath.
Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7; Genesis 3; Psalm 139:13-16; Romans 3:10-23; Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3
Jesus Christ
I believe Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, fully God and fully man in one Person. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and died as a willing substitute, bearing God’s wrath for His people. He rose bodily on the third day, ascended to the Father’s right hand, and now intercedes for us as our only Mediator, Prophet, Priest and King.
Scripture: John 1:1-14; Matthew 1:18-25; Philippians 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:24-26; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25
Salvation
I believe salvation is all of God’s grace. Before the world began, the Father chose a people in Christ. The Spirit gives them new birth and grants them repentance and faith, and so they freely come to Christ. Sinners are justified by faith alone in Christ alone: their sin is counted to Christ and His righteousness is counted to them. The gospel saves from sin and God’s wrath; it does not promise health or wealth.
Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-14; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:3-8; John 6:37-44; Romans 3:21-28; Romans 5:1; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Titus 3:4-7
Sanctification and Perseverance
I believe everyone in Christ is set apart as a saint from the moment of conversion, and is then made holier over a lifetime through the Word, prayer, the local church and obedience. The fight with sin lasts until glory, and saving faith always bears fruit. Every true believer is kept by God’s power and will persevere to the end. That assurance is never a licence to sin.
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:16-25; James 2:17-26; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:28-39; Philippians 1:6; 1 Peter 1:5
The Holy Spirit
I believe the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world of sin, gives new birth, unites believers to Christ, indwells, seals, teaches, sanctifies and empowers them, and gives gifts to build up the church. The sign gifts, such as tongues, healing and new revelation, confirmed the apostles’ message, and they ceased with the completed New Testament. God still hears and answers prayer for the sick, as He wills.
Scripture: John 16:7-14; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:3-4; James 5:13-16
The Church and Ordinances
I believe Christ is the only Head of His church, made up of everyone who truly believes. Believers are to gather in local churches of baptised members. Each local church is self-governing under Christ, led by biblically qualified elders (pastors) and served by deacons. It practises loving discipline, gathers on the Lord’s Day, and keeps the reading and preaching of Scripture at the centre. Christ gave two ordinances: baptism, which is the immersion of believers only, and the Lord’s Supper, a real communion with Christ in remembrance of His death.
Scripture: Matthew 16:18; Ephesians 1:22-23; Acts 2:41-47; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Matthew 18:15-20; Acts 20:7; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Marriage, Sexuality and the Family
I believe God made men and women equal in worth and dignity but distinct and complementary in their roles in the home and the church, and that the office of elder is for qualified men. Marriage is a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and sex belongs only within marriage. Children are a gift from God, and the family is a foundation of society.
Scripture: Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:18-24; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Hebrews 13:4; Psalm 127:3
Mission
I believe the church’s great task is to make Christ known to every nation by preaching the gospel and planting churches. Apart from conscious faith in Christ, there is no hope of salvation.
Scripture: Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:13-17; Psalm 67
Last Things
I believe that at death a believer’s soul goes straight into the joyful presence of Christ, while the soul of an unbeliever is held under punishment. I believe the Lord Jesus will first come for His church in the rapture, before a seven-year tribulation (the seventieth week of Daniel), when God will pour out His righteous judgements on an unbelieving world. After that, Christ will return visibly and in glory to the earth. He will sit on the throne of David and reign for a literal thousand years. During that kingdom Satan will be bound, and God will keep His promises to Israel. The church has not replaced Israel, and God still has a future for Israel as a nation. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released for a short time and then defeated and thrown into the lake of fire for ever. All the dead will be raised bodily. Believers are raised to everlasting life with God. Unbelievers are raised to stand before the Great White Throne and receive conscious, eternal punishment. Then God will make a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells, and the triune God will reign for ever. Come, Lord Jesus!
Scripture: Philippians 1:21-23; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Luke 16:19-26; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 3:10; Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:27-31; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 1:11; Revelation 20:1-15; Romans 11; Jeremiah 31:35-37; John 5:28-29; Matthew 25:41-46; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21-22; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28
This is my own summary. It is drawn from the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith, the Antioch Bible Church Declaration of Faith and the Shepherds’ Seminary Africa Doctrinal Statement. It is not the official statement of any church or seminary.
