The Holy Bible:
The Holy Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God, the perfect and complete revelation of His Plan for the salvation of man, and the unerring canon of Christian Faith and Life. The books of the Holy Bible were written by men of God (Prophets, Evangelists and Apostles) who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
- “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in Righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16).
- “Behold, I am against the Prophets, saith the Lord, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.” (Jeremiah 23:31).
- “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2 Peter 1:21).
On the Holy Trinity:
There is one God and He revealed Himself in three personifications: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- “And Jesus, when he was baptised, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16-17).
- “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19).
When the fullness of the time had come, Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man. He lived the perfect human life, totally dependent in all respects on the Heavenly Father. He is sinless and His teachings were devoid of error.
- “If ye shall see the son of man ascend up where he was before?” (John 6:62).
- “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” (John 16:28).
- “Our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor.” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
- “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52).
- “The Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10).
“And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that Holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35) - “Which of you convinceth me of sin.” (John 8:46).
- “I am the truth.” (John 14:6).
The Holy Spirit is a Divine power, a Divine gift, a Divine instrument, and as such, this Power, Gift and Instrument is a Divine Personage.
- “…but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49).
- “…Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (Acts 2:38).
- “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 2:10)
- “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things; and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” (John 14:26)
On Man and his Salvation:
Man is by nature sinful, because of the moral downfall of the first created, and because man himself cultivates sin by his thoughts, words and works.
- “For if through the offence of one many be dead…” (Romans 5:15).
- “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23).
- “There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3:10).
It is absolutely impossible for the sinner to save himself by either his own moral “good works” or by observing religious rituals and man made traditions. The sinner is saved only through grace by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
- “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” (Titus 3:5).
- “For by Grace are you saved through Faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8).
- “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” (Acts 16:31).
Salvation by grace for the sinner is based entirely on the redemptive act of Jesus Christ on the cross, where He paid for the penalty of sin by the shedding of His blood.
- “Who (Christ) gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.” (Titus 2:14).
- “For thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by the blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” (Revelation 5:9).
- “The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7).
God accepted the redemptive offering of Christ in place of the sinner. To demonstrate His full acceptance of Christ’s sacrifice and that His righteousness was satisfied, God raised Christ from the dead and set Him on the right side of His throne to be the Comforter and the High Priest of His people.
- “One died for all.” (2 Corinthians 5:14).
- “We have such a High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;” (Hebrews 8:1).
- “This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.” (Acts 2:32).
On the basis of this belief in the expiatory act of Jesus Christ, the sinner confesses his sin and prays directly to God without any requirement for a mediator or someone to intervene. The only mediator between God man is Jesus Christ.
- “No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (John 14:6).
- “One Mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave Himself a ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6).
- “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).
On the Relationship between Faith and Moral Freedom:
Saving faith is not given to the sinner by God. On the contrary, it is the spontaneous, uninhibited and unforced expression of man’s moral freedom. In this way salvation of the sinner results from the cooperation between God and the sinner. God offers salvation without favouritism and man freely accepts through faith.
- “And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour. ” (Matthew 8:13).
- “Jesus saith unto Martha, Said I not thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?” (John 11:40).
- “…for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24).
Man is not saved because God predetermined and predestined him to be saved, nor is he brought under condemnation because God predetermined that he should be condemned. Predestination of man’s decision for salvation does not exist. Man is saved or condemned eternally, on the basis of his free and individual choice to either believe in the work of Jesus Christ, or not to believe.
“….God accepteth no man’s person” (Galatians 2:6).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16).
“Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (1 Timothy 2:6).
“And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” (John 5:40).
For the Christian, his salvation is permanent, immovable and eternal, so long as he remains with Christ as the vine branch remains united with vine. Apart from sin, no other power is capable of seizing the redeemed soul from the hands of the Lord. The teaching of the New Testament clearly spells out that the Christian be exceptionally careful with respect to spiritual slothfulness and disobedience. These would allow sin to progressively take control over the Christian life, to the point where the conscience is hardened towards the will of God. In this state, as a spiritual vine branch he will be cut off from the spiritual grape-vine of Christ, resulting in condemnation. Just as God does not force man to accept salvation, neither does He force man to remain in the state of salvation.
- “Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1).
- “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world.” (2 Timothy 4:10).
- “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents… Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition.” (1 Corinthians 10:9-11).
On the Church
The real church of Christ is not a man made organisation, but a living spiritual body consisting of all born-again believers everywhere, with the Heavenly Lord as its head. It is the world wide community of the redeemed Christians in which the Word of God provides spiritual food and unity through the love of the Holy Spirit.
- “Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body.” (Ephesians 5:23).
- “there is one body, and one Spirit… One Lord, one Faith, one Baptism.” (Ephesians 4:5-6).
- “…Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.” (Ephesians 5:25-26).
The local church is an expression of the whole spiritual body, served by the many gifts of its members. These gifts, natural or acquired, appear in the church which under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit bring about spiritual fruit, blessings and revival.
- “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us.” (Romans 12:6).
- “Now there are diversities of gifts but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-5).
- “No ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” (1 Corinthians 12:27).
On Baptism:
Although baptism appears to be an external ceremony or formality, it is a serious one for all believers because it was decreed by the Lord Himself. Those being baptised testify before God and man that their old life has been buried in the waters, and by emerging from the waters, they are resurrected to his new life in Christ Jesus.
Infant baptism is not based on valid spiritual doctrine according to the Scriptures, because the baptised infant lacks personal faith. The “doctrinal” content of the ceremony (spiritual re-birth of the infant) is in contradiction to the teachings of the New Testament. The infant is also baptised without its own consent.
- “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19).
- “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptised into Jesus Christ were baptised into his death?” (Romans 6:3-4).
- “Then they that gladly received his word were baptised…” (Acts 2:41).
On The Dedication of the Infant:
The new born child of the Christian husband or wife is holy, not in the sense of holiness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ, but because they come from parents whose bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. Endowed with this special privilege and grace, the infant is brought to the church to be dedicated to the Lord. Such a dedication replaces infant baptism which according to the Scriptures is invalid due to the absence of personal faith in the infant.
- “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband.” (1 Corinthians 7:14).
- “…Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you.” (1 Corinthians 6:19).
- “…Your children…now are holy.” (1 Corinthians 7:14b).
On The Lord’s Supper:
The Lord’s supper (communion) was decreed by the Lord and He Himself gave it to His church. To the believer taking part in the Lord’s supper it has the following significance: The believer remembers with gratitude the death of his Saviour; he feels that he is united as one body with his Christian brothers; he examines and condemns himself for his spiritual failings, and through faith accepts various blessings into his body and soul.
- “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19-20).
- “For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we are all partakers of that one bread.” (1 Corinthians 10:17).
- “But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:28).
- “For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body.” For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.” (1 Corinthians 11:29-30)
On the Second Coming of the Lord:
The Lord Jesus Christ will come again, not in the humble form of a man again, but glorified to receive His redeemed and His true church.
- “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11).
- “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
- “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28).
On the Final Judgement:
The Lord Jesus will sit as a judge on the “white throne” to judge once and for all those who rejected the offer of his Salvation, and sentence them to hell.
- “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it…and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And whosoever was not found written in the book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-15).