OUR DOCTRINE
​(WHAT WE BELIEVE & TEACH) 
INTRODUCTION
We acknowledge that any doctrinal statement is but an imperfect human attempt to summarise and systematise the riches of God’s perfect, divine revelation given to us in the Scriptures. With this being said, we believe that it is important for a church to clearly articulate the body of truth which they hold to, and which they teach. 

The following summary represents what we as a church believe, in regard to the 11 major doctrines of the Christian faith: THE SCRIPTURES, THE GODHEAD, GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, MANKIND, SIN, SALVATION, THE CHURCH, ANGELS, LAST THINGS. This is not an exhaustive summary, but hopefully gives enough information for a prospective member of CBC to gain a clear understanding of that which forms the foundation for our teaching/doctrine.

When someone is making a decision to join a church, they should always examine the statement of faith, to make sure that the church is founded on the essential truths of Christianity, and that their structure and activities are Biblically based. We recognise that not every believer has formed a conviction on each of these points, that there are issues of a secondary non-essential nature that believers can have differing views about, and also that we as an eldership need to remain humble, and willing to change or modify our position, should we be convinced by Scripture.

Whilst a statement of faith is an important document for each local church to have, it must be acknowledged that it is not our statement of faith, but our faith in practice, which truly demonstrates we are following Christ in a way that brings Him glory. Please click here if you would like to see a video teaching that summarises our statement of faith, taught by Kris Baines (CBC Pastor/Elder)

​NOTE: The Scripture references are hyper-linked - just hover over the reference and it will be displayed in full.

THE SCRIPTURES
We believe and teach that the Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, without error, and is therefore entirely sufficient, authoritative & necessary as the believer’s guide for life. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
  • We believe and teach that the sixty-six books of the Bible are sacred Scripture, the written, objective, propositional revelation of God (1 Thessalonians 2:13) which are the product of the dual authorship of the Holy Spirit and selected men (2 Peter 1:20-21) and as a result are inspired by God in all their parts, fully and equally (2 Timothy 3:16).

  • Being thus divinely inspired, the Scriptures are the Word of God (John 10:35) and are therefore inerrant in the original writings even to the smallest letter (Matthew 5:18).

  • The Scriptures were designed for the practical instruction of believers, and being the final and complete direct revelation from God for this age, constitute the only authoritative and infallible rule of life and practice for every Christian (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 1 Corinthians 4:6).

THE GODHEAD
We believe and teach that there is one God who exists in three distinct persons. (Deuteronomy 6:4, 2 Corinthians 13:14)
  • We believe and teach that there is only one true and living God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7) who exists in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all three being co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial (of the same substance) (Matthew 28:18-19; Mark 12:29; John 1:1, 14; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6).

GOD THE FATHER
We believe and teach that God the Father is the first person of the Trinity, and the Sovereign Initiator of all things. (Ephesians 1:11-12)
  • We believe and teach that God the Father is the centre of all things (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:11), the creator of all things (Genesis 1:31; Ephesians 3:9), the controller of all things in creation, providence, history and salvation (Psalm 103:19; Psalm 145:8-19; 1 Chronicles 29:11; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 1:11).

GOD THE SON
We believe and teach that God the Son is the second person of the Trinity, is both fully God and fully Man, born of a virgin, and came to redeem lost sinners through His substitutional death, burial & resurrection. (John 3:13-18)
  • We believe and teach that God the Son is co-equal with God (John 10:30, 14:9), co-eternal with God (John 8:58), and consubstantial with God, and as such is the pre-existent Son (Isaiah 9:6).

  • We believe and teach that the pre-existent Son became man (John 1:1-2, 14, 6:33, 41) and that He was Jesus of Nazareth (Luke 24:19; Matthew 1:21, 25; 21:11; Mark 1:9) who, though human, was without a sinful nature (Hebrews 4:15) and thus stood apart from sinners (Hebrews 7:26).  In becoming fully man (Luke 2:40; Philippians 2:8) by the virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23-25; Luke 1:26-35), the Son did not cease to be God (John 14:9-10; Colossians 2:9) but possessed all the perfection and attributes of God, and His earth-life sometimes functioned within the sphere of that which was human and sometimes within the sphere of that which was divine.  Taking the form of a servant, He voluntarily surrendered His right to be immediately and constantly worshipped as God (Philippians 2:5-11) veiling His splendour with assumed humanity (Hebrews 10:20).

  • We believe and teach His purpose in coming into the world was to reveal the Father (John 1:18; 14:9-11), which task was accomplished in His earthly life and teachings (John 17:4-8), redeem mankind (Psalm 2:7-9; Hebrews 7:25-27, 9:26; John 3:16-18; 1 Peter 1:18-19), which task was completed fully and finally in His substitutionary propitiatory redemptive death (John 1:29, 10:15, 1 John 2:2; Romans 3:24-25, 5:8, 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18).  That His death was acceptable to the Father is evidenced in the resurrection of Jesus (Hebrews 1:3; Romans 1:4, 4:25; Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31), which was literal and physical.  He is therefore, the only Saviour of the lost (John 14:6; Hebrews 10:5-14; Acts 4:12).

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe and teach that God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, is fully God, with personal attributes, and works in unbelievers to bring conviction and salvation, and in believers to produce Christ-likeness and spiritual fruitfulness (John 16:7-11, 2 Corinthians 3:18)
  • We believe and teach that the Holy Spirit is of one essence and substance with the Father and the Son in their Deity (Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4, 28:25-26; 2 Corinthians 13:14) possessing all the perfection and attributes of God (Psalm 139:7; Isaiah 40:13-14; Romans 15:13).  Moreover, having the capacities of intellect (1 Corinthians 2:10-13), will (1 Corinthians 12:11), and emotion (Ephesians 4:30) He possesses the attributes of personhood (John 14:17, 15:26, 16:7-8).

  • His work is evident in the creation (Genesis 1:2), the incarnation (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35), the production of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21) and in the personal regeneration of every believer in Christ (John 3:5-7).

  • He came to produce Christ-like character in believers (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18) through His control (Ephesians 5:18), instruct Apostles in the complete truth (John 16:12-15; 14:25-26; 15:26; 1 John 2:20, 27; 1 Peter 1:12) which was written and now stands in the Bible as the full and final revelation of the Spirit for this age (Hebrews 2:1-4; 2 Timothy 3:14-17), and also came to impart gifts and graces to the believer for the work of the ministry (1 Corinthians 12:11) according to His sovereign will (1 Corinthians 12:11).

MANKIND
We believe and teach that man was created by God, in the image of God, for the glory of God. (Genesis 1:26-27)
  • We believe and teach that man was created directly and immediately by God in His own image and likeness which pertains to man's personal and moral dimensions (Genesis 1:26, 2:7, 2:15-25; James 3:9).

  • We believe and teach that man was created good in that he was perfect in his innocence, but that he had both the capacity and responsibility to progress through obedience to perfect holiness.  Instead, man rebelled against God who in judgment subjected man to death—spiritual, physical and eternal (Genesis 3:1-19; Ephesians 2:1-4; Revelation 20:11-15).

SIN
We believe and teach that sin entered the world through Adam, and therefore spread to all mankind, leaving man guilty before God, and destined for eternal punishment. (Romans 3:10-19)
  • We believe and teach that in the rebellious act of Adam all of mankind became inherently and totally corrupt (Genesis 6:5; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-19; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:5; Jeremiah 17:9) and being without any recuperative powers within themselves to effect their own recovery (Romans 5:6) mankind became completely and hopelessly lost in relation to God (Luke 15:1-32; Ephesians 2:1-9).  This state of inherent corruption and being lost in relation to God was directly passed to all of Adam's posterity (Romans 5:12-21) the only exception being the Man Christ Jesus (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 1:19).

  • Universal death is the proof of universal sin (Romans 5:12-14) since death comes by sin (Romans 5:12, 6:23).  Left to himself man is irrecoverably sinful (Romans 3:23, 6:23) and stands in need of Christ the Saviour.  All men are thus sinners by nature, choice, practice, and by divine declaration, and are therefore deserving of eternal judgement in hell.

SALVATION
We believe and teach that salvation is by grace alone, through repentant faith alone, in Christ alone, resulting in forgiveness of sin, justification, and the gift of eternal life. (Romans 3:21-26)
  • We believe and teach that salvation is wholly and solely of God's grace (Ephesians 2:8-9) on the basis of the redemption effected through the shedding of Christ’s blood (i.e. Christ's sacrificial death as a substitute for sinners that satisfied God’s justice upon sin: Leviticus 17:11; Matthew 26:28; Romans 3:24-26; 5:6-8; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 2:1-2).  This redemption is made a reality in the life of the believer through the Holy Spirit imparting eternal life and bringing a new nature (John 3:1-18; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5-7).

  • When a believer dies, they are in the immediate and conscious presence of Christ (Luke 16:19-26, 23:42-43; Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8), in which state they exist until the material resurrection of the body (Philippians 3:21; 1 Corinthians 15:35-44, 50-54; John 6:39; Romans 8:10-11, 19-23; 2 Corinthians 4:14).
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  • ELECTION — We believe and teach that election is the act of God by which, before the foundation of the world, He chose in Christ those whom He graciously regenerates, saves, and sanctifies (Romans 8:28-30; Ephesians 1:4-11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Peter 1:1-2).  This election does not contradict or negate the responsibility of man to repent and trust Christ as Saviour and Lord (John 3:18-19, 36; 5:40; Romans 9:22-23; 2 Thessalonians 2:10; Revelation 22:17).  Nevertheless, since sovereign grace includes the means of receiving the gift of salvation as well as the gift itself, sovereign election will result in what God determines.  All whom the Father calls to Himself will come to faith and all who come in faith the Father will receive (John 6:37-40, 44; Acts 13:48; Romans 8:29-30).  We believe and teach that the unmerited favour that God grants to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of their own part nor to God’s anticipation of what they might do by their own will, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy (Romans 9:11-16; Ephesians 1:4-7; Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 1:1-2).  Thus foreknowledge originates in advanced planning, not advanced knowledge (Acts 2:23; Romans 8:29).  We believe and teach that election should not be looked upon as based merely on abstract sovereignty. God is truly sovereign but He exercises His sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, wisdom, grace and love (Romans 9:11-16).  This sovereignty will always exalt the will of God in a manner totally consistent with His character as revealed in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 1:9).
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  • JUSTIFICATION — We believe and teach that justification before God is an act of God (Romans 8:33) by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins (Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38, 3:19,11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Isaiah 55:6-7) and confess Him as sovereign Lord (Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2:11).  This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man (Romans 3:20, 4:6) and involves the placement of our sins on Christ (Colossians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24) and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30, 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  This means that at the moment of faith we pass out of spiritual death into spiritual life (John 5:24) and are accepted by the Father as Christ Himself is accepted, being loved as Christ Himself is loved (John 17:23).  This also means that at the moment of justification the believer receives every spiritual blessing as a possession (Ephesians 1:3; 1 Corinthians 3:21-23) and is complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10), and that while the believer may progress in both the discovery and enjoyment of these blessings already in his possession, a second work of grace or a second blessing is both irrelevant and unnecessary.

  • REGENERATION — We believe and teach that regeneration issues in the inseparable and simultaneous responses of repentance toward God and faith in the divinely provided Saviour (Acts 11:18, 20:21), there being absolutely no other condition whatsoever for salvation (Acts 13:38-39; Romans 3:20, 4:6-7; Titus 3:5), and that regeneration also issues in a new submission to the Spirit-given Word of God (Ephesians 5:17-21; Colossians 3:16; 2 Peter 1:4-10).  Good works, righteous attitudes and conduct, will be the proper evidence and fruit of regeneration (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13; James 2:14-18; 2 Peter 1:4-10; 1 John 1:6, 2:3-5).

  • SANCTIFICATION — We believe and teach that every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and is consequently identified as a saint.  This positional sanctification is instantaneous and should not be confused with progressive sanctification.  Positional sanctification has to do with the believer's standing not his present walk or condition (Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2).  We further believe and teach that there is also, by the work of the Holy Spirit, a progressive sanctification by which the state of the believer is brought closer to the standing the believer positionally enjoys through justification.  Through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ (John 17:17, 19; Romans 6:1-22; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 5:23).  In this respect we believe and teach that this will entail continual and unending conflict in the believer's life—the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh.  However, adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:5-17).  The struggle, nevertheless, stays with the believer all through this earthly life until the believer leaves this life either through death or translation (rapture), because the believer has within, both the old nature of the flesh and the new nature of the Spirit.  All claims of the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural.  Eradication of sin is not possible, but the Holy Spirit does provide for victory over sin (Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9).

  • SECURITY — We believe and teach that once saved, the believer is kept by God's power and grace (1 Peter 1:3-5; John 17:11; 1 Corinthians 1:8-9) and that such a security is guaranteed by virtue of the intrinsic nature of eternal life (John 10:27-30), the intercessory ministry and advocacy of Christ for the believer (Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1-2; Luke 22:32), and the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer (John 14:16-17; Romans 8:1-11; Ephesians 4:30).  Thus the believer is secure in Christ forever, there being no condemnation (Romans 8:1) and no separation (Romans 8:39).  Since God saves the believer apart from human merit (Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9), He will not reject those He has chosen (Ephesians 1:4) because of demerit in themselves, but He will present them faultless before the presence of His glory (Jude 24) conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).  He who is faithful in the calling will not fail in the consummation (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 13:5).

  • ASSURANCE — We believe and teach that it is the privilege of all who are born again by the Spirit through faith in Christ, to experience the assurance of eternal salvation from the very moment of their faith in Christ as Saviour, and that this assurance is based on the personal witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:16), and the Word of God (1 John 5:11-13; John 5:24), which clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion for sinful living and carnality (Romans 6:15-22; Galatians 5:13).

  • SEPARATION — We believe and teach that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments, and that the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5).  We believe and teach that out of deep gratitude for the undeserved grace of God granted to us, and because our glorious God is so worthy of our total consecration, all the saved should live in such a manner as to demonstrate our adoring love to God and so as not to bring reproach upon our Lord and Saviour.  We also believe and teach that separation from all religious apostasy, and worldly and sinful practices is commanded of us by God (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 1 John 2:15-17; 2 John 9-11).  We believe and teach that believers should be separated unto our Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 12:1-2) and affirm that the Christian life is one of obedient righteousness demonstrated by a Beatitude attitude (Matthew 5:2-12) and a continual pursuit of holiness (Romans 12:1-2; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Hebrews 12:14; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 3:1-10).​

THE CHURCH
We believe and teach that there is one universal Church (the Body of Christ) made up of all true believers, with Christ as the Head, and that the local church is to function under the care and oversight of God-appointed, biblically qualified leadership to fulfil the Great Commission. (1 Corinthians 12:13, Ephesians 4:10-16, Matthew 28:18-20)
  • We believe and teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their membership or non-membership of any denomination, are at that moment of faith, immediately immersed (“baptized”) into the one spiritual Church by means of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:11-3:6).  The spiritual Church is related to Christ both as His Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23), His Bride (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 19:7-8), and He is Head of both (Ephesians 1:22, 4:15; Colossians 1:18).

  • We believe and teach that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18) and that the church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty.  The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the local church are elders and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualification (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5).  These leaders lead as servants of Christ (1 Timothy 5:17-22) and have His authority in directing the church within the bounds of scriptural absolutes.  The congregation is to imitate their leader's faith and submit to their leadership (Hebrews 13:7, 17).

  • We believe and teach that there are two ordinances for the Church:  Baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:19) and the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
ANGELS
We believe and teach that there are two types of angelic beings – angels that serve and worship God, and fallen angels led by Satan, who are the rebellious enemies of God. (Revelation 5:11-12 & 12:9)
  • Holy Angels—We believe and teach that angels are created beings and are therefore not to be worshipped.  Although they are a higher order of creation than man, they are created to serve God and to worship Him (Luke 2:9-14; Hebrews 1:6-7, 14, 2:6-7; Revelation 5:11-14, 19:10, 22:9).
 
  • Fallen Angels—We believe and teach that Satan is a created angel and the author of sin.  He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator, taking angels with him (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 12:1-14), and by introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve (Genesis 3:1-15).  We believe and teach that Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Matthew 4:1-11; Revelation 12:9-10), the prince of this world who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire along with his angels and followers (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).
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LAST THINGS
We believe and teach that Christ will come back to this earth for His saints (The Rapture of the Church), and then will return with His saints (The Second Coming), to rule on earth for a thousand years (The Millennium), judge the earth, and lead the redeemed into eternal glory. (John 14:1-3, 2 Timothy 4:1)
  • We believe that the Second Coming of Christ to this earth, will be preceded by the Rapture of the Church (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:51-53; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14), and the Tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10). When Christ returns with His church He will establish the millennial age, the thousand year reign of Christ known as The Millennium (Acts 1:6, 3:19-22; Isaiah 11:1-16, 65:17-25; Ezekiel 36:33-38; Revelation 20:1-7). After this, Christ will judge the world (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15), and the saved will enter the eternal state of glory known as The New Heavens and the New Earth (John 17:3; Revelation 21-22).