Our Statement of Faith is adapted from the official Affirmation of Faith of The Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.
1. THE BIBLE
We believe the Bible to be the complete Word of God; that the sixty-six books, comprising the Old and New Testaments were verbally inspired by the Spirit of God and were entirely free from error in the original manuscripts as first written; that the Bible is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice and the true basis of Christian fellowship and union. (2 Tim. 3:16,17; 2 Peter 1:20,21)
2. GOD
We believe in one God, Creator of all, holy, sovereign, eternal, existing in three equal Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Isa. 40:28; John 1:1-4, 14:16-20)
3. CHRIST
We believe in the absolute and essential deity of Jesus Christ, in His eternal existence with the Father in pre-incarnate glory, in His virgin birth, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, triumphant ascension, mediatorial ministry and personal return. (John 1:14; Luke 1:30-35; Col. 1:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2Cor. 5:21; Acts 1:9-11)
4. THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the absolute and essential deity and personality of the Holy Spirit; who convinces of sin, righteousness and of Judgement; who regenerates, sanctifies, illuminates and comforts those who believe in Jesus Christ; and gave gifts to the church for its edification and ministry. (John 14: 16-20, 16:7-14; Acts 5:3-5; 1Cor. 12:7-13)
5. SATAN
We believe that Satan exists as an evil personality, the originator of sin, the arch-enemy of God and man. He and his demonic forces are doomed to eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
(Ezek. 28:12-16, John 8:44, Rev. 20:10)
6. MANKIND
We believe that mankind was divinely created in the image of God; that Adam and Eve sinned, becoming guilty before God, resulting in total depravity, thereby incurring physical and spiritual death. (Gen. 1:27, 31; 3:1-6; Isa. 53:6, Eph.2:1-3)
7. SALVATION
We believe that salvation is by the sovereign, electing grace of God; that by the appointment of the Father, Christ voluntarily suffered a vicarious, expiatory and propitiatory death; that justification is by faith alone in the all-sufficient sacrifice and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that those whom God has effectually called shall be divinely preserved and finally perfected in the image of the Lord.
(Eph. 2:8, 9; Rom. 3:21-26, 8:28-39; 1 Peter 1:1-9)
8. FUTURE THINGS
We believe in the personal, imminent, bodily and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ; in the rapture of the church; in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust; in the eternal blessedness of the redeemed and in the judgement and conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked. (John 5:25-29, 14:1-3; 1Thes. 4:13-18; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15, 21:1-4)
9. THE LOCAL CHURCH
We believe that a church is a company of immersed believers, called out from the world, separated unto the Lord Jesus, voluntarily associated for the ministry of the Word, the mutual edification of its members, the propagation of the faith and the observance of the ordinances. We believe it is a sovereign, independent body, exercising its own divinely awarded gifts, precepts and privileges under the Lordship of Christ, the Great Head of the church. We believe that its primary, biblical officers are Pastors/Elders and Deacons. (Eph. 2:19-21, 4:11-13; Phil. 1:1; Tim. 3:1-13)
10. ORDINANCES
We believe that there are only two ordinances for the church regularly observed in the New Testament: (Acts 2:41, 42)
a. Baptism which is the immersion of the believer in water, in obedience to Christ’s command and public identification with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. (Matt. 28:19, 20; Acts 8: 36-38; Rom. 6:4; Col. 2:12)
b. The Lord’s Supper which is the memorial wherein the believer partakes of the two elements, bread and cup, which symbolize the Lord’s broken body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes.
(Matt. 26:26-30; 1Cor. 10:14-17; 1 Cor. 11:23-29)
11. THE CHURCH AND STATE
a. We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interest and good order of society; that authorities are to be prayed for, conscientiously honoured and obeyed; except only in the things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 12:17-21, 13:1-7, 1Tim.2:1-4, Acts 4:18-20)
b. We believe that God is sovereign over both church and state and that the church is independent and free, under Christ, from the interference or control of the state in matters of faith and conscience. (1Pet. 2:13-17)
c. We believe that Christians individually and corporately have a responsibility to address issues of moral, ethical and spiritual concern in society, advocating for Biblical principles of faith and conduct as the Lord gives them opportunity. (Matt.5:13-16)
d. We believe in religious liberty in our society; that everyone has the right to practice and propagate his or her beliefs. (Acts 17:16-31)
12. THE LORD’S DAY
We believe that Sunday, the first day of the week is the Lord’s Day and that, in a special sense, it is the divinely appointed day for worship and spiritual exercise. (John 20:19, 26; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1, 2)
13. MARRIAGE
a. We believe the Bible clearly teaches marriage is the covenant union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others, in which they commit, with God's help, to build a loving, life-giving, faithful relationship that will last for a lifetime. (Matt. 19:4-6)
b. God has established the married state in the order of creation and redemption, for husband and wife to grow in love for one another and for the procreation, nurture, and education of children. (Eph. 5:21-6:4)
c. We affirm that the Bible teaches that sexual intimacy is to be practiced only within the context of marriage between a man and a woman. (Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:13-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)