Two ways to liveGod is the
King of heaven and earth. We have all rejected God's rule
because we want to run our own lives. But that way ends in eternal
death. God has communicated to us through the Bible to show us that
there is still a way of eternal life for us, and an escape from the
misery that we bring on ourselves in this world. That way is to
submit to Jesus Christ.
Let's have a look at what all this means in some
more detail:
Background
You will note from our church's
name that we are Reformed. Reformed theology developed at the
time of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. At that
time God raised up a number of key men who led the church back to
biblical emphases after a time of great decline in the belief and
practice of the church. The reforms they made in doctrine and
practice were thoroughly biblical and God honouring, and that is why
we continue to stand by them today.
God is
Sovereign
God (Father,
Son and Holy Spirit) is the Creator of heaven and earth and
everything in them. He rules and upholds all things. Nothing
happens by chance, but everything is under His perfect control.
We should be
humble and reverent in the presence of such a great God. It is not
appropriate to be flippant or casual in speaking to or about Him.
We are to be dependent on Him in prayer and in child-like trust,
even in times of suffering and trial, which God allows for our
good. We are to live for His glory and honour above all else.
The Bible
(Scripture) is Authoritative
The Bible is
God's authoritative Word. It is sufficient to teach us about God,
and about how we should live as Christians. We do not look for or
expect new revelations from God. We believe that the study and
proclamation of the Word of God should be central both to the life
of the Christian and the life of the Church.
People Need
Salvation
People are
made in the image of God and have been given the faculties of
intellect, emotion and will so that they may serve God and glorify
Him. However, sin has brought separation from God and has rendered
mankind spiritually dead. As sinners, we do not naturally seek
after God or do what is right. In fact, by nature we are the
enemies of God and subject to His wrath.
The only hope
for people lost in sin is that they are born again by the inward
work of the Holy Spirit. Only then will they begin to seek after
God and place their faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. Because we cannot
save ourselves, we need someone else to save us, and only Jesus Christ can
do that. He is the only mediator between God and man; our only
Saviour and Redeemer.
To be saved
by Jesus Christ, we must repent of our sin and believe that He died in our
place, taking the punishment for our sins on Himself and fulfilling
the requirements of God's law for us. Only when we have such faith
in Jesus Christ can we be pardoned by God and declared righteous in His
sight.
Saved by
Grace Alone
Salvation is
the work of God. We cannot save ourselves by our own efforts or
good works. God alone can save us by His free grace. We confess,
along with the Apostle Paul, that "It is by grace you have been
saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift
of God, not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians
2:8,9).
Belief in
God's sovereign work in salvation, however, does not remove our
responsibility. We are all called to respond to God - to seek Him,
to love Him with all our heart, to obey His Word, and to submit to
the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we do so, we give thanks to God
for His grace at work in us.
The Church is
Important
·
God intends
those who are saved to meet and worship together in local churches,
which are the visible expression of Christ's body.
·
Christians
should be seriously committed to a local church, meeting regularly
with the believers, using their gifts to help build up the body, and
submitting to the oversight of the elders.
·
The work of
the Holy Spirit is essential to the life of the local church and the
individual Christian. While some of the gifts of the Spirit were
temporary for the establishment of the Christian church and the
giving of foundational revelation, many of the gifts of the Spirit
continue today, and are given to each member of the church for the
up-building of the body.
·
As members of
a local church, we should be united in the teaching of the apostles,
in fellowship, in the sacraments and in prayer (Acts
2:42).
We meet together on the Lord's Day, Sunday, to worship God. Our
worship services are public meetings - you are most welcome to join
with us in worshipping our God. In our services we sing praises to
God and pray to him. We also hear God speak to us from His word, and
are encouraged in our Christian lives as this word is explained to
us.
We believe that Christian fellowship is important. As believers
we share in Jesus Christ and in all his treasures and gifts. Since
this is so, we consider it our duty to use our gifts readily and
cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members of
the church.
As a member of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand, we subscribe
to these three historic creeds of the church:
Apostles'
Creed
Nicene
Creed
Athanasian
Creed
And the following four historic confessions (Summaries of
biblical teaching):
The
Heidelberg Catechism
The Belgic
Confession
The Canons of
Dort
The
Westminster Confession
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