CORE BELIEFS
As a church, we are evangelical, reformed and Anglican. We believe in the historic teachings of the Christian church and affirm both the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. As an Anglican church, we also affirm the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the theology expressed in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. We also affirm the Jerusalem Declaration and are affiliated with the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.
1. About the Bible
We believe that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is God’s word: divinely inspired and infallible. The Bible is the supreme authority for all matters of faith and conduct. At the heart of the Bible is a story of God’s love for his creation and his active involvement in pursuing the people he has made. We believe the Bible is sufficient for knowing God and for equipping us with everything we need for life and godliness (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:3-21).
2. About God
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and personally, to judge humanity and to establish the new creation – the new heavens and the new earth. We believe in the bodily resurrection from the dead of all people: some to eternal life and the new creation, and others to punishment and damnation. For those who belong to Christ, that day will be a day of great celebration and rejoicing as God himself wipes every tear away and removes all pain. God will dwell with his people for all eternity: visibly, personally, intimately. Sin, Satan and evil will have no place in God’s new world – it will be a place of perfect relationships (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, Revelation 21-22).
3. About Humanity
We believe that men and women are created in the image of God to govern and care for the world that God made. They have a unique relationship with God and were designed to live in worship of him. However, human beings arrogantly asserted their independence from God and opened the door for Evil. Since the Fall, human beings have been universally sinful and guilty before God and affirm this daily. They are, deservingly, under the wrath and condemnation of God because of their sin and because of his holiness. Human beings suppress the truth about God, such that they cannot recognise their problem. They are dead in sin, unable to save themselves (Genesis 1:26-28; Romans 3:9-18; Ephesians 2:1-3).
4. About Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God: fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. In becoming human, he experienced the full range of human emotions, temptations and desires and yet was without sin. Through his death on the cross and rising to new life, he accomplished what we could not do ourselves, freeing us from the guilt, penalty and power of sin. He is our representative and substitute. In dying he paid the penalty for sin, and in his bodily resurrection he was vindicated by God as the Lord of a renewed world. He has ascended to the Father’s side where he reigns as Lord of the universe. What is true of the Messiah is true of his people: we share in his sufferings, his death, his resurrection and his ascension. He intercedes and advocates for his people. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead (Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-2; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Peter 2:24; I Corinthians 15:20-28; Acts 1:9-10; Acts 17:30-31; 1 Peter 4:5).
5. About the Holy Spirit
We believe that no one can turn to God in repentance and faith without the Spirit enabling that person to do so. He is, therefore, “the Lord, the giver of life”, making the death and resurrection of Jesus effective for every believer. He dwells within all believers and works in them. His presence marks out God’s people and is a deposit guaranteeing the future inheritance we have in Christ. The Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son, but acts to direct glory to Jesus Christ. He leads God’s people into all truth by enabling them to understand Scripture and convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. The ongoing work of the Spirit is to sanctify the believer by transforming them into the image of Christ. The Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church and produces fruit in the life of the individual believer (John 14:26; John 16:7-15; Romans 8:9-11; Galatians 5:16-25; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11).
6. About the Church
We believe that there is one, universal Church built on the teaching of the Apostles. It is the body of Christ, with Christ himself as its head. It is not a human creation but God building his kingdom, visible here on earth. The Church consists of all true believers from all generations and denominations. Those who are saved are automatically members of this Church. The Church exists for two main purposes: to grow upwards and outwards. The Church grows upwards as believers meet together under God’s word, encouraging and directing one another towards maturity in Christ Jesus. The Church grows outwards as it declares the gospel of the risen Lord Jesus and as the Spirit works to bring people from death to life. The local church (like St Matt’s) is a visible manifestation of the body of Christ. Christians are called not simply to believe, but to belong to a local church where they can help the body grow upwards and outwards (Ephesians 1:22-23, 2:19-22, 4:14-16; Titus 1:5-11).
7. About the Future
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and personally, to judge humanity and to establish the new creation – the new heavens and the new earth. We believe in the bodily resurrection from the dead of all people: some to eternal life and the new creation, and others to punishment and damnation. For those who belong to Christ, that day will be a day of great celebration and rejoicing as God himself wipes every tear away and removes all pain. God will dwell with his people for all eternity: visibly, personally, intimately. Sin, Satan and evil will have no place in God’s new world – it will be a place of perfect relationships (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10, Revelation 21-22).