What We Believe

Our worldview determines what we believe about the big questions of life: Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? And on the question of origins, it is worth noting first of all that everybody has to believe in miracles — even atheists and evolutionists.

Our beliefs are outlined below:

1. THE BIBLE The Bible is the Word of God and without error — we believe that a God who is powerful enough to create the universe must also be powerful enough to ensure that his Word is accurately recorded and preserved for us. (Jeremiah 10:12; Isaiah 40:8)

2. GOD The Bible reveals that there is one true creator God, eternally existing in the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (John 1:1, 14; Acts 5:3-4)

3. CREATION God is good and created a perfect world in six literal days about 6,000 years ago. We understand that (a) scientific evidence supports a young earth; (b) natural selection is the opposite of evolution; (c) Darwinism is contested by a growing number of scientists. Everything God created was perfect — the spirit realm, the physical universe, the earth, the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom, and man. Adam and Eve were the crowning achievement of all that God created. Unlike the animals, Adam and Eve were created in the image of God — they had a free will with which they could love him, and they lived in close fellowship with him in a garden paradise called Eden. (Genesis 1 & 2; Exodus 20:11; Mark 10:6)

4. THE ORIGIN OF SIN AND DEATH Before long there was rebellion in the spirit realm, and Satan tempted Adam and Eve to question God’s word and disobey him. The whole world was corrupted as a result of Adam’s sin — the plant kingdom produced thorns and thistles, and certain animals became carnivorous. Worst of all, Adam and Eve’s close relationship with God was broken. Death and suffering entered the world for the very first time. Adam and Eve became sinners separated from God, and their descendants ever since — all of us — have been born into this broken world with a sinful nature inherited from Adam, separated from God. (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12)

5. JESUS God’s plan for restoring his broken creation required that he personally enter into it as a man — Jesus came into this world born of the virgin Mary (without inheriting a sinful nature from Adam). Jesus is fully God and fully man. (John 1:1, 14)

6. THE CROSS God is a God of justice, and therefore he must judge sin in keeping with his righteous character. We understand this because we are created in his image, with a sense of justice, crying out against the suffering and inhumanity and sin we see in the world today. And we know that we ourselves are sinners and stand guilty before a holy God. However, God is also a God of love. This is how he demonstrated his love for us: Jesus — God in the flesh — died on a cross to pay the penalty for the sins of the whole world. He loves us and voluntarily died in our place. On the third day he conquered death through his resurrection and after forty days he ascended back to heaven. (Isaiah 53:5-6; Romans 3:23, 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 John 2:2)

7. REPENTANCE God commands us to repent, or turn away, from sin — we must turn to God, gratefully accepting the forgiveness offered to us through the cross. When we repent of our sins and believe in what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we enter into a whole new relationship with God. We are no longer under God’s wrath “in Adam”, but accepted “in Christ”, forgiven of all our sins, reconciled to our merciful Father, and lovingly adopted into his family. Christianity is not about trying to “work our way to God” as if our good deeds could somehow outweigh our bad deeds and earn God’s favor — on the contrary, we are saved by God’s grace (undeserved favor) through faith alone in what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross. (Acts 26:20; Ephesians 2:8-10)

8. BAPTISM The moment we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus we receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Water baptism by full immersion is the biblical way to show that we have forsaken our old ways and have made the decision to trust in Jesus. (Ephesians 1:13-14; Acts 10:47-48)

9. CHURCH From this new position as born-again Christians, forgiven and adopted into God’s family, we prioritize church fellowship, Bible study, prayer and evangelism. We must “take up our own cross daily” to be a disciple of Jesus, becoming more and more like him, growing in grace, dying to self-will and seeking to do God’s will. Celebrating the Lord’s Supper together on a regular basis helps us to remember Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and to look forward to his return in the future. (Hebrews 10:25; Psalm 119:15-20; Colossians 4:2-6; Luke 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 11:26)

10. THE RETURN OF CHRIST Jesus promised that he will come back one day to judge the world and establish his kingdom, and warned us to be prepared for hardship as we watch for the signs of his return. In keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, restored to their original perfection — the paradise that was lost in the beginning will be regained, and God will once again dwell with man upon the earth. (Matthew 24; 1 Thessalonians 5:4; 2 Peter 3; Revelation 21 & 22)

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin [Jesus] to be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:20—6:2 NIV

I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. Acts 26:20 NIV

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9—10 NIV

If you would like to know more about becoming a Christian and getting baptized, or if you have any further questions, please contact one of our pastors. We look forward to hearing from you!

Contact us

Steve Müller 0488 101 777 steve@homechurchgladstone.com

Jaco Louw 0431 756 414 jaco@homechurchgladstone.com

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