The following are our convictions and beliefs about the fundamental truths of our faith in God and His son Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

HOLY BIBLE

We believe the “Holy Bible” is the only book worthy to be called “Word of God” and all the 66 books (both Old and New Testament) within it are inspired and infallible. It is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that those who believe and obey it may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16). We consider the scriptures of the Holy Bible to be the supreme and ultimate authority in matters related to faith and practice. It is our conviction that there is no other writing that can stand inequality with the Holy Bible.

GOD

We believe in one God who revealed Himself as eternally existent in three distinct Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit (John 1:1-4, 2 Corinthians 13:14) and yet one in being, essence and glory (John 10:30). We renounce every teaching that denies the existence of the Triune God or Godhead of Trinity.

JESUS CHRIST

We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ who was God in human form (John 1:18), the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15), conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (Matthew 1:23), truly fully God and truly fully man at the same time (John 1:1, 14), lived a perfect and sinless life (1 John 3:5), died on the cross for atonement of sins of entire mankind (1 John 2:2), was physically resurrected from the dead (Matthew 28:6, 1 Peter 1:3), ascended to Heaven in His glorified body (Acts 1:9-10), appeared before the Father as our High Priest, Advocate and Mediator (Romans 8:34, Hebrews 7:25) and is coming again for His Church (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We condemn and deny every doctrine that does not recognize the Lord Jesus Christ’s deity or humanity or both, His virgin birth, His perfect sinlessness, His substitutionary death, His bodily resurrection and ascension, His sovereignty and His second coming.

HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the deity of the Holy Spirit who is the absolute Person and God (Acts 5:3-4). We believe that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to make His permanent dwelling in believers. The Holy Spirit is not just some kind of power or force but is described in the Bible as having the knowledge, will and emotion           (1 Corinthians 2:11-12, 12:11, Ephesians 4:30). He regenerates sinners (Titus 3:5) whereby a person is born again to be a child of God and dwells in believers
(Romans 8:9, John 14:17).  The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16:8). The baptism of the Holy Spirit unites all believers in one Body of Christ, the universal Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-14). He is the seal that guarantees the salvation of believers unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14). He anoints and gives power to all yielded believers to live in victory and serve God faithfully (Acts 1:8). The evidence of a Spirit-filled life is seen in the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22) clearly displayed in the life of a believer.  We believe that the Holy Spirit will distribute spiritual gifts to believers according to His sovereign will for the edification of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:11).

We renounce all teachings that deny the personhood and deity of the Holy Spirit. We also renounce all weird manifestations contrary to the word of God that occur while being claimed to be filled/baptized in the Holy Spirit which is often accompanied by a lot of emotional stirring.

SALVATION

We believe man is eternally lost and separated from God due to sin (Isaiah 59:2, Romans 3:23). All disobedience to the commandments of God and rebellion against Him is sin (1 John 3:4). Sin entered the world through Adam when he disobeyed God and thus brought spiritual and physical death to all mankind (Romans 5:12).  We, the children of Adam, have inherited sinful nature since birth and are totally depraved in all our words, thoughts and deeds. We deserve to be rightfully punished for
violating the law of a righteous and holy God. We became God’s enemies by sinning against Him through doing our own will (Romans 5:10).  The punishment for sin is death, i.e. separation from God- the source of life (Romans 3:23). The Bible declares that all sinners will face wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed (Romans 2:5). Sin must be removed or paid for to be reconciled to God and the law requires a bloody sacrifice of an innocent and sinless life as a substitution for sin (Hebrews 9:22). In order to save us from sin and His impending wrath, God in His love sent His son who was incarnated in the person of Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus died on the cross as a sin offering (Romans 8:3-4) and was resurrected on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-6). He became the mediator between God and man; and the only way to reach God the Father (John 14:6).  Salvation is being saved from the penalty, power and presence of sin. The Bible speaks of salvation that involves Justification (Ephesians 2:8), Sanctification (Philippians 2:12) and Glorification (Romans 13:11). The only way salvation can be received is through repentance (change of mind) and faith in the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. No amount of good works can earn us the forgiveness of our sins because salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). In other words, salvation can be received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. The truly saved believers will display the signs of salvation through their transformed lives which bear the fruit of salvation. We also believe in the doctrine of eternal security and God’s preservation of believers till the end (John 10:28).

We reject all teaching that does not acknowledge the fallen state of mankind and believes salvation can be obtained by good works.

GOSPEL

We believe in the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ as preached by His disciples and apostles in the New Testament. The gospel which is the message of the cross is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16). The gospel is a bold, powerful and saving message that can truly reform the corrupt human heart. It is the good news about God’s love for all mankind (irrespective of race, colour or religion) manifested through the life, death and resurrection of Lord Jesus Christ. It is all about what God accomplished through the death and resurrection of His son Jesus Christ for the salvation of sinners. (1 Corinthians 15:3-6, John 3:16, Romans 3:23-26, Romans 5:7-8, Romans 6:23, Colossians 1:13)

We reject all false teachings that have crept in Christendom about the gospel which emphasizes on physical healing, material prosperity, worldly success, religious activities, escaping hell and gaining entrance to heaven, good works or any temporal earthly blessings.

BORN-AGAIN 

We believe a person is born-again in the heart through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit to become a child of God and become part of God’s family (John 3:6-8, John 1:12-13). We cannot enter God’s kingdom unless we are born-again (John 3:3). It is the work of the Holy Spirit to impart eternal life to the person who is being born-again (2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1-4, 18).  A truly born-again believer has an appetite for the word of God and desires to know God through His word (1 Peter 2:2). Being born-again does not mean living a perfectly sinless life but living a life of perpetual victory over conscious sin through walking in Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

We reject any teaching that contradicts with the above truth of God’s word on the subject of being born-again.

CHURCH

We believe Church is not a building or property you go to, it is a family of believers of Lord Jesus Christ who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit and are united in the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 12:27). Jesus Christ has the supreme authority over His church as its Head and every member of the local church is called to witness to the lost and serve the Body of Christ for its edification (Mark 16:15-16, Ephesians 2:19-20 and 4:16). It is a command in the New Testament for every believer to be part of a local church and grow with other members of the body without neglecting the church fellowship or meetings (1 Corinthians 11:18-20, Hebrews 10:25, Acts 2:42).

We believe that the church is not just about programs or activities, rather it is a loving community where members walk in love for one another, pray for one another, watch over one another, bear with one another, care for one another in sickness or trouble, sympathize with one another, reconcile with one another while guarding themselves not to take offense, mindful of one another by being humble, gentle and patient (Hebrews 3:13, Ephesians 6:18, Galatians 6:10, Romans 12:13, Colossians 3:12-14, Romans 12:16-21, Ephesians 4:1-3).

The local church has the freedom to self-govern without any control from external authorities (Titus 1:5) and can work with other churches for extension of God’s kingdom (Romans 16:16, 1 Corinthians 16:20).  We believe that small community churches function effectively as it will be easier to oversee, disciple and have an intimate fellowship to exercise spiritual gifts by every member (Acts 20:28, Hebrews 3:13, Acts 2:42, 1 Peter 4:10). When the small community outgrows, we believe it has to multiply to form another smaller fellowship. The church is not called to remain stagnant, complacent and small. We believe that a church has to be led by a plurality of elders who must have biblical qualifications as seen in the scriptures (Acts 14:23; 20:28; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 4:17; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; James 5:14; 1 Peter 5:1-5).

RE-BIRTH

We believe that all people are born and die in flesh only once. After death, all have to face judgment and eternity (Hebrews 9:27). We do not believe in re-birth, purgatory, universal salvation and transmigration. We strongly believe in the reality of Heaven and Hell as described in the Holy Bible (Hebrews 10:34, Revelation 20:15).

BAPTISM

We believe in baptism by total immersion in water in the name of the Father, the Son (Lord Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit which is an important step of obedience for a believer after salvation and is a means of making a public declaration of faith in Christ. We strongly believe that every born-again believer should be water baptized. Water baptism illustrates our identification with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ as the act of immersing in water and coming out of it is being performed (Romans 6:3-4). Baptism is an important step of obedience after salvation but cannot be a requirement for salvation. Adding anything (including baptism) to the finished work of Christ on the cross makes it incomplete and suggests that Jesus’ death on the cross was not sufficient to purchase our salvation.  Baptism is not a ceremonial act of purification as it cannot save us from sin. However, it saves us from having a bad conscience since it is a pledge of a good conscience toward God (1 Peter 3:21). Since baptism is only for believers who place their faith in Christ, we do not practice baptizing infants as they cannot place their faith in Christ or make a conscious decision to obey Him.  Baptism is neither a sign of the New Covenant nor a replacement for Old Covenant circumcision.  We do not force any believer to be baptized as it is his or her own choice to obey the word of God and be committed to Jesus as their Savior and Lord.  We also believe that is biblical for any committed and growing believer to baptize others and he need not necessarily be a pastor (John 4:2, Acts 8:12, 8:36-39, 9:18; 22:16; 1 Corinthians 1:17).

 

With this in view, we reject baptism as being required for salvation and do not practice infant baptism (paedobaptism).

TITHING AND GIVING

We believe tithing is an Old Testament requirement under the Law given to the Israelites where a 10 percent of income (crops, livestock etc.) is given to the temple (Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:26, Deuteronomy 14:24, 2 Chronicles 31:5). After the Lord Jesus Christ died and fulfilled the Law, it is nowhere commanded or recommended in the New Testament to submit to a legalistic tithe system.  Also, there is no percentage of income designated in the New Testament that a believer must set aside to give for the Lord’s work.  However, the New Testament says we must give as we are able (1 Corinthians 16:2), and that could mean sometimes more than 10 percent or sometimes less than that. It also mentions that every believer must give what he has decided in his heart (voluntarily), not reluctantly or under compulsion, but cheerfully with pure motives as an attitude of worship to God and service to the body of Christ (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Lord Jesus Christ also commanded that all charitable deeds must be done in secret (Matthew 6:3-4).

We do not force people to give offerings for the work of ministry and do not receive any money from unbelievers for God’s work (3 John 7). It is our firm belief that our God who called us to serve Him is more than able to fulfil all the needs of His work (2 Corinthians 9:6-8).  We encourage believers to care for their family needs, clear their debts and have a clear conscience before they give for God’s work. We also encourage every believer to pray diligently and seek God’s wisdom in the matter of giving and/or how much to give (James 1:5).