FAITH STATEMENT
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: FATHER, SON (THE WORD) and HOLY SPIRIT. (1John 5:7).
GOD THE FATHER - We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and saves us from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:48; Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 11:3; Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:2-3; Psalm 103:19; Ephesians 1:11; 1 Kings 8:27; and Psalm 90:2)
THE SON - We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His life, and making atonement for the sin of the world by His shed blood and death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and His high priestly intercession for His people. We believe in His personal, visible and triumphant return to the world at the end of this age according to His promise. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Hebrews 10:9; John 1:29; 1 John 2:1-2; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; and Acts 1:11).
THE HOLY SPIRIT - We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convict the world of sin, to convince the world of righteousness, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ. (John 15:26; John 16:8-11; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:1-3).
MAN - We believe that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice. (Genesis 2:15-17; and Romans 3:10-12, 23).
REPENTANCE - God but now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). Man needs to repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
SALVATION - We believe that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). We believe that all who believe by faith, Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord are born again of the Holy Spirit and, therefore, become children of God. We believe that justification means that a person is declared righteous in the sight of God by grace through faith in Christ. (John 1:12; Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:13; 2:8-10).
BAPTISM - We believe that baptism is an integral part of the salvation journey and shoud be observed when physically possible. It is absolutely necessary as part of your salvation journey with the exception of when it is not possible such as the thief who repented on the cross next to Jesus. Since baptism is a sign of death, a person who is about to die will not require it, like the thief on the cross. In baptism we are buried and resurrected with Jesus ( Colossians 2:12), our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16) and we get a new identity (Colossians 3:10). If a person does not get baptised then it is still possible for them to be saved with genuine faith but they will find it hard to enter into their promise and receive proper deliverance from their past since their old personality is not buried. For more teaching please click here.
SPEAKING IN OTHER TONGUES - We believe that all born-again believers are able to speak in a spiritual language unique to their spirit (1 Corinthians 14:18 ). This is not to be confused with the prophetic gift of tongues as mentioned in (1 Corinthians 12:10) which is for the building up and encouragement of the church.
STATUS IN ETERNITY - We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost. (Matthew 25:46).
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY - We believe that every human being has responsibility to God alone in all matters of faith and salvation. (Romans 14:11-12).
THE CHURCH - We believe in the Church - a living, spiritual body in which Christ is the Head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that a visible church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, buried and resurrected with Him in baptism and associated for the purpose of leading believers toward maturity through worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism. We believe that Christ has committed to the local church, the ordinances of Baptism and Communion to be observed until He comes, and that Christ has committed to the church the responsibility to proclaim to a lost world their need to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and to recognise Him as Lord.
GOD THE FATHER - We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and saves us from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:48; Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 11:3; Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:2-3; Psalm 103:19; Ephesians 1:11; 1 Kings 8:27; and Psalm 90:2)
THE SON - We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, sinless in His life, and making atonement for the sin of the world by His shed blood and death on the cross. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and His high priestly intercession for His people. We believe in His personal, visible and triumphant return to the world at the end of this age according to His promise. (Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:14; Hebrews 10:9; John 1:29; 1 John 2:1-2; John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17; and Acts 1:11).
THE HOLY SPIRIT - We believe in the Holy Spirit, who came forth from God to convict the world of sin, to convince the world of righteousness, and of judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ. (John 15:26; John 16:8-11; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 12:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; and 1 Peter 1:1-3).
MAN - We believe that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), that he sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death but also spiritual death, which is separation from God; and that all human beings are sinners by nature and by choice. (Genesis 2:15-17; and Romans 3:10-12, 23).
REPENTANCE - God but now commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). Man needs to repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
SALVATION - We believe that "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). We believe that all who believe by faith, Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord are born again of the Holy Spirit and, therefore, become children of God. We believe that justification means that a person is declared righteous in the sight of God by grace through faith in Christ. (John 1:12; Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:13; 2:8-10).
BAPTISM - We believe that baptism is an integral part of the salvation journey and shoud be observed when physically possible. It is absolutely necessary as part of your salvation journey with the exception of when it is not possible such as the thief who repented on the cross next to Jesus. Since baptism is a sign of death, a person who is about to die will not require it, like the thief on the cross. In baptism we are buried and resurrected with Jesus ( Colossians 2:12), our sins are washed away (Acts 22:16) and we get a new identity (Colossians 3:10). If a person does not get baptised then it is still possible for them to be saved with genuine faith but they will find it hard to enter into their promise and receive proper deliverance from their past since their old personality is not buried. For more teaching please click here.
SPEAKING IN OTHER TONGUES - We believe that all born-again believers are able to speak in a spiritual language unique to their spirit (1 Corinthians 14:18 ). This is not to be confused with the prophetic gift of tongues as mentioned in (1 Corinthians 12:10) which is for the building up and encouragement of the church.
STATUS IN ETERNITY - We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust, the everlasting blessedness of the saved, and the everlasting punishment of the lost. (Matthew 25:46).
HUMAN RESPONSIBILITY - We believe that every human being has responsibility to God alone in all matters of faith and salvation. (Romans 14:11-12).
THE CHURCH - We believe in the Church - a living, spiritual body in which Christ is the Head and of which all regenerated people are members. We believe that a visible church is a company of believers in Jesus Christ, buried and resurrected with Him in baptism and associated for the purpose of leading believers toward maturity through worship, instruction, fellowship and evangelism. We believe that Christ has committed to the local church, the ordinances of Baptism and Communion to be observed until He comes, and that Christ has committed to the church the responsibility to proclaim to a lost world their need to accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and to recognise Him as Lord.
LAW ON FREEDOM OF RELIGION IN THE UK AND EUROPEAN LAW
There is a lot of confusiuon about being able to share the good news about Jesus. Many people are scared that they can't in public or in workplaces. The law below states your rights which you must stand on. Police in the UK are illegally arresting people and getting away with it because Christians don't know their rights. Employers are firing people illegally. Please print this off or keep it on your phone for anyone to see. You can quote it to any officer of the law. Feel free to distribute it.
Articles 9 and 101 of the ECHR are now the primary source of legal protection for Christians wanting to share the gospel of Jesus in many different situations: whether they wish to do so by posting material on websites, by having conversations with colleagues at work, or by handing out tracts on a high street. Article 10 contains the right to freedom of expression and Article 9 is the source of the right to freedom of religion.
ARTICLE 9
Freedom of thought, conscience and religion
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
2. Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
ARTICLE 10
Freedom of expression
1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.
2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.
Europe’s Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) into UK law, including its guarantee of freedom of religion or belief:
- Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance.
- Freedom to manifest one’s religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
Article 9: Freedom of thought, conscience and feligion
Article 9 of the ECHR has been tested in a number of court cases in Europe with the result that European law has moved in the direction of recognising a category of ‘religion or belief’, treated almost as a single category with ‘belief’ having a wide, but not vacuous, interpretation:
As enshrined in Article 9, freedom of thought conscience and religion is one of the foundations of a ‘democratic society’ within the meaning of the Convention. It is, in its religious dimension, one of the most vital elements that go to make up the identity of believers and their conception of life, but it is also a precious asset for atheists, sceptics and the unconcerned.
Kokkinakis v Greece: (1994) 17 EHRR 397, para 31
The right to freedom of religion as guaranteed under the Convention excludes any discretion on the part of the State to determine whether religious beliefs or the means used to express such beliefs are legitimate.
Manoussakis v Greece: (1996), EHRR 387, para 47
‘Belief’ means more than just ‘mere opinions or deeply held feelings’; there must be a holding of spiritual or philosophical convictions which have an identifiable formal content.
McFeely v UK: (1981), 3 EHRR 161
‘beliefs' denotes a certain level of cogency seriousness cohesion and importance.
Campbell and Cosans v. UK: (1982), 4 EHRR 293 para 36
Humanism is a non-religious lifestance or worldview which meets the requirements set out in the above quotations: it is more than just mere opinions or deeply held feelings; it involves the holding of spiritual or philosophical convictions which have an identifiable formal content, and its tenets are cogent, serious, coherent and important. It is clear therefore that Humanism is a ‘belief’ in terms of Article 9. Indeed this was taken for granted in one UK case: re Crawley Green Road Cemetery, Luton St Alban’s Consistory Court: December 2000. And it was explicit in the 2015 judgment in Fox et al. v Secretary of State for Education, a case Humanists UK prompted about the exclusion of non-religious worldviews from the school curriculum.
These cases, then, have shown beyond doubt that Article 9 embraces not only religious beliefs but also non-religious beliefs such as Humanism. Thus we are able to base much of campaigning on firm human rights grounds, as shown by many items in this part of the website. Our approach is reinforced by Article 14 of the ECHR which requires that Convention rights and freedoms ‘be secured without discrimination on any ground’ including religion and belief, and section 6 of the Human Rights Act makes it ‘unlawful for a public authority to act in a way which is incompatible with a Convention right’. Moreover, section 3 of the Human Rights Act declares:
‘So far as it is possible to do so, primary legislation and subordinate legislation must be read and given effect in a way that is compatible with the Convention rights.’ The phrase ‘religion or belief’ is also used in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:
‘Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice or teaching.’
This was glossed by the UN Human Rights Committee in General comment 22 (30/07/93):
‘Article 18 protects theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief. The terms belief and religion are to be broadly construed. Article 18 is not limited in its application to traditional religions or to religions and beliefs with institutional characteristics or practices analogous to those of traditional religions.’
The phrase has also been adopted in the European Union directive on religious and other discrimination in employment, for example in the employment equality directive, published in 2000:
‘The purpose of this Directive is to lay down a general framework for combating discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation as regards employment and occupation, with a view to putting into effect in the Member States the principle of equal treatment.’
This directive is given effect in the UK through the Equality Act 2010.
Further link: Evangelical Alliance https://www.eauk.org/assets/files/downloads/Speak-Up-FULL.pdf
