Meeting Sundays 2pm

117 Bridge St East, Benalla
Phone 0476 583 823

Statement of Faith

Our summary statement of faith is provided here to help you understand our position on the key doctrines of the Bible.
To download a copy of this statement click here.
If you have any questions or would like more information regarding these topics, you are welcome to contact us.

The Bible

We teach that the Holy Scriptures, composed of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, are the verbally and plenary inspired, God breathed, Word and Revelation of God. (Jeremiah 30:2; Isaiah 30:8; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16; Revelation 1:11). God has promised to preserve His Word forever. Though the miracle of divine inspiration is limited to the original autographs, the promise of God guarantees the providential preservation of a pure text to this day. (Psalm 12:6-7, Psalm 119:89; 119:152, 138:2; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:17-18, 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23-25).

The Word of God has been providentially preserved in the Hebrew “Masoretic Text” and the “Textus Receptus”. We use the King James Bible (Authorized Version) because it is a true, faithful and accurate translation of these providentially preserved texts.

The Trinity

We teach that there is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4), an eternal Spirit existing in three distinct uncreated Persons – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).

Jesus Christ

We teach the absolute deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity. He is God’s eternal Son who was begotten of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23-25), and is truly God and truly Man, one person with two natures, divine and human, in indivisible oneness.

We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ died as a substitutionary atonement for the sins of all men according to the Scriptures, and all who receive Him are justified on the grounds of faith in His shed blood (Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 2:9; 1 John 2:2).

We teach the physical, bodily resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from among the dead on “the third day” (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:5; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:4; Acts 10:40).

The Holy Spirit

We teach that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is a divine person, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity. (Intellect 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; will 1 Corinthians 12:11; emotions Ephesians 4:30; eternality Hebrews 9:14; omnipotence Romans 15:13; truthfulness John 16:13; omnipresence Psalm 139:7-10; omniscience Isaiah 40:13-14.)

The Holy Spirit administers gifts to the Church (Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-12). Some gifts of the Holy Spirit were temporary in duration (1 Corinthians 13:8). These miraculous gifts have ceased, being no longer needed because the Canon of Scripture is completed, and the Church has been divinely authenticated or certified (1 Corinthians 13:8-11; Ephesians 2:20).

Creation and the Fall

We teach that the triune God created the universe in a time frame of six literal, twenty-four-hour days (Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31; Exodus 20:11). Evolution, including so-called “theistic evolution” and the “gap theory”, is contradictory to the clear teaching of Scripture.

Man was created directly by God on day six of the creation week (Genesis 1:26-31) in God’s image and likeness, free of sin with intelligence, volition, and moral responsibility to God (Genesis 2:7,15-25; James 3:9). Originally, man freely chose to transgress the will of God, incurring sin and physical and spiritual death. (Genesis 3:1-7; Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; James 1:15).

Satan

We teach the personality of Satan, “that old serpent, called the Devil… which deceiveth the whole world.” He is actively opposing the cause of Christ on every hand, and is the arch enemy of every true believer (Isaiah 14:12-14; Ephesians 6:11; Revelation 12:9-10)

Heaven and Hell

We teach that Heaven is a real place of eternal blessedness prepared by God for those whose garments have been “made …white” through faith in the shed “blood of the lamb” (Revelation 7:14; John 14:1-6; Revelation 21:22-27; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10).
Hell is a real place of eternal suffering for those whose names are not written in the “Book of Life” (Revelation 20:11-15; Luke 16:19-31).

Salvation – By Grace Through Faith

Salvation is completely dependent on the grace of God, is a free gift of God that man cannot earn or merit in any way and is appropriated by repentance towards God and faith in the person and finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13). True repentance is inseparably related to biblical faith. (Acts 20:21)

God secures and guarantees the final salvation of every true believer. All believers, once saved, are kept by God’s power and are eternally secure in Christ forever (Ephesians 4:30; Romans 8:31-39; John 10:25-29; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 5:24; John 6:37; Hebrews 7:25).

The Church

We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church, the bride of Christ, of which Christ is the head (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Ephesians 1:12).

The formation of the Church, the body of Christ, began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21, 38-47) and will be complete at the Rapture. (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The Church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all born again believers in this present age (Ephesians 2:11-3:6).
The Church is distinct from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32) and is a mystery not revealed until this age (Ephesians 3:1-6; 5:32).

We teach that there are two ordinances of the Church and that they are symbolical not sacramental: Believer’s Baptism by immersion, and the Lords Supper. (Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12; 36-39; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; Matthew 28:19-20).

We teach that the purpose of the Church is to glorify God( Ephesians 3:21) by building itself up in the faith( Ephesians 4:13-16), by instruction in the Word( 2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 3:16-17), by fellowship( Acts 2:47; 1 John 1:3), by keeping the ordinances (Acts 2:38-42) and by advancing the Gospel to the entire world( Matthew 28:19; Acts 1:8; Mk 16:15). The Church is to be missionary and evangelistic in spreading the Gospel.

The Biblically designed officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are pastor/teacher (also called elders, bishops and overseers, Ephesians 4:11; Acts 20:28; 1 Timothy 3:1-2; Titus 1:5-9) and deacons, all of whom must meet Biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5; Acts 6:1-6).

Separation

We teach that separation from sin is clearly called for throughout the Old and New Testaments, and that the Scriptures clearly indicate that in the last days apostasy and worldliness shall increase (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1; 2 Timothy 3:1-5).

Christians are called to be separate from worldly and sinful practices. (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Ephesians 4:30). Separate from apostasy and unbelief (2 Corinthians 6: 14-18; 1 Timothy 6:3-5; 2 Timothy 2:19-22; 3:1-5). Separated from disobedient brethren and doctrinal compromise with respect to all ministry and service. (Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6,14-15; 2 John10-11; Matthew 18:15-18;1 Corinthians 15:33).

Last Things

We teach a personal, pre-tribulational, and pre-millennial return of the Lord Jesus Christ, His imminent return in the air for his saints and His pre-millennial return to the earth to set up His Millennial kingdom. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-6, Revelation 3:10; Titus 2:13; Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 20:1-6; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 14:1-3; Revelation 1:7).