BGBC Affirmations.
What follows is not the last word, nor is it a test which you pass or fail.
What follows is an invitation to a conversation so that we might better ‘know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge’.
What follows is our best attempt to capture the mystery of the Christian faith as revealed in the Bible; prayerfully thought through and expressed in language that we hope all may understand.
What follows is impossible to articulate, but we must try…
- God is love.
- God is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- God is our heavenly Father, our eternally loving creator.
- Jesus is the Son of God, fully God and fully human.
- All people are made in the image of God and of equal value before God.
- All people live with the natural tendency to make a mess of things and are therefore utterly incapable of living the glorious life God wills for us – this is what we mean by sin.
- Jesus lived, died, rose and ascended to restore all of creation to a right relationship with God and liberate us from the consequences of our selfishness and sin.
- To be a follower of Jesus is to acknowledge him as Lord of your life, turn from sin and re-orientate yourself around his will.
- Baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (normally by immersion) is the way we mark our coming to faith in Jesus.
- God sends his Holy Spirit to enable us to believe in him, confirm his acceptance of us, empower us to change, and equip us with gifts and talents to transform us into the likeness of Christ.
- The Bible is God-breathed and useful for showing us truth, exposing our waywardness, correcting our mistakes and training us to live God’s way.
- The church is a family of forgiven people who seek to love God and love their neighbour as they love themselves.
- The church exists to seek and serve the Kingdom of God, which is both now and forever.
- The church exists to go out into the world and make known the good news of Jesus in word and action
- The church exists to make disciples by teaching them how to live as followers of Jesus.
- Jesus will one day return to judge and restore all things to himself.
Agreed at the Church Meeting on the 21st of January 2018
Download a copy here: BGBC Statement of Faith – final
