Needham Market Evangelical Church

Basis of Faith

 

God

There is one living and true God, who has revealed himself in creation; in the Scriptures; and ultimately in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is unchangeable in all His being and attributes. He is the almighty Creator, Saviour, Lawgiver and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
 

The Bible

The supreme authority is the Bible, that is, the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and excluding the Apocrypha. Every word was breathed out by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given, does not simply contain, but is in its entirety the Word of God, without error (inerrant) and fully trustworthy and reliable (infallible) in fact and doctrine. Thus, the Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always solely sufficient for all matters of belief and practice, and the teaching of the Holy Spirit is necessary for a true and spiritual understanding of the whole. The unity of scripture is affirmed by the Old Testament and the New Testament being identically the very Word of God. His final revelation in time being in Christ His Son who was promised in the Old Testament and whose life is recorded in the New Testament. The closing words of the New Testament in the book of Revelation warn us that nothing should be added and nothing can be taken away from the words of this book.
 

Creation

God created all things by the power of his word in six twenty-four-hour days. All that he created was, in the beginning, very good. The historicity of the early chapters of Genesis is important for the authority of the entire Bible, as the Lord Jesus and His apostles accepted them as history. Furthermore, the idea that death (necessary for evolution) existed before the fall seriously compromises the historicity of Genesis and also the doctrine of sin and atonement. God created man in his own image as the crown of his creation, whose greatest purpose is to glorify God by obeying, worshipping and loving Him alone in all parts and stages of life. As bearing God’s image, all human beings have the same dignity and worth, regardless of gender, age, colour or race.
 

Original Sin

Because of the disobedience of Adam, the representative head of the human race, every part of human nature has been corrupted, and all men and women are born without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him. By virtue of God’s common grace, people without spiritual life are capable of living lives that are relatively good, yet not so far as to make the person acceptable to God.
 

The Lord Jesus Christ

The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. As man, He was miraculously conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead in the same body in which he was crucified, and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where He is exalted as Lord of all. Seated at His Father’s right hand, He intercedes for his people and is the only mediator between God and man.
 

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a distinct person in the Godhead who possesses full deity equal to the Father and the Son. He was sent from heaven by the Father and the Son, and His work is necessary to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He gives gifts for ministry to believers, and empowers the members of Christ’s body, the church, for worship, service and mission.
 

Election

Before the foundation of the world, God chose His people in Christ to eternal life. This choice was made according to the good pleasure of His will and was not dependent on His foresight of human faith, decision or works of merit.

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Effectual Calling

Those who are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, in due time are effectually called by the Holy Spirit. This call is irresistible and results in the spiritual new birth.

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Justification

The Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled all righteousness by living a perfect life in obedience to His Father’s will but the sin of His people was imputed to Him, for which He offered Himself to God on Calvary’s cross as a once for all sacrifice for our sins and God has shown His acceptance of that sacrifice by raising Him from the dead.

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Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to sinners in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe are justified in the sight of God on account of the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, which is received by faith alone. They are adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.

 

Perseverance

Those who trust in Christ are sealed with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. The Holy Spirit never leaves them but continues to live within them, enabling them to mortify sin and live holy lives. They are kept by the power of God and He will lead them home to be with Him in heaven.

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The Local Church

The Church consists of all those who are saved by faith in Christ, both in heaven and on earth. This universal Church is manifested in the local Church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the sole head of the Church including the local Church.

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Each local Church is independent and is accountable to Christ alone. The Church has the authority from Christ to appoint their own Elders and deacons to lead and serve the Church, and to admit to membership those who make a clear profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ alone for salvation, and whose faith is evidenced by lives of practical holiness.

 

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the only two ordinances, being given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel.

Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his church, but does not impart spiritual life. It illustrates what has already taken place in the believer’s life in that he has died with Christ and has been raised to a new life in Christ.

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The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ, and His sacrifice offered once for all time, is not a sacrifice for sin and involves no change in the bread and wine. It is a sign that Christ is now our nourishment and strength, and an expression of the unity of the church as one body in Him.
 

The Second Coming

The Lord Jesus Christ will return personally, visibly, bodily in glory at the end of time. He will raise the dead bodily and judge the world in righteousness. He will send the wicked to eternal punishment and He will welcome the righteous into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.