What We Believe
We want the gospel to come first at Christ the Redeemer. For a helpful summary of the gospel, the message at the heart of our church’s beliefs and ethos, please see Two Ways To Live.
Additionally, there are three main church documents that help shape our community life:
our doctrinal statement (what we believe)
our church covenant (how we want to live together as believers)
our constitution and policies (how we are governed)
Doctrinal Statement
The Godhead
The Father, the Son and the Spirit are one in the Godhead.
The Sovereignty of God
God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgment.
The Person of Christ
The Lord Jesus is fully God, his incarnate Son; he was born of a virgin, his humanity real and sinless; he died on the cross, rose bodily and is now reigning in heaven and earth.
The Bible
The Bible is inspired by God (God-breathed) and infallible, as originally given, and is the supreme & sufficient authority in all matters of what to believe and how to live.
The Radical Corruption of Man
Since the fall, human nature has been radically corrupted by sin, whereby everyone willfully rebels against God's rule making us guilty and subject to God's just wrath and condemnation.
The Work of Christ
We are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of our representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and sinners.
Justification by faith in Christ alone
Sinners are pardoned all their sins, and accepted as righteous in God's sight, only because of the righteousness of Christ, credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, to be received solely by trust in him.
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit must apply the work of Christ to individual sinners enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit dwells in all those he has regenerated, producing in them increasing likeness to Christ in character and behavior, and giving them power for their witness in the world.
The Church
The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ to which all true believers belong and is made visible in local congregations of baptized believers.
The Return of Christ
The Lord Jesus will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.
Baptism & The Lord's Supper
Baptism and the Lord's Supper are visible signs of the gospel whose blessings are received by faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church; an act of obedience symbolizing the believers repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord's Supper is a remembrance of our common union in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and a looking forward to his return.
Church Covenant
Members of Christ The Redeemer Church make the following covenant to each other before God:
Having, we trust, been brought by God's grace to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we now, relying on his gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully renew our covenant with each other. [1]
We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. [2]
We will walk together in love, as the members of a Christian Church; exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other; faithfully admonishing and urging one another to obey God's Word. [3]
We will not neglect to meet together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others. [4]
We will endeavor to bring up those under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends. [5]
We will rejoice at each other's happiness, and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other's burdens and sorrows. [6]
We will seek, depending on the Holy Spirit, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic grave, so there is now a special obligation on us to lead a new and holy life. [7]
We will work together to continue a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, [8] discipline, and doctrines. [9]
We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations. [10]
We will, if we should move from this place, as soon as possible unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word. [11]
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.
References:
[1] Titus 3v3-8; Titus 2v11-15; Matthew 28v18-20
[2] Ephesians 4v1-13; Ephesians 5v18; Colossians 4v2
[3] Ephesians 4v15-16; Ephesians 5v1-2; Colossians 3v12-14; 1 Timothy 4v6-10; Titus 2v3-4; 1 Peter 4v8-11;
1 John 3vl1 1 John 4v7-21
[4] Hebrews 10v24-25; Hebrews 2v1-4; Hebrews 4v14-16; Ephesians 6v18
[5] Ephesians 5v22 1 Peter 3v1-7; Colossians 4v5-6
[6] Galatians 6v2; Romans 12vTI15; 1 Corinthians 12v26.
[7] Romans 6v1-14; Romans 8v2-14; 1 Corinthians 6v9-20; Titus 2v1-15
[8] Baptism & The Lord's Supper
[9] Acts 2v38-41; Acts 2v42-47; 1 Corinthians 11 v23-26; 1 Corinthians5; 2 Corinthians2v5-11
[10] 1 Corinthians 9v1-14; 16v1-3; 2 Corinthians 8v1 -1 5; 9v6 Philippians 1v27-28; 1 Timothy 5v17-18
[11] One another verses - John 13v34-35; Romans 12v10; 15v7; 15v14; Galatians 5v13; 6v2; Colossians 3v13; 1 Thessalonians 5v11
[12] 2 Corinthians 13v14
Governing Documents
Click on the links below to view and download our governing documents.
Church Constitution (January 2023)
Church Policies