Initial Salvation:
We believe that all men have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). This sin separates us from the holy, perfect, and righteous God (Is. 59:2). Although God, being righteous, must condemn humanity to eternal death for their sin (Rom. 6:23), by His love for us, sent Jesus Christ as a sacrifice for our sin (1 John 4:10). Through His death on the cross, He paid our debt of sin (1 Pet. 2:24), defeated all His enemies (Col. 2:15), broke down the barrier between us and God (2 Cor 5:18, Matt 27:51) and between each other (Eph 2:13,14), destroyed the power of death (Heb. 2:14) and freed us from the captivity of this world (Eph 2:1-5). On the third day following His death, Jesus Christ rose from the dead by the power of God (1 Cor. 15:4, Acts 3:15) and became the firstborn of God’s new creation (Col 1:15).
We believe that by believing in the Lord Jesus, confessing our faith in Him, that He is our Lord, and receiving Him as our saviour we are saved from God’s eternal condemnation (Rom 10:9-10).
Baptism:
We believe that baptism must be performed by whole-body immersion in water (Acts 8:38-39), following Christ’s example (Matt 3:15-16; Mark 1:9) and any person being baptized must be capable of making a conscious decision (Acts 2:41; 8:37; 16:31-33) to be baptized. Thus, baby baptism does not count as baptism nor does sprinkling of water.
It should be performed at the time or soon after a person declares their faith in the Lord Jesus and receives His salvation (Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38,�16:31-33). �
Baptism is not merely an outward testimony or ritual; through baptism we are buried with Christ and we are resurrected with Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). Romans 6:3 says that we are even baptized INTO Christ Jesus. By entering the water, we declare and believe that our old man, our old fallen self has been crucified with Christ and buried (Gal 2:20). By rising out of the water, we declare and believe that we have risen with Christ as a new man, a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) with a new life. Baptism is also a declaration to Satan that he no longer has any hold on us since we now have a new life (by resurrecting with Christ) and that we no longer belong to his domain (Rom. 6:7, Col. 1:13). �
Without baptism, we cannot progress in our Christian life and thus reach full maturity because we need it for the burial of our old-self and to being walking in the new resurrected life of Christ. To be baptized is to be born again with a new life, the new resurrected life of Christ. In John 3:5, Jesus says “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Without being born again, we cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5).
According to the Bible, there is no other requirement (eg., courses, tests, interviews, understanding and reading the bible cover-to-cover, etc) for someone to be baptized other than to have genuine faith in the salvation of Jesus Christ (Acts 8:37).
Triune God:
We believe that there is only one God in this universe (1 Cor 8:4). He is expressed as the Father (Eph 1:17), the Son Jesus Christ (1 Tim 3:15-16, Heb 1:8) , and the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).
The Church:
We believe, that according to the Bible, there is one Body of Christ (Rom 12:5, 1 Cor 12:12), one Bride (Eph 5:25, Rev 19:7), one Kingdom (Matt 6:33, Mark 3:24), and thus, one universal Church (Matt 16:18, Col 1:18). This one universal Church is expressed physically as assemblies (churches) (Acts 2:46, 47, Rev 1:11). The New Testament shows that the Church is not divided or segregated by any means other than by geographical city (Rev 1:11, 1 Cor 1:2, Eph 1:1, Phil 1:1, 1 Thess 1:1). It cannot be established on any other unifying factor such as common language, common ethnic background, common culture, spiritual leader, or doctrine. The head of the church is Christ alone and not men (Eph 5:23, Col 1:18). There is no difference of rank or position of the members, and no hierarchy or status in the church. The Church is a heavenly (i.e., not of this world) entity (Heb 12:22,23) and is not built by human hands (Heb 11:10, Heb 12:22,23), meaning human intelligence, ingenuity, wisdom, ability, or strength. The church is not based on religious traditions but on the word of God and the Holy Spirit.
Since the Church is not an earthly entity but a heavenly one, and is sanctified to God, it cannot be organized or practiced in any way we please. Its practice must follow God’s heavenly pattern and without any mixture with the world (eg., commerce, entertainment, politics), the flesh (fallen human nature), religion, or man’s traditions. �
There is no headquarters, human leader, hierarchy (eg., clergy/laity system) or dead works. It is not a religious organization or a social club. It grows by the life and nature of Christ through the Holy Spirit. It is the holy dwelling of the Almighty God on earth today and all the members are spiritual stones, built on the Chief Cornerstone (Eph. 2:20-22), just as the temple was in the past and the New Jerusalem shall be in the future.�