OUR STATEMENT OF FAITH

Hawkesbury Valley Baptist Church is an affiliated church of the NSW/ACT Baptist Association.

We believe…

• There is one God, who is creator of the heavens and the earth. He is infinitely perfect, powerful, wise, holy and loving, existing equally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

• People were made in the image of God, to be in an intimate relationship with God.

• The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are inspired by God, inerrant as originally given and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of humanity. They have supreme authority in all matters of faith and are applicable to our everyday lives.

• Jesus Christ, God’s son, is the second person of the trinity, and is both God and man, the only one who can reconcile us to God. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary, He lived a sinless and blameless life, died on the cross in our place, rose again to prove His victory over death, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of the Father as our great High Priest.

• Jesus’ death and resurrection is sufficient for all of humanity, but effective only in those who are born again through the work of the Holy Spirit, repenting of their sin and receiving God’s gracious gift of eternal salvation and adoption into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ.

• The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, sent to dwell, guide, teach and empower the believer, and convict the world of sin and lead us towards righteousness.

• The Baptism of believers by full immersion is a vital step of obedience in the faith journey. It is a public declaration of a person’s faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, symbolising their identification with Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, and dedication to live and walk in this new life.

• In the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, enabling the gifts of the Spirit to be activated in the life of the believer. These gifts are alive and active today in God’s people, allowing both the proclamation and demonstration of the Kingdom of God.

• The church is the body of Christ, consisting of all those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through his blood and are born again of the Holy Spirit, called to be a manifestation of the Kingdom of God on earth. Christ is the head of the church, which takes on the universal expression of all believers, and the local expression wherever groups of believers unite for worship, sharing of Scripture and fellowship. All believers are called to a priestly ministry both in their relationship with God and in being sent as witnesses into the world. God calls individuals to positions of oversight and leadership, called to equip the church from the ‘five-fold ministry’ of Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers.

• God has individually equipped us to carry out his plans and purposes for His Kingdom through our lives.

• Communion is instituted by Jesus Christ Himself, and is to be celebrated by believers until His return. It is a declaration of thanks for His atonement, and an affirmation of the unity we have as a part of the body, of which Jesus is the head.

• The Lord Jesus Christ is coming back again, personally and visibly, as He promised, and that He will reconcile everything to Himself.

• In the resurrection of all people. At that time, Jesus Christ will judge every person, and our eternal destination of either heaven or hell will be determined by how we responded to Him during this life.