NEW CROSS ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH |
| 466 New Cross Road, London SE14 6TJ |
|
Doctrinal Basis and Constitution.The church meeting at 468, New Cross Road comprises all those Christian believers who have covenanted together in the following terms:We who have, we trust, been brought together by the gracious teachings and providential leadings of a covenant God, do herewith determine, in the fear of the LORD,to unite ourselves into a local church fellowship. We desire to do so in a felt union to one another, and with an earnest desire for the building up of each other in all things pertaining to the kingdom of our redeeming Saviour. We are resolved, in the strength of divine grace, to keep and observe the ordinances of the great Head of the Church, that is, baptism and the Lord's Supper, as revealed in the New Testament. We will aim, to the utmost of our ability, to bear each others' burdens, endeavouring to maintain 'the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace'. We will studiously avoid a misconstruction of each other's words and actions, at the same time being very desirous of acting in an honest and transparent way in all our dealings with each other. In all our future proceedings we will seek to be guided by the word and will of our God; to walk together in the fellowship of the Gospel; |
| All the members accept the
following doctrinal standards as a statement of the belief and teaching
of the church: We believe: God is only comprehensively and savingly known through the illumination of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. These Scriptures are fully and verbally inspired, inerrant and absolutely authoritative for all men in all their statements. The LORD, the one true and living God is triune: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons are equal in eternity, glory, holiness and love. God created all things perfect and from nothing and continuously controls every part of the created order. Man also was made perfect, subject neither to sin or death. The first man fell into sin under the temptation of the Devil (who is the inveterate enemy of God). In this way all mankind became subject to sin, guilt, condemnation and death, with each person having a nature corrupted in every part and having neither the ability nor the will to do anything wholly acceptable to God, nor the capacity to turn to Him. This curse which rests on mankind rests also upon the whole of creation. God, in full knowledge of mankind's rebellion and before the creation of the world, determined in absolute grace to choose an innumerable number of specific individuals to be the recipients of His special love and salvation. To accomplish the salvation of these persons the Son of God became united in one person with a human nature through His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary, a virgin. As the man Jesus, the Son lived a life of perfect obedience to the righteous demands of God. He offered Himself by His suffering and sacrificial death in place of the great number whom God had planned to save. In this way He bore the penalty for sin on their behalf. This same Jesus rose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Jesus Christ effective to the individual sinner, granting repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith alone the sinner appropriates justification, being pardoned of all sin and is accepted as righteous in God's sight because Christ's own righteousness is credited to the sinner. The Holy Spirit is given to indwell the believer upon faith. He breaks the power of sin and produces a likeness to Christ in character and behaviour in all true believers. This likeness is the necessary evidence of spiritual life. The Holy Spirit keeps every true believer in grace to eternal glory. The Lord Jesus will return again visibly and bodily in majesty. When He comes, all the dead will be raised to life, their bodies and souls being reunited. This will include the believing dead whose spirits go directly to Christ at the point of death. At this time the Lord will judge all men. He will execute God's just condemnation on all unbelievers. Their punishment will be eternal suffering in Hell. The redeemed will be given eternal glory when He renews all things. The Church comprises all true believers. They are under obligation to love, show fellowship and seek the common good of each other. This responsibility is, first of all, exercised within the local church. The local church is composed of all those, in a locality, who gather together to form themselves into a properly ordered independent fellowship for worship, edification, service. fellowship and witness. The local church is under the headship of Christ alone. He guides the members and helps them by giving leaders called Elders. Others, called Deacons, are ordained by God giving support to the church and Elders. Full membership of the local church is by means of believers' baptism. Baptism is the response of faith: the sign of union with Christ unto salvation. The Lord's Table symbolises the believer's continuing union with Christ and those who are members together in Christ's body. It is a privilege to be enjoyed by the members of each local church. The local church, as the family of God, delight to meet together and, in submission to the Scriptures, manifest that holiness of life which is the mark of all God's people. Individual local churches seek to live and work with other true Christian churches in interdependent fellowship. In this way they seek to do everything to encourage the unity of God's people. The State is ordained by God and subject to Him. Thus, all Christians are to be good, obedient citizens. However, the State is neither subject to the church nor may it demand those things of the church or believer that are the prerogative of God alone. In such circumstances the believer must obey God. The true believer shows the reality of his or her profession by a holy walk and obedience to God in every area of life. The members of this church regard themselves as standing in the Christian tradition expressed by means of the seventeenth century Particular Baptist confessions of faith and the 1966 Strict Baptist Affirmation of Faith. The Church is governed according to the principles set out in the Doctrinal Basis and its Commentary and by those minutes of the Church's meetings which are currently in force.
|