STATEMENT OF FAITH of EBTCC

1 The Triune God

We believe in the Triune God who eternally exists in three persons – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – of the same divine nature with one another, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections.

2 Salvation through Jesus Christ

Jesus, as fully God and fully man, lived a blameless life on earth and sacrificed Himself for our sins on the cross. He bore the wrath of God, died, and was resurrected before ascending to heaven as the eternal mediator between God and man. Though we are saved when we come to faith, salvation is a process whereby we may continually fail but God is faithful to forgive us as we confess our sins.

3 Salvation as the result of God’s sovereign grace

In His love and mercy God offers us justification for our sins through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we accept God’s salvation we are adopted into His family and become joint heirs with Christ. We want to live rejoicing in God’s grace and His unmerited favor towards us, with the conviction that we do not earn God’s love by our own efforts.

4 The person, presence and work of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity with the Father and the Son. He lives in all believers giving us an assurance of our salvation, convicting us of sin, and producing an increasing likeness to Christ in our characters. His presence is essential for us to worship, serve, minister and evangelize. We believe in followers of Jesus being filled with the Spirit.

5 The centrality of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ

In His love and grace God offers salvation to all; we need only repent and believe in the saving power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. When we do this we are justified and acquitted forever, adopted into God’s family and are assured of eternal salvation. Faith comes from hearing of God’s Word that allows us to know Him and to live a life of discipleship following and imitating our Lord.

6 The authority of the Bible as God’s infallible word

God has revealed himself in the Bible (the Protestant Canon of 66 books) and it is His infallible Word given by the inspiration of God through human authors. It is our supreme authority for faith, life and doctrine and we want to follow Jesus’ example to believe, speak and live the Word. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to have a true understanding of the Scriptures and He helps us to see truth increasingly clearly.

7 The Church is the body and the bride of Christ

We are part of the Universal Church and together with all who truly believe in the Lord Jesus we make up the Bride of Christ. We gather as a local church committed to one another and to our leaders under the Lordship of Jesus as Head of the Church, and ask our church family to be active members of the body of Christ.

8 The two sacraments of the Church

We believe in the two sacraments instituted by Christ for the Church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. A sacrament is the sign and seal of God’s grace in Christ. We believe in baptism by immersion but in exceptional cases, we may practice baptism by sprinkling of water.

9 Marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and His Church

Men and women are made in the image and likeness of the Triune God, to reflect His harmonious inter-personal relationships and interdependence. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Marriage between a man and a woman is symbolic of the union between Christ and His Church.

10 A lifestyle of love

As a community of believers, love should be our hallmark. We want to receive the love of God that is given to us, express our love for Him, and live a lifestyle of love towards other people. Jesus prayed that His followers would be united in love and we want to embody that, supporting each member of our family and being humble, forgiving and quick to apologize for our own mistakes.

11 The second coming of Christ

We believe in that Blessed Hope, the personal, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

12 The eternal state

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men:  the saved to eternal life and joy in the presence of our Lord, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.