What We Believe

Droylsden Independent Church Statement of Faith

The Living God: God is Almighty, Eternal, and Unchanging. He is just and holy, gracious and merciful. He is the Maker and Ruler of all things and deserving of all praise and glory for ever.

The Written Word: God’s greatness and holiness are such that, without his aid, man can neither understand God nor find the way to a right relationship with Him. In his mercy , however, God has made himself known. He has done this partially thorough creation but explicitly through the Old and New Testaments of the Bible We therefore accept all that was written in the Bible as no merely containing, but being, the inspired and infallible word of God and the final and sufficient authority in all matters of Christian faith and life.

The Trinity: God is one, existing through all eternity in three co-equal Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Sovereign God: God exercises sovereign power in Creation, Providence, and Redemption.

Man the Sinner: God created man perfect but, after being tempted by the devil, man, by his own free choice, disobeyed God and became a sinner. Man’s whole nature is now perverted by sin and his fellowship with God is broken.

Jesus the Saviour: God alone can deal with man’s sin and bring about a reconciliation to Himself. To achieve this, God became man in Jesus Christ. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless, human life and taught entirely without error. He suffered and died in the place of sinners, bearing their sin and guilt and punishment. He thus sets all believers free from the domination of the devil and ultimately from the corruption of their own sinful nature and removes from them, forever, sin’s lasting consequences.

The Grace of God: God, in his grace, forgives and reconciles to Himself all who turn to him in true repentance and who trust in Christ and his atoning death. God imputes to them the righteousness of Christ Himself and adopts them as his own children.

The Risen Lord: The Lord Jesus Christ was shown to be the Son of God by His miracles and by His bodily resurrection from the dead. He has ascended in power and glory to the presence of God where he now pleads on behalf of all those who call upon Him in truth.

The Holy Spirit: God the Holy Spirit must work in a man before he can enter into salvation. He leads the sinner into an awareness of his sinfulness and brings him to repentance and trust in Christ by bringing to birth in him a new and eternal life and, by His continuing work, develops in this new life the fruits of love and holiness.

The Second Coming: God is bringing all human history to a climax which will be marked by the visible return to the earth of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus the Judge: God has appointed Jesus as Judge and there will be a final judgement. Those who are saved will be raised in a glorified body and enjoy eternally and to the full the presence of their Lord. Those who have rejected Christ will be banished from God and endure eternal punishment.

The One Church: All who have been redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, and upon whom God has bestowed His righteousness as a free gift belong to Christ. They alone may rightly be called Christians. They alone are members of the one universal and eternal Church of Christ.

The Gathered Church:  Each local church is a fellowship of believers gathered by Christ and has no need of, nor should acknowledge, any other authority than His. Through Him, it has direct access to God and enjoys fellowship with other assemblies of His people in a unity which transcends all barriers.

The Sacraments: The Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, having been instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ are signs and seals of the Covenant of Grace.