Whilst talking with others Coco heard about a passion for life, when your logo looks a bit like English Heritage (don’t look too closely) it is worth looking further. They have a statement of faith, it is not as comprehensive as 1646-7 or 1689 but pretty good, and especially so if we change the order only slightly.

Why change the order? One does well to ask. David¹, Isaiah², John³, Moses (here⁴ and here⁵), Paul⁶, and Peter all provide us with good reasons for that in the places referenced and in many others. Our statement of faith has a foundation. It is not built upon the words or thoughts of men, but the words and deeds of the God who spoke all things into existence. And so we state it:

We believe in

• The supreme divine authority, inerrancy, sufficiency and consistency of Holy Scripture, which is the Word of God who does not lie, in all matters of faith and conduct for salvation
• The one and only, living and true God, in three eternal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit
• The sovereignty of God in creation, revelation, redemption, judgement and in all things past, present, and future
• The full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God; his virgin conception by the Holy Spirit and his coming in real and sinless humanity as the Christ promised in the Scriptures; his death on the cross for our sins, his bodily resurrection to rule heaven and earth and his return to judge all people and renew his creation
• The universal sinfulness and guilt of all people rendering everyone subject to God’s just wrath and condemnation to eternal separation from God in hell
• Redemption from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of our representative and penal substitute, Jesus Christ our Lord, the only mediator between God and people
• Justification by grace through faith in Christ alone as an act of God’s mercy by which sinners may be both pardoned of all sin and imputed with the righteousness of God in Christ
• The need for the Holy Spirit to make the work of Christ effective to sinners, granting new life and repentance from sin towards God and faith in Jesus Christ our Lord
• The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in all who are regenerate to produce an increasing likeness to Christ in character and behaviour and witness
• The preservation by God of all who are regenerate for heaven
• The one, holy, apostolic, heavenly church to which all true believers belong
• The future personal return of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge all people, save believers to share his glory in his renewed creation and to justly punish unbelievers in hell

It is out of this statement that core convictions arise which are set out as follows:

• We are convinced of the full and final trustworthiness and authority of the Bible and the truths set out in the doctrinal basis set out above.
• We are convinced that our sovereign God is a God of mission who calls us to a prayerful dependence on him as we fulfil our calling to take the gospel to the nations.
• We are convinced of the need for lost people to hear the good news of Jesus who died for our sins and rose again according to the Scriptures.
• We are convinced of the need for the verbal proclamation of the gospel and the power of God’s word to bring people to new birth.
• We are convinced of the centrality of the local church in the purposes of God as he works to gather a redeemed people for himself and for his glory.

A necessary conviction to state in the cultural context of today is that we are also convinced of the need to uphold in love and with compassion the teaching of the biblical Scripture regarding gender identity, marriage and human sexual relations, understood to include the following:

• God created us male and female and calls us to live according to our biological sex determined at conception. Our God-given biological sex cannot be changed or reassigned.
• Marriage is ordained by God for the good of mankind and for the glory of God. The only marriage approved by Scripture is that between one man and one woman, lawfully joined together in matrimony.
• Recognising both the blessing and the dangers of our God-given human capacity for sexual relations, the Scripture permits and encourages sexual relations only between two persons, one male and one female, who are married to one another, as defined above. All other sexual relations are forbidden.

All those working at any level in any organisation which claims to uphold the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ should be able to affirm the Christian faith meaning the Protestant and Evangelical Faith which holds to be of first importance the fundamental truths of Christianity revealed in Scripture, including those confirmed by the church’s historic catholic creeds and confessions, and those set out in the statements above, in their clear and plain meaning without equivocation, evasion or reservation and in utmost good faith.

1. Psalm 19:7-11
   The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul;
   The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
   The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;
   The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
   The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
   The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
   More to be desired are they than gold,
   Yea, than much fine gold;
   Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
   Moreover by them your servant is warned,
   And in keeping them there is great reward. ↩︎
2. Isaiah 8:20 – To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. ↩︎
3. John 20:30-31 – And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name. ↩︎
4. Deuteronomy 29:29 – The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. ↩︎
5. Deuteronomy 32:45-47 – Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, and he said to them: “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe—all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.” ↩︎
6. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. ↩︎