About the Bible
The Bible consists of 66 books, written by about forty different authors over a period of about 1500 years. It is the inspired, authoritative and inerrant word of God. The Bible traces the great themes of creation, redemption and glorification. We base all our doctrine and practice on the Bible alone. The central theme of the Bible is the person of our Lord Jesus Christ.
"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 perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works"
2 Tim 3:16-17
About God
The Bible teaches us that God is personal, infinite and triune; one God in three persons, viz. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He exists from eternity to eternity, with no beginning and no end. He is the Creator of all things including space, time, energy, and life. His character is described as loving, righteous, holy, good, faithful, longsuffering, merciful and gracious. God controls history and has committed all judgement to the Son.
"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God"
Psalm 90:2
About Creation
God is the Creator of all things, including space, time, energy and life. The Bible does not teach about a Big Bang billions of years ago followed by slow gradual evolution of life. The Bible teaches a special creation which took place over six days. We learn from the New Testament that the Son was the agency in creation.
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"
Genesis 1:1
About the Creation of man
Adam was created on the sixth day of the creation week. God created man in His own image and man became a conscious, thinking being whom God could bless and with whom He could fellowship. Human life began when God breathed into Adam’s nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them"
Genesis 1:26-27
About the problem of sin
The world as it originally came from the hand of God was a perfect world. Today, however, we observe a dysfunctional world full of suffering and evil. What went wrong? God gave Adam the stewardship over the Garden of Eden, but he rebelled and ate of the forbidden tree. At that moment Adam became a sinner and died to God spiritually. This sin affected all of his descendants down to the present day. Today we live in a ruined and fallen world. Man’s greatest need is the forgiveness of sins.
"But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die"
Genesis 2:17
About the Son of God
The Father sent the Son down from heaven to become the Saviour of the world. The babe born in Bethlehem was Jesus, the Son of God. He was God manifest in flesh. The incarnation is a foundational truth of Christianity. The Son of God is again in heaven, seated at the right hand of God, but with a difference. He has returned to heaven as a man.
"But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law"
Galatians 4:4
About the Cross
It was on Calvary’s cross where the whole problem of sin was dealt with once and for all. The Lord Jesus died on the cross and made provision for all men. Because of the finished work of Calvary, God is dealing with the whole world in grace. The work of Christ can be appropriated personally. I, as a sinner, can look to the Saviour and rest in the great truth that He died for me.
"And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left"
Luke 23:23
About the Resurrection
The body of the Lord Jesus lay in a sealed tomb for three days and three nights. On the third day God raised Him from the dead. The risen Lord appeared to many of His disciples during the next forty days. In the gospel we proclaim to the world a risen, exalted Saviour at God’s right hand who is mighty to save. The resurrection of Christ is the defining truth of Christianity, proving that God is satisfied with what was accomplished on the cross. The resurrection proves to the world that the gospel is a real, living and powerful message, unlike any other. “Now is Christ risen” 1 Cor 15:20
"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay"
Matthew 28:5-6
About Salvation
Salvation from the penalty and power of sin is freely offered to all in the gospel. The person who puts their faith in Christ as Saviour receives the forgiveness of sins and becomes a child in the family of God. Their name is written in heaven and they have eternal life.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"
John 3:16
About Eternity
Every person ever born shall spend eternity in one of two places, heaven or hell. It is a matter of the utmost urgency to make sure that we will be in heaven at the end of life. For the Christian, eternity will be the ever deepening and joyful experience of knowing, loving, serving and praising God. For the Christ-rejecter, eternity will be a never ending experience of remorse, torment and eternal regret.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him"
John 3:36
