What We Believe

WOODLEY BAPTIST CHURCH’S STATEMENT OF BELIEF

We believe in God the Father, God the Son, born of the Virgin Mary, and God the Holy Spirit who reveals God to man today.
We believe in the divine inspiration and authority of Holy Scripture.
We believe that the church is the body of Christ, made up of all who believe and trust in Him as Lord and Saviour, and we recognise that Christ is the Supreme Head of the Church, our personal Saviour and man’s only hope of salvation, through His death and resurrection.
We believe that all members of Christ’s Church have been given talents which are to be used for the building up of the church and for the glory of God.

As a Member of BAPTISTS TOGETHER (formerly the Baptist Union of Great Britain) Woodley Baptist Church subscribes to the Union’s DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLE:
That our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is the sole and absolute authority in all matters pertaining to faith and practice, as revealed in the Holy Scriptures, and that each church has liberty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to interpret and administer His laws.
That Christian Baptism is the immersion in water into the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit of those who have professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who ‘died for our sins according to the Scriptures; was buried, and rose again on the third day’.
That it is the duty of every disciple to bear personal witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and to take part in the evangelisation of the world.

WBC is also a member of the EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE and we adhere to their BASIS OF FAITH
We believe in…..
1. The one true God who lives eternally in three persons – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
2. The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.
3. The divine inspiration and supreme authority of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, which are the written Word of God – fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.
4. The dignity of all people, made male and female in God’s image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.
5. The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ – born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.
6. The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.
7. The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.
8. The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.
9. The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.
10. The church, the body of Christ both local and universal, the priesthood of all believers — given life by the Spirit and endowed with the Spirit’s gifts to worship God and proclaim the gospel, promoting justice and love.
11. The personal and visible return of Jesus Christ to fulfil the purposes of God, who will raise all people to judgement, bring eternal life to the redeemed and eternal condemnation to the lost, and establish a new heaven and new earth.

In February 2020, members adopted the following AFFIRMATIONS
1. We affirm that we have all been created in the image of God, and therefore we are called to show love and respect to everyone.
2. We acknowledge that we are all sinners and that only Jesus Christ can save us from our sins. Church is therefore a gathering of repentant sinners.
3. Everyone is welcome to this church and we will do everything possible to make it an environment within which people know that they are welcomed and loved by God.
4. We encourage everyone to become a disciple of Jesus, recognising that when we start on that relationship we have a journey ahead in which He enables us to grow into the likeness of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
5. We recognise that within the church community there may be matters on which we disagree with one another. We commit ourselves to showing love and respect to one another however deep our disagreements.
6. We welcome into the membership of this church those who love the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour and Lord and who believe that they should commit themselves to the life of Woodley Baptist Church.

In September 2020, members agreed to this STATEMENT ON SEXUALITY AND MARRIAGE
We believe that Christian marriage is a covenant relationship created by God between one man and one woman. We recognise that some people are of homosexual orientation, however, we do not believe that homosexual practice is consistent with biblical teaching. We therefore believe that, as a church, we should encourage such people to be celibate.