At Hambleton Evangelical Church what we believe is taken entirely from the Bible. We have outlined our beliefs by subject below, based on the 1658 Savoy Declaration of Faith of the Congregational-Independent Churches.
The What is a Christian? page explains what it means to come into a right and happy relationship with God.
By the way, the word “Evangelical” in the church’s title, comes from two Greek words meaning “Gospel” or “Good News”.
Here is a summary of our beliefs by subject:
The Word of God
The verbal inspiration of the whole of the Old & New Testaments is the work of the Holy Spirit; the Bible being the Word of God written, the sole sufficient and infallible rule of faith and practice. Its inerrancy and supreme and final authority is received by the Church, not on the grounds of human testimony to its truth, but because God Himself declares its perfection and bears witness to it in the hearts of His people.
(2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21)
God and the Holy Trinity
There is but one true and living God, a pure Spirit, Who is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His being, love, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. The unity of the Godhead exists in three Persons of the same divine essence: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Who are one God, co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal.
(1 Thess 1:9; John 4:24; 1 Tim 1:17; Matt 28:19)
God’s Eternal Decree
By His own holy, wise and sovereign will, and according to His eternal purpose, God has foreordained whatever comes to pass, without in any sense becoming the author of sin or violating the responsibility of man.
(Eph 1:11; James 1:13,17; Acts 2:23)
Creation & Providence
God has created all things out of nothing, the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them. He, the Creator, in His infinite power and wisdom sustains and governs all creatures and things by His providence for His own praise and glory.
(Gen 1; Col 1:16; Acts 17:25,26,28)
Sin & the Fall of Man
The first man Adam was immediately and specially created by God after His own image in knowledge and holiness, to enjoy perfect fellowship and communion with Him. The historic Fall of man from his original righteousness was the result of the one sin of Adam as the head and representative of the human race. Consequently, all mankind is not only born into the world under the guilt and condemnation of that sin imputed to them, but also in possession of a sinful nature corrupted in every part, under the wrath of God, and subject to eternal death, the punishment for sin. Sin is any want of conformity to, or transgression of, the Law of God.
(Gen 1:26; Gen 3:6,7,8; Rom 5:12,15-19; 1 John 3:4)
The Plan of Salvation
In His infinite grace and mercy, God has planned from all eternity to save out of lost and fallen humanity an innumerable multitude of people and has predestinated them to everlasting life, not on account of faith or good works foreseen but entirely of His sovereign will and pleasure. In appointing His elect to eternal life, God has foreordained all the means, so that His people, being fallen in Adam, are redeemed in Christ, effectually called by the Gospel to repentance and faith, regenerated, justified, adopted, sanctified, caused to persevere to the end, and finally glorified.
(Rom 8:30; Eph 2:4,5,8,9)
Christ the Mediator
The one and only Mediator between God and man is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, Who took to Himself true and real, yet sinless, human nature and was born of a virgin. By His perfect obedience and substitutionary sacrificial death as a propitiation for sin, He has fully satisfied the justice of God and purchased reconciliation and full redemption for all whom the Father had given Him to save. After His historic, literal and bodily resurrection from the dead on the third day, He ascended into heaven, where He reigns over all things to the Church and makes continual intercession for His people.
(1 Tim 2:5; Gal 4:4; Heb 4:15; Rom 3:25; John 17:2; 1 Cor 15:3,4; Mark 16:19; Rom 8:34)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
The work of the Holy Spirit is essential in applying the full outworking of the redemption accomplished and procured once for all by Christ. The new birth, by which the sinner is enabled to repent and believe, is not an act of man’s own will and power, but the result of the effectual operation of the Spirit, Who works when, where, how and in whom He pleases.
(1 Cor 2:14; John 3:8)
Justification
Justification is an act of God’s free grace whereby He pardons all our sins and accounts us righteous in His sight, only because of the righteousness of Christ imputed to us. Faith in Christ is the sole instrument of justification.
(Rom 4:5-8; Gal 2:16)
Sanctification
Those whom God justifies, He also sanctifies by His Spirit, renewing them in the whole man after the image of God, so enabling them more and more to die to sin and to live increasingly in conformity of heart and life to the revealed will of God in Scripture. Because the believer is never entirely delivered from his old sinful nature while on earth, sanctification, though progressive, is never entire or perfect in this life, and the believer experiences constant warfare between the flesh and the Spirit. The Moral Law of God as summarised in the Ten Commandments is an expression of God’s holy character and His revealed will for man. Although it cannot justify the sinner it is binding on all men and remains as the believer’s rule of life.
(Eph 3:16-19; Gal 5:17; Matt 5:17-19; Gal 2:16)
The Church
The universal Church consists of the whole number of God’s people in heaven and on earth and comprises only, but all, those who are regenerated by the Spirit and united to Christ by faith. The one Church of God finds its visible expression in the local church, which is a company of faithful people meeting for the worship of God. A true church is recognised chiefly by the preaching of the Word of God, the due and proper administration of the sacraments, and the exercise of spiritual discipline.
(Eph 1:22,23)
The Sacraments of the Church
Christ has instituted the two sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as signs and seals of the Covenant of Grace. Although it is sin to neglect them, neither conveys regenerating grace nor is essential to salvation. The communion of the Lord’s Supper is in no sense a sacrifice, and no change occurs in the substance of the bread and wine.
(Matt 28:19; 1 Cor 11:23-26; Heb 9:22,25,26,28)
The Government of the Church
There are only two permanent offices in the Church prescribed by Scripture. Firstly that of elder, to whom is entrusted the oversight of the congregation and the ministry of the Word. Secondly, that of deacon, to whom is committed the benevolent and administrative work of the church.
(1 Tim 3:2-13; Acts 6: 1-6)
Death and the Last Things
At death, the souls of believers are made perfect in righteousness and they are received into the immediate presence of Christ to await the redemption of their bodies. The souls of the unrighteous go to Hell where they are reserved until the Last Judgement. There is no other place for the soul departed from the body than these two. At the end of the present age, the Lord Jesus Christ will personally and visibly return to this earth in power and great glory. At the same time, the dead will be raised, both righteous and unrighteous, and all men will be judged at a place appointed by God. The wicked will be consigned to Hell to suffer the just and everlasting punishment for their sin, while the godly will enter into everlasting joy with Christ in the new heavens and new earth.
(Phil 1:23; Luke 16:23,24; Acts 17:31)