What We Believe.
Chelmsford Bible Church is a Christian church and we hold to the essentials of Christian faith; however, we leave room for differences and discovery when it comes to non-essential issues.
About the Trinity. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit exist in perfect community together from eternity past, now and forever. They exist as one God in three persons exercising distinct roles.
Genesis 1:26; Matthew 3:16-17; 15:28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Jude 1:20-21
About God the Father. The Father is God. Through his sovereign will all things exist and come to be. He has forever existed, perfect, self-sufficient and self-sustaining.
Genesis 1:26; 11:7; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; Luke 3:21-22; John 1:1- 2,14,18; Romans 8; Heb. 1:8- 9; 1 Peter 1:2; Revelation 1:5-6; 22:3
About Jesus Christ. Jesus is God. He entered the world, lived a perfect life as both fully man and fully God and died on a cross to secure the salvation of all mankind. After three days in the grave, He defeated sin and death and rose from the grave. He will return one day to rule and reign.
John 1:1-18, Colossians 1:13-22
About the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God. He is present in the world to make people aware of their need for salvation, and He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, comfort, spiritual gifts and abilities, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right.
Genesis 1:2, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 1:13-14
About Salvation. Because of our sinful nature, the Bible teaches that man cannot enter into heaven no matter how good of a life he may have lived. Jesus Christ came to earth to take the punishment for the sin of all mankind, and our only hope for salvation is faith in the truth that Jesus died for our sin and made a way for us to gain the righteousness it takes to enter heaven.
Genesis 3, Romans 3:10-23, Romans 6:23, Ephesians 2:8-9
About the Bible. The Bible is God's Word, or His communication with us. It is inspired by Him, written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living.
2 Timothy 3:15-17, 2 Peter 1:19-21
About the Church. The Bible teaches that the church is the body of Christ in the world today. A local church is made up of baptized followers of Jesus Christ. The church should live out the mission of Christ as His body.
Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:41-47, Colossians 1:8, 1 Peter 5:1-5
About Baptism. Baptism is an act of obedience for every believer. We practice baptism by immersion, symbolizing the imagery of salvation through Jesus - that our old selves have been crucified and buried, and that we now live a new life by the power of His resurrection.
Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:9, Romans 6:3-4, Colossians 2:12
About Mission. We believe that the mission of the church is to reveal the good news of Jesus to a lost world. This is done through loving one another within the church, loving those outside of the church and through the verbal proclamation of the gospel.
John 20:21; Matt. 28:18-20; Phil 2:1-10
About Worship. Worship is at the very heart of the church’s life. All that the church is and does is rooted in its worship of God. The community of faith, gathered in response to God’s call, is formed in its worship. Worship is the principal influence that shapes our faith, and is the most visible way we express our faith.
Psalm 107:1; Psalm 127:1-6; John 4:23; Psalm 81:1-2
About the Kingdom. God’s good intentions and instructions established in the creation, continue to be lived out through his people through all history. Jesus’ life, death, burial and resurrection gave us example, instruction and the power to live out God’s intentions and instruction for his Kingdom. Jesus will return in power when he fully establishes his kingdom at his second coming.
Matt. 4:17; Matt. 5-7; Luke 18:16; Rom. 14:17; 1 Cor. 4:20; Rev. 5
About Gender. We believe that God created human beings as male and female, both created in His image. We believe that God created them unique and special as separate genders where both genders uniquely reflect God's image.
About Marriage. We believe that God created marriage to be a union between one man and one woman, and intimate sexual union should be done only within the confines of this marital union.
This statement of faith is not an exhaustive list, but does cover the basic tenets of our faith. For a more exhaustive list that is the final authority of our church as it exists as an affiliate of the Primitive Methodist Church in the USA, you can read their doctrinal beliefs here.