Statement of Faith

Our statement of faith is the key doctoral prinicipal that we hold to as the SCO. Each of our members, volunteers and members of staff are required to commit to upholding this undertaking without any reservation.

1. We believe in the Truine God.

Our doctoral understanding is that of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is inspired by both the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible.

2. We believe in the gift of salvation.

We believe that Christ Jesus is the Messiah and was born from the Virgin Mary. We hold to the virtue that he became human and yet lived a sinless life. Despite this, he worked wonders whilst on earth and died on the cross for our sin and atonement. Salvation is thus given through grace, repentance and faith and not by human works.

3. We believe in fellowship and community.

We hold the belief that the church constitutes a unified body with Christ as its head. As a collective, we ought to maintain our unity through fellowship, which manifests in prayer and service to God, while ultimately striving to lead a righteous and holy life. We are confident that this is attainable through the Holy Spirit, which instills conviction and guides us towards a renewed life in Christ. In this journey, we affirm our belief in the physical and glorious return of Christ, and consequently, that the redeemed should be united with Him by accepting the gift of eternal life in the everlasting resting place.

The official statement of faith of the SCO reads as follows:

 

We believe that:

  1. The Holy Bible (the Old and New Testaments) as originally given by God, is divinely inspired, entirely trustworthy and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
  2. There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This sovereign God created the universe and pronounced it good.
  3. Our Lord Jesus Christ is God visible in a body, born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless human life. During His earthly ministry He worked miracles and taught about the Kingdom of God. He died in our place to atone for our sins. He was buried, and on the third day arose from the dead. He ascended into heaven. He is the only Mediator between God and humankind and Saviour of the world.
  4. Humankind, male and female, was created in the image of God, with consequent dignity, delegated authority and creation stewardship. As a result of the fall, all people are lost and sinful, subject to condemnation and in need of salvation.
  5. Salvation is available only through the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ and His salvation are received by repentance and faith, not by human effort, as the Holy Spirit brings about the new birth.
  6. The Holy Spirit convicts and draws sinners to Christ and imparts new life to them, indwelling, empowering and equipping each believer, who is thereby enabled to live a holy life, to witness, and to serve the Lord Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, evangelism, discipline, compassion, justice and righteousness.
  7. All believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are spiritually united with each other. They comprise the Church, the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head.
  8. The Lord Jesus Christ will return personally in power and authority. All the dead will be raised: those who are saved to eternal life and those who are lost to condemnation.