Christ Church Liverpool Beliefs

We believe the entire Bible, comprising the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, was written by men inspired by God. As such it comprises the Word of God. As originally given, the Bible is true in its entirety, and it is the supreme authority by which all human conduct, creeds, opinions and beliefs should be tested.

We believe there is only one living and true God. He is an infinite, eternal, intelligent being. In the unity of the Godhead there are three distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are equal in being, but execute distinct roles in the great work of God in salvation.

We believe Jesus Christ, as he is truly revealed in the Bible, is the Son of God. He was fully God from eternity. Through the incarnation he became fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a perfect, righteous and sinless life - as recorded in the Gospels of the New Testament. He was put to death by crucifixion and his body was physically buried. On the third day he was physically raised from the dead. He ascended into Heaven and is now seated in glory at the right hand of his Father.

We believe the entire universe was created by God, through the agency of Jesus Christ, and that it, and everything in it, is sustained by Him. He is completely sovereign over his creation, so that nothing may take place which is not in accordance with his permissive will.

We believe God created humankind, male and female, in his likeness. Humankind was created in original righteousness to worship God and to enjoy a relationship of fellowship with Him. Through voluntary disobedience they fell from that state and became subject to the just judgement of God. In consequence all men and women are by nature subject to sin, positively inclined to do evil, and incapable of regaining or attaining righteousness by their own efforts. They live under the just condemnation of God, in enmity towards Him and alienated from Him. After death they face certain judgement and stand rightly and fairly condemned to eternal punishment.

We believe God has intervened in history to save men and women from sin and judgement, so they might be restored to true righteousness and reconciled to enjoy eternal fellowship with him. Men and women are saved wholly by God through grace. Such salvation is made possible only through the mediatorial work of the Son of God. By means of his death upon the cross, Jesus Christ made a full atonement for our sins. Jesus willingly stood in our place as a substitute and representative, becoming sin for us, thereby taking upon himself the just judgement of God which we deserve. He obediently offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins to propitiate the wrath of God against us. By virtue of his death, men and women may receive the forgiveness of their sins, freedom from condemnation, and a new spiritual life which will continue for eternity.

We believe the salvation made possible through the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ is effective to save only those men and women who repent of their sins and exercise true faith in Jesus Christ by submitting to Him as their Lord and Master. Salvation is bestowed freely upon those who exercise genuine repentance and true faith, and is not earned by the performance of works of righteousness.

We believe in order to receive salvation a man or a woman must be regenerated, or born again, by the work of the Holy Spirit of God. Without such regeneration, men and women remain under the condemnation and power of sin, spiritually dead and incapable of exercising genuine repentance and faith. The Holy Spirit alone is able to convict and convince men and women of their sinful state, of the fact they face the certain prospect of the eternal judgement of God, and consequently of their need of salvation. The Holy Spirit alone enables people to understand, and take hold of for themselves, the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit alone is likewise able to bring men and women to rebirth and new spiritual life, enabling them to place voluntary faith in Jesus Christ. Such faith is itself a gift of God.

A person who exercises genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ is thereby justified before God in accordance with His promise. Justification involves the receipt from God of a sure and certain pardon of all sin, whether past, present or future, and the imputation of the perfect righteousness of Christ. A justified person is as acceptable to God as Jesus Christ himself, and is adopted into the family of God as a son and heir. We believe when a person is regenerated and justified by genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit enters them and makes His dwelling in them. The presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of a regenerate person brings assurance of salvation, confidence of adoption into the family of God, and guarantees they will receive eternal life in the age to come.

We believe those who are regenerated, justified, sanctified and indwelt by the presence of the Holy Spirit are subject to the transforming work of God. While such persons will never be entirely free from sin before being raised to new resurrection life in the age to come, in this present life they will experience a progressive growth in righteousness and godliness. By the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, taken hold of by putting to death sinful desires, their lives will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit and they will be brought to be increasingly Christlike in character. Whilst salvation is not earned by the performance of works of righteousness, it is always evidenced by godly conduct and the performance of good works pleasing to God.

We believe the Universal Church is the spiritual body of Christ and consists of all people who have exercised genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ and have been adopted into the family of God. The Universal Church is a world-wide body, and its members are united in fellowship with one another irrespective of race or nationality. The extent of the Universal Church is known to God alone and remains invisible to man. Jesus Christ is the head of the Universal Church, and it is the body through which He accomplishes the world-wide proclamation of the gospel message. The Holy Spirit bestows gifts upon members of the Universal Church which enable it to grow to maturity in Christ.

We believe members of the Universal Church are commanded to join together as local congregations. A local church is a visible assembly of regenerate individuals, organised in unity under a suitably qualified leadership, who meet together to join in corporate worship, fellowship, prayer, teaching, instruction and to encourage one another to persevere in faith and good works. A local church must duly administer the twin signs of grace instituted by Jesus Christ, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and exercise such discipline as may become necessary against believers who fall into apostasy or commit open and notorious sin (that which brings shame on the church) of which they are unrepentant.

We believe at a time unknown to any but God himself, Jesus Christ will return from heaven to bring this world, and this current age, to an end. He will return in person and in great power to gather all his people to himself. The dead shall be raised and all men and women shall be judged by him. A solemn separation will then take place. Those who are not regenerate and justified shall be condemned to eternal punishment in hell. Those who are regenerate and justified shall dwell eternally in the presence of God, reigning with Christ in his Kingdom.

We believe God speaks to men and women today through the Scriptures. When the Scriptures are read or explained, whether publicly or privately, God speaks by His Spirit. The Scriptures contain everything which it is necessary for God to say to enable men and women to come to salvation through Christ, and to grow to maturity in Christ so that they might know how to live to please him. Since the Scriptures are entirely sufficient in this regard, no additional word or revelation from God is required to enable a person to know God, or to know His will. Where anyone claims that God is speaking a word by any means other than through the Scriptures, such word shall not be accepted unless it is first tested to determine whether it is consistent with the Scriptures. In accordance with the teaching of the New Testament, the Elders of the church are the persons within the congregation who bear the responsibility for assessing whether any such word is genuinely from God.

We believe Baptism into the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is an outward sign which marks a person’s regeneration and baptism by the Holy Spirit into membership of the Church of Jesus Christ. As such it should only be administered to a person who publicly professes faith in Jesus Christ. Baptism should, wherever possible and practicable, be administered by immersion in water, symbolising that the person baptised has been united with Christ in His death and resurrection, and is the possessor of the benefits thereof.

We believe the Lord’s Supper is a remembrance meal at which Christian believers share bread and wine together to remind themselves of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, of the new covenant of salvation which He inaugurated, and to proclaim that He will return. Jesus Christ is no more present at a celebration of the Lord’s Supper than at any other gathering of the members of a local church. The Lord’s Supper should be celebrated on a regular basis by the members of the church demonstrating their unity in the body of Christ.

We believe God is sovereign in the salvation of men and women. Those persons who exercise genuine repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ do so because they have been chosen by God. Knowledge of this truth promotes among believers absolute humility and assurance of salvation. However it does not follow from the truth of election that believers need not participate in mission and evangelism. The Church is commanded by Jesus Christ to preach the gospel to all men everywhere, and the proclamation of the gospel is the means by which the elect are brought to salvation.

We believe that every genuine believer is baptised by the Holy Spirit at the moment at which they are regenerated and brought to true faith in Jesus Christ. Every genuine believer is always indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but it does not follow that every believer is necessarily filled with the Spirit at all times. All believers are urged by Scripture to ensure that they are increasingly yielded to the power, influence and control of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.

We believe Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, and he provides the sole means by which men and women may come to salvation. The Christian faith is the only true religion, and adherence to any other belief cannot lead to salvation. Believers in Jesus Christ are required to display tolerance in their attitude towards those of other faiths, but also to seek to bring them to a true saving knowledge of Him by prayer and evangelism.

We believe a local church congregation should be led by two or more suitably gifted Elders. Whilst God created men and women in absolute equality, He also ordained that leadership in the family, within the context of marriage, and in the church, should be the functional responsibility of men. For this reason the Elders of the church are required to be men. The duly appointed Elders of the church are the under-shepherds of Christ, and they must exercise their leadership of the local church in accordance with the character of Christ’s own leadership of the Universal Church. They are to love the members of the church and to give themselves in their service, working to present them to Christ as holy and blameless. In turn the members of the church are required to submit themselves to the leadership of the Elders, in so far as such leadership is exercised in accordance with the Scriptures. Members of the church with appropriate gifts and character, both men and women, may be set apart as Deacons to serve particular needs arising in the life of the church.

We believe every member of the church is called by God to utilise their gifts by ministering to other members of the church. The provision of teaching and pastoral care within the life of the church is not the sole responsibility of the Elders and Deacons. We believe every believer is a priest who enjoys direct access to God and is able to minister to others. The Elders and Deacons of the church are believers who have been appointed by the members of the church to provide pastoral leadership of the congregation, in recognition that they are suitable in character and gifts to undertake such responsibilities.