Core Beliefs at Swords Baptist Church
God
He is the Creator of all, existing in three co-equal and eternal persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who is gracious in His love towards all. In His holiness, God hates sin and cannot leave the guilty unpunished.
Humankind
Human beings, created in God’s image, by exercising their free will, have disobeyed the Creator. Therefore, fellowship with God is broken. As a result, people are incapable of saving themselves.
Jesus Christ
Jesus is fully God, who became man to save us from the consequences of our sin. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and died sacrificially on a cross as our substitute. He was buried, but rose again bodily, and subsequently ascended into Heaven. He will return in time to complete His Kingdom.
Core Beliefs
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us of our sin, baptises us into the Church when we become Christians, and lives with us thereafter. Through His power, sin is overcome. The Spirit is the one who teaches us truth and equips us with gifts, so that the Lord Jesus might be glorified.
The Bible
God reveals Himself to us through the Bible. He is its ultimate author, and it is without error in any part, or on any subject, in the original manuscripts. It is our final authority in terms of our doctrine and daily living.
How we become Christians
We believe that salvation is by grace alone. Eternal life is freely given when we admit our sin and accept Jesus’ death on the Cross as the way to see our sin forgiven and to become a child of God.
Judgement
There is a literal Hell: Jesus spoke of such a place. All who die not knowing Jesus as their Saviour will go there after the final Judgement.
The Devil
The Devil does exist. He is God’s enemy, seeking to deceive us and draw us to worshiping Him. He was defeated at the Cross and will be cast into “the Lake of Fire” after the final judgement.
The Church
The church is the company of born again believers everywhere, and Jesus Christ is its head. Locally, the church meets as groups of Christians for corporate worship, fellowship, prayer, instruction, and witness.