At Christ Church Cascades we belong to a denomination called REACH-SA (Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa). The denomination is a structure which serves us as a local church by holding us accountable and ensuring that we do not depart from the gospel, which the Bible teaches. It’s a great privilege to be part of a denomination such as this, which values the Bible as God’s truth handed down to us, and makes sure we keep teaching it and living it. Below is a summary of what we believe:
We believe in one God, the creator and sustainer of all life. He exists as one God in three equal yet distinct persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is totally and unchangeably holy, just, wise and loving.
All people are created in the image of God, and therefore have inherent value and worth. However, since sin entered the world, every aspect of our image-bearing has been corrupted to some degree, and we are by very nature ourselves sinful. We are all therefore under the just judgement of God.
Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. We affirm the biblical teaching that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin and that he lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. On the cross he died as a substitute for sinners – in our place – to bear God’s punishment for our sin, and redeem us for God. He rose from the dead, and is currently at the Father’s right hand – where he intercedes with God the Father for his people.
He is the 3rd person of the Trinity. He is at work in God’s people, allowing us to understand and apply God’s Word (the Bible) to our lives. He convicts people of their sin, and enables us to understand the impact of Jesus’ death for them. He is the comforting presence of God with all believers, and is at work in our sanctification (becoming increasingly like Jesus).
There is only one way in which people can be made right with God, and that is through faith in the work that Jesus has done on our behalf. We cannot earn or merit our salvation – it is entirely a gift of God which he has chosen to give us.
In the Bible we have all the revelation from God that we need – for in the Bible we see who he is and what he has done. God inspired every word to be written through human authors, so that as originally given, it is in its entirety the infallible word of God. The Bible as the word of God is sufficient for all matters of belief and practice, and as it is God’s word – should be submitted to by all Christians.
The church is God’s new humanity, a people from every tribe, tongue and nation, showing how God is at work making things new through the gospel of Jesus. Each local church is an outpost of God’s kingdom, and as such we strive in the Spirit’s power, to honour God in our relationships with each other – and with the neighbourhood around us.
The church exists primarily to share the news that Jesus Christ is Lord, as directed by Jesus himself (Matt 28:19 & Acts 1:8). As such, we want to direct all our efforts and growth toward this goal.
