Beliefs

We believe:

• The Bible is the inspired word of God. It is without error and is our final authority in all of life’s matters. It tells of God’s plan to save us through the death of Jesus.
• Jesus is the Son of God. He lived the perfect life under God’s law that we couldn’t. He died so we could be forgiven and rose from the dead, securing eternal life for all who believe in him.
• All Christians are commanded to take part in the mission of telling others about Jesus and what he did for us, spreading the good news (gospel) to the ends of the earth. 
• You can only be born again by believing the gospel. This is not a physical rebirth or reincarnation into this world but a spiritual rebirth into the Kingdom of God.

We stand in the tradition of the Reformation, which took place in the western world from about 1500 to the mid seventeenth century. The Reformation placed the Bible into the hands of ordinary men and women, not just priests, and it had profound implications for western culture. From the Reformation emerged five “solas” which underpin our faith:

• Sola Scriptura (”by Scripture alone”): The Bible alone is our final authority in life.
• Sola Fide (”by faith alone”): We are declared right by God and saved by faith alone. 
• Sola Gratia (”by grace alone”): Grace means that God has saved us according to his own favour alone, not based on any achievements or good deeds we have performed.
• Solus Christus (”Christ alone”): Jesus alone is the mediator between us and God. We can only be reconciled with God because of his life, death, and resurrection.
• Soli Deo Gloria (”glory to God alone”): Since God saved us, by giving us the gift of his Son, Jesus, and the faith to believe in him through the Holy Spirit, we owe all glory to God alone.

We are governed by elders. Our elders meet with other groups of elders, to motivate and encourage each other, in a regional body called the Presbytery. Delegates from each Presbytery get together each year at a General Assembly. It supervises the whole church and is our final court of authority.

We believe God has always worked through covenants (promises). An example is that God has promised to bless the family unit, and so the children of Christian parents are special and privileged. We mark that privilege by baptising infants.

You can find a fuller statement of our beliefs on the Free Church of Scotland website. That includes the Westminster Confession of Faith. It is based on the Bible and each office bearer in our church is committed to knowing and abiding by it.