We are a Bible based, Christ-centred, elder-led church and we have been meeting together for 60+ years. We adhere to the Biblical teaching that mankind has a problem with sin, that God has provided a solution to the problem, and when we choose to avail ourselves of the solution, we are saved from the consequences of our sin and receive the free gift of eternal life.
Romans 6:23a: the wages of sin is death ………
We cannot solve our own sin problem. None of us are good enough and we cannot earn our salvation.
Romans 3:23: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Because we are not able to save ourselves, The Lord Jesus Christ died in our place to pay the penalty for our sin which was death. His death paid the full price of our salvation.
Romans 5:8 God demonstrated his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Because God loves us so much, He sent the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be the perfect sinless substitute to bear the penalty of our sin.
Now we know that we have a sin problem, resulting in eternal separation from God (death) and that He has provided the solution, how are we saved?
Romans 10:9-10: If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
To confess is to speak out loud that Jesus is Lord and believe that His resurrection results in having eternal life.
All of this is consistent with the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, through Christ alone.
John 14:6: Jesus said ….. I am the way, the Truth and the Life. No-one comes to the Father except through me.
Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ brings us into a relationship of peace with God. When we accept God’s gift, we have the assurance of knowing we’ll never be condemned for our sins.
Romans 5:1: since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Romans 8:1: now there is no condemnation (death, eternal separation from God) for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
If you’d like to talk about this with someone, please feel free to contact us.
*******************
With regard to leadership, the Bible teaches that Jesus the Great Shepherd, is the head of the Church and Elders are appointed to shepherd the household of faith, which is described in the Bible as the body of Christ; the Church.
When the elders are addressed in the New Testament the word is plural, indicating a commitment to a plurality of leadership. The Biblical qualifications for elders are listed 1 Timothy 3:1-7. One of those qualifications is that he should not be a novice. Each of our current Elders have many years of experience in the faithand in leadership. Some have also had previous leadership experience in other assemblies in Tasmania and/or other states of Australia. Our assembly adviser is a brother who has been an elder but cannot fully function as an elder due to personal circumstances. His experience and wisdom is still valued and sought by the functioning elders when the need arises.