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Our Mission

Our mission is, by God’s grace,
to love God supremely
and others sincerely
by exalting God,
equipping His church,
and evangelising the lost.

What We Believe

The following briefly summarises the doctrines fundamental to the gospel that every genuine Christian would believe. To be a member of FPBC a person must affirm these truths.

We believe the Bible is the work of God by inspiration through His Spirit by human writers. Scripture and all its parts, down to the very words of the original were given by Divine inspiration. The whole of Scripture therefore is inerrant being free from all falsehood, fraud or deceit. It is the only Word of God and is the supreme and final authority for Christian beliefs and living. 2 Tim 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20, 21, Ps 119:105, 160, 12:6
We believe that God is the one and only God who is eternally living in three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit equal in deity and glory. Gen 1:1, 26, 27, 3:22, Psa 90:2, Matt 28:19, 1 Peter 1:2, 2 Cor 13:14

We believe that Jesus Christ is the only Son of God. In the flesh was both God and man; that he was born of a virgin and that He lived a sinless life, in which He taught and did mighty works, wonders and signs exactly as revealed in the four Gospels; that He was crucified, died as a penalty for our sins, and was raised from the dead bodily on the third day. Later He ascended to the Fathers right hand where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers and from whence He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly to this earth to reign as King of Kings. Matt 1:22, 23, Isa 9:6, John 1:1-5, Hebrews 4:14-15, Acts 1:9-11 

We believe that the Holy Spirit is equal in deity and person with God the Father and God the Son. As the living Holy Spirit, He moved the human authors of the Bible to write God’s Word. He makes people aware of their need for Jesus Christ, performs the miracle of the new birth, and comes to live in every Christian the moment they trust in Jesus Christ. He unites all Christians into one Body of Christ, providing each of them with power for service, understanding of spiritual truth and comfort in life’s trials. Eph 1:13, Rom 8:9, 1 Cor 12:13, 2 Cor 3:17, John 16: 7-13 

We believe that God, by His sovereign choice and out of love for men, sent Christ into the world to save sinners Eph 1:2-5, 1 John 4:14.

We believe that all men are created in the image of God, to be like Him in character. However all men are lost sinners and are alienated from God making them liable for His judgement, and ultimately resulting in eternal death, apart from God’s salvation. Therefore all men must turn to Christ in saving faith and repentance for regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Gen 1:27, Isa 53:6, Rom 3:23, Rev 20:11-15
We believe that Salvation is in the death of Jesus Christ. By His shed blood, the Lord Jesus Christ made a perfect atonement for sin, redeeming us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. Men are saved and justified on the simple and single ground of the shed blood and that eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Such salvation with its forgiveness of sins, the gift of a new nature, and its hope of eternal life, is entirely apart from good works, baptism, church membership-or man’s efforts-and is of pure grace. Eph 2:8, 9, Titus 3:5, John 3:16

We believe that all who receive Christ become joint-heirs with Christ, and at death, their spirits depart to be with Christ in a conscious blessedness and at the rapture their bodies will be raised to the likeness of the body of His glory and dwell forever in His divine presence. 1 Thess 4:13-18, 2 Cor 5:1-6 

We believe that it is the goal of every Christian to grow in spiritual maturity through obedience to the Word of God and the indwelling Spirit. 1 Peter 2:2, Eph 4:13-16 

What We Teach

This is the teaching position of the Elders of Fenton Park Bible Church Rotorua. It is our document of unity. In order for the church to be of one mind, these are the positions we support. Although an individual can be a member of Fenton Park Bible Church and disagree with portions of what we teach, they may not teach any other position to a believer in our fellowship for the sake of unity and accountability.

The Scriptures imply that life begins at conception and indicate that all children are a gift from the Lord (not just those ‘wanted’ or physically perfect). Ps 139:13-16, Ps 127:3, Ex 21:22-25
The primary goal in Church discipline is to “turn one back” and bring the person to repentance so that they can be restored to the body. Discipline is a regular, normal practise that begins with the loving confrontation of sin and is first primarily the responsibility of the believer in the body (not the leadership) to one another. The kind, length, and severity of discipline depends on the nature of the sin.

We teach that God’s creation of the heaven and earth is recent, not millions of years ago; out of nothing ex nihilo and special in 6 consecutive 24 hour periods called “days”. Man therefore was created directly and immediately by God in His image and likeness. 
Gen 1, Gen 2:7, 15-25, James 3:9

God hates divorce because it is a violation of His original plan and design for marriage. Although God hates divorce, he allowed for it to protect the “innocent party” (In the Old Testament adulterers were stoned). The primary reason for allowing, but not requiring divorce, is an ongoing pattern of adultery (continual unrepentant sin). There is the possibility that Scripture allow for divorce between a believer and unbeliever.
Gen. 2:24; Mal. 2:16; Matt 19:6, 9; Matt 5:32; 1 Cor. 7:15

We believe that a believer is eternally secure, that he cannot lose his salvation, but that sin may interrupt the joy of his fellowship with God and bring the loving discipline of his Heavenly Father. John 10:27-30; Romans 8: 31-38

God is the author of government and sovereignly controls those who are in power. Their purpose is to punish evil and deter its effects as well as reward those who do good. Believers are required to submit to and honour their governmental authority as well as pray for their government. A believer’s goal is not to clean up our government or society but to proclaim the gospel of Christ, and allow Him to change society from the inside out. Romans 13:1-7; 1 Tim 2: 1,2; 1 Peter 2:17
God’s original design was for a man to be married to a woman, for life. Therefore, the Scriptures condemn all forms of sexual immorality: pre-marital sex, adultery, casual sexual relationships, incest, paedophilia, homosexuality, beastiality… This condemnation is not cultural, but expresses God’s attitude towards behaviour that mocks His original design. Ultimately Christ and the spiritual resources He provides (The Holy Spirit, prayer, the Word, fellow believers) are the only answer for sexual sin. Gen. 1:27-28; 2:18-25; Matt 5:31-32; 19:1-12; Rom 1:24-32; 7:1-3; 1 Cor 5:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Cor 7:1-16; Eph. 5:18-33 (These passages deal with sin issues as well as the true picture of biblical marriage. A broad read of Old Testament Scripture will reinforce these issues)
In the home the man is to provide headship and leadership for the family, loving his wife by sensitively communicating with her, protecting her purity and encouraging her spiritual growth. He should provide for the tangible needs of the family household, and should train the children to be faithful followers of Christ. In the church the men are to be the leaders and teachers. Eph 5:23 – 29; 6:4; 1 Cor 11:3; 1 Tim 2:12
The Scriptures teach that women are equally created in the image of God and in relation to salvation and standing with Christ, are equal with men. Although equal with men as far as identity and person, women have a distinct and different role. In the home: The primary responsibility for women is within the family (It is recognised that God has sovereignly allowed for singles and women without children to have unique freedom for other ministry.) In the church: Christian women have spiritual gifts and are expected to utilise them in ministering to the Body according to their Biblical design. 1 Tim 5:14; Eph 5:22; 1 Tim 2:12,15; Titus 2:3-5.
Marriage is considered by God as the Grace of Life. This in no way diminishes the importance of singleness in the Bible but exalts God’s design. The Foundational requirement for Christian marriage is that a believer should not marry an unbeliever, but to marry a fellow believer for life. In order to marry in God’s will, a couple must have a pure relationship, demonstrate maturity and responsibility so each partner can meet appropriate Biblical expectations of the husband and wife in marriage. Genesis 2:24, 25, 2 Cor 6:14, 1 Cor 7:1-5
The Scriptures indicate that death frees a spouse to remarry. Where a Biblically permissible divorce has occurred the possibility of remarriage is assumed. Rom 7:1-3; 1 Cor. 7:39
Scripture contains many clear passages about the subject of Spiritual Gifts. Eg: Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 4:11-13, 1 Peter 4:10-11. Spiritual Gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design and grace for the benefit of the body of Christ. Spiritual Gifts allow us to serve one another, build up one another for ministry in the church, and ultimately bring glory to God. There are various assessment guides to help you discover your God given Passions, Spiritual Gifts and Personal Style. The Elders encourage you to discover your giftedness.
God works differently throughout history. Certain spiritual gifts had a unique purpose in the first Century. These are often referred to as sign gifts (miracles, tongues etc.) The Apostles had a foundational role in the writing of the New Testament and the primary purpose of the sign gifts was to verify their authority. Eph 2:20; 1 Cor 12:27-28. Although others had these sign gifts, the apostles were the only ones who had the authority to pass on the capacity to do these signs and wonders to one another. There are only three time periods where miracles had a major emphasis in History: Moses, Elijah and Elisha and the New Testament church. Tongues were for a sign to unbelieving Jews. They were a real language not understood by the speaker yet known by some present. There is no record of the gift of tongues in later epistles. The gift of healing primarily verified the authority of the Apostles. Just because someone may appear to perform miracles does not indicate that it is from God, since Satan appears as an angel of light and is able to perform miracles. Matt 7:21-23.

© Fenton Park Bible Church Rotorua 2024