Confessional Statement
In pursuit of the call of God to minister His Word, the Crieff Fellowship is committed absolutely to the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, and as expressed in the historic creeds of the Christian Church.
More particularly we believe that…
God has revealed Himself
God is one, holy, and sovereign, our Creator and Redeemer, eternally existing in three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
God has graciously revealed Himself in the created order, and supremely in the person of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Moreover, by His Spirit He has revealed himself in human words.
The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God, entirely trustworthy, and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. As God’s instruction, it is to be believed in all that it teaches; as God’s command, it is to be obeyed in all that it requires; and as God’s pledge, it is to be trusted in all that it promises.
Humanity is made in the image of God
All people without distinction are made in the image of God. From the start they were created equally and together to exercise God’s dominion over all creation as His servants; are summoned to enjoy equal access to God by faith in Jesus Christ; and are called equally to serve Him across the spectrum of society’s life.
It is, however, precisely in their complementary roles, that men and women together are the image of God: and in those distinctive roles they together portray the glory of the triune God, and similarly set forth the wonder of His gospel, showing forth the relationship of love between Christ and His church.
We adhere firmly, therefore, to the clear biblical view of marriage as an exclusive, life-long relationship between one man and one woman, and understand this to be a basic and non-negotiable feature of God’s ordering of society. We cannot, therefore, countenance, the advocacy of ‘equal marriage’ or indeed any other pattern of sexual relations for men and women.
Similarly, as the man and the woman were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union which establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, so, too, in the ministry of the church, while both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to grow to their full potential in the varied ministries of the people of God, a distinctive leadership role within the church is given to qualified men - a pattern of ministry which is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption.
Salvation is by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone
All human beings are now sinners and have incurred both God`s holy wrath and their own shame and guilt. All are therefore in utter need of that redemption which has been effected by God in and through Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ, God's incarnate Son, is fully God; He was born of a virgin; His humanity is real and sinless; He died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God's sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God's act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in Him and not by their own efforts.
The Holy Spirit is the agent of change
The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners through His convicting and regenerating work whereby He enables them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit lives in all those He has regenerated. Through His sanctifying work in their lives He makes them increasingly Christ-like in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness and service in the world.
The Holy Spirit unites all who turn in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ, and together they form the one, holy, universal, apostolic church.
As part of the body of Christ, therefore, our commitment to one another within the Crieff Fellowship transcends denominational ties: the bond of fellowship which we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, under the authority of His Word and in the exercise of His calling to minister His Word, is ultimately more significant today than any denominational allegiance.
The Lord Jesus will return
The Lord Jesus Christ will return, visibly and in person, to judge everyone, to execute God's just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.
The prospect of that coming day underlines the primacy of prayer and the preaching of the Word of God in the life of Christ’s church, and gives an urgency to the pattern of systematic expository preaching as the chief and most fruitful means by which the Lord builds His church, equips the saints and extends His kingdom.