ELI is a Christian organisation and pursue its purposes in accordance with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the values of the Kingdom of God as articulated in the Holy Scriptures. All members of the Institute subscribe to the Apostles Creed. ELI also affirms the following Statement of Faith in its theological training programs.

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The Bible

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We believe that the 66 books of the Bible, as given in the original languages, are the complete, infallible, inerrant and inspired Word of God. Therefore, the Bible is the ultimate authority relating to matters of doctrine, morality and life. The Bible is wholly sufficient for what we need to know regarding our faith, salvation and the Christian life.

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The Trinity

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We believe that there is only one true and eternal God, who is the creator of heaven and earth, and who exists as a unity in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The three persons of the trinity are the same in substance and equal in power and glory. God is Spirit, infinite, perfect, holy, and immutable in His being, and has all power, all knowledge, and all wisdom, and governs all things according to His sovereign will for His eternal glory.

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Jesus Christ

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We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, having two natures inseparably united in one person, without confusion, mixture, separation, or division. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect life, was crucified, died, and was buried, on the third day He rose bodily from the grave, appeared to His disciples, and ascended to heaven. We believe that Jesus Christ came in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecies and is the long-expected Messiah, the eternal Son of God and the only Saviour of the world.

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Man

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We believe that man, male and female, was created in the image of God, but the first man Adam rebelled and sinned against God. As a result, man fell into sin, became totally depraved, unwilling to glorify God and always suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Consequently, in union with Adam, human beings are now sinners by nature and by choice, estranged from God and living under His wrath.

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The Atonement

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We believe that God, from before the foundation of the world, because of his love, has chosen a certain number of people in Christ Jesus, to reconcile them to himself to become a covenant people, or his church, and to declare his righteous acts and virtues. Consequently, Jesus Christ made a complete atonement for His people through His perfect life and substitutionary atoning death on the cross. For all who truly repent and trust in Jesus alone for salvation, God imputes Jesus’ righteousness to them securing full redemption. Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man, and the only name by which we may be saved.

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The Holy Spirit

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We believe that in His sovereign grace and mercy, God regenerates sinners by the power of the Holy Spirit, bringing them to newness of life. God’s gift of faith and the continuing work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers result in sanctification and good works. The Holy Spirit indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers all believers to be disciples and witnesses of the Lord Jesus.

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The Church

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We believe that the true (invisible) church consists of the whole number of the elect, whom Christ has purchased with his own blood, from all ages, peoples, nations and languages, to be reconciled to God under the Lordship of Christ. The true church finds expression in the confession, worship and ministry of local (visible) church gatherings, where the Word of God is preached, where the sacraments are administered, and where spiritual discipline is exercised according to the commandments of the Lord. The task of the church is to glorify God, to equip believers and to proclaim the gospel in the extension of God’s kingdom in the world. We believe that the church is separate from the world and that Christ, the head, governs the church by his Word and Spirit. Christ not only established the church but will always purify and preserve a holy remnant to be distinct from the idolatry, decadence and mindset of the world.

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The Second Coming

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We believe that the gospel will be preached to all peoples and that God’s kingdom will spread throughout the whole world for the salvation of the elect and the glory of his name. We believe that at the end of the age, at a time known only to God, Jesus Christ will personally return to rescue those who believe the gospel and to judge those who are disobedient. At the second coming of the Lord, God will raise the dead, assigning unbelievers to everlasting condemnation and believers to everlasting blessedness in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace.

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The Civil Government

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We believe that civil government derives its authority from God, the Lord and King of all the world. Consequently, civil government functions under God, based on the recognition of inalienable human rights, for the public good, to defend the rights of those who do good and to punish those who do evil. When the laws of civil government curtail the liberty of the church or contradict God’s moral law Christians are bound to obey God rather than man. Therefore, we pray for civil rulers and governments that they may government according to God’s righteousness and that under them we may live a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and integrity.

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Christianity & Culture

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We support the work of Christian organisations and institutions that acknowledges the ultimate authority of Scripture and the lordship of Jesus Christ. We also encourage organizations that help people who are in need or in difficulty, and organisations which are committed to protecting the environment and benefiting society.  We especially support organisations that denounce the murder of defenceless human beings at the earliest stages of their development and that reject unbiblical definitions of gender, sexuality and marriage.

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* The Statement of Faith is based on several historical creeds and confessions, including: The Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Athanasian Creed, The Chalcedonian Creed, The Belgic Confession, The Westminster Confession of Faith, The London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689), Ligonier Ministries’ Statement of Faith, World Evangelical Alliance Statement of Faith, and The Evangelical Free Church of America’s Statement of Faith.