Beliefs are Important

The fact that you’re reading this says some very good things about you.  Some people are more interested in what a church does than what it believes.  Many people would say, “You are a church, so you believe in God.”  The truth is that there are many people who believe in God without agreeing with everyone else as to what they believe about God.  That’s why there are different religions and even different Christian denominations.  Sadly, there are religious organizations, some who might call themselves churches, who won’t even agree whether they believe in God.

Therefore, without writing a whole theology book, we want people who come to our website to get a good idea what they will hear when they come to our church.  Although the doctrines of our denomination are laid out in much greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms, the most important thing to know is that we believe the Bible is the final authority on what is right theology as well as what is right anything else.  It is for this reason that we begin our statement of faith (what we believe) with a statement about the Bible.

The Bible

We believe the Bible (all 66 books) is the written Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and 100% correct in the original manuscripts (writings) and in all that it affirms including matters of faith, history, economics, relationships, morality, science and so forth.  The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth (II Pet. 1:21) and is infallible, that is without error, and authoritative in all we need for life and Godliness (II Tim. 3:16-17).

God

We believe in the holy Trinity (Triune-God) which means that there is only one God (Deut. 6:4), yet three persons in the Godhead:  Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:16-17).

God is the absolute Sovereign over everything from the entire universe (and beyond if there is anything more) to the very smallest bit of matter or energy.  There is nothing outside of His control including time, space, emotions, science, desires, thinking, or even sin (Eph. 1:11; Prov. 16:4; Rom. 11:36; Gen. 50:20).

Jesus (which means Savior) Christ (the Old Testament word is Messiah—the anointed one), the second person of the Godhead, is fully God and fully man (John 1:1, 14; Phil. 2:6; Gal. 4:4) and is the promised one of the Old Testament prophecies who would save His people from sin (Isa. 53:2-11; I Pet. 1:18-21).

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead, makes the believers alive and both indwells and purifies them while leading and teaching them in the truth of God’s Word.

Man

All men and women are created in God’s image, a truth which establishes the sanctity of human life (Gen. 1:26-27).

Each person is a sinner, spiritually dead because of Adam’s sin, and is unable to be saved from this condition by personal initiative or abilities (Gen. 2:17; Rom. 3:10-12; 5:12; I Cor. 15:21-22).

Salvation

Salvation is only by God’s grace (free gift—Eph. 2:8-9) which we acknowledge through trusting in Jesus’s perfect life and sacrificial death (John 3:16-18).

We are justified (declared right with God) because the death of Jesus paid the full penalty of our sin and the perfection of His life replaces our sinfulness on our “account” before God (Rom. 4:5-8).

Christian Life

Although we contribute nothing to our salvation, the reality of our being born again is manifested by the rejection of sin (Rom. 6:8-13) and exhibiting the fruit of right living (Gal 5:22-23) and good works (Tit. 3:5-6; Psa. 116:12-13; James 2:14-18; I Peter 2:9).

The Christian life of gratitude is a life lived by the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit indwells God’s people, giving them the strength and power to live changed lives (John 14:26; 16:7-11; Rom. 6:6, 14).

The Church

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself established the Church as His representative body on earth, equipping it to be the believer’s source of fellowship, growth, and service (I Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11-13).  The Bible calls it Christ’s Body and His Bride (Eph. 1:10, 22-23; 5:23, 27, 32).

Christ’s Church is to be humbly governed by elders.  "Presbyterian" comes from the Greek word which is translated in Scripture as elder indicating the spiritual maturity that is expected for one in this leadership office.  The apostle Paul appointed elders in each church he planted (Acts 14:23), and all elders are equal in stature and authority.

God calls elders to the work of oversight (Acts 20:28), equipping them to shepherd God’s people through instruction in His Word, encouragement, and discipline.

Through the elders’ faithful pastoring, God nurtures and leads His Church into mature worship, selfless work, and effective witness (Eph. 4:11-16).

God gives spiritual gifts to every individual member of the local Church, so that, being the manifestation of the Body of Christ, the church grows in interdependency in its work and maturity (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:1-12).

We are one small branch of Christ’s Church, which has existed as an organized body since Abraham.  We are also part of the Presbyterian Church in America, a denomination that strives to be faithful to the Scriptures, true to the tradition and teachings of the 16th century Protestant Reformation, and obedient to the Great Commission (to share the good news—evangelize—of Jesus, the Savior).

Outreach and Culture

God chooses those who will be in His Church before the foundation of the world (Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:4-6), but He uses the means of evangelism to draw his waiting elect to himself (Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 10:14-15).  Therefore, since it is God’s work, our most important obedience in this area is active prayer (Matt. 9:37-38).

God calls his redeemed people to be light in our dark world, declaring His “praises” (I Pet. 2:9), not hiding ourselves from the world but demonstrating to that world the truth of who He is by the fruit of good works (Matt. 5:15-16).

God has made the Church to be “the salt of the world,” which means she is to have a biblical worldview that is demonstrated in a preserving and flavoring influence in the culture (Matt. 5:13).  Believers should therefore be engaged in every area of life—common and skilled labor, academics, economics, politics, the arts and entertainment, technology, etc.; doing everything they do with excellence and as unto the Lord or as though their working directly for Him (Eccl. 9:10; I Cor. 10:31).

God has called believers to be in the world but not of the world (John 17:14-15; I Cor. 5:9), engaging individuals and influencing institutions with the truth of the Gospel and the claims of Christ.

The Resurrection and Christ’s Return

Jesus rose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return physically to judge the living and the dead.  On that day, salvation will still be based, not on our works, but on God’s grace, freely given to all who trust in Jesus (John 5:28-29; II Cor. 5:10)