We believe in...
The Triune God
God is the uncreated creator of all things, visible and invisible. He is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. Nothing happens except through him and by his will: he preserves and governs all his creatures and their actions.
Exodus 3:14, 34:6-7; Leviticus 19:2; Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 115:3; Romans 11:33-34; 1 Timothy 1:17, 6:15-16
The one true and living God eternally exists in three divine persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
Matthew 28:19; John 1:1, 17:5; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2
The Scriptures
The Bible (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments) is the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. The Bible authoritatively and sufficiently teaches what mankind must believe about God and what God requires of mankind.
Deuteronomy 29:29; Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; John 5:39; Romans 10:17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
Humanity
God created human beings, male and female, in his own image, to know God their creator, love him with all their heart, live with him in eternal happiness, and glorify him in all their endeavors.
But Adam sinned and forfeited his original blessedness–for himself and all his progeny. As a result, all human beings are alienated from God, corrupt in every aspect of their being, and condemned finally and irrevocably to death under his just and holy wrath–apart from God’s own sovereign, loving, and gracious intervention. The supreme need of all human beings is to be reconciled to God, under whose just and holy wrath they stand, and the only hope of all human beings is the undeserved love of this same God, who alone can rescue and restore.
Genesis 1:27-28; Psalm 8; Colossians 3:10; Ephesians 4:24; Romans 5:12-18
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the only savior for sinners. He, being the eternal Son of God, became man and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures and one person forever. Born without sin, he lived an ordinary human life, kept God’s law perfectly, and atoned for sin through his sacrificial, substitutionary death on the cross. He resurrected bodily from the grave, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God where he continues to make intercession for his people. He will return one day in bodily, visible form to judge the world, gather his people, and make all things new.
Genesis 3:15; Psalm 2:7; Isaiah 9:6, 52:13–53:12; Matthew 3:17, 17:5; John 1:18; Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:6-11; 1 Timothy 2:5-6, 3:16; Hebrews 7:24-25
Salvation
Salvation is by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ. From all eternity, God determined to save a great multitude of guilty sinners. God justifies, sanctifies, and glorifies those who have faith in Jesus Christ–all to the praise of his glorious grace. Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby the individual receives and rests upon Jesus alone for salvation, as he is offered in the gospel.
Habakkuk 2:4; Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:23-26; Philippians 3:9; Ephesians 1:3-14, 2:8-9
This salvation, secured by Christ, is applied to God’s people by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit regenerates (converts) individuals by convicting them of sin and comforting them with the gospel, enabling them to respond in faith and repentance. The Holy Spirit indwells believers, applying the benefits of redemption, equipping them with spiritual gifts for the building up of the church, and sealing them for the day of redemption.
Jeremiah 31:33-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 3:5, 16:8-11, 20:21-23; Acts 1:8; Galatians 5:16-26; Titus 3:4-7
The Restoration of All Things
When Jesus Christ returns in bodily, visible form, he will exercise his role as the final judge with great power and glory, and his kingdom will be consummated. There will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust–the unjust to eternal conscious punishment in hell, and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of him who sits on the throne, in the new heaven and the new earth.
On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering, and triumph of Christ. God will be all in all and his people will be enthralled by the immediacy of his ineffable holiness, and everything will be to the praise of his glorious grace.
Matthew 24:27-31; John 5:28-29, 6:39-40; Philippians 3:20-21; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Hebrews 9:29; 2 Peter 3:8-10; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 1:7-8, 20:11-15, 22:12, 20
As a member of the Presbyterian Church of America, we subscribe to the Westminster Standards.