Christian Beliefs

1. The Authority of Scripture
2. The Triune God
3. The Nature of Humanity
4. The Incarnation of God
5. The Atonement
6. Salvation by Grace through Faith

THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE

 The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are God’s uniquely revealed and written Word, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and are the church’s first and final authority in all areas of faith and life including, but not limited to, theological doctrine, mission, church order, character, and ethical behavior.  The Bible speaks to us with the authority of God himself. We seek to understand, love, follow, obey, surrender, and submit to God’s Word-both Jesus Christ, the living Word of God, and the Scriptures, the written Word of God, which bear true and faithful witness to Jesus Christ.

What is Not Affirmed
Any doctrine-

• that seeks to invalidate or subvert scriptural teaching concerning what is to be believed or how we are to live;
• that attempts to subordinate biblical authority to any human authority, cultural norm, or ideology- whether religious, ecclesiastical, governmental, political, economic, psychological, sociological, scientific, historical, philosophical, or other-as though the church should listen primarily to another voice than the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ as expressed in scripture;
• that seeks or asserts a revelation from the Spirit of God which contradicts the Bible as Word of God, or that attempts to separate the Spirit from the Spirit inspired words of Scripture, or that elevates the authority or modernity of the Spirit’s revelation above the revelation of Scripture;
• that rejects as historical fact the witness of Scripture to the incarnation, birth, ministry, miracles, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ (as, for example, summarized in 1Corinthians 15:3-7 and Acts 10:38);
• that seeks to follow a “Jesus Christ” apart from the Person, Work, and Will of Jesus Christ revealed in scripture.
• that regards Scripture as subjectively, but not objectively, God’s written Word, or that maintains the Scriptures contain the Word of God, but are not in themselves the Word of God.

 Orthodox reformed faith does not include any notion of a Church “reformed and reforming” that moves outside the boundaries of the authority of Christ and confession of his Lordship which are clearly revealed in Scripture. Or any ecclesiology or morality that attempts to subvert the headship of Jesus Christ and the authority of Scripture in the interests of an “inclusive” and overbroad institutional concern for “unity, peace, and purity.”  Jesus Christ is Lord of the church, and he rules the church through the written word of scripture, illumined by the Holy Spirit.

Scripture
Matthew 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Confessions
Second Helvetic Confession 5.001, 5.003, 5.010; Westminster Confession of Faith 6.006, 6.009; Larger Catechism 7.113-114 

THE TRIUNE GOD

 We worship the one only living and true God who is revealed in the Bible and who is the source of all life, glory, goodness, and blessedness.

Trinity -  With the holy catholic church in all ages, we confess the mystery of the holy Trinity-that there is one God alone, infinite and eternal, Creator of all things, the greatest good, who is one in essence or nature, yet who exists in a plurality of three distinct persons-the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Creation/Providence/Sovereignty -  God in the beginning created the universe and everything in it for the manifestation of God’s glory, eternal power, wisdom, and goodness. He is the sovereign ruler of creation, working all things according to the counsel of his omnipotent and righteous will. In gracious providence God continually upholds, directs, oversees, and governs creation-all creatures, actions, and things. In sovereignty God has seen fit to accommodate free will among moral creatures, resulting in great cultural and cosmic good and terrible evil, disorder, and disobedience. Nevertheless, God is in no way the author of evil or sin, but continues to govern creation in such a way as to cause all things to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. God opposes all evil and will certainly triumph over it and bring creation to a glorious consummation.

Grace -  God is a God of love. In grace God chooses to show love and mercy. When we were dead in trespasses and sin, God made us alive with Christ, saving us by grace through faith, as a sheer gift of sovereign love.

Worship -  God-and God alone-is worthy of worship. We respond to God by consciously and intentionally seeking to declare, explore, celebrate, and submit to God’s righteous and gracious kingship over all of creation and over every aspect of our individual and corporate life, and thereby “to glorify him and enjoy him forever.” (Westminster, 7.01) This is true worship.

What Is Not Affirmed
Any doctrine-

• that denies this doctrine of God’s triune nature, or refuses to confess the Trinity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
• that minimizes this doctrine as an unessential or secondary Christian tenet;
• that asserts that all religions are essentially true, that all religious beliefs are essentially in accord; or that the views of God held by the world’s major religions are equally valid;
• that confesses or celebrates belief in multiple gods or goddesses, or that identifies God as a goddess, or that worships God’s uncreated glory through idols or images representing creatures or creation.  The biblical doctrine of God’s sovereignty excludes:
• the notion that, if God is sovereign, our human efforts are in vain;
•  the deistic notion that God created the cosmos like a watchmaker but is no longer personally involved in its operation or unfolding;
• any theology that denies or downplays the reality of evil or the enmity between evil and a holy God or the moral responsibility of humankind for sin.

Scripture
Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:4-5; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 47:2; Isaiah 45:5; Matthew 28:19; Luke 1:35;  John 14:26; Romans 1:23; 8:28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:7-11; Jude 1:25; Revelation 4:11

Confessions
Nicene Creed 1.1, 1.3; Scots Confession 3.01; Heidelberg Catechism 4.027; Westminster Confession of Faith 6.011-6.014; Larger Catechism 7.01; Brief Statement of Faith 10.1 

THE NATURE OF HUMANITY

Human beings were created by God in God’s own image-in true righteousness and holiness-to know, love, and obey God and be righteous stewards of the creation. Our earliest forebears, instead of acknowledging, worshiping, and obeying God, became disobedient sinners and brought sin and death upon themselves and all creation.

There is now a radical brokenness and corruption in human nature that is the result of and results in sin. Sin is rebellion against God. No human effort can fully resolve or redeem this defect. Sin is destructive, contagious, parasitical, polluting, disabling.  Human beings are sinners by nature, by influence, by choice, by action.

While there is an inalienable glory and nobility to human beings because they are God’s image bearers, this image is now broken and distorted, and even our best and noblest actions are contaminated by sin. Every part of our human being-our personality, intellect, emotions, will, motives, virtues, and actions-is corrupted by sin. The human will, originally free and righteous, is now crippled and defective.

As a result, human beings are in bondage to sin and subject to God’s holy judgment.  Without God’s intervening grace and salvation, they are lost and condemned.

What Is Not Affirmed

• The notion that human nature is basically good and self-redeemable through good effort, discipline, improved environment, etc.
• The notion that man’s defective nature is the result of heredity or environment to such a degree that human beings are not morally responsible for their nature or behavior.
• The notion that God is the author of sin or that sin is part of his original plan to educate and improve humankind.

Scripture
Genesis 1:26-27; Psalms 51:5, 143:2; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19-20; Romans 3:10-23; 5:18-19; 7:18-23; 8:7; Ephesians 2:1-3

Confessions
Scots Confession 3.03; Heidelberg Catechism 4.005, 4.006, 4.010; Larger Catechism 7.135, 7.137; Confession of 1967 9.12-13; Brief Statement of Faith 10.3

 

THE INCARNATION OF GOD

Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. In the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the eternal Son of God uniquely entered human history and became a real human being. He is truly the Word of God (John 1:1-3)-that is, the perfect and culminating expression of God’s mind and heart, of God’s will and character- present in the intimate fellowship of the Holy Trinity from eternity and fully engaged with the Father in the work of creation and redemption.

Becoming human, Jesus was “all of God in a human body” (Colossians 1:19) and “God with us” (Matthew 1:23)-a living tabernacle of God’s holy presence, “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14-18). His divine-human identity is corroborated by the true witness of scripture-in his divine conception and virgin birth, in God’s own testimony concerning Jesus, in Jesus’ supernatural works of healing and deliverance, in his obedience to the point of sacrificial death, and in his bodily resurrection from the dead, ascension, and exaltation. He is now Lord over everything in creation.

The early church in the creeds of Nicea and Chalcedon accurately interpreted and expressed the apostolic testimony concerning Jesus-fully God and fully human. The significance of this is: in Christ we are dealing with God himself; in Christ we have a human being who truly represents us.

Jesus Christ is God’s only Mediator between God and humankind and God’s unique agent for the salvation of the world. He is also the perfect expression of what humanity was designed to be. In his complete obedience, he became the representative Human Being, a second Adam, modeling for us human life and offering to God on our behalf human life that is rightly in God’s image-reflecting God’s glory in a wholly submitted life of steadfast love and righteousness.

This same Lord Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, as attested in scripture, is to be the center of the Christian Church’s proclamation, worship, discipleship, and mission. As we eagerly and prayerfully anticipate that “he will come again to judge the living and the dead” and to establish God’s righteous kingdom in fullness and perfection, we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20)

What Is Not Affirmed
Any doctrine-

• that affirms the deity but not the full humanity of Christ, or the humanity but not Christ’s full deity;
• that asserts that Jesus was an inspired or extraordinary or holy man, but was merely human in nature and not the incarnation in history of the eternal Son of God;
• that attempts to supplement the authoritative revelation of the Old and New Testament scriptures concerning Jesus Christ and proposes a corrected or revised revelation of Jesus;
• that discounts or discredits as untrue or as myth all or portions of the New Testament record concerning Jesus;
• that does not affirm as biblical and true the death of Christ as the central saving act of our Christian faith, or
• that asserts that Jesus is merely one example, however noteworthy, of a divinely approved or divinely enlightened life;
• that asserts that Jesus is one Mediator between God and humankind among other religious options or among other spiritual or enlightened teachers or mediators;
• that contends that the Jesus Christ attested by scripture is essentially and significantly different from the historic Jesus of Nazareth;
• that misrepresents Jesus’ mission in terms compatible with pantheism or as a message of human self-fulfillment and divine self-realization, that God is one being with the world or that human beings are essentially divine, and that all religious truth is harmonious and convergent.
• that detracts from Jesus’ supreme authority over every human authority, over the church, and over our individual moral lives.

Scripture
Matthew 1:23; Luke 1:31-35; John 1:1-3, 14-18; Romans 5:18-19; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 1:15-20; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 1:1-3; 1 John 4:2-4

Confessions
Nicene Creed 1.1-1.2; Westminster Confession of Faith 6.044; Confession of 1967 9.07-9.08; Brief Statement of Faith 10.2 

THE ATONEMENT

Jesus’ death on the Cross was the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. In this act of obedience to God’s will and love for humankind, Jesus acted as the divine agent for the salvation of the world. In his death he perfectly fulfilled the office of High Priest and was also the perfect sacrifice for sins-”the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (Jn 1:29) The Cross became an altar on which his life was sacrificed as a substitute for ours, and satisfaction and expiation for sins were completely accomplished. On the sole basis of the finished work of Christ on the Cross, sinners may now be reconciled to a holy God and set free from their bondage to sin and death to live for God in holiness and joy.

Exalted to the place of honor beside God the Father, Jesus Christ the eternal Son, now Lord of heaven and earth, continues his saving work, advocating and interceding on behalf of the church and functioning as our eternal prophet (God’s living and revealed Word), priest (ever making intercession and mediation for us), and king (ruling his church by Word and Spirit and with sovereign love and power).

What Is Not Affirmed
Any theology-

• that does not affirm as biblical and true the death of Christ as the central saving act of our Christian faith, or
• that rejects these teachings-atonement, substitutionary sacrifice, expiation for sins on the basis of Christ’s death-as obsolete, unworthy, unessential, or irrelevant, or
• that seeks to substitute some other basis or to promote some “more culturally relevant paradigm” for our salvation, justification, and reconciliation with God than Christ’s death on the Cross for us.

We also do not affirm the notion that Christ’s atoning work is universally applied to all or most of the human race, so that all or most are saved, regardless of their religion or non-religion and apart from hearing the gospel and believing in Christ.

Scripture
Matthew 1:21; Romans 3:25; 1 Corinthians 1:23-25; 2:2; 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:19, 21; Galatians 3:13; 6:14; Ephesians 1:19-23; Hebrews 9:11-12; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John 2:2

Confessions
Scots Confession 3.09; Heidelberg Catechism 4.031, 4.037; Confession of 1967 9.09 

SALVATION BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

Salvation is God’s gracious work through Jesus Christ to reclaim humankind and all creation from sin and its consequences. Salvation is a gift of God’s grace received by faith. Christ’s righteousness and atonement are the sole basis for human salvation. Faith in Christ is the only instrument by which this righteousness is received by individual believers, resulting in their justification.

Justification is the righteousness of Christ imputed to a sinful woman or man through faith alone in Christ. Their faith appropriates Christ’s atonement, resulting in their sins atoned for and forgiven and God reckoning them to be righteous.

Scripture also describes salvation as a ransom or redemption from slavery (Mark 10:45); a sacrificial substitution (Christ’s death for our death); reconciliation of sinners with a holy God; our sins being sacrificially expiated, satisfied, covered over, forgiven, and removed. All of these ways describe how God has given us “the forgiveness of sins, everlasting righteousness and salvation out of sheer grace solely for the sake of Christ’s saving work.” (Heidelberg, 4.021)

Faith is (1) accepting the message of salvation as true and (2) trusting God to apply this salvation to us. Faith is “certain knowledge” and “wholehearted trust,” that is created in us by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. In faith we accept, receive, and rest “upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.” (Westminster, 6.080)

What is Not Affirmed
Any doctrine-

• that asserts that salvation can be obtained through other religions or that other religions have equally valid solutions to the human problem, or that there is salvation in some other name besides Jesus Christ
• that denies the radical sinfulness of human beings, their condemnation before a holy God, that denies that human beings are lost apart from Christ, or denies their need for a Savior
• that teaches that God saves or will save everybody (or nearly everybody) regardless of their faith in Jesus Christ or whether they hear the gospel or not or whether they put their faith explicitly in Jesus Christ or not.

Scripture
Mark 10:45; John 3:16; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:22-26; 5:1; Galatians 2:16; Ephesians 2:8-9

Confessions
Second Helvetic Confession 5.107-109, 5.112-113; Heidelberg Catechism 4.021, 4.060; Westminster Confession of Faith 6.080; Brief Statement of Faith 10.4