Doctrine

What do we believe?
What does it mean to be a Presbyterian church? What does it mean to say we are reformed? Why does it matter?

This section may not answer every question you have, but we want to help members and visitors learn more about who we are. In general regarding theology, our goal is to make vitally important distinctions that the Bible itself makes, while not insisting that every member share our same precise set of theological convictions.

God Centered
Our one aim in life is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. All of life is lived “coram Deo” (before the face of God), with a profound reverence for God in light of His transcendent majesty and holiness. In humble adoration, we offer Him our entire lives, our bodies, our souls, in life and in death, that we might bring praise, honor and glory to His name.

Evangelical
We stand with those who believe in the Triune God, the deity of Christ, the virgin birth, the substitutionary and vicarious atonement of Christ, the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and the infallibility and divine authority of the Bible as the only rule of faith and practice. We joyfully affirm our unity with those of every tradition and denomination who hold to these fundamental tenets of the faith “once delivered to the saints.” We are also evangelical in the sense that we believe the “evangel,” that is, the good news of the gospel.
 
The gospel is the message that Jesus, the crucified and risen Messiah, is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All men and women are called to bow in humble adoration before King Jesus, and find in Him everything for which our souls were created. When a person turns from living for himself to serving the living and true God, that person is delivered from darkness to light, to the kingdom of the Father‘s beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Colossians 1:13–14).

Kingdom-Centered
We believe that the Kingdom of God is not only a future hope but also a present reality. We believe that the ascension of Jesus Christ to the Father‘s right hand means that He is presently reigning over all creation. He is at work in reclaiming his lost creation, and will one day come back to bring this work of redemption to its ultimate fulfillment. On that day, everything that was distorted will be set right. Life with God, with other humans, and with the creation itself will once again reflect its God–given harmony. In the meantime, we are called to honor and obey Him in every area of both personal and public life. We are to plant the banner of Christ‘s kingdom rule – his saving justice and peace — in every area of human endeavor.

Reformed
Historically speaking, to be “reformed” is to recognize our link to the Reformation of the 16th century. We see ourselves as heirs of the tradition of Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and other reformers. The beliefs that marked the Reformation churches include an emphasis on the glory of God, on His absolute authority and governance of all of life, and on His sovereignty in entering into a relationship (covenant) with His people. We joyfully affirm these things, while at the same time seeking to hold to our reformed convictions in humility, recognizing the sincerity and earnestness of godly men and women who do not share the same distinctives.

Confessional
This means that we have a written confession of faith which we believe to be a good and accurate summary of the Bible‘s teaching. Our confessional documents are the Westminster Standards, which include the Westminster Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These statments are not flawless, but do contain accurate summaries of the teaching of Scripture. All ruling and teaching elders in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) take vows to uphold these standards and are required to indicate to their presbyteries or sessions where they take exception.

It is important to note that every church has a confession, written or unwritten, even though some claim to have “no creed but Christ.” Every church summarizes its convictions in some form in order to distinguish truth from error.

Covenantal
We believe that the unifying principle of the Scriptures is the one covenant of grace that God made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and most importantly, fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The covenant is a bond of loving loyalty which God has initiated with us as His people throughout human history. To speak of the unity of the covenants is to say there is only one salvation in both Old and New Testaments. That one salvation is by faith in Jesus the Messiah.

Presbyterian
This word refers to our form of church government. We believe that the most clear pattern in Scripture is for local churches to be governed by “presbyters” (elders) who rule jointly in what are called “church courts” – sessions (local), presbyteries (regional), and the General Assembly (national).