Our Distinctives Statement

We affirm the ecumenical creeds of the church: The Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and the definition of Chalcedon. We also hold in high regard the secondary standards of the historic Presbyterian and Reformed Churches: the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), the Belgic Confession (1561), the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647), the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), and the Canons of Dort (1619).

1. We believe that the Scriptures, contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, are God’s infallible Word and are our sole basis of absolute authority. We believe the Scriptures are inerrant in their original manuscripts.

2. We believe that God is one God, yet three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three persons are co-equal, co-eternal, and co-substantial. We therefore believe in the equal ultimacy of the one and the many.

3. We believe that God created all things, the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them; that He did so in six literal days, and that all that He created was very good.

4. We believe that after His work of creation, God rested on the seventh day, and established the Sabbath for man. Therefore, by both example and precept God has graciously conferred to us one day out of seven, the Lord’s Day, to worship* and to rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ the risen Savior, God’s purpose being that we and all our neighbors may pause from our customary labors and commerce, to engage in joyful fellowship, give rest to the weary and do acts of mercy.

5. We believe that God is the absolute sovereign over all His creation, that He has decreed whatsoever comes to pass, and that He, in His providence, orders, upholds and sustains all things and carries out His decree in the world.

6. We believe God the Creator is personally distinct from His creation, and from man, His creature. We believe that man, though he is created in the image of God and is the highest of all God’s creatures, is absolutely different in essence from God, and is utterly dependent upon God for his existence, identity, and purpose.

7. We believe that God has declared in the Scriptures that man’s chief end and purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

8. We believe that in Adam’s fall, we all sinned, and as a result sin has become pervasive throughout all creation. We believe that all men are conceived in sin and in rebellion against God, suppressing His truth in unrighteousness. We believe that man is unable and unwilling to repent of his sin and turn to God, apart from the elective work of the Holy Spirit.

9. We believe that God the Son, namely Jesus Christ, though existing eternally in the Godhead, was incarnate by the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary; that He lived a life in complete obedience to God’s Law, and in submission to God the Father He suffered and died on the cross, bearing the sins of the elect.

10. We believe the Lord Jesus Christ was raised bodily from the dead on the third day, that He ascended into heaven and that He now sits at the right hand of the Father, having received all authority in heaven and on earth.

11. We believe that Jesus Christ shall come again in the same resurrected body, to judge both the living and the dead at His return on the Last Day. We believe that at the Last Day all men shall rise in their bodies and will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ.

12. We believe that everyone who, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, is saved from eternal damnation and will live eternally with God. We believe that everyone who does not believe in Jesus Christ (being unable and unwilling to do so apart from the quickening of the Holy Spirit) will spend eternity in damnation and death.

13. We believe that man was originally commanded by God to be fruitful and multiply, and to exercise dominion over God’s creation by filling and subduing the earth. With the fall of man, this cultural mandate was not removed, but was made more difficult. However, by regeneration in Christ man is able to walk in obedience to this calling, being renewed and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

14. We believe that the Law of God reflects His loving and holy character, and therefore God’s Law is good and delightful, being graciously given to mankind for doctrine, reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness and godly wisdom.

15. We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ embodies the fulfillment of the Law and is our example as the great Law-keeper, the only Man found righteous. We believe that those joined to Christ will evidence their faith by obedience to God’s commands, and by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit will bear the fruit of good works unto God.

16. We believe that there is no authority except from God, and all governing authorities that He has put in place are subject to Him and His standards of justice and righteousness. As such, we believe that the civil statutes of the Old Testament, though given in the context of a particular time in redemptive history and cultural development, and while not being a precise blueprint, ought to inform and instruct governing authorities regarding perfect social justice for all cultures, including the protection of victims and the punishment of criminals. Because God is all-good and all-wise, to the extent societies conform to His will, they will thrive, and to the extent they disregard Him, societies will wither.

17. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned His Church to go into all the world, to make disciples of all the nations, baptizing and teaching them to obey all things He has commanded.

18. We believe that we are to proclaim the whole counsel of God’s Word at every opportunity, so that God, in His providence, may impart faith by the Word to the hearer.

19. We believe that as the Church fulfills Christ’s commission, by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and that the gates of hell shall not withstand the earthly advance of the Church.

20. We believe that God has given two signs and seals of His covenant, Baptism and Communion. We believe that all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, along with their children, are both entitled and obliged to receive the waters of Baptism.

21. We believe that all who are baptized and profess faith in Jesus Christ, along with their baptized children, are invited by our Lord Jesus Christ to partake of His Supper. However, those who rebelliously and blasphemously demonstrate their rejection of God and His covenant should be barred from the Table.

22. We believe that Christians, in thankful response to God for his covenant promises and blessings, are to cheerfully bring tribute to Him through His tithe. We believe that the tithe is to be primarily directed to the local church for the support of her ministers. We also affirm that a portion of the tithe may be used by believers to enable them to gather together at special, convocative periods or seasons, designated by the local church for worship, instruction, and community rejoicing.

23. We believe that Christian parents are commanded to disciple their own children in the Christian faith, by bringing them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

24. We believe that God, being both just and merciful, is a defender of widows and a Father to the fatherless. We believe that Scripture teaches that human life begins at conception, and we therefore oppose the sin of abortion, and condemn the heinous mass murder of unborn children purveyed by the abortion industry and its supporters, as well as by statist governments across the globe.

25. We believe that because God created mankind as male and female, He has ordained marriage to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled. Therefore, we believe that transgenderism, homosexuality, adultery, and any sexual acts outside of marriage are sinful, being out of accord with God’s law and His design for human sexuality. The only remedy for these sins – as well as all other sins – is repentance and faith in the cleansing blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.