WHAT WE BELIEVE

​The gospel is the “good news” that Christ Jesus came into the world to save people who were by nature his enemies, seeking their own glory rather than the glory of God (1 Tim. 1:15). By his sinless life, his atoning death in the place of his people, and his resurrection from the grave, Jesus reconciles us to God (1 Pet. 3:18) and makes us new creations (2 Cor. 5:17). Having ascended into heaven, he now reigns at the right hand of the Father as Lord over all (Acts 2:33–36; Eph. 1:20–22), possessing all authority in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). Though creation has fallen into corruption through sin, Christ is restoring it to its original purpose (Rom. 8:19–23; Rev. 21). This restoration begins in the hearts of his people but extends outward into every sphere of life—family, church, state, education, and culture—so that all things are brought under his righteous rule (2 Cor. 10:5; Isa. 2:2–4). As Christ’s body on earth, the church is called to labor faithfully for the establishment of a new Christendom, bearing witness to his reign until every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:10–11). Christianity is the story of the mighty works of God in Christ, who redeems a people and renews the world under his good Lordship.​

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WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE 

The Bible is God’s perfect word. God wrote the Bible through his prophets and apostles. He does not make mistakes. As human beings we are joyfully obligated to conform our minds to what God has revealed to us in the Bible. We do not come up with our own opinions about God or the world. We go to the book written by the Creator of the world.

To see a more detailed expression of the nature of the Bible, see the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy.

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WE ARE REFORMED AND CONFESSIONAL

We are a Reformed church, meaning we love and agree with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and what it stood for in its core. We are also a confessional church which means that we stand united with all Christians throughout history in belief and practice. A confession of faith does not replace the Bible, it is a summary of what we believe the Bible teaches.[1]

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The most detailed expression of what we believe the Bible teaches is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith (with minor exceptions).[2] See more creeds and confessions we affirm in our Book of Confessions.

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BOOK OF CONFESSIONS​

We subscribe to the creeds and confessions below as accurate statements of what the Bible teaches:

The Apostles Creed (2nd Century)

The Nicene Creed (381)

The Athanasian Creed (4th Century)

The Chalcedonian Creed (451)

Belgic Confession (1561)

The Thirty-Nine Articles (1571)

Heidelberg Catechism (1563)

Canons of Dordt (1618)

Westminster Confession of Faith (and Shorter and Larger Catechisms) (1647)

The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (1978)

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Notes

[1] Daniel Hyde, “Creeds and Confessions: Biblical and Beneficial,” Ligonier, September 5, 2014, accessed June 11, 2018, http://www.ligonier.org/blog/creeds-confessions-biblical-beneficial/. 

[2] Exceptions (adapted from Christ Church Moscow, ID: https://christkirk.com/our-church/book-of-worship-faith-practice/) - 1. Chapter 7: Of God’s Covenant with Man— Para . 2: (cf. Chp. 19, para. 1, 6). We would clarify that the “covenant of works” was not meritorious and we deny that any covenant can be kept without faith. Good works, even in this covenant were a result of faith, as illustrated by the Sabbath rest which was Adam’s first full day in the presence of God.
2. Chapter 21: Of Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day— Para . 8: We believe that along with works of piety, necessity, and mercy, the command also calls us to rest our bodies on the Sabbath (Gen. 2:2-3; Ex. 16:30 ; 31:15-17). We do not believe the intention of Scripture was to exclude recreation, especially in the context of the fellowship of God’s people.
3. Chapter 23: Of the Civil Magistrate–– Para. 3: “[The Civil Magistrate] has power to call synods, to be present at them and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in them be according to the mind of God.” The final phrase gives the Civil Magistrate authority over spiritual matters, which in essence is a form of Erastianism.
4. Chapter 24: Of Marriage— Para. 4: Delete the last sentence, which reads, “The man may not marry any of his wife’s kindred, nearer in blood than he may of his own: nor the woman of her husband’s kindred, nearer in blood than of her own.”
5. Chapter 25: Of the Church— Para. 6: Though we believe the Pope of Rome to be anti-Christian, we do not believe him necessarily to be the Anti-Christ, Man of Lawlessness, or Beast of Revelation, etc.
6. Chapter 27: Of the Sacraments— Para. 4: Ministers of the Word should ordinarily lead in the administration of the Sacraments, yet we believe that it is permissible for the sacraments to be administered with the oversight of any elder, lawfully ordained.
6. Chapter 28: Of Baptism— Para. 3: We believe that the proper modes of baptism include sprinkling, pouring, and immersion. Para. 4: Being a church composed of both paedobaptists and those holding to believer’s baptism, we expressly allow men otherwise qualified to serve as elders, but who hold to believer’s baptism, to make an exception
to WCF XXVIII. 4, which states, “Not only those that do actually profess faith in and obedience unto Christ, but also the infants of one, or both, believing parents, are to be baptized.”
8. Chapter 29: Of The Lord’s Supper— Para. 7: We would clarify that “worthy receivers” of the Lord’s Supper should include all baptized covenant members who are able to physically eat and drink the elements, including very young children being raised in the discipline and admonition of the Lord (provided that they are not under discipline). We deny that an artificial standard of age or mental capacity is consistent with the Biblical basis for partaking of the Supper. We defer to the heads of households in discerning the capacity of their young children to partake in the Supper.