Our Beliefs

We are Confessional

This means that we subscribe to authoritative written creeds and confessions of faith which we believe to be a good and accurate summary of the Bible's teaching. As a confessional church we subscribe to the three major confessions produced in the Reformation era: the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, and Canons of Dort.

Additionally, we also confess our unity with the historic Christian church by affirming and receiving the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athanasian Creed, and Chalcedonian Creed.

The truths outlined in these creeds and confessions provide an objective basis for uniting us as a body of believers in a common confession of faith and are valuable tools to assist the Church in communicating the fundamental truths of Scripture. Although we do not believe any of these creeds or confessions are of equal authority with Scripture, we do hold that they fully agree with the Word of God.

We are Reformed

The word "Reformed" is a reference to our historical link to the rich tradition of the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century and intends to describe us as the heirs of the theology proclaimed by Luther, Calvin, Knox and other reformers.

At the foundation of the Reformed faith is a commitment to the sole authority of Scripture. Reformed Christians believe that Scripture alone ought to determine what we believe and how we ought to worship and live. Further, this theological tradition is anchored in the gospel of God’s free and sovereign grace as revealed in the Bible and summarized in several Reformed creeds and catechisms.

We are Churchly

According to Scripture, the Church is the body of Christ, and consists of all those in covenant with God. The Bible teaches that the true Church can be identified by three marks: [1] the pure preaching of the Word, [2] the proper administration of the sacraments, and [3] Christian discipline. These marks are not optional, rather they are necessary and required by Scripture since Christ has instituted the public ministry of the word and sacrament for the believers growth in the grace of Christ and the ministry of rule through the elders of the church to protect believers in their spiritual struggle against the devil, the world and the flesh.

Therefore, it is the duty of every true believer to unite with a true Church wherever it has been established in order that they may grow in grace and be spiritually nourished through her ministry and be guided by her motherly care.

We are Liturgical

Drawing upon the rich traditions of the historic Christian Church, we attest that Reformed worship is characterized in the following ways:

God-Centered

The most important thing that we could say about our worship is that it is God-centered. Reformed worship aims to place the radiant and glorious character of the Triune God and the greatness of his redemptive work on behalf of sinners front and center.

Dialogical

Reformed worship is a marvelous dialogue between God and his people. The course of Reformed worship unfolds in the form of a conversation which alternates between God speaking to us through the proclamation of the law and the gospel and our responding to God in praise and thanksgiving, penitence (confession of sin) and prayer.

Formal and Reverent

The Holy One of Israel, the Sovereign God is majestic and glorious, and we are to rejoice with trembling in his presence. We believe that such a view of God is best encouraged by a service characterized by form, reverence, and solemn joy. While we thus run the risk of not being “upbeat” enough for some people’s tastes, we believe that we are, week in and week out, promoting a view of God which is consistent with the magnificence of his character revealed in Scripture.

Objective

Since the primary purpose of worship is to give glory to God, our worship is not preoccupied with mans needs, feelings, or aspirations. A common mistake is to evaluate worship purely in terms of our subjective impressions and feelings. Thus, for many people, worship is good only insofar as it makes them feel good. While not wishing to discount the importance of our subjective response—indeed it is our hope that we will be subjectively engaged in worship—we would suggest that worship is first and foremost an activity, not a feeling. “What are we doing?” is thus a more important question than “How do we feel?”

We are Evangelistic

This means we take seriously the Great Commission, "Go and make disciples of all nations." Without compromising the sovereignty of God, we affirm the responsibility of each person to repent and believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and our responsibility to extend the Gospel invitation as a call to salvation to everyone who hears its message. We invite all, without distinction, to drink freely of the Water of Life and to live eternally. In this way, we seek to "extend the transforming presence of the Kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ."

We are Covenantal

The covenant is a relationship of loving loyalty that God has initiated with us as His people throughout human history. To speak of the unity of the covenants means that there is one way and one way only to salvation in both Old and New Testaments-that is, by faith alone in Jesus Christ. This covenantal understanding of the Bible is in distinction from any system of organizing the Scriptures which would attribute differing ways of salvation to a succession of historical Biblical eras.

We are Protestant

Scripture Alone

We affirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation,which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Christ Alone

We affirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father. We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Grace Alone

We affirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life. We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Faith Alone

We affirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice. We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

To God Be The Glory Alone

We affirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment is allowed to become alternative to the gospel.