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What We Believe
ONE GOD – We believe in one God, eternal and
loving, who reveals himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit.
GOD THE FATHER – We believe God created the heavens
and the earth and everything that lives. He is almighty, all
knowing, ever present. He is holy and righteous, in him there is no
imperfection. He has dominion and authority over all the earth. And
yet he has made it known that he loves each and every one of his
children with the deep and personal love of a father.
GOD THE SON – We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of
God, sent to redeem us from our sin. Born of a virgin and living a
sinless life, he was fully man and fully God. To know what God is
like, we need only to look at Jesus. By his teaching, by his
miracles, wonders and signs, God revealed himself to us. And by his
death on the cross he showed us God’s amazing love. Jesus died to
pay the penalty for our sin. He was crucified, dead and buried. But
he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits at the
right hand of God where he presides over his Church. By his
resurrection, we have the assurance of God’s victory over sin and
death.
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT– We believe God’s reconciling
activity in the world continues to this day through the presence and
power of the Holy Spirit who confronts us with Christ’s Lordship of
life and calls us to repentance and obedience to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit baptizes and seals us at the moment of salvation. He
dwells in us, ever working to conform us to the image of Christ.
HUMANKIND – We believe God created men and women to
live in loving relationship with God and with one another, and that
he calls us to demonstrate our love by obeying his commands. But
through Adam’s disobedience, the original sin, the human race became
alienated from God. We all have inherited a sinful nature and live
in a state of separation from God, unable to remedy our lost
condition on our own.
SALVATION – We believe that Jesus Christ is the
fulfillment of God’s plan – since the beginning – to reconcile a
lost world to himself. Through acceptance of Jesus Christ as our
personal Lord and Savior, confession of our sins, repentence and
commitment to a new life in Christ, we are forgiven and forever
restored in loving relationship with our Creator. Salvation is
achieved not by anything we do – not by our works – but by faith in
Christ. It is a gift from God, made possible by Christ’s work on the
cross.
THE CHURCH – We believe the Church is the living
body of Christ, called to carry out his mission on the earth until
he comes again. We are called to a life of sacrifice, manifesting
his compassion and love to all who suffer. Jesus came to seek and
save the lost, and so the Church is called to spread the good news
of salvation, leading people to repent and accept him as Savior and
Lord, and nurturing them in their faith.
CHRIST’S RETURN – We believe that Christ is coming
again. We wait and watch for the day, assured that nothing in life
or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
SESSION RESOLUTION
March 14, 2002
The Session of Elizabeth Presbyterian Church, in an effort to
recognize and support the Confessing Church Movement within the
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) hereby declares the following:
· That Christ alone is Lord and Savior of humankind and none come to
the living God except through Him
· That Holy Scripture alone is the rule, guide, and standard for
theology and polity of the Church of which Christ is the head
· That we live by grace alone and are called to live holy lives in
our conduct because our God is holy. Such holiness embraces sexual
relations, which are proper only within the context of marriage
between a man and a woman.
We are proud to add our name to the growing list of congregations
who have chosen to step forward and purposefully affirm the basic
beliefs of the PC(USA). May God continue to bless all the churches
within our denomination which proclaim the name of Jesus Christ as
Savior and Lord.
Note: More about the Confessing Church Movement can be learned by
visiting www.confessingchurch.homestead.com. These statements are
made in support of the PC(USA) constitution which presently states
that no one outwardly living an unrepentant lifestyle outside the
limits of these statements may be ordained as an officer of the
church. We freely acknowledge, however, that we are all sinners, and
no one sin is greater than any other in God’s eyes. Therefore we
love and accept anyone who walks through our doors, as we work
toward repentance from all sin together. The doors of ordained
leadership are open to anyone who repents of his or her sin and
accepts the saving grace of Jesus Christ.