What We Believe
Learn About Our Beliefs and Values
THE SCRIPTURES. From the very earliest times, Presbyterians have held the Bible in high regard. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are considered to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal. We believe the Bible was written by persons who were inspired by God to record the story of God's calling and interaction with humankind. The Scriptures contain the remarkable and mysterious story of God's love and judgment of humankind. It bears witness to the ultimate revelation of God's nature in the person of Jesus Christ, called the Word of God. For Presbyterians, then the Bible is truly "God's Word."
CONFESSIONS AND CREEDS. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is a "confessional" church. This means that our basic beliefs are embodied in a series of creeds, doctrinal statements, and confessions produced by great councils of the church. In the process of writing confessional statements, Presbyterians have always affirmed that all declarations of beliefs must reflect the truths found in the Bible. Two of our creeds, the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, are also affirmed by most other Christians. However a few of our most important confessions are authoritative for other Presbyterian bodies. A few of the most important confessions that we affirm are: -The Scots Confession, written by John Knox and five other Scottish Reformers immediately after the 1560 Revolution of Scotland. -The Westminster Confession was written by a congress of Puritan clergymen of the Church of England that met off and of for nine years in the middle of the seventeenth century. Even though it had little impact on England, the Westminster Confession has been the most influential of all creeds in Scotland and the United States. -The Confession of 1967 was written by a Special Committee of the United Presbyterian Church in the USA (the northern Presbyterian), modified through a lengthy legislative process, and adopted by the General Assembly as one of the confessions of the church. These confessions, along with a few others make up the basic doctrinal heritage of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Presbyterians have always emphasized education and personal study and every member is encouraged to study the Scriptures, examine our confessions and creeds, and seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in identifying his or her own beliefs. American Presbyterians have historically emphasized the need for tolerance. While we believe in the truth of our own doctrines, we affirm persons and denominations with different beliefs as full members of Christ's Body.
BELIEFS SHARED WITH MOST OTHER CHRISTIANS. Actually the beliefs held by most Christians are the same from one denomination to the another. Presbyterian beliefs about God, Grace, Jesus Christ, Justification by Faith, the Holy Spirit, the Priesthood of All Believers, and a variety of other doctrines are very similar to those held by other Protestants. -GOD. The historic Westminster Confession states that, "There is but one only living and true God, who is infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit...immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, most wise, mot holy, most free, most absolute...most loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin...In the unity of the Godhead, there be three persons...God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. -GRACE. God loves every person and continually seeks to forgive our failure to be obedient. God's constant love and forgiveness is given freely. There is nothing we can do either to deserve or to earn it. This activity of God -- God's constant loving and forgiving of every person -- is God's grace. -CHRIST. A God of total love and forgiveness is a difficult if not impossible concept for us to understand. Therefore, the great mystery we call God was revealed to us in the form of a man, Jesus of Nazareth. both the words and the actions of Jesus, as recorded in the Scriptures, help us to better understand the loving nature of God. Even Jesus' ultimate act of obedience -- giving up his life -- was a means of illustrating the extent of God's desire to bring about the reconciliation of all persons. It was God's action aimed at providing the opportunity for every person to come into a right relationship with God. Finally, God raised Christ from the dead and the ultimate power of god was illustrated for all time. Jesus Christ is the Lord of all life, the redeemer of persons, and the head of the church. -JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. The sense of Chapter XI of the Westminster Confession is that "We are justified, or pardoned, not by good works, but by faith in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." This means that when we fully have faith the Christ's death opened the way to wholeness and love, we are justified. Justification is being brought into a proper relationship with God and neighbor, fully understanding God's purpose for us, being freed from our obsession with self-interest, released from guilt of our inability to be obedient to God and rescued from our anxiety about meaninglessness and death. -THE HOLY SPIRIT. God continues to be revealed to us today in many different ways, most of which are identified through experience rather than knowledge. Both the experienced presence of God in our lives and the assumed activity of God in history are identified as the Holy Spirit. The absolute and constant guiding force of God in our lives is a mystery which we identify as the activity of the Holy Spirit. -THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS. In the Presbyterian service of Holy Communion, the participants usually pass the bread and wine from person to person -- a unique symbol of each person serving as a priest (servant) to each other person. We believe that each Christian has direct access to God through worship, prayer, personal confession, and the study of Scripture.
BELIEFS UNIQUE TO PRESBYTERIANS. In virtually all doctrines held by Presbyterians, there are subtleties which set us apart. Most of these are minor and largely indistinguishable in the midst of modern diversity. However, two doctrines -- the Sovereignty of God and Predestination -- have been most often identified as unique contributions of Reformed theology to the whole Christian belief. -SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD. The focus of Presbyterian belief is certainly "God-centered." And even though this could be said of virtually all Christians, the sovereignty, power and providence of God are emphasized much more by Presbyterians. For us, God is always one being who relates to us personally in three awe-inspiring ways. God is the Father, the unfathomable creator of all things. God is the Son, the loving redeemer of persons. And, God is the Holy Spirit, the comforter who is active in the world and in persons. The focus of faith for a Presbyterian is the absolute ruler and protector of everything. The true purpose of every human being, then is to love and trust God and to love and protect what God has created. -PREDESTINATION. Our emphasis on the power and majesty of God has led to the more controversial doctrine of Predestination -- the belief that our God of wisdom "predestines" some persons to heaven, and therefore, some to hell. Three things have historically led Presbyterians to this conclusion. First, many persons who come into a relationship with God genuinely sense that they have been "chosen" or "elected" by God because they believe they did nothing to merit or earn God's love. Second, it is obvious that some persons come into a relationship with God very early while others seem unable to hear God's call. And, finally, the New Testament affirms that God knows in advance who is going to turn to God and who is going to turn away. "In all things, God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose. Those whose whom God has already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son...And so those who God set apart, he called, and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them." Romans 8. 28-30. The classic understanding of the doctrine of Predestination, even by well-meaning believers, has sometimes led to arrogance and self-righteousness. Some scorned others while believing they were the only chosen ones. Others emphasized God's action, while relieving themselves of any responsibility. Perhaps it is more appropriate today to understand "predestination and free will" as linked together. The emphasis is on God's activity of salvation to which believers respond in faith. "God our Savior...wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth." 1 Timothy 2.4. Far from being exclusive and judgmental, we respond in humility to the power of God's love and grace.
SACRAMENTS RECOGNIZED BY PRESBYTERIANS. We celebrate two sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion. -BAPTISM is the symbol of our entrance into the communion of believers. It is therefore encouraged that we baptize children as well as adults. The parents and members of the congregation promise to teach and encourage the children in their journey of faith. Later the children confirm the vows taken on their behalf. -HOLY COMMUNION is the symbol of God's continuing presence with the people of God. Around the table, in the spiritual presence of Christ's body and blood, worshippers are drawn together in remembering what Christ has done and memorializing His sacrifice on our behalf.
PRESBYTERIANS' STANDS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. The Presbyterian Church has a long history of concern for social justice and its members and courts have often taken forthright positions on controversial issues involving Christian principals. Early Presbyterians opposed slavery, liquor traffic, gambling, industrial exploitation, war, and the cruel treatment of prisoners. Presbyterians have always involved themselves directly in caring for persons and in changing those forces and institutions in society which keep people from fulfilling their potential for full, free, productive lives. TODAY the Presbyterian Church (USA) takes affirmative stands on specific moral and social issues. It encourages its members to act on issues out of Christian conscience. Both of the most recent confessionals have strong statements with regards to a Presbyterian's responsibility for the elimination of: -injustice -racism -oppression -war -violence -sexism -poverty -hatred -decline of basic moral values. Christ teaches us to go beyond legal requirements in serving and helping our neighbor, to treat our neighbors' needs as our won, to care passionately for the others' good, to share what we have. "God's redeeming work in Jesus Christ embraces the whole of human live: social and cultural, economic and political, scientific and technological, individual and corporate...It is the will of God that His purpose for human life be fulfilled under the rule of Christ and all evil be banished from His creation." UPCUSA