CORE BELIEFS
We believe that the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life.
We affirm three creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—as ecumenical expressions of the Christian faith.
We affirm three confessions—the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort—as historic Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God.
Along with these historic creeds and confessions, we recognize and adopt the witness of-Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony.
We affirm three creeds—the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed—as ecumenical expressions of the Christian faith.
We affirm three confessions—the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort—as historic Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God.
Along with these historic creeds and confessions, we recognize and adopt the witness of-Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony.
God
There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.
According to scripture, the attributes of God are:
God is eternal, which means that he is everlasting, having no beginning and no end. (Psalm 90:2)
God is incomprehensible and therefore beyond anyone's full understanding except his own. (Psalm 145:3)
God is invisible, which means his total essence, all his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us,
yet God still shows himself to us partially in this age and more fully in the age to come. (John 1:18, 1 Tim. 6:16)
God is unchangeable (or immutable) and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Psalm 102:27, Mal. 3:6)
God is infinite, which means he is limitless in all his attributes and exists outside of time and space. (1 Kings 8:27)
God is almighty, his power is unconstrained by anything beyond his own character and being. (Rev. 1:8)
God is completely wise, knowing everything there is to know, and beyond that, knows what to do with that knowledge. (Col. 2:2-3)
God is completely just, being perfectly righteous in his treatment of his creatures. (Rev. 15:3)
God is completely good, being perfect to the extent that he is all that he can and should be, and he is the overflowing source of all good.
He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.
According to scripture, the attributes of God are:
God is eternal, which means that he is everlasting, having no beginning and no end. (Psalm 90:2)
God is incomprehensible and therefore beyond anyone's full understanding except his own. (Psalm 145:3)
God is invisible, which means his total essence, all his spiritual being, will never be able to be seen by us,
yet God still shows himself to us partially in this age and more fully in the age to come. (John 1:18, 1 Tim. 6:16)
God is unchangeable (or immutable) and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Psalm 102:27, Mal. 3:6)
God is infinite, which means he is limitless in all his attributes and exists outside of time and space. (1 Kings 8:27)
God is almighty, his power is unconstrained by anything beyond his own character and being. (Rev. 1:8)
God is completely wise, knowing everything there is to know, and beyond that, knows what to do with that knowledge. (Col. 2:2-3)
God is completely just, being perfectly righteous in his treatment of his creatures. (Rev. 15:3)
God is completely good, being perfect to the extent that he is all that he can and should be, and he is the overflowing source of all good.
Revelation
God has revealed himself in two ways:
First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20.
Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own.
-The Belgic Confession, Article 2
-The Belgic Confession, Article 2
Mankind
Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image and likeness for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin. They were completely good, just, and holy; able by their own will to conform in all things to the will of God. They were appointed as caretakers over God's very good creation.
The Fall
When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God, they subjected themselves willingly to sin and consequently to death and the curse, separating themselves from God, who was their true life. They ceased to be what they were created to be and became distorted images of God. They lost all the excellent gifts God had given to them and retained none of them except for small traces which are enough to make them inexcusable.
Salvation
We believe that God, by his marvelous wisdom and goodness, set out to find his lost people, even though, lost in sin, they were fleeing from him. God did this by sending his only and eternal Son, who would be called Jesus, into the world.
In Philippians Paul records that Jesus, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" -Philippians 2:6-8
On that cross, Jesus willingly became the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sin. All who look to Jesus and believe in him as Lord and Savior are forgiven completely of all of their sins and reconciled to God. We need nothing else for our salvation
Jesus himself declares in John 6, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For the Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
In Philippians Paul records that Jesus, "who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" -Philippians 2:6-8
On that cross, Jesus willingly became the ultimate sacrifice for all of our sin. All who look to Jesus and believe in him as Lord and Savior are forgiven completely of all of their sins and reconciled to God. We need nothing else for our salvation
Jesus himself declares in John 6, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For the Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day."
The Church
We believe that the Son of God through his Spirit and Word,
out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end,
gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life
and united in true faith.
The members of this community share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts.
And each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members.
-Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 54 and 55
out of the entire human race, from the beginning of the world to its end,
gathers, protects, and preserves for himself a community chosen for eternal life
and united in true faith.
The members of this community share in Christ and in all his treasures and gifts.
And each member should consider it a duty to use these gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members.
-Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 54 and 55
Resurrection
Our hope for a new creation is not tied to what humans can do, for we believe that one day every challenge to God’s rule will be crushed. His kingdom will fully come, and the Lord will rule.
We long for that day when our bodies are raised, the Lord wipes away our tears, and we dwell forever in the presence of God.
We will take our place in the new creation, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
and the Lord will be our light.
On that day we will see our Savior face to face, sacrificed Lamb and triumphant King, just and gracious. He will set all things right, judge evil, and condemn the wicked.
We face that day without fear, for the Judge is our Savior, whose shed blood declares us righteous. We live confidently, anticipating his coming, offering him our daily lives—our acts of kindness, our loyalty, and our love— knowing that he will weave even our sins and sorrows into his sovereign purpose.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
-Our World Belongs to God: 55, 56, & 57
We long for that day when our bodies are raised, the Lord wipes away our tears, and we dwell forever in the presence of God.
We will take our place in the new creation, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,
and the Lord will be our light.
On that day we will see our Savior face to face, sacrificed Lamb and triumphant King, just and gracious. He will set all things right, judge evil, and condemn the wicked.
We face that day without fear, for the Judge is our Savior, whose shed blood declares us righteous. We live confidently, anticipating his coming, offering him our daily lives—our acts of kindness, our loyalty, and our love— knowing that he will weave even our sins and sorrows into his sovereign purpose.
Come, Lord Jesus, come.
-Our World Belongs to God: 55, 56, & 57