CHRISTIAN INFO:
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Here are some more places that explain Reformed theology in more detail:
PCA - God's presence in our lives produces peace, purpose and power. PCA - About the Presbyterian Church in America |
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WHAT WE BELIEVE:
We believe the
Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and
without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of
God’s
truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
We believe in the
Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three
persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
We believe that
all are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God’s
displeasure, except by His mercy.
We believe that
salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He
will save. We believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human
individual merit, or foreseen faith.
We believe that
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect
life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him,
alone, for salvation.
We believe that
God is gracious and faithful to His people not simply as
individuals but as families in successive generations according to His Covenant
promises.
We believe that
the Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the
strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.
We believe that
Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and
to receive His people to Himself.
We believe that
all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God
under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
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A
Brief and Untechnical Statement of the Reformed Faith
By B.B. Warfield
Adapted
from Selected Shorter Writings of Benjamin B. Warfield-1. Edited by John
E. Meeter. Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1970, pp. 407-410.
1. I believe
that God, since the creation of His world, has plainly revealed
through the things He has made His eternal power and divine nature, and the
requirements of His law, so that there is no excuse for unbelief or disobedience
on the part of any man; yet however glorious this revelation, it is not
sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of His will, which is necessary
for salvation.
2. I believe that my one aim in
life and death should be to glorify God and
enjoy Him forever; and that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy Him in
His
inerrant Word, that is, the Bible, which He has given by the infallible
inspiration of His Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am
to
believe concerning Him and what duty He requires of me.
3. I believe that the whole counsel
of God concerning all things necessary for
His own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down
in
Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture;
unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by alleged new
revelations of the Spirit or by traditions of men.
4. I believe that God authenticated
His prophets and apostles as agents of
revelation by mighty acts of His power employed by Him as signs whereby all
men
should confess, concerning those who are gifted with such power, "We
know you
are a teacher sent from God, for no one could do the things you do lest God
were
with Him"; and I believe that the great outpouring of such miracles displayed
in
the ministry of Christ and His Apostles signified the breaking into history
of
God's promised kingdom, which kingdom, when established in its fullness, will
issue in the miraculous renewal of all creation; and that until such time,
God
is at work bringing men and women into that kingdom through the supernatural
work of regeneration.
5. I believe that because God has
completed His revelation in Jesus Christ, the
former ways of revealing His will are now ceased; and because the final and
manifest establishment of His kingdom is yet to come, God does not now choose
to
publicly display His miraculous power. Nevertheless I believe that God is
directly upholding and governing His creation, moment by moment; that God
faithfully supplies the needs of His people through His constant providential
care; and that He often blesses them with special providences wherein He
strengthens their faith and displays His special love for them to the world.
6. I believe that God is a Spirit,
infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in His
being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth; incomparable
in all
that He is; one God but three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,
my Creator, my Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power, wisdom,
righteousness, goodness, and truth I may safely put my trust.
7. I believe that God has all life,
glory, goodness, and blessedness, in and of
Himself; and is alone in and unto Himself all-sufficient, not standing in
need
of me, or deriving any glory from me, but only manifesting His own glory in,
by,
unto, and upon me in Christ Jesus; and that He has most sovereign dominion
over
me, to do by me, for me, or upon me whatsoever He pleases.
8. I believe that God from all
eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel
of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass;
yet
thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence done to the will
of
the creature; and trusting in the decree of God, I who am called according
to
His purpose, I may be assured that all things will work together for my good.
9. I believe that the heavens and
the earth, and all that in them is, are the
works of God's hands; and that all that He has made He directs and governs
in
all their actions, so that they fulfill the end for which they were created,
and
I who trust in Him shall not be put to shame, but may rest securely in the
protection of His almighty love.
10.I believe that God created man
after His own image, in knowledge,
righteousness, and holiness, and that all men owe their Creator thanksgiving
and
worship; yet God condescended, making a covenant with man, that men might
know
God, not just as Creator, but as their blessedness and reward. And I believe
that while the requirement of this covenant, originating under Adam, was
obedience, God was pleased, according to His wise and holy counsel, to permit
him to disobey, having purposed to order it to His own glory; so that it was
by
willfully sinning against God that I, in Adam, lost the rewards of a covenant
keeper, and suffer the curses due a covenant breaker. Therefore my only hope
of
salvation is that Christ the second Adam, has kept the covenant, securing
its
rewards for the elect, among whom by grace I am numbered.
11. I believe that, being fallen
in Adam, my first father, I am by nature a
child of wrath, under the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul,
prone to evil and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot
be
delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.
12. I believe that God has not
left the world to perish in its sin, but out of
the great love wherewith He has loved it, has from all eternity graciously
chosen unto Himself a multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out
of
their sin and misery, and of them to build up again in the world His kingdom
of
righteousness; in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I hold
fast
to Christ the Lord.
13. I believe that God has redeemed
His people unto HimseIf through Jesus Christ
our Lord; who, though He was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God,
yet was born of a woman, born under the law, that He might redeem them that
are
under the law; I believe that He bore the penalty due to my sins in His own
body
on the tree, and fulfilled in His own person the obedience I owe to the
righteousness of God, and now presents me to His Father as His purchased
possession, to the praise of the glory of His grace forever; wherefore
renouncing all merit of my own, put all my trust only in the blood and
righteousness of Jesus Christ my redeemer.
14. I believe that Jesus Christ
my redeemer, who died for my offenses was raised
again for my justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at
he
right hand of the Father Almighty continually making intercession for his
people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for His Church;
so
that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can snatch me out
of
His hands and nothing can separate me from His love.
15. I believe that the redemption
wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectualy
applied to all His people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby
unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God, and
enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto righteousness; until
His gracious work having been completed in me, I shall be received into glory;
in which great hope abiding, I must ever strive to perfect holiness in the
fear
of God.
16. I believe that God requires
of me, under the gospel, first of all, that, out
of a true sense of my sin and misery and apprehension of His mercy in Christ,
I
should turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon
Jesus
Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to Him, I may receive pardon
for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God's sight, only for the
righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone; thus, and
thus only, do I believe I may be received into the number and have a right
to
all the privileges of the sons of God.
17. I believe that, having been
pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake, it is
further required of me that I walk in the Spirit whom He has purchased for
me,
and by whom love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe
to
Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the holy
law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting in my life and conduct
the
perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my leader, who has died
for
me and granted to me His Holy Spirit that I may do the good works which God
has
afore prepared that I should walk in them.
18. I believe that God has established
His Church in the world, one and the same
in all ages, and now, under the Gospel, has endowed it with the ministry of
the
Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper and prayer; in
order
that through these means, the riches of His grace in the gospel may be known
to
the world, and by the blessing of Christ and the working of His Spirit in
them
that by faith receive them, the benefits of redemption may be communicated
to
His people; wherefore also it is required of me that I attend on these means
of
grace with diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them I may
be
instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in love;
and
that I use by best endeavors to carry this gospel and convey these means of
grace to the whole world.
19. I believe that the visible
Church consists of all those who are united to
Christ, the Head of the Church, by profession of their faith, together with
their children; and that the visible unity of the body of Christ, though
obscured, is not destroyed by its division into different denominations of
professing Christians. Therefore I believe that all of these which maintain
the
Word and Sacraments in their fundamental integrity are to be recognized as
true
branches of the Church of Jesus Christ.
20. I believe that God alone is
Lord of the conscience and has left it free from
the doctrines and commandments of men, which are in any respect contrary to
His
Word, or beside it in matters of faith or worship. I believe therefore, that
the
rights of private judgment in all matters that respect religion are universal
and inalienable and that no religious constitution should be supported by
the
civil power, further than may be necessary for protection and security equal
and
common to all others.
21. I believe that the Church is
God's spiritual minister for the purpose of
redemption and the state is God's providential minister for the purpose of
thisworldly order. The power of the Church is exclusively spiritual; that
of the
State includes the exercise of force. The constitution of the Church derives
exclusively from divine revelation; the constitution of the State must be
determined by human reason and the course of providential events. I believe
therefore that the Church has no right to construct or modify a government
for
the State, and the State has no right to frame a creed or polity for the Church.
22. I believe that disciples of
Jesus Christ are called to be His witnesses in
the world, proclaiming the justice and mercy of God to all men, and making
evident His wise and righteous rule over every aspect of human culture.
Therefore it is my obligation to search the Scriptures with all the skills
God
has allotted me, and to seek, within the bounds of my calling, to apply my
understanding of His Word to the entire created order, and to all the
outworkings of His most wise providence. And I believe that it is my privilege
and duty to pursue a vocation in this world that employs my gifts to the glory
of God, and for the good of my family, my congregation, my community, and,
as
God brings opportunity, to any who may be in need.
23. I believe that as Jesus Christ
has once come in grace, so also is He to come
a second time in glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to
each
his eternal reward; the wicked shall have the fearful but just sentence of
condemnation pronounced against them, wherein their consciences shall fully
concur, and they shall be cast into hell, to be punished with unspeakable
torments, both in body and soul, with the devil and his angels for ever. The
righteous in Christ shall be caught up with Christ and there openly acknowledged
and acquitted; shall be received into heaven, where they shall fully and forever
be freed from all sin and misery; filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly
holy and happy in both body and soul, in the great company of all God's saints
and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision of God the Father,
of
our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity.
24. I believe that if I die in
Christ, my soul shall be at death made perfect in
holiness and go home to the Lord, and when He shall return in His majesty
I
shall be raised in glory and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment
of God
to all eternity; encouraged by which blessed hope, it is required of me
willingly to take my part in suffering hardships here as a good soldier of
Christ Jesus, being assured that if I die with Him I shall also live with
Him,
if I endure, I shall also reign with Him.
And to Him, my Redeemer,
with the Father,
and the Holy Spirit,
Three Persons, one God,
be glory forever, world without end,
Amen, and Amen.
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