What We Believe
Essentials of Our Faith
We are catholic Christians – We believe in the One true God who created all things, has been from all eternity the blessed Trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This one God has himself known through the inspired Word written, the 66 books of Holy Scripture. Scripture primarily reveals the saving work of Jesus Christ.
We are evangelical Christians – We believe in the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind. All men are sinners and are called to repent and believe the good news that God has seen fit in his great mercy to provide a sacrifice for our sins: the Lord Jesus Christ, whom we are invited to know by faith.
We are reformed Christians – We embrace the reformation principles of justification by faith alone, the priesthood of all believers, the recognition that God’s plan is revealed in scripture alone, and that there is salvation in Christ alone by faith alone by God’s grace alone.
Our doctrine comes from the scriptures. The teaching of scripture is well summarized in our confessional standards: the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Westminster Catechisms.
Explanatory Statement
The Westminster Confession of Faith is a confessional statement of orthodox Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith is our standard of doctrine as found in Scripture. It is a positive statement of the Reformed Faith. The Westminster Confession of Faith constitutes a system of biblical truth that an officer of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church is required to believe, acknowledging that each individual court has the freedom to allow exceptions which do not infringe upon the system of doctrine in the Westminster Confession of Faith.
“Essentials of Our Faith” is an irenic statement of historic evangelicalism. The purpose of “Essentials of Our Faith” is to define core beliefs of the Christian Faith. It expresses historic Christian beliefs common to all true believers and churches throughout the world. “Essentials of Our Faith” is not intended to be the exclusive test of orthodoxy for ordination. It is not intended to be used as an explicit standard for minimal core beliefs for candidates, ordination or ministerial examinations. It is not to be construed as a substitute for the Westminster Confession of Faith.
Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of Our Faith” are important documents in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith and “Essentials of Our Faith” are not alternative statements of truth, nor are they competitive statements of truth. They each serve important and harmonious purposes within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The Westminster Confession of Faith preserves our commitment to the historic orthodoxy of the Reformed Faith. “Essentials of Our Faith” preserves our commitment to historic evangelicalism.