Summary of basic Presbyterian beliefs

FPC North Shore is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Here is a brief synopsis of our beliefs:

 

Triune God

There is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and worshipped.

 

 

The Bible

The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only trustworthy rule of faith and practice.

Sin

All mankind participated in Adam’s fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.

 

Salvation

The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus

Jesus the Son of God took upon himself a human nature in the womb of the virgin Mary, so that in her son the divine and human natures were united in one person. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and died on a cross, bearing the sins of, and receiving God’s wrath for, all those who trust in him for salvation. He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where he sits as Lord and rules over his kingdom (the church).

 
Righteousness

Those whom God had chosen are drawn to Christ by the inner working of the Spirit as they hear the gospel. When they believe in Christ, God declares them righteous (justifies them), pardoning their sins and accepting them as righteous, not because of any righteousness of their own, but by reckoning Christ’s merits to them.

 

 

Creation

God created the heavens and the earth, and all they contain. He upholds and governs them in accordance with his eternal will. God is sovereign (in complete control) yet this does not diminish human responsibility.

 

 

Sanctification

 

Believers are adopted as the children of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who sanctifies them, enabling them increasingly to stop sinning and act righteously.

 

 

Baptism

Baptism is a sign of God’s covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.

 

Death

At death the Christian’s soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever’s soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.

Second Coming

Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

 

Statement on Racism and Racial Justice 

View our Session Statement regarding racism and racial justice.

 

Full Confessions

When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was formed in 1788, it adopted (with minor revisions) the Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647), as its secondary standards (the Bible itself being the only infallible rule of faith and practice). You can read the full Confessions here.

 

 

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