Statement of Faith

God: I believe in the one, living and true God, who is infinite and eternal. God is simple and without parts, perfect in all His attributes, and is a se (having life in and of Himself). He is pure actuality (actus purus) and is therefore impassible and immutable, not subject to change, fluctuation, or suffering. He is omniscient, or all knowing; omnipotent, or all powerful; and omnipresent, or everywhere all at once.

The Trinity: I believe that God is one in substance and three in persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The unbegotten Father eternally begets the Son, the Son who is begotten is eternally generated by the Father, and the Holy Spirit is spirated and proceeds from the Father through the Son. These three are coequal and coeternal, consubstantial and inseparable in one divine work.

Christ and the Gospel: The begotten Son became incarnate. Jesus is truly God and truly man: One Person with two natures. In Him, there is no confusion, change, separation, or division. He condescended from heaven, lived the perfect life, died the death that we deserve, rose after three days, and ascended to heaven where He reigns and intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. If we trust in Him and turn away from our sin, we are restored to a right relationship with God and will be with Him forevermore.

Creation: I believe that God created everything there is from His unified will. The Father created through the Son in the Spirit. Creation was a good thing, a reflection of God’s goodness.

The Fall: I believe that because God is good, creation was good. Yet because of the sin of Adam and Eve, deceived by the serpent, creation has fallen. All humans are therefore now born with a sinful nature and are prone to evil, unable to choose and worship God apart from grace.

Scripture: Scripture is sufficient, inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, and perspicuous.

Sacraments: The external works of the sacraments—baptism and the Lord’s supper—are inefficacious on their own. However, because the signs are so joined to their heavenly realities, grace is communicated through them. I believe in the efficacy of baptism and spiritual presence.

The Church and Christ’s Return: Christ instituted His one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church with two offices: elders (ruling and teaching) and deacons. Jesus will return to gather His Bride, judge the living and the dead, and consummate His eternal kingdom.¹

Footnotes

1. I believe in the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. I subscribe to the Westminster Standards. ↩