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As Christians we share many of the beliefs of our brothers and sisters in other Christian denominations. There are some faith issues that we emphasize that may differ from some other denominations.
1. We believe the Scriptures to be authoritative for our faith and practice. It is through the revelation of the scriptures that we learn who God is--Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and who we are as God's children.
2. We believe that baptism is the sign of our adoption into the family of faith. For us, baptism is offered not only to believers, but also to their children. At the same time, we honor and recognize baptism from other Christian churches and do not require rebaptism to become a part of our fellowship.
3. We believe that Holy Communion should be offered and open to all believers whether they are a member of our particular church or not. We believe that children should be welcomed to the table after receiving instruction from the pastor as to the significance of the sacrament.
4. We believe in the priesthood of all believers and that God's call to serve as an ordained leader in the church should be open to qualified persons, regardless of age, gender or marital status.
5. We believe in using a representative form of government to enable us to work together to carry out our ministry and mission.
We stand in line behind centuries of Christians who have lived and died for their faith. In our worship services each week we affirm our solidarity with those who have gone before us by reciting one of the creeds written by faithful Christians, many times written to refute specific heresies.
Most Sundays we recite one of the oldest creeds, The Apostle's Creed. It was written in the 4th century. It reads,
"I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen."
Admittedly, there are some phrases in this ancient creed that do not translate well into our 21st century vernacular. However, it was written by faithful Christians to address specific concerns in their time and as Presbyterians we do not feel it is our perogative to edit another century's creed. Allow me to explain some of the terms.
a.Holy Ghost.--today most Christians prefer to use the term Holy Spirit.
b. He descended into hell--certainly the pain and torture which Jesus endured on the cross was hellish, but the Christian church affirms that the days that Jesus was in the tomb his spirit went to hell, also called hades or the place of the dead, and preached to those who had lived before him and gave them the opportunity to hear about him and to respond.
c. quick and the dead--the word "quick" refers to those who are alive at Jesus return.
d. the holy catholic church--this phrase instigates the most frequently asked question I ever get. As I said, this creed was written in the 4th Century, at a time when there was only one church around the world, the Orthodox church. Their descendents are still around. In your experience you may have encountered someone from the Greek Orthodox Church or the Russian Orthodox Church. At that time the word "catholic" meant "universal." So the phrase, "holy catholic church," refered to the Christian church around the world no matter what country it was in. It wan't until the 11th century when the church in Italy, which had its headquarters in Rome split from the Othodox church to form a separate church that came to be called the Roman Catholic Church. As I said before, rather than edit the copy of a previous century, we prefer to explain the difference in meaning of the words than change the wording.
If you have questions about any of the other terms in the Apostle's Creed, please feel free to call me at the church. I will be delighted to visit with you and will do my best to address your questions.
In addition to standing in line behind the Christians who have gone before us, we also include confessions in our denomiation's Book Of Confessions from the 20th century.
In 1983, when the Southern and Northern branches of the Presbyterian Church reunited, a new Statement of Faith was written and adopted. This statement along with ten other Statements of Faith are included in our Book Of Confessions, which is Part One of our denomination's Constitution. Part Two is our Book of Order, a book that prescribes how we work together to order our worship, exercise discipline, and govern the life of the church.
A Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A)
In life and death we belong to God.
Through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit,
we trust in the one triune God, the Holy One of Israel,
whom alone we worship and serve.
We trust in Jesus Christ,
fully human, fully God.
Jesus proclaimed the reign of God:
preaching good news to the poor
and release to the captives
teaching by word and deed
and blessing the children,
healing the sick
and binding up the broken hearted
eating with outcasts,
forgiving sinners,
and calling all to repent and believe the gospel.
Unjustly condemned for blasphemy and sedition,
Jesus was crucified,
suffering the depths of human pain
and giving His life for the sins on the world.
God raised this Jesus from the dead,
vindicating His sinless life,
breaking the power of sin and evil,
delivering us from death to life eternal.
We trust in God,
whom Jesus called Abba, Father.
In sovereign love God created the world good
and makes everyone equally in Gods image,
male and female, of every race and people,
to live as one community.
But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Ignoring Gods commandments,
we violate the image of God in others and ourselves,
accept lies as truth,
exploit neighbor and nature,
and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve Gods condemnation.
Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
In everlasting love,
the God of Abraham and Sarah chose a covenant people
to bless all families of the earth
Hearing their cry,
God delivered the children of Israel
from the house of bondage.
Loving us still,
God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child,
like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home,
God is faithful still.
We trust in God the Holy Spirit,
everywhere the giver and renewer of life.
The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith,
sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor;
and binds us together with all believers
in the one body of Christ, the church.
The same Spirit
who inspired the prophets and apostles
rules our faith and life in Christ through Scripture,
engages us through the Word proclaimed,
claims us in the waters of baptism,
feeds us with the bread of life and the cup of salvation,
and calls women and men to all ministries of the church.
In a broken and fearful world
the Spirit gives us courage
to pray without ceasing,
to witness among all peoples to Christ as Lord and Savior,
to unmask idolatries in church and culture,
to hear the voices of peoples long silenced,
and to work with others for justice, freedom, and peace.
In gratitude to God, empowered by the Sprit,
we strive to serve Christ in our daily tasks
and to live holy and joyful lives,
even as we watch for Gods new heaven and new earth,
praying, Come, Lord Jesus!
With believers in every time and place,
we rejoice that nothing in life or in death
can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Brief Statement of Faith is the official confession of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
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