What We Believe

Our Beliefs

What we believe about God

We believe there is one true God and that he alone must be worshiped and adored. We believe the Bible teaches us that God is eternal, almighty, perfectly wise, just and the fountain of all good. We worship God as one being, yet three distinct persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Scripture also teaches us that each of these persons have distinct roles.

• God the Father created this world good and he still upholds and governs all things. Although we sinned against him, God the Father sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into this world to pay for all our sins. God the Father also guides our lives in such a way that without his will nothing can separate us from the love he has for us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
• God the Son (Jesus Christ) is our only comfort in life and death. He has fully paid for all our sins and has set us free from the power of the devil through his death and resurrection.
• God the Holy Spirit works true faith in the hearts of God’s people. He comforts and assures us through the preaching of the gospel and the use of the sacraments that we are God’s children because of our union with Jesus Christ.

What we believe about God’s Word, the Bible

We believe that God fully makes himself and his will for us known in his Word, the Bible. The Bible was written by humans, but is not a human document. The Bible is God-breathed and inspired by the Holy Spirit. We believe without any doubt all things written in the Bible and it serves as the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith.

The Creeds and Confessions

The main teachings of the Bible have been summarized in documents called creeds or confessions. Of the many creeds that have appeared throughout the history of the Christian church, we have chosen to adopt three creeds and three confessions as our own.

• Apostles’ Creed
• Nicene Creed
• Athanasian Creed

The confessions have come to us from the Reformation of the sixteenth century, namely:

• The Belgic Confession states in a positive way what we believe about God; man and his fall into sin; Jesus Christ and Salvation; the Church and Sacraments; civil government
• The Heidelberg Catechism uses a question and answer format to explain the basics of the Christian faith
• The Canons of Dort stresses the sovereignty of God in our salvation, emphasizing it is all God’s work; clearly teaches the fine points of the Reformed faith

We consider these creeds to be faithful summaries of the Word of God. As human documents, however, they possess human authority. Only the Word of God possesses divine authority. The contents of our creeds and confessions are always subject to and to be tested by the standard of the Word of God.