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The Essentials of our Faith
All Scripture is self-attesting and being
Truth, requires our unreserved submission
in all areas of life. The infallible Word
of God, the sixty-six
books of the Old and New Testaments,
is a complete and unified witness to God's
redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation
of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by
the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final
authority on all matters on which it speaks.
On this sure foundation we affirm these
additional Essentials of our faith:
- We believe in one God, the sovereign
Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely
perfect and eternally existing in three
Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
To Him be all honor, glory and praise
forever!
- Jesus Christ, the living Word, become
flesh through His miraculous conception
by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth.
He who is true God became true man united
in one Person forever. He died on the
cross a sacrifice for our sins according
to the Scriptures. On the third day He
arose bodily from the dead, ascended into
heaven, where, at the right hand of the
Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest
and Mediator.
- The Holy Spirit has come to glorify
Christ and to apply the saving work of
Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of
sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling
our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers
and imparts gifts to us for service. He
instructs and guides us into all truth,
and seals us for the day of redemption.
- Being estranged from God and condemned
by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly
dependent upon the work of God's free
grace. God credits His righteousness to
those who put their faith in Christ alone
for their salvation, thereby justifies
them in His sight. Only such as are born
of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ
become children of God and heirs of eternal
life.
- The true Church is composed of all
persons who through saving faith in Jesus
Christ and the sanctifying work of the
Holy Spirit are united together in the
body of Christ. The Church finds her visible,
yet imperfect, expression in local congregations
where the Word of God is preached in its
purity and the sacraments are administered
in their integrity; where scriptural discipline
is practiced, and where loving fellowship
is maintained. For her perfecting, she
awaits the return of her Lord.
- Jesus Christ will come again to the
earth—personally, visibly, and bodily—to
judge the living and the dead, and to
consummate history and the eternal plan
of God. “Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”
(Rev.
22:20)
- The Lord Jesus Christ commands all
believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout
the world and to make disciples of all
nations. Obedience to the Great Commission
requires total commitment to “Him
who loved us and gave Himself for us.”
He calls us to a life of self-denying
love and service. “For we are His
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand
that we should walk in them.” (Eph.
2:10)
These Essentials are set forth in greater
detail in the Westminster Confession of
Faith.
For more information on the history and
place of the “Essentials” in
the life of the EPC, see the explanatory
statement below.
Explanatory Statement to “Essentials
of Our Faith”*
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
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