What is the gospel?
The gospel is the heart of what we believe. It is the grand story of God in relation to mankind, creation, fall, redemption, and consummation, which God brought about through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The gospel, in its most basic form, is that Christ died for our sins.
Jesus Christ lived the perfect life we should have lived, died in our place, and rose again, proving his power over sin and death in order to reconcile sinful man with a loving God who sacrificed himself to be with us. We cannot be saved by any work of our own but only by faith in the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is through this good news, Jesus Christ is renewing and redeeming creation to himself.
What are our basic beliefs?
We confess, believe, and teach the Christian faith as it is summarized in the traditional creeds of the Church - the Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon.
What do we teach?
We have inherited and recognize the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) as our confessional standard of doctrine and practice, with these exceptions:
XXI.8 - We believe that while works of “public and private… worship” are commanded and “duties of necessity and mercy” are permitted on the Lord’s Day, this is not all that is permitted in observing a “holy rest”. We do not believe that the intention of Scripture is to exclude all recreation and especially recreation in the context of the fellowship of God’s people. While some in our congregation may hold differing views on particular activities, we seek to live in unity regarding Sabbath observance.
XXIV.4 - We do not believe there is Scriptural warrant to include the last sentence, which reads, “The man may not marry any of his wife’s kindred nearer in blood than he may of his own, nor the woman of her husband’s kindred nearer in blood than of her own.”
XXV.6 - We believe that the Pope of Rome is anti-Christ, we do not believe that he is the Antichrist or the Beast of Revelation.