ONE GOD – We believe in one God, eternal and loving, who reveals himself in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

GOD THE FATHER – We believe God created the heavens and the earth and everything that lives. He is almighty, all knowing, ever present. He is holy and righteous, in him there is no imperfection. He has dominion and authority over all the earth. And yet he has made it known that he loves each and every one of his children with the deep and personal love of a father.

GOD THE SON – We believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, sent to redeem us from our sin. Born of a virgin and living a sinless life, he was fully man and fully God. To know what God is like, we need only to look at Jesus. By his teaching, by his miracles, wonders and signs, God revealed himself to us. And by his death on the cross he showed us God’s amazing love. Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin. He was crucified, dead and buried. But he rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and now sits at the right hand of God where he presides over his Church. By his resurrection, we have the assurance of God’s victory over sin and death.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT– We believe God’s reconciling activity in the world continues to this day through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit who confronts us with Christ’s Lordship of life and calls us to repentance and obedience to the will of God. The Holy Spirit baptizes and seals us at the moment of salvation. He dwells in us, ever working to conform us to the image of Christ.

HUMANKIND – We believe God created men and women to live in loving relationship with God and with one another, and that he calls us to demonstrate our love by obeying his commands. But through Adam’s disobedience, the original sin, the human race became alienated from God. We all have inherited a sinful nature and live in a state of separation from God, unable to remedy our lost condition on our own.

SALVATION – We believe that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of God’s plan – since the beginning – to reconcile a lost world to himself. Through acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, confession of our sins, repentance and commitment to a new life in Christ, we are forgiven and forever restored in loving relationship with our Creator. Salvation is achieved not by anything we do – not by our works – but by faith in Christ. It is a gift from God, made possible by Christ’s work on the cross.

THE CHURCH – We believe the Church is the living body of Christ, called to carry out his mission on the earth until he comes again. We are called to a life of sacrifice, manifesting his compassion and love to all who suffer. Jesus came to seek and save the lost, and so the Church is called to spread the good news of salvation, leading people to repent and accept him as Savior and Lord, and nurturing them in their faith.

CHRIST’S RETURN – We believe that Christ is coming again. We wait and watch for the day, assured that nothing in life or in death can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

SESSION RESOLUTION

March 14, 2002
The Session of Elizabeth Presbyterian Church, in an effort to recognize and support the Confessing Church Movement within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) hereby declares the following:
· That Christ alone is Lord and Savior of humankind and none come to the living God except through Him
· That Holy Scripture alone is the rule, guide, and standard for theology and polity of the Church of which Christ is the head
· That we live by grace alone and are called to live holy lives in our conduct because our God is holy. Such holiness embraces sexual relations, which are proper only within the context of marriage between a man and a woman.

We are proud to add our name to the growing list of congregations who have chosen to step forward and purposefully affirm the basic beliefs of the PC(USA). May God continue to bless all the churches within our denomination which proclaim the name of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

These statements are made in support of the PC(USA) constitution which presently states that no one outwardly living an unrepentant lifestyle outside the limits of these statements may be ordained as an officer of the church. We freely acknowledge, however, that we are all sinners, and no one sin is greater than any other in God’s eyes. Therefore we love and accept anyone who walks through our doors, as we work toward repentance from all sin together. The doors of ordained leadership are open to anyone who repents of his or her sin and accepts the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

What We Believe