The Authority of God’s Word and the Centrality of Christ

At Christ Church, we believe that God has spoken in an inspired, inerrant word: the Bible. Scripture alone is our ultimate authority both for what we believe and how we live. Jesus Christ, the God-man, is revealed in all of Scripture. He alone is a safe harbor for sin-wearied souls seeking rest. Christ’s preeminence in Scripture, and his role as the only mediator between God and humanity lead us to worship in a way which places him at the center of all that we do.

The Necessity and Sufficiency of God’s Grace

Because of the death-dealing effects of sin, there is no spiritual life left in humanity. We are therefore wholly dependent upon the grace of God to bring us into faith communion with his beloved Son, in whom all spiritual blessings are found.

The Spirit’s Gift of Faith

We believe that God’s Spirit works faith in all those whom the Father gave to the Son. Faith in Christ, and not our own good works, is the only means by which we are justified in God’s sight.

The Righteousness of Christ

Though we are justified by faith in Christ alone, faith itself is not what justifies us. The perfect obedience of Jesus Christ, credited to us and received by faith alone, justifies us. Likewise, Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice on the cross for the sins of his people is the only atonement to be found for the guilt and the punishment due for sin.

The Glory of God

Having been freed from the tyranny and dominion of sin through Jesus Christ, we now seek to live for the glory of God in all of life by his Spirit’s presence and in reliance on his Word.

The Joy of Community

In the Bible, Christians are connected to a community of believers in the Lord Jesus who love God and his Word, pray and worship together regularly, eat together frequently, take care to watch over each other’s needs, and together demonstrate the forgiveness and love of Christ to one another and the unbelieving world. When God saves us by his grace, he also adds us to the Church, his people, the body of Christ. The Church, then, is not something additional or optional—it is at the very heart of God’s purposes. Jesus came to create a people who would model what it means to live under his love and rule. If you are interested in learning more about church membership, please talk to any of the pastors or elders.

The Confession of Faith

The above mentioned truths are a just a few of a comprehensive system understanding the Bible’s teaching to which we subscribe, commonly known as Reformed theology. A more complete description of this system is found in the Westminster Confession of Faith and in its Larger and Shorter Catechisms (found here).