Christianity is more than a religious experience or a sense of the divine, it involves faith in the truth of Scripture. This truth is communicated to us in a variety of ways in the Bible, but the result is a body of teachings which provide the content of what we believe.

Our Primary Authority is the Bible

We place our trust and faith in Christ alone: in his person, work, and Word. The Bible and it alone, as the Word of Christ, is our final standard for all that we believe and do. It is inspired of God and therefore the absolute authority as truth; inerrant and infallible in all matters, including history and science. The whole counsel of God in Scripture is our standard in every area of life and thought. We believe that the Bible, comprising the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the divinely inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God. As such it is our final authority. The spirit of God opens the hearts of God’s chosen, covenant people to the truth revealed therein.

ARTICLE 176. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, which are called canonical, being recognized as genuine and inspired, are received as the true and proper Word of God, infallible and inerrant, and the ultimate rule and measure of the whole Christian faith and doctrine. (RCUS Constitution, Part IV. Doctrine and Worship, Section 1, Doctrine)

Jesus Christ is Our Lord and Savior

There is only one name under heaven whereby we are saved—Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God. By His life of perfect obedience, His death on the cross as our substitute, and His resurrection from the dead, He has merited for us the forgiveness of sins, righteousness, and eternal life. These gifts, which we can neither earn nor deserve because of our inherited depravity, are given by God through grace only to true believers. And in appreciation for his love to us in Christ, the Lord expects us to live righteous and holy lives.

We trust in the power and grace of God to cause us to persevere in true faith until the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come again to judge the living and the dead and make our mortal bodies like unto His glorified body. From thenceforeth we will reign with Him forever.

We believe that the Jesus Christ of the Bible is the only hope for this sin-cursed world. It is our prayer that God would bless our Reformed preaching and teaching, our God-centered worship, and our Christian fellowship to His glory through the building up of His church.

Our Subordinate Standards are the Reformed Confessions

When asked, “What does the Bible teach?” or “How do you interpret it?” we respond with a unified voice by referring to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed church which summarize the message of Scripture. Our statement of faith includes the Apostle’s Creed as well as the historic confession of the churches of the Reformation. We affirm and teach that system of doctrine which is set forth in the Three Forms of Unity: the Belgic Confession , the Heidelberg Catechism , and the Canons of Dort . These three doctrinal statements, born of the Protestant Reformation, define what it means to be “reformed .” The Consitution of our denomination states,

ARTICLE 177. The Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession of Faith, and the Canons of Dort are received as authoritative expressions of the truths taught in the Holy Scriptures, and are acknowledged to be the subordinate standards of doctrine in the Reformed Church in the United States. (RCUS Constitution, Part IV. Doctrine and Worship, Section 1, Doctrine)

Summary of our Basic Beliefs:

1. The Bible is the authoritative Word of God for faith and life. Every word and thought is “God-breathed” and therefore inerrant, infallible, and eternally preserved. Hence the Bible alone is the only standard for faith and life.

2. There is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is the sovereign creator and Ruler of the universe, sustaining and preserving all creation by His eternal counsel and providence. God has chosen his people in Christ unto Salvation without any merit of man.

3. All men, by the sin of Adam and Eve, fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, making them enslaved to sin and to Satan. Adam's sin has totally corrupted all men and every part of human nature. Being thus depraved in body and soul, men are eternally condemned by the just judgment of God.

4. The Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He was born of the virgin Mary, crucified, dead and buried. He rose bodily from the dead and is now reigning at the right hand of God the Father. Christ has died for all whom the Father has given to Him and fully accomplished all that is necessary for their salvation through his active and passive obedience.

5. Sinful men are saved from eternal condemnation by the grace of God alone, through repentance of sin and faith in Jesus Christ. The grace of God's Holy Spirit is necessary and sovereign if we are to believe. Hence, God alone should receive all the glory from beginning to end. For Christians, Jesus Christ is the only Savior and the Sovereign Lord over every part of their lives. God preserves his people in the faith unto everlasting life.

6. The church is the body of professsing Christians and their children. The church is distinguished by the pure preaching of the Word of God, the proper administration of the sacraments, and the faithful exercise of Christian discipline.

7. Jesus Christ will return again bodily to earth as Judge of all men and to receive His church. All men will be raised from the dead and he will separate believers from unbelievers. Unbelievers will be punished forever in hell. He will then consumate His Kingdom of believers which will replace all the kingdoms of this world.