What we Believe

By Faith Alone

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church is a part of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. 

A connectional church of Reformed worship, work and witness in the world.

WHAT WE BELIEVE:

As a Reformed church, we hold to the following five themes

1. We believe in the absolute authority of the Bible as the Word of God.

2. We believe in justification by faith alone.

3. We believe in the right of individual interpretation of the Scriptures.

4. We believe in the priesthood of all believers.

5. We believe in the sacredness of the common vocations.

In fuller detail, this means:

1. ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY OF THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD

We at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church from our beginning have taken the Bible very seriously. We don’t believe the Bible is magic like a lucky charm. We don’t believe the Bible is God. We do believe that the Bible reveals God and all we need to know about being His children. We believe it is authoritative, is true and can be trusted in all matters of faith and practice.

We believe the Bible is God’s Word to us and that the Word can be summed up in Jesus Christ. He is the living Word, the written Word come to reveal God. If any teaching, be it philosophy, psychology, science or any other, contradicts Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible, we will always and forever be obedient to the “Christ” truth.

--The Old Testament looks forward to the Messiah.

--The New Testament explains who the Messiah is: Jesus.

He is our Rock. He is our Compass. He is the Center of our Being.

We want to take the whole counsel of God seriously. We are committed to the Christ of the Scriptures and are continually and compassionately desirous of following Him.

2. JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH

Many in our church know how Martin Luther and other reformers felt when the Holy Scripture led them to experience the love of God. Many of our people have had the instantaneous, often emotionally overpowering experience of being “born again.” There are many other Christians who have been born again, who can’t point to a time or place, but can point to the reality of their justification. We don’t encourage uniformity of experience – only a common commitment to Jesus Christ.

There are many experiences, but only one Lord Jesus Christ who is appropriated – not by works of the law, but by faith. We are very careful not to lay any other burdens on Christians other than faith – not faith plus anything. But we believe that the justified person will be shown the marks of their Lord in worship, work, prayer and obedience. Our greatest and most sensitive task is to help hurting people see and experience “justification” as a good gift from God and a freeing gift for all eternity.

3. THE RIGHT OF INDIVIDUAL INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE

Pastors don’t impose our beliefs on the Session.  We trust the Holy Spirit to lead us to His truth. A group of Spirit-indwelt, Spirit-led people can make a better decision than one individual standing alone. We believe we need the uniqueness of each believer. Each can and will add to health, service and happiness of the whole body.

4. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS

We believe that the Pastors are especially called of God to equip all the believers for their ministry. By baptism, every believer is called of God into the “royal priesthood.” We are able to help and encourage the world to get into the stream of the Holy Spirit.

5. THE SACREDNESS OF THE COMMON VOCATION

Many have opportunities to tell of Christ and His love on the job. If we are all priests, then what we do in our jobs becomes our ministry to Jesus Christ. The job itself is our calling by God and is to be done in the Spirit of Christ.

There is no vocation any more special than another as all the body functions together to bring glory to Christ.  All that we do in the church is meant to prepare our people for the world as they live out the prayers and songs and scriptures.

 6. SHARED BELIEFS WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS:

a. As Trinity, God is

1. The Father and Creator of the universe.

2. Jesus Christ, the Son, is the incarnation of God on earth. He is both the revealer of the Father and the Savior of humankind.

3. The Holy Spirit is the presence of God in the world and in the believer.

b. Eternal life is shown by the resurrection of Jesus.

c. God's sovereignty: the universe is controlled by God. Virtue is rewarded and sin is punished.

d. Salvation: God grants the gift of Grace, which enables us to gain the Faith necessary for salvation.

e. Hell: the separation from God which may exist now as well as in the hereafter.

f. The virgin birth: Jesus' birth was miraculous.

g. The cross: empty, symbolizing the risen Christ who opened the Kingdom of heaven.

h. Resurrection: the resurrection of the body is both spiritual and physical.

i. Confession: voluntary and made directly to God, although it may be made in the presence of another.

j. Marriage: a sacred covenant. Divorce is discouraged; preparation for marriage is important.

k. Change: new understandings of the confession of faith (traditions) as the Holy Spirit leads.

l. Parenthood: the family is ordained by God, and children are a blessing. Parents are primary in raising their children in the Christian faith.

m. Education: stressed for both the ministry and for the laity.

n. The "only church": no Christian church has exclusive right to claim Christ's authority.

 THE MEANING OF THE SACRAMENTS

Two Sacraments: baptism and communion.

A Sacrament is one of those moments in our collective experience as a family of God in which God acts in our midst in a way first seen in the life of Jesus and is now reenacted among us regularly. Whereas the Bible is the Word of God verbally, a Sacrament is the Word of God visibly.

1. Baptism is the Sacrament that witnesses physically a unity with Jesus Christ and makes us members of God's family, the Church. It is the event which symbolizes that we die to sin and are raised to life, becoming part of God's family, the Church (Rom. 6:1-11).

Rom. 6:3 ...Don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

a. It is an initiation into the church community, as ordered by Christ.

b. It is a public confession, a statement of faith made in the presence of others.

c. It does not guarantee access to heaven and unbaptized people are not denied salvation.

d. It can be performed in another Christian church; there is no need to be re-baptized in a Presbyterian church.

e. Most important, it is a Sacrament, an act of God binding us to Himself and incorporating us in the Christian fellowship. For infant baptism, see "Covenant Baptism."

2. The Lord's Supper, or communion, is a time to renew faith and strengthen participants for the duties and privileges of Christian service. The Bread and wine (or grape juice), the two elements, witness physically our ongoing union with Christ in his death on our behalf.

a. The elements recall the last meal Christ shared with the Apostles

b. The elements represent the sacrificial body and blood of Christ and affirm our baptismal vows.

c. The elements symbolize the New Covenant between God and all people.

 THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM

WHAT IS BAPTISM?

· Baptism and the Lord's Supper are the two Sacraments of our Church. A Sacrament is one of those moments in our collective experience as a family of God in which He acts in our midst in a way first seen in the life of Jesus and now recapitulated among us regularly. The doctrine of the sacraments is set forth, for United Presbyterians, in the church's "Directory of Worship" --Chapter V, "Baptism", and Chapter VI, "The Lord's Supper."

· Baptism is the event which symbolizes that we die to sin and are raised to new life, becoming part of God's family, the Church (Romans 6:1-11).

 WHAT BAPTISM IS NOT

· Baptism is not our assurance of life after death. God has already secured us to Himself for Eternity by His powerful love demonstrated in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

· Baptism is not "christening", that is, sealing the child's name by an act of the Church.

· Baptism is not simply a family tradition, in which we participate because other members of our family have been baptized before us.

· Baptism is not a social event, by which we become members in good standing of society.

· Baptism is a Sacrament, an act of God binding us to Himself and incorporating us in the Christian fellowship.

 WHO SHALL BE BAPTIZED?

Every previously unbaptized adult who desires membership in a Christian congregation must be baptized. An adult is ready for Baptism when he or she is prepared to affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord and has completed the required membership training course.

We also baptize children whose parents are active members of a Christian church. Through their parents' commitment to Christ and His church, such children are received into God's family of faith and made part of God's covenant of love. Together, the parents and the congregation pledge themselves to provide an environment of affection and nurture in which the child may grow into a mature and steadfast Christian commitment.

 WHO SHALL NOT BE BAPTIZED?

We are often asked to baptize children of parents who live in the community but are not active members of any Christian church or children whose grandparents are part of our fellowship but whose parents are not active members of any Christian church. Though we are eager to provide an affectionate and nurturing environment for these children, it is inappropriate to baptize them. Baptism, is a covenant between God, the children, the parents, and the congregation. If at least one of the parents is not an active member of some Christian church, an essential element in the Sacrament is missing and the Sacrament is diminished. Hence, we gladly include all children in our church program, but we baptize only children of active church members.

 WHEN AND WHERE IS BAPTISM CELEBRATED?

Because this Sacrament involves the congregation as well as the person being baptized and his or her family, Baptism is celebrated in the Sanctuary in a regularly scheduled service of worship. Private Baptism, in a home or at the church at a time other than a regularly scheduled service of worship, deprives the congregation of its responsibility in the Sacrament and is therefore inappropriate. Occasional exceptions may be made for person physically unable to attend worship in the Sanctuary or for persons requesting immersion. Special permission for such exceptions must be given by Session. In any case, it is understood that the congregation will be represented by at least one Ruling Elder.