Written by one of the great
theologians and men of God of yesteryear, we believe this to be an
excellent brief summary of basic Bible teaching; we heartily commend it
to you. For a more exhaustive statement of the beliefs of Christ The
King Presbyterian Church, please see the Westminster Confession of
Faith.
1. I believe that my one aim
in life and death should be to glorify God and enjoy him forever; and
that God teaches me how to glorify and enjoy him in his holy Word, that
is, the Bible, which he has given by the infallible inspiration of the
Holy Spirit in order that I may certainly know what I am to believe
concerning him and what duty he requires of me.
2. I believe that God is a
Spirit, infinite, eternal, and incomparable in all that he is; one God
but three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, my Creator,
Redeemer, and my Sanctifier; in whose power, wisdom, righteousness,
goodness, and truth I may safely put my trust.
3. I believe that the heavens
and the earth, and all that is in them, are the work of God's hands; and
that all that he has made he directs and governs in all their actions;
so that they fulfill the end for which they were created, and I who
trust in him shall not be put to shame but may rest securely in the
protection of his almighty love.
4. I believe that God created
man after his own image, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, and
entered into a covenant of life with him upon the sole condition of the
obedience that was his due; so that it was by willfully sinning against
God that man fell into the sin and misery in which I have been born.
5. I believe that, being
fallen in Adam, my first father, I am by nature a child of wrath, under
the condemnation of God and corrupted in body and soul, prone to evil
and liable to eternal death; from which dreadful state I cannot be
delivered save through the unmerited grace of God my Savior.
6. I believe that God has not
left the world to perish in its sin, but out of the great love wherewith
he has loved it, has from all eternity graciously chosen unto himself a
multitude which no man can number, to deliver them out of their sin and
misery, and of them to build up again in the world his kingdom of
righteousness; in which kingdom I may be assured I have my part, if I
hold fast to Christ the Lord.
7. I believe that God has
redeemed his people unto himself through Jesus Christ our Lord; who,
though he was and ever continues to be the eternal Son of God, yet was
born of a woman, born under the law, that he might redeem them that are
under the law. I believe that he bore the penalty due to my sins in his
own body on the tree and fulfilled in his own person the obedience I owe
to the righteousness of God, and now presents me to his Father as his
purchased possession, to the praise and glory of his grace forever;
wherefore, renouncing all merit of my own, I put all my trust only in
the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ my Redeemer.
8. I believe that Jesus Christ
my Redeemer, who died for my offenses, was raised again for my
justification, and ascended into the heavens, where he sits at the right
hand of the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for his
people, and governing the whole world as head over all things for his
Church; so that I need fear no evil and may surely know that nothing can
snatch me out of his hands and nothing can separate me from his love.
9. I believe that the
redemption wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ is effectually applied to
all his people by the Holy Spirit, who works faith in me and thereby
unites me to Christ, renews me in the whole man after the image of God,
and enables me more and more to die unto sin and to live unto
righteousness; until, this gracious work having been completed in me, I
shall be received into glory; in which great hope abiding, I must ever
strive to perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord.
10. I believe that God
requires of me, under the Gospel, first of all that, out of a true sense
of my sin and misery and apprehension of his mercy in Christ, I should
turn with grief and hatred away from sin and receive and rest upon Jesus
Christ alone for salvation; that, so being united to him, I may receive
pardon for my sins and be accepted as righteous in God's sight, only for
the righteousness of Christ imputed to me and received by faith alone;
and thus and thus only do I believe I may be received into the number
and have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.
11. I believe that, having
been pardoned and accepted for Christ's sake, it is further required of
me that I walk in the Spirit whom he has purchased for me, and by whom
love is shed abroad in my heart; fulfilling the obedience I owe to
Christ my King; faithfully performing all the duties laid upon me by the
holy law of God my heavenly Father; and ever reflecting, in my life and
conduct, the perfect example that has been set me by Christ Jesus my
Leader, who has died for me and granted to me his Holy Spirit just that
I may do the good works which God has prepared in advance for me to do.
12. I believe that God has
established his Church in the world and endowed it with the ministry of
the Word and the holy ordinances of Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and
Prayer; in order that, through these as means, the riches of his grace
in the Gospel may be made known to the world, and, by the blessing of
Christ and the working of his Spirit in them that by faith receive them,
the benefits of redemption may be communicated to his people; wherefore
also it is required of me that I attend upon these means of grace with
diligence, preparation, and prayer, so that through them I may be
instructed and strengthened in faith, and in holiness of life and in
love; and that I use my best endeavors to carry this Gospel and convey
these means of grace to the whole world.
13. I believe that as Jesus
Christ has once come in grace, so also is he to come a second time in
glory, to judge the world in righteousness and assign to each his
eternal award; and I believe that if I die in Christ, my soul shall be
at death made perfect in holiness and go home to the Lord; and when he
shall return in his majesty I shall be raised in glory and made
perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity;
encouraged by which blessed hope it is required of me willingly to take
my part in suffering hardship here as a good soldier of Christ Jesus,
being assured that if I die with him I shall also live with him; if I
endure, I shall also reign with him.
And to him, my Redeemer, with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, Three Persons, one God, be glory forever,
world without end, Amen, and Amen.