Concerning God
We believe that there is a personal knowable God who created and sustains all that exists. All of creation, in some way, points to the majesty or holiness or beauty or creativity of God. Since he is the creator and sustainer of all life, all creation owes its gratitude and allegiance to him.
Concerning Man
We believe that God, through a very special and unique act of creation, made humankind “in his own image” (Genesis 1) for no other reason than to have a relationship with us. But humankind rebelled against God and chose to live without a relationship to God. All of the recorded history of all of the nations is a picture of how desperate people are to prove that they do not need God, or to prove that they are good enough for God.
Concerning God’s Word; the Bible
The Bible is the recorded history of God’s acting and moving to restore the relationship that we have abandoned.
the central point of the Bible is that God sent his one unique Son to earth as Jesus Christ to restore our relationship with God by substituting himself for us in his life and death. He lived the perfectly satisfied life that we never would, but then died to pay the penalty for our actions. God accepted his death as full payment for our sins and raised Jesus to life. Now, everyone who calls on the name of the Lord, Jesus, will be saved.”
Concerning the Gospel
“Gospel” simply means “Good News.” SO at its heart, the gospel is NEWS about what God has done, NOT instruction for what we must do.
The Westminster Standards
As a congregation in the Presbyterian Church in America, Hope of Christ confesses, with the Church, the Wesminster Standards: