Things of First Importance

Our Beliefs

A list of truths that form the confession we share.

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…” 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 (NIV). While the Apostle Paul was diligent to declare the whole council of God, he also recognised there were foundational truths that had particular importance. In that spirit, we hold these items to be matters of first importance, foundational truths of the gospel-centred confession that binds us together.

Proclaiming the Living and Written Word of God

Creation and Fall

God’s Sovereign Plan and the Covenant of Grace

The Redemption of the Church and the Work of the Spirit

The Visible Church of Christ

Growth in the Grace of Jesus

The Ministry of His Church and Our Growth in Grace

The Blessed Hope and the Day of the Lord

In making this confession,

we see ourselves standing in
continuity with the witnesses who went before us the:

O rthodox Christian tradition, represented by the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, and the

H istoric Reformed Presbyterian tradition, represented by statements such as the Westminster Standards, the Scots Confession, the Second Helvetic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Geneva Catechism,

C ontemporary Reformed standards such as the Barmen Confession and the New City Catechism.

Taken together, these statements explain in greater detail the beliefs we confess concisely here. These are worthy guides to God’s truth but remain subordinate to the Scripture, which is the standard of all truth.