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
Our Lord Jesus Christ, as He is attested for us in the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the one living Word of God whom we must hear and whom we must trust and obey to live faithfully as God’s people today. While the creation bears witness to God’s power and glory, the written scriptures are the authoritative witness to Jesus Christ.
We affirm the Bible is the inspired written Word of God, the authoritative standard in matters of faith and practice. We recognize the necessity of the illumination of the Holy Spirit in reading and understanding the scriptures. We understand the scriptures using exegetical principles guided by the grammatical/literary, historical, language and theological dimensions of the scripture. We recognize the prophetic words of scripture were written in particular cultures, but God inspired them to speak His truth to people in all times and cultures. Therefore, in humility we submit the things we learn in our culture to the transforming and restoring standard of this word.
These scriptures tell us of One True Living God who was before all things and made all things according to the kind intention of His will. This one creator God exists as three equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Creation and Fall
God’s Sovereign Plan and the Covenant of Grace
The scriptures show us how God has acted sovereignly to accomplish His will through one covenant of grace. At the beginning, God made His covenant with Adam and Eve, offering His blessing in calling them to care for creation. God renewed His covenant with Noah as creation was restored after the flood. He called Abraham to leave his home and become the father of many nations. Through Moses at Sinai and through the Exodus, He gave them the Torah and invited the people to choose life and live as His special possession. God continued His covenant with David, a man after His own heart, and offered him a lasting kingdom. In Jesus Christ, the covenant is fulfilled as the Spirit writes God’s laws on our hearts. In all things, God has been working to bring glory to His name and bless His covenant people.
The Redemption of the Church and the Work of the Spirit
The Visible Church of Christ
Since the people of God cannot conveniently meet in one place, they meet in visible, distinct congregations or gatherings for worship, service, and growth around the world. As a Reformed branch of Christ’s Church, even as we meet separately, we confess and express our unity with one another as we gather in our Church Councils that both oversee and serve our local congregations.
We humbly confess there is no part of human life that is off limits to the sanctifying claims of God. Every role, activity, and area of culture needs to be submitted to the Word of God. All we are and everything we undertake needs to be transformed by a biblical world view.
Growth in the Grace of Jesus
We are transformed through prayer. Jesus exemplified and taught us His prayer as a model of the communion that we are to have with God, so that His kingdom pervades our lives. Jesus continues, as our High Priest, to intercede for us before the Throne of the Father, even as the Spirit intercedes for us, when we are at a loss for words. Our prayerful union with Christ transforms our lives, as we praise His glory and power, confess our sin, give thanks for His grace, and pray for those around us, recognising our spiritual conflict with the principalities and powers of this world.
The Ministry of His Church and Our Growth in Grace
To facilitate our growth in grace, Jesus established two Sacraments which are holy ordinances. They are ordinarily celebrated in the worship life of the community of faith. Baptism is the sacrament of entry into the covenant community, and the Lord’s Supper is the sacrament of growth and progress in the covenant family. When joined with the faithful preaching of the word, the elements of the sacraments become tangible witnesses of His promises.
Baptism is the fulfillment of the covenant promise of circumcision, a promise given to all who believe and their children. The water of Baptism is a physical sign of inward spiritual cleansing and regeneration in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Baptism is also a sign of ingrafting and welcome into the Body of Christ, the Church. Christ commands us to make disciples, going out as His people, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teaching obedience to the things Jesus has commanded us.
Jesus meets us at the Table where the Lord Supper is celebrated. By the Holy Spirit, believers are raised into His presence to share in the foretaste of the heavenly feast. Holy Communion is to be offered and celebrated regularly by baptized believers. Christ is spiritually present in the faithful receiving of the common elements of bread and wine, according to His promise. When believers gather at the Table in community, they ought not receive the bread and wine in a casual manner but should first take the time to seriously examine themselves so they eat discerning the Body of Christ. We receive these sacraments with thanksgiving.
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.