"But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us."
(Rom. 5:8)


"if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved."
(Rom. 10:9-10)

The Grace of God is with You

Presbyterians believe the Bible when it says that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) Unlike crime, which involves the breaking of human law, sin is a condition of the heart or an expression of that condition where we are estranged from God and fail to trust in God. Sin expresses itself in particular acts.

The Brief Statement of Faith of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) says:

"But we rebel against God; we hide from our Creator.
Presbyterian Beliefs Ignoring God's commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and threaten death to the planet entrusted to our care.
We deserve God's condemnation."  (Lines 33-39)
"Yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem creation.
Loving us still, God makes us heirs with Christ of the covenant.
Like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, God is faithful still."  (Lines 40, 47-51)

God has always been faithful to the people of Israel and to the church. Presbyterians believe God has offered us salvation because of God's loving nature. It is not a right or a privilege to be earned by being "good enough." No one of us is good enough on our own--we are all dependent upon God's goodness and mercy. From the kindest, most devoted churchgoer to the most blatant sinner, we are all saved solely by the grace of God.

"God fully expects the church of Jesus Christ to prove itself a miraculous group in the very midst of a hostile world. Christians of necessity must be in contact with the world, but in being and spirit ought to be separated from the world and as such, we should be the most amazing people in the world."
A. W. Tozer

It is clear in the Bible and in all of Christian theology that our communion with God is broken by sin, and there is no theological tradition that takes sin more seriously than our Reformed/Presbyterian tradition. Sin, said Calvin, is pride. It is not just doing "sinful acts" that break God's law; it is wanting to be in charge of our own lives. It is refusing to trust God for our security, and trying instead to build our own.

God has created us with the happy privilege of living trustfully, knowing that life is in the hands of a sovereign God who loves us, who cares for us. When we do trust God and trust life, we can be open to our neighbors, willing to take the risk of loving them generously. That is what God wants for us.

Out of the greatest possible love and compassion God reached out to us and redeemed us through Jesus Christ, the only one who was ever without sin. Through Jesus' death and resurrection God triumphed over sin.

Presbyterians believe it is through the action of God working in us that we become aware of our sinfulness and our need for God's mercy and forgiveness. Just as a parent is quick to welcome a wayward child who has repented of rebellion, God is willing to forgive our sins if we but confess them and ask for forgiveness in the name of Christ.

God further sent the Holy Spirit to be our companion, counselor and guide in living a life of service to God. "The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith, sets us free to accept ourselves and to love God and neighbor, and binds us together with all believers in the one body of Christ, the church." (Brief Statement of Faith, Lines 54-57)

Some of the basic beliefs of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are contained in the following links and on the menu links on the right.

Jesus Christ, Son of God
Holy Spirit, Our Counselor
Confessing Our Faith
The Bible
Sin and Salvation

The Good News of Jesus Christ is to be shared with the whole world. As disciples of Jesus Christ, each of us in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is sent into the world to join God's mission. As individuals and as a church, we are called to be faithful in this discipleship. Our mission is centered in the triune God. Our mission is God-called, Christ-centered and Spirit-led. Our mission is both proclamation and service; it is the reason the church exists.