Beliefs

Here is what you should know about our beliefs:

Overview: Life through Jesus Christ

We at 2RP believe God when he promises “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:33). How does God fulfill this promise?

Jesus Christ, who is God in human flesh, came to save his people from their sins, to give them life, and to lead them each day. Through faith in Jesus, people enter into a living relationship with God, know his love, and experience the forgiveness of sins and newness of life.

Jesus is Lord, and he has made us to be his people. We at 2RP believe that all people should experience this blessing and gladly serve him in every area of life.

This great blessing is ours because we know and believe that:

God’s Word is true. God has spoken through his word, the Bible, without error and his word will not fail.
God is Triune. There is one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
God is the Creator. God created all things and created mankind, male and female, in his own image.
We are sinners. All mankind fell into sin in our first father, Adam, and now experiences God’s wrath and curse.
God promised a Savior. God promised through the Old Testament to send a Savior. Jesus is the Savior. Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, was born of the virgin, Mary, lived a sinless life, suffered under the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate, suffered the wrath of God on Calvary’s cross to pay for the sins of his people, died and was buried, rose again from the dead on the third day, appeared to his disciples and many witnesses, and ascended into heaven where he is presently seated at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus is Lord of all. Jesus Christ, the mediator between God and man, reigns over all things, and his Lordship is to be recognized by all individuals and nations. All owe him allegiance.
The Holy Spirit applies Jesus’ work and changes people. The Holy Spirit has been poured out on the people of God because of Jesus’ finished work.
Believers are saved by grace. All who confess their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved.
Believers strive for holiness. Good works do not merit salvation, but they are a necessary part of salvation in the life of the Christian and the church.
The Church is the body of Christ. Jesus is gathering his people today from every nation, tribe, people, and language into his church. This family of families serves and worships him together.
Jesus is coming again to judge the earth. He will raise the dead, judge the living and the dead, punish the wicked, and reward his people with his own presence. Then, we will experience fullness of his promise “I will be your God, and you will be my people.”

A full statement of what we believe and confess together can be found in our Constitution.

Identity: Confidently Reformed in Doctrine; Gladly Presbyterian in Government

What does it mean that we are Reformed?

Being reformed means we are heirs to the historic reformation of the church of the 16th and 17th centuries.
Being reformed means we believe that God is sovereign, or in control, over all things.
Being reformed means we believe that God works through covenants. That is, the Bible tells one overarching story of God making promises, or covenants, and fulfilling them for his glory and our good.
Being reformed means we joyfully worship as God commands in his word without adding our own innovations.
Being reformed means we are always seeking to grow and change to be more faithful to the Lord and his word.

What does it mean that we are Presbyterian?

Being Presbyterian means that we honor the living Lord Jesus as the leader of his church. We are organized as he commands. He leads the local body through multiple elders (“presbuteros” in the original Greek language) serving together so that people know that it is really Jesus who leads his people.
Being Presbyterian means that the kids count. God includes children in the covenant community in the New Testament just as he does the Old Testament. Children of God’s people receive the sign of God’s covenant love in baptism.
Being Presbyterian means that we confess our common faith as part of a larger body as pictured in Acts 15. We submit ourselves to the authority of a group of elders from a body larger than just this congregation. We are part of the Great Lakes-Gulf Presbytery of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA) – churches connected by confessing a common faith. Together, we hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Reformed Presbyterian Testimony, and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms as being agreeable to and founded on the Scriptures.
Being Presbyterian means we experience the blessing of fellowship and labor with other Christians in our presbytery and beyond. See our Church Life and Outreach pages to see what that looks like practically.

Membership Vows: Joyfully Confessing our Faith Together

We are grateful to have many friends and visitors as a congregation. Those who become members of this congregation respond to these questions in our Covenant of Communicant Membership:

Do you believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule for faith and life?
Do you believe in the one living and true God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as revealed in the Scriptures?
Do you repent of your sin; confess your guilt and helplessness as a sinner against God; profess Jesus Christ, Son of God, as your Savior and Lord; and dedicate yourself to His service: Do you promise that you will endeavor to forsake all sin, and to conform your life to His teaching and example?
Do you promise to submit in the Lord to the teaching and government of this church as being based upon the Scriptures and described in substance in the Constitution of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America? Do you recognize your responsibility to work with others in the church and do you promise to support and encourage them in their service to the Lord? In case you should need correction in doctrine or life, do you promise to respect the authority and discipline of the church?
To the end that you may grow in the Christian life, do you promise that you will diligently read the Bible, engage in private prayer, keep the Lord’s Day, regularly attend the worship services, observe the appointed sacraments, and give to the Lord’s work as He shall prosper you?
Do you purpose to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness in all the relationships of life, faithfully to perform your whole duty as a true servant of Jesus Christ, and seek to win others to Him?
Do you make this profession of faith and purpose in the presence of God, in humble reliance upon His grace, as you desire to give your account with joy at the Last Great Day?