Doctrine is more than a statement or even a series of statements. Doctrine is all of the truth of Scripture. Even so, one of the tasks of the Church is to teach and explain the Scriptures which is sometimes helpfully done through statements, summaries, confessions and catechisms. In a drastically oversimplified nutshell, we believe in the Trinitarian God of Scripture who has revealed Himself authoritatively in the written Word and in a most clear and final way in the incarnate Word – Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Trinity – and it is only through the working of the Holy Spirit giving us true faith in Christ as the Savior, Lord, and Mediator between God and man that any person may know God as Father and be saved to the glory of God alone.
The following presents a more thorough explanation of our doctrine:
We hold the Scriptures to be the ultimate authority of truth, faith, worship, and life. We believe the Scriptures to be the inspired, inerrant, infallible, sufficient, and perspicuous Word of God.
We joyfully hold to the doctrines of the Reformation:
- Sola Scriptura: Scripture alone is the ultimate authority for faith and practice.
- Sola Gratia: We are saved by grace alone …
- Sola Fide: through faith alone …
- Solus Christus: in Christ alone …
- Soli Deo Gloria: to the glory of God alone!
We also subscribe to the Westminster Standards as containing an excellently thorough, sound, and well-written summary of Biblical doctrine, produced during a crucial time in the history of the Church. We do not hold the Westminster Standards as inspired and inerrant so as to be on the level of Scripture, but we believe them to be a benefit to the Church in a valiant attempt to summarize what Scripture teaches in ways that can be taught and learned by men, women, and children, and that they have served as such for a countless number of the faithful since they were published in 1646. For copies of the documents of the Westminster Standards, see below:
- Westminster Confession of Faith
- Westminster Larger Catechism (a question-answer document to aid in teaching the faith to adults)
- Westminster Shorter Catechism (a question-answer document to aid in teaching the faith to children)
Certainly, other excellent doctrinal documents also exist as helps to faithful believers, including, though not limited to the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Heidelberg Catechism.
Finally, the PCA Book of Church Order is not a doctrinal statement but rather serves to outline the general policies and procedures followed by the leadership in PCA churches.
We are glad members of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) because we believe it to be a denomination that is faithful to the Scriptures, with sound doctrine, that continues to seek the glory of God, love of Christ, and salvation of souls in its mission. To learn more about the PCA, visit its website.