Trinity Reformed Church

Confession of Faith Printer Friendly (PDF)

Those things most surely believed among us

The Apostles’ Creed (2nd century)
I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in
Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the
Holy Ghost and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades.
On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He
will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost,
the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of
sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Nicean Creed; Constantinople (381 AD)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth,
and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the
only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God
of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of
one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for
us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was
incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the virgin, Mary, and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and
was buried; and the third day He rose again according to the
Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of the
Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the living
and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the
Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father
and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped
and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe one holy
catholic and apostolic Church; acknowledge one baptism for the
remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the
life of the world to come. Amen.

Definition of Chalcedon (451 AD)
Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to
confess the one and same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one
is perfect both in deity and in humanity; truly God and truly man, with
a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father according
to His deity, and consubstantial with us according to the humanity;
like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before the ages He was
begotten of the Father, according to the deity, and in these last days,
for us and for our salvation, He was born of Mary the virgin, who is
Godbearer according to His humanity; one and the same Christ, Son,
Lord, only-begotten, to be acknowledge in two natures; without
confusing them, without interchanging them, without dividing them,
and without separating them; the distinction of natures by no means
taken away by the union, but the properties of each nature being
preserved, and concurring in one Person and one subsistence; not
parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same
only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as from the beginning the
prophets have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself has taught us, and the symbol of the fathers has handed down
to us.

A Westminster Creed
(A modern selection from the 17th century Shorter Catechism)

I believe man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever; I
believe God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being,
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth; I believe there is
but one true and living God; that there are three persons in the
Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and that these three
are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory; I believe
God has foreordained whatever comes to pass; that God made all
things of nothing, by the word of His power, in the space of six days,
and all very good; and that God preserves and governs all His
creatures and all their actions. I believe our first parents, though
created in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, sinned against
God, by eating the forbidden fruit; and that their fall brought mankind
into an estate of sin and misery; I believe God determined, out of His
mere good pleasure, to deliver His elect out of the estate of sin and
misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer; I
believe the only Redeemer of God’s elect is the Lord Jesus Christ, who,
being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and continues
to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person, forever; I
believe Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the office of a prophet, of a
priest, and of a king. I believe Christ as our Redeemer underwent the
miseries of this life, the wrath of God, the cursed death of the cross,
and burial; He rose again from the dead on the third day, ascended up
into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, the Father, and is coming to
judge the world at the last day. I believe we are made partakers of the
redemption purchased by Christ, by the effectual application of it to us
by his Holy Spirit; I believe God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, and
repentance unto life to escape the wrath and curse of God due to us for
sin; I believe by His free grace we are effectually called, justified, and
sanctified, and gathered into the visible church, out of which there is
no ordinary possibility of salvation; I believe that we also are given in
this life such accompanying benefits as assurance of God’s love, peace
of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and
perseverance therein to the end; that at death, we are made perfect in
holiness, and immediately pass into glory; and our bodies, being still
united in Christ, rest in their graves, till the resurrection; and at the
resurrection, we shall be raised up in glory, we shall openly be
acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made
perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.

An Evangelical Statement
(Adapted from the National Association of Evangelicals)

We believe the Bible to be the only inerrant Word of God. It is our only
ultimate and infallible authority for faith and practice. We believe that
there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons; Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent, that is, He is all-powerful. He is
omnipresent, that is, He is present throughout all Creation but not
limited by it. He is omniscient, that is, nothing is hidden from His sight.
In all things He is limited by nothing other than His own nature and
character. We believe the God we serve is holy, righteous, good, severe,
loving and full of mercy. He created the heavens and earth, and
everything in them, in the space of six ordinary days, and all very good.
He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Governor of everything that has been
made. We believe in the true deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus
Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His
vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily
resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His
personal return in power and glory. We believe in the full deity of the
Holy Spirit, acknowledging Him together with the Father and the Son in
the works of creation and redemption. We believe that because of
Adam’s sin all mankind is in rebellion against God. For the salvation
of such lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is
absolutely necessary. We believe that salvation is by grace through
faith alone, and that faith without works is dead. We believe in the
present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is
enabled to live a godly life. We believe in the resurrection of both the
saved and lost; those who are saved to the resurrection of life, and
those who are lost to the resurrection of damnation. We believe in the
spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ