We Believe...

The Church has always defined itself by what it believes.  From very early on in the Apostles' Creed through the creeds developed from controversy arising in the church, we join our forefathers in the faith wholeheartedly confessing what we understand the Bible to teach.


Our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America, uses the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms developed by the Westminster Assembly as the theological standards of our church.  What that means is that we believe those documents, while being subordinate to the Bible, accurately  reflect the teaching of God’s Word.  Below are a few statements that succinctly summarize those Wesminster Standards.

WHAT WE BELIEVE 

  • We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.
  • We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
  • We believe that all are sinners and totally unable to save themselves from God’s displeasure, except by His mercy.
  • We believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. We believe His choice is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.
  • We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him, alone, for salvation.
  • We believe that God is gracious and faithful to His people not simply as individuals but as families in successive generations according to His Covenant promises.
  • We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him.
  • We believe that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind and to receive His people to Himself.
  • We believe that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Membership

To be eligible for membership at First Pres., you must profess faith in Christ; that is the only requirement to belong to a Bible-believing church.  The Bible tells Christians to be subject to their elders and tells elders to take care to watch over and offer spiritual care for all of those belonging to the flock under their supervision (see, for example, 1 Peter 5 and Acts 20).  In order to fulfill these biblical obligations, we have a formal process of membership.  By making your profession of faith and taking the vows of church membership, we commit to one another as members of one local fellowship belonging to the Lord.  For more information about joining or to start the process, please email scott@fpclouisville.org or call our church office at 662.773.3146.

Membership Vows

The following are taken from the Presbyterian Church in America’s Book of Church Order in section 57-5:

  • Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy? 
  • Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel? 
  • Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ? 
  • Do you promise to support the Church in its worship and work to the best of your ability? 
  • Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the Church, and promise to study its purity and peace?