Statements of Our Faith

"...he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.  And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built." (Luke 6:48)

Immanuel OPC is Presbyterian in government and Reformed in theology.  Everything we believe is grounded upon the inerrant, infallible, and inspired Word of God.  We believe the Bible is our only rule of faith and the truths it teaches are God’s Word without reservation.  We believe what is expressed in the Bible is summarized in the historic universal creeds (the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed,) and the confessions and catechisms of the historic reformed church (Westminster Confession of Faith and Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms.)  The foundational summaries below further express our beliefs…

Presbyterian

Presbyterian refers not so much to a particular set of doctrines but instead to a particular form of church government.  For Presbyterians, the church is governed by a group of elders, or presbyters.  There are teaching elders, who are the ordained ministers, and ruling elders who are elected from the body of church members.  In each individual church, the elders are invested with authority in all spiritual matters.

Reformed Theology

Reformed theology challenged the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and returned it to a Biblically centered theological perspective focusing on the sovereignty of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, His election, redemption, and our securing in Christ's work. This began in the sixteenth century with Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and other early Protestant Reformers.  Simply stated… Reformed theology represents the restoration of the church to the basic principles of the authority of Scripture and is definitive of this local church.

Summary of our Beliefs...

​The Lord God Almighty before the foundation of the world and from all eternity knew His elect.  His will is perfect and man’s will imperfect therefore all that is to be has been determined by Him and His will and not by man's will nor by human intellect.  God’s only revelation to us is through His Holy inspired and infallible Word; the Bible.  In it He reveals Himself and defines our rule of life and what we are to believe and teach.  The Lord created everything the Heavens and the Earth from nothing in six days.  The Godhead was present at Creation in the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as it is taught in the Bible; all three are one.  We read in Genesis, we are His creation formed in His image in Adam from nothing and Eve from Adam.  God created man for woman and woman for man therefore God created marriage as His institution; one man and one woman.  Due to Adam’s fall sin entered the world and we are all inescapably cursed by it and therefore in need of a Savior.  Mankind is incapable of entering Glory upon his own merits and needs a Savior.  God became man through the virgin birth of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ who lived a sinless life to atone for our sins sacrificially by dying on the cross and raised from the dead in three days so we might be saved through Him as a propitiation of our sin by grace alone for all whom God has chosen.  Man is saved by Grace alone as it is written In Ephesians 2: 8 & 9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  Good works alone cannot obtain salvation but are rather an evidence of salvation as the Lord works His Glory through us.  Our Reformed heritage is clearly summarized in the Five Solas of the Reformation and the Five Points of Calvinism.

The Five Solas of the Reformation* define the singular direction of God’s instruction for His elect:
  • Scripture alone where His inspired Word alone, the Bible, is the Lord’s only source of revelation.
  • Christ alone where salvation has been accomplished once for all by Jesus Christ alone dying for our sins as a mediator.
  • Grace alone where we are not worthy by our merits and are subject to punishment for our sins.  Only due to his favor he saves us apart from all human acts as a free gift.
  • Faith alone can also be stated as justification by faith, it is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone.
  • God’s glory alone is where all glory goes to Him alone and no one else since everything comes from Him.

The Five Points of Calvinism* also defines the state of mankind and the saving work of the Lord:
  • Total Depravity: sin has a complete effect on mankind and that it has fully enveloped our lives completely.
  • Unconditional Election: mankind is only chosen for salvation due solely to His kind will and without any merit from the individual.
  • Limited Atonement: salvation is only for His elect as the Lord Jesus Christ died only for them, He died for many, not all.
  • Irresistible Grace: God calls his elect and this call to salvation cannot be resisted. 
  • Perseverance of the Saints: Once elected and called, salvation cannot be lost; once saved we are eternally secure.

We wait upon the Lord for His second coming visibly and bodily to judge the world and raise us up to Glory in the final day.
*The links below will provide detailed commentary on the Five Solas of the Reformation and the Five Points of Calvinism:

Historical - Confessional - Reformed