Our Beliefs
Why a new church in Columbiana? Great question because there are already several wonderful churches in town. Grace is part of the Presbyterian Church in America, a denomination committed to historic and orthodox Biblical truth as well as reaching the world with the good news of Jesus Christ. Though we would never see ourselves in competition with other churches, we are somewhat unique in that we are a covenantal and Reformed church.
Key Beliefs
Our beliefs are summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as well as the historic Apostles and Nicene Creeds. Additionally, we affirm the five tenets of the Protestant Reformation: Scripture alone, by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and to God alone be the glory. Here is a brief summary of some of our key beliefs.
The Bible is the inspired word of God. It is without error in its original manuscripts, and contains everything we need to know about having a right relationship with God and our fellow human beings. The Bible is the basis for all of our essential beliefs (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God is one (Mark 12:29), yet mysteriously exists in three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), who are to be equally loved, honored, and surrendered to (Matthew 28:19).
Jesus Christ is fully God and fully human. He is the sole Mediator able to restore the broken relationship, and the resulting alienation, between God and people (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).
The Holy Spirit is God, the third Person of the Trinity. He is alive and active. He indwells followers of Christ, working in unison with the Word of God to guide them in all truth. He is the power that enables Christians to live as new creations in Christ and empowers believers for service (John 16:7-14; Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:17).
People are created by God and in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). On this basis, all people must be treated with dignity, honor, love and respect (James 3:9-10). At the same time, in their quest for independence and the centrality of self, all people begin their lives alienated from God, and in this condition are without hope and under judgment, a condition that can only be cured through God’s loving, gracious, and saving intervention (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1). As the image of God, we are most alive when our trust, affections and allegiances center on Him.
Restoration between God and people (also called ‘salvation’) happens when the Holy Spirit gives people a new heart, leading and enabling them to trust in Jesus alone for salvation (John 1:12-13). Because God loves His creation, He will also restore the entire universe to a condition of beauty, rest, joy, perfection, and freedom (Romans 8:18-30). God’s world, which began as a promising Garden (Genesis 1:27-31), will find its fulfillment in a perfected, life-giving City in which there will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain (Revelation 21:1-8).
Good works do not and cannot make us acceptable to God (Ephesians 2:8-9), but are the natural outcome of authentic faith in Jesus (James 2:17). We become more fully human—the very best and most healthy version of ourselves—to the degree that we follow God’s loving commands. His commands, properly understood, are neither limiting nor oppressive but life-giving. Obedience to God’s commands is an essential prerequisite for true human flourishing.
The Church is the family of God and consists of those who place their functional trust (faith) in Jesus. God wants all members of His worldwide Church, together with their children, to be active in a local church which meets regularly to worship God, serve each other, and be a life-giving presence in their local community and world (Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:24-25).
Our Affiliation
We are a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). The PCA was formed to be a denomination that is “Faithful to the Scriptures, True to the Reformed Faith, and Obedient to the Great Commission.” The distinctiveness of the PCA lies in our stress on both reformation and revival. Without an emphasis on revival, “reformation” may become either a mimicking of political ideologies or sterile doctrinal-ism. Without an emphasis on reformation, “revival” may become a shallow pietism or mysticism. Only reformation and revival together can accomplish the Great Commission of our Lord.
We emphasize the Gospel (good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ), as well as being a church that affirms historic Christian doctrine and holds to the inerrancy of Scripture.
We are connected to the teachings of the historic church and the doctrinal beliefs recovered during the Protestant Reformation. These doctrinal beliefs are expressed in the Westminster Confession of Faith with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. All elders and deacons of the Presbyterian Church in America must personally subscribe to and uphold the teachings of our confession.
We have a representative form of church government. The Bible teaches that Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23), and he vests His power in the local church (Matthew 16:18-19) where it is ministered & declared by the elders (Acts 15:2; Titus 1:5-9), who are elected by members of the congregation. We also believe that Christ connects the local church to other churches through councils of elders, such as “Presbyteries” and “General Assemblies,” which serve many beneficial purposes to include answering questions of Biblical doctrine (Acts 15:1-35), ordaining pastors (1 Tim 4:14), and coordination of missionary work (Acts 21:17-26).