Theological Statement of Faith of Mountain View Presbyterian Church

PREFACE i
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is at a critical moment in its life and ministry. For decades, we have been engaged in a frustrating, but nevertheless necessary, struggle to shape our self-understanding as a Christian denomination. Today, there are some who believe that the struggle has gone on too long, that it will never be resolved, and that the time has come to disengage — either by yielding to the spirit of the age in which we live, or by dividing the church.

Unwilling to accept either of these two options, we offer and affirm the following Declaration as an instrument of restoration and reformation within the life of the denomination which we love and intend faithfully to continue to serve.

The issues that we shall address in this Declaration are:

• the authority and intrepretation of Scripture;

• the Person and Work of Christ;

• God’s call to live a holy life; and

• the mission of the Church. THEOLOGICAL DELCARATION

THE AUTHORITY AND INTERPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE ii
WE AFFIRM that Jesus Christ is God’s unique self-revelation, even as the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments bear unique witness to him. They are the instrument of his Lordship over the Church and the world. As such, they are authoritative, complete, sufficient, infallible, and commanding of what we are to believe and how we are to live

WE DENY
that the Bible is merely the expression of the religious convictions of one people at one time and place in history; that the Bible is inadequate to guide today’s believers in matters of faith and life so that it must be supplemented with other belief systems and/or cultural authorities.

WE AFFIRM that the authors’ original meaning is still God’s Word to us today. Further, we affirm that the work of the Holy Spirit in interpretation is to convince us of the truth revealed in the text and to apply that truth to our lives.

WE DENY
that the Word and Spirit are ever in conflict;
that the Holy Spirit gives new information that contradicts the plain meaning and unified message of the text of Scripture.

THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST iii
WE AFFIRM that as the second person of the Trinity, the pre-existent Christ took on human flesh and is now both fully human and fully divine. He is the sinless Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is God’s unique self-revelation. He is Lord.

WE DENY
that Jesus Christ was merely one human being among many, with no unique power to reconcile the world to God.

WE AFFIRM that Christ was born of Mary, that he proclaimed the Kingdom of God and revealed both its compassion and standards, that he died as the atonement for sin, that he was raised bodily on the third day, that he ascended to the right hand of God the Father in authoritative power, and that he will return bodily both to judge and to rule.

WE DENY
that Jesus Christ is only one savior among many;
that people can be reconciled to the one and only God apart from him.

WE AFFIRM that God justifies his elect by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

WE DENY
that salvation can normally be enjoyed apart from regeneration, repentance, and a living faith in Jesus Christ.

THE HOLY LIFE iv

WE AFFIRM that having been justified by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, God’s elect are called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to become a holy people. This requires a life-long struggle against our fallen nature that is founded upon knowledge of God’s Word, discipline, and God’s grace. This process, called sanctification, actually transforms lives. v

WE DENY
that human nature is basically good;
that the way we are by nature is acceptable to God apart from regeneration and justification;
that we can save ourselves apart from the person and work of Christ;
that we can become holy apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in us;
that it is either wise or safe to live in a manner which contradicts biblical truths;
that God will not hold us to account.

THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH vi
WE AFFIRM that the mission of the church is expressed in "The Great Ends of the Church" (The Book of Order, G-1.0200), which include "the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind; the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God; the maintenance of divine worship; the preservation of the truth; the promotion of social righteousness; and the exhibition of the Kingdom of heaven to the world."

WE DENY
that the church is merely a human institution;
that respect for other cultures and religions requires that the core message of the gospel be altered;
that other cultures and religions have no need of the person and work of Jesus Christ;
that Christians have either the right to coerce or the ability to generate faith in others;
that truth is relative, that personal experience by itself defines truth, or that in most cases we must live with ambiguity in matters of faith and life;
that the church can engage in evangelism without also engaging in social righteousness, or vice versa;
that the definition of social righteousness can be equated to any one secular political platform or social philosophy;

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END NOTES
i "The church confesses its faith when it bears a present witness to God’s grace in Jesus Christ."

"In every age, the church has expressed its witness in words and deeds as the need of the time required."

"Obedience to Jesus Christ alone identifies the one universal church and supplies the continuity of its tradition." The Confession of 1967 (9.01-9.03) [emphasis added]

ii "All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." II Timothy 3: 16-17

"Although the light of nature, and the works of creation and providence, do so far manifest the goodness, wisdom, and power of God, as to leave men inexcusable; yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God, and of his will, which is necessary unto salvation; therefore it pleased the Lord, at sundry times, and in divers manners, to reveal himself, and to declare that his will unto his Church; and afterwards for the better preserving and propagating of the truth, and for the more sure establishment and comfort of the Church against that corruption of the flesh, and the malice of Satan and of the world, to commit the same wholly unto writing; which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased." The Westminster confession of faith (6.001)

"The one sufficient revelation of God is Jesus Christ, the Word of God incarnate, to whom the Holy Spirit bears unique and authoritative witness through the Holy Scriptures, which are received and obeyed as the word of God written. The Scriptures are not a witness among others, but the witness without parallel. The church has received the books of the Old and New Testaments as prophetic and apostolic testimony in which it hears the word of God and by which its faith and obedience are nourished and regulated." The Confession of 1967 (9.27)
iii "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made." John 1: 1-3

"The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father." John 1: 14

"I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." John 14: 6

"That our Lord Jesus offered himself a voluntary sacrifice unto his Father for us, that he suffered contradiction of sinners, that he was wounded and plagued for our transgressions, that he, the clean innocent Lamb of God, was condemned in the presence of an earthly judge, that we should be absolved before the judgment seat of our God …" The Scots’ Confessions, 3.09

iv "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah 6: 3

"Therefore gird up your minds, be sober, set your hope fully upon the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.’" I Peter 13-16

"Q. 86 Since we are redeemed from our sin and its wretched consequences by grace through Christ without any merit of our own, why must we do good works?
A. Because just as Christ has redeemed us with his blood he also renews us through his Holy Spirit according to his own image, so that with our whole life we may show ourselves grateful to God for his goodness and that he may be glorified through us; and further, so that we ourselves may be assured of our faith by its fruits and by our reverent behavior may win our neighbors to Christ.

Q. 87 "Can those who do not turn to God from their ungrateful, impenitent life be saved?
A. Certainly not! Scripture says, ‘Surely you know that the unjust will never come into possession of the kingdom of God.’" The Heidelberg Catechism, (4.086-4.087)

v This transformation will take place in every area of life. However, in response to specific errors currently being advocated in the church, we affirm that one evidence of the transformation by the Holy Spirit of a person’s life will be progress toward holiness in the expression of their sexuality. The biblical and confessional standard for holiness in human sexuality is chastity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between one man and one woman.

vi "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 29: 18-20)

"Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream." Amos 5:24

"The gift of God in Christ is for all men. The church, therefore, is commissioned to carry the gospel to all men whatever their religion may be and even when they profess none." The Confession of 1967 (9.42)

"Since there is no other way of salvation than that revealed in the gospel, and since in the divinely established and ordinary method of grace faith cometh by hearing the Word of God, Christ hath commissioned his Church to go into all the world and to make disciples of all nations." The Westminster confession of Faith (6.058)

Adopted by the Session
Mountain View Presbyterian Church
Loveland, Colorado
July 20, 2001
Revised: September 20, 2001

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