What We Believe

What We Believe

STATEMENT OF BELIEFS

The beliefs of Palmetto Hills Presbyterian Church are most fully summarized  in the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These historic statements of the faith were written in the 17th Century and have been the doctrinal standards of Bible-believing Presbyterians for almost 400 years. The following is a brief summary of those statements:

1. The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

2. There is one God, eternal and self-existing in three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who are to be equally loved, honored, and adored.

3. All mankind participated in Adam’s fall from his original sinless state and is thus lost in sin and totally helpless.

4. The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy, has chosen lost sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the quickening power of the Holy Spirit and through the atoning death and resurrection of His son, Jesus Christ.

5. Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the Word of God, are born again, become sons of God, and will persevere to the end.

6. Justification is by faith and through it the undeserving sinner is clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

7. The goal of God’s salvation in the life of the Christian is holiness, good works, and service for the glory of God.

8. At death the Christian’s soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever’s soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation.

9. Baptism is a sign of God’s covenant and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.

10. Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

11. The Gospel of God’s salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns.

Palmetto Hills Presbyterian Church holds membership in The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) nationally and The Calvary Presbytery locally.