The Beliefs of Forestgate

Forestgate Presbyterian Church is a member of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).

The Presbyterian Church in America, in setting forth the form of government founded upon and agreeable to the Word of God, reiterates the following great principles which have governed the formation of the plan:

1. We believe the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, to be the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for the salvation of His people, and the divine and final authority for the Christian faith and life (1 Thessalonians 2:13, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21).

2. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

3. We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. Further, He arose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He is now our High Priest and Advocate.

4. We believe that the Ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and, during this age, to convict of sin, to regenerate the human heart which is dead in trespasses and sin, and to indwell, guide, instruct and empower the believer for godly living and service.

5. We believe that every human being was created in the image of God, but has inherited a sin nature resulting from the fall of Adam into sin. We are spiritually dead and only through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit can we receive salvation and spiritual life

6. We believe that the shed blood of Jesus Christ and His resurrection provide the only ground for justification and salvation, and that only those who are born of the Holy Spirit and believe in Jesus become the children of God

7. We believe that the Lord's Supper and Baptism are the only sacraments to be observed by the church during this present age. They are not means of salvation, but rather are signs and seals of the many blessings of the New Covenant

8. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the dead and look forward to the glorious day when Jesus shall return to judge all mankind and receive His people into heaven

When the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was formed in 1788, it adopted (with minor revisions) the Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1647), as its secondary standards (the Bible itself being the only infallible rule of faith and practice). Officers in the Presbyterian Church in America take a vow to “sincerely receive and adopt” these confessional documents “as containing the system of doctrine taught in the Holy Scriptures.”