ROSSVILLE

WHAT WE BELIEVE

"Presbyterian" comes from a Greek word in the New Testament
"presbuteros," meaning elder. But that doesn't mean we are all OLD! It
refers to the way we are governed. Each Presbyterian congregation chooses
and elects from among its membership “elders” to lead the congregation in
its mission and service. It is this Presbyterian way that became the model
for the representative democracy when our nation was being formed.

A. OUR LORD

Who is Jesus?
Jesus Christ is the beloved, only-begotten Son of God. From all eternity He is
God, and all things were created by Him. Yet, in time He took upon Himself a
created body, and became a man. Therefore, Jesus Christ continues forever to
be both fully God and fully man.

Why Do We Need Jesus?
In the beginning, God created humans in His own image, placing them over the
Earth as its keepers. But, ever since the fall of Adam and Eve, every one of us
has been corrupted and made evil from birth. We have turned our backs on
God, sinned against Him in all of our thoughts, words, and deeds, and we have
not glorified Him as we ought. Since God is just, and since He has promised to
punish every sin, we deserve His wrath, and eternal punishment in Hell.

What Do Jesus Do for Us?
Because of His great love for us, Jesus came to the earth to save those who
believe in Him.
He came to live a perfect life, and to give it to us so that we can go to heaven.
He came to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
He came to suffer the wrath of God in our place.
He came to release us from the power of sin, Satan, death, and the world.
He came to transform us, so that we can grow in love and holiness.
He came to teach us the truth about God and His will for our lives.

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How the Resurrection Gives Us Hope!
In the New Testament book of John, Jesus is recorded as saying something
truly remarkable: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live.”

What Jesus is saying is central to the Christian gospel: that faith in Jesus Christ
brings a person into such a close relationship with Christ that His resurrection
life is shared with us, here and now! And while this does not deliver us from
the experience of physical death in this life, it does guarantee for us that a day
is coming when our bodies will also be raised to new physical life, just as
Christ was. This is the hope of the coming resurrection, made certain by the
resurrection of Jesus long ago.

B. Our Convictions

The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the
revelation of God's truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of
faith and practice.

The Trinity
We believe in the Holy Trinity. There is one God, who exists eternally in three
persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Himself, He is perfectly
holy and powerful, altogether just and wise, and utterly good and loving.

The Imago Dei
We believe that all people are created in the image of God, and that every
person has an inherent dignity since they were made to reflect God's
character in all of life. Yet, we believe that all people are born as sinners,
totally depraved and totally unable to save themselves from God's
displeasure, except by His mercy through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the
cross.

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Salvation
We believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those
whom He will save. We believe that His choice is based on His grace, not on
any human individual merit, or foreseen faith. We believe that salvation is
through Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone.

Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, who through His perfect
life and sacrificial death atoned for the sins of all who will trust in Him alone
for salvation. We believe that Jesus, our Redeemer, was raised again for our
justification, and ascended into the heavens, where He sits at the right hand of
the Father Almighty, continually making intercession for His people, and
governing the whole world as head over all things for His church. We believe
that Jesus will return, bodily and visibly, to judge all mankind, to receive His
people to Himself, and to renew all things.

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God's people and gives them the
strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him. We believe that the Holy
Spirit refreshes, remakes, restores, reforms, and revives. We are never alone
because He is in us and with us.

The Church
We believe that as the living God renews all things, He has been gathering a
people, called the church, from every nation, race, class, and culture. He
instructs us as His people to become actively invested in the world's people
and problems in eternally productive ways by bringing His Kingdom truth and
values to bear on all of life. Jesus has power and authority to right what is
wrong with the world, and He chooses the church as His primary instrument
for renewing all things.

Sacraments
We recognize two sacraments, as described in the Bible: Baptism and the
Lord’s Supper (Communion).
We practice baptism by immersion or by sprinkling, at least twice per year.
We see baptism as a public confession, not a private one – it is a statement of

faith made in the presence of others, and with vows of support made by the
congregation.
We practice communion the first Sunday of each month. Most often, it is
served in the pews, though sometimes we are called forward to receive it by
intinction, dipping the bread into the cup.

Confessions and Creeds
We accept the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms as a fuller
summary of the doctrines taught by Scripture. These are the confessional
statements adopted by our denomination in the Presbyterian and Reformed
tradition.
We affirm the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed, both as ancient and faithful
summaries of the foundational teachings of the Christian faith as taught by the
Bible, and as the beliefs that unite Christians throughout the world.