Beliefs

The Bible

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.

God

There is one true God, the creator and sustainer of all things, who exists eternally in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Trinity are equal in substance, in power and in glory.

People

God created people male and female in his own image to know, love, and glorify Him. Because all people are created in the image of God, they are filled with dignity and worthy of honor and respect. 

Sin

Since the Fall, all people are born opposed to God, rejecting or ignoring him and rebelling against His rule and reign. Because of this rebellion, we justly deserve God’s displeasure.  Having been separated from Him, we are without hope unless He graciously rescues us from our broken condition.

Jesus Christ

The only redeemer and hope for sinful people is the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, who is fully human and fully God. He became man, lived a perfectly sinless life, and bore the penalty of sin for His people.

Salvation

God sovereignly chooses people to redeem, according to His own grace, wisdom, and pleasure. The Holy Spirit gives those people a new heart, leading and enabling them to put their faith in Jesus Christ, receiving and resting on Him alone for salvation.

Sanctification

The Holy Spirit indwells God’s people and gives them the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him. Good works do not and cannot make a person acceptable to God. However, authentic faith in Jesus Christ will always be accompanied by the fruit of being increasingly transformed in Christlikeness – loving and serving God and others. All aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Eternity

Christ is presently seated at the right hand of the Father, ruling and reigning, until He returns bodily and visibly to judge and renew the whole world, receiving His people to Himself.

For a more complete explanation of Hope’s theological commitments, see the Westminster Confession of Faith along with the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These documents present the historical articulation of Christian orthodoxy and comprise the theological constitution – subject to the Bible, the Word of God – of all churches in our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Hope is a PCA church in Charlotte