The Book of Confessions, Part I of The Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to which we subscribe sets forth the classic, orthodox ecumenical Creeds and Confessions of the Christian Church, including the Apostles' Creed, and the Nicene Creed, as well as those distinctive to the Reformed Faith such as the Westminster Standards and Heidelberg Catechism. In addition, the Book of Confessions has more modern creeds such as the Barmen Declaration written by the Confessing Church, part of the opposition to Nazi Germany during the 1930's.  As noted by Dr. J. Wayne Fulton, Jr., in his paper, "What Is A Presbyterian?", the distinctive cardinal beliefs of' the Presbyterian Church can be placed in two groups - those which are Fundamental and shared in common with most evangelical Christian Churches as well as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and those which are distinctively Presbyterian.

Click here to go to the Book of Confessions: www.pcusa.org/oga/constitution.htm

1.� The Holy Trinity (Triune God) (6.011)
��� ��� There is but one only living and true God, infinite in being and perfection. In the Unity of the Godhead there are three Persons of one substance, power and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

2. Creation (6.022)
��� ��� God, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, in the beginning created from nothing the world and all things therein, and, after He made all things therein, he created man, male and female after His own image.

�3. Fall of Man, Curse of Sin and Punishment thereof (6.031)
��� ��� Our first parents, being tempted by Satan, sinned and thereby fell from righteousness and communion with God.� Their sin was imputed to all their posterity, and remains in those that are not pardoned by Christ through regeneration or "the new birth".

4. God's, Covenant with man, (6.037)

(a) The covenant of works (Old Testament) whereby God promised life to Adam and his posterity upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.

(b) The covenant of grace (New Testament) whereby God freely offered life and salvation unto sinners through faith in Jesus Christ as their savior.

5. The Absolute Deity of Christ (6.043)

(a) Although Christ was God from the foundation of the world_, He willingly took upon himself man's nature with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof; yet without sin.

�(b) His Virgin birth - He was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that the two whole and distinct natures, the Godhead and the manhood, were inseparably joined in one person.

�(c) His Vicarious atonement cruel death upon the cross thereby fully satisfying the justice of his Father and purchasing not only reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of heaven, for all those whom the Father has given him. (Philippians 2:1-11)

�(d) His Bodily Resurrection, Ascension and Coming Again - Christ was crucified and died; he was buried, and remained under the power of death, yet saw no corruption. On the third day, he arose from the dead with the same body in which he suffered, and with which also he ascended into heaven. There he sits at the right hand of his Father, making intercession, and shall return to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.

B. Beliefs distinctive to Presbyterianism 

1. The Sovereignty of God
        The underlying principle of all Presbyterian belief is the full and complete sovereignty of God. God is the Creator, Ruler, Owner, and Judge of all;  He is holy, loving and merciful. His power, wisdom and grace are infinite. "He doeth according to His will among the children of men, and rules the armies of heaven."

2. Inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture (6.003)
        All scripture is given "by inspiration of God, and is the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

3. Predestination (6.014)
        God has, from, all eternity, a plan the working out of which is commonly called predestination. However, predestination is not a "pre-determinism” of future events - that somehow back in time, God determined that on a particular day and at a particular time you would cross a particular street, or eat a bowl of Corn Flakes, or, see a certain movie. If so, we would be mere "puppets-on-a-string," and Presbyterians have always believed that God has endued mankind with a free will, able to make our own decisions and thus become responsible for the choices we make. Thus, Predestination is not related to some divinely-ordained plan for the day-to-day events of our lives.  (Romans 8:29)
   
        Rather, predestination has to do with the salvation of the elect. Therein lies the basis of the criticism leveled against the doctrine of predestination by some writers who view as unjust any plan whereby God would, from the beginning, select some to go to heaven and some to go to hell without regard to which would eventually choose to accept Him as Savior. But that view distorts the understanding that God's will cannot be thwarted and that, He will accomplish His purpose in such a way that He is neither the author of sin nor renders naught the free agency of man. Thus, it may be said that the election to life or death is merely the foreknowledge of God as to which will, by the exercise of his or her own free will, accept or reject the gift of salvation offered through God's grace.

4. Man’s Total inability to save himself
        Salvation is by Grace, that is, no person can save him or her self, not even exercise faith. It is a gift from God.  (Romans 3:10-11)

5. Perseverance of the Saints. (6.094)
        They whom God has accepted in Christ, being sanctified in His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace but shall persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.

6. Man’s state after death.
        At death, the souls of believers are made perfect in holiness, and pass immediately into the presence of Christ, there to consciously behold His face and to enjoy the glory of the Church Triumphant. Upon Christ's coming again to judge the world and to establish the everlasting order of His blessed dominion, there will be a general, bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust.

C. Sacraments

- Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, of which there are only two ordained by Christ, that is, baptism and the Lord's Supper.

1. Baptism (6.154)
        Baptism is a sign and seal of the covenant of grace, the outward element of which is water. Baptism is administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit by a minister of the gospel lawfully called thereunto. Immersion is not necessary, but the sacrament is rightly administered by pouring or sprinkling upon the person. It is administered not only to those that do actually profess faith in and obedience to Christ, but also to the infants of a believing parent. While baptism is necessary for church membership it is not essential to salvation_, nor does it guarantee salvation to those who are baptized. Finally, Presbyterian doctrine provides that baptism is but once administered to any person.

 2. The Lord’s Supper  (6.161)
        The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ in His death upon the cross, whereby He sealed all benefits thereof unto true believers. In this sacrament Christ is not offered up to the Father; rather, it is a commemoration of Christ's offering-up of himself upon-the cross, once for all. While the outward elements in this sacrament, duly set apart to the uses ordained by Christ, are sometimes called by the name of the things they represent, to it: the body and blood of Christ, they still remain, both in substance and nature, truly and only bread and wine as they were before. The doctrine of transubstantiation is thought by Presbyterians to be repugnant to both Scripture and to common sense.