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We believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God for faith and life. Every word is "God-breathed", inerrant, infallible and eternally preserved.
We believe there is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three Divine Persons in the Godhead are distinct and yet equal in all respects, being of one essence
We believe that God is the sovereign Creator and Ruler of the universe, sustaining and preserving all creation by His eternal counsel and Providence and directing all things to His everlasting glory.
We believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. He was born of the virgin Mary, suffered all the time he lived on earth, was crucified dead and buried. He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is reigning at the right hand of God the father. He will come again to receive His church and to judge the world.
We believe that by the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all mankind fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, making them enslaved to sin and to Satan. Being thus totally depraved in all parts of body and soul, mankind is in a state of sin and condemned by the just judgement of God.
We believe that mankind in a state of sin is saved from eternal condemnation by the grace of God alone, through repentance and faith alone in Jesus Christ who has satisfied the justice of God in the place of sinful men.
We believe that those truly converted to God by the Holy Spirit will be led by that same Spirit to a life of practical godliness, not according to the traditions of men but according to the Word of God as well as to prayer wherein adoration is given to God, sins are confessed, thanksgiving is tendered for His blessings and petitions made for His grace and favour.
We believe that the church is the body Christ and comprised of believers and their children, who by true faith are partakers of salvation through Jesus Christ. This church is distinguished by three marks: the pure preaching of the Word, the proper observance of the sacraments (Baptism and the Lord's Supper) and Christian discipline, and is ruled through the offices of Pastor, Elder and Deacon.
We believe that though physical death is God's judgement upon man's sin, the "sting of death" has been removed by salvation; upon death the Christian's soul (spirit) goes immediately to heaven to live in conscious communion with Christ. Those who die in their sins unsaved will also live and suffer in hell, in alienation from God. At the last day, at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the bodies of both the saved and the unsaved will be reunited with their souls. All mankind will then be judged, and body and soul will enter their final state of eternal heavenly bliss or eternal punishment.
These constitute a summary of what Heritage Reformed Church believes. Our confessional standards, The Three forms of Unity contain a much more thorough stating of our beliefs.
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