Question:

Answer:

I couldn't agree more. No single issue in a person's life is more important than how he responds to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And no more appropriate question can be asked a church than, "What do you believe?"

The Orthodox Presbyterian Church is a confessional church. We believe we have an obligation to confess before the world what we believe about God, and what duty he requires of us.

Let me direct you to the page on our website that contains our doctrinal standards.

Our standards consist of three documents: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism, and the Shorter Catechism. We do not intend for these documents to take the place of the Bible, which is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. However, we do believe they are reliable statements of the system of doctrine taught in scripture. Please give special attention to checking out the scripture proofs found in each document.

The seriousness of getting the gospel right is clear in this modern version of our Confession of Faith (7.1-3):

"The distance between God and the creature is so great that, even though rational creatures are responsible to obey him as their Creator, yet they could never experience any enjoyment of him as their blessing and reward except by way of some voluntary condescension on his part, which he has been pleased to express by way of covenant.

"The first covenant made with man was a covenant of works in which life was promised to Adam and, in him, to his posterity, upon condition of perfect and personal obedience.

"Since man, by his fall, made himself incapable of life by that covenant, the Lord was then pleased to make a second covenant, commonly called the covenant of grace. In it God freely offers life and salvation by Jesus Christ to sinners, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved, and promising to give his Holy Spirit to all those who are ordained to eternal life, to make them willing and able to believe."

God's offer of life and salvation by Jesus Christ to sinners—that's the gospel! Is belief in the true gospel imperative? Most certainly! Our very life and salvation depend upon it.

You can use our search engine here to find an Orthodox Presbyterian congregation near you. If there are none, we can help you find a church of another denomination that holds to the same doctrinal truths we do.