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Our
foundational doctrinal statements are found in the
Standards of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. The Standards
contain the various documents that define what ARP's believe and why. The
Lord's Prayer, the Apostles' Creed and the Ten Commandments, shown below, are
included in our Bible Songs Psalter book as elements of worship. Within
the Standards are the
In essence, the Due West ARP church confesses and
believes. . .
1. . . . in the divine inspiration of the
authority of the Bible. It is the Word of God and our perfect rule of
faith and practice.
2. . . . that Jesus Christ by His death on the
cross paid the full penalty for the sins of His people and, thereby, purchased
salvation for them.
3. . . . that salvation is by grace through
faith in Jesus Christ alone and that salvation leads to good works.
4. . . . that the Holy Spirit convicts of sin,
gives the new birth by faith and repentance, gives assurance of salvation,
indwells the believer, and enables him to live a godly life.
5. . . . in the Second Coming of Christ to
receive His Church unto Himself. The believer will reign with Him
forever, but the unbeliever will be separated from God forever.
6. . . . that the Westminster Confession of
faith and Catechisms contain the best explanations of Biblical teaching.
7. The Lord's Prayer (Matthew
6:0-13)
Our Father which art in
heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth,
as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our
debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the
glory, for ever. Amen.
8. The Ten Commandments (Exodus
20:1-17)
And God spake all these words, saying, I am the
Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of bondage.
I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven
image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a
jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the
third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto
thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord
thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his
name in vain.
IV. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it
holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is
the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor
thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy
cattle, nor the stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord
made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the
seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
V. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy
days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
VI. Thou shalt not kill.
VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
VIII. Thou shalt not steal.
IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbour.
X. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's
house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor
his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour's.
9. The Apostles' Creed
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of
heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; Who was
conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell*;
the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and
sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall
come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the
holy catholic Church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the
resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
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