“Our beliefs shape our values, and our values shape our actions.”
Karl Graustein
What we believe.
The Bible.
The Bible, in its entirety, is the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God, that is sufficient for every facet of our existence and practice; it is divine revelation that carries the full weight of God's authority and to which we are obliged and privledged to submit.
The Trinity.
Within the Godhead there is a unity of three distinct yet fully divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; these three are one true, eternal God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.
God.
God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth. God is fully omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, not given to learning or "openness."
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is truly God and truly man, having two natures inseparably united in one divine person without confusion, mixture, separation, or division. Each nature retains its own attributes. In the incarnation, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, lived a perfect sinless life among us, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose on the third day, ascended to heaven, and will come again in glory and in judgment. He is the only Mediator between God and man.
Creation.
God, by the power of His spoken word, created ex nihilo the heavens and the earth and all that is in them. He further preserves and governs all creation and creatures and all their actions according to His most holy, wise, and powerful providence.
The Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is of one substance with the Father and the Son. He eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son, and He dwells in the hearts of believers, effecting their regeneration monergistically and sanctifying the saints that they bear fruit for His good pleasure.
Man.
After God made the other creatures, He created man, both male and female, in His own image, but because Adam sinned and woefully fell in his responsibility, he and his posterity entered into a state of moral corruption and moral inability and became estranged from their Creator, thus deserving death as the punishment for sin.
Atonement.
Because all have sinned, atonement must be made in order for man to be reconciled to God. Jesus Christ made a complete atonement for His people through His substitutionary atoning death on the cross. He imputes His righteousness to all of God’s elect securing full redemption for them.
The Law.
The moral law perfectly reflects the unchangeable character of God and forever binds all people, believers as well as unbelievers.
The Church.
Christ has established a visible church, a physical body, which is called to live in the power of the Holy Spirit under the regulation of the authority of Holy Scripture, preaching the gospel of Christ, administering the sacraments, making disciples, and exercising discipline.
Who We Are.
The Shepherd’s Church adheres to the ancient statements of faith (the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of Chalcedon). We also affirm and celebrate the historic Christian faith as expressed in the five solas of the Reformation and the consensus of the historic Reformed confessions (Westminster Standards, and the Three Forms of Unity.
Christianity & Culture.
The Shepherd’s Church supports the ongoing work of Christians and organizations that confess the final and supreme authority of Scripture and the total lordship of Jesus Christ. We support all those who are committed to the implementation of the social and cultural implications of God's commandments for the well-being of humanity and his environment. The Shepherd’s Church especially supports those organizations that condemn the murder of defenseless human beings at the earliest stages of their development and that reject unbiblical definitions of gender, sexuality, and marriage.
Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
— John 17:17 (NASB)
We affirm and adhere to the historic Christian faith.
The Canons of Dort
“In order that people may be brought to faith, God mercifully sends proclaimers of this very joyful message to the people he wishes and at the time he wishes. By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified.“
— Article 3: The Preaching Of The Gospel
The Westminster Standards
The Westminster Standards are rooted in history, biblically timeless, and a confession for all peoples. For centuries, Baptists, Congregationalists, the Reformed and Presbyterians, have all drawn strength from the theology of the Westminster Standards.
The staying power of the Westminster Standards is not in their historical tradition, but in the fact that they are anchored in the Word of God. They articulate biblical faith in a way that transcends time and geography. And in this way, the Westminster Standards are a confession for all peoples.
The Apostles’ Creed
“I believe in God the Father Almighty. And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord…”
The Nicene Creed
“…and of all things visible and invisible…”
The Chalcedonies Definition
“following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Athanasian Creed
“Whosoever will be saved: before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic (Universal) Faith…”
The Belgic Confession of Faith
“The marks, by which the true Church is known, are these: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preached therein; if she maintains the pure administration of the sacraments as instituted by Christ; and if church discipline is exercised in punishing of sin… Hereby the true Church may certainly be known”
— Article 29
The Heidelberg Catechism
“What is thy only comfort in life and in death?
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.”
— Lord’s Day 1 Question 1
