Statement of Faith – Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church
Biblical • Confessional • Historic • Reformed
Founded upon Him and His word on October 12th 1727
The Bible is the Word of God
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, which are the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments. The Holy Spirit spoke through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in its original writings, it is the complete revelation of His will for our salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
The Trinity
There is one God. This one God exists as three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. All are equally divine and are therefore equal in eternity, power and substance, yet as distinct persons they exercise various roles within the Godhead.
The Person of Christ
The Second person of the Trinity, the Eternal Son of God, added a human nature to his divine nature by being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. Jesus Christ is therefore fully God and fully man, one person with two distinct natures. Being a perfect, sinless man and God Almighty in the flesh, He is the only mediator between God and man. In a manner incomprehensible to us, in the midst of His humanity He remained God but laid aside His divine prerogatives in submission to the Father’s will.
Salvation through Christ
Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of His people by shedding His blood on the cross. Salvation is the work of the Holy Spirit by which individuals come to respond to God’s grace and receive the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus in a personal way, whereby they are assured of their eternal destiny. We affirm that because salvation is the gift of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always.
The Church is the Body of Christ
The Church is the Body of Christ. The two sacraments given to the Church by her Lord, Jesus Christ, are baptism and the Lord’s Supper, also known as Holy Communion. The essentials of Christian faith are expressed in the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Heidelberg Catechism. We must strive to live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his Glory alone. The Church is to bear witness to the light of Jesus so that all may have the opportunity of entering into eternal life with Christ.
Historic Creeds & Confessions We Subscribe To as a Congregation
At Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church, we stand firmly in the historic Reformed tradition. In addition to the biblical truths above, we joyfully subscribe to the following creeds, catechisms, and statements of faith. Each one serves as a faithful summary of Scripture, helping us guard the gospel, teach sound doctrine, and remain anchored in the faith once delivered to the saints. These documents are not above the Bible but are precious tools that clarify what Scripture teaches and protect us from error.
The Apostles’ Creed
The Apostles’ Creed is the earliest and simplest of the great ecumenical creeds of the Christian church, dating back to the second and third centuries. It beautifully distills the core of apostolic teaching into a clear summary of belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We subscribe to it because it anchors our church in the undivided faith of the early church and provides a simple, memorable confession for worship and teaching.
The Nicene Creed
Formulated at the Council of Nicaea in A.D. 325 and refined in 381, the Nicene Creed is the church’s robust defense of the full deity of Jesus Christ against the Arian heresy. It declares that the Son is “of the same substance” (homoousios) with the Father—eternally begotten, not created. We subscribe to the Nicene Creed because it clearly upholds the biblical doctrine of the Trinity and ensures that our worship and teaching remain orthodox.
The Athanasian Creed
The Athanasian Creed (also called the Quicumque Vult) is a detailed Western creed traditionally linked to Athanasius of Alexandria. It expands on the Trinity and the Incarnation with precise language, guarding against both modalism and tritheism. We subscribe to the Athanasian Creed because it gives us the clearest confession of the triune God and the two natures of Christ, helping our congregation worship the true God in spirit and truth.
Read the full Athanasian Creed
The Chalcedonian Creed (Definition of Chalcedon)
Adopted at the Council of Chalcedon in A.D. 451, the Chalcedonian Creed defines the Person of Christ as one person with two distinct natures—fully God and fully man—united “without confusion, without change, without division, without separation.” We subscribe to the Chalcedonian Creed because it faithfully summarizes Scripture’s teaching on the Incarnation and remains essential for a right understanding of our Savior.
Read the full Chalcedonian Creed
The Heidelberg Catechism
Written in 1563 for the German Reformed churches in the Palatinate, the Heidelberg Catechism is beloved for its warm, pastoral tone and question-and-answer format. It opens with the most comforting question in all of theology: “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” and answers with the gospel of belonging to Christ. As the focal guiding confession of Old Goshenhoppen Reformed Church, we subscribe to the Heidelberg Catechism because it leads believers into a deep, joyful, and thoroughly biblical understanding of the Reformed faith.
Read the Heidelberg Catechism with Biblical Citations
The Five Solas of the Reformation
The Five Solas—Sola Scriptura, Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus, and Soli Deo Gloria—were the rallying cries of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. They declare that Scripture alone is our authority, we are saved by faith alone, by grace alone, through Christ alone, and all for God’s glory alone. We subscribe to the Five Solas because they keep us centered on the gospel and protect us from every form of human-centered religion.
Read the Five Solas of the Reformation
The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
Drafted in 1978 by over 300 evangelical scholars, the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy is a clear, contemporary affirmation that the Bible is without error in all that it affirms. We subscribe to the Chicago Statement because it equips us to stand unashamedly on the full trustworthiness of Scripture in an age of skepticism and compromise.
Download the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy (PDF)
The Fortified and Original Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality
Issued in 2017 (and affirmed by us in its original and fortified form), the Nashville Statement is a clear biblical confession on marriage, sexuality, gender, and human identity in light of God’s design. We subscribe to the Fortified and Original Nashville Statement because it upholds God’s good and unchanging design for sexuality and marriage, offering truth and grace to a lost and broken world.
Download the Fortified and Original Nashville Statement on Biblical Sexuality [PDF]