What it means to be a Church Member
We are joined to the Church because we are joined to Jesus Christ.
Abingdon Presbyterian Church is one congregation of the visible church of Jesus Christ. To be a member here, or any other local church, you must have a saving relationship with Jesus. Our five membership questions are founded on this: Have you by God’s grace been joined to the Lord Jesus Christ? The basic question of entrance into this church is the same as the entrance into heaven. Jesus said, I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. (John 3:3).
We were created in God’s image and are designed to glorify and enjoy him forever.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). Human beings are special because they were created in God’s image. We were given a duty to take care of the earth, to live good lives and to create a godly culture. God created us to have fellowship with himself.
Sin destroys all our relationships.
God created us good and designed us to live in harmony with each other, our selves and God. But our sin (breaking or not conforming to God’s design or law) destroys that harmony. God make mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Sin affects all of us and in every area of our lives. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Unless we are rescued, eventually sin will destroy us.
Someone has to pay for our sin. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). We are unable to make amends for our sin by ourselves because our sin is great and we keep adding more to it. The first part of the good news of the Gospel is the accurate diagnosis that we need to be reconciled to God, other people and even ourselves and the realization that we are unable to rescue ourselves.
In the first question [Do you acknowledge yourselves to be sinners in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure, and without hope save in His sovereign mercy?] I admit that this is not only the situation of all people, but specifically I own up to it being my situation. I need a Savior.
Jesus died to atone for our sin.
For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus was crucified by jealous men, but God ordained this as the means to pay for our sins, and raised him up to life on the third day so we too will be raised. That our sins are forgiven is a free gift of God…not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:9).
We receive this atonement when we are joined to Christ by faith.
The Holy Spirit moves in our hearts so that we believe in Christ and receive forgiveness through Christ’s work. We repent (turn away from) sin and publicly confess our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved (Romans 10:10). Yet to all who received him, to those who believed on his named, he gave the right to become the children of God (John 1:12).
In the second question [Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and Savior of sinners, and do you receive and rest upon Him alone for salvation as He is offered in the Gospel?] I acknowledge not just that Jesus is Savior and Lord, but that he is my Savior and Lord.
In Christ we are made new and are to grow in this new life through the means of grace.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). The apostle’s teaching is the Bible, which we should read daily and hear expounded in worship. The fellowship is the encouragement we receive from other believers to whom we are joined in mutual submission. The breaking of bread is the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Prayer is our personal and corporate communication with God. The Word, sacraments and prayer are called the means of grace.
In the third question [Do you now resolve and promise, in humble reliance upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as becomes the followers of Christ?] I say that I intend to live as a Christian should and that I need the Holy Spirit working in my life in order to succeed. I am not saved by doing good works, but because of Gods presence in my life, I will do works that God has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
APC is part of the Presbyterian Church in America
There are many denominations in the church of Jesus. Some were formed out of theological controversy. Others are separate because of cultural, linguistic, or historic differences. The following “Church History in Five Minutes” is the briefest of overviews that shows how the major groups in the Church were formed and how they are related, ending with our own. The “Brief History of the Presbyterian Church in America” gives an overview of how our denomination was formed, what tradition we come from and what values are important to us. Knowing the history gives perspective on the historic documents which embody our doctrines and principles.
Our doctrinal principles are found in the Westminster Confession of Faith, Larger and Shorter Catechisms (together referred to as the Westminster Standards). Our governmental principles are found in the Book of Church Order (BCO), which also includes a Directory of Worship and a Book of Discipline, which govern our worship forms and give us the process for church discipline. Copies of these are available in our church library and can be found on line at the PCA website: pcanet.net. These documents are secondary standards. Our primary standard for faith and practice is the Bible. The secondary standards seek to set down biblical principles. As such, the secondary standards are important, but are in no way on the same level as the Bible.