The Westminster Confession of Faith

1 The Westminster Confession of Faith in Modern English Evangelical presbyterian church Evangelical presbyterian church 5850 Lee Blvd., Suite 510 Orlando, FL 32822 Third Edition 2010 15th Printing 2017 The Westminster Shorter Catechism by permission of Reformed Theological Seminary and presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1978 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Copyright 2010 The Evangelical presbyterian church All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without permission, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or recorded by mechanical, electronic, photocopying, or other means without permission.

2 I Contents Preface .. iii Essentials of Our Faith .. iv Explanatory Statement to Essentials of Our Faith .. v Proof Texts .. vi The Westminster Confession Scripture .. 3 2. God and the Holy Trinity .. 6 3. God s Eternal Decrees .. 8 .. 10 .. 11 6. The Fall of Man, Sin, and the Punishment for Sin .. 137. God s Covenant with Man .. 14 8. Christ the Mediator .. 16 Will .. 19 Calling .. 20 .. 21 .. 23 .. 24 Faith .. 25 15. Repentance Leading to Life .. 26 Works .. 27 17. The Perseverance of the Saints .. 29 Assurance of Grace and Salvation .. 30 19. The Law of God .. 32 20. Christian Freedom and Freedom of Conscience .. 3421. Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day.

3 3622. Lawful Oaths and Vows .. 38 23. Civil Authorities .. 40 24. Marriage and Divorce .. 42 church .. 44 26. The Fellowship of the Saints .. 45 ii 27. The Sacraments .. 46 28. Baptism .. 47 29. The Lord s Supper .. 48 30. Condemnation by the church .. 50 31. Synods and Councils .. 51 32. The Condition of Man after Death and the Resurrection of the Dead .. 52 33. The Last Judgment .. 53 34. The Holy Spirit .. 54 35. The Gospel of the Love of God and Missions .. 55 Afterword on the Texts iii PREFACE The Constitution of the Evangelical presbyterian church consists of the Book of Order (comprised of The Book of Government, The Book of Discipline, and The Book of Worship), the Westminster Confession of Faith (including the Larger and Shorter Catechisms), and the document Essentials of our Faith .

4 All these documents are subordinate to the Scripture, which is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. You have in your possession the second volume of the Constitution of the Evangelical presbyterian church . On the recommendation of the Christian Education & Publication Committee, the 28th General Assembly (2008) approved publishing the EPC Governing Documents in a more convenient and affordable format. What was once the loose leaf Blue Book will now be available as: The Constitution: Volume 1 The Book of Order (including Rules for Assembly, Acts of Assembly, and Forms for Discipline) The Constitution: Volume 2 The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms (In Modern English) The Service Forms, which were originally part of the Blue Book , will be published separately in booklet form, easily used by those presiding at the Sacraments or the ordination and installation of officers.

5 A separate publication of Documents of the General Assembly is planned as a reference for churches. Having the Westminster standards as our doctrinal foundation since our beginning in 1981, the EPC adopted the modern English edition of the Confession in 1984. Subsequently the modern English Shorter Catechism came into popular use in the EPC, and the 24th General Assembly (2004) approved the modern English Larger Catechism. According the act of the 5th General Assembly (1985), Essentials of Our Faith is published herein along with the Explanatory Statement added by the 22nd General Assembly (2002). Jeffrey Jeremiah, Stated Clerk October 2010 iv Essentials of Our Faith All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ.

6 The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation we affirm these additional Essentials of our Faith . 1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To Him be all honor, glory and praise for ever! 2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day He arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.

7 3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption. 4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God s free grace. God credits His righteousness to those who put their Faith in Christ alone for their salvation, and thereby justifies them in His sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life. 5. The true church is composed of all persons who through saving Faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ.

8 The church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity, where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord. 6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth personally, visibly, and bodily to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Rev. 22:20) 7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

9 (Eph. 2:10) These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith . In Essentials .. Unity In Non-Essentials .. Liberty In All Things .. Charity v Explanatory Statement to Essentials of Our Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is a confessional statement of orthodox Presbyterianism. The Westminster Confession of Faith is our standard of doctrine as found in Scripture. It is a positive statement of the Reformed Faith . The Westminster Confession of Faith constitutes a system of biblical truth that an officer of the Evangelical presbyterian church is required to believe, acknowledging that each individual court has the freedom to allow exceptions which do not infringe upon the system of doctrine in the Westminster Confession of Faith . Essentials of Our Faith is an irenic statement of historic evangelicalism.

10 The purpose of Essentials of Our Faith is to define core beliefs of the Christian Faith . It expresses historic Christian beliefs common to all true believers and churches throughout the world. Essentials of Our Faith is not intended to be the exclusive test of orthodoxy for ordination. It is not intended to be used as an explicit standard for minimal core beliefs for candidates, ordination or ministerial examinations. It is not to be construed as a substitute for the Westminster Confession of Faith . Both the Westminster Confession of Faith and Essentials of Our Faith are important documents in the Evangelical presbyterian church . The Westminster Confession of Faith and Essentials of Our Faith are not alternative statements of truth, nor are they competitive statements of truth. They each serve important and harmonious purposes within the Evangelical presbyterian church .