What We Believe

We are…

A Christian Church

Most significantly we are a Christian church, so we aspire to listen to what God has to say to us in the Bible.

We aim to put God’s word at the heart of everything we do from Sunday through to Saturday.

However, it’s often helpful for people to know a little more about what we think the Bible teaches. So, we would also describe ourselves as:

A Confessional Church

We recognise that Christ’s church stretches much wider than our denomination and so we stand with other Christians throughout history who hold to the ecumenical creeds that have been handed down to the church. An example of this would be ‘the Apostle’s creed’ which summarises the core truths of Christianity as taught in the Bible:

I believe in God, the Father, Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
The third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he shall come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic* Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen 

*universal

We also think that the Bible has more to say to us than what has been summarised in the creeds. And so we also describe ourselves as:

A Reformed Church

This means that we align ourselves with the 16th century Protestant Reformation that sought to bring the church back to the core truths of Christianity after it had allowed the traditions of men to usurp the place of God’s word as our final authority and guide.

The Reformation has been summarised with the ‘Five Solas’ (‘sola’ meaning ‘only’ or ‘alone’):

  • Scripture alone
  • Christ alone
  • Faith alone
  • Grace alone
  • Glory of God alone

The Reformers crystallised the Bible’s clear teaching that the Bible is the only authority for what we are to believe. Central to the Bible’s message is that redemption is found in Jesus Christ alone, who is to be received by faith, based on God’s kindness and grace (not our merit), and that God deserves all the glory for what he has done in Christ.

And finally, we are:

A Presbyterian Church

This means that our official doctrinal basis is the Westminster Confession of Faith.

It’s important to say, you don’t have to know anything about or agree with everything in these standards to be a part of Eden Church Carlisle! But they do make clear what will be taught in our church, and how our church will be governed by our eldership.