HPPC is Biblical, Evangelical, and Reformed
Biblical
We want the Church to be Biblical. By this we mean that we believe the Biblical record is an accurate record of God's self-disclosure to us in His deeds and words, and therefore can be trusted to teach us what God wants us to believe and what He wants us to do. The God we worship is the God who reveals Himself in the Bible. The Jesus whom we trust as Lord and Savior is the Lord Jesus Christ whose life, death, and resurrection are accurately related to us in the Bible. The system of morality and ethics that should mark the life of the Christian and be the guideline for a healthy society's con¬duct is based on God's revelation contained in the Bible. For us, the Bible is still what we have claimed it to be when we took ordination vows – “the only infallible rule of faith and practice.” Therefore, we use it as a base for all preaching and teaching, as the norm against which to compare every aspect or the Church's life and programs. We are zealous to oppose entry into the life of the Church of any elements which are derivative of a lesser understanding of the character and authority of Scripture as the inspired Word of God. We are further committed to see that this doctrine not be held to as a kind of “dead orthodoxy,” but that it leads to a vital relationship with the God who inspired its writing and who enables us to flesh out His truth in a vital and caring way in the world.
Evangelical
Next, we want the Church to be Evangelical, accepting as literally true the “Good News” that Jesus came into the world to save sinners; believing that the motivation which led God to send His Son was none other than God's own love; and affirming that this gift was not predicated on what we deserve, but on God's free grace. This Good News is good precisely because sin is so bad, and the plight of the sinner is so dire. This Biblical emphasis on the sinfulness of man, the incredible love, grace and forgiveness of God made available to us in Jesus, and the renewing power and presence of the Holy Spirit, is at the heart of the Church's preaching and mission. As evangelicals, we emphasize the clearly taught principles that salvation is by faith alone in the sacrificial and atoning death of Jesus Christ, and reject the idea that salvation is on the basis of merit or good works or upon the ef¬ficacy of the sacraments. We are committed to the traditional teachings of evangelical Christianity, held in common with evangelicals all over the world, and affirm that our unity in this common faith is greater than those peripheral differences that separate us. We further believe that this evangelical faith is not opposed to or a substitute for concerns for justice, necessary social reform, or care for the poor and disadvantaged; but rather, it must be—and where truly held will be—the foundation for such a ministry. A social gospel without the Gospel of redemption is empty humanism; the Gospel or redemption without social concern is a counterfeit faith.
Reformed
Third, we want the Church to be Reformed. As Presbyterians we understand that the theology of our denomination grows out of the Reformation theology of John Calvin. . . . [Our collection of the eleven confessions found in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is very orthodox and reflects our shared faith with Christians from 325 A.D. to 1991.] In the confused world situation of today we feel that now, more than any other period in recent history, these distinctives of the Reformed faith need to be held up to a bewildered world, and we accept our responsibility and role as proclaimers of that theology.
