The Ministries of Ashburn Presbyterian Church are described on the pages you will find in the sub-menus to Ministries above. They are led by the members of session who follow the following guidelines:

Preface

The Session of Ashburn Presbyterian Church, meeting on Tuesday, October 23, 2001, voted to affirm the following three statements of our beliefs, in response to the debate currently taking place within the Presbyterian Church (USA) regarding the identity of Christ, the role of Scripture, and the requirements for ordination of church officers.

An Affirmation of Faith

We, the Session at Ashburn Presbyterian Church, reaffirm the principles on which we have stood for our 125 years.

Jesus Christ is Lord of all and head of the church. The Constitution of the PC(USA) affirms Jesus Christ as the center of our life together. We feel it is our duty as servants of Jesus₁ to stand firm and preserve what is true. It is our hope that other members and officers of the Presbyterian Church (USA) will join us in endorsing the historic principles our our faith, to uphold these principles as they plan and carry out their various ministries, and to pray of the peace, purity and unity of the church.

1. (Romans 1:1, Titus 1:1 and Philippians 1:1)

1. We believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation and relationship with God.

We believe in one sovereign and holy God, made known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Who created, sustains, rules and redeems the world according to God's perfect plan and will. God became flesh and lived among us as man in Jesus Christ, Who was fully human and fully God. Scripture reveals Jesus to be God's only Son₁. Jesus claims that He and the Father are one₂ and the only way to the Father is through the Son₃ . We confess that Jesus came into the world to die on a cross for the sins of the world₄. We believe Jesus Christ, as He is attested for us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and death.

One cannot know God, have fellowship with God, and be God's child unless one believes and confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord₅. We believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for the sins of humankind, bearing in His body the sins of all those who trust in Him, and that there is salvation in no other. We believe that His death offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life₆.

1. (Luke 9:35, Luke 3:22)
2. (John 10:30)
3. (John 14:6)
4. (John 3:16, John 1:29, Romans 5:6-10)
5. (Romans 10:9-10)
6. (Hebrews 7:26-28, ch 9)

2. We believe the Bible is the unique and authoritative witness for the church's life.

We believe that "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness."₁ We confess that the Scriptures of the Old Testament and the New Testament are, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal, and God's Word to us. We do not correct the Bible, but through study, prayer and reflection, allow God's Word to correct and instruct us.

1. (II Timothy 3:16)

3. We believe the people of the church are called to live in obedience to Jesus Christ, under the authority of Scripture, and guided by the Confessions of the Church.

We believe that God calls us to be holy or distinct from the world. Holiness challenges behaviors deemed acceptable by our society. According to our Book of Confessions "...holiness includes the honoring of marriage between a man and a woman as the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate"₁ and that ".. anarchy in sexual relationships is a symptom of alienation from God, his neighbor, and himself"₂.

1. (Book of Confessions 4.108, 5.245-245, 6.133)
2. (Book of Confessions 9.47)