The First Presbyterian Church of Westtown hereby makes the following declaration of faith. We follow in the footsteps of Peter who declared, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matthew 16:16) We build on the confessions that established the early and the growing Church and which are found in our Book of Confessions.

We are deeply concerned about the course that our beloved Church is following and the growing contradictions between the faith we profess and the actions the Church sanctions. This is a time to reaffirm what we believe and pledge ourselves anew to live out our core beliefs.

We join the rapidly growing number of Presbyterian congregations who, with Believers from the beginning of the Churchs history, declare:

·        That Jesus Christ alone is Lord of all and the only way of Salvation.

Scripture reveals Jesus to be God's only Son (Luke 9:35; Luke 3:22). Jesus claims that He and the Father are one (John 10:30) and the only way to the Father is through the Son (John 14:6).  We believe that Jesus came into the world to die on a cross for the sins of the world (John 3:16; John 1:29; Romans 5:6-10). One cannot know God, have fellowship with God and be God's child unless one believes in his/her heart and confesses with his/her lips that Jesus Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9-10). We believe that Jesus' death offers forgiveness of sins and eternal life (Hebrews 7:26-28; Hebrews 9).

·        That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and obedience.

(The Larger Catechism, Book of Confessions 7.113) We believe that 2 Timothy 3:16 is true and that All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. We believe that the Bible is God's authoritative Word for us. We do not correct the Bible or add to the Bible by the traditions of humanity, but through study, prayer and reflection, allow God's Word to correct and instruct us.

·        That we are to love each other unconditionally.

We believe that we are to love each other unconditionally and that such love requires that we never condemn or reject each other (Ezekiel 34:16; Hebrews 12:12-13); and that we never turn a blind eye on sin in each others lives (James 5:19-20; Matthew 18:15; Luke 22:32; Galatians 6:1; Jude 1:22-23).

We believe in restoration for those who have confessed and repented of their sins (Matthew 18:21; Luke 17:4) and who are striving toward holiness (1 John 1:5-9; Matthew 18:15; Luke 22:32).

·        That God's people are called to holiness in all aspects of life. This includes honoring the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.

We believe that God is holy and wishes us to be holy, that is: set apart from sin and from bondage to the fallen nature (Leviticus 19:2; Leviticus 20:7; Leviticus 20:26; John 17:19; 1 Cor. 1:2; Ephes. 1:4; Ephes. 5:25-27; 1 Thes. 3:13; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Peter 1:15-16). We believe that Jesus gave us an example to follow (John 17:19).

While all sin brings about that separation from our loving God that the Bible calls death (Romans 6:23) and is therefore to be avoided, there are some aspects of holiness and sin that our current struggles require us to clarify. We believe that human sexuality is a gift from God and that the practice of sexual relations is intended by God to be a blessing. We believe that the physical expression of our sexuality is intended for the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman, the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate. We believe that the choice of any other sexual practice, including; adultery, sex between single persons (including premarital sex) and sex with persons of the same gender, is sin.

We believe that the state of personal holiness is a destination toward which we strive but at which we will never arrive in this life. For this reason we believe that while seeking to live a holy life we are to deal with our shortcomings (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8) by continually practicing the disciplines of confession (1 John 1:9), repentance (Acts 3:19; 2 Tim. 2:25; James 4:7-10; 1 Peter 2:25) and forbearance (Proverbs 25:15; Romans 2:4; Ephes. 4:2; Philip. 4:5; Hebrews 5:2).

We encourage each current member of our congregation to renew his or her commitment to these historic principles of our faith. Persons seeking to become Active Members of our congregation will affirm these statements as an expression of their own belief.

We believe that these core values are necessary for our faith and order as a congregation. We expect that all who would be ordained, installed or otherwise called to leadership in the life of our congregation would affirm these statements as an expression of their own beliefs.

We believe that our declaration of these truths establishes our stand in the Spiritual Realm and changes things in the heavenlies.

We believe that our affirmation of these core values provides desperately needed guidance and a powerful witness to our youth, our adult members, our community, our presbytery, our denomination, and to our world.