Our Beliefs
Bethel Korean Presbyterian Church Is a Reformed Evangelical Church.
As a reformed church, we are committed to the historic Christian faith revealed in the Bible and summarized by these three classic Christian texts: The Westminster Confession of Faith, the Larger Catechism, and the Shorter Catechism.
As an Evangelical church, we are committed to the following:
The Trinity
We believe that God exists in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit yet fully and unequivocally one in essence. Scripture makes countless references to the fact that God is one and there is or are no other gods.
“Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4, also see 1 Corinthians 8:4)
Yet at the same time the Bible clearly attributes divine essence to:
The Father (1 Corinthians 8:6; Matthew 6:26)
The Son, Jesus Christ (John 11-2; Philippians 2:6; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:5-13)
And the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4, lying to the Holy Spirit is equated to lying to God; John 16:8-11, the Holy Spirit doing the work of God; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Holy Spirit sovereign over gifts)
The conclusion we come to is that God exists in essence as one divine being who manifests himself as three totally separate divine persons performing very different, yet complementary, roles in the world.
The Inspiration, Inerrancy, and Infallibility of God's Word
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God; that it is inspired by and has the full authority of God. Many times Jesus affirmed the inspiration of the Old Testament as the word of God, verifying the authenticity of the scriptures.
“...it is written…” (Matthew 4:4-10) “...just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters...” (2 Peter 3:15-16)
Peter affirms that what they were writing was God inspired. Therefore, we can be confident that the word of God has authority and power of life.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Original Sin
We believe that all people are born under the bondage of sin as a result of Adam's first act of disobedience against God. This condition of sinfulness leads us all to be in a natural state of alienation towards God and other people.
“There is no one righteous not even one, there is no one who understands no one who sees God. All have turned away and have together become worthless there is no one who does good not even one” (Romans 3:10-12)
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23).
“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
The Incarnation and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ
We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus, and his physical resurrection from death. Christ the second person of the Trinity came conceived of the Holy Spirit by the virgin Mary to be God’s physical revelation to the world. (Matthew 1:18-25).
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
We believe that Christ died on the cross as the scriptures assert and physically rose from the dead three days later to fulfill prophecy concerning his ministry.
“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep,” (1 Corinthians 15:20)
Substitutionary Atonement
We believe that the death of Christ on the cross, served as a substitute to pay for the penalty of our sins. Jesus Christ vicariously took upon the sins of the world to satisfy the wrath of God so that we might experience the fullness of salvation. His atonement gives us the hope of once again experiencing the fullness of life.
“…and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood...” (Rom 3:24-25)
“This is love not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
Justification by Grace through Faith Alone
We believe that the work of salvation in man is totally and absolutely the work of God’s grace through faith. Salvation and or favor from God is not earned through works, but it is a work of grace.
“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.” (Galatians 2:8-9)
At the same time the stipulation of justification and the consequent work of salvation is based upon the manifestation of faith in the individual. Salvation is dependent upon genuine saving faith.
"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:31)
The Church as the Body of Christ
We believe that the church (all true believers of all time) is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). We have been connected through the Holy Spirit to Christ who serves as the sovereign head over all. The church therefore is a God ordained institution commissioned to glorify God by faithfully fulfilling its commission of evangelism to the world.
The Second Coming of Jesus Christ
This second coming of Jesus will mark the imminence of the end of the age where He will judge the living and the dead. His coming will mark judgment for those who have rejected his message of salvation and rewards for those who have remained faithful to his promise.
“You also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Matthew 24:44)
“I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3)
“This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 2:11-15)