A RESOLUTION AS A "CONFESSING
CHURCH"
We, the Session of the First Presbyterian Church of Hugo, Oklahoma, are deeply
concerned about the course that elected officials of our denomination are
following. We believe there is a widening gulf between the faith and beliefs of
our church as stated in the Scriptures, the Book of Confessions, and the Book of
Order and the actions of the leadership of our denomination.
On this day of August 20, 2001, we feel called as elected leaders of our
congregation to reaffirm the faith of the Church as defined by Scripture, the
Book of Confessions, and the Book of Order. We call upon all elected leaders of
the Presbyterian Church (USA), at all levels, to join us in our reaffirmation of
faith:
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM one sovereign and holy
God, who makes Himself known as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who created,
sustains, rules, and redeems the world according to his perfect plan and will.
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM that God became flesh and
lived among us as man in Jesus Christ, who was fully human and fully God, as the
Scriptures and Confessions of the Church declare.
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM that 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 all humankind must come to the Father through him.
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM that, having paid the debt
for sin, Jesus was raised up bodily by the hand of God, who has exalted Him to
heaven, where He reigns with the Father and the Spirit, one God.
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM, as we declared in our
ordination vows, 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.
l WE BELIEVE AND AFFIRM that the whole Church,
especially its officers, is called to live in obedience to Jesus Christ, under
the authority of the Scriptures, and guided by the Confessions of the Church.
Such obedience requires that this denomination and all of its agencies
unambiguously declare, in word and in all programmatic events, the exclusivity
of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Such obedience requires, among other things,
that this denomination honor Scriptures, its Confessions, and the provisions of
the Book of Order upholding the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman
as the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate.
We call upon members and officers of the Presbyterian Church (USA) to join us in
affirming these historic principles of our faith, and to pray for the Peace,
Purity, and Unity of the Church.
For the Session of the First Presbyterian Church, Hugo, Oklahoma
S/______________________________ S/________________________________
James Ray, Clerk of Session
Rev. Dr. Edwin D. Bernard, Moderator