This article is about what the Presbyterian Church believes in relation to other Christian Churches - what makes us unique.  Please read "What Christians Believe" if you are interested in what we believe as Christians, in common with all believers.

The Presbyterian Church of Australia is an evangelical Christian organisation.  This means that we emphasise the teachings and authority of the Bible, rather than the authority of tradition or other writings.  The highest standard by which the Church's belief and practice is to be measured is the Word of God; the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.  The English Standard Version (ESV) of the Bible can be accessed online at  here.

So that others can clearly understand what the Church believes is taught in the Bible, it has adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith (with two minor amendments) as a statement of its key doctrines.

While the Church believes the Confession describes Biblical teaching accurately and reliably, the Confession is always referred to as the subordinate standard, and the Bible as the supreme standard.  The Confession of Faith is quite detailed, and explains the Bible's teaching on:

• God
• Creation
• The wonder of being human
• The awfulness of sin
• The whole work of God in salvation

The Confession is careful to emphasise that this salvation is by the sovereign Grace of God. It also sets out clear positions on living the Christian Life, and worshipping as a part of the Church in society. The Confession ends with a simple statement on the expectation that Christ will one day return. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith (without the amendments made by the Presbyterian Church of Australia) is freely available online here.  For independent information on the Confession, see this wikipedia article.

At the time the Presbyterian Church of Australia was formed, it also adopted a Declaratory Statement. The Declaratory Statement was designed to show how the Westminster Confession of Faith is to be interpreted and used by this Church. The Declaratory Statement has six clauses. Among other things, these clauses require the Church:

• To be grounded on the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation,
• To accept the following as real supernatural events:
• The incarnation and life of Jesus
• The death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus
• The events at Pentecost
• To be eager to preach the gospel to all
• To hold out the moral law of God as binding on all people
• To affirm the freedom of the Church from all civil headship and control
• To allow liberty of opinion on matters in the subordinate standard not essential to the doctrine it teaches so long as this liberty is not abused to the injury of the unity and peace of the Church.

When a minister or elder is first ordained (specially set apart for their work in the Church) they make a solemn declaration that they personally accept these doctrines, and they promise to keep on teaching and supporting these beliefs throughout their ministry. They also promise to fulfil their duties as set down in the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church. The promises are repeated each time they take up work as a minister or elder in another congregation. These promises are summarised in what is called a Formula which all ministers and elders sign. For more information please contact us directly, or visit the Presbyterian Church of Australia website (opens in new window).

You may also be interested in our article on the Structure of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.

Reference: Parts of this article are based on "An Introduction to the Presbyterian Church of Australia", First Edition 2004, Published by the Code Committee of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.