In our confessions, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also expresses the faith of the Reformed tradition. Central to this tradition is the affirmation of that God creates, sustains, rules, and redeems the world in righteousness and love.  The central themes of the Reformed tradition are:

1. God’s sovereignty.  We believe that God is in charge of the world and that our destiny is safe in God’s hands. God alone is Lord of all. The focus of faith for a Presbyterian is the absolute trust that our totally loving God is the absolute ruler and protector of everything.  The true purpose of every human being is to love and trust God and to love and protect what God has created.

2. The election of the people of God for service as well as for salvation.  People believe because God has “chosen” or “elected” them and they did nothing whatsoever to merit or earn God’s love.  Salvation is something that God does and not result of human effort.

3. Covenant life marked by a disciplined concern for order in the church according to the Word of God.

4. A faithful stewardship that shuns ostentation and seeks proper use of the gifts of God’s creation.  

5. The recognition of the human tendency to idolatry.  We believe that God’s Spirit is at work in the world today, convicting people of sin and moving us to be obedient to God.

6. God calls people to work for the transformation of society by seeking justice and living in obedience to the Word of God.  We believe that faith is not merely a matter of an individual’s personal relationship to God, but also of our corporate life as a people, in the church and in the world.  Therefore, we have also had a strong emphasis on sending people into the world to tell the good news and to build a just and orderly society.  Early Presbyterians opposed slavery, liquor traffic, gambling, industrial exploitation, war and the cruel treatment of prisoners.  We continue to work for the elimination of injustice, racism, oppression, war, violence, sexism, poverty, hatred, and the decline of basic moral values.