What We Believe
How We Should Live
Mission Statement
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How We Should Live *

The goal of our church is to live, work, serve, and worship together as a Household of Faith centered around the Lord Jesus Christ. Our mission is to make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything Christ has commanded.1 We humbly and prayerfully accept the challenge to encourage the development of whole and effective Christians who will impact the church and society worldwide for Christ and His Kingdom. Along with the fellowship and blessings of participation in this Household of Faith come responsibilities. We seek to take seriously the whole counsel of God, because we are convinced that “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."2

The biblical foundation of Christian community is expressed in Jesus' two great commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," and, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus himself perfectly demonstrated the pattern: love for God, acted out in love for others. Acknowledging our dependence on the power and grace of God, the members of First Presbyterian Church of San Diego covenant to live according to this ideal.

The purposes of this community covenant are as follows:

–to cultivate a Body life in our church that encourages spiritual, moral, relational and intellectual growth.
–to integrate our lives around Christian principles and devotion to Jesus Christ.
–to remove whatever may hinder us from our calling as a Christ-centered biblical community.
–to encourage one another to see that living for Christ involves dependence on God's Spirit and obedience to the Bible, which is God’s Word, rather than a passive acceptance of prevailing practices.

Affirming Biblical Standards

We desire to build this covenant on basic biblical standards for godly Christian character and behavior. We understand that our calling includes the following:

  • The call to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ over all of life and thought, “so that in everything he might have the supremacy.”3 This involves a wholehearted obedience to Jesus and careful stewardship in all dimensions of life: our time, our possessions, our God-given capacities, our opportunities. We seek to “love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength.” 4 So that whatever we do, whether in word or deed, we do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.5
      
  • The call to love God with our whole being, including our minds, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.6 Christ-like love should be the motive in all decisions, actions, and relationships. 7
      
  • The call to pursue holiness in every aspect of our thought and behavior out of reverence for God.8
      
  • The call to exercise our Christian freedom responsibly within the framework of God's Word, humbly submitting ourselves to one another with loving regard for the needs of others. Our desire should be to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.9
      
  • The call to treat our own bodies, and those of others, with the honor due the very temple of the Holy Spirit. 10
      
  • The call to participate in the life of church through worship, instruction, fellowship, prayer and serving others.11

Living the Christian Life

We believe these biblical standards will show themselves in a distinctly Christian way of life, an approach to living we expect of ourselves and of one another. This lifestyle involves practicing those attitudes and actions the Bible portrays as virtues and avoiding those the Bible portrays as sinful. Life in Christ was never meant to be reduced to a list of good works.

“For it is by grace [we] have been saved, through faith—and this not from [ourselves], it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”12

According to the Scriptures, followers of Jesus Christ will:

  • show evidence of the Holy Spirit who lives within them, such as "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control;"13
      
  • "put on" compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and supremely, love;14
      
  • seek righteousness, mercy and justice, particularly for the helpless and oppressed; 15
      
  • love and side with what is good in God's eyes, and abhor what is evil in God's eyes; 16
      
  • uphold the God-given worth of human beings, from conception to death, as the unique image-bearers of God; 17
      
  • uphold chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman; 18
      
  • be people of integrity whose word can be fully trusted; 19
      
  • give faithful witness to the Gospel, practice good works toward all, and live lives of prayer and thanksgiving. 20

By contrast, Scripture condemns the following:

  • pride, dishonesty (such as stealing and lying), injustice, prejudice, immodesty in dress or behavior, slander, gossip, vulgar or obscene language, blasphemy, greed and materialism (which may manifest themselves in gambling, compulsive spending, self-indulgence), covetousness, the taking of innocent life, and illegal activities; 21
      
  • hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and legalism, understood as the imposition of extra-biblical standards of godliness or the distortion of biblical standards of righteousness by one person or group upon another; 22
      
  • sinful attitudes and behaviors such as "impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like;" 23
      
  • sexual immorality, such as the use of pornography, pre-marital sex, adultery, homosexual behavior and all other sexual relations outside the bounds of marriage between a man and woman. 24

Exercising Responsible Freedom

Beyond these explicit biblical issues, this Household of Faith seeks to foster the practice of responsible Christian freedom. 25 This requires a wise stewardship of mind, body, time, abilities and resources on the part of every member of the community. Responsible freedom also requires thoughtful, biblically-guided choices in matters of behavior, entertainment, interpersonal relationships, and observance of the Lord's Day. We seek to exercise our freedom responsibly, carefully, and in Christ-like love. We seek to be a healing community for those who suffer from emotional trauma, physical abuse, and substance abuse.

This Household of Faith is committed to self-control, avoidance of harmful practices, the responsible use of freedom, sensitivity to the heritage and practices of other Christians, and honoring the name of Jesus Christ in all we do. We desire to be a covenant community of Christians marked by integrity, responsible freedom, and dynamic, Christ-like love. Keeping our covenant may also on occasion require that we take steps to hold one another accountable, confronting one another in love as we work together to live in faithfulness both to God's biblical commands and to our own word. Such loving acts of confrontation are at times difficult, but when performed in the right spirit, they serve to build godly character for both the individuals involved and the community as a whole. 26 Only in this way, as we are willing to speak the truth in love, will we "grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ." 27

*This statement is an adaptation of Wheaton College’s Community Covenant.

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  1. Matthew 28:19-29
  2. 2 Timothy 3:16
  3. Colossians 1:18
  4. Deuteronomy 6:5
  5. Colossians 3:17
  6. Matthew 22:37-40
  7. Romans 13:8-10; 1 John 4:7-12
  8. 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Hebrews 12:14; 1 Peter 1:15-16
  9. 1 Peter 5:5; Ephesians 5:21; Philippians 2:3-11; Romans 14:1-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:9
  10. 1 Corinthians 6:17-20
  11. Acts 2:42-47; Hebrews 10:25; 1 Timothy 3:14-15
  12. Ephesians 2:8-10
  13. Galatians 5:22
  14. Colossians 3:12-14
  15. Proverbs 21:3; 31:8-9; Micah 6:8; Matthew 23:23; Galatians 6:10
  16. Amos 5:15; Romans 12:9; 16:19
  17. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-8
  18. 1 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 13:4
  19. Psalm 15:4; Matthew 5:33-37
  20. Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 3:15; Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18; James 5:16; Titus 2:8
  21. Proverbs 16:18; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Exodus 20:7; Romans 13:9; Colossians 3:8-9; James 2:1-13; Galatians 3:26-29; Romans 13:1-2; 1 Timothy 2:8-10; Hebrews 13:5-6
  22. Acts 15:5-11; Matthew 16:6; 23:13-36
  23. Galatians 5:19-21
  24. Matthew 5:27-28; Romans 1:21-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:31
  25. Galatians 5:13-14; 1 Peter 2:16-17
  26. Galatians 6:1; Matthew 18:15-17
  27. Ephesians 4:15