Saint Andrew's Chapel is a confessional church whose system of doctrine is formulated in the Westminster Confession of Faith.  The Westminster Confession adopts a theology that may be defined as catholic, evangelical and reformed.

Its theology is "catholic" in that it reaffirms the doctrines of historic Christian orthodoxy such as those defined by the Apostles Creed and the great ecumenical councils of the first millennium of Christian history such as the Councils of Nicea, Chalcedon, Constantinople, and others. These catholic doctrines include such affirmations as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the atonement of Christ, and other doctrines that are integral to historic Christianity.

This theology is "evangelical" in that it affirms with historic Protestantism such vital doctrines as Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. Sola Scriptura refers to the article that the Bible, as the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God, is the sole written revelation that rules the faith and practice of the Christian community and alone can bind the conscience. Sola Fide refers to the doctrine of justification by faith alone whereby the believer is justified before God by the free grace of God by which He imputes the righteousness of Christ to the believer. The sole ground of our justification is the merit of Jesus, which is imputed to all who put their trust in Him. Though good works flow necessarily and immediately from all justified persons, these works are not the meritorious grounds of our justification.

The theology is "reformed" in that, in addition to catholic and evangelical doctrine, the distinctive doctrines of the magisterial Reformers such as Luther, Calvin and Knox are also embraced in a way that distinguishes the Reformed tradition from other Protestant bodies. Reformed theology places great emphasis on the doctrine of God, which doctrine is central to the whole of its theology. In a word, Reformed theology is God-centered. The structure of the Biblical covenant of grace is the framework for this theology. The concept of God's grace supplies the core of this theology.

The historic five points of Calvinism, simplified in the acrostic TULIP, distinguish Reformed theology at the key points of issue, but in no way exhaust the content of the Reformed faith. These five points include:

• T - total depravity
• U - unconditional election
• L - limited atonement
• I - irresistible grace
• P - perseverance of the saints

Briefly, total depravity declares that all men are corrupted by the Fall to the extent that sin penetrates the whole person, leaving them in a state by which they are now by nature spiritually dead and at enmity with God. This results in the bondage of the will to sin by which the sinner is morally unable to incline himself to God, or to convert himself, or to exercise faith without first being spiritually reborn by the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit.

Unconditional election refers to God's sovereign and gracious work of election by which, from all eternity, God determines to exercise saving grace to a particular group of people chosen from out of the mass of fallen humanity. God gives this saving grace according to the good pleasure of His will, and not according to some foreseen actions, responses, or conditions met by men. God's election is based purely on His sovereign grace and not upon anything done by humans. The elect are brought to saving faith by the work of the Holy Spirit. The elect receive special grace from God. The non-elect receive common grace, but in the end receive the justice of God.

Limited atonement means that though the value and merit of Christ's atonement are unlimited and sufficient to save the whole world and are offered to all who repent and believe, the efficacy of the atonement is applied only to the elect, and that, by God's design. This means that in God's eternal plan of salvation the atonement was designed to accomplish redemption for the elect and that God's plan of redemption is not frustrated by the refusal of the impenitent to avail themselves of its benefits. In this sense all for whom the atonement was designed to save, will be saved.

Irresistible grace refers to the grace of regeneration by which God effectually calls His elect inwardly, converting them to Himself, and quickening them from spiritual death to spiritual life. Regeneration is the sovereign and immediate work of the Holy Spirit, working monergistically. This grace is operative, not cooperative, meaning that those who are regenerate always come to saving faith, as they are made willing to come to Christ to whom they most certainly flee and cling for their redemption.

Perseverance of the saints means that those who are truly regenerate and truly come to saving faith will never lose their salvation. They may fall via manifold temptations and spiritual weakness, even into radical sin but never fully and finally because God, by His grace, preserves them. The intercession of Christ for the elect is efficacious unto eternity.

This is a brief summary of the articles contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith. Adherence to the system of doctrine is not required for membership in Saint Andrew's Chapel, but is required of all officers of the church and of those who teach.