Essential
Tenets of the Reformed Faith
In
addition to the Apostles' Creed and
Nicene Creed, accepted by all
Trinitarian Churches, this church
affirms the following tenets of the Reformed Faith:
The
Sovereignty and Majesty
of God--We affirm that God
created the Universe according
to his Sovereign will; all that comes to pass in this world, including
the salvation of
souls, happens
according to His fore-ordained plan. (Ephesians 1:11)
God's
Revelation in
Scripture--God has
revealed Himself through the history
and teachings of
of the inspired word of God, namely, the 66 books of Holy Scripture,
passed down to us by the
worshipping Christian Community. The Church claims the
authority
of this Scripture as pre-
eminent over all other sources of understanding. (2 Timothy
3: 16)
Covenantal
Relationship--God binds
Himself to His people through covenants, or contracts, that
specify what is required of humans. The Old
Covenant stated that if God's people followed His
Law, He would bless them. The New Covenant changes the terms
of the relationship: if one
believes in His Son Jesus Christ, that person will receive eternal
salvation. (Romans 10: 5; John
3: 16)
Our
Chosenness--God has chosen
before the beginning of time those who will come into His
kingdom (the 'elect'). (Romans 9: 11-18)
Depravity
of Humans/Sufficiency of His Grace--Humans
will never be able to attain a right
relationship with God on their own; for salvation from their sin, they
are utterly and wholly
dependent on the Grace of God, which is sufficient for their
redemption. (Roman 8: 30)
Justification
through Jesus Christ--the
means by which God restored us to a right relationship
to Him was through the death of His only Son, Jesus Christ.
His death paid the price for all sins
committed by those He has chosen--past, present, and future.
(Romans 4: 25)
Salvation
through Faith--The only way
humans can access God's grace in the death of His Son is
through personal faith of the believer who receives this free
gift. No sacrament performed by the
church or work done by the individual can merit God's grace. (Ephesians
2: 8)
Holy
Spirit as Facilitator--Because
of human frailty, God gave us the Holy Spirit to bring about
regeneration in our hearts. (John 1: 12)
Perseverance
of the Saints--Those whom God
has accepted through Jesus Christ, called, and
purified through the Holy Spirit, can never fall away from their state
of grace, but will receive
eternal life. (2 Peter 1: 3; Phil. 1: 6)
Universal
and Visible Church--There is
only one universal church, the Body of Christ, made up
of all those who have received God's free gift of salvation.
Organized churches define a group of
believers in a given place and time--the visible church--but no one of
them can presume to embody
the universal church. (Ephesians 5: 23, 27, 32)
Priesthoood
of All Believers--All
regenerated members of a church are able to relate directly to God
and called to mediate God to others in their words and actions. (James
5: 16; 1 Corinthians 12: 7)
Representative
Government--Each member of a
church should be able to participate in choosing
its leaders. (Acts 6: 3)
Signs
of God's Covenant--There are
only two sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion, which
are signs of God's Grace and in an of themselves have no power to bring
about salvation. (Matt.
28: 19; 1 Corinthians 11: 23; Acts 16: 31)
For
a more thorough explanation of the above tenets, see the Book
of
Confessions
of the
Presbyterian
Church, USA