Our Beliefs
We follow the Word of God as He has revealed it to us in the Bible.
The Canadian Reformed Churches have adopted summaries of the Word of our God.
These summaries are found in the creeds and Three Forms of Unity.
Above our subscribed summaries and creeds remains the infallible, living Word of God - the Bible.
The Bible
The Canadian and American Reformed Churches accept the Bible as the infallible Word of God. We believe that the Bible is His divine revelation through which He reveals to us His will. Therefore, the Word is the final authority for life. By this divine Word, God clearly reveals Himself to us, as far as is necessary for us to know in this life, to His glory and our salvation. The Bible therefore clearly explains to us the way of salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Since the Bible is the guide to our daily lives we will now let the Bible speak.
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:4
“All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17
“These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:31
“If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31-32
It explains the way of salvation in Jesus Christ.
“And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
What is the message of the Bible?
The message has three parts:
1
Our Sin
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God . . . since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:10-11:23
The Lord Jesus said, “You will die in your sins unless you believe that I am He.” John 8:24
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6
2
Our Salvation
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
3
Our Service
“I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:1-2
The Church
We believe that there is one holy and universal Church which has been from the beginning of the world and will be to the end of the time. It is preserved and supported by the Lord God, through His Son, our Redeemer Jesus Christ, who gathers and guides the Church by His Holy Spirit and Word.
We further believe that according to the Word of God there are three marks by which a church should faithfully abide.
These marks are:
Pure preaching of the Gospel
“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
2 Timothy 4:1-4
Pure administration of the sacraments
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Acts 2:38b–39
“This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 24b
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
1 Corinthians 25b
Excerising church discipline
“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
Matthew 18:15 – 18
We subscribe to the following confessions
These confessions were written to clearly summarize important and controversial interpretations of Scripture that persist to this day.
We subscribe to the following three creeds
These creeds summarize some of the most critical beliefs expressed in the Bible. These were made in the early days of the Christian Church, in the first 500 years after Christ’s death.