Monday, December 25, 2006

Beliefs

We call ourselves Reformed because we hold to what is called Reformed Theology. Reformed Theology derives its name from a movement known as the Protestant Reformation in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Reformation was basically a back to the Bible movement. Over the centuries up to this time gross errors had developed both doctrinally and morally within the church. But God raised up great men of faith who were dedicated to the study of the Bible (such as John Calvin, John Knox, and Martin Luther). These men began to teach the Bible and, as a result, reform the church. The doctrines that they and their forefathers in the faith had gleaned from the Scriptures were then captured in documents such as the Westminster Confession of Faith and The Three Forms of Unity (which are The Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism and The Canons of Dort).

Reformed Theology holds to doctrines that are characteristic of all Christians such as the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Jesus, the necessity of atonement through the blood of Jesus, the inspiration of the Bible, and the ressurection of the body. Other doctrines, more narrowly evangelical (such as justification by faith alone, the return of Jesus, and the Great Commission) are also upheld. But Reformed Theology also includes several beliefs that make it distinct. Some of these are:
  1. All matters of life and faith are to be subject to the authority of the Bible because it is God’s inerrant Word. The Bible reveals God’s plan of salvation and how we should rightly understand life and the world around us.
  2. Because God is sovereign over all things everything comes to pass according to His will. God’s soverengty is manifested in His providencial care, where He governs and sustains all all that He has created. It is also evidenced in His election and salvation of His people.
  3. Worship that is pleasing to God must be governed and regulated by Biblical principles and not left to the inventions of man’s imagination.
  4. The Bible reveals God’s unified plan, usually called the Covenant or Covenant of Grace (See below for further explanation).
(the above is adapted from “Reformed Theology,” an article in the Geneva Study Bible by James Montgomery Boice.)

Covenant

Covenant forms the basis for our understanding of how God deals with His people. A covenant is a solemn relationship built on promises. When a man and woman marry they bind themselves together with the promises they make. This binding is just one everyday example of a covenant.

At CRF we stress the fact that man lives in a covenant relationship with God. We see this evidenced in the fact that all people die. Death is not a “natural thing,” nor is it “just a part of life.” The Bible tells us that people die because they have broken covenant with God (or to put it more simply, they have disobeyed God). You might say, “That’s a strict punishment!” but that’s only half right. God finds our sin so offensive that he must punish even the least sin for an eternity.

But there’s good news, life does not have to end in death and damnation. The Lord has made eternal life possible by establishing what is called the Covenant (or the Covenant of Grace). You could say that the Covenant of Grace is God’s way of salvation. In it the Lord freely offers unto sinners life and salvation through His son, Jesus Christ. By His death on the cross, Jesus satisfied God’s justice securing reconciliation and eternal life for all who believe in Him. We find this emphasized throughout the Bible, but most especially in the LORD’s promise that the He will be our God, and we will be His people.

At Covenant Reformed Fellowship we seek to teach people how to enter and live in the Covenant of Grace. By faithfully teaching God’s Word our goal is to allow the people of Ashland the opportunity to respond to the grace of our God with faith, love, and obedience.