Faith & Practice Statement
The Word of God. We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, complete as the revelation of God’s will for salvation and the supreme and final authority infallible in all matters to which they speak (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21).
The Trinity. We believe in one God, creator and sustainer of all things, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that they are equal in every divine perfection and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption (Dt. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14).
God the Father. We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ (John 4:24; John 14:6).
Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfection’s as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people and His personal, visible return from heaven (John 1,2,14; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-25; Heb. 9:24; Heb. 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-59).
Holy Spirit. We believe in the Holy Spirit, His personality and His work in regeneration, sanctification and preservation. His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ and implement Christ’s work of redeeming the lost and empowering the believer for godly living and service (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 1:13-14; 5:18-20).
Humankind. We believe God created all people equally, male and female, in the image of God. We further believe all people are sinners by nature and choice and are therefore spiritually dead. We also believe that those who repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ as their Savior demonstrate they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we seek to love and respect all people without discrimination while encouraging every person to turn from every form of sin to the grace found only in Jesus Christ (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; Eph. 2:1-12).
Marriage and Sexuality. We believe that God has established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman, and that all intimate sexual activity outside the marriage relationship, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or otherwise, is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 2:24-25; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13, 15-16; Matt. 19:4-6, 9; Rom. 1:18-31; I Cor. 6:9-10, 15-20; I Tim. 1:8-11; Jude 7). We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s birth gender is immoral and therefore sin (Gen. 1:27; Deut. 22:5).
Salvation. We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. We further believe that this salvation is based upon the sovereign grace of God, was purchased by Christ on the cross and is received by man through faith, apart from any human merit, works, or ritual. We believe salvation results in righteous living, good works and proper social concern. We believe that all true believers, once saved shall be kept by the power of God, forever secure (Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; John 1:12; Rom. 8:1,38-39; John 10:27-30; 1 Cor. 1:4-8).
The Church. We believe that the Church is a spiritual body of which Christ is the head. We believe that the true Church is composed of all persons who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit through saving faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that this body expresses itself in local assemblies through worship, fellowship, instruction, evangelism and service. We believe the sacraments and ordinances of the local Church are believer’s baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe Jesus is the only head of the local church. Believers, moved by love/grace, follow Him through mutual submission.
The Personality and Reality of Satan. We believe that Satan is a fallen angel. He he led our first parents into transgression, thereby accomplishing their moral fall and subjecting them and their posterity to his power. We further believe that he is the accuser and enemy of God and the people of God (Rev. 12:9-10; Matt. 4:2-11; Isa. 14:12-17; John 8:44; Gen. 3:1-19; Rom. 5:12-14; Eph. 6:10-12).
Last Things. We believe in the bodily resurrection of the saved and lost, the eternal existence of all people either in heaven or hell, in divine judgments, rewards and punishments (Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:15; 22:3-5, 11).
As a member church of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, we believe the theological document Our World Belongs to God: A Contemporary Testimony best explains these above summary statements (See https://www.crcna.org/sites/default/files/our_world_belongs_to_god_2008_version.pdfto download a copy.)
