What We Believe

Covenant Reformed Church is an interdependent, Reformed Christian Church serving Jesus Christ and existing by the authority of His word. The Church has no other head but Jesus Christ, from whom flows everything necessary for the ordering and governing of the ecclesiastical faith and practice of our local covenant community. We submit to all those principles regarding the life of the church that are clearly required by Scripture, or can be deduced from Scripture through good and necessary consequence. For the rest, we operate in terms of a sanctified Christian prudence, with all things being done decently and in good order. We seek to bring every thought into subjection to Scriptures and in this way pursue the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ps.133; Rom.14:19; Eph.4:3,13; 2 Tim.2:22; Heb.12:14; Jam.3:17).

To this end, we fully subscribe to the three forms of unity, The Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession and Canons of Dordt, and confess significant agreement with the Westminster Confession of Faith.

Doctrinal Summary

Triune God

We believe there is one true God who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all His attributes. He exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, these three being co-equal and co-eternal in power and glory, having the same attributes and perfections and worthy of the same worship, confidence and obedience.

Scripture

We believe that the Scriptures, both the Older and Newer Testaments, are the inspired, inerrant word of God and that each Testament is to be understood in the light of the other. This inspiration and inerrancy extends equally and fully to all parts of the Bible: prophetical, historical, poetical and doctrinal. We therefore, believe that the Bible is the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

Creation

The universe, with all that it contains, is not the product of evolution, but was created by the word of God, out of nothing, in six literal days. All of this was made for God’s own glory. Furthermore, God upholds and governs His whole creation according to His will and directs every detail to its appointed end so that nothing happens in His creation outside of His providential ordering.

Sin

When Adam and Eve sinned, they incurred God’s wrath upon themselves and upon all their descendants, becoming spiritually dead toward God and subject to physical and eternal death. Since Adam was the representative for all his posterity, all inherit their nature from him. Being born sinners, all people are utterly powerless in themselves to redeem their lost condition and be restored to spiritual life and fellowship with God.

Christ

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the only Savior of the world. With respect to His divine nature He is the second person of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Holy Spirit in all things. The eternal Son also took upon Himself a human nature, being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, He became like unto us in all things, except without sin. Jesus Christ is both fully human and fully divine and will remain such for all eternity. He perfectly satisfied every demand of God’s holy law in His life, passion and death. Therefore, on the third day He rose bodily from the grave, ascended to glory and now intercedes for His bride before His Father’s throne and rules on her behalf. He will return visibly on the last day to judge the living and the dead.

Salvation

We believe that God saves men, from beginning to end, by His Sovereign Grace and that no one person deserves His mercy more than any other person. God’s gift of eternal life is received by faith alone without any works of the believer. Even the believer’s faith and repentance are unmerited gifts that God gives through His Spirit in regeneration, thus enabling the regenerated person to confess his sins and believe in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, and be saved.

Obedience

Believers are delivered from sin and death so that they might love, in time and all eternity, God and their neighbors. What this love means in day to day living is defined by God’s law-word. God has clearly revealed what delights Him and what offends Him. The believer’s motivation for obeying God’s law-word flows from his gratitude for receiving the free gift of redemption in Christ. The believer is empowered to obey God’s law-word by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Family

We believe the family is the first and most basic institution in life and that strong family relationships are vital for effective service. It is when the family functions as a spiritual unit, nurturing and preserving an atmosphere of godly, consistent instruction, that it is most effective in preparing mature, multi-generational focused servants for the Kingdom.

Church

We believe that there is one holy, universal church, which has existed from the beginning of the world and will exist to the end of time. This true church is called and upheld by the grace and power of God, and the marks by which it is known are: the pure preaching of the gospel; the pure administration of the sacraments; and the practice of church discipline.

Final Things

Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly at the end of the age, when both the righteous and the unrighteous will be brought before His throne to receive their final judgment. The righteous will enjoy eternal, conscious blessedness in heaven and the unrighteous will suffer eternal, conscious torment in hell. Christ will then reign with His people forever and ever.