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Why we call ourselves Reformed...
Our name identifies us as a church that has its roots in the great Protestant
Reformation of the 16th century. We see ourselves as the spiritual descendants
of reformers such as Martin Luther, John Calvin and John Knox.
The Reformation was a powerful movement to bring the Church of Christ back to
its biblical roots. Over against the frequently distorted and misleading
teaching of the late Medieval church, the Reformational movement stressed that
salvation is a free gift of God received by faith alone apart from any human
contribution. Over and over, Reformed preachers and writers stressed that human
beings are justified in the sight of God through faith in Christ and in no
other way.
The Reformation also emphasized the primacy of the Bible over against the
traditions of the church. Other unbiblical Roman Catholic teachings opposed by
the Reformation included these: the primacy of the bishop of Rome (the pope)
over the whole church; the idea that the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper
becomes the body and blood of Christ by a process of transubstantiation;
devotion to relics; prayer to Mary and other saints and the mandatory celibacy
of the clergy.
The specific emphases of the Protestant Reformation has often been summarized
with five Latin phrases.
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Sola gratia: |
"By grace alone." In salvation, we are rescued from God's wrath and
judgment by His grace alone. Salvation is not in any sense a human work. |
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Sola fide: |
"By faith alone." This phrase expresses the truth that God's people
receive the salvation of Christ by faith and not by works. Our justification
before God is by grace alone through faith alone on the basis of Christ alone.
Faith means to put our trust for salvation not in ourselves or in any other
created thing but in Christ alone. |
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Solus Christus: |
"Of Christ alone." Salvation has been accomplished by the mediatorial
work of Jesus Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement
alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to God. |
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Sola Scriptura: |
"By Scripture alone." The Bible is the supreme authority in the church
for all matters of faith and life. |
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Soli Deo gloria: |
"Glory to God alone." Because salvation is of God and has been
accomplished by God, it is for God's glory. We are called to live our entire
lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for His glory
alone. |
The teaching of the Reformed Church was expressed in many sermons and books but
also in several confessions. The Canadian Reformed Churches uphold the
following Reformed confessions:
All of these are available online at our
federational website. We encourage you to read them carefully and
compare their teaching to that of the Bible.
We belong to a federation of churches known as the Canadian Reformed Churches.
Our federational website gives
a brief summary of our history. Our churches were founded by Dutch
immigrants in the 1950's but have by now been thoroughly Canadianized. It is
our desire to uphold in Canada the teaching of the Bible as rediscovered in the
era of the Reformation. We believe that this teaching is the real hope for
every citizen and for our nation as a whole.
Locally, we have very close ties with the Immanuel Covenant Reformed Church, member of
the federation of United Reformed Churches. As federation of churches, we belong to the North American Presbyterian & Reformed Council
(NAPARC) and further to the International Conference of Reformed Churches
(ICRC) which brings together many Reformed and Presbyterian churches from around the world.
The federation of Canadian Reformed Churches is seeking ecclesiastical unity with the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA).
We have ecclesiastical fellowship with the following churches:
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