Trinity Reformed Church originally followed the Confession and Constitution of its founding congregation, Christ Church,. When Trinity Reformed became a particularized member of the CREC in 2005, the session adopted the Confession and Constitution as its own.
Creedal Statements
Statements on Governments
Creedal Statements
Our confession of faith points to the heart of the Christian faith, but it
also points to some of our distinctives as a particular body of believers.
As such, this confession does not necessarily define the boundaries of our
fellowship. Some Christians will certainly differ with some of what is set
forth below. Such Christians are nevertheless welcome to worship the Lord
together with us. Our basis for unity and communion is a biblical confession
of the lordship of Jesus Christ, and the absence of a scandalous lifestyle.
This confession of faith does represent the doctrinal understanding of the
eldership of Christ Church, and it is our intention that the teaching and
preaching at Christ Church reflect this understanding also. Procedural
standards for our church government can be found in our Constitution.
As a body of reformational evangelicals, we seek to display our unity in
truth with other faithful churches, not only in the present, but also with
the historic Christian church throughout the centuries. Although not
included here, we are also in essential agreement with the historic
confessions of the Reformation, including the Synod of Dordt, the Belgic
Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism (together known as the Three Forms of
Unity), the Westminster Confession of Faith of 1646, and the London Baptist
Confession of 1689. Together with the historic church, we confess the
following:
The Apostles' Creed (AD 2nd century)
I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in
Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy
Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day
He rose again, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the
Father; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe
in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the
forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Nicene Creed Constantinople (AD 381)
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of
all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only
begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God,
Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one
substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and
for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy
Ghost of the virgin, Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us
under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose
again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits on
the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge
both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe
in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father
and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and
glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe in one holy, catholic
and apostolic Church; acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and
I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
Definition of Chalcedon (AD 451)
Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess
the one and same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect
both in deity and in humanity; truly God and truly man, with a rational soul
and a body; consubstantial with the Father according to His deity, and
consubstantial with us according to the humanity; like us in all respects,
sin only excepted. Before the ages He was begotten of the Father, according
to the deity, and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, He was
born of Mary the virgin, who is Godbearer according to His humanity; one and
the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two
natures; without confusing them, without interchanging them, without
dividing them, and without separating them; the distinction of natures by no
means taken away by the union, but the properties of each nature being
preserved, and concurring in one Person and one subsistence; not parted or
divided into two persons, but one and the same only-begotten Son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, as from the beginning the prophets have declared concerning
Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the symbol of the
fathers has handed down to us.
A Westminster Creed
(A modern selection from the 17th century Shorter Catechism)
I believe man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever;
I believe God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being,
wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth; I believe there is
but one true and living God; that there are three persons in the Godhead:
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and that these three are one God,
the same in substance, equal in power and glory; I believe God has
foreordained whatever comes to pass; that God made all things of nothing, by
the word of His power, in the space of six days, and all very good; and that
God preserves and governs all His creatures and all their actions.
I believe our first parents, though created in knowledge, righteousness, and
holiness, sinned against God, by eating the forbidden fruit; and that their
fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery; I believe God
determined, out of His mere good pleasure, to deliver His elect out of the
estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a
Redeemer; I believe the only Redeemer of God's elect is the Lord Jesus
Christ, who, being the eternal Son of God, became man, and so was, and
continues to be, God and man in two distinct natures, and one person,
forever; I believe Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the office of a
prophet, of a priest, and of a king. I believe Christ as our Redeemer
underwent the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, the cursed death of
the cross, and burial; He rose again from the dead on the third day,
ascended up into heaven, sits at the right hand of God, the Father, and is
coming to judge the world at the last day.
I believe we are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ, by
the effectual application of it to us by his Holy Spirit; I believe God
requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, and repentance unto life to escape the
wrath and curse of God due to us for sin; I believe by His free grace we are
effectually called, justified, and sanctified, and gathered into the visible
church, out of which there is no ordinary possibility of salvation; I
believe that we also are given in this life such accompanying benefits as
assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost,
increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end; that at death, we
are made perfect in holiness, and immediately pass into glory; and our
bodies, being still united in Christ, rest in their graves, till the
resurrection; and at the resurrection, we shall be raised up in glory, we
shall openly be acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment, and made
perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity.
A Modern Statement
We believe the Bible to be the only inerrant Word of God. It is our only
ultimate and infallible authority for faith and practice. We believe that
there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons; Father, Son and Holy
Spirit. The Lord God is omnipotent; He is the Almighty. He is omnipresent,
entirely present throughout all creation while not limited by it. He is
omniscient, with nothing at all hidden from His sight, whether past,
present, or future. In all things He is limited by nothing other than His
own nature and character. We believe the God we serve is holy, righteous,
good, severe, loving, and full of mercy. He created the heavens and earth,
and everything in them, in the space of six ordinary days, and all very
good. He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Governor of everything that has been
made.
We believe in the true deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in
His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and
atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His
ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in
power and glory.
We believe in the full deity of the Holy Spirit, acknowledging Him together
with the Father and the Son in the works of creation and redemption.
We believe that because of Adam's sin all mankind is in rebellion against
God. For the salvation of such lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy
Spirit is absolutely necessary.
We believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone, and that faith
without works is dead.
We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling
the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost; those who are
saved to the resurrection of life, and those who are lost to the
resurrection of damnation. We believe in the spiritual unity of all
believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Governments
Introduction
We believe that God has ordained various governments among men. The three
basic governments are civil government, church government, and family
government as foundational to the first two. To fulfill their proper
function, all of these governments are dependent on the grace of God, common
or special, working in individuals to bring about self-government. Without
such self-control, no other government can function according to the Word of
God.
We deny that the authority of these governments should be set against one
another. God has ordained them all, and assigned to them differing
responsibilities. We further deny that any form of human government can be
considered absolute.
Self-government
We believe that a man is saved in truth when in an effectual call the Holy
Spirit regenerates him and he consequently submits, in faith, to the Lord
Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:5). As a follower of Jesus Christ, he seeks to live in
submission to His Word.
We deny that Christ can be received as Savior and rejected as Lord (Matt.
7:21).
We believe that the elect were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the
world to live holy and blameless lives (Eph. 1:4).
We deny that holiness can be defined on the authority of the word of man.
Our only standard of holiness is the law of God, found in the Old and New
Testaments (2 Tim. 3:16).
We believe that God will always complete any saving work He has begun. A
regenerated man will not fall away from God's work of salvation (Rom.
8:29-31). The basis for this is God's faithfulness and not the faithfulness
of the believer (1 Cor. 1:8-9).
We deny that faith in God's sustaining faithfulness is in any way a cushion
for sin. A life characterized by sin is inconsistent with assurance of
salvation (Rom. 6:1-6; 1 John).
We believe that a follower of Christ has an obligation to regularly and
honestly confess his sins before God (1 Jn. 1:9; Prov. 28:13). In honest
confession, the quality of a man's relationship with God is maintained and
protected.
We deny that confession of sin is the foundation of the believer's
relationship to God. Salvation does not depend on ongoing confession of sin;
the joy of salvation does (Ps. 51:10-13).
We believe that God commands all men everywhere to repent and believe the
gospel. All unregenerate men therefore have a true obligation to do so (Acts
17:30; 2 Thess. 1:8).
We deny that unregenerate men are unjustly excluded from grace. Because they
are dead in their sins, they have no desire for God's grace apart from the
quickening influence of that grace (Eph. 2:1; Rom. 8:6-8; 1 Cor. 2:14). They
are therefore responsible for remaining in sin.
We believe that at regeneration God creates each true believer a new man,
created to grow in love and good works (Eph. 2:10; 2 Cor. 5:17).
We deny that this new man exists alongside the old man inherited from Adam.
The old man was crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:1-11; Gal. 2:20). We deny that
the crucifixion of the old man eliminates an ongoing struggle against the
flesh (Gal. 5:17)
We believe that God has given to each individual various gifts of varying
worth (1 Cor. 12:7-24). Each believer has an obligation to understand
accurately what his gifts are, and to put them to work in the worship of God
( Eph. 4:11-16).
We deny that equality in Christ (Col. 3:10,11) nullifies God-assigned roles
and stations (Col. 3:12-22; Phil. 2:3).
Family Government
We believe that God has ordained the husband as the head of his wife, and
that he is answerable to God for the spiritual state of everyone in his
household (Eph. 5:23).
We deny that the hierarchy established by God in the household diminishes in
any way the worth of women in the sight of God or their husbands (Gal.
3:28). Righteous men rise up and call their righteous wives blessed (Prov.
31:28).
We believe that men are responsible to protect their families and to provide
for them (1 Tim. 5:8), loving their wives as Christ loved the church (Eph.
5:25). Wives are responsible to minister to their husbands and children
(Tit. 2:4), to be homemakers, keeping their homes well-managed and clean
(Tit. 2:5).
We deny that reversal or rejection of God's assigned roles to husbands and
wives can occur without serious damage to the family and, consequently, to
the society and church (Tit. 2:5).
We believe the prosperity of a household is a gift from God (2 Cor.
9:10-11).
We deny that godly living is an automatic means to wealth and prosperity
(Heb. 11:35-38).
We believe that God blesses in a material way when men honor Him through
hard work over a long time, when they are generous with the blessings God
has already given, and when they provide for their families and dependents
(2 Thess. 3:7-10).
We deny that covetousness and greed can be a means to obtain the blessings
God bestows (1 Tim. 6:5).
We believe that believing parents have an obligation before God to provide
their children with a godly understanding of the world in which they are
growing up. To this end, Christian education, however administered, is
essential (Dt. 6:1-6).
We deny that the civil authority or the church has the obligation to educate
our children for their vocational callings. That responsibility belongs to
the parents (Eph. 6:4).
We believe that marriage is ordained by God, and that man has no authority
to sever what God has joined together. God hates divorce (Mal. 2:16). In
certain circumstances, divorce and remarriage are permissible, but must be
governed in all respects according to the Word of God (Matt. 19:9; 1 Cor.
7:12-13).
We deny that compassion for the divorced requires any softening of the
biblical teaching on the subject.
Church Government
We believe that each local gathering of the visible church is to be governed
by a plurality of men called elders, each of whom must meet the requirements
for church leadership (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Pet. 5:1-4).
We deny that someone can be called by God to such leadership when his life
or family is not in order. Seminary training, long experience, and gifts of
leadership or communication are no substitute for obedience (1 Sam. 15:22).
We believe that each local gathering of the visible church is to be served
by a plurality of deacons, each of whom must meet the requirements for
church service (1 Tim. 3:8-13).
We deny that such service can be rendered properly when a deacon's life does
not meet the criteria set by Scripture.
We believe the Bible, both Old and New Testaments, to be the sole ultimate
and infallible authority for faith and practice in the church. The laws of
the Old Testament, including the Mosaic code, are normative for Christians
today, provided they are understood and applied according to the teaching of
the New Testament (Rom. 13:8-10).
We deny that the grace of God in Christ has changed in any way the
definition of right and wrong. Rather, the Spirit works love in us to
accomplish the righteous requirements of the law (Rom. 8:4).
We believe a great commission has been given to disciple the nations to
Christ. The means for accomplishing this are the preaching of the gospel,
baptism, and the teaching of obedience to the commandments of Christ, prior
to His return (Matt. 28:18-20).
We deny that the church should work as though we are living in the last
generation (2 Thess. 2:1-2).
We believe the Lord commissioned His church to undertake the discipleship of
the world (Matt. 28:18-20). The Lord has commanded baptism with water in the
name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism with water is therefore a
sacrament (or ordinance) of the Christian church, and the elders of the
church are responsible to ensure that baptisms are administered in a
scriptural fashion, and the proper signification of water baptism preserved
and maintained. We affirm that water baptism signifies union with Christ
(Rom. 6:3-7), the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13), the washing
away of sin (Acts 22:16), the washing of regeneration (Tit. 3:5), the
outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Tit. 3:6; Acts 10:44,47), and the
circumcision of the heart (Col. 2:11-12).
We deny that water baptism imparts grace by means of water. God imparts
grace to His saints to enable them to obey Him (2 Cor. 9:8), and strengthens
them further by grace in that obedience (Heb. 12:14-15). The faithful
observance of water baptism constitutes one part of that obedience, and is
therefore a means of grace.
We believe the Lord's Supper to be a participation by faith in the body and
blood of Christ. Christians should regularly eat at this table, as long as
they are not under the discipline of God, or God's people (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
It is a participation in Christ (1 Cor. 10:14-17), and God blesses faithful
participation in the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 10:16-17), and disciplines
faithlessness in it (1 Cor. 11:30).
We deny that the Lord's Supper imparts grace by means of the bread and cup.
It is, however, a participation in Christ (1 Cor. 10:14-17). God imparts
grace to His saints to enable them to obey Him (2 Cor. 9:8), and strengthens
them further by grace in that obedience (Heb. 12:14-15). The faithful
observance of the Lord's Supper constitutes one part of that obedience, and
is therefore a means of grace.
We believe baptism in water and the Lord's Supper to be external signs and
seals of covenantal, historical, and spiritual realities.
We deny that these sacraments are an automatic means of grace, ex opere
operato, grace being through faith alone. Any biblical means to build
biblical faith is therefore a means of blessing and grace - especially
including water baptism and the Lord's Supper.
We believe that legitimate modes of water baptism include immersion,
pouring, or sprinkling in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Rom.
6:4: Acts 10:44-48; Heb. 9:9-10).
We deny that the scriptural significance of water baptism can be nullified
by the mode of application.
We believe the sign gifts which were apparent in the first-century church
were not given as a normative pattern for subsequent generations (1 Cor.
13:8-13), and have now ceased (2 Cor. 12:12).
We deny that a church must manifest such gifts in order to please God in
worship (1 Cor. 14:20-22).
We believe that Christians must fellowship in unity with all true
Christians, and that we have no right to judge the hearts of fellow
servants. If God has accepted someone, we must gladly do the same.
We deny that such fellowship requires joint ministry with those Christians
who teach or practice that which is unbiblical. We may hold someone to be a
Christian, and yet believe them to be unqualified for leadership. The
qualifications for leadership differ from those for fellowship (Rom. 14:1-8;
1 Tim. 3:1-7).
Civil Government
We believe that Christians are to live quiet and peaceful lives, in true
submission to the constitutions, laws, and civil magistrates as ordained by
God to be His servants (Rom. 13:1-7).
We deny that this submission is absolute. When civil authorities require
something forbidden by God, or forbid something required by God, the duty of
Christians is to humbly, respectfully, and submissively disobey (Acts
4:19-20).
We believe that Christians are to pray for those authorities that God has
placed above them (1 Tim. 2:1-4).
We deny that this prayer should be limited to blessings (Ps. 139:19-24).
We believe that Christians should be involved in the political process.
Christ required His followers to be salt and light in the world, and He did
not exclude civil government from that Christian influence (Matt. 5:13-16).
We deny that the power of the gospel is to be found in political
involvement. We do not believe civil government to be a savior (2 Cor.
10:3-6), and deny that the church is a political organization.
We believe that in the prohibition of stealing, God has ordained the
institution of private property. We believe that the Christian church should
teach against theft in all its forms (Ex. 20:15).
We deny that the institution of private property is a human invention.
Rather, it is the result of a biblical understanding of God's ordination of
private property. But because man is fallen, the institution of private
property, like all God-ordained institutions, has been much abused (Eph.
5:5).
We believe that the root cause of political disregard for the institution of
private property is envy and covetousness (Matt. 20:1-16).
We deny that theft can be sanctified, even if it is done in the name of
civil justice (Is. 5:20). If the civil magistrate oversteps the boundaries
established for him in Scripture, one result can be various forms of theft,
including oppressive taxation.
We believe that the church is to be constituted or incorporated by the Lord
Jesus Christ alone, the only head of the Church (Eph. 5:23).
We deny that an unbelieving civil magistrate has the spiritual authority to
establish a Christian church, or to prohibit the free exercise of the
Christian religion in any way. While the doctrine of the church
establishments in a genuinely Christian nation may be defended, we deny that
a pluralistic and humanistic civil magistrate may establish or restrict true
religion.
We believe acceptance of civil incorporation would be an acknowledgment that
the civil magistrate has the authority to bring a Christian church into
existence, and testifies falsely that the church is a creature of the state.
Consequently, we believe that the church must maintain a status as an
unincorporated church as a matter of conscience.
We deny that the civil magistrate has no authority in religious matters. We
recognize that while the civil magistrate has no authority in sacris, in
sacred things, he nevertheless has a measure of authority circa sacra,
around sacred things. It is therefore lawful for a church, under the
authority and headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, to form an association of
natural persons, recognized as such by the civil magistrate.
We believe that churches should accept various burdens and entanglements of
civil regulation and taxation only under protest, acknowledging the weight
of such tyrannies as a judgment from God upon a disobedient church.
We deny that to receive this chastisement is compromise. The justice of such
chastisement is received from the hand of God, but not acknowledged as just
or right in the hand of the magistrate.
