The Reformed Church in America is a
mainline Christian denomination that shares with many other
denominations -- Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant -- a commitment to
the key themes of the Christian faith:
Faith in
the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, revealed as the Triune
(three-in-one) Creator, Christ, and Holy Spirit.
Trust in
God's saving work uniquely present in Jesus of Nazareth, who was and
is God-with-Us, redeeming humanity by his ministry, death and
resurrection.
Ongoing
experience of God through the ministry of Word and Sacraments, as it
is experienced in the enduring community of the
Church.
In the sixteenth
century, Protestant Christians sought to reform the Church and recover
the original power of the message of Good News. This movement is
known to history as The Protestant Reformation. The
Reformers, who recognized the creeds of the early Church, stressed
six principles of the Reformation, distinctive emphases stressed by
Reformed and Lutheran churches.
- To God
Alone Be the Glory!
The Reformers
critiqued the veneration of saints and relics. While recognizing
the saints as role models, the Reformation believed that all holiness
and everything of value is derived from God's goodness, and therefore
all praise should go to God.
- By Grace
Alone!
God's grace (or favor)
flows from God's free and original love for us as humans. Our salvation
and well-being do not depend on our ability or merit. We are loved, not
because we are lovable or because any goodness on our part, but because
God is loving. From this experience of God's love, we respond with
gratitude by showing love toward others and living a holy life.
- By Faith
Alone!
Experiencing the love
of God in our lives is not the result of a complex system of spiritual
merits and demerits. We experience God's love by means of simple
trust in Jesus Christ. And even that trust is a gift of
God.
- Scripture
Alone!
The foundation of the
Christian faith, Protestants affirmed, rests in the Bible. The
record of Jewish and early Christian experience of God, in these
Scriptures God continues to speak to God's people. Other
authorities, teachings, and confessions have only derivative
authority.
- The
Church Reformed Is Always Reforming
The Church exists as a
gift of God and a means of grace for God's people. But it does so
as a human institution, that ever seeks to live out faithfully its
calling as the gathered people of God. That means that it
constantly tests itself, seeking ways it can be ever more faithful in
the context of a changing world.
- The
Priesthood of All Believers
Each Christian has a
unique set of personal and spiritual gifts, and all those baptized into
the Church have a role in its ministry. Every ministry -- whether
of lay people or those ordained -- seeks to "build up" the community and
to share the Good News of God's gracious love revealed in Jesus
Christ. |