We Believe The Bible Is The Inspired Word Of God

And  

That A Summary Of The Word Of God's Teaching Is Reformation [Reformed] Theology


What is Reformation Theology?


In summary, Reformation Theology is consistent with historic biblical Christianity and maintains that:

The Lord God Almighty is God of all heaven and earth. He is most holy, wise, righteous, loving and just. This Triune God is of one essence yet subsists in three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

The Lord God is a sovereign God. This means He is no mere spectator but that He reigns supreme and secure, that none can thwart His divine will. His will is firmly established throughout time according to His counsel and good pleasure.

In accordance with His will, He has a plan of salvation for His sheep. He has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be born of the virgin Mary, to dwell among us, to suffer death and be a precious atonement for His people, to be bodily resurrected and receive all glory and honor, and to return one day to judge both the living and the dead.

Reformation theology emphasizes the sound doctrine which acknowledges the majesty of the Lord, the lowliness of man, and the rich and amazing grace by which His Church has fellowship with Him.


What does "Reformation" mean?


The term Reformation is an historical term that goes back almost four centuries. It refers to a period when the church underwent a "reformation" as men of God attempted to return Christianity to the authority of Scripture. The desire of the Reformation was not to change God's word but rather to bring the church back into accord with it. Led by men like Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin, the Reformation churches split off from the errors of the medieval Roman church and began what we know today as Protestantism. The Protestant churches were born out of the Reformation.


What did the Reformers teach?


Martin Luther and the early Reformers spent much of their time trying to convince the church that man was saved by God's grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in the Lord Jesus Christ. They believed that all teachings and doctrines should be based upon Scripture alone (sola Scriptura). Through the work of Luther and John Calvin, the Reformers recognized the clear teaching of Scripture, that God is indeed a sovereign God.

They believed that God was not an idle viewer but was active in all of nature and the affairs of man, that "He who keeps you will not slumber."

They taught, as Paul the apostle did, that "in Him we live and move and have our being." They were sure that God ruled over His creation sovereignly and that all events came to pass by God's design, for He "works all things according to the counsel of His will." They also acknowledged that the purpose in all God's work and the chief end of man was God's glory alone (soli Deo Gloria).


Is God Sovereign?


Does the Creator of all have the right to do whatever He wants with the peoples of the earth?

The Reformers believed not only that He had that right but that He exercised His will righteously and that this principle was clear in Scripture."He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'what have You done?' "


Why is the Reformation Theology important?


Four centuries ago the Reformers sought to humble man and exalt God. This objective has been carried on from the beginning of time by those who desire to know the Lord of Hosts. Reformation theology maintains that the "fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The need for today is a return to Reformation theology and the sharing of the word of God in and out of season so that Christ's church may benefit from sound doctrine and a deeper appreciation of the God we serve.

Reformation Theology is not an opinion on Scripture, nor were its doctrines written to bend scriptural teachings. We encourage you to search the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things are so, just as the Bereans did in Acts 17.

By God's grace, may you find that this is indeed the faith once for all delivered to the Saints that all may be edified according to His will and for His glory.


A Word From The Prince Of Preachers Regarding Reformation Theology



It is no novelty, then that I am preaching; no new doctrine. I love to proclaim these strong old doctrines, that are called by nickname Calvinism, but which are surely and verily the revealed truth of God as it is in Christ Jesus. By this truth I make a pilgrimage into the past, and as I go, I see father after father, confessor after confessor, martyr after martyr, standing up to shake hands with me. Were I a Pelagian, or a believer in the doctrine of free-will, I should have to walk for centuries all alone. Here and there a heretic, of no very honorable character, might rise up and call me brother. But taking these things to be the standard of my faith, I see the land of the ancients peopled with my brethren; I behold multitudes who confess the same as I do, and acknowledge that this is the religion of God's own church.

- Charles Hadden Spurgeon, taken from his sermon entitled "Election", delivered at the New Park Street Chapel. 

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