Reformation Presbyterian Church (1994)
The term "Reformation" in our name
refers to the first and second Reformations of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries. The key teachings of those Reformations
were the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the doctrine
that God alone determines how he should be worshipped.
We call ourselves "Presbyterian" because
we believe the Bible teaches the principle of church government by
elders (presbyters) in a graded series of church courts.
We call ourselves "church" in
acknowledgment that Christ has placed his means of grace in
present-day Zion, his visible church.
We believe that the Westminster Confession of
Faith and Larger and Shorter Catechisms are the most complete
and accurate summaries of biblical truth to be found today.
The Reformation Presbyterian Church affirms that
it is not by the natural goodness of man, but by the sovereign
grace of Almighty God that we must be saved. Therefore the church
has as its primary task the proclamation of the claims of King
Jesus over every area of our lives. Yet we further understand that
it is the sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in the heart which
finally convinces one of the truth of God's Word and brings him to
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.
In our worship we seek above all else to glorify
God and grow in his grace. This we do by the reading, preaching,
and hearing of his Word; by singing the inspired Psalms; by
celebrating the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper; and
by praying for the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and the
advancement of Christ's kingdom in the world.
As Christ's followers, seeking to obey him, the
Reformation Presbyterian Church has an essential responsibility
to proclaim his Word to this sinful world which is under the
condemnation of God apart from Christ's grace. This we try to do
as God gives us grace.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church was not born as
part of a protest movement or separatist movement. Rather, the
churches of our Presbytery came together from various backgrounds
as we saw the teachings of God's Word with similar understanding.
We understand the authority of the church - especially in matters
of doctrine, government, and worship - to be carefully
circumscribed by Holy Writ. As a result our doctrine is limited to
"thus saith the Lord;" our government is limited to that
which can be found in Scripture; and our worship is limited to
that which God has commanded in his Holy Word.
The Reformation Presbyterian Church affirms its
responsibility to proclaim the gospel to every creature. In doing
so we reject the new methods of modern evangelicalism which assert
the autonomy of man and we proclaim instead the total depravity of
man. We reject the idea that God chooses us on the basis of any
good thing foreseen in us and proclaim instead God's unconditional
election based only on the sovereignty of his own will.
We reject the teaching of some that God has been
gracious to all men and affirm with Scripture that God's grace is
particular and effectual to his people alone. We reject the false
idea of free will having any saving role in salvation and affirm
that men must be regenerated in order to come to Christ. Finally
we reject the error that those whom God has elected may totally
and finally fall away. Rather we affirm that God keeps his
promises and that what he begins he also finishes.