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As an association of
churches, we are very much concerned with the issue of "doctrinal
correctness." It is our belief that bad doctrine and a flippant
attitude towards theology are at the heart of most of what
troubles today's church. We believe that there are certain areas
of doctrine that are essential, and cannot be compromised. We
would therefore insist on unity in these with any church or
minister who would want to join with the association. In this
section we hope to set down what these essentials are.
We also recognize however, that there are many areas of Scripture
about which we can not be quite as dogmatic. This is seen
throughout the history of the Reformation. Not all of the
Reformers agreed on every point, and there are things that we
believe people can differ on, yet still maintain the integrity of
the central truths of the Gospel. We will attempt first to
outline what we believe to be essential, and then move to
non-essentials.
Doctrine We Believe to be Essential:
- We believe
that the Bible is the infallible, authoritative, and inerrant
Word of God. We believe that it reveals all things that are
necessary to Salvation, Life & Godliness, and that it is a final
and closed revelation, consisting of the sixty-six books of Holy
Scripture. (1Thess 2:13; 2Tim 3:14-17; 2Peter 2:2-4)
- We believe
that there is only one true and living God, eternally existing
in a Trinity of persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit.
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We believe that
these three persons are one in substance, power, and eternity;
each possessing the fullness of the divine essence and yet this
essence is undivided. (Col 2:8-10; Acts 5:1-4, Deut 6:4;
Isaiah 43:10-11; 45:21-23)
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We believe that
God is infinite in being and perfection. We believe that He is
all powerful, all knowing, and present in all places at all
times. We believe that He is absolutely sovereign over all His
works, and that He orders all things according to the counsel of
His own wise, immutable, and righteous will for His own glory.
This sovereignty extends not only to inanimate creation, but to
all living things as well, and is the ultimate determiner of
each creature's destiny. (Eph 1:3-11; Rom 9:6-23)
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We believe that
God is self-existent and self-sufficient. That is, He needs
nothing from His creation to exist or to continue to exist. On
the contrary, He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things both
seen and unseen. (Ex 3:13-14; Col 1:15-17)
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He is loving,
gracious, merciful and longsuffering, forgiving sin and
transgression. Yet He is also infinitely just and holy, and
will by no means clear the guilty. (Ex 34:5-8)
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In His sight all
things are open and manifest. His knowledge is infinite,
infallible, and independent of the creature; so that nothing to
Him is contingent or uncertain. He is holy in all His counsels,
works, and commands. To Him is due, from angels and men, and
every other creature, whatsoever worship, service, or obedience
He is pleased to require of them. (Isaiah 46:9-11, Rev
4:8-11)
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We believe in
both the full deity and full humanity of Jesus Christ, that He
was truly God manifest in human flesh. (John 1:1, 14; Phil
2:5-11; Col 2:8-10)
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We believe:
-
In His virgin
birth
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In His sinless
life
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In His vicarious
and atoning death for the sins of His Elect
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In His burial and
resurrection
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In His ascension
to the right hand of the Father
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In His personal,
physical, and future return to earth to rule in righteousness
and to inaugurate the New Heavens and New Earth.
(Luke 1:26-38; Heb 7:26; Rom 3:25; Matt 28:5-7; Acts 1:9-11,
Rev 19-22)
- We believe
that the Holy Spirit is both a person and that He is fully God,
being the third member of the blessed Trinity. (Acts 5:1-4;
Matt 28:19; John 14:15-21)
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We believe that
the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus
Christ, to convict men of sin, to regenerate sinners, baptize
them into Christ, and to seal them until the day of redemption.
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We believe that He
is our Guide, our Comforter, and our Instructor in the things of
God. (John 16:7-15; Titus 3:5; 1Cor 12:13; Eph 1:13-14; John
14:15-20)
- We believe in
the doctrine of Man's Total Depravity. We believe that the
first man, Adam, stood as the representative and federal head of
the entire human race. We believe that in his fall, the entire
human race fell with him, resulting in the total corruption and
condemnation of mankind before God. This does not mean that
every man is as wicked as he could be, but that sin has
corrupted us at every level of our being. Because of this
corruption, we are unable, apart from grace, of either
understanding or desiring spiritual truth, and we are by nature
God's enemies and the objects of His wrath. (Rom 5:12-19;
Rom 8:6-8; 1Cor 2:14; John 6:37, 44, 63-65; Eph 2:1-3)
- We believe
that God has unconditionally chosen a company of people, His
Elect, out from the fallen sons of Adam. These Elect were given
in covenant to the Son, by the Father, before the foundation of
the world was laid. God has done everything necessary to bring
these Elect to faith in Christ and to secure them eternally unto
Himself. This election to salvation is attributed solely to the
sovereign Grace of God and not to any merit, good works, or
faith on our part, faith itself being the gift of God. (Rom
9:1-24; Eph 1:3-14; 2Tim 1:9; John 6:37; Ps 89:1-5, 15-36; Rom
8:28-39; Eph 2:1-10)
- We believe
that this salvation was purchased for the Elect by the precious
Blood of Christ. The blood was shed as propitiation to the
Father, for the sins of His Elect, and results in their
justification before God. Literally, we were the ones that
deserved to be crucified and to drink of God's wrath, but our
blessed Savior instead drank it for us! Concerning the merit
and value of the blood, it is enough to have purchased and
cleansed every person ever born. Yet, as concerning the
intention of God as to whom it would be effective for, it was
limited to the Elect alone. Else would God have failed in His
purpose, a thing that Scripture makes clear as being impossible.
(1Peter 1:18-21; Rom 3:25-26; John 3:16; 10:11, 15, 25-30;
Matt 1:21; Heb 9:12-15; Isa 46:9-11; Eph 1:11)
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We believe in
justification by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ and
His work alone. Our view of justification is the traditional
protestant and reformed view of being a judicial act by God, in
which He declares sinners to be righteous in His sight. This
declaration of righteousness is based solely on the merit of
Christ’s obedience and satisfaction, which God imputes to those
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was delivered up for
our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Eph 2:8-9,
Ro.3:19-28, Ro.4:5-8, Ro.5:9,18-19, Ro.4:22-25)
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We believe
that the only means of being cleansed from sin and corruption is
through repentance and faith in the precious Blood of Christ as
a sacrifice for our sin. We believe that both repentance and
faith are the graciously and sovereignly bestowed gifts of God.
We believe that these are generated in the human heart by the
precious Holy Spirit as He works through the Word of God to
effectually and infallibly call elect sinners to Christ.
(Luke 5:32; 24:37; Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2Tim 2:25; Eph 2:8-9; Titus
3:5; Rom 10:17; 1Thess 2:13-14)
- We believe
that the Holy Spirit indwells every true believer. We believe
that this indwelling at once unites us with Christ in His death,
burial, and resurrection, and results in the imputation of
Christ's righteousness, as well as the experience of the new
birth. (Eph 1:12-14; 1Cor 6:17, 12:13; Rom 6:4-5; 1Peter
1:3)
- We believe
that this new birth will produce sanctification and holiness in
the life of a believer. Sanctification is not to be confused
with justification which is a legal standing before God, but it
is rather to be understood as the fruit of true justification
and regeneration. Sanctification is effected through the
diligent study of the Word of God, the daily mortification and
resisting of sin and the daily yielding to and filling of the
Holy Spirit. Progress in sanctification will vary in each
individual child of God, but it will nonetheless be present in
all, seeing that it, too, is the sovereign work of God in our
hearts. (Ezek 36:26-27; Jer 32:38-40; Titus 3:5; John 15:3,
17:17; Eph 5:18, 26; 1Peter 2:2; Phil 2:12-13)
- We believe
that all who are called by God's Grace, regenerated by the Holy
Spirit, and justified by Christ's Blood, will persevere in faith
and holiness, and will never fall away from Christ. They are
kept by the power of God and no man is able to pluck them from
the Father's hand. (John 10:27-30; Rom 8:28-39; Phil 1:6;
Heb 7:22-25; 12:1-2)
- We believe
that water baptism is essential, not to regeneration, but as a
sign and seal of the righteousness we possess by faith.
(Matt 28:19-20; Rom 6:1-6; Col 2:12)
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We believe that walking in the Holy Spirit is the responsibility
of all believers and that it is a necessary part of enabling one
to overcome sin and to be a vibrant witness for Christ.
(Eph.5:16, Gal.5:16, Ro.8:13, Acts
1:8)
- We believe
that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still valid for today,
being sovereignly distributed to every member of Christ's
Church, as He, the Spirit, wills, for the purpose of edifying
the entire body. (1Cor 12:1-11; Rom 12:3-8; 1Peter 4:10)
- We believe in
the personal, physical, and future return of Jesus Christ to the
earth, to rule in righteousness and to inaugurate the New
Heavens and New Earth. (Zech 14:1-9; Matt 24:30-31;
25:31-46; Acts 1:9-11; 2Thess 1:7-10; Rev 1:7; 19:11-21; Ch
20-21)
- We believe in
the physical resurrection of the body, the eternal blessedness
of the saved, and the eternal damnation and misery of the lost.
(1Thess 4:13-18; Dan 12:2; Rev 20)
- We believe in
the assembling together of the saints to worship Him, to hear
the teaching and preaching of the Word of God, to share in
breaking the bread of Holy Communion, and to give as God has
prospered them into the treasury of God's house. (Heb
10:25; Acts 20:7; 1Cor 16:1-2)
Area's of Importance, But in Which We Can Differ:
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The Mode of Baptism:
At the inception of the ACRC
in February 2005 the churches and individuals who formed the
association were "Baptistic" in
their understanding of water baptism, i.e., we believe in
baptism by full immersion. We believe that it symbolizes our
union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. We
also believe in "Believer's Baptism". We do not baptize
infants, as we understand the requirements for baptism to be
repentance and faith in Christ. These are things we do not
believe it is possible for infants to possess. That said,
however, we do recognize that there are differing views on these
things, and we extend an open invitation to join with us in
fellowship regardless of one's views in this area.
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Frequency of Partaking of the Lord's Supper: We
recognize that there are different opinions on this question,
and we respect those who differ, but, we don't see it as being
essential to fellowship.
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Eschatological Details: We believe the important thing
here is the essential truth that Christ will return one day,
physically, to rule the earth in righteousness. The exact
details of all of this are where we believe we can differ.
Whether one is Amillennial, Premillennial, Pre-Trib, Post-Trib,
Mid-Trib, etc., is indeed important. In the ACRC we all have
our opinions and enjoy dialog concerning them, but again, these
are not areas that we believe should separate us as reformed
brethren.
- Church
Government: The churches involved with the ACRC all
have what they believe to be a well-defined and Scriptural
understanding of church government. We do, however, understand
that there is more than one view on this subject, and do not see
it as a criteria for fellowship, nor would we try to impose our
views on others with whom we would fellowship.
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Details of the Charismatic Experience: Many believe in
what is commonly called, in Charismatic circles, "the Baptism in
the Holy Spirit" and see it as being a distinct, second work of
God in the life of the believer. Others believe that the term
is a description of the saving work of Christ in
Regeneration/Salvation. There has been much controversy over the
years regarding this issue, and we believe much of the problem
has been semantic in nature. Even our Cessationist brethren, it
would seem, believe in a two-fold work of the Holy Spirit. Most
agree there is a difference between being indwelt by the Spirit
and being daily filled with His power and presence. There has
also been much controversy in Charismatic circles on the
question of tongues as a sign of this filling. Some take the
view that tongues are always a part of the initial filling of
the Spirit, and are available to every believer as a language of
praise and prayer. Many Charismatics, however, take exception
to this view and believe that it does not always follow that
someone filled with the Spirit will inevitably speak in
tongues. Also, many of our Cessationist brethren are undeniably
empowered by the Holy Spirit. It follows then, that the details
of this issue should not, in our understanding, be an essential
requirement to fellowship. We do embrace the Charismatic
experience (Hence the reason for the ACRC!), but we welcome
fellowship with all Reformed brethren regardless of their view
on the details of this issue.
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