Federation of Reformed Churches emblem Federation of Reformed Churches Est. 1990 Serving and nurturing local churches

Our Distinctives

Contents
  1. A. Prologue
    1. 1. God is to be worshipped
    2. 2. God is to be known, believed, and obeyed
      1. a. Scripture
      2. b. Creeds
      3. c. Confessions
    3. 3. God is the Alpha and Omega
  2. B. Positions
    1. 1. A belief in the Kingship of the Lord Jesus over all of life and culture now
    2. 2. A Presbyterial form of church government
    3. 3. An adherence to Biblical ethics
    4. 4. A belief that the Lord's Supper is an essential part of Christian worship
    5. 5. The practice of Paedo-Communion

I. PROLOGUE AND POSITIONS (from the Book of Order)

A. PROLOGUE:

  1. God is to be worshipped (Doxology). The confessional response concerning the chief end of man is doxological. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. The worship of the Triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) represents man's highest aim and greatest gain. The FORC sets forth the following to that end. — Psalm 29:1-2; Matthew 4:10; John 4:23-24

  2. God is to be known, believed, and obeyed (Doctrine) and therefore: — Micah 6:8; John 3:13-18; 17:3

    • a. The FORC adheres to the inerrancy and all-sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures (the 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New Testament), which is the final authority in all matters of life and doctrine.
      — Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:14-16

    • b. While the FORC considers no other written document to be of the same authority as Scripture, its members hold to the Apostles Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Creed of Chalcedon.

    • c. The FORC believes that the historic Reformed confessions best define the system of doctrine taught in the Scriptures. The specific choice of these confessional documents resides with each member church.

  3. God is the Alpha and Omega (Origins and Destiny). In addition to a fuller depiction of FORC positions which follows, Scripture proclaims that God has declared the end from the beginning.

    • a. Creation and Early Church History:

      We believe that the world was created out of nothing in six normal days thousands of years ago. This truth is the historical foundation for all that the Bible teaches. We reject as a contradiction of Scripture: any form of the doctrine of evolution; any attempt to reduce the creative acts of God to a naturalistic process; any use of the literary structure of Genesis to deny that it is also a description of the actual events of creation; and any attempt to circumvent or deny Scripture's literal days and their chronological continuity with the historical record of Genesis. Thus we condemn Theistic Evolution, the Day Age theory, the Framework Hypothesis, and the Gap Theory. — Genesis 1:1-11:32; Hebrews 11:3

    • b. An Optimistic Eschatology:

      • (1) At His ascension to the throne on high, Jesus Christ received dominion, glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve Him. As King of kings and Lord of lords, He is now seated at God's right hand, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named. — Daniel 7:13-14; Ephesians 1:15-23; Revelation 19:16

      • (2) By God's grace, believers have been delivered from the domain of darkness and translated into Christ's kingdom, which, by the power of the Holy Spirit in the proclamation of the Gospel, will extend throughout the whole earth. During this age God continues to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, as Christ puts all enemies under His feet. — Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 13:31-33; Acts 1:8; Romans 3:21-26; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Colossians 1:13-14

      • (3) At His final advent, the Lord will deliver the kingdom to His Father, having destroyed all His enemies. The dead in Christ will be raised incorruptible, and we shall all be changed into His likeness. — 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, 50-58; 1 John 3:1-3

      • (4) Meanwhile, the Church Militant is divinely commissioned with the task of "occupying till He comes," carrying the Gospel of the kingdom to the ends of the earth and discipling the nations until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. — Isaiah 11:9; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 19:13; Acts 1:8

B. POSITIONS:

In addition to those positions presented in the prior section the following are equally important. These by no means represent the exhaustive list of FORC beliefs, nor do they establish the boundaries of our fellowship. They do, however, represent some of those key areas where beliefs and practices ought to be allowed, embraced and encouraged. It should be noted that Elders seeking FORC recognition, as well as those serving as FORC Presbyters should exhibit, demonstrate and maintain a suitable embrace and encouragement of these distinctives.

  1. A belief in the Kingship of the Lord Jesus over all of life and culture now:

  2. A Presbyterial form of church government (see Sections II - IV). — Acts 15:1-29; 1 Timothy 3:1-7

  3. An adherence to Biblical ethics:

  4. A belief that the Lord's Supper is an essential part of Christian worship:

    God the Father has sent Jesus Christ, the living Bread, Who came down from heaven to give and to maintain the spiritual and heavenly life that belongs to believers.

    The partaking of the Lord's Supper is a means of grace by which Christ works in His people all He represents by the elements of His table.

    Therefore, with humility and reverence we recognize the need to receive this holy sacrament in the weekly gathering of God's people. — John 6:32-35, 41-51; Acts 2:42-47, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Belgic Confession 35; WCF XXIX:7; WLC 170

  5. The practice of Paedo-Communion:

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