Reformed Theology
At Redeemer, we are Reformed in our theology. We are a Reformed church.
Reformed theology gets its name from Protestant Reformation, though we believe the theology represented was taught by Christ and His Apostles.
The Reformation (1516) was a pivotal moment for the Church. Protesting against the heresy of the Catholic church, the Reformers of the day went back to the Scriptures in order to understand the doctrine of the Christian faith. The Reformation took place to purify the church and save the true Christian religion from the Roman Catholic Church.
Reformed theology seeks to understand both the Old and New Testaments in their contexts, while also formulating a holistic interpretation of the entire Bible. Reformed theology is zealous to rightly divide the Word of truth. Below are some important aspects of Reformed Theology which are maintained by Redeemer Christian Fellowship.
Calvinistic
The heart of Reformed Theology is a doctrine which has come to be known as “Calvinism.” The Theology of Calvinism is sufficiently expressed by the acronym “TULIP.” TULIP, also called the 5-Points of Calvinism, and “the doctrines of grace” are maintained and taught at Redeemer Christian Fellowship.
TOTAL DEPRAVITY:
We maintain that all of mankind is born in sin inherited from Adam, and that this condition is so great man can be described as being spiritually dead, enslaved to sinful passions. This enslavement prevents us from doing any good thing apart from being born again (regenerated) by the Holy Spirit.
UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION:
We believe that prior to creation God chose a particular people to save, and that it has never been God’s intention to save all human beings created. God’s choice was not based on a foreseen virtue or work in the elect, nor was it arbitrary. Rather, God’s choice was unconditional and to the praise of His own glory.
LIMITED ATONEMENT:
We believe that Jesus’ death was not intended to be applied to every human individual. Rather, Jesus died only for the elect people whom the Father sent Jesus into the world to save. It is appropriate to speak of Christ dying for all, for the whole world, and for mankind since the elect are made up from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.
IRRESISTIBLE GRACE:
We believe that regeneration, whereby a person is made a new creature and is born again, is a divine work of the Holy Spirit that the sinful creature cannot resist or prevent.
PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS:
We believe no justified person can lose their justification. Any person who loses their faith would lose the justification said faith obtains. Thus, in order for God’s purpose of election to stand, and that the work of Christ’s atonement would not be undone, the Holy Spirit of God perseveres the believer’s faith until the end. This means that genuine believers cannot lose their faith or their salvation.
Covenantal
Reformed Theology sees a covenantal structure to the Bible. God entered into a covenant with Adam and all of mankind in the Garden of Eden at creation, and has also expressed salvation to mankind through a separate covenant in Christ. There have been many covenants throughout Scripture which God has used to administrate this saving covenant.
Throughout the history of the Christian church, the covenantal hermeneutic has been debated at many points. Presbyterians, Baptists, and New Covenant Theologians all have different expressions of a covenantal reading of Scripture. At Redeemer Christian Fellowship, we hold to a loose definition of Covenant Theology which allows for these different expressions in membership. A consequence of this is that both Baptists and Presbyterians are welcomed into our fellowship, and their differing views of the covenant and baptism are both respected and practiced. Infants are baptized if the members so require, and children will be withheld from the waters of baptism until expressing faith in Christ if the parents so desire.
Confessional
Because of our unique combination of Baptists and Presbyterians at Redeemer Christian Fellowship, many of the Reformed confessions cannot be rigidly enforced or adopted as they teach exclusively baptistic covenant theology, or exclusively Presbyterian covenant theology. However, we maintain that the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) are overwhelmingly reliable and helpful documents which accurately reflect biblical, Christian theology.
