Our Reformed Accent
As part of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, churches in Classis Hackensack are united around a common theological perspective that traces it’s routes to the reformation movement of the 16th century. As protestant churches firmly in line with orthodox Christianity as it’s been historically understood, this reformed view serves as our particular accent. This accent emphasizes what we believe the Bible teaches us about God and about ourselves, helping us to understand the good news of Jesus Christ and how it impacts the entirety of our lives and the creation.
These emphasis are not unique to Reformed churches; indeed, many churches and denominations emphasize similar points. As churches in relationship together through Classis Hackensack, however, they serve as the guiding principles that ensure that we are accurately teaching and practicing the principles that we are taught in God’s Word.
"This accent emphasizes what we believe the Bible teaches us about God and about ourselves, helping us to understand the good news of Jesus Christ and how it impacts the entirety of our lives and the creation."
“Those of us who speak with a Reformed accent hold a very high view of God’s sovereignty: God’s plan, God’s will, God’s power. Everything that happens in the world, from the acts of nations to the faith of individuals, is ultimately under God’s sovereign control.
Mysteriously, God doesn’t accomplish his will apart from human faith and action. This means, for example, that we are careful in our language about salvation. We don’t urge people to “accept Jesus into your life”—which could imply that human will has the power to keep God out, as if we are the directors of our own destiny. We’d rather focus on how God calls people into relationship with him, urging people to say yes to God’s offer of salvation in Jesus and offer their lives to God in return. Although we’re deeply involved in responding to God’s love in Jesus Christ, salvation is ultimately God’s work from beginning to end.”
SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
“We profess that God’s promises are not simply made to individuals but to a community. Not only that, they are generational. We take our cue from God’s Old Testament covenant with the people of Israel. And we note that on the day of Pentecost, in the first Christian sermon, the apostle Peter urges adult Jews to “repent and believe” this new interpretation of the events of Jesus’ life and death and their complicity in it. When they do so, he says, they will receive the promised Holy Spirit, which is “for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:39). Even in the New Testament, God’s promises are communal and generational.”
COVENANTS OF GOD
“Unlike nations on earth, God’s kingdom does not have defined borders. It is not restricted to a certain location, like a cathedral; nor can it be reduced to “religious” activity. By God’s kingdom we mean God’s sovereign rule, God’s sphere of influence. We believe that God’s Spirit is busy extending God’s rule all over creation. God calls each of us to participate in the spread of his kingdom. The whole world is a place where we can carry out the mission of restoring God’s creation. In the memorable words of Dutch statesman and pastor Abraham Kuyper, “There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”
All quotations above taken from the CRCNA website. For more information about what churches in the CRCNA believe, a few quick links are provided below. You can also visit their website at https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs.
KINGDOM OF GOD
Creeds, Confessions & Contemporary Testimonies
Three creeds adopted by the worldwide church centuries ago summarize the most important tenets of our faith.
The CRCNA affirms three confessions as historic Reformed expressions of the Christian faith, whose doctrines fully agree with the Word of God.
Contemporary testimonies are dynamic statements of faith that speak to essential matters in a given time period.