Christian Reformed Church calls itself Christian because it forms one small part of Christ’s Church on earth. It recognizes as fellow Christians all people who accept the teachings of the Bible as they are summarized so beautifully in the Apostles’ Creed. This includes believers from many denominations such as Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Pentecostal. We may disagree with these believers on some practices or teachings but we recognize any as brothers and sisters in Christ if they believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and if they confess that Jesus died for their sins, rose from the dead, and has ascended to heaven.
Together with other Protestant churches, the CRC teaches that:
- The Bible is our only reliable guide to what we should believe and how we should conduct our lives (2 Tim. 3:14-17). The Bible is God’s unfailing Word to us. The Bible shows us who God is by telling us the great things God has done, and it leads us to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
- God saves us by grace; that is, by his acts of kindness and love that we do not deserve. Our own efforts cannot rescue us from sin. Only Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross can make us right with God (Eph. 2:8-10). The good we do is the result rather than the cause of our salvation.
- We can be saved only by faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18).
For more details about what we believe, please read this.