We as a Canadian Reformed Church are called by God to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to all nations; we gather as a community of believers who worship and witness to the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Furthermore, God has revealed Himself to us in His Word and desires to be in a covenant relationship with all who humble themselves and trust in Him.
Our Beliefs
At Bethel Canadian Reformed Church, we commit to uphold the truth of God’s Word and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. As part of the Canadian and American Reformed Churches, we hold firmly to the Bible as the foundation of our faith and life, and we are rooted in the rich heritage of the Protestant Reformation.
Contents
The Gospel
We believe in the gospel which stands for “good news”. We proclaim God’s saving work through Jesus Christ.
Creation
God, in His perfect wisdom, created the world and everything in it, including humanity, to live in harmony with Him and each other. He gave us life, love, and satisfaction, and everything was beautiful, declared to be “very good”
Genesis 1:31
Fall
However, humanity rebelled against God by disobeying Him, which brought sin, suffering, and death into the world. As a result, we lost the life, love, and satisfaction that God intended for us. This separation from God became the root cause of all human suffering.
Romans 3:23
Redemption
In His grace and love, God sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from our sin. Jesus, fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead, restoring to us the life, love, and satisfaction we had lost through sin. Salvation is secured for all who believe in Him.
John 3:16, 18; Romans 6:23
Restoration
God promises to restore all things through Jesus Christ. One day, Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will be fully realized—a new heaven and a new earth where life, love, and satisfaction will reach their consummation, and righteousness will dwell forever.
Revelation 21:1-4
The Holy Scriptures
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
We believe that the Bible, also called the Holy Scriptures, is the inspired, infallible, and inerrant Word of God. It has no equal because it is these qualities:
Divinely Inspired
The Scriptures are driven by the Holy Spirit, who guided various human authors to write it over many centuries.
Infallible
The Scriptures are completely reliable and trustworthy.
Inerrant
The Scriptures are without error, contradiction, or misrepresentation in all it reveals.
Sufficient
The Scriptures fully contain the will of God and reveal all that is necessary for our salvation.
The Creeds
Throughout history, the core teachings of the Bible have been faithfully summarized in documents known as creeds and confessions. At Bethel Canadian Reformed Church, we subscribe to the following ecumenical creeds from the early Christian church:
The Confessions
Additionally, we embrace the confessions of the Reformation period, which clearly articulate the Reformed faith:
The Belgic Confession
A statement of what we believe about God, humanity’s fall into sin, salvation in Christ, the church, sacraments, and civil government.
canrc.org/the-belgic-confession
The Heidelberg Confession
A catechism that uses a question-and-answer format to teach the essentials of the Reformed Christian faith.
canrc.org/heidelberg-catechism
The Canons of Dort
A defence of the sovereignty of God in salvation, emphasizing that salvation is entirely the work of God.
canrc.org/canons-of-dort
While these creeds and confessions summarize our faith, they are human documents with human authority. Only the Bible has divine authority. Therefore, all of our creeds and confessions are subject to the Scriptures and must always be tested by them.