What We Believe
The Bible
We believe the Bible to be the very word of God. The Word of God was perfect in its original language and inscription, and God has preserved this Word for us today. In other words, we believe the Bible to be inerrant, infallible, and all-sufficient. It is the “only rule of faith and life.”
As such, the Bible should be read plainly and followed wholly. It should be approached with academic rigor, but not the type of academic rigor that puts man’s interpretation of the Bible above the Bible itself. The Bible is above us all. It contains the words of eternal life and blessing freely offered to all.
The "Five Solas"
You probably noticed we have “Reformed” in our name. Reformed churches today are often known for their doctrine of God’s sovereignty in election. They particularly hold to the teaching of John Calvin on this doctrine.
We hold to Reformational and Calvinistic views on election. But we aren’t blindly following a man. Rather, we believe Calvin’s teaching was true to the Bible and showed how broad its teaching was (and is).
While we affirm the Bible’s teaching on predestination, we still believe Jesus wants us to evangelize. God uses the Word preached to bring his chosen people to salvation: “and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14). So God wants us to preach and evangelize. The great missionary movements of the 1800s and 1900s were mostly by Reformed and Calvinistic preachers!
There were two main parts to the Reformation. The first part was about purity of worship. The Reformers removed the idolatry that had crept into the Roman communion, particularly in the Lord’s Table. This is very important because it deals with the nature of Christ and how the Triune God administers grace. The Bible says that in the Lord’s Table, we feed on Christ spiritually, not physically and spiritually.
The second part was about how to be saved. Martin Luther and other Reformers (both before and after him) said that we are saved by faith alone. Roman Catholics believed we were saved by faith, but they did not believe we were saved by faith alone. The Reformers codified their understanding of salvation into what is called “The Five Solas.” We believe these doctrines are not optional but necessary for a church to be an actual church. Here they are:
- Sola Gracia. We are saved by grace alone.
- Sola Fide. We are saved through faith alone
- Sola Christus. We are saved by Christ alone.
- Sola Scriptura. We are saved as revealed in the Scripture alone.
- Soli Deo Gloria. Our salvation and reason for living is for God’s glory alone.
The "Four C's"
Confessional — Doctrinally
We hold to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Confession is simply a codification of doctrine. It is a systematic theology that godly men agreed upon after prayer and wrestling with God’s Word. The Confession is not infallible like the Bible. However, it helps provide our church with a common understanding and aspire to unity in the faith (Eph. 4:13).
To read the Westminster Confession and see other aspects of our church and denomination’s doctrine, please go here.
We also hold to the historic Church Creeds: The Apostles Creed, Nicene Creed, and Athanasian Creed. These Creeds prevent creep into bad doctrine regarding the Triune God.
Confessional — Socially
We hold to the doctrine of “social confessionalism.” This doctrine affirms that God set up institutional heads of family, church, and civil magistrate. Since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, He requires all of these heads to confess Him as Lord, covenant with Him, and keep His Law (Ps. 2, Acts 17:30, Matt. 28.18-20). This brings blessings upon the land. Any society that does not meet this requirement cannot expect God’s hand of favor. There may be individual, family, and church blessings. However, we cannot expect God to bless our society significantly until we obey His command to covenant as a society.
Covenantal — Relationally
At Ascension Reformed Church, we see our membership as a covenantal relationship. We have a high view of church membership. It is a wonderful, gracious requirement from God (Acts 20:28). It helps us grow in Christ, and it helps keep the church pure. It is not possible to administer church discipline without having church membership. We covenant with God and with each other. Our lives are lived out in the wonderful reality that we are bound together in Christ.
Covenantal — Theologically
We believe the Bible is written in terms of covenant and should be interpreted as such. The two overarching covenants are the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. All people are condemned under the covenant of works by Adam’s failure to obey God and our own, personal sin. After the fall, God presented a way of salvation through his Son, which is offered to us in the covenant of grace. It is important to note that the covenant of grace spans back to Adam. It did not start with the New Testament. It has, however, reached a greater fulness with the coming of Christ and His Kingdom.