What We Believe

Christ Church Twin Cities 

A Church in the Confederation of Reformed Evangelical Churches

 

     It is common to rattle off a series of propositions that we affirm or deny. We affirm the Triune nature of God, we deny that God exists in three modes or is three manifestations of the same person. This works like a resume: it tells some important facts about us, things you may or may not like, and gives you our placement theologically.  What it does not tell you is who we really are.

 

     For the theology buffs out there, we affirm the ancient Creeds (Apostles, Nicea, Definition of Chalcedon), the Westminster standards (with a few exceptions), and like really thick books by Augustine, Anselm, Calvin, Luther, Turretin, Jordan, Frame, and Berkhof. And of course, some very nice thin ones by Athanasius, Murray, Owen, Bahnsen, Lewis, and Ferguson as well. We all have individual opinions on Federal Vision, N.T. Wright, and the Christian Coalition. But to find out those opinions, you’ll have to ask members individually.

 

     What we really believe is represented by who we really are. If we affirm all the right doctrines with our lips, but fail to show hospitality to our neighbors, despise our weaker brethren, and lust after our neighbor’s wives, then we have a problem: our stated theology is inconsistent with our practiced theology.

 

     With this in mind, we include a portion of the Westminster Shorter Catechism in our worship service every Sunday. Specifically, we work through three or four questions which address particular sins.  Each service gets one of the Ten Commandments and we are reminded of what it means to keep them. But of course, we fail. Every week we fail. And so we confess. And God is gracious and forgives us. But His law is not to be despised, either. So we remember His law, looking for the day when we are perfected.

 

     We’d love to talk theology with you. It is something we are passionate about. But neither do we wish to embrace theological study to the abandonment of applied theology. To do so would be just as bad as the reverse.

     Our Governing Constitution