Ashland Contact:     Matt Timmons

REFORMED THEOLOGY   We call ourselves Reformed because we hold to what is called Reformed Theology.  Reformed Theology derives its name from a movement known as the Protestant Reformation in the 16th & 17th centuries.  The Reformation was basically a back to the Bible movement.  Over the centuries up to this time, gross errors had developed both doctrinally and morally within the church.  But God raised up great men of faith who were dedicated to the study of the Bible (such as John Calvin, John Knox and Martin Luther).  These men began to teach the Bible and, as a result, reform the church.  The doctrines that they and their forefathers in the faith had gleaned from the Scriptures were then captured in documents such as The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Three Forms of Unity (which are: The Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism and The Canons of Dort). Reformed Theology holds to doctrines that are characteristic of all Christians such as the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Jesus, the necessity of atonement through the blood of Jesus, the inspiration of the Bible, and the resurrection of the body.  Other doctrines, more narrowly evangelical (such as justification by faith alone, the return of Jesus, and the Great Commission) are also upheld.  But Reformed Theology also includes several beliefs that make it distinct.  These include: 1.  All matters of life and faith are to be subject to the authority of the Bible because it is God's inerrant Word.  The Bible reveals God's plan of salvation and how we should rightly understand life and the world around us. 2.  Because God is sovereign over all things, everything comes to pass according to His will.  God's sovereignty is manifested in His providential care, where He governs and sustains all that He has created.  It is also evidenced in His election and salvation of His people. 3.  Worship that is pleasing to God must be governed and regulated by Biblical principles and not left to the inventions of man's imagination. 4.  The Bible reveals God's unified plan, usually called the Covenant or Covenant of Grace.  This is further explained in the next page of material. PAGE INDEX MAIN THEOLOGY COVENANT FOR YOU ? MEETINGS WORSHIP