Redeemer Reformed Baptist Church

What We Believe

Statement of Faith

The Fellowship of Evangelical Churches in Canada (FEB) Statement of Faith

The Nashville Statement

ARTICLE 1

WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.

WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.

ARTICLE 2

WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.

WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.

ARTICLE 3

WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.

WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.

ARTICLE 4

WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.

WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.

ARTICLE 5

WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.

ARTICLE 6

WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about “eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb.” With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.

WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.

ARTICLE 7

WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.

WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.

ARTICLE 8

WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life.

WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.

ARTICLE 9

WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from the marriage covenant and toward sexual immorality — a distortion that includes both heterosexual and homosexual immorality.

WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.

ARTICLE 10

WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.

WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.

ARTICLE 11

WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another as male or female.

WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his image-bearers as male and female.

ARTICLE 12

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all sexual sins and to give power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.

ARTICLE 13

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender self-conceptions and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that are at odds with God’s revealed will.

ARTICLE 14

WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.

WE DENY that the Lord’s arm is too short to save or that any sinner is beyond his reach.

The Danvers Statement

Rationale

Purposes

Affirmations

We have been moved in our purpose by the following contemporary developments which we observe with deep concern:

Both Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, equal before God as persons and distinct in their manhood and womanhood (Gen 1:26-27, 2:18).
Distinctions in masculine and feminine roles are ordained by God as part of the created order, and should find an echo in every human heart (Gen 2:18, 21-24; 1 Cor 11:7-9; 1 Tim 2:12-14).
Adam’s headship in marriage was established by God before the Fall, and was not a result of sin (Gen 2:16-18, 21-24, 3:1-13; 1 Cor 11:7-9).
The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women (Gen 3:1-7, 12, 16).
1. In the home, the husband’s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination or passivity; the wife’s intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation or servility.
2. In the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries.
The Old Testament, as well as the New Testament, manifests the equally high value and dignity which God attached to the roles of both men and women (Gen 1:26-27, 2:18; Gal 3:28). Both Old and New Testaments also affirm the principle of male headship in the family and in the covenant community (Gen 2:18; Eph 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19; 1 Tim 2:11-15).
Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse.
1. In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership (Eph 5:21-33; Col 3:18-19; Tit 2:3-5; 1 Pet 3:1-7).
2. In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men (Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 11:2-16; 1 Tim 2:11-15).
In all of life Christ is the supreme authority and guide for men and women, so that no earthly submission-domestic, religious, or civil-ever implies a mandate to follow a human authority into sin (Dan 3:10-18; Acts 4:19-20, 5:27-29; 1 Pet 3:1-2).
In both men and women a heartfelt sense of call to ministry should never be used to set aside Biblical criteria for particular ministries (1 Tim 2:11-15, 3:1-13; Tit 1:5-9). Rather, Biblical teaching should remain the authority for testing our subjective discernment of God’s will.
With half the world’s population outside the reach of indigenous evangelism; with countless other lost people in those societies that have heard the gospel; with the stresses and miseries of sickness, malnutrition, homelessness, illiteracy, ignorance, aging, addiction, crime, incarceration, neuroses, and loneliness, no man or woman who feels a passion from God to make His grace known in word and deed need ever live without a fulfilling ministry for the glory of Christ and the good of this fallen world (1 Cor 12:7-21).
We are convinced that a denial or neglect of these principles will lead to increasingly destructive consequences in our families, our churches, and the culture at large.

Membership Covenant

8.01 Membership Requirements

(a) a man or woman must display repentance, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ which produces godly works.

(b) Must be baptized as a believer by full immersion in water.

(d) Must be willing to submit to the established rule of the church to which they belong, and to assume the responsibilities of members set forth in section 8.09.

(e) Mastery of church confessions is not required of any new disciple before the church admits him into membership. Such a requirement would violate the order of the scriptures, which instructs us to disciple, to baptize, and then to teach the baptized disciple to observe all things Christ has commanded.

(f) It is necessary, however, that any disciple applying for membership holds to a subscription of unity with what he already knows concerning the church’s doctrine and government.

(i) The goal of membership subscription is for all church members to agree wholeheartedly with the entire confession of faith. Members should understand when they join that the teachers of the church will be constantly calling them to embrace the fullness of the confession, which is the church’s understanding of the whole counsel of God.

(ii) Must agree not to teach against the confession of faith, distribute literature against it, or campaign against it on social media, etc.

(iii) Must agree not to cause divisions or strife in the church about anything in the confession of faith.

(iv) Must not be hardened in their opposition to anything in the confession of faith, but have a teachable spirit, willing to sit under and learn from those who teach everything in the confession of faith.

(g) Sign and hold to a full subscription to the following documents which are appended to and form part of this Constitution:

(i) Statement of Faith (Appendix 1)
(ii) Nashville Statement
(iii) Danvers Statement
(iv) Church Covenant (Appendix 4)

(h) Anyone who is in substantial disagreement with the constitution or confessions of the church could not consistently submit to the church’s teaching ministry. Therefore, to admit such a person to membership in this church would be unwise and unscriptural.

(i) If one who is already a member of the church at any time concludes that he no longer satisfies the requirements for membership, he is obliged to inform the elders of that fact.

8.08 Blessings of Membership

a. Participation in the Lord’s Table.

b. Attendance at, appropriate participation in, and voting during church business meetings. Only Members who are at least 18 years of age are allowed to vote.

c. Labouring to extend God's Kingdom in ministries of the church (as one’s gifts, graces and qualifications make appropriate). Any teaching and leadership position in the Church will be subjected to the approval of the Elders.

d. Reception of the committed oversight and care of the pastors of the church.

e. Reception of the committed care and discipline (as needed) of the membership of the church.

8.09 Expectations of Members

There are also biblical expectations upon every member:

1. All members are expected and encouraged to attend the corporate meetings of the church whenever possible.

2. Each member is expected to regularly read the Bible and pray, and to tell others what God has done for them in Jesus Christ.

3. All members are expected to support the church financially by systematically giving a generous proportion of their income as the Lord directs them according to the principle laid down in 1 Cor. 16:2; 2 Cor. 8, 9. The tithe (ten percent of one’s gross personal income) is not imposed on the people of God as a tax but is strongly urged as an excellent starting place in our worship through basic giving. Added to this should be gifts and offerings according to one’s ability and the willingness of his heart.

1. All the members of this church are required to obey the teachings of Scripture in respect to the life and government of the family. The husband is the God appointed head of the family and must rule his household with gentleness, love, wisdom, and firmness (Eph. 5:25ff; 1 Tim. 3:4, 5; 1 Pet. 3:7). The wife must be in Scriptural subjection to her husband in all things (Eph. 5:22-24; 1 Pet. 3:1-6). The husband and wife must bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, being careful to not provoke them to anger (Eph. 6:1-4). This includes setting a godly example before them, consistently instructing them from the Scriptures (Deut. 6:4-9), and administering discipline (Prov. 13:24; 22:15; 29:15; Heb. 12:7).

2. It is the duty of every Christian, as an individual and as a member of a local church, to labour by prayer, word, and deed for the extension of the kingdom of God in ever widening circles, beginning at home and stretching forth to the ends of the earth (Isa. 54:1-3; Acts 1:8). Therefore, every member of this church is expected prayerfully to recognize and to seize every opportunity to bear witness to their faith in Christ, both by consistent Christian conduct and by the testimony of their lips.

3. Each member of the church is required to render loyal obedience to all the moral precepts of God’s Word in their daily life (Rom. 8:3, 4; 1 Cor. 9:20, 21; James 2:12). If God has not condemned or forbidden a practice in His Word, a Christian is at liberty to participate in it. The exercise of Christian liberty, however, must at all times be governed by an earnest desire to walk in the fear of God and to glorify Him in all things (1 Pet. 1:17; 1 Cor. 10:31), a loving regard for the consciences of weaker brothers and sisters (1 Cor. 8:9; Rom. 15:1-3), a compassion for the lost (1 Cor. 9:19-22), and a zealous regard for the health of one’s own soul (Rom. 13:14; 1 Cor. 6:12; 9:24- 27; Gal. 5:22, 23; 1 Pet. 2:16).

4. All who come into the membership of this church are expected to recognize and to submit to the authority of the overseers of the church (1 Cor. 16:15, 16; 1 Thess. 5:12, 13; Heb. 13:17). This responsibility will include willingly scheduling an oversight meeting with (an) elder(s) when requested.

5. We who have been joined to Christ by faith and are members of this church are also members of one another (Rom. 12:5). With this privileged relationship come particular responsibilities. We must maintain mutual transparency and honesty (Eph. 4:25). We must rejoice in each other’s honour and bear one another’s sorrows (1 Cor. 12:26). We must discreetly confess our faults one to another (James 5:16). We must mutually oversee each other, faithfully admonish and encourage one another, avoid all backbiting and gossip, and keep in strict confidence all matters which the elders determine are of private concern to the church (Prov. 11:13; Matt. 18:15ff; 1 Thess. 5:14, 15; Heb. 3:12, 13; 10:24, 25). Also, we must, when necessary, help meet the material needs of our brethren (Gal. 6:10; James 2:14-16; 1 John 3:16-18).

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