REFORMED BAPTIST CHURCH OF NORTHERN COLORADO

Purpose:
To glorify God and enjoy him forever

Mission:
To engraft the believer into our local organized community of faith by rooting and establishing them in those things that bind Christians together in all places and times: Creed, Community, and Communion with the triune God.

Who We Are
Historically, Baptists have been Calvinistic and Reformed in their theology. The last half of the l9th century saw a great departure among the Baptists from their historical theological roots towards a more man-centered, humanistic belief and practice. This was due to German rationalism and a widespread Arminian theology. Not all departed. A few remained faithful and prayed for the day when the whole counsel of God would again be believed and proclaimed in all churches, especially Baptist churches. During the first and middle parts of the 20th century, the Lord God was pleased to turn the hearts of some godly men back to the biblical and theological foundations of our forefathers. They wrote extensively, challenged church leaders and laymen alike, and prayed. This gave rise to the modern Reformed Baptist movement.

Reformed Baptists have deep roots going all the way back to the Protestant Reformation and, in some instances, have connections predating the Reformation. Reformed Baptist Church of Northern Colorado is a part of this movement. We are formally associated with Reformed Baptist churches in the United States, and all over the world. The local church is central in carrying out God's redemptive purposes. Therefore, no outside hierarchy has any control over the congregation. The governing power rests with Reformed's Elders under the government and rule of the Holy Scriptures as the Holy Spirit directs.

What We Believe
We are a doctrinal church. We believe that a person cannot have a stable and balanced Christian life without a solid doctrinal foundation. Like the early New Testament churches, we aim to "continue steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and prayers." (Acts 2:42) We believe the 66 books of the Holy Bible were inerrantly inspired and are the infallible guide in all matters of faith and practice.

We are baptistic, believing that baptism is for confessing believers only. We see no contradiction with being Reformed and non-paedobaptistic. We are covenantal, believing that God has always worked through covenants, especially the foundational covenant of redemption. In order to be understood properly, the Holy Scriptures must be interpreted covenantally.

We are a Calvinistic and Reformed church. In a day of doctrinal fuzziness, we desire to be clear and precise. We believe in those doctrines sometimes called the doctrines of grace. By this expression we mean the doctrines of total depravity and inability, unconditional election, definite and particular redemption, effectual and irresistible calling and the final perseverance of the saints. We rejoice in these glorious truths that uphold the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men, and which so gloriously affirm the great central reality that salvation is all of grace and that salvation is all of the Lord. We delight in those Reformation truths of Scripture alone, by grace alone, justification through faith alone, in Christ alone, to God alone be the glory!

We are a confessional church. We subscribe in a strict or full sense to the London Baptist Confession of Faith ~ 1689. We believe that to date it is the most accurate expression of the system of doctrine taught in the Bible. We do not believe the confession of Faith is above or equal to Holy Scripture. Instead, it confirms our faith, is an assistance in matters of controversy, and is an instrument of edification and instruction. The Confession provides every member with a compact systematic theology, and by means of the scriptural proofs, each member can be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them.

We are a loving church. Two errors of equal damaging consequences occur through the history of God's church. One is to jettison doctrine and truth for the sake of so called "unity," "love," or "evangelism." The other is to jettison loving patience and tolerance for fellow sinners for the sake of so called "truth." We believe God's people are to live as best as they can in the middle. Doctrine and truth are of tremendous importance for maintaining the right to continue to be called Christian. Yet, loving action is how the world will know that we are Christians.

Our Purpose
Our purpose as a church is to glorify the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and to enjoy him forever. Everything we do is with this overriding desire. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory" (Psalm 115:1). "Delight yourself in the LORD" (Psalm 37:4). Under this umbrella we have several underlying values.

Worship is foremost. We do not come to church primarily to feel better or be entertained, but to worship the one true and living God through the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. We gather on the Lord's Day to give God the glory that is due to His name. In a day when most worship services are entertainment-oriented and man-centered, we strive to be reverent and God-centered. We are not interested in featuring popular personalities and introducing fashionable elements that the Bible does not allow. Also, instead of the light and frothy music of the modern church, our singing focuses on biblical and Reformed hymnody and the Psalms. The basic elements of true worship are: reading and exposition of the Scriptures; prayer; singing of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; baptism and the Lord's Supper; giving of tithes and offerings. We seek to implement all of these elements in holy and joyful reverence. "Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." (Psalm 29:2)

A second underlying purpose is edification of the body. The people of God need to be strengthened and built up in order to fight the good fight of faith and to resolutely live in a world that is not a friend to grace and godliness. The Christian life was not intended by God to be lived in isolation, but in the context of a visible body of believers called the church. Edification occurs through the public ministry of the Word and the mutual ministry of the members as they interact with one another on a daily basis (see Ephesians 4:12-16 & 1 Thessalonians 5:14). We labor to see Christians sanctified and homes ordered according to biblical principles. According to the predestinating purposes of God, we desire to see Christ formed in every member (Galatians 4:19) and every member conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29).

Lastly, we wholeheartedly engage in biblical evangelism and missions. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:46, 47) is very precious to us. We do not believe there is an inconsistency between God's sovereignty in the salvation of His chosen people and His command to preach the gospel to every creature. We are appalled by the superficial work that goes on today under the name of evangelism. We reject unbiblical pressures, gimmicks and schemes that are calculated to produce impressive statistics and "decisions" that work havoc in the souls of people. Nevertheless, we long to see the unconverted convicted of sin through the preaching of the law and the gospel and brought to repentance and faith. We seek to press the claims of Christ on all the unsaved who sit in darkness and the shadow of death so that they, too, may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10).

Our Vision for Our Church
Biblical Christianity can never be individualistic. This is why our mission is to bring the believer into our local community of faith. By definition, a biblical community of faith (a church) is not made up of a mixture of believers and unbelievers. However, the process of engrafting occurs as the Holy Spirit saves sinners and sends them into the local body of believers. Thus, the church must never to be stagnant or ingrown. Rather, it seeks to ably teach its members how to be faithful to their faith throughout the week in order that their witness in the world might be a means God uses to call people to himself and his church.

This faithfulness to the faith comes in three basic dimensions. It has been this way since the inception of the church and will be this way until Christ returns for his bride. Thus, there are never new and inventive missions for God's people as they seek to be culturally "relevant." Instead, the church must be about the business of perpetuating the faith once for all delivered to the saints, as Jude 3 teaches us.

These dimensions constitute both a vertical and horizontal plane. The unique message of Christianity among all other forms of religion in the world is that God condescended to people who were not even able to stand in his holy presence. He communicated truth about his nature and his plan for his creation in ages to come. The supreme form of communication is embodied in the God-man Jesus Christ who is God in flesh, living and seated at the right hand of the Father. What we have today of God's revelation of himself stands in the form of the Holy Scripture which is fully able to make us wise unto salvation and to give us everything we could possibly need to know about our salvation and growth in it.

Thus, the vertical plane is a downward condescending of God to man and not an upward movement of man towards God. Believers of all ages then make it their business to know as much as they can about this God who so graciously reveals himself to them. This takes the form of both propositions to be believed from the Scripture (creeds) and worship to be given towards God as he continually reveals grace to them in the form of word and sacrament (communion with God). Thus, the first and greatest commandment is obeyed by believers throughout history as they love the Lord their God with all their hearts, minds, soul, and strength.

The other dimension of the faith is a horizontal dimension. It takes place as believers fellowship together with one another, always spurring each other on towards good works as they see the Day of the Lord approaching. It sees them taking care of each others physical and emotional needs and coming together to worship God. In this, community with each other is taught and the second commandment to love your neighbor as yourself is fulfilled. This is the mission of our church and is the mission of the Church given to her by God himself. What follows are summaries of our values as they embody these vertical and horizontal dimensions of biblical Christianity.

The primary focus of our worship is the public reading and exposition of God's Word, and the administration of his sacraments.

We belong to the Reformed Baptist Association because we believe that the biblical pattern for ministry demands "checks and balances" and a structure of accountability higher than ourselves. We do not believe "lone ranger" Christianity is appropriate for God's people. Creeds, confessions, a catechism and a historic liturgy link us to other believers not only in this time and place, but across time, geographical boundaries and cultures.

The Biblical notion of covenant theology, as interpreted by the historic Reformed Baptist tradition, provides us with a solid theological basis from which to discuss marriage, family, children and other personal relationships within the church.

In addition to growing in our own understanding of the faith, the Scriptures exhort us to share it with those outside the church. We must not only be prepared to give to everyone an answer for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15), but we must be zealous to see that our non-Christian friends, families and neighbors hear the message of Christ crucified (Romans 10:14-15) with the prayerful and confident expectation that God will be pleased to call many to faith in His Dear Son through the ministry of Reformed Baptist Church of Northern Colorado.

We also enjoy fellowship in unstructured opportunities of light-hearted conversation. The conversation stimulates us to greater fellowship with God and is done with the utmost kindness, love, and gentle regard for our fellow Christians.