At Heritage Reformed, our beliefs are based on Scripture, the historic creeds and Reformed confessions, and by the Spirit’s grace lived out in every area of life.
Scriptural
The inspired, infallible and inerrant Word of God provides the foundation and contours of our beliefs. As such, the Scriptures inform every facet of life and practice ( 2 Tim. 3:16 ). Scripture provides the form and content for preaching, worship, and singing. The Bible is God’s self-revelation and states the purpose for which He created us. It also helps us to understand our own hearts of sin and the broken world in which we live because of man’s fall into sin. Through His Word, God has also revealed the way of salvation in Christ to restore sinful human beings into the image of Christ for His glory.
Confessional
Historically, we stand in the trajectory of the New Testament Church and the Ancient Church using the three ancient creeds to express our beliefs: the Apostles’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The Three Forms of Unity, arising from the 16th century Reformation, also summarize our beliefs: the Belgic Confession of Faith, the Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of Dort. Additionally, our denomination also subscribes to the Westminster Standards as the harvest of Puritan theology from the 17th and 18th centuries: the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Larger Catechism and Westminster Shorter Catechism.
Experiential
We teach that these beliefs are not only to inform the mind, but they are to touch the heart, affecting the emotions with a deep, abiding love for Christ, His Word, His holiness, and His people. Then too, these beliefs must be evidenced in bearing the fruits of the Spirit ( John 15:1-17; Gal. 5:22-25 ). Read a short summary of these beliefs here.