Statement of Belief

The Statement of Belief of the Netherlands Reformed Christian School at 164 Jacksonville Rd., Pompton Plains, is comprised of the following Core Beliefs. These beliefs form the purpose of the school’s existence, and the basis for all of its policies, procedures, and lifestyle expectations.

We believe, as authoritative and binding, the Doctrinal Standards and Liturgy which can be found in the back of the Psalter.

1. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (the “Bible”) to be the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice.

2. The creeds of the early Apostolic Church namely:

(a) the Apostles Creed;

(b) the Nicene Creed; and

These creeds are an excellent summary of the catholic undoubted Christian faith.

3. That the Three Forms of Unity and the doctrinal truths therein explained are undoubted, being a sound explanation of God’s Word. We subscribe to the Three Forms of Unity established at the Synod of Dordt in 1618/1619; the Three Forms of Unity are the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession of Faith and the Canons of Dordt:

(a) The Belgic Confession of Faith was written as a detailed creed in 1561 to prove to the persecutors of the Reformation that the adherents of the Reformed faith were not rebels as was charged, but law-abiding citizens who professed only biblical doctrines. The author, Guido de Bres, was martyred for writing the confession, but not before it was copied down. Its 37 articles still provide a timeless account of what we believe today.

(b) The Heidelberg Catechism is a series of questions and answers that were developed early into the Reformation which commenced in 1563, in Heidelberg, Germany, to teach adults and children the principal doctrines of the Reformation in the line of the Apostolic Church. Under the mandate of Frederick III of Saxony, Germany, Zacharius Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus wrote the Heidelberg Catechism, to provide a simple and easy-to-memorize method explaining the doctrines of free and sovereign grace and the way of salvation through Christ as experienced by all His people. It was written to be used to instruct the people of his electorate and afterward was translated into many languages and is still used worldwide. All questions and answers in our English translation of this catechism are supported by biblical references as found in the Authorized King James version.

(c) The historic document, the Canons of Dordt, was written and sanctioned in 1618 and 1619, by a council of the highly esteemed Synod of Dordt, in response to non-biblical interpretations that were being promoted by many reformed churches in the early 1600s. Although the Synod of Dordt (held in Dordrecht, The Netherlands) was a national synod of the Reformed Churches of the Netherlands, it had an international character, since it was composed not only of sixty-two Dutch delegates, but also of twenty-seven foreign delegates representing eight European countries (including for instance, England, France and Germany). The "synod" of ministers and professors of theology was called to examine what God's Word teaches on the various issues. Their findings were compiled into canons and are very relevant today, given the continued prevalence of the various errors.

4. That the Shorter and Longer Westminster Catechisms handed down from the English Reformation and written by the famous Westminster Assembly of divines (1643-1649), further support the three forms of unity.

5. The five points of Calvinism as briefly summarized below and also known by the acronym TULIP.

(a) Man's Total Depravity

After our willful disobedience and fall in Paradise, we are born in sin and are spiritually dead. We cannot do anything anymore that can please God and have in ourselves no ability to ever be reconciled with our Creator. If there had not been a way opened from God’s side we all would go eternally lost and that righteously. Only God can make us spiritually alive from spiritually dead.

(b) God's Unconditional Election

God has elected a people from eternity, not because of a foreseen faith or good works in man, but in His sovereign good pleasure. Those He has elected He will, at His appointed time, bring to conversion, justify, sanctify and glorify them. Election is an act of God’s sovereign predestination, which includes reprobation. Salvation is a Divine work without any contribution by man.

Although Christ’s blood shed on Golgotha is sufficient to save the entire human race, His blood has only been shed to redeem His people who are given Him by His Father.

(d) God's Irresistible Grace

God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, calls His people irresistibly. A person may try to resist this calling but will fall on God’s side at His time.

(e) Perseverance of the Saints

God preserves His people in grace. Although His people may fall into sin, God will bring them to repentance and ultimately to glory, at His time. Jesus speaks of none being able to pluck His people out of His Father's hands.

6. The five Solas of the Reformation:

(a) Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)

The Bible, the inspired Word of God, is the final authority in all matters of doctrine and practice. The creeds, confession, and catechisms are all upheld because they agree with, and further explain Scripture, but the Bible alone is the ultimate authority

(2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:19-21 ).

(b) Sola Fide (Faith Alone)

The sinner is saved by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, not in any precondition or anything done of themselves. The just shall live by faith (Habakkuk 2:4, John 3:18,36, Romans 1:17 ).

Grace implies that all benefits to God’s people have come, and do come as gifts from God. They are neither merited nor earned, but are freely given (Romans 3:24, Ephesians 2:5,8 ).

(d) Solus Christus (Christ Alone)

Only Christ's sacrifice on the cross of Calvary has any merit or value with God the Father. Our efforts before and after our salvation add no merit (John 14:6, Acts 4:12 ).

(e) Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

God’s purpose in all His Work is to glorify and honor His Name. Everything in life and all the happenings in the world, as they occur in His Providence, will work out to the glory of God alone (Revelation 4:11, 7:12 ).

7. Our doctrine is founded upon the infallible Word of God, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Confession of Faith, and the Canons of Dordt.

(a) The infallible Word of God (as translated in the Authorized King James Version only, being more accurate than any other English translations).

(b) We believe in the infallible Word of God from Genesis 1 through Revelations 22. We believe that God created the world in six days, not in periods; see Genesis 1 and Exodus 20:11.

(d) That we have turned away from God voluntarily. “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 53:3) We have become the children of the devil, therefore subject to a threefold death: temporal, spiritual, eternal, and have no power from themselves to come back in God’s favor, yet we are responsible creatures; have lost the image of God and have become image-bearers of Satan, have broken the Covenant of Works (Genesis 3), changed our glory into shame, yet God is unchangeable and requires back His image as He did before the fall.

(e) That only a personal calling of God (John 3 and John 1:43) through the working of the Holy Spirit can convert us and turn us from our sinful ways to convince us of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8-12) and therefore salvation is a one-sided work of God.

(f) That Christ cannot be taken as our Savior through any of our duties or our own power for we are unwilling and unable to do any good toward our salvation, but Christ must be revealed and given unto us as a gift of the Father, out of sovereign grace, without any act or help from our side, for “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not” (John 1:11), but God overpowers them, for “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power” (Psalm 110:3).

(g) That the elect only shall be saved and that Christ did not die for all mankind, only for those who are given Him of the Father as a reward for His mediatorial work (John 6:39) and who are foreknown from eternity. (I Peter 1:2a).

(h) That God has commanded us to acknowledge Him in all our ways, etc. (Proverbs 3:6), wherefore there is no ground to be insured (Lord’s Day 10) for God’s providence goeth over all things. (Matthew 6:24-34).

(i) That our doctrine is not a doctrine of understanding (comprehension) but of believing for “Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)

(j) That we are dependent of God in all things for “Without Me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:5) and all that we receive in this life is undeserved on account of our sins, therefore we are in duty bound to acknowledge God for all blessings received as our Maker, Creator, Benefactor, and Provider, also before and after our meals.

(k) That we make a definite distinction in baptism between children of which all are under the covenant but the elect only are in the covenant, “for many be called, but few are chosen.” (Matthew 20:16, I Corinthians 10:1-5)

(l) That grace is not inherited but “I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight.” (Exodus 33:12, Revelation 13:8) We also have evidences and proofs that the Lord works in the generations, (Psalm 89 and 105), and other places, but still salvation remains a personal matter.

(m) That the Word of God is the rule of our life and all that is contrary therewith must be rejected as false and unprofitable. (Isaiah 8:20)

(n) That God’s people are weaned from this world mostly by afflictions, to bring them down in their unworthiness so God may receive all the honor and men be abased at the lowest. The Lord grant this to all of us out of free and sovereign grace.

8. We acknowledge the absolute authority of God’s Word in all areas of life, as the Ten Commandments (God’s Law) teach us.

These commandments include salutary rules for every person and for society as a whole. Additionally, for us, they uncover sin and, with the Holy Spirit’s applying power, bring a need for Christ in our hearts. These commandments are also for those who are regenerated to live by out of gratitude.

In considering the Ten Commandments, the following applies:

- Living according to God's commandments is a command; the Biblical teaching of man's depravity does not negate this.

- God's grace restrains from living in gross sin. Education according to God’s Commandments also helps to form the conscience.

- Living to the glory of God can only be worked by God’s grace and never by our efforts.

The following explains the Ten Commandments one by one:

1.“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.”

God calls for us to worship and adore Him above all. It is not permitted to equate any creature or thing with Him or to ascribe divine honor to it.

2.“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me, and keep My commandments.”

The way in which God is to be served is determined by Him. We have no right to say or think anything about Him beyond what He has revealed about Himself in His Word. That revelation teaches us that God may not be represented physically by us in any way, because by so doing we would draw Him down to the level of creatures and thus dishonor Him. God demands a continual listening to His Word; otherwise, it is not possible to know His will nor obey Him.

3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.”

God requires that we use His name only with reverence, awe, and love and that the Bible be read and spoken about reverently. In reading, in singing, and in prayer, we are to seek God's glory. We reject the misuse of God's name, lighthearted use of Scripture words, and all speaking of God that is not reverent.

4. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”

Sabbaths are special days. Upon Christ’s resurrection from the dead, the first day of the week (Sunday) became the Sabbath. Sunday is a gift from God, to hear His Word and also to rest our bodies. By virtue of the abiding mandate of this commandment, this day is set apart for the service of God. This means that we must faithfully attend the services of the Christian congregation to which we belong.

5. “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”

This commandment gives guidelines regarding relationships to superiors and of superiors to those under them. All authority is given by God and those who are placed above others are accountable to Him. At school, authority comes from the Board to administrators to teachers and other personnel and to students. Authority is not to be abused and, along with discipline, is for our good. Therefore, it must be exercised in love and within the framework of the Bible. Respect is taught in the home and children are taught to carry this through to all placed above them.

6. “Thou shalt not kill.”

Love of one’s fellow man, according to the requirement of God's commandments and the example of Christ, compels us to make a commitment to the spiritual and physical welfare of our neighbor. Reverence for life is taught among other things in our dealings with one another and especially with the students. Our school provides a physically safe environment for all students where everyone is treated with Biblical respect.

7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

This commandment has to do with forming an unbreakable union in marriage between one man and one woman. The marriage relationship is respected. One’s fellow man is approached with respect (also chastely and with purity). Sexually slanted jokes and harassment are forbidden. There is no room for casual intimate relationships. Monogamous marriage is seen as the God-given form of intimacy between men and women. God wants us to accept our human bodies which we have received from Him and also keep them pure and unaltered. In our outward appearance, we also express the biological distinction between male and female in how we dress.

8. “Thou shalt not steal.”

We respect the property of others, whether staff, students, or of the institution. The benefit of our fellowman must be promoted and we, as stewards, deal with them as we would want them to deal with us. The eighth commandment also means that we are called to responsible and dedicated use of all that which God has entrusted to us.

9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

In conversations with and about others, purity is to be exercised without gossiping or presenting a view that is contrary to the truth, either by omission or commission. We advocate open and honest communication. Information that can be labeled a lie will be rejected. The honor and good report of others must be promoted.

10. “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”

We are called to put these commandments into practice in all love and purity not having the least desire in thought or in deed contrary to any of God’s commandments. We seek to serve and respect the lives and well-being of others: person, privacy, and property realizing that only God can give us grace to live perfectly before Him.

9. We also acknowledge the following:

(a) God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27, Matthew 19:4, Mark 10:6 ). We believe that rejection of one’s biological sex and the attempt to alter one’s gender is a rejection of the image of God within that person; God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.

(b) The term “marriage” has only one meaning; the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:5-6, Mark 10:7-9 ). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18 and 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4 ). We believe that God has commanded that there should be no intimate sexual activity outside of a biblical marriage between a man and a woman;

(c) Any form of sexual immorality (including but not limited to homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus 18, Romans 1: 24-29, Romans 7:1-3, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 7:10-11 );

(d) All human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable value, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through to natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life including the unborn and the aged (Psalm 139: 13-16 );

(e) Special Days

a. Christian holidays (i.e., Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Ascension Day, and Pentecost,) must be celebrated in a Christian manner for their religious significance as practiced in the Reformed tradition.

b. Other special days (e.g., denominational prayer days, Reformation Day, etc.) should be observed in a manner consistent with NRC denominational tradition.

(f) Men and women are to dress modestly and in accordance with their biological sex (Deuteronomy 22:5 ).

(g) Office bearers shall only be males (I Corinthians 14:34 and I Timothy 2:11-15 ).