Westside Reformed Church is a confessional church, founded upon the Scriptures alone. This means that the Bible is the ultimate authority to which all our doctrine conforms. In other words, we’ll change our doctrine if we can be shown that it’s not biblical, but we’ll never change the Bible.
Every church has doctrinal beliefs, even if they’re not written down. We think that it’s best to write them down and be transparent, though, so you can test them according to Scripture. We also think doctrinal statements give us stability, since it keeps us from changing with the latest cultural fad. They provide our leadership with accountability, preventing our pastor from imposing upon us his latest hobby-horse, but also keeping his focus on the gospel of our Lord Jesus. Our confessions also provide an opportunity for church unity. They prevent internal power-struggles and fights, because we know what unites us, and we are free to disagree about things that are not in our confessions.
That said, we believe that the teaching of the Bible is faithfully summarized in the ecumenical Creeds (2nd-7th c. AD) and Three Forms of Unity. The teaching of the Bible is deep and cannot be communicated on a bumper-sticker. Therefore, we invite you to take your time and carefully read and consider the teaching of Holy Scripture, which is found in the following documents.
Locating our roots in the Ancient Church, we confess the ecumenical Creeds:
- Apostles’ Creed (ca. 2nd – 4th century AD)
- Nicene Creed (381 AD)
- Athanasian Creed (ca. 5th century)
Our birth as a distinct group of churches occurred during the Reformation, so we embrace the Five Solas of the Reformation, which articulate our paradigm of salvation and submission to Scripture alone as our ultimate authority.
What makes us Reformed is our commitment to the Three Forms of Unity:
- Belgic Confession (1561)
- Heidelberg Catechism (1563)
- Canons of Dort (1618-19)
To learn more about this topic, see What are Creeds and Confessions?