The Christian faith is not limited to one time and place. But rather it is universal, applicable to every time, place, and culture. The reason for this is because the salvation that Jesus brings is for people of “every tribe, tongue, people, and nation.” (Revelation 7:9) And that salvation is timeless, because “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) The Christian faith is for every place, for all times, and for all peoples.
But despite the fact that the Christian faith is universal, it remains true that Christians are sinners. We live in a fallen world. We continually depart from the truths of the faith over time. We introduce new and unbiblical practices and establish them as traditions. And so we must return to divine truth again and again, by returning to Scripture and practicing Biblical reform and renewal.
And so within that spirit, we believe that the most faithful approach to the Christian faith is one of Reformed Catholic Credobaptist theology and practice. There are three parts to this.
First, we are catholic. And by this, we mean that we hold to universality of the Christian faith. We hold to teachings which have been received and accepted as universal amongst all Christians in all ages. The term "catholic" means “universal.” It means truth that is not restricted to time or place. We are not ROMAN Catholic, because it confines the Christian faith to one local ideal: that of the imperium of the Roman empire headed by an absolute monarch in Rome. Rather, we hold to the Christian faith as it is universal. The fifth century theologian Vincent of Lerins argued that “we hold that faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all.” (quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est). This means that we hold to a common faith shared by all Christians in all times.
And thus by doing this, we are confessing that we are not innovators. We are not making up anything new. We are not saying that “me and my Bible are enough.” We are confessing truths that have been confessed in all ages of the church: such as the Trinity; the incarnation; the person of Jesus Christ in two natures, God and man; the deity of the Holy Spirit; Christ’s death for sinners; one baptism for remission of sins; and the Eucharist. We hold to the great teaching of the universal councils of the early church, the first four ecumenical councils of the church. We hold to the great truths that were taught by the early church fathers, such as Athanasius, Augustine, the Cappadocian Fathers, John Chrysostom, and many others.
But this is not enough. As men are sinners, errors began to creep into the church very early. People added unbiblical things to the Christian faith. And over time, these errors began to overwhelm the church. And so it was necessary for there to be REFORM.
Thus the second thing that we must say is that we are Reformed. We are both catholic, holding to the historic teaching and councils of the early church, and we are Reformed, holding to these things but correcting through Scripture that which is incorrect and in error. Not all traditions are Biblical. Not all things handed down are true. There is much error mixed with truth in the Christian church. And the only way to know which is which is by examining all things through Scripture. This was precisely what the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century did. Godly men such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Martin Bucer and many others reformed the church by removing the errors of the late medieval and renaissance church. And they did so by going back to the Bible.
“Sola Scriptura” was a rallying cry of the Reformers, and was used to bring consistent re-examination of Roman Catholic teaching. Through examination of Scripture, the Reformers developed a theology that was more faithful and Biblical than that which was current in their own era. Reformed theology placed the emphasis back where Scripture itself had placed it: upon the power of God in Christ to save. Biblical truths such as justification “sola fide” or by faith alone apart from works, were proclaimed once more. Errors such as the papacy and prayer to saints were eliminated. And in their place, the Headship of Jesus Christ, the Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church, was reasserted.
Reformed theology is not monolithic or one dimensional. It has several important emphases, including the Sovereignty of God; the Sufficiency of Jesus Christ, the one Mediator; and God’s holy covenant with man. Each of these plays an important role in Reformed theology, because they play an important role in Scripture.
But Reformed theology itself also contained a few unbiblical things as holdovers from papist tradition. And chief among these was the practice of infant baptism, a doctrine foreign to the Bible. And so even the Reformers on this point needed to be Reformed.
Thus thirdly, we recognize the truth of credobaptism, the truth that Scripture teaches that only believers are to be baptized. Infant baptism is neither commanded nor exemplified nor can it be deduced from the Bible. It therefore must be rejected and condemned as false. Rather, what we see is a beautiful picture of baptism as the inauguration of new life in Jesus Christ upon profession of faith. Baptism is a holy sacrament meant to demonstrate that the recipient has been united to Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:1-4). Therefore, it is properly given only to those who have professed faith in Jesus Christ.
And so we therefore confess to be Reformed, Catholic, and Credobaptist in theology and practice. These things are in no way contradictory, nor are they disparate. Rather, they are consistent and unified principles that lead us to a fully robust and Biblical expression of the Christian faith. We hope that you will join us as we explore these truths more fully at Viator Christian Ministries!
