Christian Reformed Church in North America
The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) was founded in 1857 by Dutch immigrants who separated from the Reformed Church in America over concerns about Freemasonry membership and lax discipline. It adheres to the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, Canons of Dort) and holds to a Calvinist theology with strong emphasis on worldview transformation, Reformed education, and cultural engagement. In recent years the CRCNA has faced significant internal divisions over the question of women's ordination and human sexuality.
Theology
Christology
Soteriology
Salvation
Affirms
Calvinist salvation: election, justification by faith, perseverance of saints
Atonement & Ransom
Affirms
Penal substitutionary atonement; Christ bore God's wrath; definite atonement
Predestination
Affirms
Unconditional election and reprobation; God's sovereign choice before creation
Original Sin
Affirms
Total depravity; inherited guilt and corruption; human will bound by sin
Eschatology
Soul & Afterlife
Affirms
Immortal soul; conscious existence after death; bodily resurrection at Last Day
Hell
Affirms
Eternal conscious punishment; place of separation and torment for the unrighteous
Heaven
Affirms
Eternal life in God's presence; bodily resurrection; new creation renewed
Second Coming
Affirms
Christ will return personally, bodily, and visibly to judge all creation
Millennium
Nuanced
Amillennial traditional; postmillennial historically present; no rapture doctrine
Ecclesiology
Scripture
Biblical Canon
Affirms
66-book Protestant canon; no apocryphal or deuterocanonical books accepted
Biblical Inerrancy
Affirms
Bible inerrant in all it affirms; infallible rule for faith and practice
Extra-biblical Revelation
Denies
Scripture alone is God's complete revelation; canon is closed; no new prophecy
Scripture Interpretation
John 1:1 — "The Word Was God"
Affirms
Logos eternally coexistent with Father; true deity of Word
Isaiah 7:14 — "Virgin or Young Woman"
Affirms
Isaiah 7:14 prophesies virgin birth; text refers to Messiah's miraculous conception
Matthew 16:18 — "Upon This Rock"
Nuanced
Rock = Peter's faith-confession; Church's foundation is Christ himself
Romans 9:18-21 — "God's Sovereign Choice"
Affirms
God's election is sovereign, unconditional, particular; from eternity
James 2:24 — "Justified by Works"
Nuanced
Faith alone justifies; works vindicate faith and demonstrate justification
Matthew 28:19 — "Baptize in the Name"
Affirms
Trinitarian baptismal formula; believer's baptism into Father, Son, Spirit
Hebrews 1:8 — "Your Throne, O God"
Affirms
Father addresses Son as God; affirms Son's true and eternal divinity
Revelation 20:1-6 — "The Thousand Years"
Nuanced
Amillennial: symbolic 1000 years; Church is Christ's kingdom now
Genesis 1:1-2 — "In the Beginning"
Nuanced
Creation ex nihilo affirmed; age of earth open to scientific findings
Mark 16:9-20 — "The Longer Ending"
Nuanced
Longer Ending likely later addition; theological content affirmed as Scripture
John 7:53–8:11 — "The Woman Caught in Adultery"
Nuanced
Passage absent earliest MSS; later addition; theological principle affirmed
1 John 5:7-8 — "The Comma Johanneum"
Denies
Comma Johanneum absent earliest MSS; not original; Trinity proven elsewhere
Deuterocanonical Books — "Tobit, Wisdom, Sirach, Maccabees"
Denies
Deuterocanonical books not canonical; follow Hebrew OT canon
Shepherd of Hermas — "Early Christian Text"
Denies
Shepherd of Hermas not canonical; 2nd-century document without apostolic authority
Ethics & Practice
Sabbath
Affirms
Christian Sabbath (Sunday); Fourth Commandment morally binding; not ceremonial
Blood Transfusions
Affirms
Permitted; no religious prohibition; medical care affirmed as ethical
Military Service
Affirms
Military service permitted; just war tradition affirmed as consistent with faith
Holidays
Affirms
Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost observed; liturgical calendar honored