Reformed?
The Free Reformed Churches in Australia want to be, first of all, Christian Churches. They accept
Jesus Christ as Lord of the church.
They believe that they are part of the one, holy, catholic, Christian
church which Jesus Christ, as Son of God, gathers in this world.
The word 'Reformed' indicates that these churches bear the stamp of the
Reformation that took place in the sixteenth century. That Reformation
was an extensive movement in Europe to reform the existing church, with
reformers such as Luther, Calvin, Zwingli.
The Reformation was a reaction against the power of tradition in the
church and strongly promoted the validity of the Bible as God's Word
for our complete personal, church and social life.
The Bible text, 'The just shall live by faith' became a focal point amongst those following the Reformation.
The Free Reformed Churches accept everything that is written in the Bible to be the Word of God. This results into the following three characteristics:
- There is great reverence for the reliability of the Bible.
- Great care is taken for a good explanation of the Bible where every personal thought and feeling must be compared with and submitted to the original text.
- The Bible is accepted as the only rule of conduct for everyday life.
Further characteristics of these churches that could be mentioned are:
- The church, like every other community, consists of sinful people who time and again are called to return to the Lord and His Word.
- The church maintains the reformed confessions that summarise the doctrine of the Bible.
- The church maintains good order in church life by adhering to the commonly accepted Church Order.
- The church is also responsible for what happens in society and must extend a helping hand. She must warn when society ignores God's commandments blatantly.
- The church has a calling to pass on the riches of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others by means of mission and outreach.
- The church aims to be united with those churches who want to serve the Lord obediently according to His Holy Word.
In the 1950's, many members of the Free Reformed Churches in The Netherlands migrated to Australia.
Thus, the Free Reformed Churches of Australia were established in the Perth metropolitan area, in Albany and in Tasmania.
Schools have been established so that the children could receive an
education based on the fear of the Lord and the truth of the Bible.