The Liberated Reformed Church at Abbotsford

Doctrine, Confessions, and Government

The Word of God

The Liberated Reformed Church at Abbotsford believes that the Holy Bible is the Word of God. We confess that this Word of God “did not come by the impulse of man,” but that “men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God,” as the apostle Peter says in 2 Peter 1:21. Consequently the Word of God has no equal because it is:

1. inspired by God the Holy Spirit who moved many different men to write it over a considerable period of time;
2. infallible in that it is completely reliable and trustworthy and therefore should not and need not be doubted;
3. inerrant, meaning that whatever is revealed in it is without error, contradiction or misrepresentation; and
4. sufficient because it fully contains the will of God and reveals all that we need to believe in order to be saved.

The Word of God represents the final rule of faith and life in the church. We are to receive it for the regulation, foundation, and confirmation of our faith. It consequently serves as the basis for all authority in the church.

Creeds and Confessions

The main teachings of the Bible have been summarized in documents called creeds and confessions.

The Ecumenical Creeds which have come to us from the time of the early church are the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The Reformed Confessions, also known as the Three Forms of Unity, which have come to us from the time of the Reformation of the 16th and 17th centuries, are the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort.

The purpose of the above creeds and confessions is to:

1. give public testimony to the truth of the faith and the doctrine of the Church;
2. preserve the truth for future generations;
3. uphold the truth in opposition to error; and
4. bring to expression, preserve, and promote the unity of all believers.

We consider the above creeds and confessions to be faithful summaries of the Word of God. The creeds and confessions do not stand above or alongside the Word of God but below it. Their authority is derived from the Word of God. When the creeds and confessions are faithful to the Word of God and repeat it, then they really do have authority. Within the Church where this authority is acknowledged, one may appeal to them as to a decisive authority which all must recognize.

The Government of the Church

We believe that not only the faith of the church, but also the government of the church must be regulated by the Word of God.

As such we believe that the Holy Bible teaches:

1. the autonomy of the local church;
2. the cooperation and commitment of local churches when it comes to certain common causes and needs;
3. the recognition of the biblical offices of minister, elder and deacon;
4. the government of the local church has been given to the minister and the elders; and
5. he need for church discipline.

In order to implement what the Word of God teaches in a practical way, we have adopted what is called a Church Order. This Church Order is based on the Church Order of Dort which was adopted by the Synod of Dort in 1618-1619.

The Church Order contains 76 Articles which are divided into four sections dealing with the office of the church, the assemblies of the church (consistory, classis, regional and general synods), the liturgy of the church (worship services, sacraments and ceremonies), and the discipline of the church.

Due to the small size of our local church not all articles of the Church Order may function as originally intended. It is however our intention, as far as is practicable, to abide by every article of the adopted Church Order.

The History of Our Liberation

The Liberated Reformed Church at Abbotsford is a small congregation which seeks to be and to remain faithful to the truth of God’s Word. The founding members of this congregation were former members of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford, when acceptance of unscriptural general synod decisions by their ruling body, the consistory, forced these members onto a path that would ultimately lead to their secession.

The struggle in Abbotsford began when the 2001 General Synod of the Canadian Reformed Churches decided in favour of intercommunion and pulpit exchange with churches that maintained unscriptural views concerning the standards for membership in the church, the supervision of the Lord’s supper, the covenant of grace, the assurance of faith, the visible and invisible church, and the pluriformity of the church.

The unscriptural views referred to above are found in Presbyterian churches which have the Westminster Standards for their confession of faith. These views are also tolerated in Reformed churches which have accepted the Westminster Standards and consider them to be faithful summaries of Biblical teaching. In its extension of relationships of ecclesiastical fellowship with the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Church in the United States, and the United Reformed Churches of North America, the Canadian Reformed Churches have also accepted these unscriptural views.

All of this occurred even though the Canadian Reformed Churches themselves owed their existence to liberation from unscriptural doctrines concerning the covenant of grace and the assurance of faith in 1944, when a general synod made similar unscriptural doctrines binding upon members of the church.

Official Historic Documents

July 17, 2007	Call to Liberation	a call to the members of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford to liberate themselves from unscriptural general synod decisions and return to faithful worship.
February 28, 2008	Act of Secession and Return	a formalization of the above call as sent to the consistory of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford.
July 30, 2009	Letter to Deputies BBK hersteld	a letter to deputies of De Gereformeerde Kerken (hersteld) requesting recognition as the legitimate continuation of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford.
October 23, 2009	Letter to the Canadian Reformed Churches	a letter requesting Canadian Reformed Churches to liberate themselves from unscriptural general synod decisions and to recognize the legitimacy of the Liberated Reformed Church at Abbotsford.
February 3, 2011	Letter to the Deputies of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia	a letter requesting recognition as the legitimate continuation of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford.
May 3, 2012	Letter to the Genral Synod of the Free Reformed Churches of Australia	a letter requesting recognition as the legitimate continuation of the Canadian Reformed Church at Abbotsford.
February 28, 2013	Letter to the General Synod of the Canadian Reformed Curches	a letter regarding the deformation in the churches.
March 14, 2013	Letter to the General Synod of the Canadian Reformed Churches	a letter regarding serious inaccuracies and misconceptions in the Subcommittee Report regarding the Reformed Churched (Restored) in the Netherlands.
February 25, 2016	Appeal to General Synod Dunville of the Canadian Reformed Churches	An appeal against the response of General Synod 2013 to our February 28, 2013 letter.
March 14, 2019	Appeal to General Synod Edmonton of the Canadian Reformed Churches	An appeal against the response of General Synods 2013 and 2016 to our letters.
October 15, 2020	Letter to Canadian Reformed Churches	Letter to Canadian Reformed Churches regarding the current shift in understanding, and our treatment by Synods 2013, 2016, and 2019

Sermons

Prof. H.J. Schilder

Ezekiel 11:13a

Prof. K. Schilder

Genesis 3:20

Prof. B. Holwerda

Malachi 2:5

Prof. K. Schilder

Psalm 46:5a

Prof. H.J. Schilder

2 Kings 1:15-17

Prof. K. Schilder

1 Cor. 4:6, 7

Prof. K. Deddens

Josh. 4:19-24

Prof. K. Schilder

Matt. 28:2-5a

Prof. B. Holwerda

Lord's Day 14

Prof. B. Holwerda

1 Kings 19:1-8

Prof. K. Schilder

Lord's Day 28

Prof. H.J. Schilder

2 Chr. 20:1-13

Prof. K. Schilder

Judges 17:13

Rev. H.J. Begemann

Lord's Day 21

Prof. B. Holwerda

John 20:24-29

Prof. K. Schilder

Psalm 22:2

Rev. J. Waagmeester

Rev. 11:11,12

Prof. B. Holwerda

Lord's Day 28

Rev. S. de Marie

Isaiah 49:1-13

Rev. J.J. Arnold

Lord's Day 7

Prof. H.J. Schilder

Joshua 24:15b

Rev. J. van Bruggen

John 1:1

Rev. S. de Marie

Ezek. 37:1-14

Rev. S. de Marie

Matt. 21:12-16

Rev. S. de Marie

Dan. 6

Rev. S. de Marie

Dan. 10

Rev. M.J.C. Blok

Zech. 1, 2

Rev. M.J.C. Blok

Lord's Day 50

Rev. S. de Marie

Dan. 12

Rev. S. de Marie

John 8:3-11

Rev. M.J.C. Blok

Zech. 1:11-14

Rev. E.T. van der Born

Luke 18:9-14

Rev. D. van Dijk

Ex. 15:22-27

Rev. J.F. Heij

Mk. 16:17,18

Rev. P.K. Keizer

Hab. 3:2

Rev. J.J. Arnold

Amos 1:1,2

Prof. K. Schilder

1 Pet. 3:19,20a

Rev. R.H. Bremmer

Mark 16:3,4

Rev. S. de Marie

Dan. 2

Rev. S. de Marie

2. Cor. 1:3-11

Rev. S. de Marie

Hos. 1

Rev. S. de Marie

1 Cor. 1:21-25

Rev. S. de Marie

1 Pet. 1:3-9

Rev. S. de Marie

1 Pet. 1:13-19

Rev. S. de Marie

2 Thess. 2:13-17

Rev. S. de Marie

Col. 3

Rev. S. de Marie

Heb. 12

Rev. S. de Marie

Hos. 6:1-7

Rev. S. de Marie

Lam. 3:22,23

Rev. S. de Marie

Luke 22:31,32

Rev. S. de Marie

Luke 22:60-62

Rev. S. de Marie

Mark 10:35-45

Rev. S. de Marie

Acts 2:41.42

Contact and Addresses

Worship Services are held every week at:	Official Correspondance may be sent to:
#201-2955 Immel Street	John van Laar, Clerk
Abbotsford, British Columbia	1249 Lamson Road
	Abbotsford, British Columbia
	V3G 2C3
	- Email -