Christians often confess their faith in simple, elegant ways: “My Lord and my God!” (Acts 20:28); “Jesus Christ…is Lord of all” (Acts 10:36). Such confessions or creeds summarize the heart of our faith. They also safeguard the truth of the Bible against false teachings. For these reasons many churches adopt Creeds to show clearly where they stand.

The CRC has done that as well. It does not adopt creeds to add teachings that are not in the Bible, but rather to give a clear summary of what God’s Word teaches. While the CRC expects its members and leaders to affirm the teachings of these creeds, it does not ask for rigid agreement with how they formulate them. Confessions are human works, always open to improvement. The CRC commits itself to revise the creeds if there is anything in them that goes beyond Scripture.

The CRC holds three creeds in common with most other Christian churches.

• The Nicene Creed comes from the fourth century, when people taught that Jesus was only a creature. This creed boldly emphasizes the biblical message that Jesus is truly, fully God.
• The Apostles’ Creed also comes from the fourth century. It elegantly expresses our faith in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• The Athanasian Creed affirms the biblical teaching that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, but in such a way that there is only one God. It then goes on to confess that Jesus Christ is at the same time fully God and fully Human.

There are also three confessions that the CRC shares with other churches of the Reformed faith. These distinguish its teachings from that of other denominations.

• The Belgic Confession was written as a defense against accusations that the Reformed churches promoted false teachings. It summarizes what the Bible teaches about itself, our fall into sin, Christ, salvation, the church, civil government, and our Lord’s return.
• The Heidelberg Catechism provides an excellent tool for teaching the Reformed faith. It emphasizes that our rescue from sin is a free, unearned gift of God through Jesus Christ. Responding to that gift, we show our gratitude to God by living in faith and obedience to our Lord.
• The Canons Of Dort assert that we cannot save ourselves because sin has affected every part of our nature. We cannot even come to faith by ourselves. God must break through our stubborn rejection. God takes the initiative, choosing us in Christ without consideration of any good in us, not even foreseen faith. God’s Spirit alone can work in us the miracle of saving faith that gives us new life in Christ.

In 1986 the CRC adopted a new statement of faith to counter modern secularism. Secularism is the widespread belief in our culture that our faith in God is limited to our private lives. It denies that it has any real influence in the marketplace, the classroom, the office, or the legislative assembly. The contemporary testimony Our World Belongs To God reasserts the claim of our Lord over every area of life. Being Jesus’ disciples means that we serve God everywhere, all the time.

Synod 2012 adopted the Belhar Confession as an ‘Ecumenical Faith Declaration’ of the Christian Reformed Church. The Belhar Confession, created by Reformed Christians in South Africa in 1982 as a response to the sin of apartheid, calls for faithfulness in the areas of unity, justice, and reconciliation.

Over time, the Christian Reformed Church has clearly stated its position on a variety of contemporary topics such as abortion, creation care, homosexuality, and justice, to name a few.