The present-day Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is the continuing remnant of the
German immigrant denomination of the same name which was founded in 1725 by the Rev. John
Philip Boehm. The old RCUS continued as a separate denomination until 1933-34 when the larger
part of it united with the Evangelical Synod of North America to form the Evangelical and
Reformed Church. This new church merged with the Congregational Christian Churches in 1957
to form the United Church of Christ.

One classis -- the Eureka Classis -- refused to participate in the 1934 merger. This classis
continued as a separate entity for the next five decades. During this time, several congregations of
like mind have become part of it. The North Dakota Classis dissolved in 1936 and its ministers
and churches joined the Eureka Classis. During the 1950s, congregations at Menno, SD;
Manitowoc, WI; Garner, IA; Sutton, NE; and Shafter and Bakersfield, CA, which had either left
the Evangelical and Reformed Church or had been independent, joined the Eureka Classis. The
1970s welcomed the arrival of several churches from the General Association of Regular Baptists
that had become Reformed. In subsequent years, several groups (some as whole congregations)
have left the UCC to join the RCUS. Today, the RCUS numbers about forty congregations.

At its annual meeting in 1986, the Eureka Classis dissolved to form the Synod of the Reformed
Church in the United States. Today, instead of one classis, the RCUS consists of four classes:
Covenant East, Northern Plains, South Central and Western.

First Things First

There are several reasons why the Eureka Classis refused to participate in the 1934 merger, but
its fundamental reason is the doctrine of Scripture. The Eureka Classis was established in 1910 by
churches that were already concerned with the rising tide of liberalism in the Eastern Synod, the
seminaries and bureaucracy of the church. Its reason for existence was to maintain the pure
preaching of the Word of God.

The foundational principle of all Christian teaching is that the Bible is the very Word of God, by
which every question must be tested (cf. Isa. 40:8; Matt. 5:18; 24:35; 2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Pet. 1:21,
25). Eve, believing Satan's lie, fell into sin and recommended the same to her husband, who
followed her sad advice (Gen. 3:1ff.; 1 Tim. 2:14). Today, our only hope of salvation is in
believing God's Word of Truth (John 17:17; 18:37). Upon this principle, the Protestant
Reformation was established. The answer to Question 21 of the Heidelberg catechism begins,
"True faith is a certain knowledge whereby I hold for truth all that God has revealed to us in His
Word."

Liberalism, by contrast, is built solely upon human opinion. This is manifested in two common
tendencies: (1) relegating the fundamental teachings of Scripture -- the virgin birth of Christ, his
substitutionary atonement and bodily resurrection, etc. -- to the realm of non-binding and merely
theoretical, and (2) replacing these teachings with popular humanistic notions, including the
universal brotherhood of believer and unbeliever, socialistic political theory, and a broad
one-world, one-church ecumenism.

The merger of 1934 signaled the victory of these liberal tendencies as ruling the church and thus
compromised loyalty to the Bible as God's infallible and inerrant Word. This is not to say that
every congregation of the Evangelical and Reformed Church had submitted to these tendencies
(some never have), nor that everyone in the merged church was in a position to recognize them.
Sadly, the leadership of the Evangelical and Reformed Church covered up criticism of the merger
and willfully hid from the people the existence of a continuing remnant of the RCUS. The prophet
Isaiah denounced such false prophets of his day: If they do not speak according to this word, it
is because there is no light in them (Isa. 8:20).

The RCUS is not the only Reformed or Biblical church, nor are Reformed believers the only
Christians. Christ warns us against such arrogance in Matthew 24:23, 24. Nevertheless, we are
convinced that the teaching summarized in the Reformed creeds is the most faithful expression of
Biblical teaching known to man. This is a matter of conviction, not pride, for we confess with
Jacob of old, I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You
have shown Your servant (Gen. 32:10; cf. 1 John 5:19).

The Necessity of Creeds

The Word of God calls upon believers to confess their faith. Jesus said, Therefore whoever
confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven (Matt.
10:32). The apostle Paul concurs: If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10:9). To
assure a purity of confession, the church has written various creeds over the years. Creeds are
universal as summaries of the truth of the gospel.

Even those who proclaim "No Creed but Christ" have a list of propositions that defines the Christ
they believe in. The problem is that they are not willing to publish this list since it might change.
There should be no fear to publish the teachings of Scripture, though: the Lord got his doctrines
right the first time! Nevertheless, as Christians we must agree that, if our creedal summary is in
error, we will change it.

The Bible teaches that man's conscience should be bound only by the Word of God (Mark 7:9).
This does not lead to anarchy, as one might suppose, because the Bible also teaches the unity of
the true faith and separation from those who do not hold to the clear teaching of God's Word (2
Cor. 6:14ff.; 1 Tim. 6:3-5; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 10).

Basic Christian unity is confessed by Reformed Christians with all who sincerely hold to the
teachings of the Apostles' Creed (see Heidelberg catechism, Questions 22 and 54). Historic
confessions have generally used the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments and the Lord's
Prayer to structure their more specific doctrinal statements.

Reformed churches, along with other churches descending from the Reformation, have followed
the ancient church tradition of writing expository creeds which state Biblical teaching in a way that
separates believers from unbelievers (cf. the Nicene Creed, which declares that all Christians must
believe in the Trinity). Reformed confessions include the Heidelberg catechism, the Belgic
Confession of Faith, the Canons of Dort, the Second Helvetic Confession and the Westminster
Standards (the first three creeds constitute the confessional base of the RCUS). These expository
creeds serve as the skin and bones for the church as an organization on earth. As bones, they give
it a unifying structure, since all members and officers confess the truth of the doctrines they set
forth; as skin, they separate those of a particular denomination from others outside the church
structure.

Because Reformed churches hold that unity in truth is the basis of all other unity (2 John 10), they
form close-knit denominational fellowships and establish ecumenical connections with other
Reformed bodies holding similar creeds. Such fraternal relations should not be confused with the
modern tendency of church unionism.

Mutual Submission

The basic principle of Biblical church government is mutual submission to one another in the Lord.
This means that individual believers and congregations should submit themselves to each other in a
brotherly way, that is, without one lording it over another.

To maintain order in the church, Christ has appointed officers for its care and instruction. Church
officers, according to the Biblical pattern, include pastors, elders and deacons. Such officers
should not be regarded as "higher" forms of Christians; rather, they serve special functions of ruling
and leadership. These officers submit certain decisions (elections, buying property, etc.) to the
congregation, while the congregation submits other functions (preaching, daily oversight, pastoral
work, etc.) to its officers.

In the same way that congregations and officers relate to each other by mutual submission, local
churches, classes and synods also submit to each other. Calling pastors, electing elders, admitting
members, observing the sacraments are all left to congregations and their consistories
(elder-deacon boards). Classes and synods are only indirectly involved in these matters and can
only consider a particular problem with them by appeal from a local decision. On the other hand,
examining pastors for the ministry, establishing pastor-church relations, foreign ministries and
adopting creeds are examples of functions that local churches submit to classes and synods.

Advantages of Joining the RCUS

     The center of our worship, teaching and evangelism is the Word of God.
     We are missions-minded.
     We have no centralized bureaucracy.
     We are a fellowship of Christian love and brotherhood.
     We will fight for the Biblical and Reformed faith.
     We know what we stand for.

Author: Rev. Robert Grossmann