About Ponds Reformed Church
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At Ponds Reformed Church, Oakland in New Jersey, we believe what The Bible tells us, and The Bible says we have all sinned. Do you believe you are a sinner in the sight of God? As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says that the penalty of our sin is death, and that because we have sinned, we deserve the lake of fire (hell.) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Here at Ponds Reformed Church, we believe that good works constitute indispensable evidence of saving grace. Living as salt in a world that is decaying and light in a world that is dark, believers should neither withdraw into seclusion from the world, nor become indistinguishable from it: rather, we are to do good to the city, for all the glory and honor of the nations is to be offered up to the living God. Recognizing whose created order this is, and because we are citizens of God's kingdom, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all, especially to those who belong to the household of God.
About Repenting: We believe that one receives Jesus Christ's merits by repenting of sin, believing in the good news of His death and resurrection, and confessing Him as Lord and Savior. As a sign of this salvation, every professing believer is to be baptized by immersion. We believe that the entire salvation experience consists of regeneration, justification, sanctification, and future glorification. We believe that every Christian is called to proclaim this good news to the nations.
About Separation of Church and State: We believe that each local church is self-governing, and must be free from interference by any external ecclesiastical or political authority; that every human being is ultimately responsible to God in matters of faith and life; and that each person is free to worship God according to the dictates of his/her conscience. We further believe that governments are established by God; that Christians, as good citizens, should be subject to governing authorities insofar as possible, recognizing our greater allegiance to God and His kingdom in matters wherein human authorities conflict with clear, biblical mandates.