As Christians, we are identified by God himself. This identification is related with Christ as our Lord and Saviour. It is an absolute identity; nobody can take from or add to it.
This identification with the person and work of Christ implies that we are complete, with no lacks whatever; perfect in righteousness, holiness and truth. The meaning of this is described in declaring that Christ has been made sin for us, that we may now be made the righteousness of God in him (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21).
We also are identified as God’s children, redeemed by Christ, but at the same time we ackowledge that, in our walking on the earth, this condition appears mingled with the lacks and miseries of our existence; therefore it must be reformed every day.
The community or church that reforms itself every day is the catholic church or community. As a part or it, we recognize moments and circumstances in the history that point out the Christian identity against other identities that distort and pervert it.
The movement of religious reformation that flourishes in the 16th century has fundamental moments and contributions in our land. Our own church is a part and continuity of the church that existed in Seville at that time. We recognize their declarations of faith as our own.
The Spanish church exiled in London in January, 1561, presented a document explaining their doctrine to other foreign churches that were there. It is the ‘confession of Christian faith, made by certain faithful Spaniards, who escaping from the abuses of the Roman Church and the cruelty of the Inquisition of Spain, left their homeland to be received by the Church of the faithful as brethren in Christ.’ Those Spanish brethren, ‘escaping from the abominations of popery, gathered there in the company of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pursuing union and concord, they confess (protest) to be members of the Catholic Church, and that they have no agreement with any sect or heressy, either old or new.’
That church of ours, in order to show its faithfulness as a Catholic Christian Church, had to reject all the superstitions, abuses and new anti-catholic doctrines that the Church of Rome had proposed. In that way we keep on walking.
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If you are a foreign resident among us, or your are simply spending a few days in Seville, we would be glad to meet you in our church. We have some English-speaker brethren, and you could even have the sermon translated if you like.
You can write to this e-mail address, if you need more information,
jusanlla@hotmail.com
Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformada de Sevilla 