RCSS/ARC update August 2025
Dear Friend in Christ, In Isaiah 52:7, we read, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.’” This month, we are delighted to introduce John Menton, who has
Our practice of protecting the Lord’s Table
Thank you for worshipping with us. We, the consistory of RCSS, hope to welcome you to the Lord’s Table as soon as possible. But first we would like to get to know you better. We believe and confess that the Lord’s Supper is a weighty personal and communal participation in
Video: The vision for a new federation of Reformed churches in Africa
Dear Friend in Christ, We would like to take this opportunity to re-/introduce Reformed Church Southern Suburbs (RCSS), now a congregation of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA). RCSS began as a mission work in Cape Town, South Africa, under the oversight of Reformed Church Bellville in 2012, with a Bible study.
Video: Introduction to Reformed Church Southern Suburbs
Dear Friend in Christ, We would like to take this opportunity to re-/introduce Reformed Church Southern Suburbs (RCSS), now a congregation of the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA). RCSS began as a mission work in Cape Town, South Africa, under the oversight of Reformed Church Bellville in 2012, with a Bible study.
Anaesthetizing shame: Avoiding justification and the grace of adoption
Address by Dr. James Berry at the conference “Justification by Faith Alone: Recovering Law and Gospel” in Cape Town, South Africa, on 21 June 2025. Since the Fall, humankind has grappled with the tragic reality of our fallenness. This fallenness is most fundamentally experienced as shame—the recognition of a core
Justification by faith and social justice by works
Address by Rev. Dr. Simon Jooste at the conference “Justification by Faith Alone: Recovering Law and Gospel” in Cape Town, South Africa, on 21 June 2025. Since Adam broke God’s covenant of strict justice, God has made merciful provision for humanity to live on under divine standards of justice, enforced
Forgiveness of sins: Theodore Beza’s creedal understanding of baptism
Address by Rev. Dr. David Noe at the conference “Justification by Faith Alone: Recovering Law and Gospel” in Cape Town, South Africa, on 20 June 2025. Since 381 AD, the church universal has with one voice confessed our belief in “one baptism for the remission of sins”. Like virtually all
Justification and good works? Luther and Calvin on the Book of James
Address by Rev. Dr. Dan Borvan at the conference “Justification by Faith Alone: Recovering Law and Gospel” in Cape Town, South Africa, on 20 June 2025. Martin Luther and John Calvin held divergent views concerning the Epistle of James relative to the doctrine of justification, particularly in relation to the
Why original context is important when reading Scripture
[. . .] There are real problems with ignoring original context and original intent. First, we effectively lose the Scriptures. If the Scriptures really mean what they mean to this reader and that reader (no matter if those readings contradict each other), then there is no text of Scripture. The
Simon Jooste’s presentations at the Ratio Christi conference in Cape Town
RCSS Pastor Rev. Dr Simon Jooste gave two presentations at the Ratio Christi Conference in Cape Town on 3 August 2024. The title of the first presentation is “God’s justice is not ‘social justice’: an apologetics perspective”. Social justice movements have swept the globe, leaving many Christians to believe that