“The content of worship comes from the Bible, the goal of worship is to give praise to God, and the basis for worship is the saving work of Jesus Christ. Put more simply, true Christian worship is Word-communicating, God-glorifying, and Christ-confessing.”
-Phillip Graham Ryken
“Reformed theology is nothing other than biblical Christianity.” – Charles Spurgeon
I don’t recall asking a whole lot of questions growing up. If I did, the answers weren’t that great because I certainly don’t remember them! The same thing was true about church and faith; generally, I accepted what I was being taught and moved on. I’m sure that is a familiar story to many who grew up in the church. I was well in my teen years before I realized that there were people who believed differently than us godly Southern Baptist!
When I started college, however, that all changed. I was inundated with information so vast my brain could scarcely hold it all. (Judging by some test scores apparently my brain didn’t hold it all.) I begin hearing words like Calvinism and Arminianism, Reformed and Liberal, Dispensational and Evangelical, and thinking, “When are they going to teach me about Southern Baptistism?” Yeah, I was “that” guy! Southern Baptist or die! I was also learning the foundations of the early church. I was soaking in church history in massive amounts and could never get my fill.
But it wasn’t until I was forced to write a paper arguing for, and defending free will, that my whole faith system was shaken. I was scouring the Scripture trying to support my position, but with every turn of the page I was faced with severe challenges to my belief. I begin to research like never before. Praying. Reading. Searching. Let me not forget to add here that I was 3 years into my calling as a pastor. A pastor with a faith crisis is not always the best thing for a church!
It was at that moment I realized: my faith had been placed in what I believe about God as opposed to being in God himself.
I spent my entire life placing my hope in my faith and I forgot to place it in God. In the midst of my searching one branch of theology began to stand out to me. There was a theology that actually trumpeted the Sovereignty of God over all things. A theology that taught God was not merely capable of being in control, but rather God is in control. I was hooked.
This branch of theology is known as Reformed and its birth was the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. The Reformation, led by Martin Luther, among others, would become a force so powerful that no man could stop it. The Reformation was based on Scripture, and not tradition. Its focus was God and not man.
At its core are the 5 solas:
Sola Scriptura – Scripture Alone
Sola Gratia – Grace Alone
Sola Fide – Faith Alone
Sola Christo – Christ Alone
Sola Deo Gloria – Glory to God Alone
Reformed theology would continue to grow and also take on the name of Calvinism, after John Calvin, the founder of its teachings. Calvinism would be based as well on 5 core truths:
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement (or particular or definite atonement)
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
What I have said here, in no way, does justice to the teachings of Reformed theology, but we are going to start here. We’ll tackle the 5 solas at once and then on to the teachings of John Calvin.
Don’t hesitate to ask any questions you may have as we travel along
**This post is part of a series covering the basics of what I believe. To read all the post in the series, click here.**
A.W Tozer said, ““What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
I believe that to be a very valid statement.
Theology can be a confusing subject in which we easily get lost and confused. Even the word is kind of scary. Really though, everyone has a theology, it’s merely what you believe about God. The problem is that most people don’t know WHY they believe WHAT they believe.
The problem grows even more when we try to explain our beliefs to one another. We have all these different backgrounds and usually come to these conversations with presuppositions that only muddy the waters and wreak havoc on our communication.
I decided to start a conversation on my blog concerning my personal beliefs. Usually one of two things happen when people discover that I adhere to a Reformed theological position. Either a) they cringe and think that I hate lost people or b) they have no idea what I’m talking about.
The goal over the next week or so will be to share my thoughts in a blog series simply titled: “Why I am Reformed.” I’m hoping that you guys will jump in the conversation. Ask questions. Submit thoughts.
You learn about me, and I learn about you. We’ll begin with a introduction to Reformed theology and then move through it’s major points.
What say you?
