Key Doctrines of Reformed THeology Part I

Last week we began a series of blogs on Reformed Theology and we saw that, at its heart, it is a system of doctrine that centers on the glory of God. This week we will begin to see exactly how it does so.

Reformed Theology is thoroughly Protestant and is therefore based on what are called the five solas ("alones") of the Protestant Reformation. These were the battle cry of the Reformers as they cleared the godless overgrowth of darkened centuries and struck the lively path back to biblical Christianity. The five solas are as follows:

Scripture Alone - The Bible and the Bible alone is where God speaks. It is the sole authority in all matters of faith and practice. Rome believed Scripture was authoritative but not Scripture alone; they held that tradition, councils, and popes were also mouthpieces of the Holy Spirit. The Reformers excluded everything apart from Scripture and its right interpretation as God's voice and, therefore, as authoritative. (Isaiah 8:20; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Grace Alone - The Bible teaches that sinners are saved by grace and grace alone. Grace is God's condescending mercy and favor bestowed on those who deserve the exact opposite. Grace means salvation is entirely of the Lord and not of ourselves. God initiates and God completes, to the joy of helpless sinners like us. (Romans 11:6; Ephesians 2:8)

Faith Alone - This grace comes to us by faith and faith alone. Rome believed salvation was by faith, but not faith alone. They added works. The Reformers taught that faith alone apprehends God's saving grace. A mustard seed of real trust in Christ saves instantly and completely. (Romans 3:28; Ephesians 2:8)

Christ Alone - This faith is in Christ and Christ alone. Rome believed the object of saving faith was all doctrines taught by the church, that all doctrines were equally necessary for salvation. Scripture teaches that the only object of saving faith is our Lord Jesus Christ and his finished work. It's "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!" to those who know his love. (Acts 16:31; Romans 3:25; Galatians 2:20, 3:1)

The Glory of God Alone - This great salvation results in the glory of God alone. No boasting is left to men. All glory belongs to the God who saved us by himself. Salvation displays his greatness and merciful bounty to hell-deserving sinners through the shed blood of his Son for them. What this mighty doctrine means is that there is none like him. (Romans 4:2, 9:23; Ephesians 3:21)

And so Reformed Theology is founded upon the deeply biblical doctrines of the five solas. Next week we will see how Reformed Theology takes the solas to their most natural and necessary conclusions.

What is Reformed Theology?

In recent years there has been a recovery of Reformed Theology in churches around the globe. While some are familiar with the phrase, others may be wondering, what is Reformed Theology?

REFORMED THEOLOGY IS, FIRST AND FOREMOST, THEOLOGY.

It is richly doctrinal. Deep thoughts of sin and grace, and big ideas of God pervade the preaching and writings of Reformed Theology. It is a highly theological system of thought rooted in the Bible. The Bible reveals who God is, and thus, Biblically rich theology has the goal of knowing God. Christians partake of a living, experiential knowledge of God through his word and prayer. 

REFORMED THEOLOGY IS REFORMED.

This means it is rooted in the Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century. The Reformation was a monumental drive back to the Bible, a large-scale recovery of apostolic Christianity from the corruptions of the Roman Catholic Church. Reformed theology is a nickname for the teachings of the apostles and prophets and of our Lord himself as revealed in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.

REFORMED THEOLOGY IS ABOUT GOD'S GLORY.

The great theme of the Bible is the glory of God in all things, especially in the salvation of sinners through the person and work of his Son Jesus Christ. God is supreme in creation and he is supreme in redemption; he reigns over all things for the sake of his own renown. He alone is worthy of worship. All things, even the plans of the wicked, will coalesce to God's praise on the Last Day. His purposes are unstoppable. Reformed theology champions this great truth, which is also the confidence and comfort of his people.

In subsequent posts we will look at specific key doctrines of Reformed Theology, great Biblical truths which undergird the preaching and teaching at Redeeming Cross and indeed at all Biblical churches.

Thanksgiving first

"FIRST, I THANK MY GOD THROUGH JESUS CHRIST FOR YOU ALL" ROMANS 1:8

Of first order for Paul was the giving of thanks. I would like to encourage the reader with three observations from the text-

I thank my God. God is to be thanked because he is the giver of all things. Paul recognized that all that proceeded and all that was to follow in the lives of the Roman believers was the gift of God. In particular, Paul was thankful for their faith. It was the treasure he sought. He was so thankful for their faith that he wanted to impart more of it to them and even receive more of it for himself (verses 11-12). All comes from God, and especially the spiritual life of trusting him.

Through Jesus Christ.  Paul's thanksgiving had a Mediator. It was through Christ that Paul offered his thanks before God's throne. Our giving of thanks is sorely imperfect, and even the heartfelt offering of it to God must be mediated through Jesus Christ, who presents it spotless to the Father on our behalf and with great joy. His mention of Jesus Christ also reminds us that the faith he was thankful for came through Christ and his finished work.

For you all. Paul wasn't thankful for faith as an abstract concept floating around out there somewhere; he was thankful for their faith. His deepest gratitude to God centered on people. Today, give thanks to God for the people in your life, and especially for those who trust Jesus. Encourage one another by your faith. And for those who don't believe, show your gratitude for them by urging them to flee the judgment to come and find refuge and life and joy and peace in Jesus Christ today. On all sides, let faith in Christ be the chief dish passed around the table. Now that would be worthy of great thanksgiving.

The Sayer

"AFTER HE HAD FINISHED ALL HIS SAYINGS IN THE HEARING OF THE PEOPLE..." LUKE 7:1

Jesus is the eschatological Sayer. God sent many prophets and wise men to shepherd his people of old, but his final word to us is the Word, his own Son in the flesh.

We don't have pictures of Jesus, nor do we have relics of his physical presence. But the most holy of relics we do have: his words. His words move worlds. His sayings secure eternities, even as here he laid them as the foundation of all future hope (Luke 6:46-49). 

Is your mind rich with the words of Christ? Do you keep them near to your heart as a sachet of myrrh? The fragrance of Christ is upon us inasmuch as we prayerfully treasure his precious sayings, storing them up and marinating our souls in them. They are the sayings of eternal life.

A wiser than Solomon is here, making us glad in hearing his sweet speech.

How to treat haters

"DO GOOD TO THOSE WHO HATE YOU." LUKE 6:27

What a command! How could it be expected of anyone? And who dares to require it? One who exemplifies it in the extreme.

God is the One who does good to those who hate him. He sent his own Son to die for sinners, while they were yet sinners -- "while we were enemies," as Paul says (Rom. 5:10). While we fought against the gospel with the viciousness of rabid dogs, the Holy Spirit did good to us by granting us to believe.

We were God's enemies and he did eternal good to us in the midst of our hatred. This is why we can turn right around and do good to those who hate us, to the glory of God.

A real request

"REMOVE THIS CUP FROM ME." MARK 14:36

This was a real request. Jesus doesn't play-act. "There was no deceit in his mouth" (Isa. 53:9). Was this request an exception? Perish the thought! What makes him exceptional is that there were no exceptions to this stunning rule.

Sometimes Jesus spoke above the truth, but never against it. "Destroy this temple" mislead his opponents, but the deception was their own, not his. He is the true temple. What we have here is not that. In the garden, he spoke to the Father in dead earnest. Jesus really desired to escape this cup.

What kind of cup could possibly press blood from those holy pores and such a request from those unerring lips? The beatings and whips and spikes were but the froth of that cup (some of his disciples have endured those same sufferings with great joy). His cup was different; it wasn't less, but more. Its real content was the concentrated wrath of God against sin, the sin he was about to bear.

Jesus made a real request because the cup was real. And because he went ahead and drained it anyway, we who trust him are really forgiven. The fiery wrath we deserve was really spent on Christ in our place. Jesus drank the cup of real wrath to put cups of real mercy in our hands forever!

The Beginning of the Gospel

"THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST" MARK 1:1

The gospel we preach in 2017, the self-same that we heard and believed ourselves, is that which the apostles preached so long ago. Did I say apostles? Yes, but prophets too, and patriarchs. It was promised beforehand, foreshadowed, prefigured, and prophesied. Mark records the beginning of its manifestation, but its end is nowhere in sight.

It goes on and on through the ages, advancing with the measured steps of inflexible reality. Now and again it flashes forth in sweeping revival. Kingdoms rise and fall, regimes flex and fade, waxing and waning while the kingdom of God advances on and on through the centuries, winning the souls of men and adding to its ranks people from every place.

THE ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL IS INVINCIBLE.

Divine Defiance

"GO, MAKE IT AS SECURE AS YOU CAN." MATTHEW 27:65

Ready thy selves, O foes of Jesus! Make the tomb as secure as you can. Seal his death with all your might! But make it well, for the third day cometh.

Pilate said it, but God meant it, as if to say to death itself, "Strap on your armor and be shattered" (Isaiah 8:9). He offers holy defiance to all who resist the high destiny of Jesus Christ! He is the Son of God, God the Son in human flesh, the death killer who dances on his own grave. "It was impossible for Him to be held in its power" (Acts 2:24). 

Resist with all the strength you can muster, but Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and at his name every knee will bow. Friend, repent of your sin and believe the gospel! 

RESISTANCE IS FUTILE; JOY IS FOR THOSE WHO BOW NOW.

He’s coming

"THE SON OF MAN IS COMING" MATTHEW 24:44

Everything you are presently concerned about will be swallowed up by this. You will forget everything, or better, everything will appear for what it really is: a very small matter. The big matters—God and people and sin—will loom larger than life and consume your attention as you enter the realms of eternity.

Jesus Christ is coming back as a roaring lion. It is not a matter of if, but simply a matter of when. "Be ready," he says in the same verse. His glorious appearance will be terror itself or joy itself to every human being.

What is his coming back to you now? Are you washed in his blood and clothed in his righteousness, ready for your heavenly call? Or are you wallowing in your sin, filthy and naked before God, awaiting your summons to judgment?

RUN TO CHRIST FOR SAFETY MY FRIEND. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS.

Exposed

"'WE ARE AFRAID OF THE CROWD'...THEY FEARED THE CROWDS." MATTHEW 21:26, 46

We grow by the exposure of our weakness. Physical trainers help people strengthen neglected muscles for a complete physique. We tend to lean on our strengths to the detriment of our underdeveloped, already-weak-enough areas.

Jesus exposed the chief priests and Pharisees through a series of questions and parables. Their true concern wasn't for truth, but for themselves. They were unwilling to give an open statement of their beliefs for fear of what the crowds might do to them. Their god was their bellies; their statement of faith was their present comfort. All was sacrificed to this, even their manly integrity.

"All Scripture is...profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). It discerns our every hidden thought, searches out our secrets, and exposes our blind spots. We need its light. We must spend time under God's word that we might grow in our weaknesses. He knows how to strengthen us in grace.

We are whole persons, and weak areas of our character inevitably affect other areas of our selves. We need the good exposure of God's word, and of local church community, that we may be "complete" (2 Timothy 3:17).

Those who trust Christ are already accepted by God, justified and embraced as sons and daughters. You were an open book when he clothed you in his righteousness, nothing will now separate you from his love. We have nothing to fear of rejection, so let us embrace this gracious searching of our souls by the Master Craftsman.