Identity Problems⤒🔗

Do you have an identity problem? Are you sometimes at a loss as to what to call yourself? When people ask you what you are, what do you say: “I’m a believer” or “I’m a Christian” or “I’m a Reformed Christian” or “I’m Canadian Reformed”?

Of the four answers just mentioned, I suspect it is the last two that give us the most problems. And why is that? It relates to the fact that often we do not know quite what to do with that word “Reformed.”What really does it mean? What sort of content do we pour into it? How do we define and explain it? The result is that we are faced with a dilemma: should we use it or avoid it?

What it Means←⤒🔗

In light of this it may be beneficial that we first spend a few words on the matter of meaning. What does it mean to be Reformed?

Theologically and historically this question has produced both short and long answers. There are those who keep their answer short and say that being Reformed simply means being biblical. Nevertheless, there are a lot of conservative Christians out there who claim to be biblical but who do not at all consider themselves to be Reformed.

The result is that often more has been said and needs to be said. There are those who attempt to be more specific and add that to be Reformed means that you confess the four solas: sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), and solus Christus (Christ alone).

Still, this answer too has often been deemed lacking and in need of further clarification. The consequence is that some insist that you need to add TULIP to the mix: (T = total depravity, U = unconditional election, L = limited atonement, I = irresistible grace, P = perseverance of the saints).

But then again, some are not happy with keeping it to five points and would like to add even more. Several of the suggestions include: covenant theology, infant baptism, redemptive-historical as well as experiential preaching, the regulative principle of worship, amillennialism, the law and gospel distinction.

And you thought that all of this was easy?

A Definition←⤒🔗

Still, we do need to work with some sort of definition. So what shall it be? My suggestion would be to say that being Reformed is all about adhering to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures as summarized and confessed in the early creeds of the Apostles, Nicea and Athanasius, as well as in the Reformed confessions: the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, the Second Helvetic Confession of Faith, and the Westminster Standards. In other words, being Reformed is all about being a confessional Christian. Almost all of the additional content that people want to pour into the word “Reformed” is included and explained in one or more of these creeds or confessions. In them one finds the struggles, debates, insights, and agreements of the ages. In them one also finds the best of Christian thinking and theology. Simply said: my “reformedness” is found and explained in my confessions.

Solidly Reformed←⤒🔗

Yet there is more to the story. For being Reformed is not just a matter of expressing agreement with some ancient documents. It also represents a way of looking, thinking, seeing, and acting.

To be more specific, let me go out on the limb a little further and state that if we are going to be Reformed, we need to be so solidly. What do I mean by that? It means that we need to know what we believe and of what we speak.

Yes, and then the first thing that comes to mind here is the Word of God itself and our understanding of it. How well do we know it? How much time do we spend with it? How earnestly do we grapple with its contents? A Reformed believer is a person of The Book! Such a person makes reading and reflecting on it a priority in their life.

To assist in all of this one would do well to adopt a regular reading schedule in which the entire Bible is read through regularly. Such schedules are readily available. Also you may want to consider obtaining a copy of the Bible on CD or on mp3 format for listening to on the way to and from work.

In addition to being a diligent student of the Word, such a person also knows his or her creeds and confessions. To help you in this, I would say that each of our homes could benefit greatly from reading and consulting a book like that edited by Joel R. Beeke and Sinclair B. Ferguson called Reformed Confessions Harmonized (Baker Books, 1999). In it one finds the confessions that were previously mentioned handily arranged in columns for easy reference.

In short, then, a real grounding in the Word and the confessions is part and parcel of what it means to be Reformed. It will help to fashion that faithful person described in Psalm 1 and Matthew 7. Why is he able to stand? He is able to do so because he meditates on the law of God constantly and because he builds his life wisely on the bedrock of God’s inspired and infallible Word. He knows the Word and he knows those creeds and confessions that handle that Word so wisely and so well.

Humbly Reformed←⤒🔗

Besides a need to be solidly Reformed, there is also and always a need to be humbly Reformed. There is a temptation in being busy with the things of God. It is the temptation of thinking that you can either save yourself or else make a most meaningful contribution towards your own salvation.

In the Old Testament, the dominant sin was idolatry. Time and again one comes across God warning his people not to make idols and not to lean on them, seek it from them, or believe in them. In the New Testament, not nearly as much is said about idolatry. Does this mean that it was not there? Hardly! Idolatry is always present in the human heart. Why? Because at bottom it contains the idea that we can contribute towards our own salvation. We love our works and we especially love our religious works. They make us proud and smug.

The result is that we need an antidote. And what is the antidote to idolatry and to all do-it-yourself religion? What best counteracts our pride and conceit? It is grace! It is the kind of grace that Paul reminds us about in Ephesians 2 – “It is by grace you have been saved” (v 5). He even repeats it in verses 8 and 9 – “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

All boasting is excluded! A Reformed believer works humbly and thankfully with the gifts of God. He or she knows that it all comes down to grace. Therefore, there is no room for a puffed-up spirit. There is no climbing up on one’s high horse and looking down with scorn and contempt at others. There is no resorting to the quick and easy condemnation of those who fail and fall. Life before God is grace. On the whole I am no fan of slogans but here is one that bears repeating daily – “There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Catholicly Reformed←⤒🔗

To solidly Reformed and humbly Reformed, we can add a third feature and I have called it “catholicly Reformed.” What is that? Is there even such a word as “catholicly?” Yes, there is (I looked it up in my Canadian Oxford Dictionary and it is there on page 226), and it does not have anything to do with the Roman Catholic Church either.

Years ago when I was a student at the Theological College, I sat under the teaching of Dr. Jelle Faber and he loved to speak about the catholic character of the church, as well as the catholic character of the Belgic Confession. His theological training and his doctrinal studies dealing with the ancient church fathers made a profound impression on him and showed him that the works of God are deep and wide and long.

And we need that awareness today too. Believers in every age run the danger of thinking that all new biblical insights and theological ideas start with them. There is this silly game that we play of trying to take the credit for something that we think is utterly new. There is this vain conceit which leads us to assume that we are the only ones or the first ones who truly have a handle on this truth or on this or that point of doctrine.

At the same time there are those who opt for the extremes. On the one side there are those who absolutize their own church traditions and practices and insist that every other church in the world has to do things like they do them or be declared suspect. On the other side there are those who are quick to criticize the church and her teachings, liturgy, and traditions. They would throw a great deal overboard after stamping it redundant.

Far better is the approach which takes into account that our God through his Son has been busy building his church from the beginning of time and will be busy until the end of time. We are meant to learn from the past, from its saints and theologians, its controversies and disputes, its struggles and challenges. We are also meant to learn from our faithful brothers and sisters around the world and how they live out their faith. The Holy Spirit has been and remains active in so many places, among so many peoples, and in so many tongues.

The result is that Reformed believers have both a sense of history and geography. They embrace the God who works through the ages and they rejoice in the God who works around the world. They have an eye for the universal workings of God. They are catholicly Reformed.

Boldly Reformed←⤒🔗

When one is solidly grounded in Word and confessions, humble in one’s attitude and catholic in one’s perspective, there is a fourth thing that emerges and that is a boldness in one’s spirit. Rightly can we speak of being boldly, or even, aggressively Reformed.

In saying this I do not mean that we are to be noisy, pushy, or insensitive. Such an approach does not accord with the style of our Lord and Saviour, nor does it harmonize with the fruits of the Spirit like kindness and gentleness. Rather ours is to be the boldness of an Apostle Paul who tells the Philippians and us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength” (4:13). In other words, it is a boldness rooted in Christ and in the faith that He works in us.

Unfortunately, however, this is not always what we see in Reformed believers. All too often we come across as insecure or uncertain in our convictions. We shy away from wielding the sword of the Spirit in our witness. We retreat in the face of opposition and resistance. We offer far too many profuse apologies for this or for that. Instead of being boldly Reformed, we come across as being hesitantly or reluctantly Reformed.

There is something in Mark 9 that may help cure this timidity. It has to do with a demon-possessed boy, his healing by the Lord Jesus, and a question by the disciples. Their question was this, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (v. 28) The answer of our Saviour was, “This kind can come out only by prayer” (v. 29).

Why could the disciples not expel the demon? Was it due to their faltering faith? Was it because Satan’s power was no match for theirs? Whatever it may have been, one thing is clear and that is that the antidote for powerlessness and weakness is prayer. Only prayer drives out demons. Only prayer makes up for a lack of power, courage, and zeal. Being boldly Reformed has nothing to do with will power, genes, or upbringing; instead, it has everything to do with prayer. Our petitions can draw down for us from God a confidence and forthrightness that fills the gospel with wings.

In closing, dear reader, if you wear the name of being Reformed, wear it well. Indeed, wear it solidly, humbly, catholicly, and boldly.