Reformed Evangelism
Reformed Evangelism
Defending the Reformed Gospelβ€π
As Reformed Christians, we are to defend the truth against any system that teaches that the intentions of God can, in some sense, be frustrated, and that man, who is not only a creature but also a fallen sinful creature, can exercise restraint over the plans of our Sovereign God. A defense for Christian truth must be advanced over against such radical assaults on the biblical truths of God's immeasurable exaltation. As Christians, we are called to witness of our faith in Christ and to defend it when called upon. We are to be ready at all times to answer the question, "What is the Reformed Faith?"
For the purpose of "Reformed Evangelism," the "Five Solas" of the Reformation can be utilized to defend and promote the Reformed Gospel. The "Five Solas," founded upon the Word of God and our Confessions, the Three Forms of Unity, is fundamentally the doctrine upon which a defense of the Reformed Faith can be based. Although there are many approaches to Reformed Evangelism, I find that the "Five Solas" of the Reformation are instrumental to a historical approach. This approach answers the important issues of "Reformed Thought" from a historic perspective. From my experience, many non-reformed Christians are unfamiliar with the term "Reformed Faith."
What J. I. Packer wrote, sometime ago, rings true today in Christendom,
There is no doubt that evangelicalism today is in a state of perplexity and unsettlement. In such matters as the practice of evangelism, the teaching of holiness, the building up of local church life, the pastor's dealing with souls and the exercise of discipline, there is evidence of widespread dissatisfaction with things as they are and of equally widespread uncertainty as to the road ahead. This is a complex phenomenon, to which many factors have contributed; but, if we go to the root of the matter, we shall find that these perplexities are all ultimately due to our having lost our grip on the biblical gospel. Without realizing it, we have during the past century bartered that gospel for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing. Hence our troubles; for the substitute product does not answer the ends for which the authentic gospel has in past days proved itself so mighty. Why? We would suggest that the reason lies in its own character and content. It fails to make men God-centered in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do.Introduction, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ
In the book, No Place for Truth, David F. Wells writes:
The disappearance of theology from the life of the Church, and the orchestration of that disappearance by some of its leaders, is hard to miss today but, oddly enough, not easy to prove. It is hard to miss in the evangelical world β in the vacuous worship that is so prevalent, for example, in the shift from God to the self as the central focus of faith, in the psychologized preaching that follows this shift, in the erosion of its conviction, in its strident pragmatism, in its inability to think incisively about the culture, in its reveling in the irrational.
The message of the "Five Solasβ is as relevant for the 21st century Christian church as it was for the 16th-century Christian church. "The motto of the 16th-century protestant Reformation Church," the "Five Solas," is a message that the modern Christian church needs today, as did the sixteenth-century church (at that time, the church was facing spiritual unrest and biblical challenges, in many ways similar to what the Church faces in the 21st century).
The historian, Philip Schaff, wrote in his History of the Christian Church:
The Reformation of the sixteenth century is, next to the introduction of Christianity, the greatest event in history. It marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times. Starting from religion, it gave, directly or indirectly, a mighty impulse to every forward movement, and made Protestantism the chief propelling force in the history of modern civilization.
Further, he asserts, For the Reformation was neither a revolution nor a restoration, though including elements of both. It was negative and destructive towards error, positive and constructive towards truth; it was conservative as well as progressive; it built up new institutions in the place of those which it pulled down; and for this reason and to this extent it has succeeded.
Out of the need for change, the 16th century Protestant Reformation church forged five unifying statements called the "Five Solas of the Reformation," also known as the "Only's." "Scripture Only, Christ Only, Grace Only, Faith Only, and God's Glory Only." For the Reformers, these "Only's" have come to be known as the Reformation's doctrinal unity. The motto can also be posited in the following way: Scripture alone, saved by Christ's work alone, salvation by grace alone, justification by faith alone, and for the glory of God alone.
A Defense of the Truth: Scripture Onlyββ€π
The Reformers of the sixteenth century believed that God had preserved His written revelation and declared the Bible to be the only rule of faith and practice. They taught that the Bible was inspired by God and authoritative and that it superseded the authority of popes, kings, statesman, and church councils. The Reformers asserted that man, under the illumination of the Holy Spirit, is to study the Bible to learn about God, Christ, salvation, and church government and practices. The Reformers called upon all Christians to read and study their Bibles, in order for them to understand the proper form of biblical theology that was based on the authority of the Scripture alone.
A Defense of the Truth: Christ Onlyββ€π
The Reformers proclaimed salvation only, in the person of Jesus Christ, and that only through Jesus Christ could salvation actually be procured and secured by faith. The Reformers believed that salvation was only to be found in Christ, by the grace of God and, at that, by God's unconditional grace. They believed the Bible unequivocally taught the underlying, foundational doctrine that God's glory was the ultimate purpose of all things. They held tenaciously to the doctrine of salvation, ultimately for the glory of God rather than of man.
A Defense of the Truth: Grace Only ββ€π
The Reformers taught the salvation of man was a supernatural work of God and that a new spiritual birth, from God, was absolutely necessary in order to enter into the "Kingdom of God."
The Biblical doctrine of salvation by grace alone stood on the monument of the "Five Solas" that were forged out of the great storms of the Protestant Reformation. John Calvin, who lived in the sixteenth century, through his own personal spiritual struggles, studied the Scriptures and the tracts of Martin Luther and other older Reformers; and in time, he became Biblically persuaded in the irrefutable truths of the protestant Reformation Faith. As was Luther and others, Calvin, too, was spiritually troubled about the state of his soul. These men, as did many in the church of their time, had questions such as, "How does a sinner become acceptable to a holy and pure God?" and "How can any approach a Holy God who cannot tolerate sin?" And to answer these questions not only for themselves but also for the church, the Reformers developed the doctrinal statement of salvation by grace alone.
A Defense of the Truth: Faith Onlyββ€π
As the Reformers turned their studies to the Bible, they discovered marvelously that Christians are justified by faith in Christ alone β not by any merits of their own. With the statements of the "Five Solas," the Reformers developed biblical statements of truth and managed to bring about one of the greatest events in history, by restoring the Christian faith to proper biblical teaching.
Reforming the church to proper biblical teaching was a milestone for the Christian church; and what this Reformation meant for believers was that they could turn their attention from a salvation of works to a salvation by faith, freed by grace from sin's bondage and guilt to a salvation of liberty, and to a life of thankful service before the face of a glorious and gracious God. By faith alone meant, Christians were justified by Jesus Christ our only Savior, who freely grants eternal redemption. For Christians, this meant that by faith, sinners have been granted, through Christ, the remission of sin, everlasting righteousness, and salvation, which was freely given to them by God, merely of grace, only for the sake of Christ's merits. This is the good news of the true Gospel.
The early Reformers succeeded to give to "The Christian Church" the five biblical elements of the "Five Solas," by which we can unify our Christian faith: By Scripture alone, salvation by Christ's work alone, salvation by grace alone, justification by faith alone, and salvation for the glory of God alone. These five pillars are biblical, doctrinal statements that stand together and unify our Christian faith.
Although the "Five Solas" doctrinally unified the Reformers, Christendom was, yet, divided by two very different belief systems running parallel to each other: (a) the belief system based salvation on "Scripture, Christ, Faith, and Grace Alone," and (b) the belief system based upon a salvation that, in some sense, depended on good works and human sovereignty.
A Defense of the Truth: God's Glory Onlyββ€π
When we understand the principle of "Salvation for the Glory of God Alone," we begin to understand the basic principle of the Reformed Faith, which is the sovereign rule and grace of God. The doctrine of the Sovereignty of God represents the purpose of the Triune God as absolute and unconditional, independent of the whole finite creation, and originating solely in the eternal counsel of His own will. The Sovereign appoints the course of nature and directs the course of history down to the most minute detail.
God's decrees, therefore, are eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign. The Reformed Faith represents the teachings of the Bible as God being the basis of the divine foreknowledge and author of all future events, including the salvation of man because man's total being has been affected by the fall, resulting in moral depravity, rendering him unable to choose spiritual life over spiritual death because there is no light in him, only darkness for "men love darkness rather than light." Hence, all men are conceived spiritually dead and in darkness.
In contrast to modern thought, salvation is not conditioned by anything originating from man himself. "Salvation by Grace Alone (and) Justification by Faith Alone" are the principles of the Reformed Faith, upon which the sovereignty of God in salvation is based. God created this universe, in which we exist; He holds title deed to it, and He is ordering and managing it according to His own sovereign good pleasure, Ephesians 1:5.
God has lost none of His power; and it is highly dishonoring to His Majesty to suppose that He is struggling along with the human race, doing the best He can to persuade men to do right, but unable to accomplish His eternal, unchangeable, holy, wise, and sovereign purpose.
As Christians, we are to defend the truth against any system that teaches that the intentions of God can, in some cases, be defeated, and that man, who is not only a creature but also a fallen creature, can thwart the plans of our Sovereign God. A defense for Christian truth must be advanced over against such distinct contrast to the biblical idea of God's dignity and Majesty. As Christians, we are called to defend our faith.
What is it that we should and must defend? That our salvation is founded upon: The Scriptures only, Christ only, grace only, faith only, and God's glory only.
A Defense of the Truth: Against Arminianismββ€π
The Christians, who held to Reformed thought, based their belief on the "Five Solas," and they defended it against the system that decayed the Gospel of Christ. As the Reformers did, we, too, reject a belief system that has diluted the true Gospel, reducing it to good works, which system has come to be known in Christendom as Arminianism.
Jacob Arminius, who lived from 1560 to 1609, leaned toward humanistic thought, and stirred up resistance in the church against Reformed thought. Nevertheless, Arminianism is a belief system that is inconsistent with the Scriptures; and conclusively, it is an unsound biblical form of Christianity because such teaching confuses grace and works. Over against Arminian thought, the Scriptures consistently support Sovereign Grace, as affirmed by the Reformers. Therefore, the Reformers asserted that Christianity comes to its fullest and purest expression in the Reformed Faith.
As Reformed Christians, we will inevitably encounter Arminian thought and, therefore, need to be ready to defend the Reformed faith. We are living in a day in which practically all of the churches embrace the Arminian belief system that in the end fosters unbelief, which consistently leads to a disregard for objective truth, and most certainly to universalism. Universalism, or universal Atonement, is an Arminian conviction that Christ died for everyone and that man has the ability to choose or reject Christ, and that man, out of his own sense of moral good, makes a choice for Christ. Therefore, all men are, in some sense, morally good.
Furthermore, Arminianism advances the idea that Christ died only to give man the opportunity for salvation, thus, ultimately granting to man sovereign control over his own salvation. Conclusively, those who have insisted upon Arminianism have historically shown a disregard for absolute truth, resulting in churches deteriorating into a belief system that promotes merely a social gospel that is so adulterated that the objective biblical truth of the Gospel is eventually lost. The reality has consistently been that where the God-centered principles of the Reformed Faith have been abandoned, there is a strong tendency downward into the depths of a man-centered humanistic gospel, resulting in an indifference to God's Word. What is true is that when the element of "The Scriptures Only" as the standard of faith has deteriorated, so has true Christianity deteriorated, and with it, the true visible church.
Although cultures change, undoubtedly, we are convinced that history has shown us the need for a gospel that never changes; and it is incumbent upon Christianity to continue within a system of theology that unifies Christians to an absolute truth and to the God of Scripture, who sovereignly brings about all events that take place in His universe as the outworking of His great preordained plan for His creatures and His Church.
The First Doctrinal Statement: The Scripture Aloneββ€π
The Scripture alone, as our only standard, was defended by the Reformers, who declared the Bible to be the only rule of faith and practice. They believed that God had canonized His revelation of salvation in written form, which was to be propagated to all men. They included the doctrine of sufficiency of Scripture in their confessions.
The Scriptures confirm the Reformers statement: The Apostle Paul, wrote to Timothy,
You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.2 Timothy 3:14-17
The Second Doctrinal Statement: Saved by Christ's Work Aloneββ€π
The Reformation called the church back to faith in Christ as the sole mediator between God and man. The Reformers taught that salvation was by Christ's work alone. As John Calvin said in the Institutes of the Christian Religion,
Christ stepped in, took the punishment upon himself and bore the judgment due to sinners. With his own blood he expiated the sins which made them enemies of God and thereby satisfied him...we look to Christ alone for divine favor and fatherly love!
The Scriptures confirm this statement: 1 Timothy 2:5Β6, There is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony borne at the proper time....
Colossians 1:13-18, For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities β all things have been created by Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.
The Third Doctrinal Statement: Salvation by Grace Aloneββ€π
The Reformation affirmed that salvation was by grace alone. This third element, "Salvation by Grace Alone," is the biblical doctrine that our righteous standing before God is imputed to us by grace because of the work of Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Scriptures confirm this statement: Ephesians 1:3-8,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.
The Fourth Doctrinal Statement: Justification by Faith Aloneββ€π
The "Material Principle" of the Reformation was "Justification by Faith Alone." As the Westminster Confession of Faith says, "Faith, thus receiving and resting on Christ and his righteousness, is the alone instrument of justification: yet is it not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces, and is no dead faith, but worketh by love."
The Genevan Confession, likewise, pointed out the necessity of those justified living by faith saying, "We confess that the entrance which we have to the great treasures and riches of the goodness of God that is (granted) us is by faith; inasmuch as, in certain confidence and assurance of heart, we believe in the promises of the gospel, and receive Jesus Christ as he is offered to us by the Father and described to us by the Word of God" (Article 11).
The Scriptures confirm this statement: Galatians 3: 5-9,
Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the hearing of faith? Just as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, in you all the nations shall be blessed. So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
The Fifth Doctrinal Statement: Salvation for the Glory of God Aloneββ€π
The Reformation reclaimed the Scriptural teaching of the sovereignty of God over every aspect of the believer's life. All of life is to be lived to the glory of God. As we would so concur with the question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "What is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever."
This great and all consuming purpose was emphasized in the 16th and 17th centuries by those who sought to reform the church according to the Word of God. The Reformers saw all of life to be lived under the Lordship of Christ.
Every activity of the Christian is to be sanctified unto the glory of God.
The Scriptures confirm this statement:
1 Corinthians 10:31, Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Peter 4:11, Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.
Revelation 1:6, He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.
2 Peter 3:18, Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity.
Ephesians 3:21, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.
Revelation 7:12, Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever.
Romans 11:36, For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
Effective Reformed Evangelismββ€π
To be effective in "Reformed Evangelism," one needs to prepare with a presentation an answer to the question, "What is the Reformed Faith?" As Reformed Christians, we are obligated to have an answer. Therefore, it is to our advantage to prepare, beforehand, a formal presentation that is logically organized and well developed with biblical arguments, confessional statements, Scripture texts, and illustrations. A study of the "Five Solas" of the Reformation will prove to be an excellent resource for putting together a formal presentation
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