reformed | Christian Library

What is the Reformed Faith?

What is the reformed faith? This article points to the sovereignty of God, man's sinful nature, the work of Christ, election, justification and the Christian life as distinguishing aspects of the reformed faith.

What is a Reformed Church?

What makes a church reformed? This article gives a historical and doctrinal answer to this question.

Evangelical or Reformed?

This article defines the difference between Evangelicalism and Reformed theology by looking at the history and development of the Evangelical movement.

What Is a Reformed Church?

What is a Reformed church? To answer this question, this article explains ten characteristics of a Reformed church.

Semper Reformada

You may have heard the phrase "Reformed and always reforming" in reference to the church. What does it mean? This article explains that the saying teaches that the church is the Lord's, and is always created and renewed by the Word of God rather than by the spirit of the age.

Come, Let Us Bow Down: Reflections on Kneeling

Why do Christians in most Reformed and Presbyterian churches not kneel during prayer? In this article Abraham Kuyper explains that kneeling was still customary as late as 1618, at the Synod of Dort.

What Does It Mean to Be Reformed?

This article explains the five solas of the Reformation: sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, and soli Deo Gloria. It makes a call to the Reformed churches today to adhere to these principles.

The Confession of Faith Article 30 Concerning the Government of, and Offices in the Church

How should the church be governed? From the Belgic Confession, Article 30 this article examines three types of church government: Roman Catholic Church government, Lutheran church government, and Reformed church government or Presbyterian church government.

What's Reformed?

How would you define "Reformed"? This article clarifies what the term is all about, that it has to do with re-forming according to the teachings of Scripture, in all aspects of life, including worship and church government.

The Biblical Gospel

This article mourns the misunderstanding now prevalent in relation to the gospel of Christ. It starts with an attempt to provide a biblical understanding of the use of nouns and verbs related to the word "gospel" and proceeds to explain what is meant by that word. The definition covers the basic message of the biblical story and also details how it must be told today in order to faithfully reflect the biblical message.

Sufficient for All?

The author of this article vigorously opposes the use of the expression, "The atonement is sufficient for all, but efficient only for the elect." This is the expression associated with the doctrine of limited atonement that is confessed in the Reformed tradition.

Baptism and the Munus Triplex

The three offices, prophet, priest, and king, have been a standard Reformed way of describing the work of Christ. The thesis of this article is that these offices can be used fruitfully to describe the participation of a Christian in the work of Christ through baptism.

The Five Points

This article outlines the controversy between the Arminians and the Reformed in the sixteenth century, and the lessons the church today can draw from it.

Is There a Reformed Way to Get the Benefits of the Atonement to “Those Who Have Never Heard”?

This article deals with the question whether it is possible for someone who has never heard the gospel to be saved. The author hopes to give a nuance to a classically Reformed view of the doctrine of salvation to embrace everything Scripture teaches on this aspect of the faith. He also wants to make use of insights from so-called inclusivism, which can be useful when understood from a Reformed perspective.

Our Spiritual Roots: The Reformation and the Rediscovery of the Gospel

To be Reformed means to be biblical, to recognise and submit oneself to the supreme authority of God’s Word. This article argues that this is the lesson we must learn from the Reformation. Going back to God’s word led to the rediscovery of the gospel and liberated the church from traditionalism.

The Law Is Not of Faith – Calvin and Witsius on the Mosaic Covenant

This chapter is an exploration of the significance of the Mosaic covenant. Chapter 1 is a historical-theological comparison of two important Reformed theologians, John Calvin and Herman Witsius. Witsius is known for his Economy of the Covenants between God and Man (1677).

Covenant, Universal Call and Definite Atonement

In this article, Nicole interacts with current views on three important topics in Reformed dogma: definite atonement, a universal call in the presentation of the gospel, and the covenant of grace.

Gospel until the Law: Romans 5:13-14 and the Old Covenant

Kline considers the role Romans 5:13-14 played in formulations of classic Reformed and covenant theology. The role and function of Adam and Christ is considered in relation to the Law.

Truth in All Its Glory – Salvation Belongs to the Lord

What is Reformed theology? What does it mean to adhere to the Reformed faith? Do Reformed theologians claim that there is one all-encompassing summary of the Reformed faith? In Chapter 1 William Edgar claims that part of the task of ordering our theological ideas is to assign a centre and then move toward the periphery. At the heart of Reformed theology is the desire to credit all good things to God. Chapter 1 is a reflection on the significance of this desire and claim.

Presbyterian and Reformed Churches – Introduction to Presbyterian History

The Introduction provides an overview of the history of the Presbyterian and Reformed tradition. Church polity receives focused attention.

The Doctrine of Inspiration Since the Reformation

In this paper, the author gives a historical overview of how present positions on the inspiration of Scripture developed since the Reformation. Different confessional positions from a Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Baptist tradition are noted.

What Does It Mean to Be Reformed?

Are you Reformed? To answer this question you must know what it means to be Reformed. This article discusses some of the distinctives of Reformed doctrine, particularly its view of God, man, covenant, God's mercy, and human responsibility.

Sing a New Song - The History of Psalm Singing in the Christian Church

Many believers use the Psalms as a prayer book. It is also primarily God’s hymn book. From the early church the Psalter has been both the prayer and hymn book of the church. The author indicates this for the apostolic church and the church of the early church fathers. He continues with the Middle Ages and the Reformed tradition.

The Unity of the Church in a European Context

Giving a perspective from church history on what it means to be Reformed and the implication this has for church unity, this article shows how different Reformed churches can find a way of expressing this unity in their context.

Creative and Reformed About Room for Missionary Projects

Pointing to the reality that being Reformed and creative go hand-in-hand, this article shows that throughout church history, the Reformed faith has distinguished between form and content. It is through this distinguishing character of the Reformed and the desire to remain faithful to Scripture that creativeness in mission work can find room.

Staying Reformed with Bavinck

From the life and work of Herman Bavinck, Christians can learn the courage to be Reformed, stand by the confessions and make them relevant for today, have a desire for the catholicity of the church, and seek to spread the gospel to all. Let this article explain these things.

Reformed Theology: Between Ideal and Reality

Reformed theology is a faithfulness to the universal faith as God has expressed it in the scriptures. This article looks at the reality of achieving such an ideal. Reformed theology is only possible when we continually search God's word and act in obedience to this word.

Multilayered Evangelicalism

This article looks at the historical development of evangelicalism with a focus on the Great Awakening, the Puritans, and the Fundamentalists. The author also looks at areas on which evangelicals and Reformed agree or disagree. The aim is to see if it is possible to achieve an alliance or an agreement.

Rethinking Reformation Day

This article looks at the three streams of the Reformation - the Lutheran, Anglican, and Reformed streams - and how they differed. Celebrating Reformation day should be a recognition of God's work and providence for His church.

Establishing Reformed Churches (3)

What does it mean to be a Reformed church? How can one plant a Reformed church through mission work? This article answers these questions by discussing five aspects of being reformed: history, doctrine, worship, lifestyle, and church government.

Establishing Reformed Churches (2)

Establishing Reformed Churches (1)

The Theology of the Heidelberg Catechism

The Heidelberg Catechism provides sure footing for our faith, and it gives us an outline of reformed theology. The article also looks at covenant and election, law and gospel, and justification.

What Does it Mean to Be a Reformed Christian?

This article looks at the place of the Scripture in the Reformation and the reformed faith.

Being Reformed Today

What is reformed faith, and what does it mean to be reformed today?

The Church Reformed

What is a Reformed church? This article looks at various aspects of a Reformed church, including its preaching, the person of the minister in the church, the needs of the people, and church doctrine.

The Reformed Faith Teaches The Comprehensive Covenant Lordship Of God

The unique aspect of the Reformed faith is its understanding of the covenant Lordship of God as the framework for understanding scripture. This article shows that this Lordship emphasizes the control of God, His authority, and His presence over all creation. This makes the Reformed faith applicable as a theology to any context, culture and time.