Introduction
In
last week's lesson, we looked at the early years of the Reformation and some of
the inspirational figures that had the courage to buck the religious system of
their day at the very real risk of life and limb. But they persevered because
they were convinced that the authority to govern people's lives came from the
Scriptures not from sinful men dressed in religious finery. We began taking a
deeper look into the Reformed tradition because its various theological
elements, to a larger or lesser extent, can be seen in virtually every Protestant
denomination to this day. We left off last week's lesson looking at the
theological methodology (theological methodology = how theology is done) of the
Reformed tradition. Let's continue now by looking at the theological
distinctives of the Reformed tradition.
Theological
Distinctives
Because the Reformed tradition is part of the larger
Protestant family, much of its theological thought and practice is not
necessarily distinctive. However there are three areas that season the Reformed
tradition with some of its distinctive qualities: 1) The Doctrine of Scripture,
2) The Sovereignty of God, 3) and The Doctrine of Grace. Although the titles of
these distinctive qualities are general enough to be adopted by any Christian
tradition, their substance will prove to be generally, and in some cases
specifically, Reformed in nature.
Doctrine
of Scripture – The Reformed tradition’s commitment
to the authority, sufficiency and inspiration of Scripture can be traced back
to Zwingli and the Swiss reform movement and Calvin and reform in Geneva. Both
men believed that the Church and the state would be cleansed by God’s
revelation of himself found in Scripture. This knowledge of God is foundational
to Calvin’s Institutes and as Benjamin Reist writes in his book, A
Reading of Calvin’s Institutes, “The word of God as is heard in Holy
Scripture is basic to both the knowledge of God and the knowledge of humanity.”[1]
The Reformers stressed that Scripture and the inner work of the Holy Spirit
work together to make the truth of Scripture evident to the reader or hearer of
Scripture. Reist goes on to write,
“Faithful
reflection is the locus of true creativity and devotion. This is intrinsic to
Calvin’s thought. Such reflection is informed by scripture. The very authority
of the scriptures upon which humanity is dependent for its knowledge of God
itself depends upon ‘the secret testimony of the Spirit.’”[2]
Sovereignty
of God – Another emphasis found in the Reformed tradition
is the insistence on the sovereignty of God. Sovereignty means the absolute
rule by God of all things. As such it means that God is active and purposeful
in the affairs of his creation. He is the sole determiner of what happens and
when it happens. He is never surprised, frustrated or shocked with the actions
or inactions of his creation. Buschart writes, “Each of three common Reformed
descriptors of God contributes to an exalted view of God as sovereign: God is
Creator, Sustainer-Ruler, Redeemer.”[3]
Hoeksema expands on Buschart when he writes,
“Reformed
theologians confess and maintain wholeheartedly and emphatically that all
things take place according to the determinate purpose of him who works all
things according to the counsel of his own will so that before the foundation
of the world, all things have been sovereignly established by the Most High.”[4]
Doctrine
of Grace – While the authority of Scripture and the
sovereignty of God are distinctives shared in common with most, if not all, of
orthodox Christianity to some extent, the Doctrine of Grace claimed by the
Reformed tradition is perhaps more distinctive. In fact, it is commonly
referred to as the five points of Calvinism. Although the doctrine may, in some
form, be shared by other Christian traditions in general, it is tied
specifically to the Reformed tradition. The doctrine is often represented by
the acrostic T. U. L. I. P. to be understood as follows:
T
– Total Depravity. Humanity is helpless and lost in its
sinful state. It is under God’s wrath and powerless to please God. It also
means that humanity will not, by its own nature, seek God unless God first
prompts it to do so.
U
– Unconditional Election. God has chosen some sinners to be
saved.
L
– Limited Atonement. Christ paid the price for the
redemption of the elect only. He did not simply make redemption possible but
actually obtained it for the elect.
I
– Irresistible Grace. In its sinful state, humanity resists
God. It is by God’s grace working on humanity’s heart that it then desires and
seeks God’s love. The elect cannot resist God’s grace.
P
– Perseverance of the saints. God protects the
elect from falling away from their faith thus insuring their eternal salvation.
Alternative
Considerations to Unconditional Election
Although
Calvin’s doctrines as described in the above acrostic are not without biblical
support, they are not without controversy either. Combining God’s absolute
sovereignty with humanity’s total depravity naturally leads to the need for
God’s sole action in the process of salvation from selecting those who will be
saved through preserving them in their faith. However, there are really two
broad schools of theology with respect to Christ’s atonement. One is Calvin’s
theology as described above where Christ’s death atones only for those elected
by God in advance. Scriptural support for this position is found in Romans
8:29-30; 9:11 and Ephesians 1:4-6, 11-12. The other school of theology is known
as Arminianism named after the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius. Briefly
stated, Arminius believed that sinners are only partially depraved and as such
can make a decision to accept Christ’s “offer” of salvation. This is in
opposition to Calvin’s view that the sinner is totally depraved and as such
requires God to first draw him or her to salvation. Like Calvin’s view of unconditional
election, Arminianism also has substantial Scriptural support found in the
famous verse of John 3:16 and other verses such as 2 Peter 3:9; and 1 Timothy
2:3-6. It is difficult to reconcile the two positions but one of Calvinism’s
weaknesses is to insist that anytime the issue of salvation is addressed in the
Bible, including the aforementioned verses in support of the Arminian position,
it is insisted that they are speaking only of the elect. At best this is an
attempt to harmonize biblical passages to fit into the presupposition of
unconditional election and at worst it is simply a refusal to accept what the
plain text says in some cases. Another significant weakness of Calvinism is the
real possibility for a lack of urgency with respect to evangelism. This is
often a criticism of Calvinism and not necessarily without reason. If the elect
will be saved without any condition, then what is the motivation for
evangelism? Calvinists insist that the motivation is obedience to God’s mandate
to evangelize the world—that the work of evangelism is the joy of working with
God in the process of bringing in the elect. Really! That seems like a stretch
since the elect can’t help but become believers because of Calvin’s doctrine of
Irresistible Grace as defined above. It seems far more tenable that salvation
is available to all who are willing to accept it and that God’s mandate
to evangelize has a practical purpose. Ultimately, the weakness of the
Calvinist’s position with respect to the five points of Calvinism is not that
it lacks biblical warrant, its weakness is its arrogance to insist that
Christ’s atonement is only effectual for a select group when there is
substantial biblical evidence to the contrary. Sadly, this theological position
hardly exhibits the kind of grace the Calvinist highly esteems as one of the
attributes of God. It is unreasonable to continuously fall back on the trump
card of God’s sovereignty by saying that God can do whatever he wants when
asked why God would purposely condemn those created in His image to hell. This
position fails to take into consideration God’s other attributes such as his
gracious mercy and loving kindness. Perhaps it is not unreasonable to suggest
that God uses whatever means necessary to affect his salvation purposes. This
is not to say that all people will be saved but biblical evidence might warrant
a position that advances the idea that some are “predestined” to be saved for
whatever reason while others are given the “opportunity” to choose or reject
salvation.
However,
it is more likely that the primary text used to support the theology of
election (Rom 8:29-30) is not saying that God only chooses some to be saved
(the "elect") but is instead talking about God's advance knowledge of
those who will accept his offer of salvation which is equally available for
all. In other words, God does not predestine some to be saved while others are
left with no choice but to spend eternity in hell! No, God predestines those he
already knows will accept his offer of salvation that they will go on to be
glorified and spend eternity with Him. This seems to be consistent with a
simple reading of the text with the added benefit of being consistent with
Jesus' teaching that his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead
makes it possible for anyone and everyone to be saved if they choose to accept
him as their Lord and Savior.
Contribution
to the Christian Community
It
is, nevertheless, clear by these distinctives that the Reformed tradition is
totally and completely theocentric in its theology. Therefore, it’s not a
stretch to insist that its community of believers is theocentric as well. In an
egocentric culture, the Reformed tradition is committed to putting God at the
center of all things where he belongs resulting a spirit of piety within its
believing community. McNeill writes,
“The
Christianity of the twentieth century assuredly feels anew the strength of the
spirit of Calvinism. Not only is this true in a denomination in which what we
have called the body of Calvinism may be discerned. It is a spirit suffused
through many churches, encouraging the rise of a type of piety familiar in the
old Calvinism and once distinctive of it. This is a piety not much identified
with peculiar words and rites of worship. It is characterized by a combination
of God-consciousness with an urgent sense of mission. The triune God, Sovereign
Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter, is an ever-present reality through both
prosperity and disaster. Guilt is real, but it is submerged under grace. The
Calvinist may not know how it happens; he may be a very simple-minded
theologian; but he is conscious that God commands his will and deed as well as
his thought and prayer. This is what makes him a reformer and a dangerous
character to encounter on moral and political issues. He is a man with a
mission to bring to realization the will of God in human society.”[5]
Additionally,
the distinctives, particularly the Doctrine of Grace, make it easy to teach the
believing community that their salvation is safe and they are completely free
to live life as God has planned for them to live in the power of the Holy
Spirit. There is nothing they can or need do to please God because God has
already called them to salvation. As a result, they are co-heirs with and
through Christ for the promises of God. There can be no greater joy or reason
to praise and worship God than to thank Him for His gift of salvation.
The
Reformed tradition also emphasizes a cultural mandate that insists that the
Christian has a duty to live and work within society in a way that has a
transformative impact on the world. This seems clear in both Zwingli and
Calvin’s insistence on the reformed state as a means to govern and transform
the community. As stated previously, Zwingli believed the state was a God ordained
entity that was necessarily established by God for the benefit of man. No doubt
for the purposes of controlling sinful behavior, but also for the purposes of
instituting societal reform. Whether this is distinct to the Reformed tradition
or not is debatable. However, Reformed Christians are instructed to be actively
involved in the world as opposed to withdrawing from it. This mandate gives
those within the Reformed tradition a specific purpose both inside and outside
the community of believers. Having a transformative affect on the world means
being active were God is active and having a heart for the things that God has
a heart for. For the Reformed Christian that means defending the oppressed,
feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting the
prisoner and preaching the gospel to those who are yet lost.
Conclusion
We've
spent the last two weeks taking a close look at the early years of the Reformation
ignited by some very courageous men wanting nothing more than to be faithful to
God's call on their lives. Although the Reformed tradition is only one of the
many traditions that fall within the sphere of Protestantism, it is significant
in its focus and distinctives. The Church leading up to the 16th century had
lost its way while being marked by greed and corruption. The Reformation
movement generally and the Reformed tradition specifically was tireless in its
efforts to reform the teachings and practices of the Church. Although the
reformation efforts were far from simplistic, there was one specific reform
that stood as a bulwark against the corruption of the Church--a return to the
supremacy of the Scriptures as the source of teaching and authority for the
Church. This single effort by the reformers is probably the one enduring thread
that weaves its way through all of Protestantism to create a rich tapestry of a
Church committed to God's revelation of himself through the Scriptures instead
of the self-serving teachings of the sinful, centralized papal authority
leading up to the Reformation. These early reformers, while risking their very
lives, committed themselves to "re-forming" what had become damaged
and distorted and in doing so placed the Church, once again, on A Firm
Foundation.
[1] Benjamin A.
Reist, A Reading of Calvin’s Institutes, (Westminster/John Knox Press:
Louisville, KY, 1991), p. 10
[3] W. David
Buschart, Exploring Protestant Traditions, (InterVarsity Press: Downers
Grove, IL, 2006), p. 104
[4] Herman
Hoeksema, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 1, (Reformed Free Publishing
Association: Grandview, MI, 2004), p. 322
[5]John T. McNeill, The History & Character of
Calvinism, (Oxford University Press: New York, NY, 1957), pp. 426-427
No comments:
Post a Comment