If you ask a Christian what a “Reformed” Christian is you’re bound to get a different answer with each person. Putting this question out to our friends on “Reformed Twitter” also proved difficult to get a definitive answer. In today’s post, discusses the essence of being Reformed.
The case for amillennialism is very compelling. It’s a view literally taught by Jesus, Paul, the book of Revelation, the Nicene and Apostles’ Creed, as well as the Reformed Confessions. It’s a view that truly gives all glory and honor to Jesus Christ and nothing else. All the promises and prophecies of the Old Testament find their “Yes” in Jesus Christ.
How do Reformed Christians understand the Lord’s Supper? How is the Reformed understanding different from what Evangelicals and Lutherans believe? Do we believe in the true presence of Christ in the Supper?
Interest in Neo-Calvinism has been awakened in recent years due to the publications of Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics, The Wonderful Works of God, and Dr. James Eglinton’s Bavinck: A Critical Biography. Herman Bavinck, and his mentor, Abraham Kuyper, are known as the chief architects of Neo-Calvinism. In this current work, Cory C. Brock and N. Gray Sutanto explain that Neo-Calvinism seeks to take Reformed confessional theology and make it modern, meaning it desires to articulate it to our current age. It is not content to remain a relic of the 16th century. This is what makes it catholic. Neo-Calvinism values the past, it’s committed to Reformed orthodoxy, but it presses on to bring Christianity into the present with an eye to the future. Since Neo-Calvinism views Christianity as an organic leavening agent, it can fit in to any culture and will have positive implications for the family, ethics, politics, art, science, and other contemporary issues.
In Reformed theology, our belief in infant baptism doesn’t come from isolated Bible proof texts, but by considering Scripture as an organic whole. When we do this, we see that the children of believers are members of the covenant of grace and are therefore entitled its sign and seal, which is baptism.
As an artist, my field does not often overlap with theological issues but has caused me to evaluate what it means to live in light of the second commandment. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, …
The crown jewel of the Protestant Reformation was recovering the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This impacted Christianity so profoundly that the Reformation was marked by the spirited slogan: Post tenebras lux–“After darkness, light.” With such high stakes, why would we ever let the light of the gospel be extinguished by those who would blend faith and works for salvation?
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5). Our faith and progress in personal holiness comes from the Holy Spirit. Our union with Christ is what empowers our sanctification. This is why we say that sanctification is monergistic. It is a work of His grace.
We maintain the law and strive to do good work because of our love and gratitude toward God for saving us. The third use of the law serves as a blueprint for how an already regenerate believer can live a life that pleases Him.
During the darkest moments of our lives—when it feels we’re taking more delight in sin instead of Christ—where should we turn for the assurance of our salvation? All believers struggle with this at times. Even John Calvin said he could not “imagine any certainty that is not tinged with doubt, or any assurance that is …
The Parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ is the next and final redemptive event that Christians long for. This is the great Day of the Lord in its second and final act. On this Day, time ends and we in Christ will enter into our everlasting rest in which to worship God in perfection. The yearly cycle of life will continue under God’s providential goodness. There will be moments of exhilaration and deep sadness. The way through it is faith, hope, and love. Hope in Christ in this life, but also, and in times that do not last, hope in Christ for the life to come. In our pilgrim way, in the ups and downs, we sing with glad hearts, “Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,” not only at his first coming, but as we look for his return.
Whether it’s our social media feed, TV, or the latest crop of cheesy Hallmark or Netflix Christmas movies, they all raise our hopes of what Christmas should feel like: joyful, merry, and above all else, peaceful. So the pressure mounts. We want the tranquil, happy Christmas we have been conditioned to expect. But the harsh reality is that this world is anything but peaceful. Not only is there suffering because of war and inflation, but the list of human misery is endless. At this time of year, those who hurt seem to feel it more acutely. Despite the world’s present dim and gray reality, there is hope. True and lasting peace is freely offered through the cross of Christ.
One of the most amazing acts of God in history is the Incarnation of the Son of God. At that moment in time when “the Word was made flesh” (John 1:14) and the baby Jesus lay in the manager, He did not cease to be who He has always been. The Logos remained omnipresent and active in sustaining the universe while his human nature became localized on earth. In Reformed theology, this belief is known as the Extra Calvinisticum.
What was Herman Bavinck’s theology of the sacraments? Based on his geographical location, did any crypto-Lutheranism creep in? In today’s post, Anthony Charles synthesizes Bavinck’s sacramental theology and answers some perplexing questions.
