What is Reformed?

Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Reform Rookie video doctrine series. Today we'll be going over what the word

Reformed means. Since this is a series on Reformed Theology, we need to know what the term

Reform means. Now Theology is the study of God, but why specifically are we Reformed?

The term Reform might be new to some of you, so I'd like to go over it, and here's where I'll use Daniel Hyde's book,

Welcome to a Reformed Church. The word Reform, as a noun, means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, or unsatisfactory.

The amendment of conduct or belief. As a verb, the word Reform means to change to a better state or form.

To improve by alteration, substitution, or abolition. And here's where what Martin Luther comes in and is vitally important.

He wanted to reform the church from the inside, not split it. Unfortunately, the

Roman Catholic Church would not conform to the scriptures. Martin Luther recognized the erroneous and corrupt practices of the

Roman Catholic Church and tried to change it from the inside. Since Rome would not conform to the scriptures, they are the ones who left the biblical teaching of the word of God.

The true Christian Church holds to the teaching of the scriptures. Now that we know what

Reform means and why it happened, how does this now describe who we are? Well, first,

Reformed Churches are Christian Churches. They are Christian Churches because they believe the Bible is the word of God, that there is only one

God who exists eternally as a Trinity, and that Jesus Christ our Savior is both God and man.

Reformed Churches hold these beliefs in common with all Christians in all times and places. In fact,

St. Vincent of Lourdes says, "...we hold to the faith which has been believed everywhere, always, by all."

Now we're Protestants. Second, Reformed Churches are Protestant Churches because they reject the claims of the

Pope to be the head of the church. We acknowledge instead that Jesus Christ is the head of his church and that he rules and governs his church by his word and his spirit, but not by the dictates of men.

Now within Protestantism, there are Reformed and Non -Reformed Churches, so there are some differences.

Third, Reformed Churches are just that, Reformed. We've changed. We've gone back to what the word of God says.

Reformed Churches are a subset of Protestant Churches in that they believe that sinful humans are saved by the grace of God alone from eternity past to eternity future and that we experience this grace of God earned for us by Christ alone.

In other words, we're Reformed Churches because we hold to the doctrines of grace and the five solas that emerged from the

Reformation. So how does this look in the big picture of things?

How would we classify a Reformed Church today? Well Reformed Churches are

Catholic, Evangelical, and Reformed. We're Catholic because the word means universal or worldwide.

Whereas the Roman Catholic Church is centered in Rome, the Catholic Church is worldwide.

It is for whoever would call upon the name of Christ. In fact, Revelation 5 .9

says Jesus purchased people out of every nation, every tribe, and every tongue.

So the Christian faith is a universal faith. So Reformed Churches can be considered Catholic.

Next, we're Evangelical, which means that we hold to Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide.

We hold to the fact that Scripture is the only infallible authority of the Church and justification is by faith alone, in Jesus alone, and not by any works on our part.

So as Evangelicals, we hold to Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide. Next, we're

Reformed because we broke off from the Roman Catholic Church and re -established the Church's teachings and practices on the

Scriptures. Biblical teachings like the Doctrines of Grace and the Five Solas were recovered.

Therefore, we proudly declare Semper Refemanda. So Reformed Churches are

Christian, Protestant, and Reformed. We're Christian Churches because we trace our roots to the early church of the centuries after the

Apostles, after they died, between 100 and 500 BC. The Reformed Churches are also known as Calvinist Churches after the theologian

John Calvin. And we're Protestant Churches because like the Lutheran Churches after the theologian

Martin Luther, we trace our roots to the 16th century Protestant Reformation of the

Roman Catholic Church in Europe. Reformed Churches are distinctively

Reformed Churches because they emphasize certain doctrines that have a strong historical and biblical basis but are often neglected today.

Some of these doctrines include the Doctrines of Grace, also known as TULIP or Calvinism, the

Five Solas, which are Grace Alone, Faith Alone, Christ Alone, Scripture Alone, to the

Glory of God Alone. Another particular doctrine would include the Sovereignty of God in all things, including salvation.

Reformed Churches hold to the Ordo Salutis, the order of salvation, in that regeneration would precede faith.

Reformed Churches also hold to Covenant Theology and the analogy of faith, the analogy of faith meaning that Scripture interprets

Scripture. We would also hold to the Regulative Principle of Worship and the fact that the

Apostolic Gifts and the Office of Apostle have ceased. Reformed Churches are

Cessationist Churches. So, now that we know what Reform means and why we hold to that, in our next lesson we'll get into what

Theology means and how it differs from Religion. In the meantime, please look us up online at www .reformrookie

.com and at the website you'll be able to look up our blog where we post articles pertaining to Reformed Theology and you can also find our

Reform Rookie podcast there where you can listen to me doing interviews with seasoned

Reformed Pastors and Theologians. Well, thanks again for joining us in the Reform Rookie Video Doctrine Series.