It is obvious that we put major emphasis on the word reformation, and the necessity for a new reformation. Certainly there are many reasons for that. The term “reformed”(theology), itself and all that it encompasses, has been the cause of lots of disagreement many centuries ago, and even still is in the church today. Why? Well, to put it together: It is because reformed theology by definition and practice, carries specific particularities and absolutes that turn Men to be powerless before God.
What is Reformed Theology?
First of all, it is rooted all the back to the protestant reformation with the reformers. As we have seen illustrated by these great men in our previous posts (Wycliffe, Hus, Tyndale, and Luther). These men certainly drew their doctrine, following the apostles, from the scriptures as identified by their credo of “sola scriptura”.
Reformed Theology has been defined by the great Presbyterian pastor James Boice as “theology solidly based on the Bible itself.” He goes on to say:
Reformed Christians hold to the doctrines characteristic of all Christians, including the Trinity, the true deity and true humanity of Jesus Christ, the necessity of Jesus’ atonement for sin, the church as a divinely ordained institution, the inspiration of the Bible. The requirement that Christians live moral lives, and the resurrection of the body. They hold other doctrines in common with evangelical Christians, such as justification by faith alone, the need for the new birth, the personal and visible return of Jesus Christ, and the Great Commission. (2 Tim 3: 16; Rom 3:22.24-25; John 3:5-8; Matt 28:19)
But the specifics, the signature beliefs of those who are reformed in their theology, he defined as the commitment to the doctrine of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, the Doctrines of Grace, and the cultural mandate to work to bring people to Jesus Christ the Lord.
The solas
Many others have rightly summarized the great truths and foundation of the reformation as the Five Solas. Sola, the Latin word for alone, is a distinctive term in Reformed Theology which practically teaches that the triune God is the sole author of salvation and all His works, sovereign in word and in deed, self-sufficient, almighty and so on.
Our ministry, in the reformed tradition, agrees with James Boice and readily identifies our belief in the doctrines of grace and the five solas of the reformation.
So we will take a look throughout the coming weeks more in depth at the characteristics of reformed theology; and What are the Five Solas? What is God’s sovereignty? How do we relate to them today? Answering these questions will tell us where the reformation is today.
