What is tHE REFORMED FAITH?
an article by the Reverend David Cupples - July 2010
The Protestant or evangelical faith looks back to the witness of the reformers of the 16th Century, Luther, Calvin and others; it received its classical formulation in the catechisms and confessions of that era but it did not begin then. The truths proclaimed were seen as a recovery of authentic Christianity, the original gospel of Christ and his apostles, the true faith of the church which had been buried over centuries under many layers of corruption in belief and practice within the western church. So Protestants believe the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church exists wherever there is a church which is faithful to the doctrine and practice of the apostles of Christ as found in Holy Scripture.
The essence of the biblical gospel is that Jesus Christ is Lord. i.e. that Jesus of Nazareth, a real historical person , is none other than God incarnate, who came into this world to fulfil the promise of the coming kingdom of God made in the Old Testament ; who made an atonement for the sins of the world, rose victorious over death, who is now alive with God, ruling the universe with God’s full authority, is the sole appointed Saviour and Judge of mankind, and who will one day return to bring salvation to a vast multitude of people who believe in him, execute God’s final judgment upon all that is evil and all who remain impenitent and then restore the whole creation to a perfect state of righteousness, wholeness and peace
This message has always been and remains a message of freedom. True freedom is only found under true authority. In the context of the Reformation that freedom stood in stark contrast to existing authorities in both church and state.
First it meant freedom for the ordinary man or woman to read the Bible, to search the Scriptures for themselves. Why? Because Christ speaks to his church and rules it not essentially through a human hierarchy of pope, bishops or any other leaders, but directly through his Word and Spirit. Leaders in the church are shepherds whose role is to teach, guard and care for the flock. The revelation of God to the world in Jesus Christ is transmitted to us in written form in the Bible, and accessible to all. Authored through men inspired by the Holy Spirit, it is infallible ie it never misleads us, and absolutely trustworthy and without error in all that it affirms. Under its divine truth and authority we are truly free.
Second it meant freedom for the individual man or woman to know God directly. The issue here was how does Christ save people? The Reformers declared that Christ forgives and saves people directly as they receive him as Saviour through hearing the gospel. This salvation is proclaimed but not it is not mediated by the church; nor is it earned by our attempted good works. It is received from Christ by faith alone and on the basis of his grace (free, undeserved favour) alone. True saving faith will produce the fruit in our lives of love and good works but these do not in any way build up merit before God, who saves people entirely out of his love and mercy and on the basis of what Christ has done for them. In Christ people are free from God’s judgment and wrath, and from all dependence upon any other mediator to unite them in fellowship with God.
Thirdly it meant freedom from state oppression. The reformers proclaimed religious liberty, the freedom of the individual conscience to believe and practise religion as discerned from Scripture. This conviction was born out of the persecution that they experienced, since they were seen as a threat to good order in society, from their realisation that men’s religious beliefs and conscience cannot be coerced, and also from their scriptural convictions as to the proper role of governments viz. to create social conditions in which all citizens ‘ may live quiet lives in all peace and godliness’, conditions which allow freedom of worship and freedom of speech for all, but especially to proclaim the gospel. Where the government rules properly there will be religious toleration.
The reformers stressed that the church was in need of continual renewal, “reformed yet always being reformed”. So the evangelical church must not remain trapped in a time warp. We must always ask what does the gospel say to us in our setting here and now. It must be applied prophetically in the present moment so that every area of life – personal, moral, ecclesiastical, social, political, and cultural is brought under the authority of Christ as Lord and so that the Christian may faithfully live out the will of God in society. It is not the reformation as such but the gospel which must be kept central. In this task, the heartbeat of the church must always be the message of personal salvation in Christ by grace alone and the demonstration of that grace towards others. The Bible therefore needs to be read and obeyed in homes and taught in churches.
If any person, church or organisation is willing to do this then they can have a part to play in God’s work of building his kingdom in our land. If not they will be rejected by God and other instruments will be raised up to replace them.