WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE REFORMED?

Let me offer an apology from the outset for the part of the subtitle of this study that says, “The Reformed Christian Life.” The question will obviously be raised, “Why not just say, ‘The Christian Life,’ or, ‘The Biblical Life’”? I might presumptively say that those are merely synonyms, but I know that will not satisfy. The reason is that while all professing Christians presumably live a Christian life, or at least claim to do so, it is also true that every tradition within the pale of Christianity, from high church to low church, from ancient to modern, have their own way of thinking, living, and worshipping.

Therefore, if we were Anglicans/Episcopalians, we might use Lou Tarsitano’s book, An Outline of An Anglican Life. If we were Lutherans we might read Timothy Lull’s, On Being Lutheran: Reflections on Church, Theology, and Faith. If we were Presbyterians, we might profit from Sean Michael Lucas’, On Being Presbyterian: Our Beliefs, Practices, And Stories. If we were Methodists, William Willimon’s Why I Am a United Methodist, would be our book.

The subtitle, “An Introduction to the Reformed Christian Life,” is apropos because that is what we are. We have a particular theology as embodied and expressed in our creeds, catechism, confession, and canons and that theology is made alive in our liturgical forms and way of life. What, then, does it mean to be Reformed? In a word, it means that we are confessional—we have confessions of faith that we heartily confess as a people. We are confessional because our identity is embodied in the aforementioned creeds and confessions, and we are confessing because that embodied faith is expressed in our way of worship and way of living.

Too often we communicate to the world that being Reformed means merely that we believe in the sovereignty of God. For example, R. B. Kuiper once wrote that, “The basic principle of Calvinism, of course, is the sovereignty of God” (As To Being Reformed, 88 cf. 95, 221–22). We have also been guilty of boiling down our entire identity to the so-called “doctrines of grace,” or, even most simplistically, to the doctrine of election, which Kuiper called the “hallmark of Calvinism” (As To Being Reformed, 95). Our identity is so much more, though, as expressed in the adjective that we are confessional.

In this post, we want to examine, briefly, that we are confessional as a movement, as minister, and finally, as members.

As a Movement
First, to be Reformed means to be confessional as a movement. This goes without saying, of course, since to be anything means you believe something that others do not. It bears repeating, though, that as a movement, the Reformed churches are defined by the creeds, catechism, confession, and canons.

Our Creeds are those we have inherited from the ancient Church: the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian creeds. These creeds are our profession to God, and thus, they have a vertical dimension: “I believe” (Apostles’) . . . “We believe” (Nicene) . . . “We worship” (Athanasian).

Our Catechism, that is, the Heidelberg Catechism (1563), is defines our education curriculum for the church—both the youth in terms of catechesis and the entire congregation in terms of preaching. Thus, the Catechism has an internal dimension.

Our _Confession_—the Belgic Confession (1561)—defines who we are and is our witness to the world. Therefore, it has an outward dimension.

Our Canons from the great Synod of Dort (1618–19) are what regulate (from the ancient Greek work, kanon, or, ruler) our understanding of the grace of God and our response to various errors within our ranks as well as without. For this reason, they have both an internal and external dimension.

In all aspects of who we are and what we do, then, we are a confessional movement. It is important to note that the church has always been a confessional people. From the Old Testament (Deut 6:4, 26) to the New Testament (Matt 16; 1 Cor 15; 1 Tim 3:16) to the ancient church (creeds) and to the Reformation (Three Forms of Unity), confessing the Faith and writing it out has been a vital part of the life of the church.

As Ministers
The second aspect of being confessionally Reformed is that this defines us as ministers. Not only is this true of our ministers, using this term in its proper sense of those ordained to the public ministry, but also of those who are ministers of the church because the serve her (elders and deacons). The historic Form of Subscription of the Reformed churches that was standardized at the Synod of Dort says,

We, the undersigned, Ministers of the Gospel, Elders and Deacons…do hereby, sincerely and in good conscience before the Lord, declare by this our subscription that we heartily believe and are persuaded that all the articles and points of doctrine contained in the Confession and Catechism of the Reformed Churches, together with the explanation of some points of the aforesaid doctrine made by the National Synod of Dordrecht, 1618–’19, do fully agree with the Word of God.
We promise therefore diligently to teach and faithfully to defend the aforesaid doctrine, without either directly or indirectly contradicting the same by our public preaching, teaching, or writing.
We declare, moreover, that we not only reject all errors that militate against this doctrine and particularly those which were condemned by the above mentioned Synod, but that we are disposed to refute and contradict these and to exert ourselves in keeping the Church free from such errors. And if hereafter any difficulties or different sentiments respecting the aforesaid doctrines should arise in our minds, we promise that we will neither publicly nor privately propose or defend the same, either by preaching, teaching, or writing, until we have first revealed such sentiments to the Consistory, Classis, or Synod, that the same may there be examined, being ready always cheerfully to submit to the judgment of the Consistory, Classis, or Synod, under the penalty, in case of refusal, of being by that very fact suspended from our office.
And further, if at any time the Consistory, Classis, or Synod, upon sufficient grounds of suspicion and to preserve the uniformity and purity of doctrine, may deem it proper to require of us a further explanation of our sentiments respecting any particular article of the Confession of Faith, the Catechism, or the explanation of the National Synod, we do hereby promise to be always willing and ready to comply with such requisition, under the penalty above mentioned, reserving for ourselves, however, the right of appeal in case we should believe ourselves aggrieved by the sentence of the Consistory or the Classis; and until a decision is made upon such an appeal, we will acquiesce in the determination and judgment already passed (Psalter Hymnal, 117).

The four paragraphs of the Form of Subscription express the confessional nature of the officers of the church in four ways. First, they “sincerely and in good conscience before the Lord” declare a hearty belief and persuasion “that all the articles and points of doctrine contained” in the Three Forms of Unity “do fully agree with the Word of God.” We subscribe our confessions because (Latin, quia) we believe they are biblical, not in so far as (Latin, quatenus) we believe they are biblical.

Second, this means, positively, that we will be diligent “to teach” and faithful “to defend” this doctrine in preaching, teaching, and writing.

Third, this means, negatively, that we “reject all errors that militate against this doctrine.” More than this, we say that “we are disposed to refute and contradict these and to exert ourselves in keeping the Church free from such errors.”

Fourth, because we are united with other officers and churches as a group of Reformed churches, we will not publicly or privately espouse any different ideas about these doctrines. Further, because we are in covenant with others, anyone else is free to ask of us “further explanation of our sentiments respecting any particular article” if there is any substantive suspicion we are deviant.

As Members
Finally, we are confessional churches because our members are confessional. The Reformed membership vows in Public Profession of Faith: Form Number 1, calls a prospective communicant members to express his/her confessional allegiance, asking in the first vow,

Do you heartily believe the doctrine contained in the Old and the New Testament, and in the articles of the Christian faith, and taught in this Christian church, to be the true and complete doctrine of salvation, and to you promise by the grace of God steadfastly to continue in this profession? (Psalter Hymnal, 132)

Soon thereafter, in the fourth vow, the one professing faith is asked, “Do you promise to submit to the government of the church and also, if you should become delinquent either in doctrine or in life, to submit to its admonition and discipline?” The question is always raised, “Which doctrinal or ethical things can a person be discipline for”? The answer is those things expressed in our creeds, catechism, confession, and canons.

Further, this is expressed again when professing members present their children for baptism. At that joyful occasion they are asked,

Second: Do you acknowledge the doctrine which is contained in the Old and the New Testament, and in the articles of the Christian faith, and which is taught here in this Christian church, to be the true and complete doctrine of salvation? (Psalter Hymnal, 124–25)

The minister then asks a follow-up question, meant to impress that this is not merely an intellectual assent. It is “not out of custom or superstition” that we baptize our children. The third vow of the parents at the baptism of their child asks,

Third: Do you promise and intend to instruct these children, as soon as they are able to understand, in the aforesaid doctrine, and cause them to be instructed therein, to the utmost of your power? (Psalter Hymnal, 125)

Through our whole Christian life, then, we express that we are a confessional people. In closing, let me make one final note on the important of this for the vitality of the churches. Our insistence upon being “confessional,” especially with relation to our members, is not intended to close the door on sincere Christians or make the bar of membership so high that know one can reach it. Instead, it is intended to impress upon us all that we all are full members of Christ’s Church and have access to all its privileges. In those churches that do not insist on a confessional membership, one sad, unintended result is clericalism. This means “the church” is really its leaders who are higher up theologically. Confessional membership, then, says to all, both clergy and laity, that they are all members of the body.