Why I Am Reformed: Part 2. God Is Greater than Man

When people hear that I am Reformed, some immediately think, “Oh, so you’re a Calvinist.” Like many others they have made the incorrect assumption that Reformed and Calvinist are synonymous terms. They are not.

I do embrace the historic doctrines of grace, but not in the rigid, deterministic way associated with the acronym T.U.L.I.P. Those five points, as articulated at the Synod of Dort, were themselves a reaction to a reaction: Arminianism arose as a protest against Reformed teaching, and Calvinism (Synod of

Dort) arose as a protest against Arminianism.

Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone

Reformed theology grew out of the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It was not an attempt to invent a new religion, but a biblical correction of the Roman Catholic errors in doctrine and practice. In essence it was a recovery of the belief and teachings of the apostles and early church. At its heart Reformed theology was a return to the supreme authority of Scripture and the sufficiency of Christ.

Different from Calvinism, Reformed theology is not just about how God saves sinners; it is a whole way of seeing God, Scripture, the church, and the world. It is a worldview.

When it comes to God’s sovereignty and humanity's free will, Arminianism puts the decisive weight on free will. In other words, God needs man's permission. It says that a person's choice is the determining factor in their destiny, and if that is true, then ultimately the future of the whole world. For them everything is contingent on what humans do with their free will. God is just sitting on His throne waiting for us to decide.

On the other hand, Calvinism sees human will is almost an illusion and perceives every detail of life to be nothing more than the outworking of a pre-planned blueprint. We humans play really no role in the quality of our faith and life and therefore all the inviatations and commands in scripture are meaningless. They say Jesus didn't die for all, He died for some.

Reformed theology refuses to flatten the Bible into either of those extremes. It insists that God is utterly sovereign and that human beings are truly responsible. It lets Scripture itself set the terms and the priorities in faith and action rather than trying to force biblical theology into the shape of a deterministic or indeterministic philosophical system. Reformed theology says God is sovereign and humanity is responsible. Jesus died for all and yet many do not accept Him. Man is free to choose but the final outcome belongs to God. Although these things defy human logic they are nonetheless true because this is what the Bible teaches.

As John Calvin insisted, the Word of God stands above all human judgment and correction. Church councils, church fathers, and Christian leaders and teachers only have authority insofar as they agree with the Bible. Martin Luther, standing before the emperor at Worms, said it even more sharply: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God.”

That is at the heartbeat of Reformed theology: Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) is the final, infallible authority for faith and life.

The Belgic Confession later echoed this same spirit: “We may not consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with the divine Scriptures.” To be Reformed is to stand in that stream and to say, with the Reformers, “We honor the church’s history and its teachers, but the Bible rules over them all.”

So, to be Reformed means I reject:

1.     That the Pope has God-given, final spiritual authority over my faith or my conscience.

2.     The sacramental system as a channel for earning grace.

3.     Any notion of justification by faith plus works.

And to be Reformed means I affirm:

1.     The Bible is the supreme authority over all tradition, experience, and reason.

2.     Christ alone is the only mediator and the sole source of true righteousness.

3.     Salvation is by grace alone, from beginning to end.

4.     God’s glory, not our comfort, success, or ego, is the point of everything.

This is my second reason. To be Reformed is to order my beliefs, my worship, and my daily life under the supreme authority of Scripture, to confess the gospel of free grace in Christ alone, and to walk in continuity with the historic, confessional church that longs to bring every doctrine and every corner of life under the lordship of the sovereign God.

Being Reformed is my way of affirming that God’s sovereignty is greater than my will. It is a way of seeing everything in the light of who God is, what God has revealed in His Word, and how He rules the world through Christ Jesus His Son.