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A PRIMER on REFORMED THEOLOGY by Dr. James E. Means

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A PRIMER on REFORMED THEOLOGY by Dr. James E. Means 1 A PRIMER ON REFORMED THEOLOGY Reformed Theology Contrasted with Arminian, Dispensational, Keswick Theologies Dr. James Means – April 2006 The Solas Of The Reformation Sola Scriptura: Scripture only! o A Challenge to authority of Rome! o A Challenge to the individualism & claims of authority in some of today’s popular spiritual movements! o Scripture as interpreted and understood only by sound hermeneutics! Sola Christus: Christ only! o There is “no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) o Rejection of “works”, including baptism, church membership, etc. Sola Gratia: Grace only! o Not by works or by self-effort or self-will but by a sovereign act of God’s grace! Sola Fide: Faith only! o By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone produces justification followed by sanctification ending in glorification Sola Deo Gloria: Glory to God only! o All is to the glory of God alone. Hence, the chief business of man/woman is to “glorify God and enjoy him forever!” We Deny … We Affirm Sola Scriptura: o We affirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. o We deny that any creed, council, or individual may bind a Christian‟s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation. Sola Christus: o We affirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father. o We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ‟s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited. Sola Gratia: o We affirm that in salvation we are rescued from God‟s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by 2 releasing us from our bondage to sin raising us from death to spiritual life in Christ. o We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques, or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature. Sola Fide: o We affirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ‟s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God‟s perfect justice. o We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us. No institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church. Soli Deo Gloria: o We affirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God‟s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God, and for his glory alone. o We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self- improvement, self-esteem, or self-fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel. Note: These affirm / deny statements are taken almost word-by-word from the book; Here We Stand, edited by James Boice and Benjamin E. Sasse, p 14-19. Primary Theological Traditions Arminianism James Arminius, 1560-1609 (Compare: Martin Luther, 1483-1546) Scripture the highest authority Justification by grace alone [prevenient grace vs. irresistible grace] Conditional predestination: God‟s predetermination of the destiny of the individual based on God‟s foreknowledge of the way in which they will either freely reject Christ or freely accept him Emphasis on human freedom---and human ability; there is no “irresistible grace”---as taught in Reformed theology True believers may lose their salvation through unbelief and sin and be eternally lost Christ did not “pay the penalty for sins”, but Christ “suffered for us” so that God could forgive the ones who repent and believe; there could not be both punishment and forgiveness, in the opinion of Arminians Affirmed scriptural infallibility and authority on matters of faith and doctrine, but open to errors on mathematical, historical, and geographical statements (Note: many professing Christians and some significant Christian institutions believe or are tolerant of this position.) There are both liberal and more evangelical branches of Arminianism in the world today 3 The more evangelical branches of Arminianism strongly defends Christ‟s virgin birth and deity, the miracles, the bodily resurrection, substitutionary atonement (his suffering for the believers); the inspiration and infallibility of Scripture; justification by grace alone through faith alone; and the final destinies of heaven and hell, yet with significant differences in certain theological points stressed in Reformed theology Those who believe and teach Arminianism comprise mainly the Christian Holiness Association, including Pentecostals, the Church of God, the Assemblies of God, the Salvation Army, the Wesleyan Church, Methodists, and the Church of the Nazarene … each, of course, with varying emphases It is not inconceivable that some Evangelical Free Church pastors may have some elements or strains of Arminianism in their teaching (as does some faculty of Denver Seminary); hence, the necessity of careful examination of a candidate‟s doctrinal position Some teachers and preachers who are mainly Calvinistic in most areas of theology still hold to Arminianism in the matter of “free will” in the salvation process One of the major criticisms of Arminianism is that it comes dangerously close to Pelagianism (Pelagius, late 4th century teacher in Rome, then in North Africa, then in Jerusalem) Pelagianism stressed the person‟s ability to take the initial steps toward salvation by his/her own efforts, apart from special grace The keystone of Pelagianism is the idea of the human‟s unconditional free will and his/her moral responsibility. In creating the human being God did not subject him/her, like other creatures, to the law of nature but gave him/her the unique privilege of accomplishing the divine will by his/her own choice. This possibility of freely choosing the good entails the possibility of choosing evil Rejected is the doctrine that the human‟s will has any intrinsic bias in favor of wrongdoing as a result of the Fall … hence, there is no such thing as “original sin”, or a predisposition to do evil The “grace” of God is really “free will itself” and “the revelation of God‟s law” This teaching (Pelagianism) was firmly rejected by Augustine, and was declared heresy by Pope Innocent I in Rome, and is seen as heresy in today‟s Evangelicalism The Puritans, and especially men like Charles Spurgeon, vigorously accused Arminianism of Pelagianism by which salvation depends on unassisted human will, not on God. Hence, it was charged, salvation is not “all of grace”, and after all, the human gets the credit for salvation because it is an act of his/her will. Arminianism Against Scripture: [C H Spurgeon] Spurgeon refers to Gal. 1:15-16 “… when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me…” The order of God‟s grace: o It pleased God [the sovereignty of God‟s grace] o Election [before the beginning of time] o Effectual calling o Obedience unto life [faith based on the extension of God‟s grace] o Fruit of the Spirit [the perseverance of the saints] 4 “They do err, not knowing the Scriptures, who put any of these processes before the others, out of Scripture order. They who put man‟s will first know not what they say, nor whereof they affirm.” “Nay, the doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works, after all; for he always thinks faith is a work of the creature, and a condition of his acceptance.” “If any man is saved, it is not because he willed to be saved. If any man be brought to Christ, it is not of any effort of his, but the root, the cause, the motive of the salvation of any one human being, and of all the chosen in heaven, is to be found in the predestinating purpose and sovereign distinguishing will of the Lord our God.” “The Word of God says they cannot come; yet, the Arminian says they can; the poor sinner feels that he cannot, yet the Arminian declared positively that he could if he liked. When a man who has reached this point is told that God has determined to save sinners, that, just as He has appointed the means in the blood of Calvary, so He has given the Spirit to apply the merits of that sacrifice and to quicken the dead in sin --- the purpose is His, the gift is His, the means are His, the power is His --- this is exactly the good news that such a fainting soul needs.” “What the Arminian wants to do is arouse man‟s activity; what we want to do is to kill it once for all, to show him that he is lost and ruined, and that his activities are not now at all equal to the work of conversion; that he must look upward. They seek to make the man stand up; we seek to bring him down, and make him feel that there he lies in the hand of God, and that his business is to submit himself to God, and cry aloud, „Lord, save, or we perish.‟ We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all.
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