"Reformed"...What's in a Name?

It is often said that necessity is the mother of invention.  This is true enough.  In the case of this blog, however, it was not necessity, but frustration, that birthed this post.  This gnawing restlessness has been engendered by the tacit and near-universal acceptance of a radical redefinition of the descriptor "Reformed," as in Reformed Christianity.  An effort has been made, and successfully so, to gut this noble epithet of its historic and orthodox meaning, subsequently replacing the classic understanding of this critically important theological label with something more palatable to modern sensibilities.


First, what does it mean to claim the title Reformed for oneself?  To what has one committed himself?  Currently, it is commonly viewed by supporters and detractors alike as theological shorthand for a particular understanding of soteriology, i.e., the doctrine of salvation.  To be "Reformed" is to be "Calvinistic" (vis a vis, the sixteenth-century ecclesiastical reformer John Calvin) in one's view of salvation; to be Calvinistic is to hold to the "Five Points" of Calvinism with regard to the salvation of sinners: (1) total depravity, (2) unconditional election, (3) limited atonement, (4) irresistible grace, and (5) perseverance of the saints.  Certainly this understanding of salvation is in keeping with the Reformed tradition, but is Calvinistic soteriology the sum and substance of what it means to be Reformed?  Does committing oneself to Reformed Christianity demand that one merely declare allegiance to a particular understanding of redemption?


A cursory study of Protestant church history will lead the honest inquirer to answer the previous query resoundingly in the negative!  Historically, to embrace Reformed Christianity was to submit oneself entirely to the authority and direction of Holy Scripture in every area of doctrine and practice, not simply one's view of the manner in which God saves sinners.  "Reformed" was synonymous with "regulated," regulated by scripture alone (sola scriptura), not by church tradition or cultural norms.  The extent of this regulation was not limited; Scripture was the sole governing authority in all spheres of Christian life and practice...doctrine and worship...faith and discipline.  


It is precisely here that modern day adherents to Reformed Christianity have betrayed those that came before them.  They have refused the authority of Scripture over all of life.  In doing so, they have introduced, among other errors, non-biblical practices into the corporate worship and discipleship efforts of local congregations.  This blog exists, in large part, to explore both the root and extent of this lamentable error, and to call concerned Christians back to a more biblically-faithful, i.e., Reformed, approach to doctrine and practice.  Until next time...


Grace and peace.