What is the Reformed Faith?

Stan Birchfield

Nearly five centuries ago, all throughout Christendom men and women fled the Roman Catholic Church because they believed it to be full of corruption, idolatry, and error. Often their decision to leave placed themselves and their families in great danger, and many lost their lives as a result of their stand for the truth. What were the principles that caused these people to take such a radical step, abandoning the only church they had known? Upon what basis did the Reformers justify their disruption of the outward ecclesiastical order, and how is their testimony relevant to us today?

In this paper we will investigate some of the grand principles behind the Protestant Reformation. In so doing, I hope to show that modern “Protestant” churches have forgotten what it was that their forefathers were “protesting” and have, in many ways, embraced the errors of the church from which they split. Sad to say, the declension is no less serious in churches that call themselves “Reformed,” because even they are at odds with the Reformers on numerous important issues.

In such a short work it will be impossible to defend these principles against every conceivable objection. Instead the approach will be to present the principles with sufficient detail so that the discrepancy between them and what is popularly taught today is evident, along with Scripture references. The reader is encouraged to use this paper as a springboard for further study and to search the Scriptures to see “whether these things be so.” Where appropriate, footnotes are given to aid in such an endeavor.

Let us begin with a survey of the development of Reformed thought from Luther to the Westminster Assembly, along with the subsequent persecution that stifled the progress of the restoration of Biblical Christianity. To anyone desiring to make sense of the confusing contemporary church scene, understanding this series of events is critical.

A brief history of the Protestant Reformation

Historians generally date the beginning of the Protestant Reformation at October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses to the door at Wittenberg, complaining of various errors in the Roman Catholic Church that needed to be reformed. Although Luther was not the first Reformer (others such as Wycliffe and Huss had preceded him and paved the way), his action sparked the first major movement to purify the church, and it resulted in its largest rift. Sadly, despite Luther’s faithfulness upon such biblical doctrines as justification by faith, he and his followers in many ways never strayed far from the errors of Rome.

Almost simultaneously with Luther’s reforms, a separate movement arose throughout Europe. Men such as Zwingli, Bucer, Farel, Viret, Bullinger, Beza, Calvin, and Knox labored to rid the church not only of false doctrine, as did Luther, but also of false worship, insisting that all outward forms of idolatry must be removed. In so doing, they were refining and reforming Luther’s early principles on worship, taking them to their logical conclusion.[1] Unlike Luther, these Reformers voluntarily left the Roman Catholic Church, realizing that it could not be reformed from within. Through their effort “Reformed” churches – distinct from the Lutheran churches – were established in Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland, and other parts of Europe. Though Zwingli pleaded with Luther for unity with tears in his eyes, the latter would not budge on issues of worship, thus sealing the Protestant division.[2]

The most well-known and influential of the Reformed pastors was John Calvin, who led the church in Geneva from 1541 to 1564. Uniquely qualified to systematize and clarify Reformed thought, Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion remains one of the clearest treatises on Reformed doctrine even today. Working closely with Farel and Viret, Calvin extended the Reformation in two significant ways (among many others): by instituting congregational psalm singing, which became a powerful vehicle for spreading the Reformed faith; and by organizing a precursor to Presbyterian church government. His courageous labor affected a remarkable transformation, causing John Knox to call Calvin’s Geneva “the most perfect school of Christ that ever was in earth since the days of the Apostles.”[3]

The most thorough and pure Reformation, however, was to occur in the land of Scotland, under the leadership of Knox himself. After briefly studying under Calvin in Geneva, Knox returned in 1559 to his native land to apply Calvin’s principles of doctrine, worship, and government to the Reformed Church in Scotland, where he was a pastor until his death in 1572. Along with his Scottish brethren, Knox took Calvin’s principles one step further by promoting resistance to civil authority when that authority promotes idolatry. In a land ruled by a Roman Catholic queen, such courage reveals a man whose “fear of God made him fearless of man.”[4] Knox’s courage and consistency bore tremendous fruit, leaving a remarkable legacy: The church of Scotland, even amidst many trials, was a shining beacon for the next hundred years.

The Reformation in England was a long, arduous process, a constant struggle between the prelates, who wanted to maintain a church that was not all that different from the Roman Catholic Church, and the Puritans, who wanted to purify and reform the church according to the example of the best Reformed churches. Finally, in 1643 Parliament called for an assembly of godly and learned men (mostly pastors) to settle the differences of religion and to unify, not only the churches in England with each other, but also with those of Scotland and Ireland. Invitations were sent to over a hundred men, including some of the Puritans in the American colonies,[5] and those who accepted the invitation constituted one of the largest synods in history, the Westminster Assembly.[6] The Assembly’s most famous work is the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647), which is widely regarded as the crème de la crème of the Reformed creeds, a precise, systematic, and concise summary of the Reformed interpretation of Scripture.[7] In addition, the Assembly produced the Larger and Shorter Catechisms (1648), the Directory for the Public Worship of God (1644), and the Form of Presbyterial Church Government (1644), among other documents; and they spent some time revising what became the Scottish Metrical Psalter (1650).[8] This period in history is often known as the second Reformation.

There is a strong connection between the Scottish church and the Westminster Assembly. For one, the Assembly consciously strove to reform the churches of England and Ireland according to that of Scotland.[9] In other words, they used the Church of Scotland as a model for their reforms, recognizing it as the more reformed church. Moreover, the Commissioners from the Church of Scotland, being some of the most learned and articulate men of their time, were extremely influential upon the Assembly’s outcome. Finally, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, after careful perusal and deliberation, approved and adopted all the documents produced by the Westminster Assembly.

Undergirding the entire work of the Westminster Assembly, and making it possible, was the Solemn League and Covenant (1643), drafted by the Scottish Commissioner Alexander Henderson, and signed by all members of the assembly. In this covenant they pledged themselves to uphold the crown rights of King Jesus over church and state, to reform and unify the churches of the three kingdoms as much as possible, and to defend the true religion against her enemies. The covenant was taken, not only by the members of the Assembly, but also by the English and Scottish Parliaments, by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and by all ranks of persons within the two nations. As a result, the second Reformation is also known as the covenanted Reformation.

Sadly, the work of the Westminster Assembly was stifled by perjured tyrants wielding the power of the sword. King Charles II, for example, after swearing to the Solemn League and Covenant twice (in 1650 and 1651) in order to regain the throne, later ordered the covenanters to be tried for treason and went so far as to have the hangman publicly burn copies of the Covenant on two occasions (in 1661 and 1662). Ignoring the Covenant’s Biblical distinction between the roles of church and state, this king usurped Christ’s place by declaring himself, like his predecessors, Head of the Church. Under his leadership, Scotland was changed from a limited to an absolute monarchy as the Scottish Parliament in 1661 declared the Covenant null and void and declared the king supreme “over all persons and in all causes.” Similarly, in 1662 the English Parliament required all ministers to renounce the Covenant and return to the prelatic, unscriptural forms of worship and government (which caused hundreds of faithful ministers to be ejected from the church).[10]

In Scotland, there was a small but outspoken group, known as the “covenanters,” who believed that the nation and church were bound by the Covenant to which they had sworn. Faithfully adhering to the truth, these people chose to worship in the open fields rather than to attend the backsliding churches led by unfaithful ministers. As a result, they were hunted down and killed by the government and church authorities[11] over the next three decades. The persecution reached its height during the reign of King James II, in the years 1685-8, known as “the killing time.” Laws were passed forbidding anyone to take the Covenant, to write in defense of it, or to worship privately in the open fields, and those found guilty (or in some cases those merely suspected of being guilty) were executed or otherwise punished. Tens of thousands were killed, maimed, dismembered, tortured, or banished, some being shot on sight by soldiers who happened upon their outdoor worship services. After reducing the covenanters to near extinction, the terrible persecution finally ended when the whole nation rose up against their tyrannical king and replaced him with William of Orange, who in 1689 ushered in a new era of religious toleration. Significantly, he did not revoke the laws declaring the Solemn League and Covenant null and void, which has been its status ever since.

To summarize, a continual progression of thought from Luther (the first Reformation) to the Westminster Assembly (the second Reformation) can be traced, each stage building on the previous one by making the principles more consistent and more Biblical. The work of the Assembly was stifled, not by any faulty principle of its own, but rather by perjury, tyranny, and persecution. Such hatred brought about the end of an era. Since that time, there has been no concerted effort in any nation to reform, purify, or unify the church according to Scripture, as was done during the first and second Reformations. Instead the church, exhausted from her many struggles in contending for the truth, abandoned all hope of being purified and unified in this world before Christ’s return. As a result she has, over the last few centuries, increasingly embraced many errors from which she once fled, the sins of each succeeding generation building on those of the previous one. This increasing error has caused increasing fragmentation of the church as each group of professing Christians has embraced its own flavor of doctrine and henceforth its own set of errors, leading to the rampant denominationalism that we have today.

Overview of important Reformed principles

Let us now proceed to some of the Reformed distinctives, as understood by the Westminster Assembly and the Scottish covenanters. Virtually all of these beliefs were also held by Calvin, Knox, and the other Reformed ministers, and some were held by Luther as well. By following the order of doctrine, worship, government, and discipline, we shall discover that the Reformed faith involves much more than just the “five points of Calvinism.”

Sola scriptura. The Word of God is our only rule of faith and practice and the supreme authority in settling all controversies. It is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. All other principles are derived from this axiom. [II Tim. 3:15-17; I Pet. 1:23-25; II Pet. 1:19-21, 3:16; I Thess. 2:13; Heb. 4:12; Is. 8:20, 40:8; John 5:39, 14:26; II Kings 22:8-13]

The truth. Christ is truth. The Holy Spirit is truth. The church is the pillar and ground of the truth. The Bible is the word of truth. We are to receive the truth, to plead for truth, to gird our loins with truth, to be fellowhelpers to the truth, to speak the truth, to love in truth, to rejoice in the truth, to bear witness to the truth, to do nothing against the truth, to rightly divide the word of truth, to obey the truth, to walk in the truth, and to do truth. God reveals his truth to those that fear him, and therefore it is possible for them to know the truth. In contrast, those who oppose God are the ones who are unable to come to the knowledge of the truth. Rejecting the truth that God has revealed is something for which we will be held accountable. [John 3:21, 14:6, 18:37; I John 2:20-21, 4:6, 5:6; II John 1,4; III John 1,3-4,8; Is. 59:4; John 18:37, 19:35; I Cor. 13:6; II Cor. 13:8; Eph.4:15,25, 6:14; James 1:18; Rom. 2:8; Gal. 5:7; II Tim. 2:15; II Pet. 1:5; Mark 4:11; Deut. 29:29, 30:11-14; Lk. 9:45, 18:34; Ps.36:9, 25:14, 78:5-6; II Tim. 3:6-7,14; Titus 1:1; II Thess. 2:10-12; Lev. 19:17]

The unity of the Scriptures. The Old and New Testaments tell of one unfolding story, the covenant of grace. Salvation has always been by grace through faith in Christ. The gospel was preached to Abraham, the father of all believers. Moses and the prophets wrote of Christ. The covenant made with Abraham is the one covenant of grace that was fulfilled with the coming of Christ, a day in which Abraham rejoiced. There is one church throughout all time, the Gentiles being grafted into the same tree as that of Israel. (Nevertheless, the Jews are still in some sense God’s people and will return to Christ en masse one day.[12]) [Gal. 3; Rom. 4:16; John 5:46, 8:56; Rom. 2:28-29, 11:17-24; Eph. 2:11-22; Acts 10:43; Rev. 2:9, 3:9; Heb 11; Rom. 11:28-29; Micah 4]

The sovereignty of God. God governs all creatures, actions, and things. The Lord does whatever He pleases, working all things according to the counsel of His will, which stands forever. God does not just allow things to happen, He causes them to happen, and yet in such a way that He is not the author of sin. [Ps. 115:3, 135:6-7; Dan. 4:35; Ps. 33:10-11; Eph. 1:11; Is. 45:7; Ps. 139:16; Prov. 21:1; Acts 2:23, 4:27-28, 17:25-26; Gen. 45:8; Jonah 1:17, 4:6-7; Is. 10:5-19; II Kings 19:25; Job 38; James 1:13]

Total depravity of man. Because Adam is the covenant head of the whole human race and because we have descended from him by ordinary generation, we all sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression. Fallen man is hostile to God, an enemy of God, and a hater of God. From conception he cannot please God and does not seek Him, being a slave to sin, a captive of Satan, helpless, and spiritually dead. Man, being made in the image of God, still has free will in the sense that he can do what he wants to do, but since his heart is “only evil all the time,” he is useless and unable to do any spiritual good accompanying salvation. No one can even respond to the call of the gospel until God first regenerates him. [I Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1,5; Rom. 3:10-12, 5:6,10,12-21, 6:17, 8:6-8; Col. 2:13; II Tim. 2:26; Gen. 6:5; Ps. 51:5; Ez. 36:25-27]

Election. From all eternity, God has predestined some people to eternal life through Christ. He chose them not for any good in them, or any good which He foresaw them doing, but solely on the basis of his rich mercy and inscrutable will. [Eph. 1:3-12; Rom. 9:9-24; I Thess.5:9; II Tim. 1:9; I Pet. 2:8-10; Rom. 8:30; Acts 13:48; Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15]

Definite atonement of Christ. The Son of God gave Himself up for His bride, His church, His people, His sheep, His brethren. On the cross He paid the penalty for their sins, redeeming them and accomplishing salvation for them. His death on the cross actually saved them; it did not merely make salvation possible. No one whose sins were laid upon Christ will end up in hell. His death is limited in extent, not in power. Nevertheless, it is also proper to say that Christ died for the world, in the sense that he died to save the human race. His death is sufficient for anyone who will turn to Christ, but efficient only for those who actually do so (i.e., the elect). [Eph. 5:25; John 10:15; I Cor. 8:11; John 11:51-52; Luke 1:68; Rom. 5:8-9; Gal. 3:13; John 1:29, 3:16; Heb. 1:3, 9:12, 10:14; Titus 2:14; II Tim. 1:10; I Thess. 5:9-10]

Justification by grace alone, through faith alone. At the time of a person’s conversion, God regenerates him by His Holy Spirit, giving him a new nature. The person then freely and willingly responds, in faith, by laying hold of Christ and His finished work. Faith is the instrument by which the justification is appropriated, but it is not the reason for the justification. We are not justified because of our faith, but rather because of God’s free grace. [Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 3:22-26, 5:15-21; 8:33; Titus 3:5-7; Eph. 1:7; I Cor. 6:11; Gal. 2:16, 3:8; Phil. 3:9; John 1:12; Acts 10:43; Rom. 6:17]

Sanctification by the Spirit. God, by His Word and Spirit, continually strengthens the believer to grow in grace, renewing the whole man after the image of Christ. The believer is enabled more and more to die unto sin and live unto righteousness, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Each believer should make his calling and election sure by working out his salvation, knowing that God is the one who is causing him to obey. [Ex. 31:13; Heb. 2:11, 12:14; Ez. 36:26; John 17:17-19; I Thess. 4:3-7; II Peter 1:10; Phil. 2:12-13]

The Law. God’s moral law, because it reflects His eternal character, is perpetually binding upon all mankind. That law is summarized by the Ten Commandments, which are in turn summarized by the two great commandments: (1) to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength (first four commandments), and (2) to love our neighbor as ourselves (last six commandments). Far from being a burden, the law (which is good, holy, and perfect) gives true freedom by directing men toward the ends for which they were created. The Christian should strive to obey God’s law, not in order to earn God’s favor, but out of thankfulness for what God has done. Law and grace are not at odds with one another but are in complete harmony, the Spirit of Christ enabling the believer to cheerfully and willingly obey God’s commands. [Ex. 20:1-17; Matt. 5:17-19, 19:18-19, 22:35-40, 28:18-20; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20, 23:56; Rom. 3:31, 7:7-12, 13:8-10; Gal. 3:21; Eph. 6:2; I Tim. 1:8; James 1:25, 2:8-12; Ps. 119; John 1:17; I John 3:4; I Cor. 9:20-21; Tit. 2:14; Jer. 31:33]

The King of Kings. Christ, as the King of kings and Lord of lords, is the head of all the nations. Although the church and state are separate entities with distinct powers and responsibilities, they should support one another in their respective roles to glorify the one true God in all that they do. All the governments of the earth have a duty to acknowledge Christ as the only Mediator between God and man and to govern according to His Word. It is folly for nations like the United States to be “neutral” with respect to God by omitting His name from their Constitution. As Calvin said, “If a king will not rule by the Word of God, then he forfeits his right to submission.” [Eph. 1:20-22; Ps. 2:1-12, 46:10, 72:11, 94:10, 149:6-9; Is. 49:23; Dan. 4; Jonah 3:5-9; Neh. 8:9, 13:1-31; Matt. 12:30, 28:19; Ps. 110:1; Acts 12:21-23; Gen. 18:20-19:29; Rom. 13:1-7; II Kings 23; Micah 4:1-2; Ez. 36:23; Mal. 3:12; Gal. 3:8; Rev. 2:26-27, 15:3-4]

Pure worship. God is to be worshiped only in the way that He has commanded, without the innovations of man. Knox put it succinctly: “All worship invented by man is idolatry.”[13] Whenever we try to improve upon God’s worship by making it more entertaining, more appealing, more effective, or even more reverent, we can only corrupt and pollute it. God is displeased with such innovations, whether we think our motives are sincere or not. The only acceptable elements for ordinary worship are the following: praying to God, preaching the Word, reading the Word, and singing the Psalms, along with the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s supper. Restoring pure worship (which is the logical application of Sola Scriptura to worship) was at the heart of the Reformation. Says Calvin, “To debate about the mode in which men obtain salvation, and to say nothing of the mode in which God may be duly worshiped, is too absurd.”[14] [Deut. 4:2, 12:29-32; Ex. 20:25; Lev. 10:1-3; Jer. 7:31, 19:5; Is. 1:12; Matt. 15:3-9; Col. 2:23; I Kings 12:33; I Sam. 13:8-14, 15:10-23; II Sam. 6:3-7; I Chron. 15:13-15; cf. Num. 4:6,15]

Exclusive psalm singing, a capella. The only acceptable songs in worship are the Psalms. God has written an inspired hymnbook for the church, namely the Book of Psalms, and He has commanded us to sing them. Nowhere has He commanded us to sing anything else.[15] These were the songs sung by God’s people for a thousand years before Christ and for four centuries after Him (following His example at the first Lord’s supper), until they were slowly replaced by uninspired compositions (following the example of heretics). Although the singing was accompanied by musical instruments when it was performed at the temple in Jerusalem during the animal sacrifice, such accompaniment is no longer appropriate in New Covenant worship. With the coming of Christ, all the shadows of the Levitical priesthood, including their playing of the musical instruments specifically chosen by God, have ceased. In fact, beginning with the apostolic era musical instruments were absent from the church’s worship for the first thirteen hundred years of her history, until they were revived during the height of her apostasy.[16] [James 5:13; Ps. 95:2, 98:5, 105:2; Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16; Matt. 26:30; Acts 16:25; Heb. 2:12; Ps. 72:20, 81:2-3; I Chron. 15:16-24, 16:42, 25:1-6; II Chron. 5:11-14, 7:5-6, 29:25-30, 30:21; Ezra 3:11; Neh. 12:27-43, 30; Heb. 13:15; I Kings 8:58,61, 9:4,6]

Sabbath as the only holy day. The Sabbath was instituted by God at Creation to be a perpetual ordinance. With the coming of Christ the day was changed from the last to the first day of the week, which is the Christian Sabbath, or Lord’s Day. The day is to be sanctified by resting from our worldly labors and recreations, and using the time to worship the Lord.[17] The church has no authority to declare any other day holy, including Christmas (from Christ-mass, the blasphemous continual re-sacrifice of Christ) and Easter (from the pagan goddess of fertility also known as Eastre, Ishtar, or Ashtoreth;[18] cf. Judges 2:13). These pagan festivals, though they be “Christianized,” are dishonoring to our Lord and His Day. [Gen. 2:3; Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15, 12:30; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 13:10-16; Is. 56:1-4, 58:13-14; Amos 8:5; Ez. 22:26; Jer. 17:19-27; Neh. 13:15-22 ; Col. 2:16; I Cor. 11:20; Rev. 1:10; Eph. 6:3]

No images of Jesus. The Second Commandment specifically forbids making any visible representation of God. Since Jesus is God, this law also forbids images of Jesus, including those in manger scenes, stained glass windows, and children’s books. [Ex. 20:4-6; Deut. 4:12,15-18,25, 5:8-10; Is. 40:18; II Kings 18:4; Ex. 32:4-5; I Sam. 12:28]

The sacraments. The only two sacraments instituted by God are baptism and the Lord’s supper. Baptism signifies admission into the visible church and is to be administered to all those who profess faith in Christ, along with their children.[19] The Lord’s supper shows forth the death of Christ, whose body and blood are actually present spiritually, not corporally. It is the duty of the elders to exercise proper church discipline by refusing to administer the Lord’s supper to those who are ignorant or scandalous. [I Pet. 3:21; Matt. 3:11, 7:6, 26:26-28, 28:19; I Cor. 5:7-8, 7:14, 10:16-17, 11:23-31, 12:13; II Cor. 13:5; Gen. 17:7-10; Rom. 4:11, 6:3-4; Gal. 3:27; Acts 2:38-39, 8:12-13,26-39, 9:17-18; Col. 2:11-12; Is. 52:15; Ez. 36:25]

The Church. The invisible church consists of all the elect throughout all time, while the visible church consists of those who profess the true religion, along with their children. Either way, the church is the people, not the organization or the hierarchy. In times of great apostasy, the outward organization may be so corrupt that the truly constituted visible church is all but extinguished and the faithful believer may have to worship in private rather than to attend an unfaithful assembly.[20] [I Kings 19:10,18; Rev. 12:6; Jer. 15:19; John 10:5]

Presbyterian church government. Christ, as the only Head of His Church, has ordained that she be governed by teaching elders (pastors) and ruling elders, along with deacons. There is not to be a hierarchy of leaders (prelacy / episcopacy), nor is the congregation to rule (congregationalism / independency). These elders are organized into a graded court system with presbyteries and a general assembly. At times synods and councils convene to determine matters of faith, and their rulings, if scriptural, are not mere suggestions but are actually binding upon all local churches under their jurisdiction. Just as an individual Christian must not backslide after growing in grace, so must the Church, as one “moral person” throughout all time, hold fast to the attainments of faithful synods and councils as she grows in her understanding of the truth. [Eph. 4:15; I Tim. 3:1-13, 4:6,14, 5:17; Titus 1:5-9; I Pet. 5:1-3; II Tim. 1:13; Acts 15:6-31, 16:4; Phil. 3:16; Prov. 22:28; I Cor. 15:2; II Thess. 2:15; Rev. 2:25, 3:3; Jer. 3:11-22; Hosea 4:16, 11:17]

Unity and uniformity. As believers holding to one Lord, one faith, and one baptism, we are to manifest our invisible unity in an outward, visible unity that the world can see. We are to be likeminded, to speak the same things, to believe the same things, and to glorify God with one mind and one mouth, which leads to uniformity in doctrine, worship, government, and discipline. In each nation there should be one church, not many denominations. [Eph. 4:4-6; I Cor. 1:10; Rom. 15:5-6; John 17:20-23; I Cor. 11:16, 14:33; II Thess. 2:15; II Tim. 4:15; Matt. 28:18-20]

Separation from unfaithful shepherds. The Bible warns us that, just as God’s people were led by unfaithful shepherds in the Old Testament, so false teachers will arise from within the church. These teachers claim the name of Christ, think they are saved, outwardly appear righteous, and are leaders in the church, but they secretly introduce dangerous heresies and cause divisions in the church. False teachers multiply because the church resists sound doctrine. Believers are commanded not to be deceived, but rather to discern the truth, to mark these false teachers, and to avoid them. Those who contradict Scriptural teaching should be disciplined, not tolerated. [II Pet. 2; Acts 20:28-31; Matt. 7:15-23, 16:11-12; Ez. 34:1-10; Rom. 16:17; I Tim.1:3, 4:1-3, 6:3-5; II Tim. 3:1-9, 4:3-4; I John 4:1; II John 10-11; III John 9-10; Jude 19; Gal. 1:8-9; Rev. 2:15]

Schism vs. separation. Whenever the church splits, at least one of the parties is guilty of the sin of schism. Given the number of denominations in existence today, no less than thousands of them are openly walking in rebellion against our Lord by dividing His body. In fact, it is logically impossible that there be more than one faithful church at any given time and place, because if two faithful churches were to exist, they would by virtue of their faithfulness join together to avoid the sin of schism. Nevertheless, Christ has promised that the faithful church will not perish from the earth. In order for the Christian to fulfill his duty to seek this faithful church and her faithful shepherds, he must separate from those that are unfaithful. [Matt. 16:18, 18:15-17; Titus 3:10-11; II Thess. 3:6,14-15; II Tim. 3:5; John 10:5; Heb. 13:7]

The Antichrist. Though perhaps strange to our modern ears when we first hear it, it was the unanimous position of the Reformers that the Pope (i.e., the Papacy as a succession of popes) is the Antichrist prophesied in Scripture.[21] Also called the “man of sin” and “son of perdition,” this “little horn” is said to arise in Rome after the fall of the Roman Empire[22], to speak blasphemies against God, to set Himself in God’s place, and to wage war against the saints. Ruling over the church,[23] he is also called “Antichrist,” a term which means not only “against Christ” but also “in the place of Christ.” Undisputed are the facts: The pope rules over the church from Rome, takes upon himself the titles belonging exclusively to God and Christ (e.g., “Head of the Church,” “High Priest,” and “Holy Father”),[24] promulgates numerous blasphemies and false teachings, and has been responsible over the ages for the slaughter of millions of believers.[25] [II Thess. 2:3-12; Dan. 2:28-45, 7:1-28; Rev. 13:1-18, 17:1-18:24; Matt. 24:24; I John 2:18-22; II John 7]

Covenanting. During times of Reformation, both in Scripture and in history, God’s people have covenanted together to follow the Lord and walk in His ways. These covenants involve the whole nation: the church, the civil magistrate, and all the people. It is these sacred bonds which unify God’s people in the truth and enable them to avoid schism and declension.[26] Once ratified, a covenant cannot lawfully be ignored but rather stands as an enduring testimony which the nation and church are bound to uphold in succeeding generations. The nations of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as those nations that descend from them (e.g., the United States, Canada, and Australia) are covenant-breaking peoples whom God is presently judging for their backsliding and unfaithfulness. [Ex. 19:5-8; II Kings 23:3; II Chron. 15:12, 23:1-3, 29:10, 34:31-32; Ezra 10:3; Jer. 34:8-20; Ez. 16:59; Gal. 3:15; Joshua 9:3-15; II Sam. 21:1]

The state of the church today

Although this list of Reformed principles is by no means exhaustive, hopefully it has illustrated the stark contrast between the teachings of the Reformation and what is so commonly taught today. Very few modern churches teach the Reformed gospel, in which God alone does all the work in salvation. Only a tiny fraction practice Reformed worship, which forbids any practice that is not specifically enjoined by God’s Word. And virtually none uphold Reformed government and discipline, in which the true church is maintained as a separate entity from false churches, calling the latter to repentance.

In contrast, modern churches have in many ways embraced the principles of the Roman Catholic Church. Many churches believe that the Bible contains error, is fallible, or is in some way incomplete (the view of Rome). An even larger number teach that justification is a cooperative work between God and man by saying that unregenerate man is able to respond to the call of the gospel (the view of Rome). It is the view of most churches that we are free to worship God in the way that seems best to us, as long as nothing is specifically forbidden in the Bible (the view of Rome). And ubiquitous is the admonition to join “the best church that you can find,” thus assuming that the faithful church is always easily visible (the view of Rome).

Because of the increasing similarities between modern evangelicals and Roman Catholics (especially since Vatican II in 1965), most Protestants today see little difference in their message or mission. As a result, prominent evangelical leaders are calling for greater cooperation with Rome, as in the 1994 document, “Evangelicals and Catholics Together,” in which the signers (such as Bill Bright, Chuck Colson, and J. I. Packer) agreed not to proselytize the members of the opposing community.[27] Even so-called “Reformed” pastors, such as R. C. Sproul, who had previously decried the document have since reconciled with the signers without demanding a recant. [28] Furthermore, in September 2001 the most famous preacher in America, Billy Graham, co-led a national worship service not only with liberal Protestants and Roman Catholics, but also with Jews and Muslims, proclaiming salvation to anyone with “faith in God.”[29]

Such acts of compromise are the result of our present commitment to pluralism, including ecclesiastical pluralism (also known as denominationalism). The number of disagreements among professing Christian churches today is staggering, including predestination, infant baptism, women preachers, the Sabbath, the inerrancy of Scripture, various worship styles, whether Christ is the only way to salvation, and so on. This situation is not solved by tolerating only those disagreements outside the “fundamentals,” because each person has a different opinion as to what are those fundamentals, and because churches will split over issues that they admit are not fundamental (thus contradicting themselves). According to Scripture all truth is God’s truth, and to resist any part of his truth is to resist God himself. We are commanded to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment (I Cor. 1:10), to teach all of Christ's commandments (Matt. 28:18), to neglect not the least of his commandments (Matt. 5:19), to do all his commandments (Deut. 30:2,8), to be obedient in all things (II Cor. 2:9), to be of one mind (Phil. 2:2), to regard all scripture as profitable (II Tim. 3:16), and so on.

By admitting multiple conflicting beliefs as equally valid, denominationalism tolerates error and leads to mysticism, relativism, and skepticism.[30] Despairing of ever knowing the truth themselves or of ever obtaining unity in doctrine with their brethren, many Christians avoid doctrinal controversy altogether and instead seek unity in experience, even though such experiences presuppose a unity in doctrine and become meaningless without it. Christians with different theologies will excitedly join together to share the “gospel,” apparently oblivious to the fact that there are multiple conflicting “gospels” being shared. Similarly, Christians will eagerly attempt to fulfill the Great Commission alongside those with whom they disagree, unaware that it is impossible for them to “teach them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20) as long as they do not agree on what those commandments are. Meanwhile, the world has continued this trend of tolerating multiple conflicting beliefs by embracing virtually all religions (even those that refuse to tolerate the truth), and the voices of the many Christian denominations are now simply voluntary contributors to this self-contradictory din that muffles the truth.

In an environment of denominationalism, identifying false teachers is impossible, because false teaching is just another alternate viewpoint. Biblical church discipline is also impossible, because nothing prevents a person who is excommunicated from one church from simply finding another church. But the Bible commands us to identify and separate from false teachers, and therefore we are required by God to separate ourselves from Rome and testify against her errors, if indeed she is guilty of false teaching. As a result, any church that would welcome men such as Bright, Colson, Packer, Sproul, or Graham into their communion (without their prior repentance) is at the very least tolerating those who tolerate false teaching, and is thus guilty of “partaking in other men’s sins” (I Tim. 5:22). Sadly, this straightforward logic implicates nearly every professing Christian church in existence today.

While Protestants have been drifting toward Rome for several centuries, Rome has never budged. Today, the Roman Catholic Church still worships Mary and the saints, teaches justification by faith and works, believes in purgatory, celebrates the re-sacrifice of Christ in the Mass, approves of indulgences, and so on. She retains her anathemas against Protestants (in which she condemns them all to hell as heretics)[31] and has shown no repentance for the millions of people murdered, persecuted, and tortured by her hand. Moreover, two of her more egregious doctrines were added since the Reformation: the Immaculate Conception, or the sinlessness of Mary (1854), and the Infallibility of the Pope (1870). Even in Vatican II (1965), which many mistakenly regard as a sign of improvement, she reiterates the equal authority of Scripture and tradition, that only the Church can interpret the Scriptures properly, that Mary is the “Queen of Heaven” and “Queen of the Apostles,” that the Council of Trent remains in full force, etc.[32]

Conclusion

The time is ripe for a third reformation. The same principles that caused the Reformers to separate from the Roman Catholic Church, if applied consistently today, would cause modern Christians to separate from churches that share Rome’s doctrine, worship, government, or discipline; and from those that tolerate such churches by not calling them to repentance. If the Reformation was indeed a work of God, and if the Reformers acted justly in their separation, then we should follow their example. Christ’s admonition to separate from a corrupt church could not have been more clear: “Come out from her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).

Having examined the grand principles of the Reformation, we Christians are left with a sobering choice. We can continue to bury our heads in the sand, pretending that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the church today. Or, we can follow the example of good King Josiah who, when he learned that he had been walking in a way that was contrary to God’s commands, wasted no time in putting on sackcloth and mourning for his sin. Rather than justifying himself and his deeds, he repented and reformed, recognizing that “great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us” (II Kings 22:11-13). Indeed, great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against this and all covenant-breaking nations. May we follow Josiah’s example by repenting, reforming, and returning to the attainments of the Covenanted Reformation.

“Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man

disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” Gal. 3:15

“Ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and

ye shall find rest for your souls.” Jer. 6:16

“Whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule,

let us mind the same thing.” Phil. 3:16

“Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among

you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in

the same judgment.” I Cor. 1:10

“I pray … that they all may be one.” John 17:15-21