Dear BPCWA worshipper, Do you realise and treasure this heritage that we have from the 1517 Reformation, namely “the Reformed Faith”? In Article 4.1 of our church constitution, it states that “The doctrine of the church shall be in accordance with that system commonly called “the Reformed Faith” as expressed in the Confession of Faith set forth by the historic Westminster Assembly together with the Larger and Shorter Catechisms, together with other Biblical doctrines that are not specifically stated in the Westminster Confession.” It is called the Reformed Faith because it truly re-formed the deformed faith propounded by the Roman Catholic Church. The Reformed Faith is nothing but simply what the Protestant reformers, used of God, systematised to bring back the true and original Christian faith during the Protestant Reformation, restoring to us the truths of God as God intended in His Word.

Why we must know our Reformed Faith. The Reformed Faith is a very Biblical understanding of the Christian Faith of the Holy Scriptures. Presbyterians, by definition, hold on to the Reformed Faith. However, not all who claim that they subscribe to the Reformed Faith really do so. They may be holding on to an edited version, not what the Protestant reformers propounded and defended. Today, the word “reformed” has been used (and abused) very loosely, and some are even trying to redefine “reformed” because they have recently adopted that term for themselves, even though they don’t fall under what was known historically as “the Reformed Faith”. Hence, on this Reformation Sunday, I want to recap the highlights of the historical Reformed Faith, which I believe is very important for every worshipper to know. We cannot agree to and pass on what we are not clear about. Worse still, we may even be duped to believe that some redefinitions of “the Reformed Faith” are accurate definitions of the “genuine” Reformed Faith since they seem to use the same terms as we do! If one day someone comes and wishes to serve with us in BPCWA, attesting that they’re “Reformed” in theology, do we sufficiently understand how to discern their theology? Or will we just end up accepting them simply because they drop the word “reformed” here and there in their language and purported statements of their faith?

The Reformed Faith is not a follower of Calvin. How would you respond to those who caustically say that the Reformed Faith follows men like John Calvin, while they follow the Bible instead? Such comments demonstrate the speakers’ ignorance of (and veiled scorn for) the Reformed Faith. Nowhere do we propound nor elevate men’s writings to be on par with the Bible. The Reformed Faith elevates Scriptures alone. And because of that, it supports and embraces only the Biblical interpretations and writings that expound Scriptures. John Calvin was an avid student of the Bible, and from his studies, we benefit from his writings on the doctrines found in the Bible. Calvinism is the systematised presentation of the doctrines in our Bible. Hence, some have rightly called Calvinism “Paulinism systematised”. We embrace the Reformed Faith not only because it reformed Christianity, but because it is the most Biblical presentation of the doctrines and theology of Holy Scriptures. It is certainly not because we idolise Calvin. This is the system of beliefs that the reformers and Bible scholars since then, through the study of God’s Word, have found to be most consistent with the whole counsel of the Word of God.

Why defend the Reformed Faith? The reason why it is important to know the Reformed Faith is to ensure that we do not fall prey to any system that seeks to change the accurate presentation of Biblical truths that the reformers stood for while passing it off as the “Reformed Faith”. Anyone who wants to claim to be reformed in theology but wants to change its system of theological beliefs should simply not use the term “reformed” in their denominations to confuse and deceive others. For example, some claim to be of the Reformed Faith but deny and change what the reformers believed simply from the Scriptures about God’s Sovereignty in election and decry infant baptism by misrepresenting the meaning of infant baptisms as propounded by the reformers.

The Reformed Theology. As stated in The Westminster Handbook of Reformed Theology, Reformed Theology “is appropriately applied to the theology originating from Huldrych Zwingli, Heinrich Bullinger, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, and others, to distinguish their thought from that of other Protestants.” Reformed Theology holds high the 5 Solas of the Reformation – Scripture alone, Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone, God’s glory alone. We do not exclude that other non-Reformed Christians can be saved by knowing the true salvific grace of God in their lives, but simply attaching the term “reformed” does not necessarily mean that their system of doctrines follows that of the historical Reformed Theology. For example, the historical Reformed

Faith will hold to all 5 points of the doctrine of salvation as summarised by the acronym “TULIP”, where:

• Total Depravity means that natural, fallen, sinful man is totally corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing God and believing in Christ for salvation, unless the Holy Spirit works in his heart (Rom 9:16).
• Unconditional Election is the eternal predestination and pure grace of God that chooses a people for Himself to salvation from among unworthy, depraved men, not through any works that they have done (Eph 2:8-10) or would have done (Rom 9:11).
• Limited Atonement means that while Christ’s infinite atonement is sufficient and freely offered to all men (Jn 3:16), it is limited in its intention, design, and ultimate results so that only the elect will be saved (1Jn 2:2).
• Irresistible Grace means that God’s election will always be effectual in drawing those whom He chooses to respond to the offer of salvation in Christ through the inward working of the Holy Spirit in their hearts (Jn 6:37), and thus will surely be saved.
• Preservation of Saints means that those whom God elects will always be saved and will never lose their salvation (Jn 10:27-29).

Though TULIP (which, by the way, is an acronym not coined not by Calvin himself) is an important part of Calvin’s teachings on soteriology, just accepting a segment of the TULIP e.g. TUIP theology (rejecting “L”) does not make one a Calvinist nor constitute what has been historically known and accepted as the “Reformed Faith” in Christianity.

Confessional. Having a creed and confession does not mean that one is Reformed, but Reformed churches would be characterised by a clear declaration of their beliefs through well and clearly articulated historical creeds and confessions. As a result of the thoroughness of the theology on which the Reformed Faith stands, Reformed churches would reflect their theology in their confessional statements. An indication of this clarity is the Westminster Standards, which defined in great detail the beliefs of the Reformed Faith and was a key contribution of England’s Reformation. As the preface to “The Confession of Faith” written by the Assembly states, it was written to have “uniformity in religion” and “great strengthening of the true Reformed religion against the common enemies thereof”. The historical documents of the Reformed Faith, having been “found by the Assembly to be most agreeable to the Word of God, and in nothing contrary

to the received doctrine, worship, discipline, and government” were completed and approved in 1646 as the Westminster Confession of Faith and then in 1647 as the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. There was later a German Heidelberg confession written which one would consider as Reformed too. The Westminster Confession made such great ripples in Christendom that some other denominations who created their own confessions about the same time later modified their confessions after the WCF was published, often borrowing some verbiage from the Westminster Confession, but reflecting their differing beliefs.

Numerous books and sermons have covered the Reformed doctrines in great detail and this brief pastoral can only mention some of the key points that identify our faith. We will continue with another important aspect in next week’s pastoral.

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor