A plea to newly Reformed brothers

The plea[1]

Here it is: be confessional.

It’s hardly my place to welcome you in, but it’s great to be here, isn’t it? No doubt you’ve met Johnny and Martin here. Have you met Frankie, Frankie Turretin? How about the Brakel over there, as we like to call him? Herman, B.B., Geerhardus? Get to know them. Top fellas.

It’s great to see so many taking a keen interest in Reformed theology. Over the last few years churches in our denomination have seen plenty of young men turn up who are, like many of us once were, “newly” Reformed. Many previously leaned more towards Charismatic theology, or belonged to a broader evangelical church. Many come from no church background at all - and it’s great to see.

As a pastor, it’s also increasingly easy to spot the influences. And, whilst I’m grateful for the people and ministries nudging (often young) men towards Reformed theology, the result seems often to be – initially at least – a somewhat disproportionate disciple. Hence this plea: be confessional.

The trend

One common characteristic of the newly Reformed is a negative assessment of the contemporary evangelical church. And, to be fair, if you look closely enough it seems to be an inevitable conclusion. Here in the UK, for all the recent signs of encouragement, it would be an uphill task to try and sustain the argument that the evangelical church is in a particularly healthy condition.

But then, more admirably, there also seems to be a shared desire to do something about it. We ought to encourage such ambition in the church. This kind of ambition surely lies close the heart of our purpose in the world: to be, as Paul puts it in 2 Timothy 2:21, “a vessel for honourable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house.” Perhaps this is part of the appeal of Reformed theology for young men who can often feel in many ways frustratingly of no use.

But here’s the thing: in this particular situation, for this particular person, I want to suggest that you will be of far more use if you pay attention to the Reformed confessions, rather than the more niche “Reformed” ideas that are so often passionately advocated today.

The balance of confessionalism

The greats in the room – Calvin, Luther, Turretin, Brakel, Bavinck, Warfield, Vos (and many others) – they share something in common: they were well-rounded disciples. The fruit of Calvin’s life and thought was the Institutes of the Christian Religion, not the “Institutes of Christian Nationalism.” Think about that.

Luther’s Catechisms – like many of the key Reformation texts – unpack the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. In a sense, to be confessional is to be all about these same things. To be Reformed – which is shorthand for being Reformed according to Scripture – is to know what our Reformed confessions outline regarding the Bible’s teaching on these matters of great significance, and to align your faith and practice accordingly.

To be confessional, I am suggesting, is among other things to be balanced.

In my context, the Reformed texts to which our churches subscribe are the Westminster Standards – the Westminster Confession and the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms.[2] The Westminster Confession contains 33 chapters with a total of 186 paragraphs outlining the Bible’s teaching on core Christian doctrine. Yet many newly Reformed brothers today appear to spend most of their time camped in the territory of the three short paragraphs of chapter 33 on the last judgment. Or – and perhaps this is the case for the naturally more combative types – the subject matter of WCF Chapter 23 is often the adopted home stadium for the newly Reformed: what can we say about the church’s involvement in culture?

A catechetical summary

Q. Now, are these (above) subjects important?
A. No doubt about it.

Q. But do many become imbalanced in their discipleship because they give disproportionate amounts of time, thought, speech to these (and a few other) subjects?
A. Surely this is the case.

Q. As a result, do such young men, who at this stage of life have so much to offer in terms of usefulness (2 Tim 2) become less useful to “the master of the house,” and less useful in reforming his household according to Scripture?
A. I would argue yes.

So, brothers: welcome. Come and be useful. Enjoy your new home – but don’t limit yourself to one or two rooms only. Be Reformed like our well-rounded, balanced forefathers; be confessional.

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[1] Why “brothers”? Not because I haven’t seen many young women also coming to appreciate Reformed theology, but because I haven’t encountered any becoming overly passionate about the kind of niche areas of theology that many young men appear to be latching on to.

[2] Incidentally, to be confessional requires you to be a meaningful part of a church. This plea is to be embraced in the company of God’s people, not as a lone ranger. And you should know that it’s OK - inevitable, even - to join a church with which you don’t agree on every point of doctrine. Be wise about it, but don’t wait for your perfect church to become an option.