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What is the Reformed
Faith? 1. The Law of God According to Time magazine, there is a school district in the United States where teachers are forbidden to tell their students that it is morally wrong to steal. Yes, they may tell them that they will have to suffer consequences if they steal, because our society has so decided. But they may not press the ethical judgment that such behavior is evil. So much for alleged neutrality! The fact is, however, that everybody acts upon one basis or another. Either there is a Creator God who has declared his will for his creature, man, or there is not. Actually, the above-mentioned school district is quite consistent, not with neutrality, but with the view that man is autonomous. Once you rule out God and rule in man as the supreme authority over behavior, then of course you will look very unkindly upon one person pressing his or her individual opinions about what is right and wrong upon others. The Reformed faith insists upon God's supreme authority. "The duty which God requireth of man, is obedience to his revealed will" (WSC, Q. 39). That revealed will (the moral law) is "summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments" (WSC, Q. 41), which are found in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. It is not difficult to relate all of the commands in the Bible to one or more of the Ten Commandments (cf. Matt. 5:17-48). That moral law is binding upon all men for all time. Prior to our conversion, it "was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:24). That is, it revealed our sin and need of a Savior. After conversion, it is a rule of gratitude for the covenant people of God in their thankful service to their Deliverer. 2. Principles of Conduct The Reformed faith insists upon the binding authority of the entirety of the moral law: Commandment 1--Whom to Worship. This commandment teaches that there is only one living and true God, the triune God of the Bible. We are forbidden to worship any god but him. Commandment 2--How to Worship. We are to worship God using only those specific aspects of worship commanded in his Word. We are not to worship God through things made by men's hands, including images, crucifixes, altars, or any other ways not prescribed in Scripture. Commandment 3--Reverence. God reveals himself through his name. God's names describe his character. We pervert God's intention for his name when we use it in blasphemy, cursing, and swearing. God forbids using his name lightly. Commandment 4--Rest [see below]. Commandment 5--The Home. This commandment delegates to Christian parents the authority and the duty to govern their children. Commandment 6--Life [see below]. Commandment 7--Purity [see below]. Commandment 8--Property. As the ultimate owner of all, God has entrusted us as stewards with his created resources. Therefore, we must gain and use material possessions according to his rules. Commandment 9--The Tongue. God is a God of truth. He requires his children always to speak the truth. Christians must therefore hate all lies, in whatever form they appear. Commandment 10--The Heart. We are not to be discontent, envious, or jealous of the reputation or possessions of our neighbor. Covet most of all the riches of God's grace. (This summary is taken from Confessing Christ, by C. K. Cummings, pp. 46-53.) Although each commandment merits a fuller treatment, we have elected to treat three more fully: a. Labor and the Sabbath Ordinance--the Fourth Commandment The OPC is a confessional church, teaching what some have called a "Puritan" (or even "pharisaical") view of the Sabbath (see Ex. 20:8-11). In Israel it was forbidden even to kindle a fire on the Sabbath (Ex. 35:3). Sabbath work was punishable by death (Ex. 35:2). But similar sanctions were demanded for cursing father or mother (Ex. 21:17; Lev. 20:9), and for adultery (Lev. 20:10). Civil authorities do not exact such punishment today. How does this diminish what God requires by way of obedience to his law? Christ did not come to lower God's standard (Matt. 5), but to uphold it. Strict observance of this law is no more properly designated "pharisaism" than strict observance of any other law of God. Our standards teach what could be called an unattainable Sabbath! The "Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men É not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy" (WCF, XXI:8). Is it not self evident that no one can do this perfectly? But that is also true of the other commandments. God's law was not given to make us feel good, but to show us our need of Christ--not only at the beginning, but all the way through the Christian life. Isn't that what the Bible itself says we ought to learn from the law? "Your commands are boundless" (Ps. 119:96). b. The Sanctity of Life--the Sixth Commandment The sixth commandment enjoins us, "You shall not murder" (Ex. 20:13). God has life in himself; he himself is the source of all life. Human life reflects him particularly--"So God created man in his own image" (Gen. 1:27). Murder is not only contrary to God's will, but also an attack upon him. This needs to be emphasized, particularly in this day of voluntary abortion, which, if not done to preserve the life of the mother, is nothing short of murder. In the covenant that God made with Noah (and with "every living creature with" Noah--Gen. 9:12), capital punishment was prescribed for the murderer: "Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed" (Gen. 9:6). So highly does God value human life that, later, he established cities of refuge in Israel for the protection of the person wrongly accused of murder (Num. 35:6-28). The faithful imposition of capital punishment for premeditated murder can be expected to deter this horrendous act, but when the civil magistrate fails to obey this command of the living God, violence abounds. The Preacher warned that this would occur: "When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong" (Eccl. 8:11). c. Marriage--the Seventh Commandment The seventh commandment requires: "You shall not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14). This prohibition underlines God's will regarding that most basic of all human relationships, marriage. In the Garden of Eden, the Lord said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Gen. 2:18). God's purpose for Adam was not complete until Eve was on the scene. Celibacy, though appropriate for some people, is the exception that proves the rule, as Jesus said: "Not everyone can accept [celibacy], but only those to whom it has been given" (Matt. 19:11). Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; the Bible calls homosexuality sin (Rom. 1:26-27). There is a divinely imposed structure to marriage. Each partner has a distinctive role: the husband is the head in the marriage unit and the wife is the helper placed under her husband (Eph. 5:22-24). The husband is commanded to love his wife, and the wife is commanded to respect her husband (vs. 33). This relationship predated the Fall (Gen. 2:20b-24), was affected by the Fall (Gen. 3:16), and is blessed by redemption in Christ (Eph. 5:22-33). 3. Evangelism Jesus' last words to his disciples, before he ascended into heaven, were: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). As someone has rightly said, the duty of the whole church is to proclaim the whole gospel to the whole world. It is a great commission indeed! By Matthew's account, this proclamation of the gospel is not bare preaching, but includes "mak[ing] disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you" (Matt. 28:19-20). Thus, the church is to: (1) make disciples--identify and gather in all those from every nation under heaven who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, believe and follow Jesus as their Savior and King, (2) baptize--apply the new covenant sign of membership in this covenantal band to both the disciples and their children; and (3) teach--catechize (instruct) them, young and old, in the apostolic faith. |