The Reformed Church Is Always Being Reformed Pt 1

Introduction

While the Lord Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever, His people in the earth are in the continual process of sanctification. To use a few biblical terms, we are “growing in grace,” “being renewed in the spirit of our minds” and “being transformed into Christ’s image from one degree of glory to another.” This is reflected in the slogan, “The reformed church is always being reformed.” Over the next few months, we will consider this profound truth. We will begin by considering our relationship to God’s Word.

Submitting to the Scripture

When we approach the Word of God, we often do so with certain extreme commitments. At one end of the spectrum are those who insist that the Bible is “simple” and there they rest. They forge ahead with “bumper sticker” theology, those profound, one-line quips that claim to provide quick solutions to every problem. At the opposite extreme are those who maintain that the Bible is “complex” and there they wander aimlessly. Every word of the text is meticulously examined for possible hidden meanings and every comma or semi-colon leads off in a new direction. By the time they finish their examination of a subject or a text, they have forgotten what they were studying in the first place. Who is right? Is the Scripture simple or complex? Actually, it is both. As someone once said, the Scripture is shallow enough for a child to wade in but deep enough to drown and elephant. We will never “master” the Word of God. The Scripture is deep enough to swallow us up without a trace. Yet, if we have a heart that trusts in God; if we approach the Scripture as little children desiring to hear from our heavenly Father, we will surely be rewarded. There is great safety in abandoning ourselves to the Scripture.

We must recognize that the problem does not lie with God’s Word; it is with us. The reason we tend toward either extreme is because we wish to remain in control. If we are drawn to the simplistic, it is because we want the answers at our disposal. If we are attracted to the complex, our desire to master the Scripture is exposed. It is possible to get lost in the details or lost in the overview, but in either case, we will surely end up missing the point. God did not give us His revelation that we might bring His Word under our power. The Bible was given that we might humble ourselves in submission to its authority. There is a sense in which the Word of God is the foundation on which we stand (cf. Matt 7:24-27). However, when it comes to our understanding of the Scripture, Christians should not stand on the Word of God but under it.

The Scripture: Simple, Yet Profound

The following two propositions are offered as a clarification of this truth:

The Word of God is simple but not simplistic.
The Scripture is profound but not pointless.

The fact that the Bible is simple does not mean that it is superficial. It is strikingly deep. However, the fact that God’s Word is deep does not imply that it is muddled.. For example, the doctrine of salvation is simple: “Christ came to save sinners.” But when we ask what that means we quickly learn how deep and profound is that truth. It entails God’s plan of redemption, the atonement, Christ’s life, death, resurrection, exaltation, and so on. That simple truth acts as an anchor as we study the Scripture and consider its voice on the subject of salvation. None of the details we encounter in our study should ever contradict that simple truth. Likewise, the significance of such details is determined by their relation to this simple proposition.

Conclusion

This is why God’s revelation is simple enough for a new believer to embrace but deep enough to continuously challenge his thinking and shape his character for the rest of his earthly life. The Word of God is indeed, simple and yet profound. As we study and meditate on the Scripture, we find ourselves wading in waters deep enough to swallow us into obscurity. Therefore, the Scripture demands a humble, attentive, and teachable posture with respect to God’s glorious revelation.

Next month we will consider the impact of God’s immutable Word on our mutable existence as we remember the historical context out of which the slogan, “The reformed church is always being reformed,” arose.

- Stan McGehee Jr