Today is an historic for Sovereign Grace Family Church.
This church has been in existence for over half a century.
We began as Forest Christian Church in a different building and a different time in history.
Throughout the years, the denomination we were formally associated with became increasingly liberal, and in 1999 we decided we could no longer stand with them.
Then, in 2008 we went through a period of revival.
We began to see the need to fortify our doctrinal positions and begin to take strong stands on certain issues.
This did not please everyone --- but those among us who were fighting for the truth were most concerned about pleasing God.
In 2010, we changed our name to demonstrate the fact that we had, in many ways, become a new church.
We are Sovereign Grace - because we are committed to the historic principles of the Protestant Reformation, and specifically Reformed Theology which is centered on God’s sovereignty.
And we are a Family Church - because we are committed to the role of the family in the life of the church, the roles of fathers and mothers as the teachers of their families, and we are committed to being a church family.
Well, today we are going together to take another step in our continual reformation.
Our elders, after a long time of study and prayer, have decided to seek the congregational affirmation that we join the Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals.
As I said, this is an historic occasion, one that a decade ago would have been considered unreasonable to even consider.
Yet God, in His sovereign providence, has brought us to this very important place and time.
One of the great quotes which is used among Reformers is “Semper Reformanda” - always reforming.
The church has the responsibility to always be seeking to ensure that it never deviates from God’s Word, and is always willing to make reforms where necessary.
Today is a good and exciting day - today is a day of continued reformation.
In keeping with what we are doing, I want to address a question to ensure there is no confusion about the affirmation we are making.
The question is: What is a Reformed Evangelical?
The term evangelical means “Gospel believer”.
The “evangel” is the Gospel, and an evangelical believes and promotes the Gospel of Christ.
The title evangelical should apply to all Christians, because to be a Christian is to believe the Gospel.
Years ago, the term “born again Christian” was popularized... but it was really redundant because to be a Christian means you are “born again”.
In the same way, the term “evangelical Christian” is redundant, because a Christian is, by definition, one who believes and promotes the Gospel.
So, as Christians, we are evangelicals.
But what is a Reformed Evangelical.
When people discuss Reformed Theology, there are two sets of doctrines which are normally brought out in the conversation.
The first is the Five Solas
Sola Scriptura
Sola Gratia
Sola Fide
Solus Christus
Soli Deo Gloria
The second is the Doctrines of Grace (TULIP)
Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints
Over the past ten years, we have invested many hours discussing both of these lists and what they teach.
Today, I want to step away from these lists and distill down what really makes a a person a Reformed Evangelical.
People who believe and teach Reformed Theology often differ on certain aspects of theology, like eschatology and the practice of the ordinances, but there are some foundational principles which we all come together around.
The Complete Sufficiency of Scripture
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
The word “breathed out” comes from the Greek Word “theopneustos” which means “God-breathed”.
The words of Scripture are the very words of God.
The Holy Spirit superintended the writing of Scripture so as to ensure that what we have is the truth, and it contains no error.
2 Peter 1:21 “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”
During the time prior to the Reformation, the ownership of a Bible outside the of the church was basically illegal.
During the inquisition, a person could be executed simply for reading the Psalms.
And the Bible was only allowed to be kept in the language of Latin, and not legally allowed to be translated into the common language of the day.
Many people today do not realize how much blood was spilled to bring you the bibles you have.
William Tyndale, the great Bible translator, was burned at the stake for translating and disseminating the Bible in English.
The Reformers believed that the Word of God was necessary for people to be able to read so that they would be able to read and understand the Scriptures for themselves.
They believed in the “perspicuity” of Scripture - the clarity of its message.
QUOTE: Martin Luther “A simple layman armed with Scripture is greater than the mightiest Pope without it.”
You see, they not only believed that the Bible was God’s Word - they also believed that it was sufficient in and of itself to change lives.
They agreed with the Apostle Paul that the Scripture “equipped for every good work.”
They knew that God’s Word is more powerful than the words of men, and that it is capable of cutting to the very soul of men and bringing them to their knees before God.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
I have said many times that Reformed Theology is really just a synonym for Biblical Theology.
Reformed Theology has a very high view of Scripture.
We do not just SAY the Bible is God’s Word, but we BELIEVE it and we ACT on it.
We preach the Bible “expositionally”, which means we allow Scripture to speak for itself and we seek to find the proper, consistent understanding of it.
We believe, as Paul said, that the Bible is sufficient to...
TEACH
CORRECT
TRAIN
Someone may say, “Well, don’t all churches teach that?”
The answer is no.
Unfortunately, there is a very low view of Scripture in many churches, even those who say they hold to the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible.
It is often demonstrated in the preaching - a man will get up, read a verse of Scripture, and then depart for a 20 minute sermonette filled with stories and anecdotes about life.
Illustration: “Revivalist Walks Away from Bible” I was in a church leading music one night and they had a revivalist in to “preach”. He walked to the pulpit, opened his bible, and said, “I was gonna read Scripture and preach, but I feel like somebody needs a touch from God” and he commenced going about in the audience shouting and touching people as they shouted in return and fell over.
Beloved, not only is this nonsense, it is completely wrong - he walked away from the only source of power he had, which is the Word of God.
In a Reformed Church, the Word of God is central, and preaching take a place of preeminence.
This is because in preaching, we hear from God, we hear from His Word.
We know that it has the ability to change lives, to convert souls and to open hearts.
We do not trust in pizza parties, in light shows, in emotional music and in a coffee bar.
We trust that the Word of God is sufficient to convert the soul.
We believe in the complete sufficiency of Scripture.
The Utter Inability of Man
Originally, when I wrote this outline, I put the “utter sinfulness” of man.
However, as I thought more about this subject, I realized that so many people are willing to say they are not perfect.
And some are even willing to say they are great sinners.
But few will agree that they are utter helpless to do anything good outside of God’s grace.
But that is what the Bible teaches.
Romans 8:7-8 “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
Prior to our conversion to Christ, we are unable to do anything good toward God.
This passage is speaking of being “set on the flesh” and those who are unsaved are, buy nature, set on the flesh.
They cannot be “set on the spirit” because they are dead to spiritual things.
Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”
We see two things regarding unbelievers in this passage.
They cannot submit to God’s Law.
They cannot please God.
Note that the word “cannot” speaks of ability, or in this case “inability”.
The unsaved person has a natural inability to do anything good toward God.
This includes exercising saving faith.
Saving faith is obedience to God’s command AND it is pleasing to God.
Thus, this passage says that this is something an unsaved person is incapable of doing.
It is impossible for the unsaved person to believe in Jesus Christ.
This is because he has a moral inability to do so; he lacks any desire in himself to repent and trust Christ.
There is no such thing as a “God-seeker”.
Paul is very clear about this.
Romans 3:10-11 “as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.”
The natural question is, “If no one can exercise faith and no one seeks God, then how do people get saved?”
God seeks us.
We have a natural inability to come to Christ, so God comes to us and gives us the ability that we lack.
John 6:65 “And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
Jesus uses the language of “can” and says that no one can come to him, agreeing with what Paul said in Romans 8.
No one can come unless God does a work before granting that ability.
In Reformed Theology, we believe that the “work” God does in our hearts is regeneration.
God takes our dead soul, and He gives it new life, and as a result we believe.
People think that we are born again because we believe, but that is not true.
We are born again SO THAT WE CAN believe.
When we are dead, we cannot exercise saving faith.
But when God makes us alive by His Holy Spirit, we then are able to do what is pleasing to Him (i.e. exercise saving faith).
Illustration: Lazarus in the Tomb We were like Lazarus in the tomb, completely dead in our sins. God gives us spiritual life and we rise up out of our grave of sin and we come to Jesus.
We believe man is totally unable to do anything good toward God until such time as God works the miracle of regeneration in his heart.
The Absolute Sovereignty of God
This is a subject about which we have devoted many hours of study here at SGFC.
Yet, in all of our study, we have not even cracked the surface of this important doctrine.
The sovereignty of God references His almighty authority of all things which have ever and will ever come to pass.
The sovereignty of God is the God-hood of God.
Man has a tendency to rebel against God’s sovereignty because he wants to maintain his own human autonomy.
In fact, Reformed Theology has been accused of robbing man of his free will.
Allow me to say a word about the “free will”
The Bible does not say we have free will.
In fact, as we have already seen, it says that our will is morally incapable of doing good toward God, so we cannot be absolutely free.
Man is enslaved to sin, and that means we are not free.
John 8:34 “Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.”
We do not believe man is totally free, because we believe man is enslaved to his nature.
However, we do not teach that men are puppets or robots either.
We believe men have moral agency, or the capacity to make real choices.
We just believe that those choices will always be in accord with man’s nature.
And so long as his nature is enslaved to his sin, he will choose to reject Christ.
Likewise, while we do say that man is free to make choices, we believe God is more free.
So many people make a big deal about the free will of man, but have no concern about the free will of God.
The only being in this entire universe with a completely free will is God.
QUOTE: R.C. Sproul “When our freedom runs into God’s freedom, we lose.”
God is sovereign over every area of life.
The part of Reformed Theology which tends to disrupt most people’s comfort is when we say that God is sovereign over who will be saved.
But this is a natural extension of man’s utter inability.
We do not want to come to Christ - because we are enslaved to sin.
God ELECTS people from every nation to come to His Son to ensure His Son a bride.
People say, “I don’t like the word ‘elect’”
Well, here are a few verses to consider:
Matthew 24:31 “And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Luke 18:7 “And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?”
Romans 8:33 “Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.”
Romans 11:7 “What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened”
2 Timothy 2:10 “Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.”
The Bible uses the word “elect” many times to describe those who are saved.
Elect means “chosen by God”.
If you are saved, it is not because you were better.
If you are saved, it is not because you were smarter.
If you are saved, it is not because you were more spiritually sensitive.
If you are saved, it is because the sovereign God of this universe chose to give life to your dead soul.
Consider what Jesus said in John 6.
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
When God gives someone to the Son, they come to Him.
And we have already seen in John 6:65, no one can come unless God gives them to Him.
So the natural conclusion of this is that if you have come to Christ, you have done so because God chose you.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
If you are a believer, you have nothing to boast about.
You cannot say you were smarter, more spiritually pliable, or more willing to receive the truth.
You were dead in your trespasses and sins, and you did not want to come to Christ because you were a rebel.
But God saved you by His sovereign grace.
He gave you as a gift to His son, so that His Son would have the bride which He had chosen for Him.
The Perfect Atonement of Christ
This is an area which again causes some to scoff at Reformed Theology, but for me is one of the sweetest and most important points of doctrine.
Many people believe that Jesus died “potentially” for the sins of every person in the world.
But we believe Jesus died “actually” for the sins of the elect.
The atonement of Christ is certainly sufficient for any and all people.
But it was made specifically on behalf of believers.
In that sense, it is a perfect atonement, because it actually accomplished what it intended to do.
Christ’s death ATONED PERFECTLY for every person it was intended to atone for.
It was a true “Substitutionary Atonement” because all people who would ever believe on Christ were actually having their sins punished in Christ on that cross.
He actually substituted for the sins of the elect.
The writer of Hebrews expresses this truth to us when he addresses the role of Christ as our Great High Priest.
Hebrews 10:12-14 “But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, [13] waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. [14] For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”
Who are the ones who are being sanctified?
It is believers, it is those who are justified, it is the saved.
It is the elect.
Through the one sacrifice of Christ, the elect have been perfected for all time.
We believe and hold to that perfect atonement.
It was not a potential sacrifice made for nameless, faceless group.
It was an actual sacrifice made on behalf of all those God had chosen to be saved.
NOTE: One question people often have when they are faced with this teaching is this: How can I know the atonement was made for me?
The answer is simple: If you are a believe in Christ, the atonement was made for you.
Because if you are a believe, it is because God has chosen to give you new life and that is why you have exercised saving faith.
God knew you before you were born; He chose you and determined your destiny that you would come to faith in Christ and would live forever with Him.
Romans 8:28-30 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. [30] And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
CONCLUSION: Our theology should drive us every area.
It should drive our doxology, which is our worship.
It should drive our anthropology, which is our understanding of ourselves.
It should also drive our ecclesiology, or our understanding of the church.
One thing we know about the church is that we are not in this alone.
The church is a world-wide organization; God’s elect are in every nation.
And we should always be seeking every way we can to expand our outreach to those nations, so that we can preach the Gospel and God can use it to change hearts.
One of the ways we can do this is by fellowshipping with other churches which believe and teach as we do.
This is the purpose of FIRE.
Its not about exercising power over the local church.
It about being a part of a growing body of Reformed Evangelicals, all of whom are committed to the principles of doctrine which we are.
I encourage you today to affirm the elder’s decision to join this fellowship, and to pray that god will continue the work He began here.
That we would be “Semper Reformanda” - Always Reforming.
