Eggheads?

"I don't want to hear any big words during a sermon."

"Doctrine?  That's just for pastors or scholars."

"I don't need to know anything academic - I just need the Bible."

"I know God loves me.  And that's all that I need to know."

 Quotes like this make my temperature rise and my face blush red.  I bite my tongue.  Dr. Horton once said that you can't separate doctrine and faith.  It truly forms what you believe and why you believe it and how, then, you live.

The article "Is Reformation Christianity Just for Eggheads?" in this month's ModernReformation magazine is helpful for those who have a tendency to neglect doctrine.

 

The author begins with the following quote:

"Man, this is a lot of stuff [the examination process for a membership candidate in a United Reformed Church (URC)].  Do you ever worry that the Reformed Church is just for smart people?"

Short answer: No.

"My first thought was to decry the anti-intellectualism of our age and the church's capitulation to it...Reformation Christianity may seem overly intellectual, but compared to what?"

I enjoy the way author Brian Lee goes on to explain his answer.

 "The justification for a robustly confessional Christianity must be grounded first in the character of our covenant-making God, a God who speaks truth into a world under the sway of the deceiver."

Here are some other main points:

Literate God

Fact: the Bible exists.  God speaks and writes (through inspired men).  He gave Moses the 10 commandments written on stone tablets.  Although we don't know the exact stats, it's likely that few Hebrews could actually read these laws of Yahweh.  Moses wrote five books and probably had to spend a lot of time teaching others to read so these books could be understood.  "God's revelation demands literacy of his people."  For some, this can be a steep learning curve.

Instruments of Reform

Beyond the fact that the Bible exists, God called and raised up learned leaders to instruct His people in faith.  Moses, David ("whose literary production in the Psalter portrays poetry and learning of the royal court well beyond his rustic origins"), Solomon, the prophets ("trained not only as covenantal lawyers, but as poets and historians), twelve apostles, and the Word made flesh in Jesus Christ. 

"The child Jesus grew strong and was filled with wisdom...the authority with which he debated the Pharisees flowed not only from his person, but also from his superior knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures."  And Paul preached the Gospel in a manner through which people of all backgrounds and education could understand because, as he correctly understood, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (through preachers).  So, yes, God worked through brilliant and inspired men, but faith comes by hearing the preached Word - therefore, common people can obtain true faith.

When Luther's 95 Theses became the catalyst for the Reformation, the ideas were first received by a literate group of academics.  However, the ideas soon spread as the academics taught others.  Now, it was no longer only for the literate, but for the common man.  It came by hearing.

"The churches of the Reformation bore fruit in the form of well-catechized and educated laity.  For generations, simple farmers and tradesman were versed in the Scriptures and catechized to a degree that would make today's college graduates blush.  While a great deal of this education took place at home, much occured on the Lord's Day through the reading and preaching of Scripture, the singing of Psalms, and the instruction in the catechism.

"Reformation Christianity and worship - properly understood - shouldn't appeal only to smart people.  We are all sinners, and sinners need the gospel in its clarity.  Rather, it should make them smart, or more precisely, make them wise in the things of the Lord, kindling in them a hunger and thirst for the true food of God's Word."

I loved this article and appreciated his emphasis on the importance of growing in knowledge (II Peter 3:18) in order to deepen our faith.  Yes, knowledge can "puff up", but it's not about just being smarter or being "Reformed"; it's about knowing in greater clarity who Jesus is and what He has done so that we can fall deeper in love with Him.

"Ignoti nulla cupido."

(Ignorance does not breed love.)