Reformed Theology – Dangers & Great Teachers

By Darin Slater

I hope the sermon about Reformed Theology was helpful and, ultimately, gives you a bigger view of God’s sovereign purpose in this world. However, as I ran out of time in the sermon, I wasn’t able to get to my final points of the sermon, so I want to put them here in this blog, and by request, I want to publish the list of names that I gave out so you can look up and listen to some of the teachers and preachers I mentioned.

Firstly, there are three dangers to Reformed Theology that you should know – however, they aren’t related to the doctrine itself. The doctrines in Reformed Theology are the plain teachings of Paul and Jesus and are shown clearly in Paul’s letters to the Ephesians and to the Romans, and Jesus in the book of John. The dangers come from our response to those doctrines, and ultimately, they will stem from MISUNDERSTANDING those doctrines.

• We can become “cage stage.” The “Cage Stage” is when someone finally understands these doctrines and they become the only thing you think about and talk about, you get into arguments about it, and ultimately, become obnoxious about them. And trust me, if you truly get it, it will revolutionize your entire Christian experience. Many of us who have grasped Reformed Theology almost feel like they’ve been born again – again. Grasping the deepest things of God; truly realizing how sinful we are and how merciful God truly is to choose any of us, but especially me, of all sinners; resting in the work and will of Christ instead of my own; those concepts will both drive you to your knees and lift your heart as high as heaven, all at the same time. However, these doctrines cannot become the ONLY thing we talk about. It’s why you may not have specifically heard about them at Genesis, because we preach the Bible, and while we aren’t afraid to speak up about Reformed Theology and defend it, we preach the text of scripture – and if these things aren’t specifically there in that text, we focus on the intention of the text of scripture above trying to shoehorn in doctrines, even if we strongly agree with them. We want the plain teaching of scripture to rule the day, not just the things we are passionate about – and we are passionate about these doctrines – just not to the point of being obnoxious about it!
• You can become boastful and proud of your understanding. Hopefully the irony of falling into this trap doesn’t fall short for you – the whole thrust of Reformed Theology is that nothing of spiritual worth in your life is ultimately your own doing – the knowledge you have, your sanctification, all of it, even as you participate in those things, are gifts from the Lord. Just like Jesus tells Simon Peter when he says that Jesus is the Son of God, no information we have about Jesus and the things of the Lord come from our own pitiful ability to understand – they are gifts from the Lord, revealed to us by Him. So, for you to be boastful or proud in your understanding of Reformed Theology against someone else who may reject it or not quite be where you are is laughable. Our goal with these fully Biblical doctrines should be gentle teaching and leading others to understand and believe them, not forceful spoons full of food they aren’t ready to digest yet. Like I said in my sermon, for me to get from “Wow, this is crazy, I need to understand this more” to “I can’t live my spiritual life without these doctrines” was about a three-year process. Be patient, teach patiently, and let the Lord work – after all, if we truly believe in Reformed Theology, it is ALL the Lord’s working in us, isn’t it?
• You can become Hyper-Calvinist – This point is the ultimate misunderstanding of Reformed Theology, and it’s the one that opponents assume we believe almost by default. The assumption they make goes a little something like this: “If God has predestined His Elect to salvation, and there’s nothing we can do to aid that or stop that, then why share the gospel?” Or, the assumption becomes something called “fatalism”, which is basically saying, “Why try, the end ahead will get here no matter what…” Both of those approaches misunderstand Reformed Theology and are what we call “Strawmen” for the people who don’t accept Reformed Theology. In other words, people who hold to Reformed Theology and the Doctrines of Grace believe two things at the same time – to quote the Westminster Confession, Chapter 3:

“God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.”

          In other words, firstly, we believe that God is sovereign in every way, so that whatever happens, happens because He ordains it – He either allows or doesn’t allow something to happen. Secondly, we believe that the way God does this doesn’t violate human freedom, but instead, establishes “second causes.” Or, as I mentioned in the sermon, God uses “means” in order for His will to be done on the earth. I’ll give you two examples:

One – Do you believe prayer works? If you do, and you should, then you know one specific example for how these two concepts meet and marry one another. In fact, we are told in James that the prayer of a righteous person does much. Prayer, then, is one means by which God then does what He has ordained and established to happen. God’s will and human free will meet as we pray and ask God to do amazing things – and He answers them, as those things are part of His plan from eternity past!

Two – Do you believe that, when the gospel is shared, people will come to Christ? As mentioned in my sermon, the sharing of the Gospel is commanded for us, not optional! As Romans 9 tells us, God’s word never returns to Him void, it ALWAYS does as it is meant to do. This means as we share the gospel of Christ with the world, He is at work. He is working to save those who will come to Him, but He is also condemning those who refuse to come to Him. The sharing of the Gospel is the means by which God reaches the lost in the world and, as Paul says in Romans, the power of God is the Gospel. Therefore, when we share it, God uses it as the means by which sinners hear the good news of Jesus, and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, rescues His people from their sins and brings them to Himself.

• Great Teachers: Finally, here are the teachers I mentioned in my sermon – it’s not a complete list, by far, but it does include some of the absolute best out there, and I would recommend any of them, their conferences, or their church networks to you to listen to and learn from, or even attend their churches should you have the opportunity. By the way, the diversity of this group is amazing – they consist of men and women from multiple denominations, ethnicities, and ministries, all in agreement that God is sovereign over all things!

1. John Piper
2. David Platt
3. John MacArthur
4. RC Sproul
5. CH Spurgeon
6. Saint Augustine
7. John Calvin
8. Martin Luther
9. DA Carson
10. Joel Beeke
11. Bryan Chappel
12. Mark Dever
13. Tim Keller
14. Matt Chandler
15. Voddie Baucham
16. Shai Linne
17. KB
18. Trip Lee
19. James White
20. John Stott
21. Dane Ortland
22. Ligon Duncan
23. Al Mohler
24. Thomas Watson
25. Kevin DeYoung
26. Wayne Grudem
27. Jason Allen
28. Trevon Wax
29. Jen Wilken
30. Joni Erickson Tada
31. Jacki Hill Perry
32. Joe Thorn
33. Elisabeth Eliot
34. Gloria Furman
35. Nancy DeMoss
36. HB Charles
37. JD Ward
38. Courtney Doctor
39. Jared Wilson
40. Krag Runzi
41. The Getty’s
42. Sovereign Grace Music
43. The Gospel Coalition Conference
44. Acts 29 Church Planting Network
45. Cross Conference
46. Genesis Church and her Elders