Last week I established why I am a Christian. I believe that the Bible is true and that Jesus Christ is Lord.  For some, they would say that we stop there. Any further labels or thoughts are worthless. I disagree. The Bible is Scripture. Is that all that is Scripture? Jesus Christ is Lord. Is He God? We are saved by grace. But is it grace alone, or grace plus something else? Does God save us because He looked through the corridors of time and saw that we would choose Him, or does He elect us unconditionally?  These are not small issues. Under the “Christian” umbrella are a number of groups, and not all of them have a legitimate claim to being Christian. But as for me, I am not Mormon. I am not Roman Catholic.  I am not Lutheran. I am not Arminian in my theology. I am what is called Reformed (even as some would deny me that title, but that is for next week).  So what beliefs bring me into the Reformed camp? I am going to briefly describe 10 doctrines. Those who are also Reformed likely have already done the math and realized that 5+5=10, and thus know exactly where I’m going with this. Yet the traditional sets of doctrines still hold. The first five doctrines explains, essentially, why I reject the Roman Catholic Church. The second set explains why I am not Arminian in my soteriology (understanding of salvation). That said, other Christian groups are also rejected through these doctrines.   So, here are the 10 Beliefs that make me Reformed:

Scripture and Scripture Alone

First off, I believe that the Holy Scriptures are the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience. Thus, the statements made ex cathedra by the Pope are of no greater weight than any other human statements. Works like the Book of Mormon are not inspired Scripture and in fact contains many errors.

Salvation is in Christ and Christ Alone

Secondly, salvation is by means of Christ alone. There are not “many ways to Heaven”, but one. Unless you are in Christ, then you are cannot be saved. God has chosen by His prerogative one way of salvation, the only possible way of salvation, and that is through His Son, who is Himself the Second Person of the Trinity.

Salvation is by Grace and Grace Alone

This salvation comes not by works, but rather by grace, and by grace alone. There is no work we can perform that will satisfy God. All our works are filthy rags. The only thing that can secure our salvation is grace, the penalty having been paid by Jesus.

Salvation is through Faith and Faith Alone

The big question, then, is “how do we appropriate this grace?” How can we get this grace for ourselves? We appropriate it through faith. Through faith, we obtain grace for salvation. It is through faith and through faith alone. When God gives someone the gift of saving faith, they obtain all the grace they will ever need. Sacraments, be they man-made (like penance) or instituted by Christ (like baptism) are incapable and unnecessary for obtaining for a person grace. Only faith is needed.

Glory to God and to God Alone

Because of this, God is to be glorified and given ultimate glory, and Him alone. There is no vicar of Christ whom we glorify. There is no Apostle whom we venerate. We worship God.

People are Totally Depraved

Changing track, ever since the fall of our first parents, Adam and Eve, all of us are fundamentally changed for the worse. While there is degrees of wickedness between people, for all of those born into the headship of Adam, there is no aspect of a person that is not tainted by sin. Our bodies, our minds, our souls, our reason, our emotions, all of it is totally depraved.

God Elects Sinners Unconditionally 

Because of this, those whom God has seen fit to choose for salvation are elected entirely without conditions. There is nothing in us that makes us worthy of being chosen for salvation. It is entirely of God’s sovereign and free choosing.

Jesus only Died for the Elect

And for those He chose, He sent His Son to pay their penalties. And that’s it. The blood of Christ was satisfactory to pay for our sins, and those sins were actually paid for on the Cross. God did not pour out His wrath on His Son for the sins of those whom He would not save. God’s salvation may have been limited in its scale only to those whom He intended to save, but His salvation was unlimited in its power to actually deliver from death His precious people.

Saving Grace is Irresistible

As this gift is so amazing, those who are elected unto eternal life, once they see a real glimpse of the beauty of the atonement, God gives them faith in such a way that not only are the unable to resist, they are filled with a craving for this grace, a craving our Lord generously satisfies. Grace is irresistible.

Genuine Believers Stay Believers

As it is God who saves, and God who brings to faith, so also it is God who keeps. Those who have genuinely believed, and received the gift of saving faith, and have had their sins paid for by Jesus Christ, though their faith may be attacked, will ultimately persevere. It will be fitting to end this point, and this blog post, with a quote from the 1689 London Baptist Confession concerning this truth:

True believers may have the assurance of their salvation divers ways shaken, diminished, and intermitted; as by negligence in preserving of it, by falling into some special sin which woundeth the conscience and grieveth the Spirit; by some sudden or vehement temptation, by God’s withdrawing the light of his countenance, and suffering even such as fear him to walk in darkness and to have no light, yet are they never destitute of the seed of God and life of faith, that love of Christ and the brethren, that sincerity of heart and conscience of duty out of which, by the operation of the Spirit, this assurance may in due time be revived, and by the which, in the meantime, they are preserved from utter despair. (18.4)