Rediscovering God-Centered Reformed Theology in Modern Faith

 

Summary

In today's discussion, we explored the critical distinction between theology and religion, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a God-centered approach in our faith. Drawing from Dr. David Wells' book, "No Place for Truth," we examined the concerning trend of theology's disappearance from the church's life, replaced by a focus on self and psychologized preaching. This shift has led to a loss of conviction and an inability to engage with culture incisively. Our journey today is to rediscover the essence of Reformed Theology, which is not merely a set of religious practices but a comprehensive worldview with God at its center.

Reformed Theology is fundamentally a theology, not just a religion. This distinction is crucial because theology is the study of God Himself, while religion often focuses on human behaviors and practices. In a God-centered approach, all disciplines, including anthropology, are subsumed under theology, reflecting the medieval view of theology as the "queen of the sciences." This perspective acknowledges that to understand humanity, we must first understand God, as we are created in His image.

We also delved into the biblical narrative of the golden calf in Exodus 32, illustrating how easily people can fall into idolatry, even while engaging in religious activities. The Israelites, despite being God's chosen people, created a tangible god to worship, demonstrating the human tendency to replace the true God with man-made idols. This story serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of idolatry, which can infiltrate even the Christian religion when we prioritize anything other than God Himself.

Reformed Theology's focus is on the knowledge of the true God, countering the modern sentiment that theology is divisive or irrelevant. Instead, theology is life, as it informs our understanding of God and, consequently, our lives. The Protestant Reformation underscored this by prioritizing sound doctrine over mere religious practices. Our lives can only be truly reformed when we have a clear understanding of God, the original form, and model of true humanity found in Christ.

Key Takeaways:

- The distinction between theology and religion is vital. Theology is the study of God, while religion often focuses on human behaviors. A God-centered approach places theology above all other disciplines, acknowledging that understanding humanity requires first understanding God. [06:48]

- The biblical account of the golden calf in Exodus 32 highlights the human tendency toward idolatry. Even while engaging in religious activities, we can replace the true God with man-made idols, demonstrating the need for vigilance in maintaining a God-centered faith. [14:00]

- Reformed Theology emphasizes the knowledge of the true God, countering the modern view that theology is divisive or irrelevant. Theology is life, as it informs our understanding of God and, consequently, our lives. [20:11]

- The Protestant Reformation prioritized sound doctrine over mere religious practices, underscoring the importance of a clear understanding of God. Our lives can only be truly reformed when we have a sound theological foundation. [20:49]

- In a culture that often prioritizes feelings and psychological needs, Reformed Theology calls us back to the centrality of God. True reformation of life begins with a sound understanding of God, the model of true humanity found in Christ. [21:28]

Youtube Chapters:

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:42] - Introduction to Dr. David Wells' Book
[01:27] - The Disappearance of Theology
[02:16] - The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals
[02:57] - Overview of Reformed Theology
[03:42] - Religion vs. Theology
[04:22] - The Department of Religion
[06:06] - God-Centered vs. Man-Centered Faith
[07:29] - The Queen of the Sciences
[09:01] - The Study of Religion
[10:32] - The Collision with Biblical Christianity
[11:51] - The Golden Calf Incident
[14:53] - God's Response to Idolatry
[17:10] - The Sin of Idolatry
[19:39] - Theology as Life
[21:28] - Conclusion and Call to Reformation

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Exodus 32:1-20
2. Romans 1:18-25

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Observation Questions:

1. What was the Israelites' reaction when Moses delayed coming down from Mount Sinai, and how did they express their impatience? (Exodus 32:1-4)

2. How did Aaron respond to the people's request for a tangible god, and what was the result of his actions? (Exodus 32:2-4)

3. According to the sermon, what is the primary sin of the human race as described by the Apostle Paul in Romans? [17:57]

4. How does the sermon describe the shift in focus from God to self within the church, and what are the consequences of this shift? [01:27]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. In what ways does the story of the golden calf illustrate the human tendency toward idolatry, even among those who are religious? How does this relate to the sermon’s emphasis on maintaining a God-centered faith? [14:00]

2. How does the sermon explain the difference between theology and religion, and why is this distinction important for understanding Reformed Theology? [03:42]

3. What does the sermon suggest about the role of theology in informing our understanding of God and our lives? How does this relate to the Protestant Reformation's focus on sound doctrine? [20:11]

4. How does the sermon describe the cultural shift towards prioritizing feelings and psychological needs over theology, and what is the proposed solution according to Reformed Theology? [19:39]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your own life: Are there any "golden calves" or idols that you have created, perhaps unintentionally, that distract you from a God-centered faith? How can you address these distractions? [14:00]

2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of theology as the study of God. How can you incorporate more theological study into your daily routine to deepen your understanding of God? [20:11]

3. In what ways can you ensure that your faith remains God-centered rather than self-centered, especially in a culture that often prioritizes personal feelings and needs? [06:06]

4. Consider the role of sound doctrine in your life. How can you prioritize learning and understanding sound doctrine to ensure your faith is grounded in truth? [20:49]

5. How can you be vigilant in maintaining a God-centered faith in your community or church, especially when faced with cultural pressures to conform to a more self-centered approach? [01:27]

6. Reflect on the sermon’s message about the dangers of idolatry within religious practices. How can you help others in your community recognize and address these dangers? [18:46]

7. The sermon calls for a return to the centrality of God in our lives. What specific steps can you take this week to refocus your life on God and His teachings? [21:28]

Devotional

Day 1: Theology as the Foundation of Understanding God
Theology is not merely an academic discipline but the study of God Himself, which forms the foundation of our understanding of all things, including humanity. In a world where religion often focuses on human behaviors and practices, theology calls us to a God-centered approach, placing God above all else. This perspective aligns with the medieval view of theology as the "queen of the sciences," where all disciplines, including anthropology, are subsumed under theology. By understanding God, we gain insight into our own nature, as we are created in His image. This God-centered approach is crucial for maintaining a faith that is not swayed by cultural trends or personal preferences. [06:48]

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14, ESV)

Reflection: In what ways can you prioritize the study of God in your daily life, ensuring that your understanding of humanity and the world is rooted in a God-centered theology?


Day 2: Vigilance Against Idolatry
The biblical account of the golden calf in Exodus 32 serves as a powerful reminder of the human tendency toward idolatry. Even while engaging in religious activities, the Israelites replaced the true God with a man-made idol, demonstrating how easily idolatry can infiltrate our faith. This story warns us of the dangers of prioritizing anything other than God Himself, even within the context of religious practice. It calls for vigilance in maintaining a God-centered faith, ensuring that our worship and devotion are directed solely toward the true God. [14:00]

"They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass." (Psalm 106:20, ESV)

Reflection: Identify one area in your life where you might be placing something or someone above God. How can you actively work to remove this idol and refocus your worship on God alone?


Day 3: Theology as Life
Reformed Theology emphasizes the knowledge of the true God, countering the modern view that theology is divisive or irrelevant. Theology is not just an academic pursuit; it is life itself, informing our understanding of God and, consequently, our lives. The Protestant Reformation underscored this by prioritizing sound doctrine over mere religious practices. A clear understanding of God is essential for true reformation of life, as it provides the original form and model of true humanity found in Christ. [20:11]

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16, ESV)

Reflection: How can you allow the knowledge of God to inform and transform your daily actions and decisions, ensuring that your life reflects sound theology?


Day 4: The Importance of Sound Doctrine
The Protestant Reformation highlighted the importance of sound doctrine over mere religious practices, emphasizing a clear understanding of God. This understanding is crucial for true reformation of life, as it provides a foundation for living in accordance with God's will. In a culture that often prioritizes feelings and psychological needs, Reformed Theology calls us back to the centrality of God, ensuring that our lives are grounded in a sound theological foundation. [20:49]

"Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 1:13, ESV)

Reflection: Reflect on your current understanding of God. How can you deepen your knowledge of sound doctrine to ensure that your faith is rooted in a solid theological foundation?


Day 5: Reformation Begins with Understanding God
In a culture that often prioritizes feelings and psychological needs, Reformed Theology calls us back to the centrality of God. True reformation of life begins with a sound understanding of God, the model of true humanity found in Christ. By focusing on the knowledge of the true God, we counter the modern sentiment that theology is divisive or irrelevant. Instead, theology becomes the lens through which we view and engage with the world, ensuring that our lives are aligned with God's purposes. [21:28]

"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

Reflection: Consider one area of your life that needs reformation. How can a deeper understanding of God and His character lead to transformation in this area?

Quotes


"The disappearance of theology from the life of the church and the orchestration of that disappearance by some of its leaders is hard to miss today, but oddly enough, not easy to prove. It is hard to miss in the evangelical world in the vacuous worship that is so prevalent, for example, in the shift from God to the self as the central focus of faith and the psychologized preaching that follows this shift." [00:01:11]

"Reformed Theology is a theology. Now that sounds rather redundant, I realize that, but I want to make this distinction clear that there is a difference between religion and theology. One of my favorite illustrations of this comes from a personal experience that I had several years ago when I was invited by the faculty and the administration of a college in the Midwest that was a Christian college." [00:03:24]

"In a God-centered approach to faith the discipline or the study of humanity, the science of anthropology is subsumed under the science of theology. This reflects something of the way in which university courses were structured in the Middle Ages when it was said that theology was the queen of the sciences, the idea being that all other disciplines in education are subsumed under the search for ultimate truth that is found in the study of the nature and character of God." [00:06:48]

"The study of theology is the study of God Himself, first and foremost. The study of religion is the study of particular type of human behavior. We notice that there are all kinds of religions in the world, and when people are involved in religion, they're involved in certain characteristic things like prayer and worship and sacrifice and singing and devotis and that sort of thing, all of which belong to the trappings of human religions." [00:08:28]

"When God made His covenant with His people and called them to be holy, to be different, at the very beginning of His law He made certain things absolutely clear. The first thing is, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.' And the second, 'Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image.' At the very beginning of the Old Testament covenant at Sinai was an emphasis on faith that was to be different from other religions, a faith that would be focused and centered on the character of God Himself." [00:10:44]

"Now imagine this scenario. Moses is just now returning from Mt. Sinai. He has been alone with God, conversing with God, as it were, face to face. And when he comes down from the mountain, he meets Joshua, and Joshua comes to Moses and he says I hear this loud noise coming from the camp. And Joshua's first instinct was to guess that there was some kind of war going on, because you don't hear this kind of whooping and hollering and shouting from a mass of people except on the field of combat." [00:12:54]

"The people were engaged in religion, but the religion they were celebrating was a religion that had a theology of this world, a theology that distorted and corrupted the very character of God, a theology that moved away from true and honorable worship of God to the worship of creaturely man-made things. And God said to Moses look at this; they're worshiping this calf. And they're saying this is the god who brought us out of the land of Egypt, as if that calf, made by their own hands, could have delivered them from anything." [00:16:03]

"The primary sin of the human race is to take that knowledge of God and to push it down, to do what the Apostle says in Romans, to suppress the truth and hold it in unrighteousness and then exchange that truth for a lie and serve the creature rather than the creator. The exchange is between the uncorruptible, transcendent, holy God who is for the corruption of creaturely things." [00:17:57]

"Idolatry involves religion, but even the Christian religion can be idolatrous when we strip God of His true attributes and place at the center of our worship something other than God Himself. Now if we're going to look at the essence of Reformed Theology, I have to say to you that the most strict focus of Reformed Theology is on theology, on the knowledge of the true God." [00:18:38]

"We live in a day when people say theology doesn't matter. This is what David Wells was decrying in his book, 'No Place for Truth.' What counts is feeling good, being ministered unto in our psychological needs, having a place where we can feel the warmth of fellowship and have a sense of belonging and of relevance. And theology is something that divides, something that stirs up controversy and debates." [00:19:34]

"At the heart of Reformed Theology is the affirmation that theology is life, because theology is the knowledge of God. And there is no more important knowledge that exists to inform our lives than the knowledge of God. This is what the Protestant Reformation was all about. There were scandals in the priesthood; there was problems of ... there were problems of immorality both among the Roman Catholic people and among the Protestant people." [00:20:11]

"Luther even admitted; he said we find scandalous behavior among our own people, but what we're trying to do first is come to a sound understanding of God, because our lives will never be reformed, our lives will never be brought into conformity to Christ until we first have a clear understanding of the original form, of the model, of the ideal, of true humanity that is found in Christ. And that's a matter of theology." [00:21:08]

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Transcript
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