A Reformed Evangelical?

In response to my claim to be a Reformed Evangelical, one man once told me that such a pairing was impossible. His not-too-subtle implication was that Reformed theology had absolutely nothing to do with evangelism. This false dichotomy is also sometimes propagated in Reformed circles. Perhaps these folks think that being evangelical is antithetical to being confessional, which is the proper, systematized grounding of Reformed theology.

I would argue to the contrary with regard to each of these points. To be evangelical is to believe in the imperative to go out and make disciples--to engage the world primarily through bringing God's Word to bear upon sinful human hearts. It avoids the fundamentalist temptation to retreat into a "holy huddle," while also avoiding the liberal temptation to transform Christianity into a civil religion built around ethical principles.

Moreover, I would contend that one can only be truly evangelical if they are Reformed in theology. God always roots the imperatives in His Word into a series of indicative truths, including God's sovereignty, man's depravity, and the atoning work of Christ. These truths usher forth gratitude in the heart of the redeemed, which in turn breaks forth in evangelism and the many other fruits of the regenerated heart.

Those free-will Arminians who turn faith into a work and place salvation on the shoulders of sinful men only see true conversions in spite of their beliefs, not because of them. They are also in danger of repeated Rome's heresy of turning God's law into an illusory ladder to heaven, but which is in actuality an escalator to Hell.

Throughout his epistle to the Galatians, Paul condemns the teachings of the Judaizers, who attempt to pervert the law into some sort of supplement to the Gospel. In chapters 3-5, Paul in essence says "You idiots! The law is a standard for salvation, not a tool. It tells you what is required, but doesn't get you there. It sets the bar so far from the grasp of sinful hands that only One could grab it. By Christ's perfect obedience, death, and resurrection--by living perfectly according to the law and paying for our desecration of the law--He has earned grace for His children. We have nothing to do with it." Therefore, be grateful, Christians. You were bought at a price and nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ (Rom. 8:36-39). That's an indicative, so get off of your butt and offer a sin-tainted hell of an imperative as your worship.

One final note--I will follow in the reasoning of my hero, J. Gresham Machen, and reject evangelicalism as a body of which I'm a part. Christianity is not an -ism, and shouldn't be reduced to any -isms, whether political (i.e. communism, socialism, capitalism) or theological (i.e. liberalism, fundamentalism, evangelicalism). We are the Church--guided objectively by God's Word and subjectively by the Holy Spirit. Our outward point of unity is our Confessions, and our inward point is the love of Christ which has been poured upon the Church. To reduce Christianity to an -ism is to equate Christianity with all of the -isms in American society, beneficial or detrimental. I'm sorry, but Christianity is so much more.