Nick Maples Reformed Theology April 25, 2013 Final Reflection Paper One of the most significant things

that I have learned from this class came from the book Christless Christianity. Throughout this book, Horton talks about how the Church has lost almost all sense of God. A large amount of the book is spent directly refuting Joel Osteen and the ministry that he has created through a prosperity gospel. There is a big push in churches today to focus on the things that we need to do right to have a better life, but rarely talk about Christs work in our lives an through His own life. This kind of preaching leads a lot of people to a form of laid back legalism that only leads to guilt, or a spirituality that leads to no rules at all. Many people do not want to be told definitively what is right and wrong, because so many people have been mistrusted to declare truth. Therefore, coming to a good life will still include following commands, but these commands will be set by each individual person and nothing outside of the self can determine right or wrong. These two types of teachings can be very similar but are distinct in their antinomianism or legalism. He explains that the problem in the American church is that we are all on one side of this spectrum and so few churches have really reached the center. Both of these views come with some sincere beliefs about Scripture, but they are missing the mark because they are taking Christ out of the picture. We have tried to find salvation in our own works, either to save ourselves from our sin or to have a better life on Earth. By doing this, we have taken away the need for God to

come in and save us from our sin, and it has largely taken away the idea that God might not have come to give us a better life in this world. It is not that churches simply take out the name of God and refuse to teach anything Biblical, but that they teach Scripture in order to show good moral examples for us to follow instead of a God who will work in us to enable us to follow His example. On the other side, there is antinomianism. This is rooted in the idea that Christ came so to die for our sins and that we do not have to strictly follow the law, but follow Christ. This has lead to an idea that the only thing that is really important in a Christians life is an inward relationship with God that no one else can penetrate. The problem with this is that God never intended to erase all lines between right and wrong, but to clarify the heart of the Law and expound on the correct way that it should be followed. He said that adultery is definitely a sin, but so is looking at another person with any lust whatsoever. He came to clarify that sin is so much more than an outward action, but that it is inside our hearts and minds as well. Lawlessness also leads people away from the importance of the Church. If we have our relationship with God inside our own beings, then outward influences have very little affect and authority in our lives. This belief is dangerous because it is not Biblical. In order to have a close relationship with God, there must be commands and rules to follow, but only out of love for Him and others. Also, the Church must play a very important role in every believers life because God has made a community of believers to be an important means of grace in every Christians life. This teaching will be important to my ministry because it will lead me away from legalism and lawlessness. I never want to preach a message that is so full of

rules and right living that Gods work can barely be seen in my message. I also do not want to teach so much about Gods forgiveness of sins and salvific work that I simply throw away the necessity to grow in good works through His power. These teachings are very prominent in the Church and many pastors today are doing everything they can to stay on the right course. I want to be able to build up my congregation in order to love God and love others, and I want this to lead them to focus on God and the way to allow Him to change their lives to follow His will. Another teaching that will be beneficial for me in my ministry is his teaching on Trinitarian Heresy and accurate Biblical interpretation on the Trinity. He explains that Modalism is the idea that there is one God, which can be expressed as the Father, Son, or Spirit. This would mean that there is only one God who reveals Himself in different ways, but does not consist of distinct persons at all. Tritheism is the belief that the Father, Son, and Spirit are three separate Gods that work independently from one another. While these two are believed to be Biblical heresy, the Christian orthodoxy holds that the Trinity is one in essence but three in persons. These persons are inseparable from each other, but are still very distinct in their actions. The Western and Eastern Church have come to form multiple analogies for the Trinity, all of which are in some way inadequate and either lean more towards modalism or tritheism. There are some characteristics that pertain to all members of the Trinity, and there are some that only pertain to one. For example, the Son is begotten of the Father and the Father is not begotten of anyone. Essential attributes are things that all members of the Trinity share, and these are the communicable and incommunicable attributes explained earlier. However, other characteristics

exist that define certain members of the trinity; such as the Father begets, the Son is begotten, and the Spirit is Spirited, This still allows for every member of the Trinity to be active in every external work of God, but this does not mean that all the actions are the same. I believe his teachings on the subject of the trinity and the heresies that can be taught with it are valuable to me because it is a difficult theology to understand. The trinity is extremely complex and confusing, and it I have heard many good pastors preach about the Trinity very incorrectly. In my past, when I was ignorant about many aspects of the Trinity, I did not believe that the Holy Spirit did much of anything outside of the time Jesus was alive. I have certainly grown from that view, but I can still get confused often. I really appreciate the way Horton described some errors in Trinitarian thinking and the way that Christians can lean towards those errors without even realizing it. As I have already stated, I want to be able to build up the church that I am in in multiple ways, one of which is theological truth. I want my congregation to be able to articulate accurate Biblical truths about the Trinity. I have realized over the past couple years that it is not everyones responsibility to know every intricacy of Biblical theology. Some people will simply be uneducated about some areas of the Bible and at times that does not have to be a big deal. However, I believe that the Trinity is so foundational to our beliefs that all Christians should understand it. I believe that as a pastor, if I do not know my theology on the Trinity then neither will my congregation. Therefore, this section of Horton has really helped me to be a better disciple in training the people that I need to educate about the God they serve and what the Father, Son, and Spirit really means.

Predestination has been something that has interested me for a while in my life and has become a doctrine that I focus on heavily in my study of Scripture. Horton does a great job explaining this and the different beliefs that come from predestination. He explains that predestination is a doctrine that is clearly taught in the Bible but is also widely debated in the Church. Most Christians would even go so far to attribute everything that happens to the will of God, but most people come to a disagreement when discussing how His will comes to pass. The Bible explains on multiple occasions that not only does God know everything that happens before the beginning of time, but that he also determines those foreknown actions before the Earth began as well. This predestination is not anything that is done outside of a covenant relationship with God. He did not just know about us before creation, but knew us personally as he existed outside of our understanding of time. Just because all of our actions are planned out before our lives, this does not mean we are not held responsible for those actions. We are responsible for all of our sins even though they are a part of Gods ultimate will, although the understanding of this is not clearly expressed for us in Scripture. God is also unable to directly will evil because He is God and that would not make him good, righteous, or loving. However, God does allow sin to happen in his ultimate will through His permissive will. As God, He is over all things and He will only allow sin to go as far as He permits and can stop it at any time. This predestination is directive and active in the election of those who will come to Christ in salvation. This salvation is at work through human faith but is still directly willed by God. All of the knowledge and understand about Gods will that He imparts to us should be followed by praising him through word in deed.

These doctrines should not be used as a means of contention among the Church, but as a way to know God further and praise Him deeper. There are a variety of views on election, one of which is Pelagianism. This is the view that God has nothing to do with our salvation other than dying on the cross; the rest is up to us. Arminianism holds the view that God is in control of our election, but gives us the grace to allow us to chose or reject Him. The Reformed view would be that God unconditionally elects those whom will receive salvation with no ability on our own to accept Him. There are many branches of views inside these three beliefs. Two of these branches are found in Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism. Both of these believe that God is completely sovereign over election, but Supralapsarianism believes that God chose some for Heaven and some for Hell before the fall even occurred, and Infralapsarianism believes that God saved some and condemned others after the fall. One main problem with Supralapsarianism is the problem that the fall is collapsed into an eternal directive plan and is simply a part of creation, not a historical event. This also would indicate that God directs evil rather than permits it. This teaching is helpful for me because predestination has become a main point in my theology, but that does not always mean I know how to best articulate my beliefs. There have been a countless number of times when Calvinism and Reformed theology is brought up and people just stop the conversation and look at me as if I know every detail of that theology. The truth is, I still have so much to learn and understand, and one big way I saw this through my reading was with the beliefs of Supralapsarianism and Infralapsarianism. One of the main questions when talking about election is, would God really create someone just to go to Hell? I have

always had a tough time answering this and in some way I always had to say yes. I have always believed that it was not a big deal if God predestined some for Heaven and some for Hell because I knew I could not understand Gods will and that was good enough for me. However, these two different views make a big difference when it comes to understanding God and His character. I feel very comfortable with the infralapsarian view of election because God bestows His grace on whomever He wants on people who do not deserve it at all. I do not feel comfortable with Supralapsarianism because it seems like God is not giving free grace, but unmerited condemnation. This view of Gods will seems brutal to me and I believe it could lead many people to becoming very opposed to predestination and election altogether. I believe that this teaching will be foundational to my ministry because I think a lot of my theology is influenced by my view of grace. I will not shy away from preaching on these topics, and I believe that my views on these things will affect other beliefs in my theology as well. Pastors words are held to a high standard and if I preach incorrectly, I believe that I could seriously turn people away from the doctrines of grace and predestination. I want to be able to preach about a loving God and directly align that with His election for His children. Predestination has been one of the best and most joyful understandings in my life and I want people to be able to see God in the way I do and praise Him for His sovereignty. Finally, a teaching that has meant a lot to me through the reading of Horton has been His teaching on humanity. As we seek to understand the Bible further, one thing we must understand is the Biblical view of ourselves. The Bible talks about two divisions of man, the body and the soul. Both of these parts have a significant

role to play in our lives and to focus on one or the other is a mistake. We are under submission to God in all of our being, not just in our soul or just in our body. This is evident in the resurrection when both the soul and the body are taken to be with the Lord. This understanding of humanity must also be understood in light of creation. God sets us above all creation while we are still under His authority. Some of us will choose to be good stewards of our authority and always seek to serve Him, others will choose to rebel with their authority and go against the will of God. We have a responsibility to serve out of love for the relationship of our master. We are also created in the image of God. This image means that we are created to be in fellowship with our creator. This fellowship requires a constant dialogue with one another. We are to be communicating with God as He also speaks to us. We can see this communication throughout Scripture when God speaks and someone responds with Here I am. This type of communication is unique to humans and is primarily what sets us apart from the rest of creation, along with reason and other forms of intellect. This focus on humanity must also bring us to look at our sin. Horton argues that the first sin was allowing the serpent to ever live in the garden, and because Adam disregarded Gods commands and listened to the snake, sin was spread to all of humanity. We now do not have the communion that Adam and Eve were blessed with in the garden, and by nature we do not seek that communion. This act has caused us to do our very best to misrepresent God and all of His truths in our lives. Now just because this sin brings total depravity to all humanity, this does not mean that we are as depraved as we could be, it simply means that every part of our body and soul is depraved. For humans still have a conscious that has the law of God

written on their hearts. People still have the ability to do good things even though they may not attribute them to God. If man were completely depraved he would have no ability to do any good at all. This sin that is inherited does not condemn humanity because of the original act of sin. It is condemned because men are partakers in sin because they are in Adam. It should also be noted that a human is not sinful because he or she sin, he or she is sinful because it is apart of their very nature to be sinners. The nature of sin is what makes us recognize that there is no way that we can free ourselves from this condition by our own power. It is only God who can save us from our nature. First, the idea that we are both soul and body has become very significant to me in my understanding of the sign of the cross and the sacraments. As we have talked about in our meetings, there is something meaningful about the way we are embodied souls. We can intellectually know God and dedicate our lives to Him, but there is something powerful in feeling that action in with our senses. I can wake up and know that I am dying to myself and knowing that Christ lives in me, but it takes on a knew feeling when I cross myself and feel and see that sign. There is a very similar feeling to the sacraments. When we are washed with the spirit and the water, or when we feel the blood and body of Christ being digested in our own bodies, something special is happening that is outside of an intellectual understanding of God. Our relationship with God is something to be felt, and it is possible to feel Him through actual touch and taste just as much as it is through emotions and thought. Second, I believe that Hortons teaching on how we are totally depraved was unique and meaningful to my life. I think there is something

important in recognizing that this life is not nearly as bad as it could be. Even through common graces, God is lavishing His creation with gifts that it does not deserve. My Reformed theology pushes me to have a strong view of total depravity and a recognition that nothing good comes outside of Gods work in a believers life. However, I now realize that this could have taken away from a lot of Gods works that I was not seeing. I still believe whole heartedly that we cannot attain salvation through our own works and all good that comes from us is from God, but I believe that He works a lot more good than just empowering Christians to repent and believe. I see now that we have been graces simply by the fact that we are not constantly massacring our own neighbors and family. All of Hortons teaching on humanity will be important for me because I think one of the most valuable thing a Christian can do is recognize the significance of God and then see who we are in light of Him. This has the power to humble us and give us a true understanding of who God is in our lives. I believe that this will be powerful to me because there is something special about someone who knows who he or she is in Christ, and who that person would be outside of Christ. This entire class will be beneficial to me in the way I form relationships and in the way I am a pastor one day. I know that what I have learned here will not be finished at the end of the semester, but will carry on throughout my life.