Wondering if anyone in this community has any recommendations on academic journals focused on reformed theology…

I wrote this poem/hymn in a time of great prayer, reverence and worship to God. I hope it can be of great edification to you all!-

O That Wonderful Saviour

[Verse 1]

As I look upon that hill,
that cross, my Saviour still.

And as before he cried
“Lord not mine, but your will”.

He carries my sins
from past and to till,

And the words of old
became fulfilled

[Verse 2]

For I rejected him
from my inn

Oh my iniquities
abound within

And he was crushed
for my sin!

What great did my Saviour win?

[Verse 3]

But how great that saviour
upon the cross

No beast, man nor angel
canst fathom the cost

[Refrain]

For I went my own way,
twas I blind & astray

[Chorus]

And So he was scourged
and crucified

(He) bore all my sins,
oh how far and how wide?

Now how can i be condemned ?

I cant now be tried ?

For that wonderful savior!
For my crimes he died!

Gods just wrath,
now satisfied !

[Verse 4]

Oh those Roman soldiers
how great their sin!

But yet It was I!,
that drove those nails through him..

[Verse 5]

Oh that Barabbas
standing next to thee-
oh!, how guilty is he?

Yet Now I see,
who that rebel is-
twas me?!

I was that criminal,
yet I was set free?

Oh that great saviour,
upon Calvary!

No beast, man nor angel
canst fathom the fee!

[Refrain]

For I went my own way,
twas I blind & astray

[Chorus]

And So he was scourged
& crucified

(He) bore all my sins,
oh how far and how wide?

Now how can i be condemned,

I cant now be tried ?

For that wonderful savior!
For my crimes he died!

Gods just wrath,
now satisfied !

[Verse 6]

Oh that man of sorrow,
as he sweat blood in that garden.

He knew the wrath he would bear,
oh for my pardon.!

[Verse 7]

Oh that great cup!
Full of Gods just’ rage !

Oh twas meant for me-
that was my wage!

[Verse 8]

Thou drank that full cup-
for my salvation!

And so he brought
The Father propitiation!

[Verse 9]

Oh how great that savior
upon that old rugged wood

No Beast, man nor angel
canst fathom what he withstood!

[Refrain]

For I went my own way,
twas I blind & astray

[Chorus]

And So he was scourged
& crucified

He bore all my sins,
oh how far and how wide?

Now how can i be condemned,

I cant now be tried ?

For that wonderful savior!
For my crimes he died!

Gods just wrath,
now satisfied !

[Verse 10]

O his soul made great offering
for my guilt

As a plant he was broken
and made wilt.

[Bridge]

Yet I cannot fret-
‘twas not the end of his days!

For after three
he no longer laid.

For as he was brought forth
by the spirit from the womb.

So he was brought out
by that power from the tomb!

Oh now all is gone!
My sin and my shame!

For I was made able
since he was made maimed.

For he was laid bare,
so I was made clothed.

And thus the bride and king
were betrothed.

My stained clothes his’
and his clean garments mine’.

His righteousness given to me -
o how holy & divine!

[Final Chorus]

Oh my great saviour,
my Lord Jesus Christ

No beast man nor angel
canst know the great price.

He bore all my sins,
oh how far and how wide?

Now I cannot be condemned,
And I cannot be tried!

O that wonderful savior!
For all my sin he died!

Gods just wrath,
fully satisfied !

I've been going to a great PCA church near me. The sermons are longer than what I'm used to and due to some medicine I take it is hard for me to stay focused during sermons because I get drowsy in the mornings, but the people are friendly and the music and nostalgia is wonderful. After going through an inquirer's class (due to my sleep issues I missed several weeks) I am being encouraged by the pastor to fill out some stuff to become a member.

After a lot of conversations with this pastor, I've gotten a lot of green flags from him. He's not fixated on any one aspect of Reformed theology that I'm not sure if I agree with yet (ex: Muslims having dreams of Jesus is bad, YEC, spanking is ordained by God, exclusive Psalmody, etc), he's got a background similar enough to my own, and he understood some aspects of my own life pretty well. I've been told by him that the membership application is due in two days.

While I'm ready to become a member of this church, I don't know if I agree with every aspect of Reformed theology yet. I don't know if hating/doing battle with my sin is the right way to look at all of that. I used to struggle with self-hatred in the past, so I'm hesitant to do that again. I don't see what the big deal about people having depictions of Jesus is, although I understand why early Reformers opposed it. I think I dislike fake leftist Christians and anti-theist atheists way more than Catholics, a lot of whom are just doing what they do because that was what they were taught and raised in, just like how I was raised in Presbyterianism. I went back because it was the most familiar to me, and it's more intellectually focused than the last denomination I was in.

I'm getting this understanding that I'm "allowed" to disagree with some things in the Westminster confession of faith, which is interesting. But I'm not sure to what degree of disagreement I can reasonably have in the PCA. Is it all right to join without having all of my opinions settled yet? My concern is that, what if later on down the road, I decide that I disagree/don't interpret certain verses the way Reformed Christians do. Would I still be able to be a member in good standing? I'm not worried about being kicked out, just that I would not feel like I'm in a church that I find to be the most accurate and truthful interpretation of the Scriptures.

Can someone break this down for me like im 5? I have watched so much and tried to read about it but its like my brsin just cannot understand what this view is saying. Its like its a weird combination of symbolic and real presence.

I know that I’m not alone in saying that our fallen minds tempt, cloud our vision and to some up the multitude of other things the human mind does, torments the believer with a vast array of thoughts. I never questioned my faith because God is the one who started this good work in me and other regenerate Christians, but I have a hard time connecting my regenerate soul, enlightened by the word of God, and full of the Holy Spirit (Christ Himself), and the depravity of my mind. Where does anyone else who is reading this and experiences the the sinful nature of the mind which at times is tormenting sit, and face the discouragement through faith?

In accordance with the Bible and Reformed confessions I fully subscribe to the idea that faith is a fruit from the regenerating work of the Spirit. Ezekiel 36 and Jeremiah 31 seem to point to regeneration as a future work connected to the New Covenant. So it seems logical to conclude that it was not yet present in their time. The question that popped in my head was, if the regenerative work of the spirit is solely part of the New covenant, and yet it is clear in John 3 that in order to believe, you need to be born again, how could the O.T. saints believe?

I have been studying some perspectives on this issue, but I was wondering what your perspectives are and how you make that case biblically.

I'm a reformed-leaning member of a Southern Baptist church, and an online seminary student. I'm looking to transfer to a different seminary because my seminary is weak in the areas of Bible teaching, church education, and administration. The roles I want to prepare for the most are education, discipleship, and administration-oriented.

What seminaries are most strong in that realm? I'm open to reformed heavy schools, but they don't have to be.

Edit: clarification about Southern Baptist

I want to preface this by saying that my son recently let us know that he is struggling with his faith and currently considers himself an agnostic who is open to being wrong. To his credit, he is meeting with our pastor and studying some fairly in-depth material on the resurrection with him. I recognize that I have some emotional stuff going on with all of this.

That said, I’m struggling to find much comfort in my faith right now. I attend a very solid church theologically, but it has a very young demographic due to its proximity to a major seminary. That also means it’s a very transient congregation, and both my spouse and I have struggled to form deep connections. We don’t think anyone is at fault. It’s just one of those things. We’ve looked at other churches, but so far, we’ve had trouble finding one with the same level of preaching.

When I add my son’s current struggles to all of this, I find it difficult to experience Christianity as a source of comfort. Instead, it feels like a lifetime of carrying heavy feelings about the spiritual state of not only my son, but also other family members and friends, along with a deep sense of loneliness.

I know the platitudes. I know that, in theory, Christ should be enough, that God is sovereign and may still yet save my son, that who am I to question Him, and that heaven will eventually remove all this weight. But I’m living here and now, and for just a moment, I’d like to be able to live without having to think about the possibility of my son spending eternity in hell (I’ll admit that I’ve been studying conditional immortality. Maybe my interest started out of emotion, but I’m also trying to approach it with intellectual honesty).

I am so tired of feeling like Christianity is a painful burden but I also cannot walk away from what I know is true.

Because heaven is the only place where everyone is sinless

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

My daughter goes to a Catholic school. Just for context, where I live (France), Reformed Protestants make up only about 0.5% of the population, and there are no schools affiliated with our denomination. But we wanted her to attend a Christian school, so we chose a Catholic one.

She's now almost 13, and she's decided that she wants to be Catholic. She's started preparing to receive her First Communion and Confirmation in May 2027.

As for me, I was raised Catholic and became a Reformed Protestant as an adult. So I'm very familiar with Catholic teachings and catechism, and I have absolutely no problem supporting her on this journey.

However, I sometimes wonder how best to approach certain conversations with her. I want to support her wholeheartedly in her Catholic faith, without questioning or undermining what she's being taught, while also being able to explain that the denomination I've chosen has a different understanding of certain aspects of Christianity.

At the same time, I don't want to confuse her or make things unnecessarily complicated.

It's not that I'm particularly worried about it. I trust that God will guide us both, help us find the right words when we need them, and lead her along the path He's placed in her heart.

I just felt like sharing this and was wondering whether anyone here has been through something similar, perhaps raising a child in a different Christian denomination from their own.

For context, I’m Catholic but I’d like to learn more about what Reformed actually believes about eternal security or perseverance of the saints. Now, to preface, I don’t believe the adherents of this belief are all antinomians, although I do think there’s been serious abuse in the age of easy believism that even Reformed Christians will reject. I also learned there are different levels of nuance that many don’t agree on, for example when do you know you’re one of the elect that God perseveres until the end? People like Ryan from needgod dot net will argue you can have 100% assurance right now, but I know many disagree on this. Can someone give an input on this?

Also, why is it that many of the OSAS-adherents like to say whenever someone stumbles, “Oh this person committed this sin therefore not saved in the first place.” When asked what kinds of sins show they were never saved in the first place, it’s always sins they don’t personally struggle with. Then you ask another person and they list another set of vices that they don’t struggle with. It’s like “I’m a good person and I do this and that therefore I go to heaven” but repackaged. How do you reconcile eternal security with believers who commit egregious sins?

I’m hearing/learning that reformed Lutherans believe that a genuinely saved person can fall away and lose their salvation….is this really true? For instance, I can’t imagine the guys from Whitehorse in profess and something like that.

If you were looking for a new church and you found the ideal denomination that alligned with your personal beliefs how far would you be willing to travel to attend there? How far would be too far?

Is 30 minutes one way do able, where 1 hour one way would be too far?

I have a Presbyterian-specific question: Is anyone aware of a situation where an elder of a church might be authorized to preach, but not administer baptism or communion? It’s my understanding that most Presbyterian churches have two classes of elders:

• Teaching elders
• Ruling elders

Is it possible for a ruling elder to be authorized to preach, but not administer the ordinances?

Happy Lord's Day to r/reformed! Did you particularly enjoy your pastor's sermon today? Have questions about it? Want to discuss how to apply it? Boy do we have a thread for you!

Sermon Sunday!

Please note that this is not a place to complain about your pastor's sermon. Doing so will see your comment removed. Please be respectful and refresh yourself on the rules, if necessary.

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

Im looking for a sub reddit focused on aspiring or current missionaries to encourage and learn from each other. Im planning to go overseas in the future in a missions capacity and would like to start gleaning wisdom now. Like a fool I searched missionary... thankful for an NSFW filter. Any help appreciated. For that matter, any good books/ forums also welcome! Just finished "let the nations be glad" by piper

If you have requests that you would like your brothers and sisters to pray for, post them here.

I’ve seen a lot of Reformed use the KJV over the Geneva Bible. I found it weird since GB was from Calvin and Knox and KJV is from King James (Anglican). Can someone explain please?

And who was it that had begun to give him his love, however small, but He who prepares the will, and perfects by His co-operation what He initiates by His operation? Forasmuch as in beginning He works in us that we may have the will, and in perfecting works with us when we have the will. On which account the apostle says, “I am confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6) He operates, therefore, without us, in order that we may will; but when we will, and so will that we may act, He co-operates with us. We can, however, ourselves do nothing to effect good works of piety without Him either working that we may will, or co-working when we will. Now, concerning His working that we may will, it is said: “It is God which worketh in you, even to will.” (Philippians 2:13) While of His co-working with us, when we will and act by willing, the apostle says, “We know that in all things there is co-working for good to them that love God.” (Romans 8:28)

St. Augustine, Of Grace and Free Will, Chapter 17

Lately, I've been studying St. Augustine and was struck here by the distinction he makes between God's operative and cooperative grace, or what we might term monergism and synergism in the working out of our salvation. I've long had a fascination with this subject, and specifically how divine sovereignty and free will work throughout the Ordo Salutis, or Order of Salvation. In Post-Reformation theological systems, it's clear that initial justification is a monergistic work of God, but it is less clear about the process of sanctification, with some even going so far as to call sanctification synergistic (RC Sproul did, as one example).

What St. Augustine seems to be saying here is more nuanced and less systematized than what came later. He says that God must act initially, through his operative grace, so that or free will is able to choose the good. But once our free will is sufficiently rehabilitated, then we are able to work with God through his cooperative grace. St. Augustine does not seem to be saying here that God acts with operative grace only primarily in regeneration or initial justification, and then only later and secondarily with cooperative grace. This passage strikes me as saying there could be numerous points in our lives when God intercedes with his operative grace and many subsequent opportunities for us to cooperate in response, during the various points of our journey to salvation.

His translation and exegesis of Romans 8:28 also caught me off guard, in his use of the term "co-working" in that verse. I had never seen a translation like this before. I went to double-check the Greek, and sure enough, Paul used the verb συνεργέω, synergeo, in that passage.

So, what say you r/Reformed? Is St. Augustine's distinction between an operative and a cooperative grace useful in today's theological landscape? I personally think so, as it applies a more organic and natural understanding of grace that I think theological systematization can sometime lose.

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I'm interested in Reformed theology. The more I study it, the more it seems true—especially Perservance of the Saints. However, I have been struggling with one aspect of this doctrine, namely a consequence of it: assurance.

In theological systems where the loss of salvation is possible, it can easily be affirmed that apostates who once seemed to have produced fruits of the Spirit were genuinely saved and had true faith. The by-product of this affirmation is that signs of true faith are much clearer and easier to see. However, in Reformed theology, where apostates who seemed to produce fruits are said to have never been saved to begin with, this becomes a problem. If apostates can (and have) have behaviors that make the Church believe they are saved, and then they fall away, how can a Christian in a Reformed worldview have assurance their own faith is genuine? In other words, believing apostates, even ones who seemed to legit, were never saved to begin with muddies the waters when trying to determine if your faith is true or not.

I've seen Calvinists direct others to look to Christ and trust in Him. But that's kind of hard (at least, in my mind) to do when the very trust I am exhorted to place in Christ can't really be determined as legit.

So, how is assurance possible? How can we rightly divide between false and true faith?

Please note these questions don't come from a place of hate or are me trying to debunk Calvinism. I just feel like I am missing something.