Although there is not a single liturgy required by Reformed theology, Reformed churches generally viewed Scripture as regulating worship in a way that exhorts aesthetic and formal simplicity that focuses on prayer, reading, and preaching the Bible, the sacraments, and singing, the latter historically being psalmod. but now usually includes hymns. Such worship is seen as a practical manifestation of the Reformed commitment to the sufficiency of Scripture, not only for doctrine and ethics, but also for the practice of the Church. If you ask that these be reformed, they can say focus on God`s grace, or it is the doctrine of justification by faith alone, they can list five “solas,” or they can list the five points of Calvinism (TULIP). If they feel particularly dismissive, they may simply say that Reformed theology is biblical Christianity, and perhaps they are right, but this is not a particularly useful definition, since many groups within Christianity claim “biblical Christianity” for themselves. In his book Bloodlines: Race, Cross, and the Christian, author John Piper states that he loves Reformed theology as much as he might love a picture of his wife. What Piper means is that he doesn`t like his wife`s image in himself. He doesn`t like ink on paper or pixels on a screen. On the contrary, he loves the image because it is a faithful representation of the woman he loves. When Piper says, “I love Reformed theology,” he means that it reveals God by being “the best composite and biblically distilled image of God that [he] has” (p. 130). In short, he does not like the teachings on paper, but the God that these teachings describe. The Reformers and Puritans theologized in their preaching and preached their theology.

Reformers and Puritans were inspired as preachers by the apostle Paul: “I believed, and therefore I spoke” (2 Corinthians 4:13). This was not only a method they adopted, but the fruit of their encounter with the living God through the truths of His Word. Like Paul, they preached God`s Word as being in God`s presence (2 Corinthians 2:17; 2 Tim 4:1-2). And like Paul, their theology was brimming with flamboyant doxology (Ephesians 1:3-14). Thus, Reformed theology is a great affirmation that “of him, and through him, and for him, are all things to whom glory be eternal” (Romans 11:36). Wilhelmus to Brakel said: “God possesses in himself all the glory and dignity to serve”, and therefore true piety consists in “living for God at all times and in all things with all that he is and is able to do”, because “He is God, and by virtue of his nature it is his worthy duty”. While Zwingli gave the first formative impulses for Reformed theology, others soon assumed prominent roles. Heinrich Bullinger continued the Zurich Reformation after Zwingli`s death; Martin Bucer led similar reforms in Starsburg; Jean Calvin, Pierre Viret, Guillaume Farel and Pierre Viret, among others, led reforms in and around Geneva. Then, at the end of the sixteenth century, the Reformed churches spread throughout Europe. To France, the Netherlands, England and Scotland. At the end of the seventeenth century, churches adhering to Reformed theology were found. Under the influence of Karl Barth, many contemporary Reformed theologians rejected the Alliance of Works as well as other concepts of federal theology.

Barth saw the covenant of works as detached from Christ and the gospel and rejected the idea that God works with people in this way. Instead, Barth argued that God always interacts with people under the covenant of grace and that the covenant of grace is free of all conditions. Barth`s theology and its followers have been called “mono-covenantal,” as opposed to the “bi-covenantalen” schema of classical federal theology. [39] Contemporary conservative Reformed theologians such as John Murray also rejected the idea of covenants based on law rather than grace. Michael Horton, however, defended the alliance of works as a combination of principles of right and love. [40] God-centered doctrine calls us to a God-centered life. The Word aims to instill the wisdom of God`s Word through faith in Christ (2 Timothy 3:15), and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10). Although it is possible to pursue theology in a spiritually dry, purely intellectual way, Reformed theology has historically oriented itself towards the same thing that Paul had in his teaching: “Love that comes from a pure heart, from a good conscience and from sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5). The Reformed gods often speak of “piety” as synonymous with “true religion.” John Calvin said: “In fact, we will not say that God is known where there is neither religion nor piety.

I call “piety” that reverence associated with God`s love that evokes the knowledge of his benefits. Although Reformed theology can be taught at a high academic level, it aims to explain knowledge of God in such a way that children can practice it at home and adults in their craft (Colossians 3:20-25). Gisbertus Voetius, renowned professor of Reformed theology, regularly devoted himself to the catechesis of orphans. The English Puritans encouraged people with only a basic education to have family devotions so that the Word of God would permeate all life (Deuteronomy 6:7). The men of Old Princeton believed that “truth serves good.” The first wave of reformist theologians included Huldrych Zwingli (1484–1531), Martin Bucer (1491–1551), Wolfgang Capito (1478–1541), Johannes Oecolampad (1482–1531), and Guillaume Farel (1489–1565).