What Is a Reformed Church?

Basics of the Reformed Faith

by Stephen Smallman

An introduction to the Reformed view of Scripture, divine sovereignty, the covenant of grace, the law of God, the church, and the kingdom of God.

Genres: Theology, Church, Ecclesiology, Nonfiction, Christian

32 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Stephen Smallman has served for over forty years in pastoral ministry and was the executive director of World Harvest Mission (now Serge). He currently teaches for CityNet Ministries of Philadelphia and is an assistant pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church in Glenside, Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Fiona Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 - Read this as I was waiting in the airport for a delayed flight. This was a concise read on what the” reformed church” actually means. I feel as though I left the book with more questions than answers, however that’s often how these books go. I would recommend this book as a jumping off point to anyone who is interested in learning more about reformed churches.

[Matthew Manchester · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second foray into this series.

SUMMARY

This book is a general summary of what a (Presbyterian) Reformed church is. This is part of the Basics of the Reformed Faith series which is edited by Sean Michael Lucas (PCA) and published by P&R Publishing. If you're looking for a Reformed (1689) Baptist book, this is not it.

Side-note: After reading this, I may start calling "Reformed Baptists" --> "1689 Baptists" instead. It's becoming harder and harder for me to separate Reformed theology and ecclesiology, baptistic views aside. If you don't hold to a traditionally-reformed confession (allowing for the LBC1689), I'm not sure if you can claim the "Reformed" title. You can be a serious Calvinist and not technically be "reformed". Words matter, especially when they're defining a large movement/organization.

THE GOOD

All the doctrine is good and spot-on. It's well written and conversational. However it's brightest feature is that it also serves as a language guide to new Reformed believers (or church-goers). Depending on the church, there can be a lot to explain from the liturgy, to the worship traditions, to symbols, to colors, etc. That book still needs to be written in this series, but this book excels in explaining Reformed terminology in a simple way. The book isn't a dictionary as much as a guide book.

I also loved how short the book is. I picked up this book from a church I was visiting. They had a stand with books from this series that they gave away for free. It's such a quick and easy way to learn about a church's position on a matter.

THE CHALLENGES

The only issue I had with the book was it's lack of emphasis to the mission of the church. I know there are books in the series about this, but I really felt it should've been included. If all the other things the church "does" is in this book, then missions and missional outreach via acts of love & justice should have been mentioned too.

CONCLUSION

This was a great book and only the second I've read from the series. (The first book, Why Do We Baptize Infants?, made me a paedobaptist.) I'd recommend churches give them away for free, placed in a prominent location. I'm looking forward to reading more of them.

Four stars.

[Greg Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cogent and clear. Would have loved a little more on the Reformed conviction on true worship.

[Persis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A clear and concise overview. One thing that I had not picked up on before is the kingdom focus that extends beyond individual salvation to bringing shalom to God's world, although imperfectly before Christ's return. I want to read more about this aspect.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small work that is easy to read. Ideal for personal growth or new members classes at churches. Quickly covers Reformation history as it pertains to Presbyterians. Also looks into Scripture, God's sovereignty, church, sacraments, the covenant if grace, and the Law of God. Implied, but missing the details for, the Trinity and the atonement. Nice handy brochure, ready for handing out, and worth the read.

[Brian Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple but clear explanation of a reformed church. Not particularly suitable for a reformed baptist church though since the one "covenant of grace", paedobaptism, and presbyterian polity are advocated.

[Sean McGowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, short introduction.

[Christina McBean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this, and a few other booklets in the series, with my children in order to summarize the distinctives of the Reformed faith and found them very useful to that end.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and sweet.

[Tim Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice summary and intro to what it means to be a reformed church. Succinct and easy, but rich.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of Reformed Theology. I sent this to a friend who (like me, back in the day) had no clue what "being Reformed" meant.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very balanced approach to the intrinsic problems with the reformed faith and what it truly should be. Well done

[Bennett Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very basic introduction. Potentially useful to introduce novices to Presbyterianism, not reformed churches more broadly.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, very concise intro to what it means to be Reformed. Briefly covers historical roots and 6 doctrinal distinctives: Scripture, Divine Sovereignty, Covenant, Law, Church, Kingdom.

Notes
Calvinists were called Presbyterians in Scotland and Ireland; Puritans in England; Reformed in Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Hungary, Poland; Huguenots in France.

Humans are free and responsible for their choices, and at same time bound to fulfill God's ultimate purposes. Bible doesn't explain how this is.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to reformed theology

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smallman answers the basics of what it means for a church to consider itself “Reformed.” Tracing both key doctrines and common traditions Smallman does a brief, though commendable, job of explaining the foundational premises of Reformed churches. Specifically, he addresses the concepts of Scripture, the sovereignty of God, covenants, law, and kingdom while also considering the role and function of the church. Lack of depth, coupled with brevity, reinforce this booklet’s use as introductory material only.

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short (28 pages) introduction to the key aspects of a reformed church. Smallman lists six distinct themes in reformed churches: Submission to Scripture, God's sovereignty, the Covenant, the law of God, the Church (government and sacraments), and the Kingdom of God. Not all these were equally well stated. Also I felt his church government section was too narrow. But he is clear overall and thus the book would be helpful for a new convert or someone just coming into a reformed church. In particular the emphasis on God's Word as the foundation for all was helpful.

[Stephen Buerger · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is that "amazing" is a hard rating to give a book of 28 pages. Certainly there are many points that people would want more explanation about. However, given its purpose—to succinctly explain the distinctives of the Reformed faith in mostly lay terminology—I think it does a great job.

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Succinctly answers the titular question. I think Smallman was a particularly good candidate to author this booklet since he comes from a non-Reformed background and addresses some of the aspects of the Reformed church from that perspective.

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little booklet is a clear, concise introduction to the major emphases of the Reformed church. Smallman draws from Scripture to show some of the main themes of Reformed doctrine, stating that “the issue should not be whether we like an idea, but whether that idea is taught in Scripture.”

[Dan Glover · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid and basic intro to what are the distinctives of a Reformed Church, where it came from and what it looks like.

[Marguerite Harrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finish reading this book during my lunch break. Very interesting to learn about it. Although this book is written for PCA and not for Reformed Baptist.

[Zuzana · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful brief answer to the title's question.