The Need for Church Reform

John Calvin, standing before the great authority of Charles V, surrounded by the most illustrious princes, Roman bishops, detractors, personal enemies, and some of his supporters. It was fifteen hundred years of the Christian Church, fifteen hundred years of customs, rites, and ceremonies. It was fifteen centuries of treaties, theological agreements, and councils. Everything seemed to be against the distinguished reformer. But he knew, for God had shown him, that he could not remain silent. Amidst this dark panorama, Calvin brilliantly expounded, one by one, the reasons why the Church needed to be Reformed. His approach would be to bring worship, doctrine, government, and ecclesiastical discipline under the rule and authority of the Scriptures. Later, John Knox would apply these principles of reform to the Church of Scotland. And finally, such principles would be set like pearls in the Westminster Standards.

Today, almost five hundred years have passed since that encounter between Calvin and the emperor. And the question we must ask ourselves today is: Is the Church still faithful to the statements proposed in that assembly? A quick glance at our religious environment tells us with sadness that many of the tenets upheld by the reformer are no longer valid in many congregations; even those that call themselves Calvinist.