Complicated Life, Simple Faith: A Reformation Story

The teenage version of me would be very shocked to find me in the Reformed faith. To be fair, my teenage self didn’t really understand what it meant to be a Reformed Christian. I grew up in a Christian home with two Christian parents who taught me from a young age what the gospel was and what was most important in life. They both showed me through their everyday life what it looks like to live a Christ honoring life. I grew up knowing what I needed to do to have salvation in Christ Jesus.

We attended a non-denominational church; my parents had started attending there before they got married and their wedding ceremony was at this church too. Through my whole upbringing I went to the same church, a church where the gospel was preached every Sunday, a church we all loved, lots of fellow believers who were very welcoming and some of these people I can still call my friends today.

I was vaguely aware there were different denominations within Christianity, but I didn’t really understand what made them different from each other and why some people would have such heated discussions about the differences from what I observed. In my mind I saw Christianity as a whole, we all believe the same simple message which is the message of salvation in Christ: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Becoming Reformed

Growing up in the church, I always felt like everyone was always asking each other, “so when did you come to faith?” Or “how did you get saved?”

While they didn’t mean any harm by these questions, I still remember going to sleep some nights thinking of these questions because even though I know I was saved and a Christian who believed, I couldn’t figure out the exact time I turned my life around and started living for Christ. It always scared me because I would constantly question myself and my own faith, “but what if I’m not saved because I can’t remember when it happened, when the moment took place?”

When I first met my husband and we started dating, we constantly talked about our different upbringings, the different denominations we both came from. This time challenged my mind and own thinking because I was starting to understand what the Reformed faith was about.

We started to read the Bible together and we also started to read the confessions together. Before my husband introduced these to me, I had never heard of Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, or Canons of Dort.

We had very difficult discussions about one particular topic which was infant baptism. Besides this topic, overall, we knew we both believe the same simple truth and message which is the gospel. Jesus has paid the ultimate price for our sins, we are undeserving of his grace, forgiveness, and mercy.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”- Ephesians 2:8-9

Infant Baptism Doctrine

For me I never had a huge issue with the doctrine of infant baptism once I understood why Reformed Christians believe this way. It was difficult for me to understand and grasp infant baptism because the church I attended my whole life never practiced this, but they did do infant dedications.

When I was an infant, I had a dedication service but never an infant baptism. In my mind I used to associate infant baptisms with Roman Catholicism.

A Deeper Understanding

I started to attend a United Reformed Church, and what I appreciated most was how clear the doctrines were. I grew up knowing the basic concepts, but I never fully understood it clearly. While I thought becoming Reformed required learning more than I knew, it didn’t for me.

I always understood the concepts of justification and sanctification, but the Reformed confessions helped me understand topics like these more deeply and gave names to the concepts I didn’t have before.

I eventually became a member of the United Reformed Churches and became baptized there as well.

Heidelberg Catechism

While growing up I always remember being told to memorize scriptures because once you memorize it, those words can be treasured forever and will stick with you too.

As an adult now, I do wish I memorized way more verses as a child, it is so much easier at a young age to memorize than it is now. I would memorize verses as part of bible studies, and activities we had at church, I did all the motions of a Christian as a kid, but back then I didn’t truly believe the words I was reciting, the words of the gospel message of what Christ did for us.

When I became Reformed, another thing I truly appreciated was the Catechism Questions and Answers.

I have the privilege of being able to now teach catechism during Sunday school at Church and even after being Reformed for a few years now, I am still constantly learning so much through teaching and going through the books of the bible through a Reformed lens, and it is much clearer to me now. The catechism questions and answers are so direct and defines every concept you will need to know.

My favorite excerpt from the Heidelberg Catechism is question 1:

“What is your only comfort in life and in death?”

Answer: That I am not my own,¹but belong—body and soul, in life and in death²—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.³ He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,⁴and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.⁵ He also watches over me in such a way⁶ that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven;⁷ in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.⁸ Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life⁹ and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.¹⁰

¹ 1 Cor. 6:19-20² Rom. 14:7-9³ 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14⁴ 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; 2:2⁵ John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11⁶ John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5⁷ Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18⁸ Rom. 8:28⁹ Rom. 8:15-16; 2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14¹⁰ Rom. 8:1-17

Concluding Thoughts

Through life’s twists and turns, there has been a lot of changes for me, but one thing has always remained the same and that is the simple message of the gospel, and that Jesus Christ died for our sins so that we may have eternal life if we believe in him and repent of our sins.

Becoming Reformed has helped me understand the gospel on a deeper level. I can live my life for Christ alone and have no doubts about where my salvation stands.

Life feels complicated sometimes, and too busy, but the simple message of the gospel will always remain.

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” -Philippians 1:2