Before we move to another book of the Bible, I’d like to share my thoughts on certain topics. First one is about the Three Forms of Unity (TFU).

During the Reformation, many people wrote about their ideas about God. Luther, Calvin, and other ministers and theologians wrote books, articles, confessions, catechisms, etc. that shaped the Reformation. God gave them the heart and knowledge to teach others who had been oppressed by the Roman Catholic church for a long time. And ministers and theologians who supported the Reformation put much time and efforts on teaching people. Therefore, the words of God and their interpretations became the center of the public worship and education.

Among all the catechisms and confessions, the TFU is considered to have much reputation and authority. It consists of the Belgic Confession (BC), the Heidelberg Catechism (HC), and the Canons of Dort (CoD). The BC and the HC were written in the 16^th century whereas the CoD was written in the 17^th century. I consider that the BC and the HC are useful tools to teach people within churches about the Reformed doctrines. The CoD has a slightly different character because of its history. However, it is also a useful tool to teach people.

Most Protestant churches that originate from the Reformation despise the TFU or any Reformed confessions. Many Christians have not heard of them. Some people haven’t even heard of the Reformation. Ministers do not talk about them because they know that they are not following the Reformed doctrines. On the other hand, some churches (especially the Reformed) put too much emphasis on the TFU as if they are God’s own words. While they praise the TFU, they misinterpret God’s words and promote idolatry. They have wrong understanding of the covenants and righteousness. And most of the Reformed (if not all) follow the errors of the Covenant of Works and the Active Obedience of Christ, which are ironically not mentioned in the TFU.

The TFU has not been modified unlike the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) as far as I know. They remain intact without being rewritten. I think the TFU, especially the BC and the HC, has little of men’s ideas about God. They teach us the central doctrines of the Reformation. And yet, they have their own limits simply because they are not the Bible.

Some ministers or theologians study German, French, Latin, Dutch, etc. to understand the original language used for the writings written by the Reformers. They study the TFU word by word and spend a long time studying it. While they admit that the TFU or any other Reformed confessions/catechisms are not infallible like the Bible, they study them as if they are God’s own words. The Reformation taught us certain truths about God. Yet, they left us issues that we face now such as the errors of the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ, righteousness, lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit and the kingdom of God, etc. If we interpret the words of God only through the Reformed confessions, we are likely to make errors. There are people who think they know the Bible because they learnt the Reformed doctrines from youth. If we try to learn about God from the Reformers’ point of view, we may know certain truths but cannot move forward. We end up putting ourselves in a small box and put a lid on it. It is time to read the Reformed confessions with a critical eye and see how it misled us to the error of the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ.

I read it somewhere that the idea of the Covenant of Works was started by Ursinus and Olevianus, who wrote the HC. However, this should not stop us using the HC for learning. The HC does not talk about the Covenant of Works like the WCF. Like I said, there are certain truths of God revealed and confirmed during the Reformation. If my dream was given by God, I was told, “Your mother has four daughters. The second one is the most beautiful. But the third one the most important.” And I saw myself assigned to serve the third daughter. The second reformation in the 16^th century was indeed the most beautiful. Many people were killed by the Roman Catholic heretics as they looked forward to coming of Christ.

Precious in the sight of the Lordis the death of his faithful servants. (Psalm 116:15)

I consider that the writings by the Reformers heavily focused on the letters of Apostle Paul. Although Paul had the right understandings of God, the Reformers overlooked some important truths that the whole Bible tells us. I’d like to go through some of Paul’s letters to address the limits of the Reformation concerning righteousness, the covenants, Adam, etc.

Paul was given the task of building visible churches outside Israel. He was sent to the gentiles who were not born under the Law. However, some of letters are written for the Jews who were born under the Law. During the Reformation, the Law, the Ten Commandments, was emphasized because of immoralities committed by the Roman Catholic church. Somehow the Law and sin became the center of the Reformation as we now see in the Reformed churches. I doubt that that was Paul’s intention. For the sake of the gospel, people beat one another with the Law when no one keeps the Law. Can the guilt caused by the Law bring someone to Christ? The Bible says no but people think it is how the gospel works.

In the new reformation, God teaches us about the kingdom because the time is near.