What Is Reformed Theology?

Reformed theology, in the confessions these churches publish, is the Christian faith summarized in the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Westminster Confession of Faith. It confesses one God in three persons, and it treats Scripture as the rule of faith. The five points people call Calvinism are a narrower argument. What Is Calvinism (TULIP)? quotes Dort and the Remonstrance. This page does not repeat that argument, and it does not decide it.

Key Points

• The Christian Reformed Church’s Heidelberg textHeidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchQ. What does the Lord require in the first commandment?
  A. That I, not wanting to endanger my own salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, sorcery, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I rightly know the only true God, trust him alone, and look to God for every good thing humbly and patiently, and love, fear, and honor God with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against God’s will in any way. Q. What is idolatry?
  A. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in the Word.Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchOpen source (1) says the Synod of Dort approved the catechism in 1619. Question 1 asks, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?”
• Belgic Confession, Article 1 (2) confesses “a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God.” Article 8 (2) confesses one God, one essence, and three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
• Westminster 2.3 (3) says that in the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost.
• Westminster 2.1 (3) says there is but one only, living, and true God, “a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions.”
• The CRC introduction to the Canons of Dort (4) says those canons set forth the Reformed teaching on the five points of the Remonstrance. The word TULIP is not in that text. The sentences are on What Is Calvinism (TULIP)?.
• Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen source (5) is the baptismal name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (6) says the Word was God.

What a Reformed Church Believes

A Reformed church, in these standards, believes what the confessions print. It is not a mood, and it is not a list of favorite authors. The Belgic Confession (2) opens with God. Article 1 says:

We all believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that there is a single and simple spiritual being, whom we call God—eternal, incomprehensible, invisible, unchangeable, infinite, almighty; completely wise, just, and good, and the overflowing source of all good.

Westminster 2.1 (3) says the same kind of thing in the Assembly’s English: there is but one only, living, and true God, infinite in being and perfection, a most pure spirit, invisible, without body, parts, or passions. The paragraph goes on to wisdom, holiness, justice, and mercy. The point for this page is the one God, and the denial that God has a body.

The churches that subscribe these texts are Presbyterian and continental Reformed churches. The Reformed shelf lists their own doctrine pages. What Do Protestants Believe? sets Westminster beside other Protestant texts. This page stays with the Reformed standards.

One God, Three Persons

Belgic Confession, Article 8 (2) states the Trinity the Belgic churches confess:

In keeping with this truth and Word of God we believe in one God, who is one single essence, in whom there are three persons, really, truly, and eternally distinct according to their incommunicable properties—namely, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The same article says this distinction does not divide God into three, and that the three persons are only one God. It says the Father did not take on flesh, nor did the Spirit, but only the Son. Westminster 2.3 (3) says the Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.

That is the Nicene confession these documents print. The Trinity is the shared page. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (6) says the Word was with God and the Word was God. Matthew 28:19Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionGo ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Matthew 28:19 · King James VersionOpen source (5) names the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost in one baptism.

The Heidelberg Comfort

The Heidelberg CatechismHeidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchQ. What does the Lord require in the first commandment?
A. That I, not wanting to endanger my own salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, sorcery, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I rightly know the only true God, trust him alone, and look to God for every good thing humbly and patiently, and love, fear, and honor God with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against God’s will in any way. Q. What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in the Word.Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchOpen source (1) is the teaching text many Reformed churches still use with their children and their members. Lord’s Day 1 asks what your only comfort is in life and in death. The answer begins:

That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.

The rest of the answer says Christ has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of the Father in heaven, and that the Holy Spirit assures the believer of eternal life and makes the believer willing to live for Christ. The catechism then unfolds misery, deliverance, and gratitude. This page quotes the opening comfort. It does not reprint the catechism.

Is Reformed the Same as Calvinism?

In ordinary speech the two names overlap. In the documents they do not cover the same ground.

The CRC introduction to Dort (4) says the Canons have a narrower focus than the Belgic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism. They answer the five points of the Remonstrance of 1610: election, the death of Christ, human corruption and conversion, and perseverance. What Is Calvinism (TULIP)? quotes those articles beside the Remonstrance, the Westminster paragraphs on election and perseverance, a Baptist confession, and a Methodist article. It does not decide.

Reformed theology, on this page, is the wider confession: who God is, the Trinity, Scripture, the covenant, the church, and the comfort of belonging to Christ. Calvinism, as that other page uses the word, is the five-point argument. A church can be called Reformed because it holds Heidelberg, Belgic, and Westminster, and the five points are one part of what Dort added to that family. The Remonstrant side is also quoted there. This page does not pick it up again.

What Does the Bible Say About Predestination? sets Romans 8 and Ephesians 1 beside the churches that read them differently. Can you lose your salvation? is Westminster 17 beside the other churches.

Where These Confessions Come From

The Belgic introduction (2) says Guido de Brès prepared the confession in 1561, that a synod at Antwerp revised the text in 1566, and that the Synod of Dort in 1618–19 adopted it as a doctrinal standard for officebearers. The same introduction says de Brès used a French Reformed confession associated with John Calvin, and that his work is an independent composition, not a mere revision.

The Heidelberg introductionHeidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchQ. What does the Lord require in the first commandment?
A. That I, not wanting to endanger my own salvation, avoid and shun all idolatry, sorcery, superstitious rites, and prayer to saints or to other creatures. That I rightly know the only true God, trust him alone, and look to God for every good thing humbly and patiently, and love, fear, and honor God with all my heart. In short, that I give up anything rather than go against God’s will in any way. Q. What is idolatry?
A. Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in the Word.Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A 94–95 · Christian Reformed ChurchOpen source (1) says Dort approved that catechism in 1619. Westminster (3) is the confession the Orthodox Presbyterian Church prints as its constitutional standard. The Assembly’s chapter on God is the one quoted above. Later Presbyterian churches have revised or received that text in their own books. This page quotes the OPC text and the CRC English of the Three Forms of Unity. It does not collapse those churches into one denomination.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Calvinism in Simple Terms?

On What Is Calvinism (TULIP)?, the confessions say God chose particular people by grace, not because he foresaw their faith, that Christ’s death is sufficient for the world and savingly effective for the elect, that fallen people cannot turn unless the Spirit renews them, and that those God has accepted cannot finally fall away. The Remonstrance states the other side. That page quotes both.

What Is the Opposite of Reformed Theology?

The document Dort answered is the Remonstrance. Its articles are on the Calvinism page. A second contrast people ask about is dispensational reading of Israel and the church. Westminster’s covenant chapters are not quoted here, and this page does not classify a living teacher as dispensational or Reformed.

Was Billy Graham a Calvinist or an Arminian?

This page quotes confessions. It does not classify a preacher, including Billy Graham, Jack Graham, or Kirk Cameron, from a secondary sketch of their ministry.

Do Reformed Churches Support LGBTQ People?

The Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and Westminster 2, as quoted here, do not contain a sentence on that question. Reformed churches are not one body, and this page does not borrow a news summary to speak for them. A reader who wants a church’s own statement has to open that church’s document.

What Are Some Good Books About Reformed Theology?

The books these churches themselves set as standards are the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, the Canons of Dort, and the Westminster Confession of Faith. The links above open those texts. This page does not rank a trade list of later authors.