What Is Wrong With Reformed Theology
Reformed theology replaces God’s revealed dispensations with man made covenants. It frames the Bible under a covenant of works and a covenant of grace that the Scripture never states. This system then reads those covenants back into every passage, flattening the differences between prophecy and mystery. Paul says the mystery was hid in God and was revealed to him, Ephesians 3 verses 1 through 9. When a system begins with a covenant lens instead of right division, it will inevitably mix Israel’s program with the Body of Christ and call that unity. God did not reveal one continuous covenant story. He revealed distinct stewardships, with the present dispensation of the grace of God committed to Paul.
Reformed theology steals Israel’s promises and applies them to the Body of Christ. It spiritualizes the prophets, denies a future for national Israel, and places the Body in Israel’s covenants, land promises, and kingdom prophecies. Paul separates these programs. He is the apostle of the Gentiles with a heavenly purpose for a new creature, not heirs of Israel’s earthly kingdom, Romans 11 verse 13, Ephesians 1 verses 3 and 20 through 23. When Reformed teachers claim the Sermon on the Mount or the new covenant as the rule of life for the Body today, they blur the line God drew and create confusion about our calling, our hope, and our walk.
Reformed theology keeps believers under the law as a rule of life. Its confessions bind saints to the moral law and to Sabbath logic dressed in Sunday clothes. Paul says plainly that we are not under the law but under grace, Romans 6 verse 14. If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law, Galatians 5 verse 18. The law is good when used lawfully to condemn sin and point to Christ, but it is not the operating system for the Body of Christ. The rule of life today is the new creature and the Spirit working through sound doctrine in the inner man, Galatians 6 verse 15, Romans 8 verses 2 through 4.
Reformed theology teaches sacramental grace. It ties spiritual blessings to water and tables. Paul says Christ sent him not to baptize but to preach the gospel, 1 Corinthians 1 verse 17. He says we are complete in Christ and that the circumcision which avails today is made without hands, Colossians 2 verses 10 through 12. To teach that water baptism replaces Israel’s circumcision, or that a supper dispenses grace, is to deny the sufficiency of the spiritual baptism that places a believer into Christ, 1 Corinthians 12 verse 13. The Body of Christ has no sacraments because the Body lacks nothing in Christ.
Reformed theology mishandles election and atonement. It uses Israel passages to teach that God eternally chose certain individuals to life and passed over the rest, then it limits the atonement to the same group. Paul says God will have all men to be saved and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, 1 Timothy 2 verses 3 through 6. Christ gave himself a ransom for all. He is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe, 1 Timothy 4 verse 10. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Titus 2 verse 11. Election in this dispensation is in Christ and concerns the Body’s purpose and blessings. It does not cancel the free offer of the gospel to every creature or limit the cross to a subset of humanity.
Reformed theology turns assurance into fruit watching. By tying final salvation to perseverance as a proof, it drives believers inward to examine themselves rather than outward to rest in Christ’s finished work. Paul grounds assurance in the sealing of the Spirit the very moment we believe the gospel, Ephesians 1 verses 13 and 14. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5 verse 1. Reformed fruit testing replaces peace with doubt and makes assurance a moving target. Paul’s pattern gives present tense peace based on the cross, not on performance.
Reformed theology confuses the gospels in Scripture. It blends the gospel of the kingdom with the gospel of the grace of God. It quotes kingdom instructions given to Israel as if they were Body doctrine. Paul draws a line. The gospel that saves today is that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day, 1 Corinthians 15 verses 1 through 4. It is received by faith alone without works, Ephesians 2 verses 8 and 9. When a system places confession, covenant loyalty, or law keeping beside the cross, it frustrates the grace of God and makes Christ’s work insufficient, Galatians 2 verse 21.
Reformed theology misunderstands worship and the Christian life. Its confessions prescribe a regulated form and a law centered rule for holiness. Paul defines worship as the word of Christ dwelling in you richly which then produces teaching, admonishing, and singing with grace in your hearts, Colossians 3 verse 16. He defines service as a living sacrifice grounded in mercies already given, Romans 12 verses 1 and 2. The Christian life flows from our complete position in Christ and the Spirit’s work in the inner man, not from covenant vows, sacraments, or a reworked law code.
The remedy is simple. Believe the gospel Paul preached. Acknowledge Paul’s distinct apostleship and the revelation of the mystery. Stand in grace, not under law. Keep Israel’s promises with Israel and keep the Body’s position where God put it, in heavenly places in Christ. Measure every doctrine by the King James Bible rightly divided. When you do, Reformed theology will be seen for what it is. A learned and historic system that nevertheless denies the mystery, confuses Israel and the Body of Christ, mixes law with grace, and shifts faith from Christ’s finished work to religious forms that cannot make you more complete than you already are in Him.