Official Launch of The Reformed Wretch

It has been eons, or what felt like eons since April this year (2009), when I last blogged at the old blog WordnVerse. The reasons for my absence from the blogosphere are many, chief of which was some unfortunate events at work which then very much affected life in general. The issue has not been resolved, and we are facing mounting difficulties daily as a result. We do covet your prayers for strength and faith in God to see us through.

Moving on, I have been planning on a return regardless of the situation. And since WordnVerse has been lying dormant all this while, I decided that, well,  things should start anew, hence you are reading this official launch of Reformed Wretch.

This blog will have a more Reformed and Calvinist slant to it than the previous, because I think that there’s an increasing need to boldly declare and defend the Reformed faith, in particular the tenets, in this day and age when so much of what Scripture teaches is under attack.

Off the top of my head, I can think of nothing more pressing than defending Sola Scriptura (2 Timothy 3:16-17) — that Scripture alone is the ultimate authority. To quote the Belgic Confession, “We believe that [the] holy Scriptures fully contain the will of God, and that whatsoever man ought to believe unto salvation is sufficiently taught therein… Neither may we consider any writings of men, however holy these men may have been, of equal value with those divine Scriptures nor ought we to consider custom or the great multitude, or antiquity, or succession of times and persons, or councils, decrees or statutes, as of equal value with the truth of God… Therefore, we reject with all our hearts whatsoever does not agree with this infallible rule.”

Then there are the attacks on Solus Christus, where men (and women) who purport to believe the Scriptures and call themselves Christians deny that salvation is obtained only through Christ alone (John 14:6) by His finished work on the cross (Romans 3:21-28). Along with it, they also deny, whether with purpose or unwittingly, the tenets of Sola Fide and Sola Gratia, as they push forward their own heretical messages which the Apostle Paul, if he were to come back today, would anathematize immediately as “another gospel”!

Finally, this blog will also be declaring and defending Calvinism, so expect quite a good number of posts to be about the five points of Calvinism, as well as my journey to being convinced why Calvinism, to quote Charles Spurgeon, “is the gospel”.

“I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel if we do not preach justification by faith without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing unchangeable eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross.”

– Charles Spurgeon, The New Park Street Pulpit, Vol. 1, 1856

I do realize that there is more to the Reformed faith than just the five solas and TULIP, so other topics will be discussed here at Reformed Wretch as well, along with book reviews (or summaries), critiques, and other news-worthy information that I might come across now and then. For a start, there will be a series on why we should preach the Gospel to ourselves daily and the effect it has had on me personally. God willing, I’ll also be doing a series on the Westminster Shorter Catechism, going through the questions and answers one by one.

Right, I guess that’s about enough said for now, and I thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. For those who have followed WordnVerse, my sincerest thanks, and I hope that you continue to find Reformed Wretch edifying and encouraging. If you like, please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds (you can do so quite easily at the end of this post). You can also follow me at Twitter (@isaiahc) for updates on this blog.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Footnote: I’d like to take this opportunity to thank a good brother, JM at The New Demonstration, for his kind help in doing up the header for the blog. You’re a champ, bro!

Tagged as: Calvinism, Catechsim, Charles Spurgeon, Reformed, Solas, TULIP, Westminster