Reformed Charisma: The Best of Both Worlds

How can a deep knowledge of God in the doctrines of His Word influence the faith of a child?

In writing my article last week on the necessary union of a deep knowledge of God with a desire to experience all that He is for us emotionally, it got me thinking a step deeper. In the “battle” between the stereotypes of charismatic and reformed Christians, how do we reconcile having the commonly used “faith of a child” while also searching and retaining a deep knowledge of doctrine and God’s Word? How does a child-like faith emanate from a hefty knowledge of the Scriptures? How can we use the full counsel of God to influence a faith of a child? Again, first we must define our terms. When I say the phrase “faith of a child” or childlike faith, I picture in my mind a baby wrapped in its mothers arms, knowing it is safe and nurtured and cared for well. It is a blissful view of God, full of love and caring not for anything but the love of God. It is at its core, complete and utter dependence. When I say a deep knowledge of scripture, I mean simply thus: caving the depths of the Word of God to know Him in such a way that there is no doctrinal stone unturned, and no opinion not molded by it. In relation to Charismatic and Reformed circles, these terms and phrases of “childlike faith” and “deep knowledge” are stereotypically linked respectively.

Pearls and Pitfalls

The big prize of most charismatic circles is having a heartfelt and affectionate state of being towards Jesus, constantly looking to cultivate environments and experiences in order to rekindle these feelings toward our Lord. This is both sweet and risky. It is sweet because the trust and faith of a child is on full display, knowing that the best thing we can do in and of ourselves is to reach out with both hands and yell (in a sense) “up!” to the Father, in a demonstration of full trust in Him. I personally have seen the beauty of this in many pentecostal churches, where people, out of a genuine love for Jesus, want to create a space to worship God dearly and truly, feels and all. Some of the most beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced in a corporate worship setting have been in the aisles or at the altar of a charismatic church on my face before the Lord. However, it is risky in the sense that a lot of times it comes from a lack of Biblical literacy, so instead of worshiping in spirit and truth, it can end up and tends to end with just the “spirit” side of things, swaying heavily on manipulating and stirring the emotions to garner a specific response. A personal major concern for this that I have is that it can reduce God to a feeling, and make the worship seem like it's more for us and arousing a feeling than it is for Him who works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13).

With that being said, I have also witnessed an intense knowledge of God and the doctrines of scripture create some amazing and profound worship flowing out of the heart that also desires Him dearly. The common goal of many more reformed circles is to know God through His revealed Word in such an intimate way, that the love that flows from this knowledge is deeply rooted, cherishing, and solemn. I have witnessed and experienced beauty in this as well, where because of an intense upbringing in doctrinal saturation, I am able to cling to what I know is true when my feelings do fail. Unfortunately, in the same breath I must also say that many reformed circles – in some of which I have been a part of – have sucked the joy out of all things to do with God because knowing God well turns exclusively into obeying His commands and knowing all there is to know about Him. It is hard to love someone when you don’t actually love them. What I mean is this: you can know all there is to know about someone, do everything they tell you, get them whatever they want, talk to and spend time with them all the time, but have a love as cold as the arctic if the heart is wrong. If the heart is only committed to the doing of things for someone instead of being committed to the object of what they are being done for (that someone), the love will never grow, if it was ever there to begin with.

On another personal note, I have seen this in my own life in a past romantic relationship. What began as pure feelings turned into an obsession, which turned me from boyfriend to bonehead, where my identity was wrapped up in a) being associated with her and b) treating her the way a woman “should be treated.” Hilariously enough, I felt as though my actions towards her were honorable as a man, but in fact weren’t, and I ended up maltreating her as a result. How often do we as reformed Christians do this with God? Our obsession with knowledge for Him (born of a true affection) as revealed to us by Him through His Word turns into idolatry, and our once white-hot love for God bears rotten fruit due to a lack of self-control. As the cons of reformed circles tend to cause the eyes of other denominations to roll, there is something reformed Christians prize more than anyone. I have seldom seen the faith of a reformed believer collapse under the weights and afflictions of this sin sodded life. The deep cutting truth scars that cover their body contain a faith sustained by the Spirit through trials of various kinds. Steadfastness and a desire to know God in sorrow and suffering is something that stirs the heart in the life of a reformed Christian.

Binding Everything Together

So we have our pros and cons. Pentecostals care too much about spiritual vibes and can be blissfully uninformed or ignorant to deep spiritual truth, and Reformers revel in their knowledge of scripture and doctrine in such a way to fault in pride and conceit, yet both parties pursue God in zealous ways. And in this zeal, I believe there is a way to bring the two stereotypical pros together, and the Bible can back me up on this. I have witnessed (and am experiencing) the wonderful beauty of a broken and contrite heart that adores God, and through much caving of the depths of scriptural doctrine, my love for God grows and is rooted strongly. One of the most uplifting things I’ve ever seen in my life and walk as a Christian is someone who knows the Bible like the back of their hand, and yet still loves God as a toddler who waddles over to dad when he gets home from work. My assertion is this, that a deep knowledge of God’s revealed Word (more than mere experiences) can and does influence a deep affection for God that demonstrates itself in a child-like faith. The book of 1 John affirms this strongly. John, in writing to the churches in Asia minor, speaks to them as children, literally calling them “children” or “little children” at many points in his exhortation (2:18, 2:28, 3:7, 3:18, 4:4, 5:21). However, his epistle is rife with heavy spiritual language and urges, namely warnings against false teachers, the importance of being in community with believers, and the signs and assurances of salvation in Christ (or evidence of the contrary). At surface level, this book almost seems legalistic in the sense that what truly marks as evidence of our salvation in Christ is obedience to His commandments. However, if we look at it from a heart of deep affection towards God and His Word, we then read these as deep encouragements and reminders rather than a to-do list for eternal life and fellowship with God. In chapter 4, John portrays the gospel clearly, that God made manifest Himself among us in the flesh, and gave Himself up for us as a propitiation for our sins. However in the gospel message he writes is a call to maturity, that we would listen to and obey the commandments of Jesus and abide with God. This begs the question: how can we abide with God and obey His commandments? Where can we look to find His commandments? I think we all know the answer to this. God’s Word informs us on how to live a life given to Him for His glory and our ultimate good.

Become a Child

In Matthew chapter 18, Jesus coins the ever famous words of “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3-4). There is such a wonder in thinking about the concept of becoming like a child. D.A. Carson speaks of the passage here and in referring to the metaphorical meaning of the child sitting on the knee of Christ, he says that “the child is held up as an ideal…of humility and unconcern of social status.”

There is a tangible sweetness at the idea of becoming dependent fully on God for everything. Just as a child is humble, submissive, and dependent not because it chooses to, but because it simply is by nature, so it is like to become a Christian. To die to the wisdom that you think you have (1 Cor. 1-2), be born again into new life (John 3:3), and then become a child, completely and utterly dependent on Him who saves you (Matt. 18:3-4) is the God ordained (and overseen) process of a kingdom citizen.

Not To Remain One

Becoming a child in Christ is necessary, and there is no fast track to being sanctified, but on that note I have a conviction to make known. We are called children of God, however that does not excuse us to only experience God as children do. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 6 implores Jewish believers to press on to maturity. I must clarify, this verse in context is speaking to forsaking the comfort and instinct of the new believers to revert back to the commonalities between Judaism and Christianity that could blur the clear lines of the gospel message (repentance, washings or baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement). With that being said I think there is a call in here for us in 21st century America to listen to. We must leave behind the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity (Heb. 6:1) in the sense that the gospel is much more than the feeling it gives us. I say this because American living is based on feelings. American citizens live on impulse and compulsion, following whatever desires their heart presents to them, so (forgive my proof texting) we must leave the elementary doctrine of a feelings based faith in Christ and press on towards maturity in Him. In this we know from before that the Spirit moves and works in us to will and to work for His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13) and that God will sanctify us completely, and that He who calls us to Himself is faithful (1 Thess. 5:23-24). So the goal of life is prizing Christ and being conformed to His image and perfected when we step into eternity, the key to salvation is becoming a child, the key to becoming a child is for the Spirit to indwell a dead heart and make it alive (Eph. 2:5).

A Beautiful Marriage

My chief desire in this less philosophical, more academic article is to bring two desires together. The desire of a reformer to love God deeply and know His doctrines, and the desire of a charismatic to feel the wonderful emotions of being saved and loved by God must come together sequentially. My questions at the beginning were gearing towards something to the effect of “how can the full counsel of God influence the faith of a child?” In all honesty, that question was actually a statement disguised as a question. A deep knowledge of God’s word and holding fast to its authority is what gives us child-like affections for Christ. In fact I would go so far as to say that in order to have a genuine and utterly dependent love of God grow, you must know Him as He has revealed Himself to us in 21st century America: through His Word. In closing, my desire is not to ruffle feathers, though it may happen, nor is my desire to point out that one is better than the other, though that may be true, but my true intent is to show that right knowledge of something is what grows love for it, so both spirit and truth are needed. A right understanding of scripture is needed to experience the wonderful emotions and feelings that come from a knowledge of our Savior. Without emotion, love towards God would be cold, and without truth, love towards God would be fleeting and shallow.