I’ve recently been thinking a bit about the differences between reformation and revival. How are they similar, how are they different, and what one do we want, and why?
I see reformation as being based entirely on the Scriptures. What do they say? How are we basing every aspect of our lives on the Bible? It’s about taking the doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture seriously. It’s about renewing our minds to think God’s thoughts after Him.
I see revival is about getting excited for God. It’s about feeling the emotions of God. It’s about fervour.
It’s so interesting to see who wants which one. My church wants revival. We call out in services for revival; have prayer meetings for revival. And reformation is never mentioned.
And many of the people I read and listen to are the other way around. They call for reformation, not revival.
I worry a little about revival. I know part of that is about the fact that I don’t fully trust God. But emotions that are not based squarely on the Scriptures are prone to going off on dangerous tangents. I’ve been burned enough times by people telling me that I lack faith because I haven’t been instantly healed (etc) to know the potential bad results of revival that isn’t based on the Scriptures. And when we live in a time of complete Biblical illiteracy, revival apart from the Scriptures is a real possibility.
On the other hand, reformation can easily become over intellectual, set apart from everyday life. It can end up in the kind of scholastic dialogue that argues over how many angels can dance on the head of a pin (which actually is an interesting discussion over the nature of the metaphysical nature of spiritual beings, but you get my point).
So, I suppose the question is, what are you praying for? Reformation or revival? I think I need to be praying for both.
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