Reformation Without Renewal
Joel Van Hoogen
Reformation is the word we use to denote a return to the Word of God, rightly understood and applied to all of life. 2 Kings 22–23 and 2 Chronicles 34–35 record the last good king to rule over the nation of Judah. Josiah set men to the task of cleansing the Temple in Jerusalem of the idols and altars of false gods that had been set up in the place where the Lord God was to be worshiped. During this time of cleansing, we are told that the Word of God written by Moses was found by Hilkiah the priest.
The Book of the Law was brought and read to King Josiah, and as it was read, Josiah tore his clothes and said, “… for great is the wrath of the Lord that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us” (2 Kings 22:13, NKJV). Thus, Josiah intensified a reformation project to return his nation to God.
The people were gathered before the reading of the Law of God. Before them, Josiah made a public covenant with God “to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book” (2 Kings 23:3). Following this, all the people joined in the covenant. The articles of idolatrous worship were destroyed throughout Israel, and the places of false worship were defiled. The idolatrous priests were removed and slain. The most faithful and exacting practice of the Passover was then instituted and carried out before the Lord in Jerusalem.
2 Chronicles 34:33 summarizes the reformation of Josiah:
“And Josiah took away all the abominations from all the territory that belonged to the people of Israel and made all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. All his days they did not turn away from following the Lord, the God of their fathers.”
Out of a total of nineteen kings over Judah, nine were good kings. Of these nine, five—Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah—carried out works of reformation after times of national moral and spiritual unfaithfulness. Two of these reformers, Asa and Joash, later turned away from God in old age. The other three reforming kings had wicked sons who followed them, destroying nearly all the good their fathers had done.
Of the reforming kings, none was as faithful or went as far in his attempt to set the nation aright in its worship of God as Josiah. A strong case can be made that the greatest reformation of religious life in the history of the kings of Judah—including even the reigns of David and Solomon—took place in this final reformation under Josiah.
It was during the reformation of Josiah that Jeremiah the prophet began his ministry (Jer. 1:2). Jeremiah would carry on his work from that period of national reformation until all the kings of Judah were either slain by the Babylonians or led away into captivity. He would witness the nation move from this greatest of national reformations down a twenty-year descent into the devastating judgment of banishment from their land and exile in Babylon.
It is a curious thing to discover that the significant reformation periods of Judah were almost always followed by a seemingly more significant falling away shortly thereafter. The advance appears less significant than the retreat. So it was in the days following the reign of Josiah. As you read the writings of Jeremiah, you will see that, for the most part, the people maintained the outward forms of Josiah’s reformation even as they were rapidly moving toward a time of great national judgment (Jer. 7:4–10; 12:2).
What observations might we make from Josiah’s great reformation?
First, we should not downplay its importance.
God does something significant in times of moral and spiritual reformation.
Under Josiah’s reformation, God gave Israel an atmosphere in which they could see how he would bless them if they would turn to him in repentance and obedience. During this period, the nation reached an expression of power and influence unknown for over 250 years, since the days of Solomon.
In times of reformation, God raises up individuals whose turning to him provides light and guiding influence to those around them. Josiah’s devotion to God was sincere and real—a work of God for all the people to see and to desire for themselves.
God works in times of reformation to promote an enduring understanding of the importance of his Word. The Word of God had been largely unknown and lost leading up to the days of Josiah. Only four years after Josiah’s death, captives began to be taken away into Babylon. The full captivity occurred a little over twenty years after his death. Yet, in exile, we find the witness of Ezekiel and Daniel proclaiming God’s Word. There also emerged the rabbinic tradition and synagogue schools devoted to preserving and teaching the once-forgotten Scriptures.
Reformations are works of God that allow for the communication of his truth to subsequent generations.
Second, we should want reformation.
A return to core principles found in God’s Word, rightly applied, is something we should all long for. We should desire a reformation of religious, moral, social, and political life in our own country. At the very least, we should desire to see right thinking about God’s Word applied to every part of life in the North American church. We should rejoice when we see a turn among our churches and their leadership toward more careful thinking about the biblical standard for personal and corporate discipleship and the primary doctrines of the Christian faith we are called to uphold.
We should long for and pray for a great reformation among our churches. But what if we got it?
Third, we should not want reformation without renewal.
Five kings brought great reformation to the nation of Judah—five reformations that were followed by a great falling away. What would we want of a reformation of right thinking and right behavior if it were not accompanied by a right spirit of repentance and utter dependence upon God? If there were a return to correct thoughts but no work of God manifesting himself among his people—no deep inner work in their lives—would we have truly advanced? We should fear a reformation of thought and action that falls under the heading of “having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof” (2 Tim. 3:5).
Josiah stood and made a covenant before all the people. All the people stood with him and made the same vows. A reformation commenced, yet not twenty years later the people went into exile under God’s judgment. Why? Did they have a reformation? Yes. But was there a change of heart? Was there, with it, an outpouring of the Spirit of God upon the people?
In Jeremiah 3:6–10, as the people of Judah were being led in reformation by the righteous and good Josiah, God spoke to Jeremiah. He reminded him of the idolatry of the nation of Israel that led to Israel being taken away by the Assyrians. Then God told Jeremiah that he saw something worse in Judah. God explained the compromised condition of the people of Judah in verse 10:
“Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense…”
This is God’s evaluation of what was in the hearts of the people during the time of their greatest religious, moral, social, and political reformation.
Reformation without the renewal of the Spirit of God—bringing deep repentance and deep dependence of faith upon him alone—is pretense. It is as phony as trumped-up emotions and false religious hyperactivity. In fact, it is worse, because it is spiritual deadness in the presence of the light of God’s Word. It is good wood without fire. It warms no one. The wood is valuable, but only if it is ignited by the Spirit of the Living God. Otherwise, it quickly becomes infested with the worms of pride and prejudice.
We should be leery of endorsing any supposed revival that comes without reformation. A sudden impulse of life that leaves us fixated on phenomena and dismissive of God’s Word is a revival we can do without. But even more, we should fear reformation without revival: truth known in the mind yet unignited in the heart. That is a recipe for God’s judgment.
If God should be pleased to bring reformation to our churches and our nation, we should be all the more careful and prayerful that it be received alongside a great work of God in our hearts, turning us to him as our all in all. Should God bring reformation to the political and social life of our nation, we must not assume that all is well. We must receive with it a call from God to purify the inside of the cup, not just the outside. We should pray: God, begin in Your church and in my life a work of spiritual reckoning and renewal. Cause me to love You as never before, and produce in me a holiness that can only be credited to Your presence and Your life.
Does this world need reformation? Most certainly.
But is that enough? Not at all.
We must have, with it, the reviving life of Christ Jesus by his Spirit—for us, with us, and in us.