First, an admission: I probably qualify as a young Reformed, or as author Collin Hansen puts it, “young, restless and reformed.” And yet I’m slowly also becoming one of those pundits who wonder what, in all this wondrous excitement over God’s sovereignty, YRRers might be missing.

For weeks I’ve considered assembling a quick-hits, basic list of suggested problem areas. Now, just today, Justin Taylor linking to a 2008 John Piper video brought this to mind.

Piper’s emphasis: what could cause the young-adult Christian resurgence to break open and “dribble away into nothingness” is a failure to connect God’s majesty to everyday choices. “The disconnect between the majesty of God and the movies you watch, just to choose an example. … Between the majesty of Christ and the carelessly attended, default weekend movie — no questions asked, it’s just the thing to do.” ¹

Taylor prefaces the video:

As you watch it, I’d encourage you to avoid judgmentalism (if the things he mentions don’t apply to you) or defensiveness (if the particular examples are something you seek to do in moderation and any critique feels like fundamentalism). Rather, I’d encourage humble self-examination, and to see if the Lord might be using this older, wise, father-brother in the faith to exhort us and encourage us in a new direction.

Separated from the context of Piper’s ministry, and moreover Scripture itself, any critique of immodest dress, going to bad movies or drinking too much beer will sound “fundamentalist.” And indeed, I think that is included in one of the top risks to “young, restless and Reformed”: basing what we believe on being anti-this or that, rather than being pro-God and His truth.

But Piper hits on a specific risk I hadn’t thought of — though it’s not the worst I worry about:

1. Not connecting God’s sovereignty to everyday discernment.

Another admission: it’s easy for me to feel self-righteous when Piper references “the carelessly attended, default weekend movie.” So far, no movie I’ve attended is from carelessness. But I have a reason: I’m a story nerd. Almost any film I have seen (and now, my wife and I have seen) in theaters has been after anything but careless planning. Inception: anticipated for weeks in advance. Toy Story 3: anticipated for months. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1: anticipated for years. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: anticipated for decades.

It’s rare that we just show up at a theater, pick a movie from the marquee, and go inside and get surprised. To this day people who say “we went to the movies” cause me no little amount of irritation. That’s like saying “we went to the foods”! Why would you do that? No, you choose your foods, taking care not to eat junk that could be poison or that at least you don’t even like!

We went to The Movie — that is, the anticipated-in-advance blockbuster can’t-miss-it incredible story spectacle of the year, that we have researched to make sure there’s no crap, or at least to know which parts to avoid — now that is much better to say. And that’s what I do. Ha, safe!

Or not. Because, you see, my home-viewing preferences just rose up and called me a hypocrite.

Did I really need to see Prince of Persia while eating lunch from McDonald’s that Wednesday afternoon? Not really. It may not be a sin, but did that waste of time honor God in my life?

What about my viewing the entire Avatar: The Last Airbender series over the past few months? Oddly enough, that’s a little different. While the cartoons’ mystical elements don’t mesh with Biblical truth, a surprisingly powerful and emotional theme of sin, repentance and forgiveness quickly emerged and, to me, not only honored God the ultimate Reconciler, but makes me tear up even now to imagine the depth of sin for which He forgave me — and similar forgiveness I should give others. Also the writers’ storytelling genius has helped in my own writing.²

One can’t connect God’s sovereignty to everyday discernment by simply trying to avoid the Bad Stuff. Instead a Christian’s basis is mostly proactive. Yes, it’s good to ask whether God would be displeased by a particular movie, TV show, story or song. But isn’t it better to ask whether God would be pleased? Paul didn’t encourage us to avoid the bad stuff nearly as much as he said Christians should focus on the Gospel, and with that in mind, focus on truth and beauty.

Yet frequent opposing notions of discernment, in theology or anything else, lead to risk no. 2:

2. Basing most beliefs upon reactions.

A common theme at YeHaveHeard and my personal rhetoric has been this: Christians should not base what they believe about God on what the Bad Guys have done. That could devalue God into merely the positive alternative to Bad Stuff, or just as a means to beat the Bad Stuff.

Rather, our emphasis should be on loving and seeking God for His own sake. Getting rid of the bad stuff — our own evil hearts before we’re saved, and our sin-shrapnel after — is vital, but ultimately tangential. After all, we’ll spend less than 120 years doing that. For eternity we’ll only have God Himself and His new created-world. No sin to fight. No Bad Guys to debate against.

No matter what one’s theological persuasion, “Calvinist,” “Arminian,” or whatever, the constant temptation is there to reduce truths about God, or even zeal and love for Him, into a means for other ends: beating the bad guys.

I see this a lot among theological liberals, or “emergents.” Many of them seem to have gone back over their more-orthodox Christian backgrounds, found the legalism (real or perceived) and then based what they believe now on a reaction against that. Now their mode of existence is fighting against Injustice (again, real or perceived) and telling other Christians how they’ve got it wrong in the past. I want to ask them: what would you do if Christ returned tomorrow, eliminated all injustice, and ushered in the New Earth? Are you sure you wouldn’t be bored?

But many “new Calvinists” share similar attitudes. Struck anew with Biblical evidence for God’s sovereignty in salvation, they see the difference between this and others’ previous failures. Some obviously overshoot, calling for the abolishment of altar calls, Billy Graham movies and the Left Behind series. Others are more subtle and don’t realize it. They might be angry against the Church for its (real or perceived) failures, and miss what previous Christians did get right.

That same question applies to us all, especially those who — like myself, I hope! — love deep doctrines, correcting errors and helping others: What would I do if Christ returned tomorrow, eliminated all wrong beliefs, and ushered in the New Earth? Am I sure I wouldn’t be bored?

If my answer is that such an existence sounds boring — “Ugh, no one to fight” — then my priorities are definitely out of order. I’ve confused the means for the end, and it’s time to realign. Yes, we destroy arguments that raise themselves up against God’s truth (2 Cor. 10:5), and preach the Gospel despite false beliefs (2 Tim. 4: 1-5), whether from secularists or wishy-washy Christians. But the conflict isn’t the end of the story. Christ Himself is that end.

Friday: Young-restless-Reformeds may forget that in Christ they are no longer totally depraved — thus guilt should lead first to gratitude in Christ, not just desires to do better. Also, might some young Reformed Christians forget the coming New Earth, which will transform more than just human souls?