The passive of the Latin phrase semper reformanda implies more the idea of my being changed, than my doing the changing. I am the object and in the passive, “always being changed,” more than I am the subject and in the active or aggressive role of “always changing” things around me, or seeking out changes to make. Hence, my preference for rendering the phrase “always being reformed” or “always being changed” over “always reforming” or “always changing.”
The Latin phrase semper reformanda–usually translated “always reforming”–is the widely known slogan of the Reformed tradition. It has become quite popular. Authors conjure it. Theologians cite it. Trendsetters love it. But I have become suspicious. And my suspicions stem from seeing the phrase appear at all too convenient times for a person’s point or agenda. My fear is that it is now regularly used as an excuse for novelty and innovation.
Let me illustrate my concern grammatically. The word reformanda in the phrase semper reformanda is what Latinists refer to as “gerundive.”[1] This grammatical designation refers to the future passive of a word and is frequently signaled by the combination of letters “nd”, both in Latin and English. For example, whereas an “agent” is someone or something through which an action takes place, the “agenda” (“things to be done”) is the object upon which the action(s) will fall or take place. An agent is active, but an agenda is passive. Words like memoranda (“things to be remembered”) and propaganda (“ideas to be spread”) also illustrate the point. The upshot of this is that the passive of the Latin phrase semper reformanda implies more the idea of my being changed, than my doing the changing. I am the object and in the passive, “always being changed,” more than I am the subject and in the active or aggressive role of “always changing” things around me, or seeking out changes to make. Hence, my preference for rendering the phrase “always being reformed” or “always being changed” over “always reforming” or “always changing.”
The difference is rich with implications. When a Reformed Christian says semper reformanda, we understand that a higher authority, the Lord, is changing us. In the back of our mind is another Reformed principle called, sola Scriptura, “Scripture alone.” This principle commits us to God’s revelation in Scripture as authoritative and sufficient for the Christian in faith and life. We believe that the reforming in our lives is driven by Scripture’s agenda, not ours. We are subservient to the Lordship of our Sovereign king. We are in the passive role, sitting under the authority of God’s Word. The ecclesia reformata et semper reformanda is “the reformed church” that is “always being reformed” by the Word of God.
