Semper reformanda

I'm reading a book entitled "Nine Marks of a Healthy Church" by Mark Dever. As I read this morning I came across this interesting thought:

At the time of the Reformation the Roman Catholic Church had a Latin phrase that became something of a motto: semper idem. It means 'always the same.' Well, the Reformed churches, too, had a 'semper' motto: ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei. 'The church reformed, always being reformed according to the Word of God.' A healthy church is a church that hears the Word of God and continues to hear the Word of God. And such a church is composed of individual Christians who hear the Word of God and continue to hear the Word of God, always being refashioned and reshaped by it, constantly being washed in the Word and sanctified by God's truth.

I was reminded of how important it is that the Word of God be central to our lives. We don't just glance at the Bible. We don't just read it once and think, Oh that's nice. We don't just read it and allow it to change us with respect to salvation. No - we read it over and over again, and submit ourselves to what it says, so that we are constantly being made more and more like the author - the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.

I'm convinced that there are two kinds of people in the world - those who are semper idem - "always the same", and those who are semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei - "always being reformed according to the Word of God.

Which are you?