DEATH OF DOCTRINE by Larry Stout
DEATH OF DOCTRINE by Larry Stout, 3/29/09
I commented in a previous PrayerNet about the rampant doctrinal ignorance among American Christians. Evidence of that is found in the recent Pew Forum On Religion and Public Life noting that fifty-seven percent of evangelicals believed people who follow religions other than their own can enjoy eternal life. (The researchers were so shocked by the results that they repeated the poll – and found exactly the same results).
In a recent issue of Christianity Today, Chuck Colson comments that it is because of the emphasis on personal experience and “deeds, not creeds” which has diluted the acceptance and understanding of the traditional core teachings of the church. It is exactly for this reason that the eminent J. I. Packer, on his 80th birthday, said that the greatest challenge of evangelicalism is to re-catechize our churches.
Never has it been more important for Christians to understand the essential truths of the faith, if only because of the confusion that has arisen from so many competing views. N. T. Wright, D. G. Dunn, and E. P. Sanders have popularized a view that Martin Luther and John Calvin at the time of the Reformation misunderstood what the Apostle Paul taught about justification and so constructed an erroneous and misleading doctrine of justification that Protestantism has unwittingly followed to this day. Personally, I will stay with the Christian doctrine of “sola fide” (by faith alone) and how the Heidelberg Catechism answers the question on how we are made righteous before God, “Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that, though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil; notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ; even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me; inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart.”
Norman Shepherd and others have advocated a new perspective on covenant and salvation variously styled “Auburn Avenue Theology,” “Federal Vision,” “covenant nomism,” and my favorite, “Neolegalism.” Their ideas contradict the doctrine of justification as enunciated by Scripture and the Reformed confessions.
Growing in popularity is “open theism” or “Open View of God” advocated by Gregory Boyd, John Sanders and Clark Pinnock. The proponents argue that in order for humanity to be truly free, the future free will choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. Obviously this flies in the face of the belief in God’s sovereignty and his omniscience.
As Colson notes, “Yes, we need to contextualize the message so that hearers in a given time and culture can grasp the truth we proclaim. But that is radically different from changing the definitive, concise summary of Christian truth the early church fathers accomplished in their councils.”
For those who want to begin a disciplined study of their faith, a good place to begin would be to study the great documents of the faith such as the Heidelberg Catechism (available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org). For those who are ready to do some serious study, there are a number of excellent virtual theological schools right now. Two that I would highly recommend:
• THIRD MILLENNIUM MINISTRIES (www.thirdmill.org) offers a full menu of seminary-level courses, complete with video and syllabus.
• COVENANT SEMINARY (www.worldwide-classroom.com) has twenty courses in audio and syllabus, including “Biblical Theology” taught by my Reformed mentor, Dr. Gerald Van Groningen.
Study to show yourself approved!
I commented in a previous PrayerNet about the rampant doctrinal ignorance among American Christians. Evidence of that is found in the recent Pew Forum On Religion and Public Life noting that fifty-seven percent of evangelicals believed people who follow religions other than their own can enjoy eternal life. (The researchers were so shocked by the results that they repeated the poll – and found exactly the same results).
In a recent issue of Christianity Today, Chuck Colson comments that it is because of the emphasis on personal experience and “deeds, not creeds” which has diluted the acceptance and understanding of the traditional core teachings of the church. It is exactly for this reason that the eminent J. I. Packer, on his 80th birthday, said that the greatest challenge of evangelicalism is to re-catechize our churches.
Never has it been more important for Christians to understand the essential truths of the faith, if only because of the confusion that has arisen from so many competing views. N. T. Wright, D. G. Dunn, and E. P. Sanders have popularized a view that Martin Luther and John Calvin at the time of the Reformation misunderstood what the Apostle Paul taught about justification and so constructed an erroneous and misleading doctrine of justification that Protestantism has unwittingly followed to this day. Personally, I will stay with the Christian doctrine of “sola fide” (by faith alone) and how the Heidelberg Catechism answers the question on how we are made righteous before God, “Only by a true faith in Jesus Christ; so that, though my conscience accuse me, that I have grossly transgressed all the commandments of God, and kept none of them, and am still inclined to all evil; notwithstanding, God, without any merit of mine, but only of mere grace, grants and imputes to me, the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ; even so, as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me; inasmuch as I embrace such benefit with a believing heart.”
Norman Shepherd and others have advocated a new perspective on covenant and salvation variously styled “Auburn Avenue Theology,” “Federal Vision,” “covenant nomism,” and my favorite, “Neolegalism.” Their ideas contradict the doctrine of justification as enunciated by Scripture and the Reformed confessions.
Growing in popularity is “open theism” or “Open View of God” advocated by Gregory Boyd, John Sanders and Clark Pinnock. The proponents argue that in order for humanity to be truly free, the future free will choices of individuals cannot be known ahead of time by God. Obviously this flies in the face of the belief in God’s sovereignty and his omniscience.
As Colson notes, “Yes, we need to contextualize the message so that hearers in a given time and culture can grasp the truth we proclaim. But that is radically different from changing the definitive, concise summary of Christian truth the early church fathers accomplished in their councils.”
For those who want to begin a disciplined study of their faith, a good place to begin would be to study the great documents of the faith such as the Heidelberg Catechism (available on the Christian Classics Ethereal Library, www.ccel.org). For those who are ready to do some serious study, there are a number of excellent virtual theological schools right now. Two that I would highly recommend:
• THIRD MILLENNIUM MINISTRIES (www.thirdmill.org) offers a full menu of seminary-level courses, complete with video and syllabus.
• COVENANT SEMINARY (www.worldwide-classroom.com) has twenty courses in audio and syllabus, including “Biblical Theology” taught by my Reformed mentor, Dr. Gerald Van Groningen.
Study to show yourself approved!
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