when-the-salt-loses-its-savor-july-august-1996

e

oses ¡ 1

WHERE

IN '

~r

1-1 fj ,

.,"

WO'RLD

' IS

~rHE

CHU'RCH?

Editor~ in -Chief

Dr. Michaei H orton .1..-

Managing Editor!Desigll> Shane Rosenthal Contributing Scholars Dr. John Armstrong Dr. S. M. Baugh Dr. James M. Boice Dr. D. A. Carson Dr. Knox Chamblin Dr. Bryan Chapell Dr. Daniel Doriani Dr. J. Ligon Duncan Dr. Timothy George Dr. W. Robert Godfrey Dr. Sinclair Ferguson Dr. John Hannah Dr. D. G. Hart Dr. Carl F;. H . H enry Dr. Michael Horton Dr. Robert KoJb Dr. Allen Mawhinney Dr. Joel Nederhood Dr. Roger Nicole The Rev. Kim Riddlebarger Dr. Rod Rosenbladt Dr. R. C. Sproul Dr. Robert Strimple Dr. Willem A. VanGemeren Dr. Gene E. Veith Dr. David Wells

An Introduction To ACE James Montgomery Boice

Cambridge Highlights Featuring David Wells, Robert Godfrey, R. C. Sproul & Others

Whatever Happened To God? James Montgomery Boice

When The Salt Loses Its Savor Michael Horton

Saving The Heart of Evangelicalism Mark Thompson

CURE Board of Directors Douglas Abendroth Michael E. Aldrich Cheryl Biehl The Rev. Earl Blackburn Dr. W. R0gert Godfrey Dr. MichaeLHorton ' James Linn~n

The Cambridge Declaration The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals Also: You Are The Salt a/The Earth, A Sermon by Martin Niemoller, p. 17 A Cloud of Witnesses: Understanding Law & Gospel, p. 33

CHRISTIANS . JJNITED jorRE-J:<ORMATION

© 199Q.: All rights reserved.

CURE is a ..ri()l1~profit educational foundation committed'to communicating the insights of the 16th century Reformation to the 20th century church. for more information, call or write us at: CHRISTIANS UNITED

for

REFORMATION

2034 East Lincoln Road #350 Anaheim, California 92806

714-956-CU RE SUBSCRIBE TO

modernREFORMATIQJN L .S. anad a E rope

1 YR $22 1 YR $25 1 YR $34

2YR $40 2 YR $45 2 YR $62

-...

In This Issue

by Michael Horton "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its savor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast our and trampled underfoot by men" (Matt. 5: 13).

This warning about the salt losing its savor is an issue a .number of evangelical leaders are concerned about in our own time. In this is~ue; therefore, we chose to highlight many of the concerns outlined by the newly formed "Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals." .

Two years ago, Dr. James M. Boice caBed a number of us together in Philadelphia to discuss the possibilities of forming an alliance. Although many of us were already engaged in this sort of workin some fashion, Gordon-Conwell Seminary pro­ fessor David F. Wells's book, No Place for Truth, Or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? had just appeared and helped to organize 1,lsaround a common concern. We came to seek God's wisdom together as to how we should proceed.

After a number of subsequent meetings in Orlando and in San Antonio, we finally arrived in Cambridge, Massachusetts, together with over 100 Christian leaders we had invited from a wide spectrum. Included were presidents of Christian col­ leges and se.m inaries, .professors, pastors and para-church leaders. There were also notable lay leaders, such as former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, who participated on a panel, and keynote speaker Ervin Duggan, president and chief executive officer of the Public Broadcasting Corporation , (PBS). I was especially impressed with Mr. D1,lggan's coura­ geous call to first things: to recover our c;ommitrn.en:t to doctrinal fidelity and the sovereignty of God, the life of the mind and thoughtful engagement with a culture that sees Christians merely as hostile warriors.

In addition to the members of the Council itself (the AlIi­ ance steering committee), participants included Sinclair Ferguson, Lutheran Hour host Wallace Schultze, Ravi Zacharias, Kent Hughes, and many others. However, many thought that the most meaningful activities · were ·the htte­ night discussions between Baptist, Congregationalist, independent, Reformed and Lutheran invitees-many of whom left with renewed energy and vision for the reformation of the church at the dawn of the millennium.

The empirical product of the meeting was The Cambridge Declaration, which we have included this is.s ue. Although most signed the document, we decided not to list signatures so that the truth itself and not the weight of popular personalities or powerful leaders would prevail. Throughout this issue, then, . we want to . introduce youto a group about which you will be hearing a great deal (at .l.east in this publication) in the future.

Won't you join us in prayerful repentance as we bring ourselves and our churches under the searchlight of Scripture once more? ~

in

A Real Treat I've got to thank you for the recent issue of modern REFORMATION (Saved by God from God). This is a doctrine on which I stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you guys and would die to defend. I'm leery of singling out anyone article for praise since they all were so well done. After the sloppy sentimentalism of the previous issue on worship, this was a real treat. It reminded me of why I'm a "Friend of the Inn." Thank you again for the work of CURE, you challenge and encourage me regularly in my Christian faith.

T. E.

Via America On-Line

A Sea of Theological Despair

modern REFORMATION has been a pleasantaddition to my bi-monthly reading list. Especially in a day when good periodicals are next to impossible to come by, it makes this work all the more critical on the brink of the 21 st century. Few others seem to be asking the right ques­ tions, let alone offering God centered solutions for a man centered society. I've noticed some have criticized MR for trying to make issues out of "nothing." Well, perhaps those pleading for tolerance in theology should wake up and realize the crisis facing American evangelicalism (if it can even be called that any longer).

Frankly, those who complain that there's too much ~ critique going on in MR are not living in the real world.

Thanks for continuing to offer a lighthouse to guide a damaged ship in from the sea of theological despair!

M.M.

Via America On-Line

Thankful Let me start off by saying how thankful I am that I ran across your literature. I have been a Christian for a little over twenty years; for most of that time I have had serious questions concerning salvation that received no answers. I did not seek outthese questions; indeed, as an evangelical, many of them I avoided or even denied they existed. However, they concerned issues that troubled me. These were not "idle speculations." When I ran across the May/June 95 issue on Evangelism at Joshua's bookstore, I felt like I met somebody that was asking the Silme questions and giving solid Scriptural jinswers. I was able to tie together different parts of the . ~ible and understand confusing passages that had troubled me in the past.

M.W.

Via Internet

.--------------------------­ Letters to the Editor­ modernREFORMATION:

-

-

_ 2034 E. Lincoln Ave. #350, Anaheim, California 92806 _

Fax: 714-956-5111 • E-mail: CURElnc@aol.com ' •

. _-------------------------_.

2

JULY/AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals as they met this past April in Cambridge. Pictured in the front row (left to right) are John Hannah, Gene E. Veith, Michael Horton, Rosemary Jensen,

Robert Godfrey, James Boice, and R. C. Sproul. In the back row are John Armstrong, AI Mohler, David Wells, Rob Norris, Luder Whitlock, and Alistair Begg.

An Introduction to The Cambridge Meeting

APRIL 17,1996

by

JAM E sM.

B0

ICE

I'd like to tell you a little bit about the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. It is a little hard to know exactly what to say because we have so many concerns. Years ago I was involved in something very similar to this called the International Council on Biblical Inerrancy where we also had a council and we called a meeting much like this one in Chicago. But compared to what we are concerned about here, the task that we were faced with at ICB! was a breeze. We only had a single issue. It was the inerrancy of the Bible and our goal was to lift that up as a doctrine without which you lose the full authority of Scripture.

But our problem here is to talk about the weakness of the evangelical church as we see it, and that's not just a single issue, it is a very complex and widespread matter. To put it in a word, it is the lack of theology in the church. People who have done surveys like Gallup and Barna have come back with statistics that just scare us to death. We cannot believe there is so much ignorance of basic theology out there. And as a result or consequence of that lack of a well-defined theology, we find evangelicals buying into all of the world's ways of doing things. I sometimes say what you've got in the evangelical church today is what a generation ago the liberal church was guilty of. They were guilty of pursuing the world's theology, the world's wisdom, the world's agenda, and the world's methods. And as I look at the contemporary situation today it seems to me that that is exactly what has happened with evangelicals. We have the world's theology: people are basically good and all by ourselves we can choose to get into heaven or not-we don't really need grace. And if we talk about faith , sure it is good but works have to be added to it; you at least maintain yourself in a state of grace by your works. All this gets to be Roman Catholic theology before long. When you go down all the distinctives of the Protestant Reformation not only do you find that evangelicals fail to understand these basic doctrines, but in the opinion of many of us, they have slipped back just to where the church was in the middle ages before the time of Martin Luther.

So that's the kind of thing that concerns us and the kind of thing we want to deal with here.

Let me say a couple things about the location. We picked this site because it is Harvard'\S . quare. If there is an intellectual capitol of America it is here at Harvard University. And what we are concerneg about are the intellectual undergirdings-the truth-of the Christian faith . I'm sure by now you've seen the Harvard logo ar~und here , and as you know it has that shield right in the middle of it with the latin word veritas, meaning truth. It is a reminder th'at our Puritan forefathers and mothers who founded these institutions throughout the colonies were concerned about truth. And they didn't mean truth in a general or broad liberal way, as that has come to be interpreted today in the universities, but it was the truth of God. And they were concerned to train up ministers to understand that truth, to proclaim it and to let it permeate a culture. Well, that's why we're here. We want to say once again that truth matters , and if there is a context in which that can be recovered and proclaimed it should be the context of the evangelical movement. We consider ourselves evangelicals in that sense, not in the debased sense that has become so popular today, but just as evangelicals of the past have stood for the gospel, the truth of the Word of God, and the great doctrines.

That is precisely the kind of thing we would like to recover in our own time. ~

JULY/AUGUST 1996

3

The following are excerpts from the many papers delivered at the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals

Summit Meeting in Cambridge this past April.

David Wells

.Professor, Gordon Conwell Seminary 'fY". ,

What is striking about our culture today is that its corruption is not simply at the edges. It is not simply found amongst the culture elite, the new class that stands at the gates of our national institutions to bar entry to those whose views they consider intolerable. And it's not simply found amongst postmodern academics who are bent upon overturning all meaning and moral principle , or among vicious street gangs, or among rappers who spew forth obscenities and violence, or among the vendors of pornography, or in the bizarre and unashamed revela­ tions of deeply private matters that are aired in the talk shows. What is striking is that this corruption is now ubiquitous. It is not located in this or that pocket of depravity, but is spread like a dense fog throughout our society. "Wherever one looks," writes Robert Bork, "the traditional virtues of this culture are being lost, its vices multiplied, its values degraded, in short, the culture itself is unravelling."

And it is surely a matter of poi­ gnancy for us to realize that at the very moment when our culture is plunging into unprecedented darkness, at the

4

JULY/AUGUST 1996

very moment when it is becoming so vulnerable, the evangelical church is losing its nerve. At the very moment when boldness and courage are called for, what we see all too often is timidity and cowardess . Instead of confronting modernity, we are capitulating to it.

The gospel that we should be preaching should be offering an alternative to our cultural darkness, but the gospel that we often are preaching contains some of the elements of that darkness.

Because therapeutic language now dominates in the church and in the preaching of the gospel, and because the quest for wholeness has often taken the place of holiness, sin has become dysfunction and salvation has become recovery. It is a gospel more about self­ sufficiency than Christ's unique sufficiency. The truth is that today the fields have never been so ready for "­ harvesting. Our culture qas never been riper to hear about a God~arge enough to provide meaning, meaning rooted in his own transcendent character and forgiveness which is objective because of Christ's cross . And without know­ ing why, many today ache to hear such things, and this is no time to lose our nerve. It is the worst of times, but it is the best of times too.

I don't think we can find any instruc­ tive model in the recent history of the mainline Protestant churches. What an irony that they have suffered their· greatest decline in numbers, influence, contributions and relevance at pre­ cisely the time they struggled most vigorously for political and cultural power in this world. For years the denominations most accurately described as mainline, have selected their agendas almost totally from what I call the "steam-table" of hot issues in the secular political cafeteria. Desper­ ately eager to be seen as prophetic in this world , wistfully desiring to be relevant, mainline church professionals for thirty years have beckoned their flocks willy-nilly to the partisan political barricades and pell-mell into corporate disaster. Their influence on the culture ironically is less today than ever before precisely because they wished to have power in this world and they were distracted from the central , work of the church.

'-......---/ The self destruction of the main­ line churches by succumbing to the political temptation is apparently however not a sufficient cautionary example to many evangelicals. As if in imitation, their clergy, their profes­ sionals and their members are now marching to the right-wing partisan barricades as eagerly as their mainline siblings marched in an earlier decade to the left-wing ramparts. Joining coalitions, manning phone banks, endorsing candidates and advocating specific legislative remedies with the same naive fervor that brought their mainline brothers and sisters first to distraction from their true mission and then to irrelevance and then to ruin. In the process, they abandoned the eternal for the evanescent exactly as their mainline counterparts had done.

They distract themselves and their flocks from the legitimate mission of the church in this world, and they bid unwittingly, but nevertheless blasphe­ mously, to substitute political coercion for the free working of God's grace in the individual human soul. Can

modernREFORMATIO:\

anyone doubt that the evangelical dalliance with the political temptation will be fully as disillusioning and tiamaging as the mainline's earlier flirtation?

AI Mohler President, Southern Baptist Seminary

Researchers increasingly report that a majority of evangelicals 'reject the notion of absolute or objective truth.

The seductive lore of postmodern relativism, and even now, nihilism, pervades many evangelical pulpits and countless evangelical pews, often couched as humility, sensitivity, or sophistication. The culture has us in its grip, and many feel no discomfort at all. The absence of doctrinal precision in biblical preaching marks the current evangelical age. Doctrine is considered outdated by some and divisive by others. The confessional heritage of the church is neglected and in some cases seems even to be an embarrassment to updated evangelicals. Expository preaching, once the hallmark and distinction of the evangelical pulpit has been replaced in many churches by motivational messages, the therapeutic massaging of the self, and form ulas for health, prosperity, personal integration and celestial harmony. The modern attempt to dominate truth has given way within sectors of the church to the postmodern rejection of truth itself.

Indeed, in many denominations and churches, notions of orthodoxy and heresy have become conceptual emptiness; the boundaries have vanished. The very possibility of heresy is dismissed in many circles within mainline Protestantism and many evangelicals seem to have no better grasp of the moral imperative to honor the truth and oppose error.

The secularization of mainline Protestantism and the dominant theological academy is evident in the evisceration of the Christian truth claim at the hands of the theologians and church leadership. Virtually no tioctrinal essential has been left untouched, no truth left intact, no creed or confession defended against compromise . Increasingly-in the

name of pluralism, tolerance, inclusivity, and sensitivity-all that is solid appears indeed to melt into air.

And yet, the tragedy is not limited to mainline liberal Protestantism. The modern secular worldview is increas­ ingly apparent within evangelicalism as well. An aversion to doctrinal Chris­ tianity has been growing for several decades, along with an increasing intolerance for doctrinal and confes­ sional accountability. Evangelicals have embraced the technologies of modernity, often without recognizing that these technologies have claimed the role of master rather than servant.

The ubiquitous culture of consum­ erism and materialism has seduced many evangelicals into a ministry mode driven by marketing rather than mission. To an ever greater extent, evangelicals are accommodating themselves to moral compromise in the name of lifestyle and choice. Authentic biblical worship is often supplanted by the entertainment culture as issues of performance and taste displace the simplicity and God-centeredness of true worship.

In some churches and denomina­ tions where the maxims of modernity have reigned for most of this century,

by God's grace the light may yet again shine. This must be our hope and prayer. Nevertheless, our primary concern must be to see our own houses are put in order. Evangelical compro­ mise and disarray demand our humility, and our urgent prayer for revival, reformation, and renewal. We must take measure of our own doctrinal fidelity, and acknowledge the extent to which we have failed to apply the truth of God's Word and to embody that Word in doctrine, worship, and life.

We are not without assistance from the saints who have gone before us.

With humility and gratitude we look to the Reformers with the humble ac­ knowledgment that our churc~es are in need of reformation, even as were the churches of the sixteenth century. Our churches are worldly in lifestyle, worship, and piety. We have too often sacrificed doctrinal clarity on the altar of progress, statistics, and public opinion. We have seen the worship of God too often made into a human-

centered entertainment event. We have allowed our confessions of faith to be historic markers rather than living affirmations.

In the spirit of the Reformers, and following their example, let us deter­ mine to confess the truths of God's Word-and all the truths of God's Word.

Let us confess Sola Scriptura, and therefore submit ourselves before the truth of the Word of God, preaching, teaching, and applying that Word to all dimensions of life. Let us submit to no other authority, whether such be a pope, a self-declared prophet, or ubiquitous public opinion.

We also confess Solus Christus, for we have nothing to claim for our salvation but the mercies and merits of Christ and His atonement. This is all we need, and unspeakably more than we deserve. Furthermore, we must confess that Christ is the only Savior, for there is salvation in no other name.

We confess also Sola Gratia, for salvation is by grace alone. Indeed, all that is ours is by grace-even the very knowledge of God. We are sinners who were spiritually dead, and but for grace would die not only lost but ignorant of our lostness. By grace we have been elected unto salvation by the sovereign act of God. By grace we are kept by the power of God. We preach justification by faith­ the material principle of the Reformation, and thus we confess Sola Fide. By this article the Church stands or falls, for justification by faith alone is the essence of the Gospel. To make this assertion is to admit that the contemporary evangelical movement has sadly, tragically, and progressively abdicated justification by faith, and thus in some sectors is preaching a false gospel. We stand by the chief article of ~the Reformation-not as a historical referent, but as our living confession.

And we confess Soli Deo Gloria, and we pray that in all things, God alone will be glorified. To Him all glory is due, to Him all glory belongs.

He is the King of Glory. Let us there­ fore reject the glorification of any substitute , of any rival.

In an age of untruth, we contend for the truth-knowing that it is not

JULY/ AUGUST 1996

5

our own, but that truth which is revealed by God in His Word. Such contending calls for a holy boldness wedded to a proper humility.

Gene E. Veith Professor, Concordia University, WI

Today, modernism, though existing in certain isolated pockets, is all but over. The promises of reason, the notion that the human mind can engineer the. perfect society, that science and technological progress can solve all problems, have faded in bitter disillusionment. The reasons for the passing of modernism are complex, ranging from the findings of technical scholarship to the practically universal disenchantment with the bloodshed, tyranny, and corruption of the 20th Century, that "modern age" looked to with such optimism by believers in progress. Around the time of the 1960's, academics were dismantling the claims of reason, and the general public turned away from the apparent mean­ inglessness of the objective world and began an inward quest for subjective fulfillment.

Today we hear casual epistemo­ logical statements that would stagger both classical and modernist philoso­ phers. "That may be true for you," someone says in a discussion of religion, "but it isn't true for me."

Every casual discussion seems to end with the mantra, "everyone is entitled to their own beliefs." The assumption is that everyone is locked into their own private virtual realities. Since

6

JULY/AUGUST 1996

there are no objective criteria for truth applicable to everyone, attempts to persuade someone to change his or her beliefs are interpreted as oppressive acts of power: "You have no right to impose your beliefs on someone else."

The language of rational assent is replaced by the language of aesthetics.

Instead of saying "I agree with what that church teaches," people say, "I like that church." Instead of saying, "I believe in Jesus," people say, "I like Jesus." Of course, they usually do not "like" the Bible's teachings on sin, Hell, and judgment. What they do not like, they do not believe. Truth gives way to pleasure; the intellect is replaced by the will. When people exclude truth, basing their faith on what they enjoy and what they desire, they can believe in literally anything.

While relativism may be postmodern, it is not particularly new. The notion that truth is un­ knowable, that morality varies from culture to culture, and that there are no absolutes was first articulated in ancient Greece by the Sophists. In reaction, Socrates rose up to show that there are indeed absolutes, thereby, with Plato and Aristotle, founding classical philosophy.

When classical civilization was exhausted, relativism returned with the Stoics, Epicureans, and the cultural diversity of the Roman Empire. This may well be reflected in Pilate's com­ ment, "What is truth?" (John 18:38), when the Truth was standing right in front of him. The era which entertained itself with sex and violence and toler­ ated all religions except Christianity

turned out to be the greatest age of the Church, which not only remained faithful, but converted the whole Empire to Christ.

The early church was not market­ driven. It did not make Christianity particularly user-friendly. Converts had to go through extensive, lengthy catechesis and examination before they were accepted for Baptism. In the ultimate barrier to new member assimilation, those who did become Christians faced the death penalty.

Nevertheless, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Church grew like wildfire.

The temptation to preach what people want to hear is always great, but today it has become in some circles almost a homiletical principle. My own pastor tells of attending a Church Growth conference in which he was told, "Don't preach sin anymore.

People don't want to hear that. You need to give them a positive message."

Of course, people have never wanted to hear about sin. Repentance hurts.

And yet, people need to hear God's demands, particularly now in this age of moral relativism; we need to be convicted of sin, so that we can turn in faith to God's forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Those who do not want to be told they are sinners have a special need to hear God's Law. Those who want to hear about how they can be happy need to hear about bearing the Cross. To be most relevant, a sermon should preach against the culture. The tendency today is to pick and choose teachings from the Bible that correspond to our likes and interests. But the test of following the Bible is accepting what goes against one's personal prefer­ ences. The Bible is thermostatic, humbling the exalted and exalting the humble (Luke 14: 11), and so should .... our sermons be.

Ultimately, though, a sermon "vill contain only two messages: the Law and the Gospel. Each must convey th e truths of God's Word. The truth of the Law must be preached in all its sever i~· .

The preaching of the Law is not mere moralism, however. The temptati on :~ to water down God's transcenden t, : ­ consuming demands so that th ey ar-=­ more easily fulfilled. This on ly (r ~.::. :.:

modernREFOIDL\

self-righteousness, which is the greatest barrier to faith in the Gospel. Moralis­ tic preaching can easily become self-congratulatory, giving the congre­ gation smug reassurance about how good they are. Such preaching creates not Christians but hypocrites. The preaching of God's objective, transcen­ dent law, and its condemnation of the specific sins of relativism and self­ righteousness is only a prelude to proclaiming the real solution to the postmodernist condition, the truth of the Gospel.

On the Cross, Truth was crucified, objectively, outside o\;.uselves. With Him, our relativism, subjective experi­ ences, and attempts to evade truth are put to death, nailed to that objective tree. In the same way, our sins-both our sinful actions and our sinful condition-are objectively removed from us. Ours is an objective Atone­ ment, which means that we do not have to rely on our changeable moods and experiences, our illusions and petty choices. Because Jesus is the truth, we are liberated from our unstable, reinvented selves. When Jesus objec­ tively rose from the dead, our salvation was won, not as a subjective interpreta­ tion, but as a fact.

Preach the truth of the Law and the truth of this Gospel, against all pres­ sure, and the barriers against Christianity, no matter how formidable they seem, will, like the walls ofJericho, come tumbling down.

It's not very in teresting to hear some­ one stand up and read a chapter of Scripture. It's certainly not very interesting to close your eyes and hear someone drone on in prayer. We're used to a livelier life. We're used to fast paced images . We're used to being excited. And none of this is very exciting. And so there seems to be an obvious impulse to "pep things up," and to make it more exciting. And of course for most evangelicals, that excitement is a part of the long standing tradition of revivalism that has influ­ enced so many of us. And the great

apostle of this path is Charles G . only be a treasured part of Finney. And the wonderful thing about Christianity's heroic past, but needs to Finney is that he is so clear. I make my be part of our present. Defenders of students read a big chunk of Finney at the faith today must follow in the train seminary because I've always believed of Athanasius and Augustine, of that if I tried to summarize him, they Luther and Calvin, of J. Gresham wouldn't believe that I was being fair.

Machen and Robert Preus .

Today as always, doctrine, worship .

Because, in the whole history of the church there is probably not a theolo­ and life remain closely interdependent. gian as Pelagian as Finney. Finney Where doctrine teaches that man is good and God is benevolent, worship begins to make Pelagius look good.

And Finney's great insight, made will be upbeat-the children's play­ perfectly clear on the first few pages of room-and life will be oriented to his Lectures on Revival, is that conver­ self-fulfillment. Where worship sion comes about by the exercise of free focuses on human needs and entertain­ ment, the doctrine of God, sin and will. And how do you as a preacher get people to exercise their free will to grace will wither and life will become self-centered. Where life is self­ convert? It's by exciting the will. The more excited the will is, the more likely indulgent, doctrine and worship will it is to convert. And therefore the also be self-indulgent. meeting must be exciting. Now, in Evangelicals need to repent. Too order to have an exciting meeting, often we have replaced the consuming Finney says, you must always have new fire with a mild-mannered God; replaced the worship of the invisible things because old things lose their excitement.

God with some forms of human But what most people who have invention; replaced the moral law of studied Finney haven't noticed is that God with the fulfillment of felt-needs.

Finney himself makes clear in his book J. B. Phillips decades ago stimulated that this approach can work only evangelicals with his book, Your God Is because he believed as a postmillenialist Too Small. Today we need a book that we were right on the eve of the entitled, "Your God Is Too Bland" or millennium. He said that this approach even, perhaps, "Your God is a Pagan cannot work long term because IdoL" Evangelicals need a spirit of excitements often repeated ultimately repentance that will lead to a thorough destroy the body. But because the reformation of doctrine, worship and world is almost about to enter its life. golden age when we won't need excitement anymore we can do this for a little while as a short term strategy.

The problem is that we've done it for a Professor, Concordia Seminary, IN hundred and fifty years and we've destroyed the body. We haven't Traditional churches have suddenly listened closely enough to Finney in an discovered freedom from liturgical ironic sort of way. confinements. A divine creation of six B.B. Warfield once observed of the days is followed by a Darwinian theology of Charles Finney: "God providence prolifically evolving new might be eliminated from it entirely and exciting forms to tickle ears and without essentially changing its .... entertain eyes. A rock band with character. " The same might .pe said of guitars and amplifiers transforms the contemporary evangelicalisrri~ We chancel into a stage with spotlights. If need sharper analysis and pointed it were not Sunday morning, we could refutation. In our day evangelicals hardly be sure it was church. A time need to engage in more debate on for silent prayer is replaced by a fifteen matters of doctrine, worship and life. minute warm-up session . These True ecumenicity will require a return innovations are intended to reach to polemical theology which, while unbelievers; sadly they sacrifice the scrupulously civil and honest, is also fundamental Christian truths of sharp and spirited. Polemics cannot repentance, Christ's atonement for sin

David Seaer

JULY/AUGUST 1996

7

and the demand for faith to which they seek to convert. Confession of sins, singing of the psalms, Bible reading, sermons and the sacrament are re­ placed by what is presumptuously deemed relevant. Aesthetically, the word "relevant" is annoying. It assumes the audience is suffering from the academic deficiency of delayed adolescence. Our task now is to entertain the bored. The next step may be distributing crayons, coloring books and toy trucks to distract churchgoers from confronting anything seriously religious. It is the dumbing down of Christianity. It raises the question for evangelicals: When is a church no longer one?

Why am I a Christian compared with some of my best friends I grew up with who are not? Is it because I was more righteous, or I was more intelligent?

We all know better than that. I can only say I have no earthly idea why God in his mercy, while I was dead in my sin and trespasses made me alive through the Holy Spirit. And as Paul makes it so clear in Romans 9, its not because God looked down the corridor of time and said I know that if I give the offer of the gospel to R. C. Sproul he's going to jump at it. Because if God would have looked down the corridor of my personal history, he would have seen one who had only one destiny, and that was perdition. There are a lot of doctrines we can study abstractly, but few that we experience with more drama than this one. Brothers and sisters, what did you do to get into the kingdom of God that waS not the result of a monergistic work of divine grace immediately and supernaturally changing your heart of stone to a heart of flesh, where suddenly the scales fell from your eyes and that which seemed odious or indifferent to you prior to that moment suddenly became bathed in the highest sweetness and the most glorious beauty that it became the most intense desire of your heart because somebody came into the cell of your soul and set you free, by grace, 8

JULY/A UGUST 1996

by grace alone?

I honestly don't know how Jesus could make it any clearer when he says, "It is the Spirit who gives life , the flesh profits nothing" On. 6:63). The flesh profits nothing. Earlier in the discourse with Nicodemus he said "That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit," and "unless a man is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." We have a whole generation of evangelicals who believe that man in his fallen condition still can see the kingdom, still can enter the kingdom, still can come to Christ.

Within a couple of years after the ninety-five thesis , one of the earliest volumes Martin Luther wrote was the Babylonian Captivity of the Church. I am convinced that if Luther were alive today and were living in America, the book that he would write would be the "Pelagian Captivity of the Church."

And Luther, commenting on John 6 where Jesus says, "The flesh profits nothing," writes in the margin, "That nothing is not a little something." But do you see that in the Pelagian or even semi- Pelagian view it profits eternal life? You might say, well we wouldn't have that profit if we didn't get a loan from God, we needed the start-up capital to make it. But in the final analysis it was the flesh that makes the decisive move, and that is not Sola Gratia! And Luther saw the link between Sola Fide and Sola Gratia, and that link has been severed in our time!

Although provoked by the indulgences peddled by Johannes Tetzel, the very first proposition which Luther offered for public debate in his Ninety-five Theses put the ax to the root of the tt:.ee of medieval theology: "yYhen our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ; ~~aid 'repent: he meant that the entire life of believers should be one of repentance." From Erasmus' Greek New Testament, Luther had come to realize that the Vulgate 's rendering of Matthew 4: 17 by penitentiam agite ("do penance") completely misinterpreted Jesus' meaning. The gospel called not for an

act of penance but for a radical change of mind-set and an equally deep transformation oflife. Later he would write to Staupitz about this glowing ~ discovery: "I venture to say they are ~ wrong who make more of the act in Latin than of the change of heart in Greek!"

Is it not true that we have lost sight of this note that was so prominent in Reformation theology? We could well do with a Luther redivivus today.

For a number of important reasons evangelicals need to reconsider the centrality of repentance in our thinking about the gospel, the church and the Christian life .

One of our great needs is for the ability to view some of the directions in which evangelicalism is heading, or perhaps more accurately disintegrating.

We desperately need the long term perspective which the history of the church gives us.

Even within the period of my own Christian life, the span between my teenage years in the 1960s and my forties in the 1990s, there has been a sea-change in evangelicalism. Many "positions" which were standard '-"...,£. evangelical teaching are now, after only three decades, regarded as either reactionary or even dinosauric.

If we take an even longer-term view, however, we face the alarming possibility that there may already be a medieval darkness encroaching upon evangelicalism. Can we not detect, at least as a tendency, dynamics within evangelicalism which bear res em ­ blances to the life of the medieval church? The possibility of a new Babylonian or (more accurately, following Luther), the Pagan Captivity of the Church looms nearer than we may be able to believe.

Consider the following five features of medieval Christianity which are evident to varying degrees in contemporary evangelicalism: 1. Repentance has increasingly been seen as a single act, severed from a life-long restoration of godliness.

There are complex reasons for this-not all of them modern-which we cannot explore here. Nevertheless, this seems self-evident. Seeing repen­ tance as an isolated, completed act at modernREFORMATIO:'\

: ~ e . eginning of the Christian life has been a staple principle of much of modern evangelicalism. It is sad that evangelicals have often despised the theology of the confessing churches. It has spawned a generation who look back upon a single act, abstracted from its consequences, as determinative of salvation. The «altar call" has replaced the sacrament of penance. Thus repentance has been divorced from genuine regeneration, and sanctifica­ tion severed from justification.

2. The Canon for Christian living has increasingly been sought in a "Spirit-inspired" living voice within the church rather than in the Spirit's voice heard in Scripture . What was once little more than a mystical tendency has become a flood. But what has this to do with the medieval church? Just this: the entire medieval church operated on the same principle, even if they expressed it in a different form: the Spirit speaks outside of Scripture; the believer cannot know the detailed guidance of God if he tries to depend on his or her Bible alone.

Not only so, but once the "living voice" of the Spirit has been introduced it follows by a kind of psychological inevitability that it is this living voice which becomes the canon for Christian living.

This view-inscripturated Word plus living voice equals divine revela­ tion-lay at the heart of the medieval church's groping in the dark for the power of the gospel. Now, at the end of the second millennium we are on the verge-and perhaps more than the verge-of being overwhelmed by a parallel phenomenon. The result then was a famine of hearing and under­ standing the Word of God-all under the guise of what the Spirit was still saying to the church. What of today?

3. The divine presence was brought to the church by an individual with sacred powers deposited within him and communicated by physical means.

Today an uncanny parallel is visible wherever cable TV can be seen .

Admittedly it is no longer Jesus who is given by priestly hands; now it is the Spirit who is bestowed by physical means, apparently at will by the new evangelical priest. Special sanctity is no

longer confirmed by the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit, but with signs which are predominantly physical.

What we ought to find alarming about contemporary evangelicalism is the extent to which we are impressed by performance rather than piety. The reformers were not unfamiliar with similar phenomena. In fact one of the major charges made against them by the Roman Catholic Church was that they did not really have the gospel because they lacked physical miracles.

4. The Worship of God is increas­ ingly presented as a spectator event of visual and sensory power, rather than a verbal event in which we engage in a deep soul dialogue with the Triune God. The mood of contemporary evangelicalism is to focus on the centrality of what "happens" in the spectacle of worship rather than on what is heard in worship. Aesthetics, be they artistic or musical, are given a priority over holiness. More and more is seen, less and less is heard. There is a sensory feast, but a hearing-famine.

Professionalism in worship leadership has become a cheap substitute for genuine access to heaven, however faltering. Drama, not preaching, has become the 'Didache' of choice.

This is a spectrum, of course, not a single point. But most worship is to be found somewhere on that spectrum .

Time was when four words which brought out goose-bumps on the neck of his grandfather-"Let Us Worship God". Not so for twentieth century evangelicals. Now there must be color,

movement, audio-visual effects, or God cannot be known, loved, praised and trusted for his own sake.

S. The success of ministry is measured by crowds and cathedrals rather than by the preaching of the cross and the quality of Christians' lives.

It was the Medieval church leaders-bishops and archbishops, cardinals and popes, who built large cathedrals, ostensibly Soli Deo Gloria.

All this to the neglect of gospel proclamation, the life of the body of Christ as a whole, the needs of the poor and the evangelism of the world.

Hence, the "mega-church" is not a modern, but a medieval phenomenon.

Ideal congregational size and specific ecclesiastical architecture, thankfully belongs to the adiaphora.

That is not really the central concern here. Rather it is the almost endemic addiction of contemporary evangelicalism to size and numbers as an index of the success of "my minis­ try" -a phrase which can itself be strikingly oxymoronic. We must raise the question of reality, depth and integrity in church life and in Christian ministry. The lust for "bigger" makes us materially and financially vulner­ able . But worse, it makes us spiritually vulnerable. For it is hard to say to those on whom we have come to depend materially "When our Lord Jesus Christ said 'Repent! ' he meant that the whole of the Christian life is repentance." ~

JULY/AUGUST 1996

9

Another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel (Judges 2:1OJ.

JAMES MONTGOMERY BOICE

n any discussion of reformation in doctrine one must come to the realization that the real problem of our time is that there is hardly any doctrine at all to reform. So when we talk about reformation we must focus on a recovery of theology, period. Certainly in the liberal churches there is a lack of exposition of Scripture and sound doctrine, and unfortu­ nately, this is rapidly becoming the case in evangelical circles as well.

Now you might ask which doctrines are missing? I argue that primarily what we need is a recovery of the doctrine of God. You have to have some kind of starting point and thafs the point where I think we should begin.

People have lost any real sense of the fact that when we come to church we come to worship and learn about God. Years ago I spoke at a conference and my topic was on a number of the attributes of God. Later I got some feedback from a gentleman who was listening to my presentation. He had been in the church for thirty years, and i~ fact was now an elder, and that was the first time that he ever heard a series ofmessages on the attributes of God. And after hearing this his friend asked him, "Well, whom did you think you were worshiping all that time?" But he hadn't really thought about those things and I'm convinced that we have literally thousands of people in our churches today who really seldom, if ever, think about who it is they are worshiping, if they think about God at all.

I

10

JULY/ AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

Now, I think there are some reasons for this.

One reason is the terrible impact of television on our culture which has produced a virtually mind­ less age. Television is not a medium which shares information well, it is primarily an entertainment medium. It puts pictures on the screen onto which people project their own aspirations and desires, and because it works so powerfully and is so perva­ sive it has the tendency to transform anything it touches into entertainment, and it does it very quickly. One of the most significant books I've read in the last few years in terms of what is actually happening to the mind is Neil Postman's, Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show- Business. It's not that entertainment itself is bad . But television is most damaging when it tries to be serious. So when you put news on TV, you get brief little soundbites encased in slick images, and this is not really information, it is entertainment.

This happens to politics, it happens to educa­ tion, and according to Postman, it happens to religion. Postman even raises the question of what one loses when one puts religion on television. It is obvious what there is to gain: a mass audience, money. · But what do you lose? He argues you lose everything that is important: tradition, creeds, theology, etc. And he says above all, you lose a sense of the transcendent. And what he means is that you lose a sense of the presence of God. When Christians meet together to worship God, whether it is in a cathedral or a simple chapel, typically there will be prayers and open Bibles for the study of God's Word. There is a sense that God is present in these activities. And you lose that when religion is put on TV. All you have on television is the picture of the star of the show who is the "enter­ tainer." Postman says God necessarily, in that kind of medium, comes out second banana. And when the preacher becomes the star of the show he be­ gins to think and act as if he is a Hollywood star then you have the kind of tragedies that we've seen in the industry. Postman has a very serious com­ ment at this point. He says, "Now, I'm not a theologian and maybe I don't have the right word for it, but I think the word for it is 'blasphemy.'" ~-\ ll of this would be irrelevant if it were not for the fact that all this has a significant impact on our chur hes . So just as God is absent from televised relig ion , the re is tremendous pressure to push him out of ou r church services in favor of a more upbeat entertainment-oriented Sunday morning visit. We do all kinds of things to fill in that vacuum, but as Augustine said, we are made for God and our

hearts are restless until they rest in him. In my judgment, we have a hollow core at the heart of evangelicalism, and that is the cause of all the rest­ lessness.

The Sovereignty of God If we want to recover the doctrine of God we have to recover the attributes of God, and one attribute that is sorely missing in our time is the attribute of God's sovereignty. What happens in the Christian world if you don't give attention to the sovereign God? Human sovereignty comes in to take the true God's place. Idols always replace the true if the true is not kept there. So you have human beings be­ coming sovereign in their own estimation in a variety of ways. Theologically: we are the ones who elect God rather than God electing us. Pro­ grammatically: we are the ones who determine what should be done in our worship rather than following the statements of Scripture. In this sort of business God gets relegated to the sidelines, we really don't need him. But really, when you think about it, this is secularism .

I think the best illustration of this in the Bible is the story ofNebuchadnezzar when he stood on the roof of his palace in Babylon and he looked over that magnificent city with its famous hanging gar­ dens and he said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" That is probably the best statement in all of literature of what we call secular humanism, because he is claiming that the world he observed was of him, by him and for his own glory. But the sad thing is that it is not just secular humanism, but is becoming "evangelical" humanism as welL If we're the ones who conceive of what should be done and we're the ones who accomplish it by our skills, whatever they may be, often without prayer (because we are not a prayerful people), then I guess the glory should go to ourselves. So we find ourselves right back where Nebuchadnezzar was, right around the time God judged him with insanity. And as I look at the evangelical world I'd sa)' a lot of it is insane. In addition, NeJruchadnezzar was driven out to live with the aninlals to behave in a bestial way. And when I read the polls that tell me that evangelicals behave virtually no different than their secular counter-parts, and I recognize the bestial manner that the world around us is behaving, I think that maybe the judgment ofNebuchadnezzar has come home to us as well.

Fortunately, Nebuchadnezzar got the message.

JULY/AUGUST 1996

11

William Blake's depiction of Nebuchadnezzar, 1795.

For his final testimony reads: At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" ... Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble. (Dan 4:34­ 35,37)

God is not only able to humble them. He does humble them, and perhaps that ought to be a good starting point for renewal in our churches. We evangelicals need it especially.

The Holiness of God If there is any doctrine that rivals God's sovereignty in importance it is the holiness of God. But do we have any sense or appreciation of the holiness of God in our churches today? David Wells writes that God's holiness weighs "lightly upon us." Why? Holi­ ness involves God's transcendence. It involves majesty, the authority of sovereign power, stateli­ ness or grandeur. It embraces the idea of God's~ sovereign majestic will, a will that is set upon pro~ ~. claiming himself to be who he truly is: God alone, who will not allow his glory to be diminished by another. Yet we live in an age when everything is exposed, where there are no mysteries and no sur­ prises, where even the most intimate personal secrets of our lives are blurted out over television to enter­ tain the masses. We are contributing to this frivolity 12

JULY/AUGUST 1996

when we treat God as our celestial buddy who in­ dulges us in the banalities of our day-to-day lives.

Perhaps the greatest problem of all in regard to our neglect of God's holiness is that holiness is a standard against which human sin is exposed, which is why in Scripture exposure to God always pro­ duces feelings of shame, guilt, embarrassment and terror in the worshiper. These are all painful e'mo­ tions, and we are doing everything possible in our culture to avoid them. One evidence of this is the way we have eliminated sin as a serious category for describing human actions. Karl Menninger asked the question years ago with his classic book, What­ ever Became of Sin? He answered his own question by arguing that when we banished God from our cultural landscape we changed sin into crime (be­ cause it is now no longer an offense against God but rather an offense against the state) and then we changed crimes into symptoms. Sin is now some­ thing that is someone else's fault. It is caused by my environment, my parents or my genes.

But once again, this is not simply a problem outside the church. We too have bought into today's therapeutic approach so that we no longer call our many and manifold transgressions sin or confront sin directly, calling for repentance before God. In­ stead we send our people to counselors to work ~ through why they are acting in an "unhealthy" man ­ ner, to find "healing."

David Wells claims that "holiness fundamen­ tally defines the character of God." But "tobbed of such a God, worship loses its awe, the truth of his Word loses its ability to compel, obedience loses its virtue, and the church loses its moral authority." It is time for the evangelical churches to recover the Bible's insistence that God is holy above all things and explore what that must mean for our individual and corporate lives. To begin with we need to preach from those great passages of the Bible in which people were exposed to God's awe-inspiring maj­ esty and holiness. If nothing else, we need to preach the Law without which preaching the Gospel loses its power and eventually even its meaning.

Reformation in Worship John R. W. Stott has written a book on some essen­ tials of evangelical religion in which he affirms "that true worship is the highest and noblest activity of which man, by the grace of God, is capable." But that highlights our weakness, namely, that for large segments of the evangelical church, perhaps the majority, true worship is almost non-existent.

A. W. Tozer, a wise pastor and perceptive Bible

modern REFORMATION

student, saw the problem nearly fifty years ago. He wrote in 1948, Thanks to our splendid Bible societies and to other ef­ fective agencies for the dissemination ofthe Word, there are today many millions ofpeople who hold 'right opin­ ions,' probably more than ever before in the history of the church. Yet I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great sections of the church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and for­ eign thing called the 'program.' This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for wor­ ship among us.

It is not unusual to read in books dealing with wor­

ship that worship is hard to define, but I do not find that actually to be the case. I think it is very easy to define. The problems-and there are many of them-are in different areas.

To worship God is to ascribe to him supreme worth, for he alone is supremely worthy. Therefore, the first thing to be said about worship is that it is to honor God. Worship also has bearing on the wor~ shiper. It changes him or her, which is the second important thing to be said about it. William Temple defined worship very well: "To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagina­ tion by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God." In defining worship, William Temple also gives us a good description of the true godliness throughout the Christian life.

John H. Armstrong is editor of a journal called Reformation and Revival, and he devoted the 1993 winter issue to worship. In the introduction Armstrong calls what passes for the worship of God today "Mc- Worship:' meaning that worship has been made common, cheap or trivial. What is the problem? Why is so little of that strong worship that characterized past ages seen among us? There are several reasons.

First, ours is a trivial age, and the church has een deeply affected by this pervasive triviality.

Ours is not an age for great thoughts or even great actions. Our age has no heroes. It is a technological age, and the ultimate objective of our popular tech­ nological culture is entertainment.

I argue that the chief cause of today's mindless­ ness is television, as I discussed earlier. Because it is so pervasive-the average American household has <_c -c.e\-isi on on more than seven hours a day-it is

programming us to think that the chief end of man is to be entertained. How can people whose minds are filled with the brainless babble of the evening sitcoms have anything but trivial thoughts when they come to God's house on Sundays morning if, in fact, they have thoughts of God at all? How can they appreciate his holiness if their heads are full of the moral muck of the afternoon talk shows? All they can look for in church, if they look for anything, is something to make them feel good for a short while before they go back to the television culture.

Second, ours is a self-absorbed, man-centered age, and the church has become sadly, even treasonously, self-centered. We have seen some­ thing like a Copernican revolution. In the past true worship may not have taken place all the time or even often. It may have been crowded out by the "program:' as Tozer maintained it was in his day.

But worship was at least understood to be the praise of God and to be something worth aiming at. Today we do not even aim at it, at least not much or in many places.

CLASSIC QUOTES It is a poor religion which makes a man willing only to walk in golden slippers in the sunshine; and such a religion is bound to fail in the time ofneed....Ifwe are going to avoid controversy, we might as well close our Bibles; for theNew Testament is a controversIal book practically from beginning to end. The New Testament writers and our Lord Himself presented truth in sharp contrast with error, and indeed th~t is the only way in which truth can be presented in any clear arid ringing way. ...The deepest comfort which God gives us is notfound...in our fellowship with those who love the gospel that we love, nor is it found in the observation of the defects of this unbelieving age.

Valuable are these considerations, and great is the assurance that they give to our souls. But there is one consideration that is more valuable, and one assurance that is greater still. It is found in the , overwhelming glory of the gospel itself.

When we attend to that glory, all the pomp and glitter oran unbelieving age seems like the blackness of night. How wonderful is the divine revelation in God's Word! How simple, yet how majestic its presentation of the being of God; how dark its picture ofthe guilt ofman; how bright against that background its promise of divine grace! And at the center of all in this incomparable Book there stands the figure of One in whose presence all wisdom seems to be but folly arid all goodness seems to be but filthy rags. If we have His favor, little shall we care henceforth for the favor of the world, and little shall we fear the opposition of an unbelieving age.

That favor is ours, brethren, without merit, without boasting, if we trust in Him. And in that favor we find th~ real source of our courage in these difficult days. Our deepest comfort is found not in the signs of the times but in the great and precious 'promises of God. J. Gresham Machen, "Facing The Facts Before God," 1931

JULY/AUGUST 1996

13

Pastor R. Kent Hughes, Senior Pastor of the Col­ lege Church in Wheaton, is on target when he says, The unspoken but increasingly common assumption of today's Christendom is that worship is primarily for us­ to meet our needs.

Such worship services are entertainment focused, and the worshipers are uncom­ mitted spectators who are silently grading the performance. From this perspective preaching becomes a homiletics of consensus-preaching to felt needs­ man's conscious agenda instead of God's. Such preaching is always topical and never textual. Biblical information is minimized, and the sermons are short and full of stories. Anything and everything that is sus­ pected of making the marginal attender uncomfortable is. removed from the service, whether it be a registration card or a 'mere' creed. Taken to the nth degree, this philosophy instills a tragic self-centeredness. That is, everything is judged by how it affects man. This terribly corrupts one's theology.

As I have been arguing all along, we are oblivious to God. In recent years, as I have traveled around the country speaking in various churches, I have no­ ticed the decreasing presence and in some cases the total absence of service elements that have always been associated with the worship of God. These desperately need to be recovered.

Whatever Happened to Prayer?

It is almost inconceivable to me that something that is called a worship service can be held without any significant prayer, but that is precisely what is hap­ pening. I mean really, what do you go to a church service for if it is not to pray? And yet, you can go to evangelical services filled with thousands of people and hear virtually no prayers at all. There is usually a very short prayer at the beginning of the service and another prayer at the time the offering is re­ ceived. But longer prayers-pastoral prayers - have all but vanished. Whatever happened to the ACTS acrostic in which "1\' stands for adoration, "c" for confession of sin, "T" for thanksgiving, and "s" for supplication? Now and then a few supplications are tacked onto the offering prayer, but most all other prayers have been thrown out. How can we say we ,~ are worshipping when we do not even pray? ' '1

The Reading ofthe Word The reading of any substantial portion of the Bible is also vanishing. In the Puritan age ministers regu­ larly read one long chapter of the Old Testament and one chapter of the New Testament in every service.

In some services I've attended there are no Scripture readings at all, other times it is a reading of only one 14

JULY/A UGCST 1996

or two verses. Sometimes it just precedes the ser­ mon and very often it is only a pretext because the sermon has nothing whatsoever to do with the pas- .­ sage. I'm not talking about liberal churches, mind you. I'm talking about the lack of Scripture readings in our evangelical churches. We must again recover the apostle's command to "devote [ourselves] to the public reading of Scripture" (1 Tim. 4: 13).

The Exposition of the Word In this television age of ours, preachers are expected to be charming and entertaining. And so your ser­ mons have to be shortened because people have short attention spans, they are funny if they can be, and you have to eliminate any theological material that would cause people to think, and you most cer­ tainly do not bring up negative theological material like sin because that makes people feel uncomfort­ able. Preachers want to be liked, and in order to be liked today you have to be entertaining. I am re­ minded of Jesus' harsh words to the Pharisees about wanting ·to be popular, seeing the smiles from the folks in the market place. As our Loid said, "They have their reward." But for pastors who are looking for more than smiles, and parishioners who are looking for more than to have their ears tickled, our Lord gave a very simple explanation of what the exposition of the Word is really all about. "You search the Scriptures thinking that in them you have eter­ nallife: yet these are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). The preaching of God's Word is about Christ, and him crucified. This central message is food for our souls. But we are settling for junk food.

Confession of sin Who confesses sin today-anywhere, not to men­ tion in church as God's humble, repentant people? It is not happening, because there is so little awareness of both God and sin. Instead of coming to church to admit our transgressions and seek forgiveness, we come to church to be told that we are really all right, we want to be affirmed.

Hymns . .

One of the saddest features of contemporary wor­ ship is that the great hymns of the church are on the way out. They are not gone entirely, but they are going. And in their place have come trite jingles that have more in common with contemporary advertis­ ing ditties than the psalms. Now, not all of them are bad and I would even argue that there is a place for some of them, like when you're having a fun night with the Jr. High. But what place do they have in

modern REFORMATION

i

"-<..

serious worship? The problem here is not so much the style of the music, though trite words fit best with trite tunes and harmonies. Rather it is with the content of the songs. The old hymns expressed the theology of the church in profound and perceptive ways and with winsome memorable language.

Today's songs reflect only our shallow or non -exis­ tent theology and do almost nothing to elevate one's thoughts about God. Worst of all are songs that merely repeat a trite idea, word or phrase Over and over again. Songs like this are not worship, though they may give the churchgoer a religious feeling. They are mantras, which belong more in a gathering of New Agers than among the worshipping people of the triune God. Reformation in The Church The disaster that has overtaken the church in our day in regard to worship is not going to be cured overnight. But we ought to make a beginning, and one way to begin is to study what Jesus said about worship. He had been traveling with his disciples and had stopped at the well of Sychar while the disciples went into the city to buy food. A woman came to draw water and Jesus got into a discussion with her. As the discussion progressed he touched on her loose moral life, revealing his insight into her way of living, and she tried to change the topic by asking him a religious question. "Sir;' she said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers wor­ shipped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem" (John 4:20).

Jesus' answer is the classic biblical statement of what worship is all about: "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we wor­ ship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must wor­ ship in spirit and in truth" (vv. 21-24). There are several important things about this.

First, there is but one true God, and true wor­ ship must be of this true God and none other. This is the point of Jesus saying that the Samaritans did not know whom they were worshipping but that the Jews did, that"salvation is from the Jews." He meant that the true God is the God who had revealed him­ self to Israel at Mount Sinai and who established the only acceptable way of worshipping him, which is

what much of the Old Testament is about. Other worship is invalid, because it is worship of an imagi­ nary god.

We need to think about this carefully because we live in an age in which everyone's opinion about anything, especially his or her opinion about God, is thought to be as valid as any other. That is pa­ tently impossible. If there is a God, which is basic to any discussion about worship, then God is what he is. That is, he is one thing and not another. So the question is not whether any or all opinions are valid but rather what this one true existing God is like.

Who is he? What is his name? What kind of a God is he? Christianity teaches that this one true God has made himself known through creation, at Mount Sinai, through the subsequent history of the Jewish people, and in the incarnation, life, death and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ. In addi­ tion' he has given us a definitive revelation of what

JULY/AUGUST 1996

15

he is like and what he requires of us in the Bible. So that is the point at which we start. There is one God, and he has revealed himself to us. That is why there can be no true worship of God without a faithful teaching of the Bible.

Second, the only way this one true God can be truly worshipped is "in spirit and in truth." Jesus was indicating a change in worship when he said this.

Before this time worship was centered in the temple at Jerusalem. Every Jew had to make his way there three times annually for the festivals. What took place in the local synagogues was more like a Bible school class than a worship service. But this has been changed. Jesus has come. He has fulfilled all that ..the temple worship symbolized. Therefore, until the end of the age worship is not to be by loca­ tion, either in Jerusalem or Samaria, but in spirit and according to the truth of God. Worship should not be confused with feelings.

It is true that the worship of God will affect us, and one thing it will frequently affect is our emotions. At times tears will fill our eyes as we become aware of God's great love and grace toward us. Yet it is pos­ sible for our eyes to fill with tears and for there still to be no real worship simply because we have not come to a genuine awareness of God and a fuller praise of God's nature and ways.

True worship occurs only when we actually meet with God and find ourselves praising him for his love, wisdom, beauty, truth, holiness, compassion, mercy, grace, power, and all his other attributes.

the Mount and the ethical teaching of the epistles. It is all needed. In short, we need to recover what it means to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and to i~ "love your neighbor as yourself" since "all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two command­ ments" (Matt. 22:37-40). We need to live out our faith, not to obtain grace, but because we have' ob­ tained God's grace in Christ.

To God Alone Be Glory This article began with God, and it is appropriate that it end with God, too, for a recovery of the sense of the reality, presence, will and glory of God is what it is about. It is significant that Paul's conclusion to the great doctrinal section of the book of Romans ends with a doxology. The last words are: "For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen" (Rom. 11:36).

Moreover, after the closing application section of the letter, the entire epistle ends similarly: "To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ!

Amen" (Rom. 16:27). I would argue that the reason the evangelical church is so weak today and why we do not experience renewal, though we talk about our need for it, is that the glory of God has been largely forgotten by the church. We are not likely to , see revival again until the truths that exalt and glo­ rify God in salvation are recovered. How can we expect God to move among us until we can again truthfully say, "To God alone be the glory"?

The world cannot say this. It is concerned for its Reformation in Life own glory instead. Like Nebuchadnezzar, it says, Surveys of contemporary Christian conduct tell us "Look at this great Babylon I have built by my power that most Christians do not act significantly differ­ and for my glory." Arminians cannot say it. They ent from non-Christian people.

This is not can say, "to God be glory;' but they cannot say, "to surprising since little contemporary preaching God alone be glory;' since Arminian theology takes teaches anything that might actually make a differ­ some of the glory of God in salvation and gives it to ence. But we obviously should be different, at least if man. Even those in the Reformed camp cannot say we take the Bible seriously. Christians are to be the it if what they are chiefly trying to do in their minis­ new humanity, a community of those who tries is build their own kingdoms and become "love... God, even to the contempt of self" as op­ important people on the religious scene. We will posed to those who "love... self, even to the contempt never experience renewal in doctrine, worship and of God" (Augustine). life until {Ve are honestly able to say, "to God alone be Where should we start? The scope of this sub-"" glory" in all that we do. ject is analogous to that of the reformation of the-\ To those who do not know God that is perhaps church in doctrine with which this article began. I the most foolish of all statements. But to those who asked what doctrines needed to be recovered, and I do know God, to those who are being saved, it is not answered "all the major doctrines of all the creeds." only a right statement, it is a happy, true, inescap­ Here I ask, what areas of Christian life and conduct able, necessary and highly desirable confession. ~ , need to be recovered, and the answer is: all areas of Dr. James M. Boice is chairman of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and is life both for ourselves as individuals and the church. pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He is the author of numerous books promoting the Reformed faith including Mind Renewal in a Mindless Age, We need the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on Amazing Grace, and his latest release Two Cities, Two Loves. .

16

JULY/AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

THE SALT

01 THE EARTH

ASermon by Martin Niemoller, 1937 But, brothers and sisters, that is not our concern, it is the Lord Jesus's. We have only to see that the salt does not lose its savor, that it does not lose its power. What does that mean?

The problem with which we have to deal is how to save the Christian community at this moment from the danger of being thrown into the same pot as the world: that is to say, it must keep itself distinct from the rest of the world by virtue of its "saltiness." How does Christ's community differ from the world?

"You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the We have come through a time of peril-and we are not world." When I read these words today, they became really finished with it yet-when we were told: "Everything will new to me, and I had to go back and reread them; and I be quite different when you a's a Church cease to have such had a feeling of inward relief when I found the words an entirely different flavor, when you cease to practice which I knew preceded them and which I had also long preaching which is the opposite of what the world around known theoretically to be in the fifth chapter of Matthew: you preaches. You really must suit your message to the "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute world; you really must bring your creed into harmony you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for with the present. Then you will again be come influential my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad for great is your and powerful." reward in heaven." And then it goes on as though there Dear brethren, that means that the salt loses its savor. It were no gap between the persecution of the community of is not for us to worry about how the salt is employed, but Jesus Christ and "Ye are the salt of the earth; ye are the light to see that it does not lose its savor; to apply an old slogan of the world;' but as though they were directly connected. I of four years ago: "The Gospel must remain the Gospel; the ' . must say that in this sequence of ideas contained in this Church must remain the Church; the Creed must remain passage of the Bible-which I have known since I was a the Creed; Evangelical Christians must remain Evangelical boy-I today realized for the first time that the Lord Jesus Christians." And we must not-for Heaven's sake-make a Christ is telling His disciples: "You will be reviled and German Gospel out of the Gospel; we must not-for persecuted, you will be slandered and that falsely;' and Heaven's sake-make a German Church out of Christ's immediately He adds: "Ye are the salt of the earth; ye are Church; we must not-for God's sake-make German the light of the world."

Christians out of Evangelical Christians!

Yet, brothers and sisters, there is something there that That is our responsibility: "Ye are the salt of the earth." does not fit in with our troubles. "Ye are the salt of the It is precisely when we bring the salt into accord and earth." The Lord Jesus Christ does not mean, however, that harmony with the world that we make it impossible for the we are to take care to distribute the salt among the people, Lord Jesus, through His Church, to do anything in our but He draws our attention to another responsibility: "But nation. But if the salt remains salt, we may trust Him with if the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?" it: He will use it in such a way that it becomes a blessing.

Our responsibility is not how we shall pass on the salt, but Dear friends, it is i'l1 our service and in this obligation we are to see that the salt really is and continues to be salt, not to cease our efforts on behalf of the preaching of the so that the Lord Jesus Christ-who is, as one might say, Word that. the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ is fulfilled to the cook in charge of this great brew-can utilize the salt us. We are the city on the hill which has been promised for His purposes. that even the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. ..

Brothers and sisters, in reply to the question of whether Brothers and sisters, the city of God will not be blown it is possible for the Lord Jesus Christ to render practical down by the storm. It will not be conquered even though service to our people today I must say: I see no possible the enemy take its outer walls. The city of God will stand, way in which service can be carried out today, among the because its strength comes from on high, because the Lamb people, or in which the salt can be used among the people. '-­ is with it, and so it will remain firmly established. :f\,.)

As a leader of the Young Reformation Movement, and a founder of the Confessing Movement in Germany, Pastor Martin Niemoller realized the power of God's Word as the church's only weapon against evil. Furthermore, his defense of historic Reformation beliefs was not an exercise in the preservation of antiquities, but rested on his confidence that these truths were relevant at all times. In a letter from prison he wrote, "I did not fight merely for the Lutheran theologumena but for the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, for the attacks today are not ultimately against Luther; and if Calvinism is decried nowadays, then it is not Calvin who is meant but the Lord Jesus Christ."

In 1937, Niemoller was arrested by the Gestapo and was placed in Berlin 's Moabit Prison until his case came totrial eight months later. But after he served his sentence, Adolf Hitler furiously declared him his "personal prisoner" and sent him to the con ce ntration camps of Sachsenhausen and Dachau until liberated by the Allies.

After the war, he became known as "Pastor Niemoller" around the world, as he warned of the lessons of the Holocaust and the church's compromise. The following is an excerpt from one of this pastor's most famous sermons .

JULY/AUGUST 1996

17

I

magine founding a church on sound doctrine only to receive reports that the body had become seduced by a group of self-appointed leaders who had perverted the Gospel itself. This was precisely the ~ plight St. Paul faced in nearly every church organized under his apostolic supervision. No more pathetic is the pastoral grief of the Apostle to the Gentiles than in his Galatian epistle, probably written between 49-55 A.D. as a circular letter to a cluster of congregations in the region of what is now central Turkey. A mixed group ofJews and Gentiles, the Galatian church seems to have cheerfully embraced the Gospel of God's free grace in Christ, but like the Corinthians, who wanted to add pagan wisdom and signs and wonders to the Gospel, the Galatians were now under the spell of certain "agitators." These men wanted to return the Christians to legal bondage, even to the point of re­ quiring Gentile converts to be circumcised in addition to their baptism. Paul himself was hardly without Jewish credentials, as he reminded the Philippians, but he gave up his own claims to righ­ teousness in'order to be clothed in Christ's perfect holiness (Phil. 3:1-9).

Although the Corinthians were in acute moral an­ archy' Paul speaks to them as a pastor correcting his erring sheep. But when it came to the very Gospel itself, the Apostle becomes uncharacteristically an­ gry. After a brief greeting he immediately declares, r , I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be ac­ cursed (Gal. 1:7-9).

Evidently, the agitators were motivated by a desire to attract the Jews of the Diaspora, but Paul insists that there is no "seeker-friendly" aim that can justify another gospel: "For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would dot be a bondservant of Christ" (v.10).

Rather than rehearsing the familiar themes of this epistle, I want to turn our attention briefly to the discussion in chapter 4 of the two covenants, typified by two mothers (Hagar and Sarah) and two moun­ tains (Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion). This will serve, then, ' as the background as we briefly trace the Gospel's rise and fall to the present.

Here, in verses 21-31, Paul argues that there is a covenant of works that begets slaves and a covenant of 18

JULYIA.UGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

grace the gives birth to sons and daughters. "Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise;' he argues. "But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now." No Jew needs to be reminded of the ancient rivalry that persists even to our own day between the descendants of Ishmael and those of Isaac. Although the persecution became political and ethnic rivalry, it was originally based on theology: Isaac was chosen by God to be given by grace alone to Abraham and Sarah, while Ishmael was the product of Abraham's vain effort to secure an heir by his own efforts, apart from the promise.

This sibling rivalry actually goes back to the very beginning of the bibli:=al story. Cain, you recall, was jealous of Abel for being accepted by God while he was himself rejected. Wanting to approach God on his own terms instead of by bringing the bloody sac­ rifice of the first-born from the flock, Cain took the way of works rather than grace; he would not come through the blood of the sacrificial lamb. Jesus him­ self refers to Abel, therefore, as the church's first martyr and implies that the Pharisees themselves are sons of Cain (Lk. 11 :46-51).

Remarkably, Paul tells the Galatians who wanted to subordinate Christianity to Judaism, "For these are the two covenants: one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar-for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, for she is in bondage with her children" (vv.24-5). As Jesus told the Phari­ sees who prided themselves on being sons of Abraham that they were actually sons of the devil (J n.

8:44), so here Paul the former Pharisee and persecu­ tor of the church says that the current city of Jerusalem actually corresponds not to God's Holy City (Mt. Zion), but is rather in bondage with her children. In short, all who rely on works-even if they are Jews by descent-are children of Hagar and descendants of Ishmael.

But the line I especially want to highlight here is in verse 29: "But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now." Paul is arguing that the current debate in the Galatian church over a Gospel of pure unmerited favor versus a righteousness that comes by law-keeping corresponds to the age-old dispute between the descendants of Ishmael and those of Isaac: two covenants, two mothers, two mountains. This is the ancient war between the Seed of the Woman and the serpent's allies, as Satan at­ tempts to deceive. He does this not through atheism, but through religion; not by inspiring immorality, but by inculcating self-righteousness and self-reli­ ance. Somewhere Donald Barnhouse has said that if

Satan really were to take over a city, the following would happen: the bars would close, no alcohol would be sold; there would be happy marriages and well-behaved children, no crime-and everyone would be in churches on Sunday where Christ is not preached. In all of human history, therefore, the "story behind the story" is a tale of two gospels, one of works and the other of grace.

With this in mind, therefore, the issues of our present day come into sharper focus. If the exegesis I have just offered is indeed sound and accurate, then what should keep us from concluding that every de­ cline in church history can be expected to take this same shape? If we examine church history, that is precisely what we discover.

The Monk & The Bishop A British monk who came to Rome in the latter years of the fourth century, Pelagius was an austere man who was greatly distressed by the immorality that characterized the city. Launching a movement of moral reform, Pelagius began preaching perfect obe­ dience and insisted that it was perfectly possible for us to fulfill this in our natural state. Why would God have demanded something that was impossible? Al­ though a monk, Pelagius was a layman who found a companion in the lawyer Coelestius. Sometime after 410, when Augustine's Confessions was being widely read, Pelagius and his partner recoiled at the language especially of the African bishop's prayer, "Give what you command: command what you will."

Pelagius began to attack Augustine for what he regarded as a weak view of free will and human re­ sponsibility. After all, the Bishop of Hippo believed in predestination and later in his ministry argued vehemently against free will and the ability of sinners to do anything acceptable before God apart from grace. Coelestius applied as a ministerial candidate but was accused of heresy and was excommunicated by a local synod in 412. Among his false teachings were, according to the synod, a denial of original sin (Adam's sin affects us only as a bad example) and the belief that fallen men and women can rest,ore themsel~es by their own free~ will and effort.

With Pelagius, Coelestius insisted upon the notion of utriusque partis possibilitas-the possibility of going either way, in terms of righteousness leading to life or unrighteousness leading to death.

Augustine devoted much of his This sixth century mosaic is the oldest surviving portrait of Augustine, from the Lateran Library in Rome. life and ministry to the defeat of JULY/AUGUST 1996

19

grace, with some councils siding with the accused and others approving the decision of his superior.

Through political maneuvering, Gottschalk was con­ Canon 3. If anyone says that the grace of God can be conferred as a result demned in 860 and died while his case was being of human prayer, but that it is not grace itself which makes us pray to God, he contradicts the prophet Isaiah, or the Apostle who says the same thing: 'I appealed to Rome. Claudius , Bishop of Turin, carried was found by them that did not seek me: 1appeared openly to them that asked Gottschalk's fallen torch, however, and was even more not after me' (Rom.10:20; Is.65:1). radical in condemning superstition, the reverence of Canon 4. If anyone maintains that God awaits our will to be cleansed from images, seeking the intercession of the saints, and sin, but does not confess that even our will to be cleansed comes to us through complained that the papacy was becoming despotic. the working of the Holy Spirit, he resists the Holy Spirit himself who says through Solomon, 'The will is prepared by the Lord' (Prov. 8:35), and the As Latourette describes his position, Claudius de­ salutary word of the Apostle, 'It is God who worketh in you both to will and clared that "he is not to be called apostolic who sits in to accomplish' (Phi1.2:13). the seat of the apostle, but he who does the work of an Canon 5. If anyone says that not only the increase of faith but also its apostle."3 beginning and the very desire for faith, by which we believe in Him who Not everything went south during the Middle justifies the ungodly and come to the regeneration of holy baptism-if anyone says that this belongs to us by nature and not by a gift of grace, thatis, by the Ages. After all, Peter Abelard was condemned in 1141 inspiration of the Holy Spirit amending Our will and turning it from unbelief for the opinion that "free will as such suffices to per­ to faith and from goodness to godliness, it is proof that he is opposed to the form something good;' and the Council of Reims in teaching of the Apostles, for blessed Paul says, 'Being confident of this very 1148 declared, ''Apart from Christ there is no merito­ thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it until the day rious action."4 Granted, it is not sufficiently biblical, of Christ Jesus' (Phil.1:6). . with its admission of the notion of merit, but it was a this heresy and a consensus was reached, as decisive official defeat once more of Pelagianism.

Pelagianism was condemned by the Gatholic Church Gregory of Rimini (d. 1358) was an outstanding at the councils of Mile vis (416) and Carthage (418) as medieval theologian whose commentary on well as by Popes Innocent I and Zosimus, and the Lombard's Sentences (the standard theological text in Emperor Honorius. . the university) was pointed out by Martin Luther over a century and a half later as a major influence. In his How Dark Was The Medieval Age? Leipzig Disputation in 1519, Luther declared, "It is Throughout the Middle Ages, however, the age-old certain that the so -called 'Modern Theologians,' in r ..,J debate continued. As Heiko Oberman reminds us of this point of grace and free will, agree with the Scotists ­ this period, "Pure Augustinians are as hard to find as and Thomists except for one whom all condemn, Gre­ pure Pelagians ... And throughout history Augustini­ gory of Rimini .... Also these theologians made it anism would be suspect for undermining the moral absolutely and convincingly clear that they are worse significance of Christianity." 2 Gottschalk, a ninth­ than the Pelagians." While Luther's assessment of the century monk, began reading the writings of Paul and medieval scholastics may have been excessive (after Augustine and became the center of two controver­ all, Rimini was still respected in some circles and sies. Denying transubstantiation in favor of a view Aquinas himself was basically Augustinian), it does that is rather close to that held by Calvin seven centu­ point up the fact that "Modern Theologians" is often ries hence, Gottschalk also taught double the epithet attached to those who distort the Gospel. predestination (i.e., the view that God has predes­ In the late medieval period, the so-called Via tined not only some to salvation, but the rest to Moderna (Modern Way), especially led by William of judgment), particular redemption (i.e., Christ's death Occam and Gabriel Biel, rejected the doctrine of elec­ for the elect alone) and effectual grace. The doctrines tion and taught that one actually merits grace de we common identify with the so -called "Five Points of congruo. That is, God accepts the believer's works as if Calvinism" were actually held by strict Augustinians they were meritorious. In this sense, final justifica­ during the Middle Ages. (Even on the extent of the tion is ,merited by the person who cooperates atonement, if my Lutheran brethren will indulge my sufficiently with grace. This became the prevailing liberty, the standard medieval formula was that'; view among the theologians at the Council of Trent, Christ's death is "sufficient for the world, efficient for ' where the Reformers' defense of the Gospel was offi­ the elect alone." This is exactly what was endorsed cially condemned. centuries later at the Reformed Synod of Dort in But there was another movement during the late 1619.)

Middle Ages: the Via Augustini moderna- that is, the Nevertheless, Gottschalk was imprisoned for his Modern Augustinian Way. Among the leaders of the views-especially for his emphasis on divine repro­ medieval Augustinians was none other than the Arch­ bation-and during his incarceration a significant bishop of Canterbury Thomas Bradwardine, a vi~tim controversy broke out once more over the nature of of the Black Death in 1349. Bradwardine's autobio ­ EXCE RPT S

F R O M :

The Council of Orange, 529 AD

20

JULY/AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

graphical account of how he came to understand the Gospel of grace is helpful in our own day:

of knowing or wanting or doing good. For this barren man God is sheer fear." Thus, says Staupitz,

Idle and a fool in God's wisdom, I was misled by an unorthodox error at a time when 1 was still pursuing philosophical studies. Sometimes 1 went to listen to the theologians discussing this matter of grace and free will, and the school of Pelagius seemed to me nearest the truth .. .. ln the philosophical faculty 1sel­ dom heard a reference to grace, except for some ambiguous remarks. What 1 heard day in and day out was that we are masters of our own free acts, that ours is the choice to act well or badly, to have virtues or sins and much more along this line .... But every time 1 listened to the Epistle reading in church and heard how Paul magnified grace and belittled free will-as is the case in Romans 9, 'It is obviously not a question of human will or effort, but of divine mercy,' and its many parallels-grace displeased me, ungrateful as I was ... .However , even before I trans­ ferred to the faculty of theology, the text mentioned came to me as a beam of grace and [I was] captured by a vision of the truth ... .That is why 1 express my gratitude to Him who has given me this grace as a free gift. 5

[Christ] makes our sins His own. Just as the Chris­ tian is just through the righteousness of Christ, so Christ is unrighteous and sinful through the guilt of the Christian. Whereas the Jew would say 'blas­ phemy' and the Greek 'madness' the believer says, 'You are right.' The Jew is affronted, the Greek ridi­ cules, the believer rejoices ... Nor should it escape you that the suffering of the Son of God is sufficient for all, though it was not for all but for many that His blood was poured out.

Bradwardine not only expressed his gratitude, but defended the gift that had brought him such liberty by writing, The Cause of God Against the New

Pelagians. \""

We finally arrive at Johann von Staupitz, Luther's superior in the Augustinian monastery, whose most important work is titled, Eternal Predestination and Its Execution in Time .6 Election, he says, is by grace alone. "No one elicits or merits this grace, nor is this grace due to merits foreknown by God, nor to good use of reason in the future foreseen by God, nor to merits already performed. Rather, the sole source of this grace is the most kind and generous will of God." So firm is this election that "Christ is put under obli­ gation [by the Father] to save the elect:' who are "called without fail in their lifetime unto faith by God's powerful will... Provided the exterior call is ef­ ficacious, then you certainly say that all who are called will doubtless be justified." The will is help­ less, left to itself. "She has neither the knowledge nor the will to be freed from this, let alone to free herself."

Nor does God forgive and justify because of anything he sees in us: "For the gifts and call of God are not the result of penitence." Because Christ perfectly satis­ fied the Law, "God owes to the elect not only the call but also justification ...This happens at that moment when the sinner's eyes are opened again by the grace of God so that he is able to know the true God by , faith." But this is "nothing but grace, and flows from the merits of Christ. .. Our works do not, nor can they, bring us to this state, since man's nature is incapable

Thus, "God loves the elect with a lasting passion."

It is only this Gospel that can not only make us ac­ ceptable to God, but God acceptable to us, Staupitz writes. "How great are the joys of the heart, the exul­ tation, the jubilations which come from this touch!" 7 As Oberman reminds us, Luther on more than one occasion acknowledged his debt to Staupitz: "I re­ ceived everything from Dr. Staupitz:' he said. 8

The Reformation While Luther appreciated Augustine, Rimini and Staupitz for their clear (and one can even say, at least of that triad, increasingly clear) defense of sola gratia, it would be the German monk himself who would recover sola fide-and therefore the true brilliance of grace. After giving all the praise to God's glorious grace in election over against free will, Augustinian­ ism still generally saw justification as the movement of the soul from sickness to health rather than as a legal verdict that is declared from the judge concern­ ing the criminal as criminal. This was due in part to the influence of Greek philosophy, whether Aristotle's physics (an emphasis on movement from lesser to greater bodies and weakness to strength) or a repristinated version of Plato's rationalistic mysti-cism.

The Gospel is foolishness to Greeks, but the medieval theo­ logians kept trying to make it less so.

But it was also due to a cor­ rupted translation of the New Testament. Luther himself was in debt to the noted Ren~is­ sance humanis\ Erasmus for discovering dis (.repancies be­ tween the Latin Vulgate (Jerome's translation upon which the church had de­ pended) and the Greek New Testament. The most glaring, at least from Luther's point of view, was the erroneous transA Portrait of Martin Luther by Lucas Cranach the E[der, [526 JULY/AUGUST [9 96

21

lation of the Greek word "to justify." The original Greek word, diakaiosune, which means "to declare righteous;' was instead translated with the Latin verb iustificare, which means "to make righteous." Thus, justification was seen as a process of becoming or being made righteous rather than a deClarative event in a 'c ourtroom. With the aid of these advances in biblical scholarship by loyal sons of the church, justi­ fication was now rightly recognized not as an infused habitus (i.e., new disposition), but as a gift of right standing. In other words, Luther finally realized that justification was a legal, not a moral, change.

After Luther, nothing would be the same. Al­ though the "evangelicals" -those recovering the Gospel-would be sadly divided into Lutheran and Reformed camps, with further divisions along the way, there was never a possibility of going back. Not until 1564, the year of Calvin's death, had Rome offi­ cially condemned the Gospel. Indeed, in council after council and standard papal decisions the Gospel was defended against both Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians, but the church can err and did err when it promul­ gated the Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent, condemning the Gospel of free justification and in­ stead embracing a gospel of merit, which is no gospel.

Furthermore, Rome put the evangelicals to the flames of the Inquisition. Again Paul's words become haunt­ ingly familiar: "But as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born accord­ ing to the Spirit, even so it is now" (Gal. 4:29). The rivalry between Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, continued unabated.

For those who wonder how the church could have strayed so far from the Gospel en masse, we need only review the history of the church since the Old Testa­ ment times. In Deuteronomy 8 and 9, God has to once again remind his people that they were chosen because of something good in God, not in them. Jesus repeatedly charges that the church of his day had be­ come so corrupt that it was no longer a true church: the nation had abandoned the Gospel promise en masse. The church must never forget our Lord's warn­ ing: "And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth?" (Lk. 18:7-8). As we have seen, Paul marvels that even the New Testament churches are so soon abandoning the GospeL If such declension can come during the ministry of an Apostle, surely the church is always, like the indi­ vidual believer, "prone to wander. .. prone to leave the One" she loves. But if even an Apostle such as himself, says Paul, or an angel from heaven, should issue de­ crees or teachings contrary to the Gospel of free 22

JULY/AUGUST 1996

justification by Christ's imputed righteousness, "let him be accursed." If this can be said concerning an Apostle himself, then surely it may be said of one who makes unwarranted claims to that status.

But when the moment came to take a stand for the purity of the Gospel, God has always had his church and his successors to the apostles and prophets­ those whose apostolic succession was determined not by clerical descent but by the faithful Ministry of the Word, come what may. Are we willing to do this in the (post)modern age?

Sola Gratia and the Modern Age Criticisms one could have made of a modernist in 1925 can now as easily be made of many conserva­ tives. According to the infamous slogan of the National Council of Churches, "The church follows the world's agenda;' but evangelicals show, by their slavish devotion to popular culture, that they too have "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image ..." (Ro. 1:22). George Barna, for instance, urges us, "It is critical that we keep in mind a funda­ mental principle of Christian communication: the audience, not the message, is sovereign."9 This senti­ ment did not escape the notice of Newsweek when it pointed out that, "This is the 90's, an age of mix 'em, match 'em spirituality... where brand loyalty is a doc­ trine of the past and the customer is king." "In their effort to accomodate;' the article went on to say, "many clergy have simply airbrushed sin out of their language."lo Such criticisms could just as easily have been leveled against the popular Modernist preacher Harry Emerson Fosdick seventy years ago.

H. Richard Niebuhr laid open the barrenness of liberalism in his clever description of its essential message: ''A God without wrath brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross." II If we think about it, that characterizes much of the evan­ gelical diet these days, although it was intended to describe liberalism in the first half of this century.

As in the medieval church, often salus Christus­ Christ Alone!-today is pushed aside for a host of reasons. Either people are more interested in popular topics or in personal self-improvement, so moralism qften prevails in preaching. It is often couched in pjous phrases like, "life, not doctrine." Even more disconcerting than the subtleties of civil religion are the findings of James D. Hunter, George Gallup, and George Barna in this regard. According to recent studies, 35% of America's evangelical seminarians deny that faith in Christ is absolutely necessary and the same percentage of the entire adult evangelical population agrees: "God will save all good people when they die, regardless of whether they've trusted

modern R EFORMATION

in Ch rist." 12 Of course, the last statistic rests on the premise, widely plausible in our society, that human beings are basically good, which receives an approv­ ing nod from 77% of America's evangelicals. 13 The sentiment expressed in the medieval slogan, facienti quod in se est Deus non denegat gratiam ("God will not deny his grace to those who do that which lies within their power") is endorsed by 87% ofAmerican evangelicals, that number rising with frequency of involvement in evangelical churches. 14 But all too often, it is secular writers who raise these questions, as in a Newsweek's article whose title repeated that of a secular psychologist: "Whatever Happened to Sin?" In this article, writer Kenneth Woodward points out that "Ninety percent of Americans say they believe in God. Yet the urgent sense of personal sin has all but disappeared in the current upbeat style in American religion." 15 How did we come to this pass? Is it simply that we are coming belatedly to the conclusions championed earlier this century by the modernists or were the seeds of destruction sown earlier? Sadly, both liber­ alism and evangelicalism may arguably share the same parentage in frontier revivalism. Much of American revivalism-since the Second Great Awak­ ening-is responsible for a Pelagian renaissance even before the arrival of Protestant Liberalism. It was not Feuerbach, but Finney, who declared, There is nothing in religion beyond the ordinary powers of nature . It consists entirely in the right exercise of the powers of nature. It is just that and nothing else. When men become religious, they are not enabled to put forth exertions which they were unable before to put forth. They only exert powers which they had before, in a different way, and use them for the glory of God. So, for Finney, even revival (the corporate conver­ sion of sinners) is "not a miracle, nor dependent on a miracle, in any sense. It is a purely philosophical result of the right use of the constituted means-as much so as any other effect produced by the applica­ tion of means." This meant, said Finney, that the evangelist could only be successful by employing "powerful excitements." 16 A man who championed views that have been con­ sistently regarded as heretical by both Roman Catholics and Protestants is regarded as a hero even by fundamentalist Protestants in our day. Evangeli­ cal ism has inherited this pragmatic and naturalistic tendency of America's Counter- Reformation, so that when one of to day's evangelical theologians declares that"... we have finally made peace with the culture of modernity:'I ? it is not simply the capitulation of con­ servatives to liberalism but of Protestants generally

to an incipient Pelagianism that has been present in revivalism since the beginning of the nineteenth cen­ tury. Ironically, many conservative Christians who decry naturalism in the wider culture, especially in science, nevertheless imitate Finney's religious natu­ ralism in evangelism, worship, and their view of the church's role in society.

In a 1994 cover story titled "The Search for the Sacred:' Newsweek made mention of "seekers who move beyond conventional boundaries, to a kind of cafeteria religion:' concluding that this was the prod­ uct of"a very American theology." 18 In this "cafeteria" approach to truth that dominates our age, Christians may nod their heads at perfectly orthodox, biblical statements and then go on thinking, speaking and acting as if something else altogether were true. We need to recover antithesis-that is, the ability to say, with the Reformers and the ancient church, not only, "We confess:' but, "Therefore, we condemn." On no other truth is this "antithesis" more important than "grace alone." Paul employed just this sort of antith­ esis when he declared, "If then election is by grace, it is not of works. Otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Ro. 11 :6). "It is not the result of human decision or effort, but of God's mercy" (Ro. 9: 16). This is the sort of clarity ("if this, not that") we desperately need in this hour. Only then can the salt retain its "saltiness."

We have already seen how deeply committed Charles Finney was to Pelagian convictions. We should therefore not be surprised to find him reject­ ing sola fide as well, boldly declaring that this doctrine, like original sin and the substitution­ ary atonement, was "impossible and absurd." 19 Finney writes, As has been already said, there can be no justification in a legal or forensic sense, but upon the ground of universal, perfect, and uninterrupted obedi­ ence to law .... The doctrine of an imputed righteous­ ness, or that Christ's obedience to the law was ac­ counted as our obedience, is founded on a most false and "­ nonsensical assumption .

Charles G. Finney, 1792-1 875

--~

That "assumptIdn" is nothing less than the substitu­ tionary atonement. "The doctrine of an imputed righteousness :' he said, "is a different gospel." 20 Fuller Seminary's Russell Spittler writes, "But can it really be true-saint and sinner simultaneously? I wish it were so ... Is this correct: 'I don't need to work at becoming. I'm already declared to be holy. No sweat needed? It looks wrong to me, I hear moral demands JULY/AUGUST

1996 23

in Scripture... Still, I'm grateful for Luther's phrase and for his descendants ... But simul iustus et peccator?

I hope it's true! I simply fear it's not."21 Clark Pinnock is so uncomfortable with an objective justification that he favors "the possibility of a doctrine of purga­ tory." He says, "Our Wesleyan and Arminian thinking may need to be extended in this direction."22 This is not to suggest that such eccentric com­ ments would be endorsed by a significant majority of evangelicals, but it is to suggest that the so-called "evangelical megashift" described by Christianity Today in 1990 (February 19), is drawing deeply, if indirectly, on the incipient Pelagianism within Ameri­ can Protestantism and the modern conscious­ ness : This megashift includes a "new-model" evangelicalism that is critical of preaching that is con­ cerned with divine wrath, original and personal sin, a vicarious atonement and forensic justification. 23 In­ sufficiently "relational" and sensItIve to the experiences of contemporary men and women, the classical evangelical paradigm, we are told, tends to offend unnecessarily. The triumph of the therapeutic within evangelicalism is acutely illustrated in Ray Anderson's warning:

operating theology.

While the entire revivalistic tradition cannot be condemned as explicitly Pelagian, it has tended to confuse these issues considerably, at least in its more popular forms. The modern consciousness domi­ nated by pragmatism, consumerism, subjectivism, moralism, sentimentalism, and other "isms;' has more to do with the real life and ministry of the church today than any theological perspective. In fact, they require evangelicals to be anti -theological. Never­ theless, I hope we have seen that whenever the Gospel gets lost in the translation from one generation to the next, the form that spiritual decline always takes is toward Pelagianism. To the extent that the church is driven by the felt needs of the culture, salvation from divine wrath and justification before a holy God will be "foolishness to those who are perishing."

But once again, one has to turn to a magazine such as Newsweek to find the best insight into the current crisis. For example, in 1993, this "secular" periodical focused its attention on a megachurch in Arizona that had traded in catechesis and preaching for "Steven Spielberg-like Sunday school gimmicks [and] the ge­ neric Amy Grant music at worship services" as well as drama in place of a sermon. The church's pastor told If our sin is viewed as causing the death 00esus on the Newsweek, "People today aren't interested in tradi­ cross, then we ourselves become victims of a 'psy­ chological battering' produced by the cross . When I tional doctrines like justification, sanctification, and I redemption."25 But if such apostolic truths are not as ~ am led to feel that the pain and torment of Jesus' relevant as, say, relief from stress or happier mar­ death on the cross is due to my sin, I inflict upon riages, what does that tell us? It tells us what is, but not myself spiritual and psychological torment. "24 what ought to be. It is precisely because justification is Should we view such comments as exceptional de­ not the unbeliever's "felt need" that we must preach partures that should not be used to reflect the general the Law. Why should unchurched Harry and Mary state of evangelicalism? Surely most evangelical pas­ have the felt need for Christ's righteousness if they are tors would feel awkward in making such bold not aware of their nakedness before a holy God? The statements, but the point here worth making is that cry for grace will never be appealing until there is a these sentiments differ in degree, but not in kind, sense of guilt and despair once more in our churches. from the diet that is typical of evangelical preaching, The pastor of this particular church does not have to publishing and broadcasting in our day. In other explicitly reject these doctrines, as Finney and others words, the aspects of the modern consciousness that have done; all he has to do is subordinate them to make the relational a dominant category and drive something else. classical motifs to the periphery of vision are so wide­ To preach Scripture is to preach Christ; to preach spread that the most conservative evangelicals find Christ is to preach the Cross; to preach the Cross is to themselves sympathetic to the "new-model" preach grace; to preach grace is to preach justifica­ evangelicals for reasons they often feel but do not tion; to ~preach justification is to attribute all of understand. Even if they refuse to "revision" evan".:.t salvation to the glory of God and to respond to that gelical theology, more conservative evangelicals nov/:, Good News in grateful obedience through one's voca­ implicitly share the same world-view and in practice tion in the world. often follow assumptions that they might deny if di­ We cannot simply rest on the laurels of our bold rectly put to them. Thus, it is essential that we not forebears, but must take our place in God's story, de­ only wait for signs of actual apostasy or explicit de­ termined to locate the Archemedian points where partures, but that we get beneath the most aggregious God's address and our world can be brought into vital declarations in an attempt to discern the larger story confrontation. We must revisit our own heritage not of modern consciousness and its impact on our only to reappropriate its strengths, but to assess its

24

JULY/AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

weaknesses and to address our own accommodations to the modern spirit. It is not enough to be "conser­ vatives;' whether romanticizing the Reformation, Puritanism, or America's "founding fathers." Christ's church does not exist to prop up the best ideals of humanity, but rather to confront each generation with the claims of Christ.

Conclusion In our own century, the Pelagianism and nationalism of Nazi Germany and .the Evangelical Church that had renamed itself the "Reich's Church;' were resisted by confessional Lutherans and Calvinists working to ­ gether in the Young Reformation Movement and the Confessing Movemep t. In our day, a far subtler Babylonian captivity of the church has taken place, as the deeply secular presuppositions of the modern world have so imprisoned the thoughts and lives of many of even the most devout believers. But the Gospel, known in Scripture alone, found in Christ alone, given by grace alone, received by faith alone to the glory of God alone, is still "the power of God unto salvation :' We are convinced, with all of the "con­ fessing saints" of the past and the future , that the greatest challenge the church can pose to secularism is not mystical, moral, political, pragmatic, or insti­ tutional, but the saving announcement of God's work. "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God has willed his truth to triumph through us :' And as for the father of lies, "One little word shall fell him." ~

6. ibid ., pp . 175-195 7 . ibid.

8 . ibid ., p . 125 9 . George Barna, Marketing The Church (Ventura : Regal, 1992) , pp . 41 , 145 10. Newsweek, December 17, 1990, p. 50-56 11 . H. Richard Niebuhr, op. cit., p . 193. Niebuhr adds , "For an Edwards divine sovereignty had been a hard truth to which he had slowly learned to adjust his thought and life; for liberalism it was an untruth . It established continuity between God and man by adjusting God to man ." Consequently , "Christ the Redeemer became Jesus the teacher or the spiritual genius in whom the religious capacities of mankind were fully developed" (p.192) .

12 . George Barna, op. cit., p. 51 13 . ibid. , p . 89 14 . ibid ., p. 80 15 . Newsweek, February 6, 1995, p. 23 16 . Charles Finney, Revivals of Religion (Old Tappan: Fleming H. Revell , 1968), pp . 2-5 17 . Clark Pinnock , ed . The Grace of God and the Will of Man (Grand Rapids: Zondervan , 1989), p .27 . Further, Pinnock questions the doctrines of original sin and substitutiona ry atonement for reasons similar to Finney's (pp .22-23) , adding: "It is my strong impression, confirmed to me even by those not pleased by it , that Augustinian thinking is losing its hold on present-day Christians" (p .26).

18 . Newsweek, November 28, 1994, p. 55 19 . Charles Finney , Systematic Theology (Minneapolis: Bethany , 1976). On original sin , Finney takes a great deal of space attacking ..... the anti-scriptural and nonsensical dogma of a sinful constitution " (p.179) . Concerning the substitutionary atonement, he writes, "If he obeyed the law as our substitute, then why should our own return to personal obedience be insisted upon as a sine qua non of our salvation? .. .Example is the highest mo ral influence that can be exerted" (pp .206 ,209) . He strongly denies the view "that the atonement was a literal payment of a debt" (p.217) . On the New Birth , he insists , "Original or constitutional sinfulness , physical regeneration , and all their kindred and resulting dogmas, are alike subversive of the gospel, and repulsive to the human intelligence; and should be laid aside as relics of a most unreasonable and confused philosophy" (p.236).

20. Finney , Systematic Theology, op. cit.,pp.320 - 1.

21 . Russell Spittler, in Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification, ed.

by Donald L. Alexander (Downers Grove : IVP , 1988), p. 43 22 . Clark Pinnock , in Four Views of Hell (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), pp .

122-131 23 . Stanley Grenz , in Revisioning Evangelical Theology (IVP , 1993) , argues for a definition of evangelical in terms of shared experiences, stories and piety rather than in terms of doctrine. Kenneth Kantzer endorses it as a volume that "redefines evangelical ism as foc using , not on its doctrinal commitments , but on a type of spiritual experience or piety . In so doing he says many things that ought to be heard and heeded by all Christians." Cf. The Openness of God, by Pinnock, et. al. (IVP, 1994); Robert Brow and Pinnock , Unbounded Love (IVP, 1994) ; The Grace of God and the Will of Man: A Case for Arminianism (Zondervan, 1989), edited by Pinnock with contributors such as respected New Testament scholar I. Howard Marshall, Terry Miethe and Grant Osborne . A symposium on the "megashift," with Clark Pinnock,et . ai., is available on audio cassette from Christians United for Reformation (CURE) , Anaheim , California .

24 . Ray S. Anderson , The Gospel According to Judas (Co. Springs: Helmer and Howard , 1991), p .99 25 . Newsweek, August 9, 1993

Notes 1. John Leith , ed ., Creeds ofthe Churches (Atlanta : John Knox, 1982) , pp . 38-45 2. He iko Oberman , Forerunners of the Reformation : The Shape of Late Medieval Thought Illustrated by Key Documents (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981), pp. 127, 126 3. Kenneth Scott Latourette , A History of Christianity: Beginnings to 1500, Vol. 1 (New Yo rk : Harper and Row , 1975) , p.362 4 . Oberman, op . cit., p. 130 5. ibid ., p. 135

Dr. Michael Horton is the president of Christians United for Reformation and is a graduate of Biola University, Westminster Theological Seminary in California and recently completed his doctoral work at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford . Some of the books Mike has written or edited include Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, Beyond Culture Wars , The Law of Perfect Freedom , and Power Religion.

Mike 's latest book project due to come out this fall is titled: In The Face of God: The Dangers and Delights of Spiritual Intimacy (Word).

wherecan I tune In to THE WHITE HORSE IN~?

•

.~

Austin, TX Billings, MT Boise, 10 Boston, MA Casper/Cheyenne, WY Chicago, lL Colorado Springs, CO Dallas, TX Denver, CO · Houston, TX Lake Tahoe, CA Los Angeles, CA Lynchburg, VA Mammoth, CA McCook, NE Modesto, CA New York, NY

KJXL 970AM KCSP 100.9FM KBXL 94.1FM WEZE 1260AM KCSP 90.3 FM WYLL 106.7FM KGFT 100.7FM KDFX 1190AM KRKS 94.7FM KKHT 106.s9FM KNIS 91.9FM KKLA 99.SFM .

WBRG 10S0AM KNIS B9 .9FM KNGN 1360AM KCIV 99.9FM WMCAS70AM

Sun. 11pm *

Sat. Bpm & Sun. 12Noon

Sun. 10pm*

Sun. 2pm

Sat. Bpm & Sun. 12Noon

Sun . 11 pm *

Sun. 10pm*

Sun . Bpm

Sun . 10pm*

Sun. 11 pm *

Sat. Bpm & Sun. 12Noon

Sun. 9pm *

Sat. 11am

Sat. Bpm & Sun . 12Noon

Sat. 1pm & 6pm Sun.9pm *

Sun. 12Mid* & Mon . 11 pm

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Palmdale, CA Philadelphia, PA Phoenix, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Portland, OR Reno/Carson City, NV...

Riverside, CA Sal l~as/Santa Cruz, CA San ~ntonio, TX San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA St. Louis, MO Seattle, WA Ventura; CA Washington, DC Wichita, KS * (Program is aired live).

KAVC 10S. SFM WFIL S60AM KRDS 1190AM WORD 101.5FM KPDQ BOOAM KNIS 91 .3 FM KKLA 1240AM KKMC BBOAM KDRY 1100AM .KPRZ 121OAM KFAX 1100AM KFUO B90AM KGNW B20AM KDAR 9B.3 FM WAVA 10S .lFM KSGL 900AM

Sun. 9pm '" Sun . 6pm & 12Mid* Sun.4pm Sun. 6pm & 12Mid* Sun . 9pm * Sat. Bpm & Sun. 12Noon Sun. 9pm * Sat. Bpm Sun. 9:3 0pm Sun. 9pm * Sat. 12Mid Sun . 7pm Sun. 9pm * Sun.9pm * Sun. Bpm & 12Mid* Sun. Bpm

no local station? tune in live via the internet @ \\fww.kkla.com JULY/A UGUST 1996

25

Saving The Heart 0 Evangelicalism

by MARK THOMPSON

T

he last few years have seen a plethora of books on Scripture. It is a distinctive theology which

the subject of evangelicalism. While some writers characterises evangelicalism, and for precisely this

are critical, the overwhelming majority present reason any attempt to define it in other ways-in

the picture of a Christian movement which is sweep­ terms of sociology or spirituality-will always

ing all before it, triumphing over both liberalism and distort the picture.

ritualism. 1 Evangelical Christianity is making the The long history of the word evangelical (an ad­ church at large sit up and take notice. But the triumph jective derived from the Greek word for "gospel") ~ is an illusion. Behind the hype, the citation of statistics bears out such a claim. Tertullian was among the first and self-congratulation, many evangelicals have been to use it, around AD 200, in his defence of biblical confused and distracted from the critical tasks of evan­ truth against the heresies of Marcion. Martin Luther gelism and edification. Part of the cause of this is a new shocked the Christian church in 1519, when he de­ reluctance in some quarters to clarify what is genuine scribed as "altogether Christian and evangelical" evangelical belief and practice. some of the teaching of Jan Hus, a Bohemian theolo­ There is no doubt that an obsession with self­ gian who had been condemned and burnt at the stake definition is a recipe for disaster. It is possible to spend in 1415. It would later be the only label Luther would so much time describing what evangelicals believe accept for his own teaching. Sir Thomas More is and practice that no time is left to believe and prac­ generally recognised as the man who brought the tice. However, a more serious danger facing us today word into the English language. In the course of a is an unconscious theological shift as more and more quite vitriolic attack on William Tyndale in 1532, people claim the label 'evangelical' for themselves. It More spoke of "those evangelicalles". is that danger which makes it necessary for This self-conscious commitment to the biblical evangelicals to periodically call each other back to gospel also explains why evangelicalism is not satis­ the foundations of evangelical Christianity. Only fied with being described as one particular brand of against such a call can we helpfully face the critical Christianity. John Stott put it this way in 1970: "It is hard questions: Has evangelicalism sold out? Has it , the content~on of evangelicals that they are plain Bible lost its heart? ,'\ Christians, and that in order to be a biblical Christian I am convinced that genuine evangelicalism can "It is necessary to be an evangelical Christian."2 Such a

only be defined theologically. Evangelicals are those statement raises the stakes enormously when we come

whose beliefs and practice are shaped by the gospel of to explain just what is an evangelical. We are not sim­

Jesus Christ. They are unavoidably cross-centred ply defining an interesting and distinctive group

people, for the heart of the gospel is the declaration of within the Christian spectrum, we are defining au­

Christ's atoning death and victorious resurrection. thentic, biblical Christianity. Evangelical theology is

They are just as clearly Bible people, for their knowl­ not simply a means of self-identification, it is God's

.

edge of the Gospel arises from the pages of Holy truth for the world.

26

JULY/AUGUST 1996

modern REFORMATION

Distinctives of Evangelical Theology Evangelical theology arises from the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The grand rescue mission of God, which is the theme of both the Old Testament and the New, carries with it certain fundamental perspectives.

> •

1. The Authority of Scripture:

A Distinctive View of Revelation and Theology

Without doubt the most basic and distinctive aspect of evangelical theology is its view of the Bible. A commitment to the Gqspel of Jesus Christ entails a commitment to the authoritative Scripture, not only because the Gospel is made known to us in these very pages, but primarily because this was the attitude of Christ Himself. Jesus explained himself and his work in terms of God's purposes as expressed in the Old Testament. He also anticipated the New Testament when he spoke of the Spirit enabling the apostles to remember all that he had told them (John 14:26) and when he prayed for those who would believe through the word of the apostles (John 17:20). His commis­ sion and authorization stands behind the ministry of the apostles and their writing. In the end , any attempt to separate the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Bible will distort both, for the God of the gospel is the God of the Bible (2 Cor. 4:6), and the gospel itself is the central theme of the whole Bible (Luke 24:27).

This collection of books is not just an expression of human self-consciousness, nor is it simply a record of human religious beliefs or experiences. The Bible is the living and active Word of God. What the Bible says, God says, and those who have been rescued by Godrecognizehisvoice (1 Thes.2:13;John 10:1-18).

This is clearly the Bible's own testimony about itself.

An evangelical doctrine of the Word of God really begins in Genesis 1, where God speaks and the uni­ verse comes into being. The words that God speaks have a unique character. They are powerful and cre­ ative, expressing God's mind and purpose. They always accomplish what he intends (Is . 55:8 - 11). It comes as no surprise, then, that when God becomes a man he stills storms with a word (Mark 4:3541), casts out demons with a word (Mark 5:1-20), heals the sick with a word (Mark 1:40-44) and even raises the dead with a word (Mark 5:35-43). God speaks and it is so.

It is God himself who commands that his word be written down and that it become the authoritative guide and criterion of judgement for his people. In fact, God himself is the first to present his word in written form (Ex. 31: 18). In these written words God confronts his people, challenging them and comfort­ ing them as directly and effectively as when he spoke to Moses in the cloud. They are not merely a record of God's self-revelation, they are that revelation. What

is more, their divine authority and reliability is in no way diminished by the fact that God uses very human writers in the process. God does not by-pass the mind or personality of each writer, for those things too are his creation. Through the work of his Spirit, God enables them to write his word, not just their own (2 Pet. 1:20-21). This is not only true of the Old Testa­ ment, as is clear from the way Jesus refers to it (e.g.

Matt. 19:4-5), but of the New Testament as well. Even while the apostles were still alive and writing, their words were recognised as Scripture (2 Pet. 3:15-16; see also 1 Tim. 5: 18, where the second Scripture quo­ tation is not found in the Old Testament, but is a saying of Jesus recorded in Luke 10:7).

It is against this background and as part of the teaching of the entire Bible that 2 Tim. 3: 14-17 is to be understood. It is the classic statement of Scripture about itself and in light of what has been said it cannot be restricted in reference to the Old Testament alone.

In the context of a threat from false teaching Paul speaks of the sufficiency of Scripture. These writings are unique for they come from the mouth of God and are God's full and sufficient provision to thoroughly equip Christians for life as the rescued children of God. The Scriptures, then, stand as the unique source of our knowledge of God. Only in the light of the Scriptures can we understand how the heavens de­ clare the glory of God. Only in the light of the Scriptures can we understand the reason for the am­ biguities oflife. Only in the Scriptures can we discern the mind of God and the seriousness of his love to­ wards us.

For this reason the Scriptures must stand above every other pronouncement on matters of faith and practice. This does not imply a refusal to think hard and creatively about the implications of the Christian gospel. Nor does it imply a presupposition that every other piece of theological writing is untrue. Even before the time ofTertullian, biblical Christians read and wrote things other than the Bible. Luther, the great champion of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), regularly quoted the church fathers, especially Au-

JULY/AUGUST 1996

27

gustine. But Tertullian, Luther and other biblical Christians measured such writings by the teaching of Holy Scripture. Nothing has the right to bind the Christian conscience except Scripture alone. Where Christian teaching or human reason or even personal experience conflict with Scripture, they are to be re­ jected. The Bible settles the matter.

This must apply to evangelical theology itself, as John Stott has made clear: Certainly it is the desire of evangelicals to be neither more nor less than biblical Christians. Their intention is not to be partisan, that is, they do not cling to certain tenets for the sake of maintaining their identity as a "party". On the contrary, they have always expressed their readiness to modify, even abandon, any or all of their cherished beliefs if they can be shown to be unbiblicaP One important corollary of this is not particularly popular at the moment. If biblical truth matters, and if we genuinely care for our evangelical brothers and sisters, then we will be prepared to challenge them when they stray from that truth. Solomon's words are more true than we often recognise: "faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an en­ emy" (Prov. 27:6).

2. The Seriousness of Sin: A Distinctive View of Human Nature The gospel is good news precisely because of the seri­ 0usness of the human predicament. Jesus' death and resurrection would make no sense if there was no danger from which we needed to be rescued, and the cross would be a barbaric over­ reaction on God's part if that danger could be averted in any other way. Yet the testimony of the entire Bible is that every hu­ man being is in a very real and serious danger of his or her own making.

This greatest of all dangers facing men and women is a long-standing one, originating with the decisions of the first man and woman to disobey God and grasp the opportunity of moral independence (Gen. 3). They embraced the possi­ bility of deciding for themselves what is right and wrong without dependence upon the word of God, and so they chose to abandon trust in God. It was a fundamentally 28

JULY/AUGUST 1996

self-centred and self-seeking decision, and as Genesis 3 and indeed the rest of the Bible makes clear, its consequences were devastating. The entire human race shares in their corruption and guilt, for from our earli­ est moments we are all predisposed to make the same choice, setting ourselves up as the authoritative centre of our lives (Rom. 5: 12). A bias towards sin characterises every man, woman and child (Rom. 3:23).

The element of danger lies in the fact that our sin alienates us from God and makes us His enemies (Is. 59:1-2; Col. 1:21). It provokes the coming wrath of God (Rom. 1:18-32; Col. 3:5-6). In the face of our guilt and corruption, the prospect of judgement is nothing short of terrifying (Heb. 9:27; 10:31).

This predicament is compounded by our inabil­ ity to remedy it ourselves. The Bible uses two key pictures to underline our inability to save ourselves.

The first is slavery: the natural human condition is slavery to sin (Rom. 6). Our whole existence is condi­ tioned by an allegiance which we are not able to repudiate. The second picture is one of death: apart from Christ we are "dead in our sins" (Eph. 2: 1) . Here there is a world of difference between "sick" and "dead". The former suggests some possibility of re­ covery; the latter brings an end to all such hopes. If we are to be rescued from the danger pressing in upon us, it will not be by our own doing. The initiative must come from outside of us.

Evangelical theology affirms that the most basic need of men and women is for a means of forgiveness and reconciliation with God. It argues that attempts to modify this understanding of the human predica­ ment lead in the end to a different gospel and a different ministry. Accordingly, while Evangelicals have made significant contributions in areas such as justice for the oppressed, international peace, and en­ vironmental awareness, they have steadfastly maintained that these are not the Gospel and that a theological preoccupation with such goals inevitably entails a confusion about the plight of humankind.

The Bible takes us beyond the symptoms to the disease.

3. The Penal Substitutionary Atonement of Christ: A Distinctive View of Salvation As clearly as the foundation of evangelical theology is the authority of the Scripture, the heart of evangelical "\ heology is the cross of Jesus Christ. While the incar­ rtation is important, not least in affirming that Jesus is truly God and truly man, it is by his death that he makes the atonement which deals with our sin and restores us to God. He dies in our place, bearing the penalty for our sin, in line with God's ancient inten­ tion. Here, indeed, is the most profound demonstration of God's love for us.

This saving act of God in Christ is in prospect

modern REFORMATION

from the very earliest pages of the Bible. In fact, many have recognized that it is the promise of a full, final, and effective solution to the problem of sin and its consequences which holds the Bible together and propels the Old Testament into the New. This prom­ ise is unfolded gradually, beginning with barely more than the hint of a promised deliverer who will suffer in the process of rescuing God's rebellious creation (Gen. 3:15), and climaxing in the prophetic an­ nouncement of the Suffering Servant who takes upon himself"the iniquities ?f us all" and bears "the chas­ tisement that makes us whole" (Is. 53). Along the way important anticipations of the atonement in and through Jesus are given in the Exodus and Passover narratives (Ex. 11-12), and in the Psalms (e.g. Ps. 22).

The New Testame nt evidence is both abundant and unarribiguous. John the Baptist's critical testi­ mony to Jesus located him against the background of the Old Testament promises. As Jesus came towards him John declared "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus also described his mission in these terms: he came to serve and be a "ransom for many" (Mark 10:45). He clearly embraced the mission of the Suffering Ser­ vant, explicitly applying Isaiah 53 to himself in Luke 22:37. He was the one who would accomplish at last the atonement for which the whole Old Testament had been waiting. The testimony of the apostles also stands in perfect continuity with that of Jesus him­ self. When they speak of the atonement effected by Jesus' death on the cross, they appeal to Old Testa­ ment images and categories to explain this great event, just as Jesus did. Jesus died in our place and bore the curse of God for us (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3: 13; 1 Pet. 3: 18; 1 John 2:2) .

Penal substitution is not, therefore, one among many models of the atonement, as some assert. Nei­ ther can it be described as a "theory" arising outside of the biblical texts. Evangelical theology insists that while penal substitution does not exhaust all that can be said about the cross and resurrection of Jesus, it is the basic biblical understanding without which other perspectives are devoid of any real meaning. At the heart of the atonement is Jesus' death in our place, a death which involves bearing the penalty for our sin. Here is God's most profound answer to the human dilemma.

This is what makes the gospel such good news.

4. Justification by Faith Alone: A Distinctive View of Christian Response Hebrews 11 makes clear that the dynamic of promise and trust is the nature of the relationship between God and his people throughout the Old Testament.

The most obvious example is Abraham. When God announces his intention to Abraham, an intention

which in the light of the circumstances seemed im­ probable to say the least, we are told "Abraham believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness" (Gen. 15:6). Abraham was not per­ fect, as the succeeding chapters of Genesis show quite clearly. He could not and he did not earn God's favour. But God was worth trusting. What he promised to do he would do. Abraham knew that and he responded by trusting God. Throughout the Old Tes­ tament the promise of salvation points to the future.

The search for the seed of the woman, which began back in Genesis 3, generates a restlessness which drives us from the Old Testament into the New. None of the great figures of faith in the Old Testament actually received what had been promised (Heb. 11 :39). They died in faith, trusting that the fulfillment was still to come. God had promised and they believed him.

They, like Abraham, were right with God. Jesus appears against this background, as the ful­ fillment of God's promises and the object of faith. He stands in stark contrast to the performance-oriented Judaism of the time, a grotesque mutation from the covenantal faith of the Old Testament. He exercises an "authority to forgive sin on the earth" in unex­ pected directions (Mark 2: 10). He is happy to be described as "a friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Luke 7:34). His controversial parable about a Phari­ see and a tax collector exposes the bankruptcy of all attempts to relate to God on the basis of performance.

The tax collector who had nothing to plead before God, not the Pharisee with all his boasts, "went home justified before God" (Luke 18: 14). At Jesus' death, those who trumpet their own righteousness mock him, while those who recognize that their only hope lies in him hear the words of forgiveness and assur­ ance (Luke 23:4043). ...

Paul's tea~~ing on justification is perfectly con­ sistent with its embodiment in the ministry of Jesus.

God is the one who "justifies the ungodly" (Rom. 4:5). A right standing with God comes not through personal or corporate religious performance but "through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ" (Rom. 3:22). Those who put their trust in Jesus are right with God and need no longer fear the prospect of condemnation (Rom. 8: 1-4). Our new standing with JULY/AUGUST 1996

29

God is not our own invention; it is his declaration in the face of the effective atonement made by Jesus on the cross and our faith in him (Rom. 3:22-26).

"Justification by faith alone" is a slogan which reflects the New Testament teaching of "justification apart from works of the law" (Rom. 3:28). It safe­ guards the Christian insistence that our boast lies in God alone (1 Cor. 1:30-31). However, nowhere in the New Testament or the Old is it suggested that this is the end of the matter. Genuine faith changes lives. In the matter of salvation, faith stands alone as our ap­ propriate response to what God has done.

Nevertheless, genuine faith is never alone. Living faith is bound to reveal itself in repentance and embracing a ne1'\' life as God's children. The biblical insistence on faith alone does not compromise the biblical concern for godliness in the life of the believer, rather it places that concern in its proper context (Rom. 6; Ja. 2).

Throughout Christian history, gospel-minded men and women have remarked on the importance of "justification by faith alone." This doctrine plays a pivotal role in Christian theology, safeguarding the initiative of God in salvation and undermining all human boasting. It focuses our attention on Christ and his cross rather than our performance.

In recent years, some very sophisticated attempts have been made to modify this doctrine, and to dis­ place it from the centre of evangelical theology.

Scholars associated with the "New Perspective" on Paul have argued variously that "justification by faith" is a peculiarly Pauline doctrine, that it is restricted to his concern for Jew-Gentile relations and that it is more about corporate covenant membership than in­ dividual standing with God. However, evangelicals are bound to point out that, whatever the covenantal background or context, Paul remains deeply concerned over the fate of the individual before God. His teaching about the way God "justifies the ungodly" reflects, as we have seen, the teaching of the whole Bible, and is embodied in the ministry of Jesus himself.

3:3,5). The use of imagery from Ezekiel 36 in Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus reminds us that this "new birth" has always been God's intention. This teaching ofJesus is highly significant. Both the objec­ tive and subjective dimensions of salvation are the work of God: God has provided the atonement in Christ, and God has brought us to new birth by his Spirit in order that we might enjoy the benefits of Christ's atonement. Christians stand as grateful re­ cipients of a full and final salvation, not as its initiators or contributors.

Here is the most basic evangelical understanding of the work of the Spirit. In recent years some have suggested that evangelicalism has ignored the Holy Spirit. This is simply not true. The person and work of the Holy Spirit have never been neglected by evan­ gelical writers. Evangelicals have always maintained the significance of the Spirit in creation, redemption and the life of the church. They have always spoken of the Spirit'~ vital role in the greatest miracle of all: bringing a person from death to life. What is distinc­ tive is their steadfast refusal to trivialize the work of the Spirit or to ignore the fact that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God (Eph. 6: 17). The Christian response to God's mercy in Christ is impossible with­ out the work of the Spirit: the new birth. The Christian life is life in the Spirit. "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Rom. 8:9). Personal conversion is the outward mani- ­ festation of this inward reality.

This is precisely why evangelical theology cannot be described as abstract or merely intellectual. It is profoundly experiential, for it recognises that the be­ ginning of the Christian life is the experience of new birth brought about by the Spirit of God. So while evangelicalism can only be defined theologically, its theology is intensely practical, proclaiming the direct personal address of the living God to one made alive by the Holy Spirit.

5. The Necessity of the New Birth: A Distinctive View of Grace and the Spirit

The urgency of the gospel call to repentance and faith is anchored in a future reality guaranteed by the res­ urrection of Jesus from the dead. God has "set a day when he~will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). The cul­ mination of human and universal history will be the creation of a new heavens and a new earth (Rev. 21: 1), but this will be preceded by the judgement of all men and women (Rev. 20:11-15). In the light of these re­ alities Christians can be described as those who have "turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he

Jesus' death and resurrection remains the one and only basis for our acceptance with God. We are called to respond to that marvellous provision in repen ~, tance and faith. However, such a response does not come naturally to individuals who are trapped in the slavery and death of sin, both guilty and corrupt.

John's Gospel emphasizes this human inability to believe without the miraculous intervention of God. Christians are not children of God by virtue of a hu­ man decision (John 1:12-13); rather, through the work of God's Spirit, they must be "born again" (John 30

JULY/AU GUST 1996

6. The Imminent Personal Return ofJesus to Judge: A Distinctive View of Universal History

modern REFORMATION

raised from the dead- Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath" (1 Thes. 1:9-10).

There are a variety of views, even within \ ( evangelicalism, on the chronology and precise na­ ture of the events leading up to the final judgement.

In part these arise from our difficulties in unde'r ­ standing the apocalyptic language of the Book of Revelation. Nevertheless, the personal return of the glorified Lord Jesus and the reality of universal judge­ ment are beyond dispute. What is also clear is that the only hope of rescue lies in Jesus Christ himself. It is this sure and certain rescue which takes the fear out of the future for the Christian and makes the promise of Jesus' return a message of comfort (1 Thes. 4: 13-18).

Such a view of the future carries with it a distinc­ tive view of the present. The New Testament is full of warnings about the unexpectedness of Jesus' return and the Book of Revelation concludes with Jesus' promise to come soon (Rev. 22:7). It also presents us with the reason for an interval between Jesus' ascen­ sion and return: «The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness . He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" (2 Pet. 3:9). The present time is an opportunity for repentance and faith. The end of all things is delayed so that others might be included in r the great Rescue. That is the great concern of God for the present age. That is the great concern of those already rescued for the present age.

It is no surprise then that evangelism is at the forefront of evangelical practice. This commitment springs not only from our view of the future and the present, but also from our understanding of the Bible, the human predicament, the work of Christ and the necessity of faith and new birth by the Spirit. God's kindness in rescuing us through Christ creates in us a desire to see others rescued too. The reality of judge­ ment and the magnitude of God's mercy in Jesus combine as a most powerful motivation for evange­ listic ministry (2 Cor. 5:11-21).

The Critical Coherence of Evangelical Theology Clearly these six fundamental perspectives do not exhaust evangelical theology. Evangelicals have much to say about the Trinity, creation, and the church, among many other things. This article has not been intended as an exercise in determining the minimum one must believe to be considered an evangelical.

However, it is these six biblical truths which give evangelical theology its basic shape. They cohere in their relation to the gospel of Jesus and their founda­ tion in the text of Scripture. Therefore, it is the modification of theology at these critical points that characterizes a shift from evangelicalism.

In today's climate the modifications rarely take

the form of negation. Though there are some who would deny one or other of these perspectives and still claim the label evangelical', the more danger­ ous-and sadly more frequent-modification comes through addition. This has always been the case. Ref­ ormation theology is often summarised by the slogans «Scripture alone", «Christ alone", «Grace alone" and «Faith alone:' all of which guarded against modification by addition. Jim Packer has echoed the concerns of the Reformers when he wrote: You cannot add to evangelical theology without sub­

tracting from it. By augmenting it, you cannot enrich it;

you can only impoverish it. Thus, for example, if you

add to it a doctrine of human priestly mediation you

take away the truth ofthe perfect adequacyofour Lord's

priestly mediation . If you add to it a doctrine of human

merit, in whatever form, you take away the truth of the

merits of Christ. The principle applies at point after

point. What is more than evangelical is less than evan­

gelical. Evangelical theology, by its very nature, cannot

be supplemented; it can only be denied. 4

Put another way, the crucial questions are ones of sufficiency. Is the Bible sufficient as the saving revela­ tion of God? Evangelicals have answered «yes" to this question; those outside the evangelical tradition have supplemented the Bible with human reason, church pronouncements, or private visions, dreams and pro­ phetic statements. Is Jesus' death sufficient to deal with our sins and secure our relationship with God? Again evangelicals have answered «yes;' while non­ evangelicals have argued that the ministrations of the church playa role in this as well. Is faith sufficient as the appropriate response to the offer of forgiveness?

The evangelical affirmative to this question stands in stark contrast with the imposition of works , or cer­ emonies, or second experiences.

Room to Move Evangelicalism, even when defined in terms of its theological distinctives, is not entirely monochrome.

Outside of these distinctives there is room for differ­ ence and even disagreement without resorting to disenfranchising one another. However, the funda­ mental perspectives of evaqgelical theology ought to inform the way we handle such points of difference.

Some point~ of difference arise on matters about which the Bible is largely, and in some cases com­ pletely, silent. The appropriate evangelical response to such differences is to recognize the issues as mat­ ters of Christian freedom. We have no right to bind the consciences of other believers in ways that the Scriptures do not. We might hold firmly to our own view as a legitimate expression of biblical principles.

Nevertheless , it is a mistake to invest those views with

JULY/ AUGU ST 1996

31

the same authority as the teaching of Scripture.

Differences of another kind also emerge within an evangelicalism which remains true to the theologi­ cal foundations outlined earlier in this article. These are differences over what precisely the Bible is saying on a given issue it addresses. A commitment to the truth of Scripture and its authority for faith and prac­ tice demands a quite different response in these cases.

Because understanding what God has to say on the issue is of paramount importance, and because we acknowledge the pervasive influence of sin on our hearts and minds, evangelicals are committed to dia­ logue and the repeated reexamination of the passages in question. This is not always easy because it involves admittiI1g that we may have misunderstood what a particular passage is saying. Nevertheless, the truth is more important than maintaining a position or win­ ning an argument. Sometimes, the questions of a critic are an important step along the way to a clearer under­ standing of just what the Bible is saying.

Love and Truth Evangelicalism can only be defined theologically and in relation to the gospel ofJesus Christ because "evan­ gelical" is simply another way of saying "biblical Christian." Yet this is a dangerous business. It alien­ ates those who, for whatever reason, wish to retain the label while "growing out of" its basic beliefs. It raises the question of theological truth and implies that other Christian traditions (Catholic, charismatic, lib­ eral) involve some kind of error. Surely, some have argued, it would be more loving to define evangelicalism in another way, one which would al­ low us to soften those distinctions and embrace the ecumenical spirit.

In the last few years attempts to do this have been made; attempts to go beyond a theological definition of evangelicalism. Using a much broader brush than I have in this article, it is possible to paint a rosy picture of the onward march of evangelicals and a new golden age for the church. What was once seen as theological difference is now being cherished as diversity (one book I've read actually listed the "twelve tribes of evangelicalism"!) . We are told that mature evangelicalism rejoices in its new-found diversity, dis­ covering brotherhood in the most unlikely of places.

A new positive outlook has replaced the negativity which characterised evangelicalism for so long.

Yet the sad truth is that such redefinition results in an evangelicalism with no heart. The evangelicalism it describes has surrendered to a caricature of itself as narrow-minded and negative, and obligingly trans­ formed itself into an amorphous entity which stands for nothing and smiles benignly at the compromise of its most cherished beliefs. It has forgotten that genu­ 32

JULY/ AUGUST 1996

ine Christian unity is unity in the truth. It has in effect pursued a balance of love and truth rather than both love and truth. This "new evangelicalism" needs to be reminded that love built on a lie is not love at all and stands opposed to the purposes of God in both the Old and New Testaments.

The heart of genuine evangelicalism is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel is the only hope for a world heading towards judgement. Evangelicals cannot afford to be distracted from its proclamation.

Our 'distinctive theological framework urges us to this task. In the final analysis, the vindication of evangelicalism does not lie in gaining the attention of the world at the end of the twentieth century, but in the salvation of men and women who have heard the truth and believed.

Notes: 1. For example: Clive Calver, He Brings Us Together: Joining Hands Where Truth and Justice Meet(London: Hodder & Stoughton , 1987); Alister E. McGrath, Evangeli­ calism and the Future of Christianity (London: Hodder & Stoughton , 1994); Derek J. Tidball, Who are the Evangelicals? Tracing the Roots of Today's Movements (London : Marshall Pickering, 1994) .

2. John R.W. Stott, Christ the Controversialist: A study in some essentials of the evangelical religion (London: Tyndale , 1970) , p.32 .

3. Stott, Christ the Controversialist, p.32 .

4. James I. Packer, The Evangelical Anglican Identity Problem: An Analysis, Latimer Studies 1 (Oxford: latimer, 1978), pp.17-18.

Mark Thomson is a D. Phil. candidate at Oxford University, where he also teaches theology part-time (Wycliffe Hall) . Mr. Thompson is an Anglican and is on the faculty of Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia . This article was originally published in The Briefing (an Australian periodical promoting Reformation), and was used by permission.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Running Out of

Gift Ideas?

How about agift subscription to modern REFORMATION Call 714·956·CURE

.'

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••• modern REFORMATION

t9(l}i~IV'1~tofj) o/tlit~'es~tfS .

On llil de (§ t an di{pi 1iJr ~, 'Jiirf er en,}; e. iJ etw een Llw :~f." \,', .', \:'

',?i~

.~_ !:~~:;;'1,.;; .

, .. ~:~~;\

This~ifference{Retween :;i&e Law and€~~ ,;.,

'~"

&(} 0 SP A~

There is no'p~'lm on which' men make Gaspe! is the height of knowledge in " ,~,: , gr~ater mistakestl)an on the relation which ' The law "s~pposing I have;~al1, exists between tqe law and the '~gospel.

ChristeJ;luom. 1E.Y:~lY person) md all person~\t Does ever fQr perfection ',call; who assume o?gldty in the,name of Christj~R The gospefsyits"JI1Y total~ant, ';~/ S~rne men put the~!aw instead of the should know and'b'e able t(}~tate this ,::; gospel; others putg()spel insteg9 of the law. ' And all the law can seekgoes grimt. diffetenc~. If this ability is lacking, one " .,~'\~ Acertain class m~i',ntains that the law and cannot tell a Ch'6'stian frorQ a heatfleno't~ tl}e'gospel arerri{i ed... Thes~hmen under­ The promise life to Jew; ,of such supreme importance ist1;lls;j~· s,tand not tlW ~ruth andare'i aise teachers. , ,;Ifmy,-'t?Jbedience perfect" be ; >~ differentiation: Thisis Why St.Palll sO" "f}.H. Spurg~Q~,Wew Park~~r,eet Pulpit, 1855 Btlf)race does promis~life uB~m . strongly insists on a ck~n-cut andprhper " , My{ '4~~?'S obedience alQne. "\;, differentiatiJlg '!yf these ,tw~ doctrineM';f;>i 'Tl1e true kno~l;d;ge of the d'i~tinction Martin I;uther~ Sermon 'On Galatians,l§;1,2 The law saYs" Do, and lifiyou'H'~i~; be:fWeen the Law'rnd the Gospel is not only a glofihus light, affording a correct But grace says, Live, foriill is d,one; under$t~nding of the entire Holy Scriptures, By the thm Law, Paul fre.,ql!,~~tly under- ',: The former cannot ease my' grief, but without this knowledge Scripture is and " standsJhat rule Sf holy livin~ in whichGod:;' The latter yields me full relief. exacts'wEat is his due, giyiFlg no hope oftife remifibs a sealed book....The Word of God is nQfrightly divided when the law is not unless\/Ve obeyJn every re,:§~ect; and, or'lthe The law wiII not abate a mite, other::fi~nd, denouncing 'a~·c'u rse for the" w¢ached in itsfl.lJl sternness, and the The gospel all the sum wiII quit; slighti st failure: This,Paui does when .,: :dDt in its full sweetness, when, on the rhe~~God in thret'nings is array'd

showing that we are freely accepted\o{God, "dontrary, gospel elements are mingled

Sufhere in promises display'd. and ~counte.d ;~ghteousby beingpardQ~ed, the law and l~w elements with the gospel.

becaus:e that ohedience of. the Law to wf:Il~h C.F.W. Walther, Law & Gospel, 1884

The la~:;:ek~l,udes not boasting vain, the re~4rd is prothised is nowhere to be ;,"", But ratherfeeds it to my bane;

"r found .'Hence he a}3propriately represents tije

But gosp~rgrace allows no boasts, Anew and more powerful proclamation 9f , ' righteo~l:sness of the Law and the Gospet4s" Savein"i&~ King, the Lord of Hosts. law is perhaps the most pre&siElg need of ,'i, ~ op:pos~a to eadf'dther. Birt the Gospel has '5''''ii'/'~'' ,. ',<, the hour; men would hav~ liHle difficulty~ not sifcceecled the whol~ Law in such sense 'Thel~'w brings terror t?'l1loleS.t( with the gospel if they hal3niy Iet'ned';ttti, as ,t ~introduce (it difteF~,rtt method :~f ".The gospel gives the w,eary r~st; lesson of the law. As it is,lhey aretuming salyation. It rather cQnfirms the 4~w~ and T:fie one does flagsofefeath dtsplay" ," aside froIl),the Christian pathway;tl1~yare p~~ves that~)lery tl1in:g:which it ~Jl'omised is ',~\?;""The other showsth~ livin{way. ' ... turning fa the village of Morality, and to fu1fj;lled. Wh~ was shMow, it has'wade the house,of Mr. Legality, who is reported sub~!~mce ... ~.~iS ,•• :: ,to be very skillful in relieving men of tlf~'i1: Th,e)aw's a house of bo~dage;;,~ore, John,!talvin,lhe Insfi~ites (2.9.4),,1536 , ".. ~\1rdens ... 'Making Christ Master' in the ' ' T~i,gospel opens prisol1 door~; f ;!</" IWe, putting into practice 'the principlesoi.: The:first me hamer'd inlts net, We d'tvide this Wordintd2lwo principal parts thrist' by one's own efforts-these are .

The last at freedom kindly set orUrnds: th, e~':@ne is c~ll€d the 'Law,' the other merely neiY{ \.vays of earning salvationJJ.Y th~ iGospel~J;~' For all the rest can be gathered one's ob~dience to God's commands. ' An angry God the law reveal'd , under th~itme or other of these two The gospel shows him reconciled; " J. Gres"~m Machen, What Is Faith?, 1925 -:"~'s~' ;f< ~ ;:' ;b:eading~;;:Jgnorant~ of this distinction By that I know he was displeased, ,'!:y,;', b. " etween1Law and ;€ i a spel is one of the Thisdi:stinction between the Litw and the ,' By this I see his wrath appeased. , ,«''; "" :";;~f:principal?~ourcesqfthe abuses which Gospelr which is so dearly taughtin Holy

' cprruPted ,a,pd still corrupt Christianity.

Scriptu~e, the ChrisHap must con,s.cien­

The law still shows a fiery face, TheodoreBeza,Th~:' Christia1)Faith, 1558 : The gospel shows a throne of grace; tiouslt Q3?serve andn~ither weake.h,the .~ ~' ~ condeml1ing forceoi.~he Law nOl'~~iminish There justice rides alone in state, We believe,>teach, and confess'ihat the But here sheJakes the mercY~seat. ' , the s,wfng comforLQf the Gospel~! Unless ;: distinctioY{of the~a~ and();t;;the Gospel,, ~s , a thapaw and the Grispel are tti\ifs' '\:H~ most e~cellentIY 'ylear lightifis to be retained pr~~ched ... the~'bristian reli~10Jl is deprived;;;" .

La! in the law Jehovah dwells, with sp,~Cial diligence in tEe Church of God, ants distinct ~ontent, isp;~;g~nized by t,Eie;i~ But Jesus is conceal'd; " in order that the Word of;'God, agre~~bly to introduction of work~ri~bJ~ousness; ~,~a ­ Whereas the gospel's ncithinge,lse the admonitioIl,of St. PaJ;ll, may bertghtly ,cause of salvation, and is'therefore,t€tr~'ered But Jesus Christ revea.lid. ' divided. \', :'; , Ralp~Erskine, The Be~,'!ties ;f!f · jpcapable of saving sinn¢t~ . '~~1':"'Th': The Formula of'Concord,J576 Ers!it'ij.,c, 1745 ;, ' J.;T. Mueller, Christian D(Jgmatics,~ H)&5 ~,";" )~

'5t'Pbem fJn Law & Gospel:

.,,~-< '

,.~'

la~\~Uid

;;

"<->;'

~i,

:;;- . .

"

\~'",

,oi

'\,~.-~

"

.'~

/~"'\'

."r

a

,c

""1')'

<"->~y~~,

"

~~'

.,"', --~,< - ,~,~{~;

JULY/AUGUST 1996

33

THE CAMBRIDGE

DECLARATION

THE

ALL I A NeE

of

CON F E S SIN G

E V A N GEL I CAL S

APRIL 20,1996

Evangelical churches today are

increasingly dominated by the spirit ofthis age

rather than by the Spirit ofChrist.

As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin

and to recover the historic Christian faith.

I

n the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word "evangelical:' In the past it served as a bond ofunity between Chris­ tians from a wide diversity of church traditions.

Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It em­ braced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a com­ mon heritage in the "solas" of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.

Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word "evangelical" has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril oflosing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Refor­ mation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our tradi­ tions' but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion of Authority Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church's life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In prac­ tice, the church is guided, far too often, by the

34

JULY/AUGUST 1996

culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strat­ egies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian conscious­ ness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to sat­ isfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of sav­ ing truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church's underst.anding, nurture and discipline. ~cripture must take us beyond our perceived neeCfs to our real needs and liberate us from see­ ing ourselves through the seductive images, cliches, promises and priorities of mass culture.

It is only in the light of God's truth that we under­ stand ourselves aright and see God's provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be ex­ positions of the Bible and its teachings, not

modern REFORMATION

expressions of the preacher's opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given. \ The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experi­ ence cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scrip­ ture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God's grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

THESIS ONE: 'SOLA SCRIPTURA

We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sale source

of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the

conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary

for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which

all Christian behavior must be measured.

We deny that any creed, councilor individual may bind

a Christian's conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks

independently ofor contrary to what is set forth in the

Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a

vehicle ofrevelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion of Christ-Centered Faith As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its inter­ ests have been blurred with those of the culture. The ,_ result is a loss ofabsolute values, permissive individual­ sm, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, - / recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratifica­ tion for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.

God's grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are inca­ pable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.

THESIS THREE: SOLA GRATIA

We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God's

wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of

the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us

from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual

death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work.

Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves

cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not

produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion of The Chief Article Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evan­ gelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ's imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gos­ pel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the THESIS TWO: SOLUS CHRISTUS biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theo­ We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the

logical convictions are frequently divorced from the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone.

work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone

many churches takes this even further, erasing the are sufficient for our justification and

distinction between the biblical Word and the world, reconciliation to the Father.

robbing Christ's cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ's substitu­

tionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his bring success to secular corporations. work is not solicited.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually empty.ing it of its Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ's Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a prod­ substitution in our place w.hereby God imputed to uct of fallen human nature. This false confidence him our sin anp imputed to us his righteousness. now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted who have transformed the gospel into a product to and adopted as God's children. There is no basis for be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, our acceptance before God except in Christ's saving o others who treat Christian faith as being true sim­ work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or ply because it works. This silences the doctrine of moral decency. The gospel declares what God has justification regardless of the official commitments done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do of our churches. to reach him.

JULY/AUGUST 1996

35

THESIS FOUR: SOLA FIDE

We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ's righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God's perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds ofan infusion of Christ's righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion of God-Centered Worship Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God's and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God's centrality in the life of to day's church is com­ mon and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our per­ sonal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not.

Our concern must be for God's kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

THESIS FIVE: SOLI DEO GLORIA

We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has

been accomplished by God, it is for God's glory and that

we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives

before the face of God, under the authority of God

and for his glory alone.

We deny that we can properly glorify God ifour worship

is confused with entertainment, ifwe neglect either Law

or Gospel in our preaching, or ifself-improvement,

self-esteem or self-fulfillment are allowed to become

alternatives to the gospel.

A Call To Repentance & Reformation The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ's kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were

36

JULY/AU GUST 1996

markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and mis- ----. sionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been in­ fluenced by the "gospels" of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure to adequately tell others about God's saving work in Jesus Christ.

We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God's Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This in­ cludes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihi­ lated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justifica­ tion is not believed.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church's worship, ministry, poli­ cies, life and evangelism.

For Christ's sake. Amen. ~

ACE Executive Council Dr. John Armstrong Rev. Alistair Begg Dr. James M. Boice Dr. W. Robert Godfrey Dr. John D. Hannah Dr. Michael S. Horton Mrs. Rosemary Jensen

Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr. Dr. Robert M. Norris Dr. R. C. Sproul Dr. G. Edward Veith Dr. David Wells Dr. Luder Whitlock Dr. J. A . 0 . P IlI reus,

$55

Cambridge D.eciaration

modern REFORMATION

ALARMED BY THE DECLINE OF THEIR NATION'S CULTURE, American Christians are struggling

to utake back America" and ureclaim

America's heart and soul" for God.

In response to the present crisis,

James Montgomery Boice calls us

back to Augustine, who, after witness­

ing Rome's destruction, wrote his

masterpiece, The City of God.

In Two Cities, Two Loves Boice restates for our times Augustine's idea of two cities formed in turn by two different loves. Deeply biblical in argument and thoroughly conversant with contemporary culture, Two Cities, Two Loves will challenge and encourage Christians in the midst of turbulent times.

271 pages, cloth, 0-8308-1987-8, $19.99

Available from your local bookstore.

Ivp

InterVarsity Press (800) 843-9487 http://www.gospelcom.neUivpress

Downers Grove, Illinois

... in California! ...where you can join students from throughout the world, eager to share the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ, developing their gifts through solid training in the Bible,theology, biblical languages, counseling, and Christian ministry.

• Continuing Westminster's historic commitment to the absolute authority of the inerrant Scriptures and to academic excellence in an independent, interdenominational setting • With a fresh accent on the practice of ministry (our M.Div. offers extensive ·supervised field education and reflection seminars) • Taught by a complete resident faculty of respected scholars (such as W Robert Godfrey, John Frame, Robert Strimple, Peter Jones... ) • On our beautiful, growing campus near scenic San Diego "\.

• Offering fully accredited Master ·ofArts, Master of L)ivinity, and Doctor of Ministry degree ' ~ programs

Discover Westminster in California - u

WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY IN CALIFORNIA

For more information, contact the Office ofAdmissions today!

1725 Bear Valley Parkway • Escondido, CA 92027 Voice: 619/480-8474 • Fax: 619/480-0252