Today on Facebook a Friend, Evangel Memorabilia, quoted fromDr. Keith Sherlin, Adjunct Faculty, Systematic Theology Department, Scofield Biblical Institute & Theological Seminary of Michigan:
And I responded to Evangel Memorabilia's post:
Why am I now sharing this discussion with you? I have long believed and shared, in my home church and in my writings, that it is important that every Christian believer should know well what he/she believes and what the church they attend teaches. This is defined in our personal Statement of Faith and in our church's corporate Statement of Faith - for that is what our church believes and teaches.
Why is this important? Think about it. If there are leaders in your local church which hold different Biblical beliefs - that could be a source of confusion, disruption, and division among the people in your fellowship. If the pastor teaches one theology and one or more of the elders/deacons teaches a different theology - who do you believe?
Let me give you a couple of examples:
About twenty years ago, I was one of three elders in a relatively new church fellowship. We were chosen by the pastor and approved by the congregation. Some months later, in a discussion with another elder, I found that he held a strong belief in Amillennialism - while our home church taught, and still teaches, the belief of PreMillennialism.
Amillennialism teaches that the church is currently going through a combined Millennium/Tribulation period now and there will be no Rapture. In their belief, the world will continue as it is until Christ one day returns, there will be a final judgment, and then eternity - no Tribulation as defined in Daniel and Revelation, no Millennial Kingdom. Just keep on keeping on - and, boom, Christ returns, judges us, and some to go hell while others go into the presence of God. That is not what the Bible teaches.
Then and now that local church believed in and taught a PreTribulation Rapture of the church and a PreMillennial Second Coming of Christ to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on earth. Yet that one elder held a different belief. How did this disparity of beliefs between elders, pastor, and the fellowship happen? It happened because there was not enough emphasis being placed upon publicly defining our corporate and personal Statement of Faith. The pastor should have had an indepth interview with each elder before appointing him - to avoid confusion within the fellowship.
A second example: In the early years of that fellowship a new couple came to our church. The husband's parents had been missionaries and as a result he was given a level of leadership in our fellowship. In our new Sunday School Class, I had begun leading a study of the book of Acts, the formation of our Christian church. In one of our early classes we were discussing salvation and how we are saved. During the class, this man made a statement alluding to a belief that believers can lose their salvation, i.e., an Arminian theology teaching.
When he first made this comment, to be sure what he was saying, I asked, "Are you saying that a justified believer in Christ can commit a sin which will cause him to lose his salvation?" When he replied, "Yes," I suggested he and I talk separately about that point and we continued with the class.
I could not allow him to confuse the class by raising and emphasizing a belief that what Christ teaches over and over in the Bible - eternal security in Christ for the believer (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, John 3:16, John 10:28-29, John 20:30-311 John 5:13, etc.) - is wrong. Our church fellowship believed and taught eternal security in Christ and to go into an indepth discussion disputing that teaching in our Sunday School Class could have led to confusion.
Let me close by emphasizing whatDr. Donald Grey Barnhouse said in his quote above: There are Essential Christian Doctrines (he defines them as primary doctrines) found in the Bible which we as Christians believe define our salvation and which cannot be compromised. Any person or church which denies any of these Essential Christian Doctrines, to that extent is not Christian.
And there are many Non-Essential Christian Teachings(he defines them as secondary doctrines) which, while important to understand, interesting to discuss, and are helpful in making us more mature believers and witnesses - DO NOT define nor affect our salvation.
In closing, let me offer YOU a challenge. Can YOU clearly define and put in writing, with Scripture proof, your personal Statement of Faith? Are you intimately familiar with your home church's Statement of Faith? If not, why not? What will you say to the person to whom you are witnessing when he/she asks, "What does your church teach?" Think about it.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
Two of my favorite quotes from two theologians on opposite sides of the theology debate on continuity and discontinuity that I shared with some men today in a Bible Teaching session.
First, from Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: "The Bible teaches spiritual separation from the enemies of the Lord Jesus Christ . . . but there is no line in the New Testament which tells us to separate from someone who does not regard secondary doctrine in the same light that we do. There is no justification for forming a new denomination in order to emphasize one or another doctrine. We are not being biblical when we separate from another believer because he differs from us in his interpretation of biblical prophecy, or in the manner of carrying out ordinances or sacraments" (Romans Commentary, Vol. 4, p. 165).
Second, a quote from Dr. John Frame stated: "The door of the church should not be narrower than the door of heaven. All who belong to Christ should be admitted to the church and to the sacraments” (The Doctrine of the Christian Life: A Theology of Lordship, p. 754).
Sectarianism and schismatic divisions in the body of Christ have hindered our Gospel witness and ability to harness resources needed to advance the cause of the Gospel. I, without a doubt or one scintilla of shame for the biblical theology I subscribe too, walk in the heritage of Dr. Barnhouse. But I wish more in my heritage and in Dr. John Frame's heritage had this type of attitude and perspective. Maybe the great rift of 1944 (Dispensationalism vs Covenantalism) would have never happened.
May the Lord raise up more men who understand the points these men made here. If the Gospel and Class "A" Essentials (direct statement of Scripture and Laws) are not violated, I can fellowship with my brothers in the work of evangelism and edification in the Gospel of Jesus. The body of Christ, Christicommunity, is wide enough for some diversity - and yet deep enough with the Gospel and "A" Level Essentials that we do not need to add anything else to the theological table. I am hopeful more and more in the years and decades to come can rekindle the ideology that we read in these two men.
Dr. Keith Sherlin: Adjunct Faculty, Systematic Theology Department, Scofield Biblical Institute & Theological Seminary of Michigan. B.A. North Greenville University (Theology/Christian Studies) - M.T.S. Tyndale Theological Seminary - MA (Theology; high Honors) Trinity Theological Seminary - ThD Scofield Theological Seminary - and PhD Trinity Theological Seminary (candidate).
Affiliation: Calvinistic, Evangelical, Dispensational.
Christicommunity Communications is a ministry of Dr. Keith Sherlin (ThD; PhD). It promotes a holistic evangelical theology that honors consistent exegesis by a literal hermeneutic with an emphasis on promoting faith, hope, and most of all love.
And I responded to Evangel Memorabilia's post:
What Dr. Sherlin's comments in your Facebook post define as "the theology debate on continuity and discontinuity" or "primary and secondary doctrines" I believe ties in well with my definition of Essential Christian Doctrines vs Non-Essential Christian Teachings.
Below is a short video I recently prepared for our Sunday School Class. It is my thoughts, or talking points, on Essential vs Non-Essential Christian Doctrines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12I5SQD5dw4
Why am I now sharing this discussion with you? I have long believed and shared, in my home church and in my writings, that it is important that every Christian believer should know well what he/she believes and what the church they attend teaches. This is defined in our personal Statement of Faith and in our church's corporate Statement of Faith - for that is what our church believes and teaches.
Why is this important? Think about it. If there are leaders in your local church which hold different Biblical beliefs - that could be a source of confusion, disruption, and division among the people in your fellowship. If the pastor teaches one theology and one or more of the elders/deacons teaches a different theology - who do you believe?
Let me give you a couple of examples:
About twenty years ago, I was one of three elders in a relatively new church fellowship. We were chosen by the pastor and approved by the congregation. Some months later, in a discussion with another elder, I found that he held a strong belief in Amillennialism - while our home church taught, and still teaches, the belief of PreMillennialism.
Amillennialism teaches that the church is currently going through a combined Millennium/Tribulation period now and there will be no Rapture. In their belief, the world will continue as it is until Christ one day returns, there will be a final judgment, and then eternity - no Tribulation as defined in Daniel and Revelation, no Millennial Kingdom. Just keep on keeping on - and, boom, Christ returns, judges us, and some to go hell while others go into the presence of God. That is not what the Bible teaches.
Then and now that local church believed in and taught a PreTribulation Rapture of the church and a PreMillennial Second Coming of Christ to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on earth. Yet that one elder held a different belief. How did this disparity of beliefs between elders, pastor, and the fellowship happen? It happened because there was not enough emphasis being placed upon publicly defining our corporate and personal Statement of Faith. The pastor should have had an indepth interview with each elder before appointing him - to avoid confusion within the fellowship.
A second example: In the early years of that fellowship a new couple came to our church. The husband's parents had been missionaries and as a result he was given a level of leadership in our fellowship. In our new Sunday School Class, I had begun leading a study of the book of Acts, the formation of our Christian church. In one of our early classes we were discussing salvation and how we are saved. During the class, this man made a statement alluding to a belief that believers can lose their salvation, i.e., an Arminian theology teaching.
When he first made this comment, to be sure what he was saying, I asked, "Are you saying that a justified believer in Christ can commit a sin which will cause him to lose his salvation?" When he replied, "Yes," I suggested he and I talk separately about that point and we continued with the class.
I could not allow him to confuse the class by raising and emphasizing a belief that what Christ teaches over and over in the Bible - eternal security in Christ for the believer (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, John 3:16, John 10:28-29, John 20:30-311 John 5:13, etc.) - is wrong. Our church fellowship believed and taught eternal security in Christ and to go into an indepth discussion disputing that teaching in our Sunday School Class could have led to confusion.
Let me close by emphasizing whatDr. Donald Grey Barnhouse said in his quote above: There are Essential Christian Doctrines (he defines them as primary doctrines) found in the Bible which we as Christians believe define our salvation and which cannot be compromised. Any person or church which denies any of these Essential Christian Doctrines, to that extent is not Christian.
And there are many Non-Essential Christian Teachings(he defines them as secondary doctrines) which, while important to understand, interesting to discuss, and are helpful in making us more mature believers and witnesses - DO NOT define nor affect our salvation.
In closing, let me offer YOU a challenge. Can YOU clearly define and put in writing, with Scripture proof, your personal Statement of Faith? Are you intimately familiar with your home church's Statement of Faith? If not, why not? What will you say to the person to whom you are witnessing when he/she asks, "What does your church teach?" Think about it.
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill
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