The Contemporary Church is U – Unaccountable
- 17 December 2023
“Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. Therefore, they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.” (Prov 1:28-33)
We have seen (D – the Churches are Divided) that the contemporary Christianity is in character ‘sectarian’ – i.e. it unitedly project a view of Scripture inherently foreign to Scripture itself. An authentic faith community recognises that Scripture is God’s infallible, inerrant, self-attesting revelation. Being of divine origin it is necessarily suitable – i.e. perspicuous. God has sovereignly so assembled its content that, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, any fair-minded may comprehend its message. Hermeneutical principles (e,g. no contradictions; texts without contexts = pretexts, etc) provide checks and balances by which God’s people confidently possess (i.e. know) objective Truth. (Eph 4:12ff).
But the closing chapters of the Book of Revelation reveal that a great struggle ensues involving (i) the true Bride of Christ (Rev 12:6) and (ii) a persecuting dragon (Rev 12:3) who muddies the waters by masquerading as an angel of light deceiving the would-be followers of the Lamb (2Cor 11:14). This accounts for the Book’s depiction of a terrible Whore representing false religion. In the first century this was evidently the apostate Jewish nation. But over centuries, Satan’s tactics have taken advantage of every new opportunity to confuse. We should be perennially mindful of the possibility that there may be a mixture of good and bad elements within the visible Church (see Matt 13:24-30; 16:6; Lu 13:20;).
The full-length story is told by authors such as Cunningham (Historical Theology) but the underlying assumption throughout is that God’s Truth can be objectively expressed, truly known and formulated. This is the honourable goal of Systematic Theology. It ought to be the lifetime ambition of all believers. Accordingly, in fulfilment of Matthew 6:10 (Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven), we can trace (i) the arrival of Christianity from Palestine within the first 3 centuries AD via Roman conquest; (ii) the gradual displacement of polytheistic paganism by Papal romish customs and superstitions (notice the mixture of good and bad elements there already!) which sought to establish religious (worldview) hegemony throughout the realm; (iii) the development of ‘Christian’ Anglo-Saxon medieval rule via Common Law culminating in Magna Carta establishing the foundation of our present Day ‘Constitutional Monarchy’ in which civil authority exercised by Parliament, checked by the Crown, was idealised within a Christian framework as ‘for the people, by the people.’
The fog of war gave rise to a perennial clash of two ultimate authorities within the Church – one humanistic (Papal Rome) and one biblical (Protestantism). The former exercised authority via a complex hierarchy of monks, priests, bishops, etc., (Prelacy/Episcopalianism) and was sporadically vicious. Over centuries theological luminaries (Augustine, Bede, Patrick, Anselm, Wycliffe, Tyndale, etc) progressively moved all thinking disciples towards a greater confidence to believe that (A) ultimate (final) authority existed within the Scriptures; (B) that those Scriptures represented an OBJECTIVE revelation of the Truth of God accessible to any fair-minded reader’s conscience and (C) that biblical light, not the despotic reign of any human agency (either king nor pseudo-Church) was that necessary basis upon which free civilisation might be securely built (see Ps 119:45)
It was on account of this clash of opposing worldviews that the English Civil War was fought. King Charles represented ‘the divine right of the King’ with the added toxicity of ambivalence towards Papal Rome. This was challenged by the more principled English Parliament which, at the time, was heavily influenced and informed by the revolutionary teaching of protestant Reformation emerging from the continent (e.g. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli et al). Significantly, at the height of the Civil War, the English Parliament commissioned ‘The Westminster Confession’ (1643). This notable project was undertaken by an august assembly of one hundred and fifty of the godliest and most learned Christian scholars (‘Divines’) from across the realms of England and Scotland. Their remit was to replace the corrupt ECCLESIASTICAL authority with a new constitution for the sake of peaceful unity (Church and State) throughout the commonwealth. It is crucial to note that ALL participants believed in the inerrancy, the infallibility and PERSPICUITY (clarity) of Scripture wherefore they laboured for three years in debates and careful biblical exegesis to arrive at (provisionally) correct formal written expressions of Truth. In summary, metaphysical sovereignty belonged to God – He was able to reveal OBJECTIVE truth notwithstanding fallen man’s propensity to noetic sin. Thus, sectarianism (theological independency) was publicly vilified in accordance with St Paul’s NT affirmations (see 1Cor 1:10-12 & 1Cor 3:1-4)
Authentic Christianity decries the superficial appeal of doctrinal subjectivism and relativism so prevalent within contemporary religious thinking. Toleration is today its ubiquitous mantra cry. Why is it attractive? Why is it so popular? Because it saves you the academic trouble of working through their arguments to sift for truth. It extends a friendly reception around the table of discussion to ‘all-comers out there’ in the marketplace of ideas! And moreover, it evades the possibility of doctrinal challenge – indeed, it puts the boot on the other foot – it charges any doctrinal particularist an arrogant and intolerant bigot!
Dr Bahnsen whimsically illustrated the antagonism between Scriptural perspicuity and doctrinal relativism. Folks, he said, tend to think the Bible is like a radio signal transmission which gets received by car radios with some crackle and noise. Is it a transmission OR is it a reception (aerial & electronics) problem? Jesus loudly affirms it’s the former – but today the Churches are unaccountable for what they preach & teach. Every attempt to challenge their affirmations is met with indignation and heavy-handed censorship.
Jeremiah warns the contemporary Churches, ‘Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, Yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’ (Jer 30:11). The Apostle Paul makes a similar point: ‘Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.’ (1Tim 1:5ff).
