Unity & Modern-Day Disputes
In looking at Know the Creeds and
Councils so far, we have canvassed some seventeen centuries, with our most
recent stop being the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1646. But the final
section shifts to events of the 1960s and 70s, taking us from the medieval
times of the reformation to the decades earmarked, at least in the West, as the
most progressive of the 20th century. So my pointing out just how
different our world has become between these two eras makes for quite a ‘thank
you Captain Obvious’ moment. The difference is so stark, that in reading
chapters twelve and thirteen of Know the Creeds and Councils, a reversal of
goals for church councils becomes obvious. The early church needed clarity on
key doctrines, leading to distinction and separation between Christian groups.
While the modern church found itself so denominationally divided that
highlighting common ground was necessary to express the church of God as a united
body in the world.
Justin S.
Holcomb’s summary of ‘Vatican II’ and modern Protestant confessions ‘the
Lausanne Covenant’ and ‘the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy’ shows the
motivator behind developing greater unity. In the 1960s and 70s, and still now
in the 21st century, we are in an era where, for our priority to be
evangelism, unity must be on the agenda. Holcomb articulates that, from Vatican
II, non-Catholics “can learn from the council's
urging for Christians to be the church in the world in a relevant and faithful
way.”
The Lausanne Covenant and the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy went
on to exhort Protestants towards a similar goal. Compared to their early church
or reformation counterparts, these modern confessions were concerned not only
with sound and rigorous doctrine, but also with exposing common beliefs between
Christians, on which believers could unite.
Holcomb sums this up, “Just as new
dilemmas had prompted the ancient Christians to define their beliefs more
sharply, the fresh challenges presented by a well-connected, technologically
advanced world have led Christians of all stripes to seek doctrinal unity to
address the challenges posed by the modern world. Two of these challenges
include biblical criticism and world evangelism.”
This
principle is important for understanding the climate that we as the church are
in. Hosts of people in the modern world have big questions to ask about God,
the Bible and life in the world. Yet even more than this, there are the
millions of people around the world to whom Jesus, the gospel, and even the
concept of God, are complete unknowns. So now is not the time for debating
doctrine with the prospect of division or separation. Now is a time for expressing
certainty of the Bible’s contents and reliability so as to show Jesus to the
world clearly, not through separation that leads to confusion.
It is worth
noting that the pursuit of unity through the Lausanne Covenant was not sought
at the expense of sound doctrine, but rather through sound doctrine. Holcomb
writes, “By
returning to the fundamentals of the faith – the Trinity, the authority of
Scripture, the centrality, uniqueness and necessity of Jesus Christ for
salvation, and the purposes of God in history and at the end of history –
Lausanne encourages the contemporary church to be rooted in scripture and
insists, against many trends, that sound doctrine is the basis of sound
evangelism.”
I’m not
convinced that we always see evangelism as being this tied up with sound
doctrine. Yet what are we presenting to people and encouraging them to believe,
if not the true and sound gospel of salvation through faith in Christ alone as
presented in the Bible? Without trust that the inspired word of God is our only
means for sharing the gospel with people, our evangelism can only be hollow.
But praise
God that he has given us a clear and inerrant word by which we and others can
know him! The world is confused about God, with a jaded view of the church. So
let us be people who seek to stand united on the sound and fundamental
doctrines of our faith, representing Christ to the world in a real and relevant
way.
About this month's contributor, Lauren Mahaffey
I’ve been a
Sydney girl all of my life and have just moved from the leafy
'burbs of Northern Sydney to the narrow streets and terraces of Newtown.
I grew up
being taught about Jesus from a young age, and while I always thought there was
a God and that the God of the Bible seemed to be Him, it was in my early years
of high school that I truly understood the Gospel and put my trust in Jesus. In 2014 I
started studying at Moore Theological College. I’m also
serving with the team at MTS as the Communications Officer (aka the kid with
the Twitter password) and am part of the community at Summer Hill Church.
I spent three years studying media and writing at Macquarie
Uni before I started an MTS apprenticeship at St Paul’s Anglican Church,
Carlingford. It’s a great gift to have access to the Bible and know God through
it, and I love poring over it to soak up what it reveals about God and His plan
for us in Jesus Christ. I also love reading novels and quirky short stories,
and in recent times I’ve come to really appreciate the availability of good
Christian books and their value in helping us understand the scriptures.
As well as
this I love cooking, watching The Office (US, of course!), sewing,
going out to see bands, and generally exploring the Inner West!