reformed blogging.

Ryle wrote the following to an audience of Englishmen, but I think it fair to take “Englishmen” and apply to all who call themselves Christian. Though Ryle speaks specifically of the English Reformation, if there were no Reformation (whether in England or in Europe) there is no sign that anyone but the Pope would have had access to Scripture. It would be wise, therefore, for any Bible believing Christian to go back to the Reformation and resist what Ryle calls the “unprotestantizing” of our Churches.

“To the Reformation Englishmen owe an English Bible, and liberty for every man to read it. To the Reformation they owe the knowledge of the way of peace with God, and of the right of every sinner to go standing in his way. To the Reformation they owe a Scriptural standard of morality and holiness, such as our ancestors never dreamed of. For ever let us be thankful for these inestimable mercies! For ever let us grasp them firmly, and refuse to let them go! For my part, I hold that he who would rob us of these privileges, and draw us back to Pre-Reformation ignorance, superstition, and unholiness, is an enemy to England, and ought to be firmly opposed.” - J.C. Ryle, Five English Reformers, 43-44.

Here is what Ryle strives against:

“Let us not go back to ignorance, superstition, priestcraft, and immorality. Our forefathers tried Popery long ago, and threw it off with disgust and indignation. Let us not put the clock back and return to Egypt. Let us have no peace with Rome, till Rome abjures her errors and is at peace with Christ.
“Let us read our Bibles, and be armed with Scriptural arguments. A Bible-reading laity is a nation’s surest defence against error. I have no fear for English Protestantism, if the laity will only do their duty.
“Let us read history, and see what Rome did in days gone by. Read how she trampled on your country’s liberties, plundered your forefather’s pockets, and kept the whole nation ignorant and immoral. Read Foxe, Strype, and Burnet, and Soames, and Blunt. And do not forget that Rome never changes. It is her boast and glory that she is always the same. Only give her absolute power in England, and she would soon put out the eyes of our country, and make her like Samson, a degraded slave.” - 67-68.

Here are a few passages that seem to be ignored by many professing Christians. When I say ignored, I do not necessarily mean that no mention is made of these passages or that they are verbally rejected, but that understanding of the doctrines herein expounded are nowhere evident in many lives of those who think themselves Christian. How few there are who truly examine themselves to see if they are of the faith! Many, it seems, are content with a superficial examination, perhaps in fear of finding that they do not truly know Christ.

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)

The gospel as preached today in many Churches does not at all resemble the above quoted passage. Many shudder at such passages thinking that it is far too negative, yet these must not be ignored for they are in the Bible. Make no mistake, these are the words of Christ. Here He preaches the narrow gate as well as the narrow way that leads to life. It is important to note here, that it is not simply entering through a gate by a single action, repeating a prayer once, or having an experience at a certain point in time (though these are not negated) that one is said to find life, but it is a continual lifestyle, walking the narrow way that leads to life. Many comfort themselves thinking they have entered the narrow gate, and so can now live at ease, yet the narrow way implies difficulty that will continue until we die. If all those who have walked the wide path and are now in hell were to be polled, very many would respond that they never expected to be found in hell, that they thought themselves safe, having entered through that “narrow gate” yet they were wrong. No one thinks that God will punish them. All men seem to wrongly suppose that God will show special favors to them alone. God is faithful to His word. He is not like the threatening parent who does not carry through with punishment. Many have grown used to empty threats and thus wrongly suppose hell to be among them. Yet God will not dishonor His name for the sake of an unrepentant sinner. If you are not walking on that narrow way, taking up your cross daily, it is likely that you are on the broad path to destruction, and are self-deceived.

In the same sermon, Christ goes on to speak of two types of hearers:

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against the house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell and great was its fall. (Matthew 7:24-27)

Here is another message likely to make many church-goers uncomfortable, namely, that merely hearing the Word being preached is not adequate. It is necessary, but not sufficient. Here Christ shows that two things are necessary: first, hearing, but secondly acting. The two men contrasted here are both hearers of the Word. This is not about a Christian and an atheist, but rather, two people who sit in Church every Sunday listening to the sermon. Yet there are two responses to the word. One hears and acts, the other hears and does not act. It is very simple and straightforward. Those who do not act or obey what Christ has spoken, will fall, while those who obey will be founded on the rock. It is obvious from this passage then, that mere exposure to biblical preaching/teaching is not sufficient. One needs to act upon it. And those who do not act upon it are those who are now traveling the broad path that leads to destruction. This comes as no surprise, for Jesus Himself taught that there would be many who enter through it, this in no way exempts pastors, elders, deacons, praise leaders, or committed members of any church. If there is no obedience to the word, then there is no reason to believe that regeneration of the heart has taken place.

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. (Luke 9:23)

Here is a rather obvious teaching of Christ. Namely, that those who come after Him must deny themselves and take up their crosses daily. The key word here is daily, it is to be a daily activity. Now this goes against the view that once someone “prays a prayer” they have no need for anything else since they have, once and for all, denied themselves. Yet what Christ is describing is a continual self-denial. And only in this can we properly claim to follow Christ. He also says that “No one, after putting his hand on the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). Serious consideration must be given as to what Christ means when He speaks of taking up one’s cross. No doubt this entails all those very small decisions we make to be kind to others, to crucify our desires, yet it is not limited to those small things only, but applies to every aspect of our life. To die, is to become unresponsive to all those things that once held our hearts captive. And only until we do that can we follow Christ. You who cling to worldly treasures, no matter how “good” a person you may be, cannot follow Christ. Thus it was with the rich young ruler, who could not part with all his possessions. Now I am not saying that we all need to sell everything, but what I am saying is that we should have no problem with such a demand. For anyone who has truly committed to Christ has, in a very real sense, already forsaken everything.

Here’s some more Edwards for you:

“Hypocrites may, and oftentimes do, make a great show of religion in profession, and in words that cost nothing, and in actions that involve no great difficulty or suffering. But they have not a suffering spirit, or a spirit that inclines them willingly to suffer for Christ’s sake. When they undertook religion, it was not with any view to suffering, or with any design or expectation of being injured by it in their temporal interests.” - Jonathan Edwards, Charity and its Fruit, p. 253

“Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” - 2 Timothy 3:12

“For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.” - Hebrews 6:4-6

The above passage is disturbing. To many, it suggests that Christians can lose their salvation. Yet Christ says those who have received eternal life “will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of [His] hand” (John 10 28).  Similarly, Paul speaks of being “convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). The whole letter of 1 John was written so that the believers would know their sins have been forgiven. Thus, it is a grave error to think that the Bible gives no ground for assurance of an eternal salvation. The very fact that it is called “eternal life” suggests that those who have it will have it forever.

In light of this, then, how do we view the above passage? After all, it is not the only one like it, in Matthew 24:10 Christ speaks of a great apostasy, that “many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” Later on in Hebrews, the writer says that there is no longer a sacrifice for sins for those who “go on sinning willfully.” Now, Arminians as well as Roman Catholics have taken these verses to indicate that men must work for their salvation, and that those who are saved now, may lose their salvation at a later time. As mentioned earlier, this is unbiblical and, I believe, an improper way to interpret Scripture. How then do we interpret such passages? Well, we do not deny the doctrine of assurance of salvation, nor do we deny the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints. The one who places his faith in Christ alone as righteousness, relinquishing hope in any other means to salvation, not trusting in his own work or merit, but believing that Christ’s work has finished and accomplished redemption, ought to trust that he is already righteous in God’s sight. So what does the passage mean? It’s meaning ought to be obvious to any reader, namely, that the person described does not necessarily constitute a Christian. One can be “enlightened,” can “taste the heavenly gift,” be made “partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,” but these things do not mean that the person is a Christian. Anyone who thinks that they are saved based on the fact that they had a particular experience, or because they understand the gospel are not Christians. Anyone who thinks that because they enjoy reading the Bible and that they have desired to go to paradise, that they are Christians, these people are severely deceived. These things by no means constitute a Christian. Though, it is true that a Christian will not be lacking in any of these things, it is possible to never know Christ but to experience all this. God rebuked Balaam through an ass, and Saul, for a time, prophesied. Judas, was one of the twelve sent out to perform miracles, cast out demons. 1 Corinthians says that one can even be burned by fire and still not know Christ. According to the same passage one can have faith to move mountains and still be just a noisy gong.

None should be surprised at this. Christ tells us that “the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:14), but the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the way is broad, and many will enter through it. “Many,” says Christ, “will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23). Clearly, Christ intends to convey that many will deceive themselves thinking that they are Christians, that because they have done such and such a thing, or felt a certain way, or had certain experiences, that they are saved, yet these will be denied on that day of judgment. And these are not a few people, but many. Thus does Paul rightly exhort the Corinthians to examine themselves, to test themselves whether they are of the faith.

Who then can be assured? We have seen that the Bible does encourage the true Christian to have confidence of his standing before God, but on what grounds do we find such assurance? Negatively, we do not find it in any of the things mentioned in Hebrews 6. Rather, we find it in Christ alone. We trust that “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” True assurance of salvation does not look to experience, no matter how supernatural or amazing, the devil often comes as an angel of light, does not look to discipline, no matter how strict and consistent, nor emotions, for our emotions are so fickle and often betray us. Yes, these things ought to be present in the believer’s life, but they are no sure signs that grace has been wrought in that persons life. True assurance of salvation consists of trust in Christ alone. Those who do not trust in Christ’s work completely, who have not forsaken their own righteousness, have no reason to be assured. However, those who have given up on their own righteousness, who cling only to the cross, these have every right to look upon Christ as their surety, as their substitute and ransom.

“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you–unless indeed you fail the test?” - 2 Corinthians 13:5

We must not content ourselves with a false assurance, but must endeavor to relinquish all trust in anything but Christ. If we fail to do so, we deceive ourselves.

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” - Philippians 3:7-11

1 If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
- 1 Corinthians 13

The above passage, 1 Corinthians 13, is perhaps one of the better-known passages in Scripture, and this is not without reason. Paul describes love as the chief virtue and as greater than even faith and hope. There is very little obscurity then, as to what sort of value Paul places on love. Yet, I believe that, as with most oft-quoted passages, it is many times misused, or even abused to convey a message contrary to the gospel. Thus, I will briefly seek to show what the passage first, does not mean, and secondly what is does mean.

First, it is important not simply to look at particular words, or even sentences (though it is not always a bad thing). One must always be aware of the surrounding context of the passage. And context is a relative term, it could be the sentence, paragraph, chapter, book or the whole Bible. And so we must be aware of all the degrees of context. Knowing that, according to 1 Timothy 3:16, all Scripture is God-breathed, and so if we come out with an interpretation contrary to other parts of Scripture, either our interpretation of the passage in view is incorrect, or the interpretation of the other verses are incorrect. There may be apparent contradictions, which may be settled (Romans 4 & James 2) but there are no real contradictions in Scripture.

Onto the passage then:

Brief Context: Paul is writing to the Corinthian church, a church undergoing much strife and division within the body (1:10), there is a great party spirit (1:12-15), a desire to be viewed as wise in the world’s eyes (1:26), spiritual immaturity (3:1), ignorance of who they are in God (3:16), wise in their own eyes (3:18), judging the Lord’s servants (4:3), boasting (4:7), selfishness (4:8), arrogance (5:2), lack of church discipline (5:9-13), lawsuits within the church (6:1), stumbling one another (6:12), sexual immorality (6:18), abuse of Christian liberty (8:1), abuse of spiritual gifts (12:1), undue pride with regard to spiritual gifts (12:12).

Now, it is in the context of this last part, namely spiritual gifts that Paul seeks to show forth the greatest of these gifts. Having mentioned the various roles that God has appointed to the church: apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healing, helps, administrations, and tongues, Paul admonishes the believers that gifts are appointed by God and will be varied within the church, that God has appointed specific times and people to receive these various gifts. But past all these gifts Paul exhorts that the Corinthians seek something more excellent, what is called “the greater gifts.” And this is love.

Having set the stage then for chapter 13 of Corinthians I will endeavor to first show, negatively, what it does not mean. Or to put it another way, the abuses of the passage.
Its Abuses - Some use it to undermine faith itself, or the object of our faith as unnecessary. Such a love as described in 1 Corinthians 13 presupposes a spiritual rebirth and a faith in the proclaimed gospel. It is impossible the Scripture will undermine the rest of Scripture. It does not mean that faith does not matter, love is the fruition of true faith, but it does not itself replace faith. Faith is still absolutely necessary for salvation, and it is faith alone that saves.
1. Paul is not undermining all these things that he is naming. Tongues, prophecy, knowledge, faith, giving, martyrdom, these are not being undermined at all. What Paul is doing here is showing that these things are nothing if they are lacking in the necessary quality, that is, love. The things mentioned are to be sought after and desired (in agreement with the rest of the book) but they are all meaningless if they are devoid of love. Thus, rather than undermine these things, Paul is saying that their value is derived from the love by which it is motivated. For in the latter part of the passage it is said that all these things will be done away with when “the perfect comes”. Yet this does not mean that these things are unimportant. All these things are necessary, but only when done from a heart of love.
2. A common abuse of this passage is to show that doctrine or theology goes against the spirit of Scripture. No doubt, there are some unessential doctrines that are often blown out of proportion and serve to cause schisms within the body, which is to be regretted and corrected. Yet, there are certain doctrines that are central to the gospel: those doctrines for which Paul stood up and “opposed Peter to his face” (Galatians 2:11), and those that are not to be compromised even if an angel brings a different message (1:8-9). Paul says that anyone, himself included, bringing a different gospel is to be accursed! Thus, to use this passage of Scripture against those essential doctrines is to abuse the passage. To do so would be to redefine love in a manner that does not accord with Scripture. Love, as defined by Christ, is obedience to His commandments (John 14:15).
3. Thus, the passage is clearly not intending to say that faith is unnecessary. The meaning of words ought to be defined by context, and faith here (v.2) clearly does not speak of justifying faith, but a seeming faith. Just as there are two sorts of sorrows (one leading to repentance the other leading to death, 2 Cor. 7:10) so there are two sorts of faith. One is a mere professing faith (James 2, 1 Cor. 13:2, which is by word only, and another that is a true justifying faith (Romans 4, Eph. 2:8,9). The apparent contradiction in the two passages (Rom. 4, justified by faith not works and 1 Cor. 13, faith is nothing without love) is solved by noting this difference between apparent faith and true justifying faith: an apparent faith will not culminate into the sort of love described by this passage, whereas a true justifying faith will.

How ought we to view 1 Corinthians 13? Or, what are its proper uses?
Its Uses - To show what true faith consists of, that faith without works is dead. True love to God is not an abstract thing but ultimately obedience to His word (John 14:15).
1. It shows us the true nature of justifying faith. That it does not consist in external deeds. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 7:21) The implications of this is startling and ought to cause us to examine ourselves. This means that we can prophecy, speak in tongues, have an apparent faith, give all things to the poor, and yes, even be martyred and still not know Christ.
2. It shows us the use of faith, that for the time being we see dimly, but if we persevere in faith, then it will one day become sight. Thus, our faith is not in vain, but if we do see in ourselves this chief virtue of love, we can be more assured of our faith, that it is justifying, and that we are not deceived. For true faith is the ground of true love, which is shown in verses 4-6.
3. This love that never fails is not an abstract sense of love, but true obedience, in the sense that delight for God and His Law are not absent. There is no use for spiritual gifts, for external deeds, for miraculous healings, or professed faith where true love to Christ and God are lacking. True love to God is demonstrated by obedience to His word. The Pharisees were able to keep the external part of the Law, but failed to look at the heart. Here Paul shows that love is more than a matter of external deeds and that God desires true heart obedience not external sacrifice.

One thing that cannot be reconciled with the Arminian notion of “free-will” is physical birth. If Arminians will not accept God’s sovereignty in spiritual rebirth, one wonders how they deal with natural birth. After all, not every person has equal exposure to the gospel. In fact, there are some countries where there is no gospel at all! How, then, can Arminians reconcile this to God’s call? For many are called but few are chosen. None will deny that physical birth is due solely to God’s sovereignty, for what choice does a man have in where he will be physically born? That a man is born in the Middle East in a prominently Muslim country is not because God “foresaw” that they would not believe and placed them there, is it? Those who have not heard the gospel and are thus condemned to hell, was there no foreseen faith? Will God condemn these? It is no surprise that so many Arminian churches have turned to Liberalism and Universalism, since there is no way to reconcile man’s “free-will” to respond to God’s grace and the fact that not all have heard/will hear the gospel.

Arminians, to be fair, do not deny that God’s grace is absolutely required for salvation, but so is man’s free-will. That man must choose God as a response to His grace, and this choice must not be coerced or forced by God in any way lest it be a breach of man’s so-called free-will. They hold that predestination and election speak mainly to those with foreseen faith, that God saw down the “tunnel of time” those who would believe and “chose” them. How does this account for those who will die having never heard the gospel? Were they “foreseen” to not have faith? If that be the case, it is still difficult to understand how God will hold them accountable to something they have not heard. Though they hypothetically rejected Christ they never did it in reality never having had the proper opportunity. Thus their rejection, having never occurred in reality cannot be said to be a foreseen lack of faith, unless God foresaw a different world.  An Arminian might object that they are still sinners and thus condemned to judgment, but the next question would be, then, how has Christ properly died for these? Are they not in the world? If Christ did, in fact, die for the whole world without exception, how is His the benefit of His death displayed in these unsaved people? Since they have never heard the gospel the opportunity won by Christ through the atonement (according to Universal Atonement) is not present. In which case an Arminian will either resort to absolute absurdity saying that such people hear the gospel after they die (inclucivism) or universalism. The Arminian is forced to compromise God’s justice, saying that these will not be condemned or to compromise Christ’s atonement saying that Christ’s death for the world was not really for all the world without exception. One cannot have a “universal” view of the atonement and believe in free-will.

The correct view is this, that God unconditionally elected sinners to be saved before the foundation of the world. So that God’s grace is absolutely necessary and is absolutely sufficient to save whoever He desires. God is no respecter of man, there is no “dignity” too great for God to overcome. And though some may resist God’s grace, none can resist it when God wills to save a sinner. For who can thwart God’s plan? Thus the wills of such sinners will (without their own consent) be changed by God to long and desire Him. Therefore, those elect by God are atoned completely through the redemptive work of Christ so that all those for whom Christ died will be saved, and Christ’s death will not have been in vain for anyone. He will not have died for those in hell, but will have saved completely to eternal life (eternal meaning that the elect can never die or be condemned) those who are the elect. As for those who never heard the gospel they are condemned by their own sinfulness, since, apart from God’s grace, and by their own “free-will” they would never choose God.

Here are seven points according to the Westminster Directory for the Public Worship of God, as to how the servant of Christ ought to perform his ministry:

1. Painfully, not doing the work of the Lord negligently.

2. Plainly, that the meanest may understand; delivering the truth not in the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect; abstaining also from an unprofitable use of unknown tongues, strange phrases, and cadences of sounds and words; sparingly citing sentences of ecclesiastical or other human writers, ancient or modern, be they never so elegant.

3. Faithfully, looking at the honour of Christ, the conversion, edification, and salvation of the people, not at his own gain or glory; keeping nothing back which may promote those holy ends, giving to every one his own portion, and bearing indifferent respect unto all, without neglecting the meanest, or sparing the greatest, in their sins.

4. Wisely, framing all his doctrines, exhortations, and especially his reproofs, in such a manner as may be most likely to prevail; shewing all due respect to each man’s person and place, and not mixing his own passion or bitterness.

5. Gravely, as becometh the word of God; shunning all such gesture, voice, and expressions, as may occasion the corruptions of men to despise him and his ministry.

6. With loving affection, that the people may see all coming from his godly zeal, and hearty desire to do them good. And,

7. As taught of God, and persuaded in his own heart, that all that he teacheth is the truth of Christ; and walking before his flock, as an example to them in it; earnestly, both in private and publick, recommending his labours to the blessing of God, and watchfully looking to himself, and the flock whereof the Lord hath made him overseer: So shall the doctrine of truth be preserved uncorrupt, many souls converted and built up, and himself receive manifold comforts of his labours even in this life, and afterward the crown of glory laid up for him in the world to come.

It is not uncommon to hear passionate living being contrasted with proper understanding. On the one side is a passionate life for Christ, full of zeal and love, spent doing the work of God, versus a life of orthodox theology, or proper understanding of God as revealed in scripture. Oftentimes, the latter is downplayed and even set against proper living as if it were its enemy. An example that one might hear is that of a man passionately praying and helping out his neighbors, loving everyone around him, living a “passionate life” while not having the deepest understanding of theology versus another man who sits in his study all day, isolated from the world reading his Bible, studying esoteric doctrines that really have no impact on life, having. The former does the true kingdom work, while the latter studies his Greek and Hebrew, doing no real work for the kingdom. Of course, consideration ought to be taken as to why such a reaction is occurring against theology, there being a degree of truth to it, but such a comparison, in my opinion, is based on a very serious presupposition that is absolutely wrong.

Just to be fair, there are some who do say the above without meaning that the two are in contrast. However, it is safe to say, that many actually do hold that orthodoxy (correct teaching) is an enemy of orthopraxy (correct practice). The fact of the matter is that the two are inseparably bound. Correct teaching, if properly accepted and truly believed, will necessarily lead to correct practice. Conversely, false teaching, if accepted and believed, will always lead to false living.

An example commonly utilized by those who set proper theology against passionate living is that of the Pharisees, who were the top religious leaders of their time, and yet were called “a brood of vipers” and “white washed tombs” by Christ Himself. They are pointed to as those who had the most orthodox beliefs, and because of their dedication to studying the Law alone, they did not please God they became heartless men who sought their own gain, rather than the glory of God. Then, in contrast to these men, were the disciples, mere fishermen, though they lacked the sort of theology that the pharisees had, yet they were passionate about following Christ. Hopefully, the reader can already see a problem. First, the Pharisees did not have the good theology. They were unorthodox. Just a few examples Matthew 15:6, they, “invalidated the word of God for the sake of [their] tradition.” They did not hold to everything that Scripture said, but placed tradition as a higher authority. They called Christ Beelzebul! Can one’s theology get any worse? Christ tells the other religious leaders, the Sadducees that they “are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God.” (22:29) Their theology was completely off, they had a view of God that was so far off that they were called sons of the devil. Some may point to Christ’s exhortation to “do what they say, not what they do” as His affirmation of their orthodoxy, but He was affirming the Mosaic Law that they promoted, not their theology. For they wrongly thought that they were in obedience to the Law, having a false view regarding its demands.Thus, the hypocritical Pharisees were rebuked by Christ were rebuked for false living, but this was not a result of arrogance in orthodoxy, but rather, a completely false understanding of it (as a result of their depravity). Now, I do not think it necessary to show that the disciples of Christ, post-ressurection had orthodox theology, it is, after all, their epistles from which we, who consider ourselves orthodox, derive our theology.

Conversely, it is safe to say that bad theology always leads to bad living. Not saying that bad theology always leads to hell, no doubt, most of us are likely wrong somewhere (particularly in the realm of eschatology… we can’t all be right!) but incorrect theology (to the degree of its emphasis in scripture) will necessarily lead to improper living. An example of this is the church in Thessalonica. They believed that Christ had already come and so they sold all their possessions, stopped working and thus, the entirety of their lives were changed based on this one believe. Because of bad theology, Paul had to write to correct them and exhort them, based on proper theology, to live correctly. Similarly, the book of Galatians was written to fend off the Galatians from false teaching, from a works-based righteousness. This is heresy, or to put it euphemistically, bad theology. The believers were being shaken to the point that Paul had to ask them who it was that bewitched them (Gal. 3:1). The epistles were written for the sake of exhortation or correction in terms of theological beliefs. Thus, the apostles knew their theology, and wrote to correct improper theology.

Even in the case that the “living” was “right” (by this I mean moral in the world’s eyes), if such living was motivated by bad theology it would be pointed out and corrected. A prime example would be the Judaizers who promoted a “moral” life, yet did so on the basis of incorrect theology. If the goal of Christianity was merely to produce a moral person, then the means would not be of importance, but the goal of Christianity is to convert depraved men so that they might trust in Christ for their righteousness. This may cause some to sin more that grace may increase, but clearly such men do not know their theology. If Paul’s aim was to produce men who merely lived “right” lives then he would not have preached the gospel as he did, seeing that it led some to think they could use grace as a license to sin. Paul, in Romans 6, does not turn and change his mind on his doctrine of justification by Christ’s righteousness alone, but holds to it and corrects the theology of the antinomians.

The danger then, is not proper theology, but two things:

1. A knowledge of theology without an embrace of it. There are two faiths described in the Bible, one that justifies (which will also produce fruit) and one that does not (James 2), similarly there is a godly sorrow leading to repentance and a worldly sorrow leading to death. It is not an odd thing to find, then, that there are two types of orthodoxy (not a real distinction within orthodoxy, but one made because it exists) true orthodoxy, and shallow orthodoxy. It is not enough to “know” theology. The demons believe and shudder, Satan is the greatest theologian in terms of knowledge, but an embrace of it by faith must take place. If it is not affecting every part of one’s life, then it is highly probably that somewhere along the line one’s theology is “off”. Either this, or it is not truly believed. Any man who knows he is bound to hell, who has a proper understanding of both sin, hell, grace, faith and justification will necessarily see his own hopelessness and turn to Christ. Yet a man who does not understand either the depth of his own depravity, the consequences of it, the sufficiency of Christ’s work or the doctrine of justification will not turn to Christ. True orthodoxy will lead to orthopraxy. One may object and point out that even the most orthodox believer still sins, yet if viewed carefully the occassions that believers do sin are those occasions that we suppress the truth, thinking that God “will not do good or bad.” There is always a false understanding of theology (or a suppression of true theology) when a Christian gives in to intentional sin. This occurs because of the radical depravity accompanying the fall.

2. A “passionate life” without proper theology. Paul speaks of his fellow country men who “have a zeal for God but not in accordance with knowledge.” It is very possible to be zealous for God, and yet to be ignorant of Him. There is no possible way to live a proper life without a proper understanding. Or there is no way to have orthopraxy without orthodoxy. It is imperative to have good theology. Bad theology takes glory from God, bad theology, as evidenced in the pharisees will produce a legalistic, works-based righteousness sort of mentality. At best it will make the Christian life extremely difficult, at worst it will lead many down that broad road to destruction. Without a proper doctrine of sin, a proper doctrine of man’s depravity, and of impending judgment, and of God’s free grace in Christ, it is difficult at best, and impossible at worst for sinners to come to Christ.

Good theology, in and of itself is not sufficient, but it is absolutely necessary, and if embraced, it will lead to proper practice. Someone has put it like this, “The deeper the theology, the higher the doxology.” Proper theology and an embrace of it, is everything.