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TRUTH
TO LIVE
Evangelicals dominated church life in 19th century Britain. They felt
a need to band together to defend the relevance of biblical Christianity.
The same desire was growing in Europe and America, leading to a gathering
in London in 1846 of over 800 Christian leaders from various countries
who ‘… found in one another’s company a unity which was instantaneous
and intoxicating. All seemed to join in the spirit and to regard the moment
as a foretaste of the harmony and joy of heaven’. The Evangelical Alliance
was voted into being without dissent. A doctrinal basis was debated and
agreed. However, before the close of the conference differences arose.
The British wanted a resolution passed that no slave owner could be a
member of the Alliance. The Americans demurred, knowing it would have
split their Christian community. The aim of having an international Evangelical
Alliance had to be abandoned, leaving each country to form its own national
alliance.
History bears witness
to the splintering tendency of evangelicalism. This is regrettable but perhaps
inevitable, for two reasons. First, those who are most committed to the
Bible as containing God’s self-revelation will take most care over its interpretation.
Thoughtful study begets convictions, not all of which are inspired. At times
they fail to see the wood for the trees. ‘'You search the scriptures, because
you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness
of me; yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.’ Second, those
who most sincerely want to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord of their lifestyle
will feel distinctly uncomfortable, even angry, at the shallow, false and
sometimes blatantly self-indulgent value system of the world around. At
times they retreat to the comfort zones of piety and fellowship, parting
company from fellow Christians who fail to retreat with them.
Those of us who were
shaped by the writings of Alan Stibbs, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, James Packer
and John Stott will never question the importance of theological centralities.
They are basic to evangelicalism. Church history illustrates why these must
be identified and defended. But it is the security of this foundation of
truth that sets us free to treat as non-essential those other matters of
debate that can so easily divide believers. Do not the scriptures themselves
caution us about delusions of certainty on every issue? Jesus did not have
confidence in his disciples’ ability to distinguish the wheat from the weeds,
and said they should be allowed co-exist until harvest-time. Paul, despite
special divine revelation, was conscious that his understanding was only
partial. Even if we can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and have
a faith that moves mountains, but have not love, we are nothing. Our salvation
is by grace, through faith, not by our understanding of the doctrines of
grace and faith.
How we live in this
world as disciples of Christ cannot be taken lightly. The prince of this
world is Satan. We must not conform to the world’s values. The world’s wisdom
is foolish. Friendship with the world is hatred towards God. If the world
hates us we should not be surprised. We will never be regarded by the world
as the nicest people to have around. We should expect the world to think
us odd. Our call is to be different. Moral positions are often resented.
“Persecution,” says John Stott, "is simply the clash between two irreconcilable
value systems".
But we are in the world
and for a purpose. If Christ is Lord, we have no alternative but to do what
we can to understand the values he taught and lived, and try in some measure
to follow them. He said he did not come to condemn or to judge the world.
He seemed to go out of his way to break the rules of institutional religion
by associating with and helping outcasts, beggars, lepers, women, prostitutes,
Samaritans, publicans and sinners. He kept himself unspotted from the world
but not by physical separation. The incarnation was a messy business. He
prayed that his followers would not be taken out of the world, but that
they would be kept from the evil one, as strangers in the world, commissioned
to influence it for good in the saving of souls and social action. “With
God so interested in the world, it is a wonder that contemporary religion
has often seemed so uninterested,” writes Jim Wallis in Faith Works (Random
House 2000).
ECONI’s strength and
influence will require that we maintain a commitment to the doctrinal centralities
of evangelicalism. We cannot therefore be comfortable with liberal ecumenism
on the one hand or, on the other, with a fundamentalism that elevates non-essentials
to doctrinal centralities. But we should continue to maintain good listening
relationships with both of these groups and all others who have a voice
in our community, including those who are critical of us. We should enjoy
and exploit the freedom, born of our commitment to doctrinal certainties,
to explore the implications for our community of the radical gospel of Christ,
without the paralysing fear of having to look over our shoulder. We must
respond when our conscience, honed by scripture, compels us to be part of
the risky process of healing relationships in our still seriously divided
community. We will not always get it right. But we will certainly get nothing
right if nothing is all we ever do.
David
Hewitt was appointed the first President of ECONI on 20 November 2000.
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