Category: orthodoxy

  • Renewal of Your Mind: Who Gets to Say Who’s a Christian?

    A gravel trail through a sunlit forest splits around a moss-covered rock mound thick with ferns, with fallen autumn leaves scattered along both paths. Sometimes a path diverges for a while.

    I recently got into a discussion with someone about what Christianity is and isn’t. This person began to give me a long list of “you can’t be a Christian if…” On the surface, I agreed with most of what my friend was saying, since his litany of “ifs” didn’t match my understanding of what a right-thinking Christian would believe.  But I had to disagree with the “You can’t be a Christian part”. No Christian short of glory is ever 100% correct and consistent in their theology, worldview and practice. Jesus was the only one to meet that bar.

    All of us have inconsistencies between what we believe and what we practice, between what the Bible teaches and how we actually think.

    Fortunately for all of us, Christ doesn’t require perfection before we become believers. He doesn’t require our theology to be exact or our thought process to align exactly with His teaching. It’s a process, a lifelong renewal of your mind. It was why Paul could say…

    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 ESV

    The moment we trust Jesus by faith alone, we are accepted into the realm of believers, adopted as children of God and born again 

    He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.. Colossians 1:13-14 ESV

    We are justified; our sins are forgiven. We are in the process of being sanctified, that is, set apart and made holy. Eventually we will be glorified, and we will have fully right living (orthopraxy) and right belief (orthodoxy).

    In the meantime, we learn and grow. The Spirit and the Word correct us, and the Lord disciplines us. We learn to have grace with one another, forgive each other and guide one another in the truth.

    There is no doubt that Christians – all of us – have wrong thinking about some things. That doesn’t excuse our error; it just recognizes that we’re all at different points in our faith walk. We all need to work towards renewing our minds.

    Only Christ alone knows the heart and can determine the validity of our faith. When we step up to declare who is and isn’t a believer based on their beliefs on certain issues or preferences, we step way out of bounds and try to usurp Jesus’ authority (even with what we think are good motives).

    I’m not suggesting there is more than one path; Jesus is the only way. I’m not saying we accept error. I am saying we withhold judgment, have discernment and walk in grace.

    Some people claim faith but have none. Others will surprise us when we reach glory. Let’s learn and disciple together and live with grace and patience.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Only Christ knows the heart, so deciding who is or isn’t a Christian is not our call. We are all still growing, so let’s learn together and walk in grace and patience.

    TAKEAWAY

    No Christian short of glory gets their theology, worldview and practice exactly right. Only Jesus met that bar.

    Christ doesn’t require perfect theology before we believe. The moment we trust Him by faith alone, we are justified, and the renewal of our minds goes on until glory.

    Only Christ can determine whether someone’s faith is real. Our part is to withhold judgment, use discernment and walk in grace, without accepting error or more than one way.

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  • Body of Divinity: Why Sound Doctrine Still Matters 

    I have been doing some reading in Thomas Watson’s “Body of Divinity”. Watson was a Puritan, and the “Divinity” is from his sermons on the Heidelberg Catechism, published after he died in 1776. It’s readily available for free from many sources online, including https://digitalpuritan.net/

    I’m not affiliated with them in any way and can’t endorse everything on their shelves, but they are a great source of free Puritan works. The Puritans get a bad rap in the world today, but they have much godly wisdom to impart.

    Spurgeon said,

    “Thomas Watson’s Body of Practical Divinity is one of the most precious of the peerless works of the Puritans; and those best acquainted with it prize it most. Watson was one of the most concise, racy, illustrative, and suggestive of those eminent divines who made the Puritan age the Augustan period of evangelical literature. There is a happy union of sound doctrine, heart-searching experience, and practical wisdom throughout all his works, and his Body of Divinity is, beyond all the rest, useful to the student and the minister.”

    Unlike some, I am a fan of catechisms and statements of faith. They should not in any way replace Scripture, and where they conflict, Scripture should always be trusted over them. They help articulate what the Scriptures teach. 

    In his introduction, Watson says,

    “It is the duty of Christians to be settled in the doctrine of faith. The best way for Christians to be settled is to be well-grounded”

    I have to agree. It is, of course, possible for someone to be so theologically minded that they miss out on God’s love and grace in their lives. For the vast majority of Christians, this isn’t a risk at all.

    The Bible is clear that we need to know what we believe, why we believe it, and why it matters.

    Our doctrine matters because our faith is grounded in a very specific message.

    For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures… 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 ESV

    Our destiny is grounded in truth.

    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, Ephesians 1:13 ESV

    But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits[a] to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 ESV

    We’re called to share the truth in a world of competing views and false teachers. We need to do our best to proclaim the truth and that requires understanding.

    The gospel is a sacred trust. We don’t often think of the gospel in those terms, but it is true.

    Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. Jude 1:3 ESV

    Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:13-14 ESV

    How well have you been guarding the truth entrusted to you? We can all use improvement.

    Read the Word. Study the Word. Apply the Word.

    Kevin

    SUMMARY

    Reading Thomas Watson’s Body of Divinity reminded me that doctrine matters. My faith rests on one unchanging message I’m called to guard and pass on.

     

    TAKEAWAY

    Your faith doesn’t rest on a feeling. It rests on a fixed message: Christ died, was buried, and rose again, exactly as Scripture said.

    The gospel isn’t yours to reshape. It’s a sacred trust, and you’re called to guard it and pass it down intact.

    You won’t get settled in what you believe by accident. Being well grounded means knowing what you believe, why you believe it, and why it matters.

    Check these posts out

    Right belief or right living?

    Read the Word

    Whirlymagigs and the importance of Bible reading

    Celebrate your identity in Christ

    In between born again and glory