LIGHT OR DARKNESS

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible….

Isaiah 8:20 NASB

²⁰ To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because they have no dawn. 

The writer of Ecclesiastes tells us in 1:9, “There is nothing new under the sun”.  After 50 years of studying theology, the Scriptures, and history centering on Church history, I vouch for what the Biblical writer said, “Nothing new”.

The new movements invading evangelical Christianity are not new at all.  A recent periodical we receive pointed out two of these movements, divergent views of the atonement and radical Mysticism.  I will assure you that neither is new.

The heresies regarding the atonement all have their origin in the early history of the church and have been effectively identified and denounced.  There is a requirement involved.  An interest in history and theology are required to know the truth and the errors defined by it.

Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury in the 11^th century was the author of Cur Deus Homo, or Why The God Man?  This has been since then the standard by which any theory of the atonement must be measured.  The atonement is very simply the death of Christ as the Triune God’s  requirement for the salvation of sinners.  God and man ,in the union of the God-man, died and His death was received by God as the price for all the sins of all the elect.  Was there more than this involved?  Certainly!  But this is the basic cause and achievement of the death on the cross.  Any attempt to confuse, obfuscate, or detract from this is to bring another Gospel which Paul condemns in Galatians one.

The problem of Mysticism is an old one also.  And if I may say so it is a plague in the church.  From the earliest days of Monasticism, the mystics have taught some form of fellowship with God other than faith in Him and His word.  Every foul bird imaginable has found its way to roost in the church on the back of this encompassing error.

Liberalism, Mormonism, Christian Science and Ouija Board Christianity that is sold to the modern church have come bringing their particular application of Mysticism.  If at 10:00 AM I say that it is daylight and the sun is shining while I spend the rest of the day lying, I’ve mixed some truth in my dialogue.  That is no redeeming virtue for the day of lies.  So those heretics have some truth that will not redeem their error.  A blind sow will occasionally find an acorn.

Back to Isaiah 8:20.  This is a matter of fact statement.  There is a judge of our controversy.  That judge is Scripture.  If what is taught is not Scripture, then there is no light, there never has been a dawn.

But it is said, “You have your Scriptures and we have ours”. That is not so.  Scripture has an exegetical value, an historic value, and a logical value.  Truth will always satisfy these criteria.

If it is not for the church to find a common understanding of Scripture, why does the Bible assure us that this common understanding is available to us?

“We do not teach doctrine”.  I’ll assure you that was evident the moment you began speaking.  “Theology is not our concern”.  And so because theology is the knowledge of God, it is evident that you do not know God.  “We are just still before God and let Him fill us.”  That is known as “Quietism” and has been a heresy since the 17^th century.

Please look at II Peter 2:1-3 and consider the certainty of deceptive teachers.