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Core belief and
Salvation & the renewal of the Church
The Rev’d Dr
Peter Toon
If a pagan in
ancient times or a secular humanist today is to become a Christian, a
disciple of Jesus Christ, an adopted child of God, and a baptized believer
what is he required by God, who calls him, to believe, be and do?
Obviously he is to believe the Gospel, and as he does so he is also
to repent of sin and begin to obey Christ, as he is baptized
and admitted into church fellowship.
In order to believe the Gospel initially he has to believe certain basic
things which are presupposed by the Gospel – e.g., that God is the
Creator, Judge and Redeemer of the world, and that man is God’s creature
and loved by him.
Then in order to know the depth of his sin, the basics of his moral duty,
the facts of the Christian Faith and the principles of prayer, he has to
learn the content and meaning of the Ten Commandments, the Creed and the
Lord’s Prayer.
Further, in obedience to Christ, he will gradually learn from Scripture
his privileges and responsibilities/duties both within the church and
within the world. He will grow in understanding of his vocation as a
Christian believer and as that understanding grows then will know better
the blessings of God and the duties of discipleship.
Thus what was required by God of him for salvation at the final moment of
his being a pagan or secular humanist will be less than but intimately
related to what is required of him after he has been baptized and become a
full church member. In fact he can never return to the original
position in terms of answering the question, “What must I do to be
saved?” For what must be believed and be done before God increases as the
Christian disciple grows in the grace and knowledge of God – for much is
required of those to whom much is given.
If we look at things in this way then we can see why the Quicunque Vult
[The Athanasian Creed] states that it is necessary for Christians who are
surrounded and bombarded by heresy to believe the full Christian doctrine
of the Trinity and the Incarnation/Person of Christ in order to be saved
(see the September issue of The Mandate for much useful material on
this important Creed both as doctrine and as a Christian Psalm – available
from 1 800 727 1928.
Certainly what is required by God of sinners for them to enter the narrow
gate that is the entry to the road to eternal life is, at the time of
entry, much, but when viewed from the other side of the gate on the
pilgrimage to heaven it is seen to be the minimum, the beginning of God’s
requirements of his beloved, adopted children.
So is it necessary for a person converting to Christ to believe the full
dogma of the Blessed Trinity? No. But is it necessary for a Christian in
church membership who has been catechized to believe the whole dogma?
Yes.
We need to place in this kind of context such questions as, “Is the
doctrine of ordination part of the belief necessary for salvation?” Again,
for the person at conversion, the answer is No. However, later, when he
has been taught the doctrine of Divine Order & Ministerial, then the
answer becomes Yes.
Look at it this way.
We are called to believe the whole counsel of God, to be wholly
sanctified, to be perfect in love and holiness, and to obey Christ
totally. As we move gradually forward into God’s grace, step by step,
forward a little, back a little, what we are to believe unto salvation
grows as we learn more of God’s revelation to his church. There are three
tenses to the verb “to save” --- past (saved in the Atonement and
Resurrection of Jesus), present (being saved as faith, hope and love are
exercised) and future (shall be saved at the last day).
This is why it was quite wrong of the ECUSA after the trial of Bishop
Righter (which I attended) to come to speak of “core doctrine” and then to
state that homosexual conduct is not part of the core. This was an
artificial distinction made by the spiritually blind in order to defend
the disobedience of God’s law by their friends. A bishop presumably as a
teacher of the Faith and pastor of the pastors has moved on in the
Christian pilgrimage and therefore what is required of him by God is much,
very much – “Woe unto the pastors that feed not the flock…”
This is why it is also quite wrong of those today who claim for themselves
the descriptions of “biblical” and orthodox”, and stand over against the
homosexual lobby in the Anglican/Episcopal Churches, to argue that the
serious innovations of ECUSA between the 1960s and 2000 and before the
innovation of blessing “gay couples living in committed relationships” do
not belong to salvation and therefore are secondary. Therefore, the only
thing to be opposed is the homosexual agenda! (Regrettably the missives of
African bishops speaking of the USA tend to give this impression as well.)
What is required for salvation of The Network’s members and the members
of the Canadian Essentials [ as for me also!] is much more than what
they/I preach to others when the/I seek to obey the Great Commission of
Matthew 28 and evangelize modern secularized people. And the reason why is
that to all of us much has been given in grace and mercy and great are our
duties and responsibilities.
If this principle is accepted then it can be seen immediately that
beginning to put the Anglican Way in the right direction is MUCH MUCH more
than getting rid of the offensive homosexual agenda. It is a matter of
obedience, holiness and walking with the Lord together and as individuals.
It includes also getting dogma right ( for it is not right in the 1979
Prayer Book of ECUSA or the 1985 of Canada); it is getting Order right
(for it is not right in ECUSA or in the Anglican Church of Canada); it is
getting Bible translation right (for it is not right in most of the
Versions used in the USA and Canada) and it is above all getting Worship
right and distinguishing worship from evangelistic and seeker services!
We are to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness and to glorify Him
and Him only!
What is required for salvation for the mature in Christ is according to
what they have received from Christ and what he has taught and shown them!
Let us not work on the assumption that what is required of the babe in
Christ is the same as that which is required of the adult!
[See further Neither Orthodoxy Nor A Formulary by Dr Lou Tarsitano
& Dr Peter Toon from 1 800 727 1928 or
www.anglicanmarketplace.com
] Site Created by
Robbie L. Rogers
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