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Rooted in Orthodoxy (Part 1)
“I have never been interested in a historical Jesus. I should not care if it were proved by someone that the man Jesus never lived, and that what was narrated in the Gospels were a figment of the writers’ imagination. For the Sermon on the Mount would still be true to me” (Church History in Plain Language, Bruce Shelley, Word, Publisher). On the surface, this statement by the late MATHATMA GANDHI appears to be harmless as it exalts the Sermon on the Mount. However, when examined closely, we find that GANHDI did what so many in today’s society and sadly, in the Church do routinely. That is, a separation of Jesus’ teaching from the man Himself. In other words, his acceptance of Jesus is limited to His teachings and the historical figure. He does not accept the truth that Jesus Christ is God and man. As such, it is not possible to separate Him from His teachings and vice versa. To do so turns Christianity into nothing more than another religion based upon a set of ethical rules established by men in order to appease God. In a sense it is Pharisaic (legalistic) or work based salvation and therefore no salvation at all. In saying this I am in no way implying that Christianity is not ethical. To do so would be to go against every teaching of Christ and His Apostles. However, a distinction must always be drawn between Christian ethics and simply moral ethics based upon rules and regulations (An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17, Darkness and Light, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Baker Books). The difference is that Christian ethics are the result of a life governed by the union of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word (Gal. 5:16) and not man’s efforts. It is the outworking of God’s Spirit in our interaction with others. This is what GANHDI and all those who try to live a morally ethical life apart from “the man Jesus Christ” missed. This was the crucial concern and emphasis of the second and third century church. To them the Gospel was not simply that a man named Jesus came on the scene and delivered a message about good will, live a moral life and subsequently died for His belief. No! It is good news about an Event, the greatest event in the history of mankind—that God sent His Son to Justify the sinner. This is the good news! Therefore, belief in Jesus Christ was the litmus test for all who profess faith in Christ. To them, there was no praxeology (human actions and conduct) without orthodoxy. In other words, the early Christians (as should we) embraced the fact and insisted their beliefs be orthodox. It was central to their faith and explains why they irritated and confounded the world on the one hand and became the channel for saving lost souls on the other. It was their orthodoxy that separated them from the heretics of that time. But what do we mean when we say Christians are orthodox? In order to understand this term, it is probably better to look at another one—theology. Theology is a compound word that comes from two Greek words: theo, for God, and logos, for word or rational thought. Therefore, theology is a rational thought about God. This is quite different from religion or belief in God (cf. Js. 2:19) and trying to live up to His standard by our own efforts. Theology is the use of our mind, our intellect to attempt (this is all a finite creature can do when it comes to the infinite), “to give a rational explanation of our belief: it is thinking about religion” (Church History). Implicit in this definition is the idea that one can arrive at an irrational explanation of biblical beliefs or bad theology. This is called heresy. To often, Christians use the excuse that theology is dull and reserved for the preacher or teacher. However, the reality is that it is not possible to be a good Christian without being a good theologian. This is behind Paul’s final words to young Timothy (and us through him), “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim. 3:16,17, KJV).
In Christ, Minister John Cobb
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