A bridge to far…

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 (AV)

Is the Trinity an essential doctrine to Christianity?  The first line of the Athanasian Creed reads, “Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith…” it then goes on to confess the triune nature of God.  Is the catholic faith Trinitarian?  Is it necessary to hold to the triune nature of God in order to be saved?  Is it necessary to have an understanding of the Trinity to find salvation?

The nature of God as revealed in the Bible is triune.  This fact has come under attack from various heresies inside and outside the Church.  Men have grappled with unity and diversity for 2000 years and still struggle to understand it.

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: Question 6

Question: How many persons are there in the Godhead?

Answer: There are three persons in the Godhead; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory. (1 John 5:7, Matt. 28:19)

Herman Bavinck claims that all heresy stems from an error in the understanding of the Trinity.  At first glance this claim seems to be a bit over the top but when you reflect on the meaning of heresy and the central role the Trinity plays in all of Christian doctrine from creation, revelation and salvation, you must conclude that Bavinck is correct.  Heresy goes beyond mere error or denominational doctrinal disputes.  Michael Horton defines heresy as, “any teaching that directly contradicts the clear and direct witness of the Scriptures on a point of salvific importance.”  Heresy strikes at the fundamental and nothing can be more fundamental that the nature of God as revealed in the Bible.

Dialog…

I am finishing up on question 6 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, but I wanted to make a couple of general observations.  I am questioning the reasonableness of engaging in theological discussions online with Mormons.  There are a number of reasons for this.  I would like to flesh a couple of these out, to help in my thinking.

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: Question 5

Question: Are there more Gods than one?

Answer: There is but One only, the living and true God. (Deut. 6:4, Jer. 10:10)

This is a fundamental.  No deviation can be allowed on the essential truth of the Bible.  You cannot mess this up and still remain inside the Christian Church, anyone believing in multiple Gods either pantheism, panenthesim, polytheism, or henotheism, is simply a pagan.  To do so and maintain or use the name of Jesus Christ or the God of the Bible is not an error but a heresy.

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: Question 4

Question: What is God?

Answer: God is a Spirit, (John 4:24) infinite, (Job 11:7–9) eternal, (Psa 90:2) and unchangeable, (Jas 1:17) in his being, (Exo 3:14) wisdom, (Psa 147:5) power, (Rev 4:8) holiness, (Rev 15:4) justice, goodness, and truth. (Exo 34:6–7)

James Robert Boyd describes the formulation of the answer to the Second Question in his 1856 book on the catechism.  As he describes it when the question was asked “What is God?”, each man “felt the unapproachable sublimity of the divine idea suggested by these words; but who could venture to give it expression in human language! All shrunk from the too sacred task in awestruck reverential fear.”  He continues to describe a scene where the divine wrangle over who would make the first attempt to answer this fundamental question.  Finally as he tells it the decision was made that the youngest man attending would go first.  Try to imagine yourself in that room and the weight that would be pressing in on the youngest man as all eyes turn to him and his youth expecting an answer.  That man consented that he would attempt an answer if the other men would pray with him for guidance.  George Gillespie his prayer, “0 God, Thou art a Spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in thy being, wisdom, power holiness, justice, goodness, and truth…” beginning a path of this famous minister.

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: Question 2 & 3

Question: What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?

Answer: The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, (2 Tim. 3:16, Eph. 2:20) is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him. (1 John 1:3–4)

Question: What do the scriptures principally teach?

Answer: The Scriptures principally teach what man is to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of man. (2 Tim 1:13, 2 Tim 3:16)

The importance of setting out a doctrine of Scripture early in the Catechism is fundamental to Reformed thinking.  Over and against the Church in Rome the Reformation stood up and against the introduction of the traditions of men into the Church of Christ.  This same doctrine that serves well in protecting a belief and faith based in the teaching of the Apostles against the Anabaptist movement of the same era.  Today Reformed Churches are protected against false prophet and inauthentic books claiming divine origin by testing these deceptions against the infallible word of God.

THE SHORTER CATECHISM: Question 1

question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, (1 Cor 10:31; Rom 11:36) and to enjoy him for ever. (Psalms 73:25–28)

B. B. Warfield explains the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism in his work “THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY AND ITS WORK (Volume VI).”

More Puritian Wisdom…

From Richard Sibbes “The Bruised Reed“…

Gundeck makes a Guest apperance…

A guest post that I wrote, on a Hugh Nibley article titled “Christian Envy of the Temple” for Mormon Coffee, has been posted.  I would like to thank the folks at Mormon Coffee for the opportunity to write for them.

What Came First the Church or the Bible???

I have been thinking a lot about the Scriptures and the canon.  When I ask myself how the Church explains that we have the correct books in the Bible, questions arise when thinking about the New Testament.  This does not mean that I doubt the canon of the New Testament, it is more a matter of how do you put in plain words, the formation of the canon without deferring to the authority of the Church (rejected in the WCF) or the whims and subjectivity of believers?  Basically, how do you discuss the Bible faithfully with Mormons and others who do not hold to a Reformed view of the Bible? As I mentioned in an earlier post I recently read Herman Ridderbos’s “Redemptive History and the New Testament Scriptures“.  This book has been helpful in my understanding of the canon as it is related not only to Church history but to the history of God’s work.  I am going to try to work this out over the next couple of posts.