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Viewpoint
January 20, 2007
Distortion and Ignorance of the Confessions at OGA
Does truth Matter?
By Winfield Casey Jones
In an article, "Presbyterians and Separatist Evangelicals: A Continuing Dilemma," published by the Office of the General Assembly in its publication, Perspectives, R. Milton Winter makes erroneous and seriously un-informed statements about Part I of the Church's Constitution, the Book of Confessions. He also distorts the evangelical approach to missions. That the OGA should be the publisher of this article is a concern which I will take up in the last paragraphs of this piece.
The Rev. Dr. R. Milton Winter is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Holly Springs, Mississippi. He is author of Shadow of a Mighty Rock: A Social and Cultural History of Presbyterianism in Marshall County, Mississippi. Perspectives is an online publication of the Office of the General Assembly of the PC(USA), headed by its stated clerk, Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick.
Winter denies that the PC(USA) confessions say that those who reject Christ or have never heard of his love will be lost. He writes: "In their official creedal statements, Presbyterians have, up to now, never speculated on, or made blanket negative declarations as to what shall happen to those who reject Christ, who never had a chance to hear of his love or who were otherwise not competent to make a conscious commitment or exercise intelligent faith."
Personally I understand completely the human desire and impulse to widen the scope and availability of salvation beyond those who trust in Christ and their children. If my conscience were not captive to the word of God and I could make this change in Biblical and confessional theology, I would. What I do not understand is that Mr. Winter would twist the Book of Confessions to this purpose and that the OGA would publish what he has written.
The Larger Catechism, Q & A 60, says: Q. 60. Can they who have never heard the gospel, and so know not Jesus Christ nor believe in him, be saved by their living according to the light of nature?
A. They who having never heard the gospel, know not Jesus Christ, and believe not in him, cannot be saved, be they never so diligent to frame their lives according to the light of nature, or the laws of that religion which they profess; neither is there salvation in any other, but in Christ alone, who is the Saviour only of his body the Church. B.C. 7.170
The Scots Confession says: "Out of this Kirk there is neither life nor eternal felicity. Therefore we utterly abhor the blasphemy of those who hold that men who live according to equity and justice shall be saved, no matter what religion they profess. For since there is neither life nor salvation without Christ Jesus; so shall none have part therein but those whom the Father has given unto his Son Christ Jesus, and those who in time come to him, avow his doctrine, and believe in him. (We include the children with the believing parents.)" B.C. 3.16, Scots Confession, Chapter XVI
Mr. Winter points out that the Heidelberg Catechism says: "Q. 29. Why is the Son of God called JESUS, which means SAVIOR? A. Because he saves us from our sins, and because salvation is to be sought or found in no other." He might also have pointed out that question 84 expands on this theme: Q. 84. How is the kingdom of heaven opened and shut by the preaching of the holy gospel? A. In this way: The kingdom of heaven is opened when it is proclaimed and openly testified to believers, one and all, according to the command of Christ, that as often as they accept the promise of the gospel with true faith all their sins are truly forgiven them by God for the sake of Christ's gracious work. On the contrary, the wrath of God and eternal condemnation fall upon all unbelievers and hypocrites as long as they do not repent. It is according to this witness of the gospel that God will judge the one and the other in this life and in the life to come."
Mr. Winter uses a sentence of the Second Helvetic Confession as support of his notion that this confession suggests that there may be salvation outside of Christ. However this sentence is about sacraments. It reads ""We do not so narrowly restrict the church as to teach that all those are outside the church who do not participate in the Sacraments…for we know that God had some friends in the world outside the commonwealth of Israel" I will quote larger portions of the Second Helvetic Confession in a footnote at the end of this article, with the part Mr. Winter quoted in bold italics. This will show how he quotes selectively and out-of-context so as to suggest a soteriology which is the polar opposite of that contained in the rest of the Second Helvetic Confession.(1)
If one has the patience to read all of the portions of the Second Helvetic Confession quoted at end note 1 below, it will become clear that this confession too states that there is salvation only in Christ, and that the portion quoted by Mr. Winter from the section, "The church is not bound to its signs" is intended to support the possibility of salvation outside of the sacraments, not outside of faith in Christ.
Finally, it is also clear that Mr. Winter wishes to discredit the Confessing movement in the PC(USA). So instead of admitting that many if not most of our confessions contain the soteriological exclusivist position with which he disagrees, Mr. Winter acts as if this theology is an innovation of the confessing movement and of modern-day evangelicals. He writes:
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"...the question must be asked whether the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) truly wishes to harden its position with regard to other religions…. And though it is recognized that the Confessing movement's primary concern is with those within the church who might be seen as compromising their conviction, moderates wonder how the missionary cause could possibly be helped by our church declaring at this late date that whole classes, categories, and groups of the human race are lost, and by announcing this determination as a first word of approach and appeal?" |
Again, while Mr. Winter writes with apparent assurance, what he says is dead-wrong. First of all, as I have just demonstrated, modern day evangelicals have not invented the idea that there is salvation only by grace through faith in Christ – it is as old as the scriptures and is present in our confessions. Secondly, Mr. Winter shows complete ignorance of contemporary missionary methodology among Presbyterian evangelicals. I know of no PC(USA) evangelical who believes that there is salvation only by grace through faith in Christ who would ever engage in the methodology of approaching adherents of other religions and emphasizing right off the bat the conviction that they were lost without Christ.
In closing, I have several comments about the Office of the General Assembly which has published Mr. Winter's long article.
1. The chief executive officer of the OGA is the stated clerk. He is charged by the Standing Rules of the Assembly to "preserve and defend the Constitution." The Constitution is not preserved and defended by being twisted and distorted by Mr. Winter for his own purposes of discrediting evangelicals and the confessing church movement.
2. One of the great ends of the PC(USA) is the "preservation of the truth." Denying that the confessions say what they say is inconsistent with this end. While it is sad that Mr. Winter does not pursue this great end of the church, it is tragic that the OGA supports him in doing so. We should preserve the truth!
Mr. Winter has seriously misrepresented and distorted the confessions, and the OGA should repudiate this distortion and misrepresentation.
1.) Second Helvetic Confession with portions quoted by Mr. Winter in bold italics.
Chapter XI, Of Jesus Christ, True God and Man, the Only Savior of the World
5.077
JESUS CHRIST IS THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, AND THE TRUE AWAITED MESSIAH. For we teach and believe that this Jesus Christ our Lord is the unique and eternal Savior of the human race, and thus of the whole world, in whom by faith are saved all who before the law, under the law, and under the Gospel were saved, and however many will be saved at the end of the world. For the Lord himself says in the Gospel: "He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber . . . I am the door of the sheep" (John 10:1 and 7). And also in another place in the same Gospel he says: "Abraham saw my day and was glad" (ch. 8:56). The apostle Peter also says: "There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." We therefore believe that we will be saved through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, as our fathers were (Acts 4:12, 10:43; 15:11).
Chapter XV
Of the True Justification of the Faithful
5.109
WE ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ALONE. But because we receive this justification, not through any works, but through faith in the mercy of God and in Christ, we therefore teach and believe with the apostle that sinful man is justified by faith alone in Christ, not by the law or any works.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH? The Church is an assembly of the faithful called or gathered out of the world; a communion, I say, of all saints, namely, of those who truly know and rightly worship and serve the true God in Christ the Savior, by the Word and Holy Spirit, and who by faith are partakers of all benefits which are freely offered through Christ.
5.136
OUTSIDE THE CHURCH OF GOD THERE IS NO SALVATION. But we esteem fellowship with the true Church of Christ so highly that we deny that those can live before God who do not stand in fellowship with the true Church of God, but separate themselves from it. For as there was no salvation outside Noah's ark when the world perished in the flood; so we believe that there is no certain salvation outside Christ, who offers himself to be enjoyed by the elect in the Church; and hence we teach that those who wish to live ought not to be separated from the true Church of Christ.
5.137
THE CHURCH IS NOT BOUND TO ITS SIGNS. Nevertheless, by the signs [of the true Church] mentioned above, we do not so narrowly restrict the Church as to teach that all those are outside the Church who either do not participate in the sacraments, at least not willingly and through contempt, but rather, being forced by necessity, unwillingly abstain from them or are deprived of them; or in whom faith sometimes fails, though it is not entirely extinguished and does not wholly cease; or in whom imperfections and errors due to weakness are found. For we know that God had some friends in the world outside the commonwealth of Israel. We know what befell the people of God in the captivity of Babylon, where they were deprived of their sacrifices for seventy years. We know what happened to St. Peter, who denied his Master, and what is wont to happen daily to God's elect and faithful people who go astray and are weak. We know, moreover, what kind of churches the churches in Galatia
and Corinth were in the apostles' time, in which the apostle found fault with many serious offenses; yet he calls them holy churches of Christ (I Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:2).
Winfield Casey Jones, D. Min is the Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Pearland, Texas. Jones can be reached at wrjones2002@yahoo.com
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