On Heresy

1. Parnell McCarter
A
t the 2002 Auburn Avenue Presbyterian
Pastors o n ~ e r e n c e various positions were
advocated, like paedocommunion, which
directly contradict the Reformed faith and practice
as it is represented in such historic confessions as
the Westminster Standards. Covenant Presbytery
of the RPCUS responded to the Conference by
issuing a call for repentance. The Consistory of
Messiah's Congregation, where Rev. Schlissel (one
of the Conference pastors) labors, has issued a
reply to the charges of Covenant Presbytery; Christ
Church where Rev. Wilson (another Conference
pastor) labors has issued a response; and the session
of Auburn Avenue Presbyterian Church, where
Rev. Wilkins labors, has issued their response.
Additionally, Rev. Andrew Sandlin defends the
ministers of this Conference against the charge of
'heresy' in various articles. The responses and Rev.
Sandlin's articles are posted on their various web
sites.
Before commenting upon the Conference
speakers and the response of the RPCUS to them, it
is important that we have a sound, Biblical definition
of the term "heresy," since the Conference speakers
are charged with promoting heresy. Scripturally
speaking, heresy is an aberration in doctrine and
course which wrongly causes division in the visible
church of Christ is a heresy. This definition is perhaps
most clearly seen in I Corinthians 11:18-19: "".1
hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly
believe it. For there must be also heresies among
you, that they which are approved may be made
manifest among you." All heresies involve issues
about which the Bible does not permit the Church
to compromise. Of course, some heresies are much
more serious in nature than others. Indeed, some
heresies are damnable heresies. ("But there were
false prophets also among the people, even as there
shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord
that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction.") But given the importance of the unity
of Christ's body, we should not underestimate the
importance of avoiding heresy of any kind, whether
damnable or not.
38 the COUNSEL of CHALCEDON
Rev. Sandlin offers readers a very different
definition of 'heresy', however. He writes: "I start
from historic, orthodox Christianity anchored in
the ecumenical Christian creeds ... heresy is almost
always defined in terms of deviation from classical
Christianity." It seems that Rev. Sandlin is denying
that issues like "justification through faith alone,"
are matters of heresy, since they weren't dealt with
in the early church creeds but rather in the confes-
sions of the Reformation. He writes in an article at
www.christianculture.com:
Doctrines that constitute denominational
distinctives, like certain ones in Reformation
churches, are not, properly speaking, issues
of heresy or orthodoxy. Take "monergism" in
soteriology, for instance. Reformation churches
believe that God alone saves sinners, and that
men do not cooperate with God in salvation.
This is and always has been a minority view
in the universal church; but this should not
unduly alarm Protestants, because, despite its
importance, it is not an issue touching Christian
orthodoxy. In short, you can be an Arminian
and still be an orthodox Christian, albeit a badly
mistaken one! Protestants are (on this point)
in a distinct minority in our position, but that
does not mean we are heretical. However, it also
means that for a Protestant (or other) church or
denomination to elevate its own distinctives (like
this one) to criteria of Christian orthodoxy and
anathematize all that disagree is to impose on
the church an alien definition of orthodoxy-and
heresy.
If Rev. Sandlin's definition were true, then we
should seriously question whether Protestantism
itself is legitimate. Since it is wrong to separate from
a church which is orthodox in doctrine and practice,
then it would be wrong to separate from the Roman
Catholic church, given that Rev. Sandlin's definition
suggests Romanism is orthodox. But Rev. Sandlin's
definition is quite erroneous in several respects.
Chiefly it is in error because it creates false definitions
of both orthodoxy and heresy. It is in fact heretical
to teach any other view of God's role in salvation
than monergism, not because the Church says so, but
because it is contrary to the established orthodoxy of
the Reformed faith as expressed in the Westminster
Confession, which is believed by Reformed christians
to represent the purest human expression of biblical
truth. Rev. Sandlin would limit orthodoxy to the early,