Editor: Rev. A. H. Jeffree James

OUR PROTESTANT HERITAGE: AS RELEVANT AS EVER!

THE ESSENCE OF PROTESTANTISM --- SCRIPTURE ALONE

The essence of Protestantism rests in the great absolutes of Holy Scripture. That is to say, in those truths which are so explicitly stated or argued, that there is no room for reasonable doubt as to the meaning that the inspired writers wished to convey. We use the phrase, "explicitly stated or argued" because it must not be thought that Protestantism merely rests upon the selective use of proof-texts alone, such as:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --- this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --- not by works, so that no one can boast": Eph. 2:8-9 [N.I.V.]; or:

"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus": 1Tim. 2:5 [N.I.V.]

Rather, it rests upon these clear affirmations in the light of other statements by the immediate writer, or upon Scripture as a whole. A case in point is the Pauline doctrine: the just shall live by faith alone. Paul does not make that statement in so many words, but, as he develops his theme [Romans 1:17] in the rest of his letter, no-one can be in doubt that he means by faith alone. In short, the whole message of the New Testament establishes the truth of these affirmative statements.

That Protestantism rests upon the clear statements of Scripture, and not upon the "logical" deductions therefrom, was the original position of Luther. Nor is there any evidence that he departed from it. Here was a man fully acquainted with the theology of the Medieval Church. He must have known its intricacies and its popular expression: the cult of Mary, the saints, and their images, the sacrifice of the mass, the purchase of indulgences, etc, etc. They failed to meet his deep spiritual need. It was when he listened to Scripture speaking for itself, and obeyed its direct commands, that he became a free Christian man.

Scripture alone is therefore the first principle of our Protestant Faith. Not in a dry, academic form, but as the saving word of God, and the only answer to human need. Theological systems, creeds and confessions of faith, all have their place --- some a valued place. However, no speculation of the human mind [for that in the final analysis is what the best of them are] can be invested with the same authority as the word of God. Where they conflict with Holy Scripture, human reason, which they represent, must give way; and the Bible maintained as the only authority.

And what kind of authority is Bible authority? Is it the objective yardstick by which to judge doctrinal propositions? It is that, certainly and decisively; but its ultimate authority rests in the fact that it is the saving word of God. In short, its truth has to be experienced to save.

It was Melanchthon who challenged the whole structure of medieval theology for being speculative --- remote from human need. The medieval theologians, he stated, had been discussing the unity of God, the Trinity, the mystery of creation, and the mode of the incarnation, for centuries --- without any practical benefit.

In contrast, declared Melanchthon, when Paul wrote a compendium of Christian doctrine in Romans, he did not philosophise about any of these mysteries. Rather, he majored upon law, sin, and grace, and the need for a personal, individual response, as the sole means of salvation.

THE REFORMERS AND SCRIPTURE

"The Reformers" said David Samuel, "grasped the essence of the Gospel preached by Paul in his letter to the Romans. They recognized that it was the only answer to man's need of salvation. It was burned into their experience in letters of fire."

It was because he had experienced the saving power of the word of God, convicting him of sin, leading him to repentance and to total trust in Christ, that Luther could say: "My conscience is captive to the word of God."

The Reformation understanding of the authority of Holy Scripture, then, represents the perfect fusion between objective truth and a personal experience of it. A fusion which, if Protestantism is to remain true to its heritage, may never be divorced. Evangelical Protestantism faces this very real danger. There is, on the one hand, a revival of speculative theology on the basis of so-called logical deductions from Biblical truths --- a prying into the mind of God in an attempt to rationalize that which in his word is surrounded with mystery; setting limits to the extent of His atoning love; and creating boundaries to His grace. On the other hand, there is the elevation of religious experience as a substitute for the objective authority of Holy Scripture. The one may lead to the precipice of heresy; the other to the quagmire of religious syncretism.

THE DYNAMICS OF PROTESTANTISM --- GRACE AND FAITH

If the essence of Protestantism is found in the clear statements of Holy Scripture, the dynamics of Protestantism are expressed in two key words of the Gospel: grace and faith. We use the word "dynamics" because both are words of action: strong, vigorous action.

There is nothing passive about the grace of God. It is strong, energetic, out-reaching. In the plain statements of Holy Scripture there are no bounds to its extent --- no restrictions to its power. It is the energetic love of God directed to man who cannot deserve it, will never be in a position to deserve it. It is not a passive response to goodness, religiosity, or piety --- it is a dynamic outreach to sinful man. Hear again the words of Paul:

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this : While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." [Rom. 5:7-8] [N.I.V.]

And so with faith.
The Medieval Church, used it to describe mere assent to statements of doctrine --- whether they were understood or not. Implicit faith, they called it.
Luther held that faith must be explicit. We may not know, in an intellectual way, all there is to know about the Christian faith, but we must have an intelligent grasp of saving truth.

Melanchthon had this to say: "Saving faith involves three things: knowledge, intelligent assent, and trust." This entails:

Knowledge of the essential facts of the passion, death and resurrection of Christ.

Also, knowledge of the apostolic interpretation of these facts, summed up in what is perhaps is the earliest credal statement of the Apostolic Church:

"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures".

Finally, saving faith entails an understanding of God's command to all men everywhere to repent.

THE DEMANDS OF FAITH

Faith, then, demands an intelligent response to these truths, and, above all, a personal trust in the work of Christ --- strong, vibrant, real. Not the laying of ourselves down in the dust, passively to receive a gift, but in the power of the life-regenerating Spirit of God, rising up, stretching forth the hand to appropriate the gift of God.

It was Luther, who in his preface to his commentary on Romans declared: "It is a lively, busy, active, powerful thing, is this faith." It is not mere feeling or sentiment; it is action. The measure of our trust is not the degree of our ostentatious emotion, or the intensity of our feelings; it is the degree of our obedience:

"Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey".

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH ALONE

It is the grasp of these two dynamic words of the Gospel that rescues that all-important, all-embracing, basic doctrine of the Reformation --- the just shall live by faith alone --- from the law courts. The Gospel does not begin and end with a judicial act of God, declaring the sinner justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ --- central and vital though that is.

When the repentant sinner, in simple trust, turns to God, it is not in a court of justice that they meet. The sinner has come home. It is not a judge he faces, it is a father. God is love all the time. God is Father all the time. His love has been pursuing us, pleading with us in all our wanderings. God in Christ is the shepherd who goes out into the darkness and peril to seek and to save that which is lost.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF OUR PROTESTANT HERITAGE

And what are the implications of these great central truths of the Reformation for us today? Surely it is that they constitute the very Gospel of Christ. They are not facets of truth to be judged amongst others. They are the truth. In this age of religious compromise and interfaith dialogue, this Gospel can so easily be betrayed and our Protestant distinctives forgotten.

The Gospel can also be ignored. It is not unusual to attend evangelical "Gospel" services in which the fact of sin and the need for repentance are not once mentioned; the facts of the passion and death of Christ forgotten. We have been invited to "come to Jesus" who will solve all our problems --- and that is all.

Christ did not die on the tree to solve our problems, He died to deal with our sin.

Paul did not turn the religious world upside down by parading as a pseudo-psychiatrist --- he preached saving truth. And that is what the Reformers did.
And what was the consequence?

The Reformation swept Europe. Men believed, they obeyed and what next? Did they enter into a period of personal wealth and prosperity as we are invited by some pseudo-Evangelists to do today when we come to Christ? No --- they faced the dungeon, the torture chamber and the stake. As they died others rose up to take their place. That was real spiritual renewal.

PROTESTANTISM IS THE OLDEST CHRISTIAN FAITH: IT GOES BACK TO THE NEW TESTAMENT