Beyond the Pale (Part 1)

Most of the time we can clearly identify what is one side of a line and the other. If you watch any football game, the different colored jerseys easily identify which team someone plays for and the line of scrimmage clearly separates the offense from the defense.  When driving, it's essential we stay on our side of the dashed (or solid!) line to avoid maiming or killing ourselves and others. In politics, the letter we associate with clearly defines who we follow and who we shun. Throughout the ages, the Church has defined orthodoxy with a clear line parsing out what we believe and delineating things outside the pale of those beliefs. The growth in creeds is clear from the Apostle's to the Nicene in the simple opening phrases:

I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son our Lord...

    becomes

We believe in in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made...

 There are a TON of distinctions made between point A and point B, much less as we move onward towards (in my humble opinion!) the high water mark of Protestant theology in 1647, the Westminster Confession. [And as a quick aside, a huge thank you to Erma Prutow for pushing me to memorize the Westminster Shorter Catechism and write the paper for that scholarship while I was at Sterling- it has shaped me more than I would've ever dreamt then!] The million dollar question as the faith defined has evolved to what we hold today, what is beyond the pale?

Depending on your theological stripe and background, it's likely the answers you'd give vary. Some would point to various sin issues (and I'd agree they're major issues beyond the pale!) while others would point to actions of love we're called to take while still others would point other directions entirely! To wit, put two Baptists in a room and you're guaranteed at least three opinions.

I've said many times (and mis-attributed this quote to Wesley or Augustine as it was relayed to me, but discovered came from Moravian sources [read more here]) and firmly believe the best course is

In the essentials unity, in non essentials liberty, and in all things charity.

The key question then becomes, what is essential? In other words, what definitively delineates a person who follows Jesus?

During my college years, I was asked to formulate a statement of faith to define what I believed. It is similar to the statements from the Evangelical Free Church and Evangelical Covenant Church and carries many echoes of the Baptist Faith and Message. It is what, I would argue, is essential to anyone who claims to follow Jesus.

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The three are coequal and are one God.

Jesus is the Son of God. He is coequal with the Father and Holy Spirit. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, the lamb of God, for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He rose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday to earth to reign as King.

The Holy Spirit lives in each Christian from salvation. The Holy Spirit is coequal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He provides Christians with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer spiritual gifts when they are saved. As Christians we seek to live under His control daily.

The Bible is God's Word to us. The Bible was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the source of truth for Christian beliefs and right living. Because it is inspired by God, it is truth without any error.

People are the supreme object of God's creation. Every person is made in the image of God and although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin." Sin separates us from God and causes many problems in our life.

Salvation is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

People were created to exist forever and will exist eternally either eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally with Him is eternal life in Heaven. Heaven and hell are real places. This truth should drive the church to do absolutely everything possible to bring as many people who are far from God to salvation.

Baptism is symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, baptism is a way for us to publicly declare our new life in Christ. It is also a step of obedience based on God’s commands and allows us to follow the example of Jesus, who submitted himself to baptism to "do everything God commands."

In these essential beliefs, unity; in non-essential beliefs, liberty; and in all things, love.

 It's not perfect, but it places me in a specific frame of reference. Is baptism important? Yeah, that's why it's in my list, but it's not a salvation issue and I'm not going to split hairs between whether infant baptism or believers baptism is the right way and argue with someone for my need to be right's sake. Does that place me beyond the pale of some people's orthodoxy? Unfortunately. Does that mean people would label me in ways I don't like and shun me as someone outside their fellowship? Surely. Does it change what I am going to do? No. Everyone who claims the name of Christ is called to radically love others and do everything we possibly can to build the kingdom of God here and now by making disciples who make disciples. That doesn't mean not having a defining list, it means the list has what matters most, not something tertiary or a pet theological concern. As soon as we begin parsing things out to those degrees, we might as well be arguing about how many angels could dance on the head of a pin.

I'd continue now, but think this is a large enough bite to chew on right now and will pick it back up in a part two later.