From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

We can be deceived if we only look at what a man says he opposes. We must also look carefully at what he actually believes.

A friend of this ministry recently told me of his experience while participating in a gathering of pastors and Christian educators. He was seated at a lunch table with a group of men who were stating their opposition to Federal Vision theology - one of the present-day brands of heresy within Reformed churches which teaches initial salvation through water baptism and the maintenance of salvation by partaking of the eucharist.

Our friend told me that a question ran through his mind as he listened, knowing the theological inclinations of some of the men at the table: Yes, they say they oppose this heresy - but what do they actually believe about the way of salvation themselves?

Over the years, several people have told me of such an experience. In fact, I have had it myself.

Our friend's question is an excellent and essential one. It is a question that believers must constantly ask. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

Is it enough for a man to simply be opposed to bad theology? No. We can be deceived if we only look at what a man says he opposes. We must also look carefully at what he himself actually believes.

N. T. Wright

A prime example of this is the Anglican bishop N. T. Wright. Beginning in the late 1990s Wright gained notoriety as an outspoken critic of theologians who deny the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ. On March 20, 2004, Dr. D. James Kennedy featured Wright on a Coral Ridge Ministries television program titled Who Is This Jesus: Is He Risen? which is still available on DVD from Truth In Action, the successor of Coral Ridge Ministries.

In a recent e-mail advertisement for electronic versions of Wright's books, the producers of Logos Bible Software said, "N. T. Wright is regarded as one of today's top theologians. He has served at several prestigious academic institutions as professor, chaplain, tutor, lecturer, and fellow. His works come highly recommended by other scholars and pastors. Don't miss this opportunity to add resources from one of today's top theologians at a massive discount to your library!"

Does N. T. Wright deserve such adulation from believers? Indeed not. Wright is an apostate. He has done more than any other living person to popularize the so-called New Perspective on Paul, which denies the essential Biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. Wright teaches that justification is, in fact, by works. (For a detailed discussion of Wright's heretical views on justification, see Dr. Elliott's books, Justification By Faith Alone: Timeless Truths and Contemporary Errors, and Christianity and Neo-Liberalism.)

It is ironic indeed that Wright should be held up by purported theological conservatives as a champion because he happens to believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ. Millions of Anglicans and Roman Catholics believe that. But why, according to Scripture, did Christ rise? "For our justification" (Romans 4:25) - a justification in which Wright does not even believe.

Other Examples

Wright is not the only popular church leader who has deceived those who have not "tested the spirits."

Dr. Richard B. Gaffin Jr., long-time (but now retired) head of the theology faculty of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, has long claimed to be opposed to the New Perspective on Paul and Federal Vision theology. Recently Gaffin has also written in opposition to Dr. Peter Enns and others who deny the historicity of Adam.

Yet Gaffin for decades has taught a theology of salvation commencing with water baptism and culminating in justification by works at the Last Judgment, which is merely Federal Visionism and New Perspectivism in different garb. (For a detailed discussion, see Dr. Elliott's book Christianity and Neo-Liberalism, especially chapter six, "Richard Gaffin's New Perspective on Paul".)

Dr. Douglas Wilson has gained a following among undiscerning Evangelicals as a leader in the classical Christian school movement. But at the same time he teaches grievous error on a wide spectrum of doctrines, and is himself a Federal Visionist. (For a detailed discussion of Wilson's theology, see Not Reformed At All by John W. Robbins and Sean Gerety, published by The Trinity Foundation.)

Dr. Peter Lillback, the current president of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, has attracted a growing audience in his roles as a conservative activist on social issues and as a leader in educating Americans about the nation's Christian heritage. But at the same time he defends and promulgates the heresies of his mentor Richard Gaffin. (For a dicussion of Lillback's theology see Dr. Elliott's Christianity and Neo-Liberalism.)

Because Wright, Gaffin, Wilson, Lillback and others take positions that are popular with conservatives on certain doctrines or social issues, many who are not discerning about doctrinal consistency make the mistake of assuming that these men teach authentic Biblical Christianity across the board. Thus the undiscerning have opened the door for such men to exert broad theological influence, and to poison the church.

We must remember that the Pharisees were considered to be theological and social conservatives, and leaders in religious education of their day. They made much of their heritage as well. But they too had abandoned the authority of Scripture and preached salvation by faith-plus-works. Jesus repeatedly condemned their hypocrisy, and made it clear that their heritage and purported conservatism meant nothing apart from personal faith in Him alone (e.g., Matthew 23; John 3:10, 8:36-59).

The Infallible Standard

It is easy for the church to make false heroes. We can be deceived if we only look at who or what a man says he opposes. We must also look carefully at what the man himself actually believes.

In such judgments Scripture must be our standard, because it is the only infallible standard. A literal rendering of the Greek of 2 Peter 1:20-21 declares this to us:

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture originated in the human writer's own personal determination of what is true or not true, because prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were driven by the Holy Spirit.

This passage states for us the two great doctrines concerning the nature of Scripture which every believer must always remember. The first great doctrine is this: The text of the Bible, the very words, are revelation - they are from the mind of God, not the mind of man. The second great doctrine is this: The way in which the Spirit of God used men to record the words is inspiration - men driven by the Holy Spirit.

Revelation and inspiration - these are the two great words that tell us the nature of true authority in the Christian church. It is not the authority of man. It is not the authority of a succession of men. It is the authority of the Word of God alone, forever settled in heaven. That is the church's genuine authority. That is the authority by which every believer must "test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

sac0077