orthodoxy, heresy, legacy

Down through the ages, men and women of steadfast conviction have defended Christianity against violent overthrow from without and subtle amendment from within. This noble charge commenced with the Apostles – those privileged few who walked alongside Jesus and whose names we know so well: John, Peter, James. The mantle was then assumed by others who, though not in the company of Jesus, were nonetheless revolutionized by his voice. Saul became Paul, the eminent missionary and church planter. Luke the physician became the meticulous chronicler of the Gospel and its spread. From here, the trail becomes hazy for most of us and we lose the scent in the dusty annals of history. But the hard work of preserving Jesus’ message was not done. Stalwart guardians like Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, and Augustine stood firm in their defense of orthodoxy (“right belief”).

 

This unbroken line of succession has spanned the twenty or so centuries which have passed since Jesus entrusted his ministry to the Twelve. And it has, in some manner or another, been given to us. What will we do with it? Will we preserve it, as previous generations did against devious doctrines and pagan heresies? Some might argue that such heretical teachings are extinct. But have you never heard someone say that Jesus was a good man, a prophet, perhaps one of the best men who ever lived – but not God? This is nothing less than the substance of the ancient heresies of Adoptionism and Arianism, whose roots reach back to the 3rd century. Or have you never heard someone suggest that heaven awaits all who endeavor to live their lives as basically good people? This same strand of self-dependence informed the credos of the Gnostics, Donatists, and Novatianists, whose aberrations have plagued the Church since its inception.

 

As Solomon once said, “History merely repeats itself. It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, NLT).

 

Friends, we have a very cunning enemy who uses the most insidious of means to trip us up: “The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made” (Genesis 3:1, MSG). This is precisely why Jesus tells us to be “as shrewd as snakes” (Matthew 10:16, NIV). You see, Satan may be clever, but he is predictable; his M.O. has been the same since Eden: To twist the truth, ever so slightly, almost imperceptibly. We see this manifested in his encounter with Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:9-11). And so, Paul reminds us that “we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11, NIV). This is why it is so vital for us to immerse ourselves in the truth that has been preserved for us.

 

Will we, in the tradition of our forebears, defend the faith against violent overthrow from without and subtle amendment from within? Will our legacy to the next generation of believers be a pure and undiluted Gospel, held in trust until their day? May we echo to posterity the words of the Apostle Paul:

 

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me – that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NLT)