In the Preface to the second edition of Biblical Fellowship the author has written:

“What does require further investigation is the very concept of ‘first principles’: What precisely are ‘first principles’? (The author is well aware that “first principles” as used here is not really a Biblical term. The phrase “first principles” and the word “principles” have a specialized meaning when used in Hebrews 5:12 and 6:1: all that can be said with certainty is that they have to do with foundation principles of the Law of Moses.) And how can they be Biblically determined? These are important questions because, no matter how well Biblical principles of fellowship may be understood, there is still the question of where and how they should be applied. And being able to draw clearly defined and consistent lines between first principles and matters of lesser importance is crucial to the process. It is my hope to deal with these important but difficult matters in a further work.”

In offering Bible-based answers to these questions, this present work is something of a companion to that previous one. It is strongly recommended that both works be studied together.

In its present form, this work should be of particular interest to all Christadelphians and members of the Abrahamic Faith. But an abridged form (chapters 5 through 9, combined with chapter 11) could be useful as a simple statement (and proof) of the saving gospel — especially for the instruction of the young and of others who are interested in what the Bible teaches.

 

Introduction

So the question has often been asked, in discussions about fellowship matters: “How do we define first principles?”

One answer is obvious: “Why, of course, first principles are those Bible teachings listed in the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith.” (This should not imply that this present study has nothing to say about the Birmingham Unamended Statement of Faith. With the exception of BASF Clause XXIV (see chapter 14m), the two statements are practically identical. So, virtually all of the following analysis will equally apply to the BUSF.) However, the phrase “first principles” is used throughout this work as it is commonly used by Christadelphians: to mean fundamental, essential, or saving Bible Teaching. This answer may sound a bit like: ‘How dare anyone even suggest that our venerated Statement of Faith, which has been handed down to us by our forefathers, which has withstood more than 100 years of assaults by the wicked, is not completely satisfactory!’

But is this definition of first principles Biblical, or merely traditional? To define “first principles” Biblically, we must ask: “What makes some doctrines essential, while others are not?” To answer this question  is to attempt to distinguish, on a Biblical basis, between:

matters of exposition on which a difference of opinion may — and should — be tolerated, and

those fundamentals of our faith where it is critical that there be a unity of view.

 

It may well be that, in attempting to define first principles, we confirm and validate the generally-accepted answer (‘the BASF, of course!’). But it may also be that Bible-based research may suggest reasonable improvements upon the BASF (and, to a similar degree, upon the BUSF also).

 

3. The Two Extremes, and Why They Must Be Rejected

 

How should we define first principles? The possible answers to such a question range from the grossly simplistic (and therefore unworkable) to the far-too-detailed (and also therefore unworkable).

On the one hand, it might be suggested that John 3:16, for example, is sufficient as to belief:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

But such a response tells us only that belief in Christ is essential; it does not define or limit that belief in any practical way. All who profess to be Christians can — and do — accept John 3:16.

On the other hand, the statement that ‘all the Bible must be believed’, while commendable in one respect, proves totally impractical in application, and means essentially: ‘One must believe all that I believe — nothing more and nothing less — in order to be saved!’ Along this road lie the cults, with their dictatorial leaders.

Along this road also lies a perpetual restlessness of mind — in which satisfaction and comfort can never be attained, because they are tied to constantly changing goals.

 

A variation on one “extreme”

A variation on this second “extreme” is the idea — not so often stated in words as taken for granted in fellowship discussions — that the degree of knowledge possessed by the “fathers” should somehow be a standard for all. It is as if some of our elders were to say to themselves, ‘It is a pity to let all this learning… 30 or 40 or 50 years worth… go to waste. Here’s what we’ll do: we’ll use our advanced knowledge [and whatever we can find in the “pioneer” writings, whether relevant to first principles or not!] to dictate fellowship policy to all those who know less or have less experience in the Truth than we!’

But the Bible plainly speaks of those who are “newborn babes”, still “unskilled in the word of righteousness”, still in need of “milk” rather than strong meat — but for all this nonetheless “in Christ”, “holy brethren”, and “partakers of the heavenly calling” (cf. esp. 1 Cor. 3; Heb. 3; 5; 1 Pet. 1). Some such “babes” were baptized after less than 24 hours of instruction in the faith, e.g., the jailer at Philippi (Acts 16:32,33) and at least some of the 3,000 Pentecost converts  (2:38-41) and the Samaritans (8:12). So, clearly, applying a “Statement of Faith” or a “test of fellowship” that would effectively exclude some such “babes” is going too far in our demands upon believers. (For this point, as well as others, the present writer is indebted to A.H. Zilmer, author in 1925 of a privately circulated manuscript entitled “What is Fundamental?”)

 

Finding middle ground

 

Either extreme, therefore, would be chaotic in its application to any fellowship situation. Somewhere in the middle, between “almost nothing” and “almost everything”, right-thinking believers must draw lines to divide essential beliefs from non-essential. Is such a task impossible? Is there no Scriptural guide to follow? Can we not, in Robert Roberts’ words, know “how far we ought to go and where we ought to stop… in our demands on fellow-believers”?

 

He continues:

“[Men of God] are afraid on the one hand of compromising the truth in fellowship; and on the other, of sinning against the weaker members of the body of Christ. The only end there can be to this embarrassment is found in the discrimination between true principles and uncertain details that do not overthrow them.” (“True Principles and Uncertain Details”, The Christadelphian, May 1898, Vol. 35, No. 407, p. 182)

Brother Roberts then proceeds with some examples both of what he calls “general principles” and what he calls “uncertain details”, to good effect. And the article cited above is still well worth reading. But he does not attempt to describe any characteristics or give any evidence which would make a doctrine essential for salvation or fellowship, or to describe any process of differentiation between essentials and non-essentials. And, so far as can be determined, this task has never been properly undertaken in the 100 years since.

So what are the first principles? And how  can we identify them as such? This study will attempt to answer both questions, insofar as the Bible provides the answers. And it will also compare the results with the most common Christadelphian statement of faith, the BASF (and with its closest variant, specifically, the BUSF), and answer a further question: “Does our statement go too far, or not far enough, in defining essential doctrine?”

 

4. A Simple, but Necessary, Point

 

Before proceeding, then, a rather simple but necessary point needs to be made. It is Scripturally provable, and unanimously held by Christadelphians (insofar as the writer knows), that true belief must precede true baptism (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:36-42; 8:4-12,26-39; 16:13-15,23-34; 18:4-11; etc.).

 

Therefore, we may assume that the doctrines essential for salvation are the same doctrines which are essential for Scriptural baptism, no more and no less. Furthermore, we shall assume that the purpose of what we today call a “statement of faith” should not be to define all that might profitably be believed, but rather to define only what should be believed as a prerequisite for baptism and admission to fellowship (again, no more and no less).

 

Therefore, ideally, these three should be perfectly equivalent:

 

• doctrines essential to salvation,
• doctrines to be believed before baptism, and
• a (Biblical) “statement of faith”.

 

To continue: If we can find in the Bible either a “statement of faith” (in the words of Scripture), or if we can determine the doctrines that were required to be believed before being baptized, then we shall have given a Biblical answer (not merely an intuitive or subjective or traditional answer) to the question: “How should we define first principles?”

 

5. A Biblical “Summary of Faith”

 

In writing to the ecclesia in Ephesus, Paul appeals for unity of mind and fellowship among believers there based on their mutual acceptance of seven “ones”:

 

“There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:4-6).

 

The enumeration of these seven “unities” has the distinctive appearance of a “summary of faith”, a statement of faith which is wholly Biblical. Some writers (Marcus Barth, “Ephesians 4-6”, Anchor Bible, pp. 462, 463; Alfred Barry, “Ephesians”, Ellicott’s Commentary, Vol. 8, p. 36; Francis Foulkes, “The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians”, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, p. 112) suppose that Paul is in fact citing a concise yet precise doctrinal summary known to the worldwide church or ecclesia of his day:

 

• One body
• One Spirit
• One hope
• One Lord
• One faith
• One baptism
• One God

 

The seven “ones” may be defined by comparing especially Paul’s use of the same words elsewhere. This produces a credible statement of essential doctrines — which defines the distinctive truths we believe, and sets that system of truth apart from various false “gospels”:

 

1. One body: The unity of all believers, and specifically both Jews and Gentiles, reconciled to God on the same basis (Eph. 2:16). One body, bound together in love with Christ as the head (Eph. 4:12-16; Rom. 12:1,4,5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27). Also, one body as “husband” and “wife”: the “great mystery” of Christ and the church, or ecclesia (Eph. 5:23,28,30). Finally, the “one body” of the church is equivalent to the “one bread” of communion or fellowship with Christ (1 Cor. 10:16,17; 11:24,27,29). Thus “one body” defines the ecclesia in terms of fellowship, both inclusively (all true believers being members) and exclusively (no others being members).

 

2. One Spirit: The Holy Spirit of God, by which prophets and apostles were inspired to record the one truth, and by which the Bible itself was written, validated, and preserved. This was the Spirit of truth, or the Comforter, which came to the apostles, to teach them the words of Jesus (John 14:17,26; 15:26; 16:13). As there is one true Spirit, or Teacher, the others must be false “spirits” or teachers (1 Tim. 4:11; cp. 1 John 4:1-3) when they teach other doctrines contrary to that which the apostles received and taught (Gal. 1:8-11).

 

3. One hope: In Paul’s own words elsewhere, the one “hope” is the hope of a resurrection (Acts 23:6; 24:14,15), the hope of the promises made to the fathers (Acts 26:6-8; Rom. 4:13-18), and the hope of Israel (Acts 28:20) — that is, the kingdom of Israel restored (Acts 1:6; 3:19-21; 2 Sam. 7:12-14; Luke 1:30-33). Thus the “one hope” must also be the hope of Christ’s appearing and kingdom (Acts 1:11; Col. 1:5; Tit. 2:13) and the hope of eternal life (Tit. 1:2; 3:7). Those who are “without Christ” have “no hope” (Eph. 2:12).

 

4. One Lord: References to “the Lord” in Paul’s writings are too numerous to catalog here. The essence of Bible teaching about the “one Lord” might be summarized, however: Jesus is the one Lord because he is the only-begotten Son of God, and the one man in whom all mankind (that is, all believers) are included (Eph. 4:11-16; 2 Cor. 5:14-17). He was the one man to lead a perfect life, and therefore the one man capable of dying as the perfect representative sacrifice for all men. Thus he was raised from the dead (Phil. 2:8-12) to become the head, or Lord, of all who would have eternal life in him (Rom. 5:12,18,19). A final point: as the “one Lord”, Jesus is always personally distinct from the “one God” (Eph. 4:5,6; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 2:5).

 

5. One faith: Faith in the crucified and risen Christ is the one and only means to salvation (Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:22-31; Gal. 3). By such faith — in prospect — even Abraham was justified, or declared righteous (Rom. 4:1-5; cp. Rom. 3: 25 and Heb. 9:15). By faith sinners may be forgiven (Rom. 4:6-8), apart from their own works or acts of righteousness (Eph. 2:8,9).

 

6. One baptism: The one baptism (i.e., the only true baptism) is that which is preceded by belief in the one gospel, as defined in the list. Paul knows only one form of baptism: a burial (Rom. 6:3,4; Col. 2:12) in water. Baptism is the means by which believers become heirs of the promises made to Abraham and his “seed” (Gal. 3:27-29).

 

7. One God: The last of the seven “unities” in Paul’s list is actually the first and greatest “unity”, from which all other “unities” are derived. “One God”, as distinct from even His own Son (1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 3:19,20; 1 Tim. 2:5). The “one God” is the “Father” of one Divine family, all made one in Him because of His love for them, as shown through His Son (Eph. 3:14-21).

 

Positive teachings

 

The essential doctrines derived directly from Paul’s “summary  of faith” in Ephesians 4 are listed below. The references 1 through 7 are to the preceding seven numbered “unities”. For ease of future reference, the essential doctrines are listed in the general order familiar to readers of our common statement of faith.

 

The Bible (the teachings and writings of prophets and apostles), the only source of truth and the only hope of eternal life (2).

One God, the Father of all (7).

The Holy Spirit, God’s power unto salvation (2).

The one Lord, Jesus, the Son of God, who is distinct from God Himself, being a man and the head of all men, by virtue of his perfectly obedient life (4).

The one Body: all men — both Jews and Gentiles — who have been reconciled to God through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1).

The forgiveness of sins, only through faith in Christ (5).

Christ as the one mediator between God and men (4).

The second coming of Christ (3).

The resurrection of the dead (3).

The reward of the faithful with immortality (3).

The fulfillment of the promises to the fathers: eternal possession of the earth (3).

The kingdom of Israel restored (3).

The one true gospel, which cannot be altered (5).

Baptism (total immersion), only after belief of the gospel and repentance (6).

The memorial supper, expressive of fellowship (inclusive and exclusive) in the family of God (1).

 

“Doctrines to be rejected”

 

Certain false doctrines are very directly and distinctly ruled out by belief in the positive teachings summarized above:

 

The “trinity”, and the pre-human existence and “divinity” of Christ (all being contrary to the “one God”).

The immortality of the “soul” (contrary to the “one hope”).

Heaven-going (contrary to the “one hope”).

The earth literally burned up (contrary to the “one hope”).

A superhuman fallen angel “devil” or “Satan” (contrary to both the “one God” and the “one Lord”).

Infant-sprinkling (contrary to the “one baptism”).

Universal salvation (contrary to the “one hope”).

 

6. The Apostles’ “First Principles” Lectures

 

A second approach to defining first principles is found in a careful analysis of the speeches in the Book of Acts.

 

We established earlier that essential doctrines are those doctrines that should be believed before baptism. Therefore, if we can determine what doctrines the inspired apostles taught as preliminaries to baptism, we shall have determined at the same time (by Scriptural evidence, not subjective reasoning) the doctrines essential to salvation.

 

The Book of Acts contains nine such “first principles” lectures: that is,

 

apostolic teaching designed to lead the hearers to faith, repentance, and baptism.

 

In this endeavor, the Book of Acts is of considerably more value than the Letters: The Letters are addressed to those already baptized, anywhere from one to a dozen years afterward. But the great speeches of Acts are addressed to the unbaptized. (And rememberÖ we are not trying to answer the question “What is all truth?”, but rather “What is essential truth?”)

 

It is probable that the speeches recorded in Acts are considerably abbreviated — the writer Luke providing only brief summaries of the actual words of Peter and Paul. (A.D. Norris, in Acts and Epistles, pp. 87,88, points out that the speeches of Acts can each be read in a very few minutes, whereas there are various indications in the text that the actual speeches themselves occupied much longer periods. For example, Acts 2:40 adds, “And with many other words did he [Peter] testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” But by accumulating in one analysis all that Luke records of the various talks, we shall have the best chance of filling in the gaps, and — with the overlap –arriving at a comprehensive summary of essential doctrines. )

 

This same matter might be stated negatively, but constructively: We may reasonably assume that Luke — being inspired to record as much as he did, and given nine separate opportunities  — would not have failed to record at least once any essential element of saving Truth. So, having reviewed all the “first principles” lectures of Acts, we shall know at least that there is no firsthand evidence there for the inclusion, in the list of “essential doctrines”, of any other teaching.

 

A series of tables may be developed that outlines the essential doctrines in the main speeches of Acts, which are as follows:

 

Peter in Jerusalem

Acts 2:22-42 (Psa. 16:8-11; 110:1-7)

 

Peter in Jerusalem again

3:12-26 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18; Deut. 18:15,19)

 

Stephen in Jerusalem

7:2-56 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; Deut. 18:15,19)

 

Philip to the Ethiopian

8:30-39 (Isa. 53:1-12)

 

Peter to Cornelius

10:34-48

 

Paul in Antioch

13:15-39 (Psa. 2:1-12; Isa. 55:1-13)

 

Paul in Athens

17:22-31 (Isa. 45:5-25)

 

Paul to Felix

24:14-21

 

Paul to Festus and Agrippa

26:2-27

 

 

In several cases the Acts speech is supplemented by direct quotations from Old Testament passages. When this occurs, these quoted passages (in their immediate contexts) are assumed to have been part of the original Acts speech, and may also be cited in producing the following outline analysis.

 

No attempt is made to catalog what plainly are mere supplementary details in the speeches, but only what are the general and main points made by the preachers. If there are no references following an item, there were no direct allusions to that teaching in that particular speech. (Once again, the analysis follows the general order of the BASF.)

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(1) Acts 2:22-42 (Psa. 16:8-11; 110:1-7)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired —

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power — Acts 2:22,23.

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 2:22

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 2:23

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 2:24-33,36 (Psa. 110:1; 16:10,11)

Christ as the mediator — Acts 2:42 (Psa. 110:4)

The second coming — (Psa. 110:1,2)

Resurrection and judgment — (Psa. 110:3)

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance —

Promises to David: kingdom restored — Acts 2:30,35 (Psa. 110:2,5,6)

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 2:38

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread — Acts 2:42.

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(2) Acts 3:12-16 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18; Deut. 18:15,19)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 3:18-21

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power —

Jesus, the Son of God — Acts 3:26

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 3:22 (Deut. 18:15)

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 3:13,18

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 3:15,21,26 (Gen. 22:17)

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming — Acts 3:19-21

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 3:23 (Deut. 18:19)

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — Acts 3:25 (Gen. 12:1-3; 22:16-18)

Promises to David: kingdom restored — Acts 3:19-21

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 3:19,26

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread — (Gen. 12:3; 22:18)

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(3) Acts 7:2-56 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; Deut. 18:15,19)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 7:38

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power —

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 7:37 (Deut. 18:15)

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 7:52

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 7:55,56

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming —

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 7:37 (Deut. 18:19)

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — Acts 7:2-5 (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17)

Promises to David: kingdom restored —

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism —

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread — (Gen. 12:3)

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(4) Acts 8:30-39 (Isa. 53:1-12)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 8:35

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power —

Jesus, the Son of God — Acts 8:37

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 8:34 (Isa. 53:3)

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — (Isa. 53:3-7,10,11)

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — (Isa. 53:10-12)

Christ as the mediator — (Isa. 53:12)

The second coming — (Isa. 53:10,11)

Resurrection and judgment — (Isa. 53:10,11)

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — (Isa. 53:12)

Promises to David: kingdom restored — (Isa. 53:12)

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 8:36-38 (Isa. 53:10)

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread —

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(5) Acts 10:34-48

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 10:43

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power — Acts 10:38

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man —

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 10:38,39

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 10:36,40,41

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming —

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 10:42

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance —

Promises to David: kingdom restored —

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 10:36,37,43,47,48

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread — Acts 10:34-36,43

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(6) Acts 13:15-39 (Psa. 2:1-12; Isa. 55:1-13)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 13:26,27 (Isa. 55:8-11)

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power — (Isa. 55:8,9)

Jesus, the Son of God — Acts 13:23 (Psa. 2:7)

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 13:23

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 13:27-29

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 13:30,31,34 (Isa. 55:3)

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming —

Resurrection and judgment —

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — Acts 13:32,33

Promises to David: kingdom restored — Acts 13:23,34 (Psa. 2:6-10; Isa. 55:3,4)

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 13:24,38,39 (Psa. 2:12; Isa. 55:6,7)

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread —

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(7) Acts 17:22-31 (Isa. 45:5-25)

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired —

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power — Acts 17:24-29 (Isa. 45:5-8,12,21,22)

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man — Acts 17:31

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice —

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 17:31

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming — Acts 17:31

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 17:31

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — (Isa. 45:18)

Promises to David: kingdom restored — (Isa. 45:14)

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 17:30

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread —

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(8) Acts 24:14-21

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 24:14

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power —

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man —

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice —

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension —

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming —

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 24:15,21

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance —

Promises to David: kingdom restored —

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism —

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread —

 

Outline of Essential Doctrines

 

(9) Acts 26:2-27

 

The Bible: the word of God, inspired — Acts 26:22

One God: the Father and Creator; the Holy Spirit, His power —

Jesus, the Son of God —

Jesus, a mortal man —

Jesus: his perfect life, sacrifice — Acts 26:23

Jesus: his resurrection, glorification, and ascension — Acts 26:23

Christ as the mediator —

The second coming —

Resurrection and judgment — Acts 26:8

Promises to Abraham: land inheritance — Acts 26:6,7,18

Promises to David: kingdom restored —

Forgiveness of sins through faith in Christ, repentance, and baptism — Acts 26:18,20

One body: fellowship and breaking of bread — Acts 26:17,18,20,23

 

Observations

 

One of the 13 “essential doctrines” is referred to only twice in the nine “talks”, but each of the other twelve is referred to at least three times, and most are referred to as many as six or seven times.

Allusions to the inspired Scriptures (#1) and the one God (#2) are not more numerous because several of the nine speeches were made to Jews — to whom such beliefs were “second nature” already; it may be assumed these fundamental teachings, in the circumstances, did not need one more reiteration.

“The things concerning the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14; Matt. 4:17,23; 6:33; 9:35; 13:19; Luke 4:43; 8:1; 9:11; 13:29; Acts 19:8; 28:31) (especially #s 8-11) and “the things concerning the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 4:12; 8:12; 10:43) (especially #s 3-7,12) are obviously, from this analysis, the core of essential doctrines. Thus, this approach demonstrates that “essential doctrines” are equivalent to “the gospel”.

The false “doctrines to be rejected” are for the most part not handled directly in the speeches of Acts. But, as with our previous analysis, the main ones are generally derivable as obverses, or contradictions, to the plain positive teachings:

The “trinity” is contrary to #s 2 and 4;

Heaven-going is contrary to #s 9 through 11; and

Infant-sprinkling is contrary to # 12.

 

This absence of direct rejection of false doctrines by the apostles is understandable, since many of what we today classify as “false doctrines” were unheard of in the first century. The positive truths we believe are the same as those believed and taught in apostolic times. But the particular errors of each generation may be different. Nevertheless, a sufficiently comprehensive statement of positive “essential doctrines” provides a reasonable basis for repudiating all truly harmful “false doctrines”.

 

In fact, it is fair to say that — if a so-called “doctrine to be rejected” cannot be shown to be in direct and plain contradiction to a true “first principle” — then it should not be included in a formal list of “doctrines to be rejected”. (In other words, it may well be wrong, but its belief does not invalidate the positive effect of believing true first principles; it is a secondary matter.)

 

The “statement of faith” in Acts

 

It is possible now to write a “statement of faith” using almost exclusively the words of Scripture (either the inspired speeches of Acts, or the inspired prophets directly cited in those speeches: see outlines above). That the statement produced by this method contains only “essential doctrines” is evidenced by the fact that the original preachers were preparing (or hoping to prepare) their hearers for baptism, and therefore they would not have been concerned with non-essential matters except when absolutely necessary to hold their narratives together. (For ease of understanding the RSV is used here.)

 

Acts Statement of Faith

 

The Bible: God spoke to Moses through the angel at Mount Sinai, giving him living oracles. God also spoke through the mouths of all His holy prophets, who bear witness to Jesus Christ. This message of salvation was intended first of all for the descendants of Abraham, but they did not recognize Christ or understand the prophets; thus they fulfilled the prophecies by condemning Christ. And so the word that went forth from the mouth of God accomplishes (and continues to accomplish) His purpose. It is man’s duty to believe everything laid down by the Law or written in the prophets. (Acts 7:38; 3:18,21; 8:35; 10:43; 26:22; 13:26,27; Isa. 55:11; Act 24:14)

One God: There is one God, and no other, who made the earth and created man upon it, whose hands stretched out the heavens. He gives to all men life and breath and everything. His hope is that man might seek Him and find Him, for in reality He is not far from any of us, and we are His offspring. In Him we live and move and have our being. He is not like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. Instead, He is like us, for we are like Him, made originally in His image and likeness. Yet His ways and His thoughts are higher than ours, as the heavens are higher than the earth. The one God has a definite plan and foreknowledge, which He brings to pass with His mighty power, or spirit. This He has done especially with Jesus of Nazareth, whom He anointed with His Holy Spirit. (Isa. 45:5-8,12; Acts 17:24-29; Isa. 55:8,9; Acts 2:22,23; 10:38)

Jesus the Son of God: Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, begotten of God Himself, to be His special servant, and the promised Savior. (Acts 8:37; Psa. 2:7; Acts 3:26)

Jesus the man: Though he is the Son of God, Jesus was and is also a man, brought forth by God out of David’s posterity, a prophet raised up out of Israel, appointed and attested to by God through mighty works and signs, but at the same time a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. (Acts 13:23; 3:22; 7:37; Deut. 18:15; Acts 17:31; 2:22; Isa. 53:3)

The sacrifice of Christ: God glorified His special servant Jesus, anointing him with the Holy Spirit and with power; and Jesus went about doing good and healing, for God was with him. The Righteous One was finally betrayed by his own people, and delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. He was despised and rejected, he suffered and was killed at the hands of lawless men, at the instigation of the Jews. Yet this Righteous One, God’s servant, was being delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. In his sufferings he bore the grief and sorrows of others: he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; with his stripes we are healed. It was the will of God to bruise Jesus: to make him a lamb led to the slaughter, an offering for sin. (Acts 3:13; 10:38; 7:52; 3:13,18; Isa. 53:3; Acts 26:23; 2:23; 10:39; Isa. 53:11; Acts 2:23; Isa. 53:4,5,7,10)

The resurrection of Christ: But God raised up Jesus, because it was not possible for him to be held by death. The prophet David foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he would not be abandoned to the grave, nor would his flesh see corruption. This Jesus was raised up by God, possessing the gate of his great enemy Death; of this all the apostles were witnesses. Jesus Christ was also exalted to sit at the right hand of God in heaven, as Lord over all, where he will remain until the time for restoring the kingdom to Israel, as God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets. His resurrection and glorification is God’s assurance that He will one day judge the world in righteousness by this man. (Acts 2:24; 26:23; 2:31; Psa. 16:10,11; Acts 2:32,33; 3:15; 10:40,41; Gen. 22:17; Acts 13:30,31; 2:36; 10:36; Psa. 110:1; Acts 7:55,56; 3:21; 17:31)

The mediatorship of Christ: Being exalted to God’s right hand, Jesus has become a priest forever, in order to make intercession there for all transgressors, who have faith in him and pray to God through him. (Psa. 110:1,4; Isa. 53:12; Acts 2:42)

The second coming of Christ: Christ will remain in heaven, until the time for restoring all things, including the kingdom to Israel. Then God will send him back to the earth, to make his enemies his footstool, and to send forth a mighty scepter from Zion. (Acts 3:21; 1:6; Psa. 110:1,2)

The resurrection and judgment: Christ will return to the earth to raise the dead. Both living and dead will be assembled to his judgment. Those who are unfaithful or unjust, who have not given heed to the word of God which he has spoken, will be destroyed. Those who are faithful will be reborn; they will be accounted righteous and will share an eternal inheritance with Christ. (Acts 24:21; 26:8; 10:42; 24:15; 3:23; Deut. 18:19; Psa. 110:3; Isa. 53:11,12).

The promises to Abraham: God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, which is being and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is Abraham’s descendant: These promises include the blessing of all nations, and an everlasting inheritance in the land of Canaan for those who have faith in Christ. Indeed, the whole earth has been formed by God to be the eternal habitation of His people. (Acts 26:6,7; 3:25; 7:2-5; 13:32,33; Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; Isa. 45:18)

The promises to David: God also made a covenant with David king of Israel, which is being and will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who is David’s descendant: This is a steadfast and everlasting covenant involving blessing for David and his descendant Jesus, whom God will set on David’s throne in Zion, to rule in the midst of the nations, and make the ends of the earth his possession. (Acts 13:23; Isa. 55:3,4; Acts 13:34; 2:30; Psa. 2:6-9; Isa. 45:14)

Faith and baptism: In order to partake of God’s promised blessings, men must believe the good news about the Lord Jesus Christ, and show repentance by forsaking their wicked ways and thoughts, and by turning to God and performing deeds worthy of repentance. By being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, they may find forgiveness of their sins, and refuge with God. (Acts 3:2; 10:36,37; Isa. 55:6,7; Acts 3:26; 13:24; 26:20; 2:38; 8:36-38; 10:43,47,48; 3:19; Isa. 53:10; Acts 13:38,39; Psa. 2:12)

One body: All families and nations of the earth will be blessed on the same basis: faith in the Abrahamic covenant and faith in Jesus Christ, Abraham’s descendant. God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. Gentiles along with Jews may receive forgiveness of sins and be sanctified by faith in Christ. All who are baptized into Christ should devote themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Gen. 12:3; 22:18; Acts 10:34-36; 26:17,18,20,23; 2:42)

 

7. The “Sayings of Faith” in the Pastoral Letters

 

Scattered throughout Paul’s letters to Timothy and Titus is the refrain: “This is a faithful saying.” It has been stated that the passages where this refrain occurs are citations from a well-knowncollection of “Sayings of Faith” — in short, from an early church Statement of Faith. (H.A. Whittaker, “Faithful Sayings”, Bible Studies, pp. 316-321; A.H. Nicholls, Letters to Timothy and Titus, pp. 49-51; Donald Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries), p. 65). (The phrase is translated “faithful saying” in the RV, “sure saying” in the RSV, “trustworthy saying” in the NIV, and “words you can trust” in the NEB. The key word is the Greek pistos.)

 

In addition, it is quite possible that other “sayings of faith” are cited in the Pastorals without the standard introductory phrase. (For example, some “faithful sayings” seem to be followed by the set phrase: “I want you to stress these things.”)

 

A list of “sayings of faith” passages, most of them definite but  a few only quite probable, is given by H.A. Whittaker in the article cited:

 

1 Timothy

1:15

 

 

2:3-6

 

 

2:11-15; 3:1a (together)

 

 

3:16,17

 

 

4:9-11

 

2 Timothy

1:9,10

 

 

2:7,8

 

 

2:11-13

 

 

3:16,17

 

Titus

2:11-15

 

 

3:4-8a

 

 

What follows is an arrangement of these “sayings of faith” into a comprehensive statement of essential doctrines. (Again, the same basic order of doctrines is used as in the previous analyses.)

 

1. The Bible:

 

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works”(2 Tim. 3:16,17).

 

This is the Bible’s most complete and precise statement as to its own inspiration and reliability; its presence in such a list of “faithful sayings” helps to confirm the validity of this approach.

 

2. One God:

 

“There is one God” (1 Tim. 2:5).

 

“… Who desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4).

 

“We have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe” (1 Tim. 4:10).

 

“The goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared” (Tit. 3:4).

 

There is but one God, a loving and merciful God, who desires (if at all possible, consistent with His righteousness and holiness) to save perishing man.

 

3. Jesus the Son of God:

 

“God was manifested [phan-eroo] in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16).

 

“[God’s grace has been] manifested [phan-eroo] through the appearing [epi-phan-eia] of our Savior Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:10).

 

“The grace of God has appeared [epi-phan-eia] for the salvation of all men” (Tit. 2:11).

 

There is a sameness about these three passages that suggests a common origin. It is reasonable that the first should then be explained and amplified by reference to the other two. Thus, it was not God’s person but rather His purpose (grace!) which was revealed in the flesh, for the salvation of all men who would believe in him.

 

4. Jesus the man:

 

“The man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

 

“Women will be saved through childbearing [literally, the birth of the child]” (1 Tim. 2:15).

 

The purpose of God was manifested in the birth of His Son, “the seed of the woman” (but not specifically of any man) (Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23; John 1:12-14), and therefore a man like all other men as to his essential nature.

 

5. The sacrifice of Christ:

 

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15).

 

“[He] gave himself a ransom for all” (1 Tim. 2:6).

 

“[He] gave himself for us to redeem us from all iniquity and to purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds” (Tit. 2:14).

 

The man Jesus was tempted in all points like his brethren, so that they might identify with him. The Jesus who was “Son of God” was divinely enabled, through faith in his Father, to overcome temptation and thus to conquer sin in the flesh (or the “devil”) on behalf of all who believe in him. Finally he laid down his life — a perfect, sinless life — as a sacrifice to redeem and purify sinners.

 

6. The resurrection of Christ:

 

“[Jesus, as the manifestation of God’s grace in the flesh, was] vindicated by the Spirit” [in his resurrection from the dead: Rom. 1:3,4], and “seen of angels” [in his ascension] (1 Tim. 3:16).

 

“[Christ] abolished death and brought life and immortality to light” (2 Tim. 1:10).

 

“Jesus Christ, risen from the dead” (2 Tim. 2:8).

 

In his resurrection and glorification, Jesus absolutely and completely conquered death on behalf of all men.

 

7. The mediatorship of Christ:

 

“[There is] one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

 

Having ascended to heaven, Jesus became the only mediator between God and men. No other priests, intermediaries, or “names” are needed!

 

8. The second coming of Christ:

 

“Awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Tit. 2:13).

 

The true hope of a believer is not heaven-going at death, but immortality at the coming of Christ.

 

9. The resurrection and judgment:

 

“If we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself” (2 Tim. 2:13).

 

Those who have not kept their faith will, of necessity, be denied by Christ the Judge at his return: “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

 

10. The promises to Abraham:

 

“… So that we might become heirs in hope of eternal life” (Tit. 3:7).

 

Admittedly, this is a rather vague reference to the promises made to the fathers. Possibly the “blessed hope” (i.e., “hope of blessing” — cp. Gen. 12:1-3) of Titus 2:13 may be seen as another allusion to the Abrahamic covenant.

 

11. The promises to David:

 

“[Jesus was] descended from David, as preached in my gospel” (2 Tim. 2:8).

 

“If we endure, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12).

 

The greater son of David will rule over Israel, sitting upon his ancestor’s throne. Along with him will be the faithful and glorified saints, who share with him the kingship!

 

12. Faith and baptism:

 

“[God] saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:9).

 

“Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 1:13).

 

“If we have died with him, we shall also live with him” (2 Tim. 2:11).

 

“The grace of God… [teaches] us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Tit. 2:11,12).

 

“God saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy SpiritÖ so that we might be justified by his grace” (Tit. 3:6,7).

 

Included in the above statements are these doctrines:

 

Salvation not by works, but by faith, through the mercy of God.

Baptism as a participation in Christ’s death (the crucifying of the flesh with its deeds).

Baptism as the means of rebirth, or regeneration (through new and godly lives).

 

13. The one body:

 

There is nothing specific to be found on this subject in the “faithful sayings”. However, it may be said in summary that only those who believe the one gospel, and approach the one God through the one mediator Jesus Christ, can be part of the one Body of His Divine Family.

 

Conclusion

 

This approach to defining “essential doctrines” is perhaps less conclusive than the previous two: Paul is citing at random, throughout the three Pastoral Letters, “sayings of faith”. He is not necessarily giving, even when all possible citations are collected, a comprehensive list — but only quoting extracts to satisfy the need of the moment. Yet it may be observed, from studying the preceding summary, that the pastoral “sayings of faith” at least provide partial corroboration of the results of our two earlier processes.

 

8. The “Gospel” Test

 

The “gospel” (literally, the “good news”) is Scripturally defined as “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:15,16), and that which must be believed before baptism (Mark 16:15,16).

 

Conversely, there are many other things taught in the New Testament (especially in the Letters) which, while undoubtedly true and interesting and profitable, do not necessarily form part of the “gospel” necessary to be believed for salvation. These other truths are not “saving truths”, i.e., they cannot be shown to have been a part of the doctrines clearly and plainly taught by the apostles to those not yet baptized.

 

However, when a teaching appears in the Letters (or the Revelation, or the Old Testament, for that matter) and the context ties it directly to the “gospel” (or states that it was clearly taught to individuals prior to baptism)… then such teaching may rightly be considered “essential doctrine” or “first principle” teaching.

 

A further step in answering our question, therefore, will be to scan the remaining parts of the New Testament (other than Acts) to find teachings that qualify under these above-stated criteria. When we find such teachings, and if they are not already included in our “Statement of Faith”, then we may safely add them to our compilation.

 

What follows is a handful of such passages:

 

∂ “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46,47).

 

The significant “essential doctrines”, which should be preached to the nations:

 

It was necessary for Jesus to suffer.

It was necessary for Jesus to rise from the dead on the third day.

It is necessary for men to repent.

Remission (forgiveness) of sins may be obtained only through Jesus.

 

∂ “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, (which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: by whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name” (Rom. 1:1-5).

 

The “gospel of God”, Paul’s teaching to lead the nations to repentance and obedience, plainly consists of:

 

Jesus the Son of God.

The promises to David concerning his descendant Jesus.

Jesus the man, of our mortal nature.

Jesus raised from the dead.

 

∂ “Now it was not written for his [Abraham’s] sake alone, that it [righteousness] was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him” (Rom. 4:23–5:9).

 

This “gospel” outline in Romans begins to look very much like another “summary” or “statement of faith”, along the lines of that found in Ephesians 4 and the Pastoral Letters. The relevant items:

 

God raised up Jesus from the dead.

We are justified, or made “righteous”, through faith.

Jesus Christ is our mediator with God (“by whom we have access”).

We are justified by Christ’s “blood”, which in this case surely is Scriptural shorthand for his death and resurrection.

 

∂ “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

 

Being included as part of the “gospel” are these items:

 

Christ died for our sins.

Christ rose from the grave on the third day.

 

∂ “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before [i.e., beforehand] the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:8-14).

 

The “gospel” was an Old Testament teaching as well, having to do with:

 

The promises to Abraham.

Justification by faith.

Salvation for all nations, not just Israel.

 

To this may be added, from later in the chapter:

 

Faith in Christ (v. 26).

Baptism (vv. 27-29).

 

∂ “Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” (Eph. 2:11-20).

 

The “blood” of Christ, or his cross, makes the promises of God accessible to every believer.

Those who believe become members of God’s family.

 

∂ “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thes. 1:9,10).

 

These verses plainly spell out the “gospel” (v. 5), the gist of Paul’s first preaching to the Thessalonians before they were baptized:

 

The one true God (in contrast to the idols of the nations).

The resurrection of Jesus from the dead.

The hope of the return of that same Jesus from heaven.

 

∂ “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation [way of life] received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was… manifest in these last times for you, who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by [or as] the gospel is preached unto you” (1 Pet. 1:18-25).

 

That this is part of the “gospel” is shown also by v. 12. The first principles taught here are:

 

Redemption through the blood of Christ.

The regenerative effect of the word of God.

 

* * * * *

 

Quite possibly another handful of such passages could be culled from the inspired letters of the New Testament, passages which show a direct link between:

 

salvation,  the “gospel”, and/or forgiveness of sins, and

certain other teachings.

 

It would be quite a time-consuming task to find all the passages that fit this criteria. But the eight above, while not an exhaustive list, confirm the basic first principles already arrived at by other means, and add nothing substantive to what has been developed already. Taken by themselves, therefore, they provide a strong substantiation of our “Biblical”, or “Apostolic”, statement of faith.

 

And the point is not that we must find every single such passage before we can be sure we have the whole of saving truth. Rather, the point is this: Unless we discover some passage which plainly relates some other additional teaching to salvation (or the “gospel”), we may be satisfied that the items already adduced are the core of Bible truth necessary for eternal life.

 

The other way round

 

We may see the strength of this approach when we realize also what it does not cover. So let us put this the other way round, by considering some examples:

 

For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Heb. 7:1-3).

 

These verses introduce a section in the Letter to the Hebrews about the Melchizedek priesthood of Christ, a subject earlier hinted at in Psalm 110, but never mentioned in any of the “first principles lectures” of Acts, nor in any other list of “essentials” of the “gospel”. In fact, the subject is nowhere else mentioned in all of the New Testament, either by Jesus or the apostles.

 

Further, the author of Hebrews himself says this very subject is hard to be understood by those who are “dull of hearing”, or even young in the Truth (Heb. 5:10-13). For these reasons this very interesting — in fact, fascinating — subject should never be included among the things to be proclaimed as first principles.

 

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:5,6).

 

The phrase “the first resurrection” is found nowhere in the apostolic proclamation contained in Acts, and nowhere else in the apostolic writings for that matter. Its meaning is not obvious; learned brothers have suggested quite varying interpretations. Such verses should never be cited as a matter of doctrine to be believed by converts before baptism.

 

Please note: This is not to say that we cannot know what such passages as Hebrews 7 and Revelation 20 mean. Certainly we can, for every Scripture is given by God, and is intended to be understood, and is profitable in the understanding.

 

But it is well for us to understand also, that not all things taught in the Bible, or even in the New Testament, are fundamental! We CAN understand, yes! We MUST understand in order to be saved? No! The mature, seasoned understanding of the lifelong serious Bible student cannot be the criteria to test the validity of the faith of the new believer — even if that mature, seasoned understanding is totally correct (which is a big “if”!).

 

9. The Apostles’ Creed

 

The earliest-known post-Biblical statement of faith is the so-called “Apostles’ Creed”. This statement is known to have been in existence by the middle of the second century. While it cannot be directly traced to the apostles, its almost elegant brevity and simplicity argue for a fairly close connection to the apostolic period:

 

I believe in God the Father, Almighty; Maker of Heaven and Earth;

 

and in Jesus Christ His only begotten Son, our Lord;

 

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;

 

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

 

was crucified, dead, and buried;

 

the third day he rose from the dead;

 

he ascended into heaven,

 

and sitteth at the right hand of the Father;

 

from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

 

I believe in the Holy Spirit;

 

the holy church;

 

the communion of saints;

 

the forgiveness of sins;

 

the resurrection of the body; and

 

the life everlasting.

 

It is interesting how closely this mirrors the “statement of faith” compiled by our earlier investigations, both as to items included and items omitted. While we might wish for fuller definitions of certain doctrines, we may see that the fundamental matters are all found here, if not the specific repudiation of all that we might call “false doctrines”.

 

10. An Early Christadelphian Statement of Faith

 

What follows is an exact reproduction of the original “Synopsis of the One Faith Taught by the Apostles”, composed by Dr. John Thomas in 1867.

 

This synopsis was later referred to by Brother Thomas himself as “a definition of the one faith and the one obedience… the definer’s creed… what he believes and holds as the truth as it is in Jesus.” He seems to have followed the pattern of the Apostles’ Creed, reflecting the brevity and simplicity of that document, while amplifying a few items.

 

This statement has been adopted by some Christadelphian ecclesias, and is still in use today in certain quarters.

 

• One God, inhabiting light unapproachable, yet everywhere present by universal spirit (irradiant from Himself) revealed to Israel and manifested in
• Jesus of Nazareth, a mortal man, who was
• Born of Mary, by the Holy Spirit, and thus constituted the Son of God;
• He was put to death as a “sin offering”;
• Exalted to the heavens “until the restitution of all things”,
• Thus confirming the Promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and
• The Covenant made with David, which have realization in
• The Second (personal) Coming of Jesus to the earth;
• The Resurrection and Judgment of the whole household of God (just and unjust);
• The bestowal of Immortality on those who are found worthy, and appointed rulers in His kingdom;
• The condemnation of the unworthy, to the second death;
• The enthronement of Jesus Christ, the King of the Jews, and of the whole earth;
• The establishment of the Kingdom of God (the kingdom of Israel), in the Holy Land;
• Involving the restoration of the Jews from dispersion;
• The destruction of the Devil and his works, scripturally understood as sin and the lusts of the flesh, in every mode of manifestation, and
• The subjugation of all kingdoms and republics on earth.
• The kingdom, in its mediatorial phase, will last one thousand years, and will destroy “all enemies”, including death itself.
• The human race is essentially mortal, under the law of sin and death.
• Jesus, the Christ, through death and resurrection, brought immortality to light.
• Salvation is attainable only by the belief of the things concerning the Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus Christ; and
• Baptism (i.e., immersion) in water, for a union with that Name.
• It is necessary to believe the Old Testament in order to have a correct New Testament faith.

 

11. The Apostolic Statement of Faith

 

We now have the raw materials with which to construct an apostolic statement of faith, using the approaches outlined above to determine which Bible teachings are essential for salvation.

 

The following statement leans heavily on the “Acts statement of faith”, and somewhat, for further support, on Paul’s Ephesians 4 summary, and the “sayings of faith” in the Pastoral Letters.

 

Further corroboration is found in the “gospel test”. Finally, the Apostles’ Creed and the earliest Christadelphian Statement of Faith were consulted as to any possible omissions.

 

Additional clauses (such as #s 6, 7, 8, 18, and 19) are added to the original 13 clauses of the Acts Statement. These additional clauses are the other “essential teachings” not immediately derivable from the Acts lectures, etc., but negatively inferred (in the most straightforward way) from the positives of the original “essential teachings”. As examples,

 

The fundamental Bible teaching of the resurrection of the body as the one true hope should, as a matter of first principle, rule out the erroneous teaching of an “immortal soul” (hence Clause 7).

The fundamental Bible teaching of the One God should likewise rule out the erroneous teaching of a superhuman, fallen-angel “devil/Satan” (hence Clauses 18 and 19).

 

Only teachings supported by such direct evidence — either positive or negative — are included in the Apostolic Statement of Faith.

 

For ease of further comparison, the order now followed is as much as possible that of the common Christadelphian statement — the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith.

 

Bible proofs for each clause include those derived from the “essential doctrines” research outlined earlier (these are denoted by capitals and bold italics) as well as other supplementary passages (in simple italics).

 

As much as is feasible, the statement uses the words of the Bible itself and commonly-understood terms rather than theological jargon and archaic words.

 

The Apostolic Statement of Faith

 

1. The Bible: The Bible is the Word of God, directly inspired by Him in all its parts. It is powerful to instruct man in righteousness, and to accomplish God’s purpose in those who believe. Neh. 9:30; Isa. 55:11; Acts 3:18,21; 7:38; 2 Tim. 3:16,17; Heb. 1:1; 1Pet. 1:23-25; 2 Pet. 1:21.

 

2. God: There is only one God, the Father, who created all things. He is the Eternal King, all-wise and all-powerful. He has a definite plan which He will bring to pass by His mighty power. He desires that man might seek Him and be saved. Deut. 6:4; Isa. 45:6,12; 55:8,9; Ezek. 33:11; Mark 12:29; John 17:3; Acts 17:24-29; Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6; Gal. 3:20; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2:5; 4:10; 6:15,16.

 

3. The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the power of God, the means by which He carries out His will. It is not a distinct “god” or “person”, but is part of the Father Himself. Luke 1:35; Acts 1:5-8; 8:18,19; 10:38; Eph. 4:4.

 

4. Jesus, the Son of God: God — in accordance with His eternal plan, and in His goodness and kindness and grace — manifested Himself through a Son. Jesus of Nazareth is that unique and holy Son of God, begotten of the virgin Mary by the power of God, without a human father. He is not the second person of a “trinity” of “gods”, and he had no pre-human existence except in the mind and purpose of his Father. Psa. 2:7; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18-25; 3:16,17; 19:17; Luke 1:26-35; John 14:28; Acts 2:22-24,36; 8:37; 10:38; Gal. 4:4; Phil. 2:8; 1 Tim. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:10;  Tit. 2:11; 3:4.

 

5. Jesus, the Man: Although he was the Son of God, Jesus was also truly and altogether a man; he shared our mortal nature, with all its sorrows and griefs. Gen. 3:15; Isa. 7:14; 53:3; Matt. 1:23; Acts 2:22; 3:22; 13:23; 17:31; Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 4:4; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 2:14; 4:15; 1 John 4:2; 2 John 7.

 

6. Sin and Death: The first man was Adam, who disobeyed God and was condemned by Him. Adam was responsible for bringing sin and death into the world. Gen. 2:7; 3:17-19; Psa. 103:14; Rom. 5:12; 7:24; 1 Cor. 15:21,22; 1 Pet. 1:24; James 1:10,11.

 

7. The “Soul”: There is no consciousness or other existence in death. The “soul” simply means the body, mind, or life; it is not immortal. Souls die. Josh. 11:11; Psa. 6:5; 89:48; 146:3,4; Eccl. 3:19,20; 9:5,6; Isa. 38:17-19; Ezek. 18:4,20; Acts 3:23; 1 Tim. 6:16.

 

8. “Hell”: “Hell” means the grave, or absolute destruction. There is no eternal torture for the wicked. The wages of sin is death. Psa. 16:10; 31:17; 37:20,34; 116:3; Isa. 66:24; Matt. 10:28; Mark 9:43; Rom. 6:23.

 

9. The Sacrifice of Christ: Although he was of our weak and sinful nature, Jesus was enabled, through faith in and love for his Father, to overcome all temptation and to live a righteous and sinless life. His crucifixion — accomplished by wicked men but according to God’s plan — was the means by which he was saved, and by which those who believe in him may be saved, from sin and death. God was working in the sacrifice of His Son to express His love and grace and forbearance toward all men — not His wrath against them. Isa. 53:5; John 1:29; 3:16; Acts 2:23; 7:52; 10:39; Rom. 3:23-29; 5:6; Phil. 2:8; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2:6; Tit. 2:14; Heb. 5:7,8; 7:27; 9:12,26.

 

10. The Resurrection of Christ: Because of his perfect righteousness, it was not possible for Jesus to be held by death. God raised him from the dead and glorified him. Later Jesus ascended to heaven. Gen. 22:17; Psa. 16:10,11; 110:1; Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:3,9; 2:24,31; 3:15; 5:30,31; 7:55,56; 10:40; 17:31; 26:23; Rom. 1:3,4; 6:9; Eph. 1:20; Phil. 2:9-12; 2 Tim. 1:10; 2:8; Heb. 13:20; Rev. 1:18.

 

11. The Mediatorship of Christ: Being exalted to God’s right hand in heaven, Jesus is the only priest and mediator between God and men. Psa. 110:1,4; Isa. 53:12; John 17:9; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 4:14,15; 7:24,25; 1 John 2:1.

 

12. The Second Coming of Christ: Christ will remain in heaven until the time for restoring all things, including the kingdom to Israel. Then he will return to the earth in glory — personally and visibly — to fulfill the hope of all true believers. Psa. 110:1,2; Zech. 14:3,4; Matt. 16:27; Acts 1:10,11; 3:20,21; Phil. 3:20; Col. 1:5; Tit. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:13; 1 John 2:28.

 

13. Resurrection: After his return, Jesus will raise many of the dead, the faithful and the unfaithful. He will also send forth his angels to gather them together with the living to the great judgment. Dan. 12:1,2; John 5:29; 11:24; 12:44-48; Acts 10:42; 24:15,21; 26:8; Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thes. 4:14-17; 2 Tim. 4:1.

 

14. Judgment and Reward: The unfaithful will be punished with a second, eternal death. The faithful will be rewarded, by God’s grace, with everlasting life on the earth, receiving glorified and immortal bodies. Deut. 18:15,19; Psa. 110:3; Matt. 5:5; 7:26; 8:12; 25:31-46; Luke 20:37,38; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:13,14, 53,54; Phil. 3:20,21; 2 Thes. 1:8; Tit. 3:7.

 

15. The Promises to Abraham: The promises made to Abraham, confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require a literal inheritance in the earth for Christ and all the faithful, who are the spiritual “seed of Abraham”. The righteous do not go to heaven at death. Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 26:2,4; 28:13,14; Psa. 37:9,11,22,29; Isa. 45:18; Matt. 1:1; Luke 13:28; John 3:13; Acts 3:25; 7:5; 13:32,33; 26:6,7,18; Rom. 4:13-18; 8:17; Gal. 3:8,16,26-29; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 11:8,9,39,40; Rev. 5:9.

 

16. The Promises to David: The promises made to David, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require Jesus to sit on David’s throne and rule over God’s Kingdom, which is the kingdom of Israel restored. Jerusalem will be the capital of this kingdom. 2 Sam. 7:12-14; 1 Chron. 17:10-14; Psa. 2:6-9; Isa. 9:6,7; 24:23; 55:3,4; Jer. 3:17; 33:15; Ezek. 21:27; Zech. 14:16; Matt. 1:1; 5:35; 19:28; Luke 1:30-33; Acts 1:6,11; 2:29,30; 3:19-21; 13:23,34; 2 Tim. 2:8,12; Tit. 2:13.

 

17. The Kingdom of God: Jesus will be assisted by his immortal brothers and sisters in ruling over the mortal peoples in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom will result in everlasting righteousness, happiness, and peace. Finally all sin and death will be removed, and the earth will at last be filled with the glory of God. The earth will not be literally burned up or destroyed. Psa. 67:4-7; 72:4,17; 115:16; Isa. 2:4; 11:1-5,9; 25:6-8; 32:1-6; Dan. 2:44; 7:13,14,18,27; Mic. 4:2; Hab. 2:14; Luke 13:28,29; 22:30; 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Rev. 2:26,27; 3:21; 5:10; 11:15; 20:6; 21:4.

 

18. The “Devil”: The “devil” is another name for sin in human nature; it is not a separate supernatural being or fallen angel. Christ overcame this “devil” in himself by defeating the tendencies to sin in his own nature. Therefore he can provide us with a covering for our sins. John 6:70; 1 Tim. 3:11; Tit. 2:3; 2 Tim. 3:3; Heb. 2:14; 9:26; James 1:14,15; 4:7,8; 1 John 3:5,8.

 

19. “Satan” and “Demons”: “Satan” is a Hebrew word which means an adversary; it is used about people and circumstances which oppose God’s will. “Devils” (Greek “demons”) are not agents of any supernatural “devil” or “god” of evil. In New Testament times, people who had mental illnesses or disorders were referred to as having “demons”. Isa. 45:5,7; Matt. 12:22; 16:23; 17:15-18; Mark 8:33; 9:17; Acts 5:3,9; 17:18.

 

20. Justification by Faith: Man can obtain justification, or righteousness, only by the grace and mercy of God, through faith in Christ. Man cannot save himself by his own works alone, no matter how good or numerous. Rom. 4:13,21-25; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 2:8,9; 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 3:6,7; Heb. 11:6.

 

21. Baptism: There is only one true gospel, which cannot be altered. Belief of this gospel, true repentance, and baptism (total immersion in water) are essential for salvation. In baptism we turn to God, our sins are forgiven, we become heirs of the promises to Abraham and his spiritual “seed”, we identify with Christ in his life and death, and we are born again in him. The sprinkling of babies is not true Scriptural baptism. Matt. 7:13,14; 22:14; 28:18-20; Mark 16:16; John 3:5; Acts 2:38-41; 3:19; 8:12,36-38; 10:43,47,48; 22:16; 26:20; Rom. 6:4; Gal. 1:8; 3:27-29; Eph. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:11; 1 Pet. 3:21.

 

22. The One Body: Those who believe the gospel and are baptized into Christ become “brethren in Christ”, without regard to nationality. They also become a part of the “one body”, with Christ as their head. God calls them His children, and they become partakers of His grace and love. Psa. 103:13-18; John 1:12; Acts 10:34-36; 26:17-23; Rom. 8:14-17; 12:4,5; 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Gal. 3:16-29; Eph. 2:16; 4:4,12-16; Col. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pet. 1:23; 1 John 3:1.

 

23. The Breaking of Bread: The breaking of bread and drinking of wine, in remembrance of Jesus, was instituted by him for his true followers. It is a means of affirming their status as members of the “one body” of Christ. It is a commandment to be obeyed whenever possible. Luke 22:19,20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 10:16,17; 11:23-29; Heb. 10:25.

 

24. The Jews: The Jews are God’s chosen people. Though scattered because of disobedience, they will be purified (after repentance and faith), regathered, and made ready for the coming of the Messiah. Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 37:12,22; Joel 3:2; Zech. 8:23; 12:10; Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 11:25-29.

 

25. The Commandments of Christ: All those who believe these teachings should strive also to live godly, Christ-like lives. This involves the keeping of Christ’s commandments, and separateness from the affairs of this world, including its politics and police and military service. The commandments of Christ, including those of his apostles, are therefore an important part of any Statement of Faith.

 

12. The Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith

 

One of the questions posed at the beginning of this study was: does our commonly accepted Christadelphian statement of faith — the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith — go too far, or not far enough, in defining essential doctrines?

 

Very few Christadelphians are truly familiar with their own statement of faith. So, as a first step to answering the question above, we reproduce the text of the BASF (the Foundation clause and 30 positive clauses).

 

A Statement of the Faith forming Our Basis of Fellowship

 

The Foundation.– That the book currently known as the Bible, consisting of the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is the only source of knowledge concerning God and His purposes at present extant or available in the earth, and that the same were wholly given by inspiration of God in the writers, and are consequently without error in all parts of them, except such as may be due to errors of transcription or translation (2 Tim. 3:16; 1 Cor. 2:13; Heb. 1:1; 2 Pet. 1:21; 1 Cor. 14:37; Neh. 9:30; John 10:35).

 

Truth to be Received

 

I.– That the only true God is He who was revealed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by angelic visitation and vision, and to Moses at the flaming bush (unconsumed) and at Sinai, and who manifested Himself in the Lord Jesus Christ, as the supreme self-existent Deity, the ONE FATHER, dwelling in unapproachable light, yet everywhere present by His Spirit, which is a unity with His person in heaven. He hath, out of His own underived energy, created heaven and earth, and all that in them is (Isa. 40:13-25; 43:10-12; 44:6-8; 45:5; 46:9,10; Job 38,39, and 40; Deut. 6:1-4; Mark 12:29-32; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Eph. 4:6; 1 Tim. 2:5; Neh. 9:6; Job 26:13; Psa. 124:8; 146:6; 148:5; Isa. 40:25-27; Jer. 10:12,13; 27:5; 32:17-25; 51:15; Acts 14:15; 17:24; 1 Chron. 29:11-14; Psa. 62:11; 145:3; Isa. 26:4; 40:26; Job 9:4; 36:5; Psa. 92:5; 104:24; 147:4,5; Isa. 28:29; Rom. 16:27; 1 Tim. 1:17; 2 Chron. 16:9; Job 28:24; 34:21; Psa. 33:13,14; 44:21; 94:9; 139:7-12; Prov. 15:3; Jer. 23:24; 32:19; Amos 9:2,3; Acts 17:27,28; Psa. 123:1; 1 Kings 8:30-39,43,49; Matt. 6:9; 1 Tim. 6:15,16; 1:17).

 

II.– That Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, begotten of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of man, and afterwards anointed with the same spirit, without measure, at his baptism (Matt. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16; Acts 2:22-24,36; Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 3:16,17; Isa. 11:2; 42:1; 61:1; John 3:34; 7:16; 8:26-28; 14:10-24).

 

III.– That the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth on the earth was necessitated by the position and state into which the human race had been brought by the circumstances connected with the first man (1 Cor. 15:21,22; Rom 5:12-19; Gen. 3:19; 2 Cor. 5:19-21).

 

IV.– That the first man was Adam, whom God created out of the dust of the ground as a living soul, or natural body of life, “very good” in kind and condition, and placed him under a law through which the continuance of life was contingent on obedience (Gen. 2:7; 18:27; Job 4:19; 33:6; 1 Cor 15:46-49; Gen. 2:17).

 

V.– That Adam broke this law, and was adjudged unworthy of immortality, and sentenced to return to the ground from whence he was taken — a sentence which defiled and became a physical law of his being, and was transmitted to all his posterity (Gen. 3:15-19,22,23; 2 Cor. 1:9; Rom. 7:24; 2 Cor. 5:2-4; Rom. 7:18-23; Gal. 5:16,17; Rom. 6:12; 7:21; John 3:6; Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:22; Psa. 51:5; Job 14:4).

 

VI.– That God, in His kindness, conceived a plan of restoration which, without setting aside His just and necessary law of sin and death, should ultimately rescue the race from destruction, and people the earth with sinless immortals (Rev. 21:4; John 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 John 2:25; 2 Tim. 1:1; Titus 1:2; Rom. 3:26; John 1:29).

 

VII.– That He inaugurated this plan by making promises to Adam, Abraham, and David, and afterwards elaborated it in greater detail through the prophets (Gen. 3:15; 21:18; Psa. 89:34-37; 33:5; Hosea 13:14; Isa. 25:7-9; 51:1-8; Jer. 23:5).

 

VIII.– That these promises had reference to Jesus Christ, who was to be raised up in the condemned line of Abraham and David, and who, though wearing their condemned nature, was to obtain a title to resurrection by perfect obedience, and, by dying, abrogate the law of condemnation for himself and all who should believe and obey him (1 Cor. 15:45; Heb. 2:14-16; Rom. 1:3; Heb. 5:8,9; 1:9; Rom. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4,5; Rom. 8:3,4; Heb. 2:15; 9:26; Gal. 1:4; Heb. 7:27; 5:3-7; 2:17; Rom. 6:10; 6:9; Acts 13:34-37; Rev. 1:18; John 5:21,22,26,27; 14:3; Rev. 2:7; 3:21; Matt. 25:21; Heb. 5:9; Mark 16:16; Acts 13:38,39; Rom. 3:22; Psa. 2:6-9; Dan. 7:13,14; Rev. 11:15; Jer. 23:5; Zech. 14:9; Eph. 1:9,10).

 

IX.– That it was this mission that necessitated the miraculous begettal of Christ of a human mother, enabling him to bear our condemnation, and, at the same time, to be a sinless bearer thereof, and, therefore, one who could rise after suffering the death required by the righteousness of God (Matt. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-35; Gal. 4:4; Isa. 7:14; Rom. 1:3,4; 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:14-17; 4:15).

 

X.– That being so begotten of God, and inhabited and used by God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was Emmanuel, God with us, God manifest in the flesh — yet was, during his natural life, of like nature with mortal man, being made of a woman, of the house and lineage of David, and therefore a sufferer, in the days of his flesh, from all the effects that came by Adam’s transgression, including the death that passed upon all men, which he shared by partaking of their physical nature (Matt. 1:23; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 2:14; Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:17).

 

XI.– That the message he delivered from God to his kinsmen the Jews, was a call to repentance from every evil work, the assertion of his divine sonship and Jewish kingship; and the proclamation of the glad tidings that God would restore their kingdom through him, and accomplish all things written in the prophets (Mark 1:15; Matt. 4:17; 4:20-48; John 10:36; 9:35; 11:27; 19:21; 1:49; Matt. 27:11-42; John 10:24,25; Matt. 19:28; 21:42,43; 23:38,39; 25:14 to the end; Luke 4:43; 13:27-30; 19:11-27; 22:28-30; Matt. 5:17; Luke 24:44).

 

XII.– That for delivering this message, he was put to death by the Jews and Romans, who were, however, but instruments in the hands of God, for the doing of that which He had determined before to be done — viz., the condemnation of sin in the flesh, through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all, as a propitiation to declare the righteousness of God, as a basis for the remission of sins. All who approach God through this crucified, but risen, representative of Adam’s disobedient race, are forgiven. Therefore, by a figure, his blood cleanseth from sin (Luke 19:47; 20:1-16; John 11:45-53; Acts 10:38,39; 13:26-29; 4:27,28; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 10:10; Rom. 3:25; Acts 13:38; 1 John 1:7; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Peter 3:18; 2:24; Heb. 9:14; 7:27; 9:26-28; Gal. 1:4; Rom. 3:25; 15:8; Gal. 3:21,22; 2:21; 4:4,5; Heb. 9:15; Luke 22:20; 24:26,46,47; Matt. 26:28).

 

XIII.– That on the third day, God raised him from the dead, and exalted him to the heavens as priestly mediator between God and man, in the process of gathering from among them a people who should be saved by the belief and obedience of the truth (1 Cor. 15:4; Acts 10:40; 13:30-37; 2:24-27).

 

XIV.– That he is a priest over his own house only, and does not intercede for the world, or for professors who are abandoned to disobedience. That he makes intercession for his erring brethren, if they confess and forsake their sins (Luke 24:51; Eph. 1:20; Acts 5:31; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 8:1; Acts 15:14; 13:39; Heb. 4:14,15; John 17:9; Heb. 10:26; 1 John 2:1; Prov. 28:13).

 

XV.– That he sent forth apostles to proclaim salvation through him, as the only name given under heaven whereby men may be saved (Acts 1:8; Matt. 28:19,20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 26:16-18; 4:12).

 

XVI.– That the way to obtain this salvation is to believe the gospel they preached, and to take on the name and service of Christ, by being thereupon immersed in water, and continuing patiently in the observance of all things he has commanded, none being recognized as his friends except those who do what he has commanded (Acts 13:48; 16:31; Mark 16:16; Rom. 1:16; Acts 2:38,41; 10:47; 8:12; Gal. 3:27-29; Rom. 6:3-5; 2:7; Matt. 28:20; John 15:14).

 

XVII.– That the gospel consists of “the thing concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:12; 19:8,10,20; 28:30,31).

 

XVIII.– That the things of the Kingdom of God are the facts testified concerning the Kingdom of God in the writings of the prophets and apostles, and definable as in the next twelve paragraphs.

 

XIX.– That God will set up a kingdom in the earth, which will overthrow all others, and change them into “the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ” (Dan. 2:44; 7:13,14; Rev. 11:15; Isa. 32:1,6; 2:3,4; 11:9,10).

 

XX.– That for this purpose God will send Jesus Christ personally to the earth at the close of the times of the Gentiles (Acts 3:20,21; Psa. 102:16,21; 2 Tim. 4:1; Acts 1:9,11; Dan. 7:13).

 

XXI.– That the kingdom which he will establish will be the kingdom of Israel restored, in the territory it formerly occupied, viz., the land bequeathed for an everlasting possession to Abraham and his seed (the Christ) by covenant (Micah 4:6-8; Amos 9:11,15; Ezek. 37:21,22; Jer. 23:3,8; Gen. 13:14,17; Heb. 11:8,9; Gal. 3:16; Lev. 26:42; Micah 7:20).

 

XXII.– That this restoration of the kingdom again to Israel will involve the ingathering of God’s chosen but scattered nation, the Jews; their reinstatement in the land of their fathers, when it shall have been reclaimed from “the desolation of many generations”; the building again of Jerusalem to become “the throne of the Lord” and the metropolis of the whole earth (Isa. 11:12; Jer. 31:10; Zech. 8:8; Ezek. 36:34,36; Isa. 51:3; 60:15; 62:4; Jer. 3:17; Micah 4:7,8; Joel 3:17; Isa. 24:23).

 

XXIII.– That the governing body of the kingdom so established will be the brethren of Christ, of all generations, developed by resurrection and change, and constituting, with Christ as their head, the collective “seed of Abraham”, in whom all nations will be blessed, and comprising “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets”, and all in their age of like faithfulness (Dan. 12:2; Luke 13:28; Rev. 11:18; 1 Thes. 4:15-17; John 5:28,29; 6:39,40; Luke 14:14; Matt. 24:34,46).

 

XXIV.– That at the appearing of Christ prior to the establishment of the Kingdom, the responsible (namely, those who know the revealed will of God, and have been called upon to submit to it),1 dead and living — obedient and disobedient — will be summoned before his judgment seat “to be judged according to their works”; and “receive in body according to what they have done, whether it be good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Tim. 4:1; Rom. 2:5,6,16; 14:10-12; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 11:18).

 

XXV.– That the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and “the second death”, and the faithful, invested with immortality, and exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the kingdom, co-possessors of the earth, and joint administrators of God’s authority among men in everything (Matt. 7:26; 8:12; 25:20; Dan. 12:2; Gal. 6:8; 5:21; 2 Thes. 1:8; Heb. 10:26-28; 2 Pet. 2:12; Rev. 21:8; Mal. 4:1; Psa. 37:30-38; Prov. 10:25-29; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; 2 Cor. 5:1-4; James 1:12; Rom. 2:7; John 10:28; Matt. 5:5; Psa. 37:9,22,29; Rev. 5:9; Dan. 7:27; 1 Thes. 2:12; 2 Pet. 1:11; Rev. 3:21; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; Psa. 49:7-9; Luke 22:29,30).

 

XXVI.– That the Kingdom of God, thus constituted, will continue a thousand years, during which sin and death will continue among the earth’s subject inhabitants, though in a much milder degree than now (Rev. 20:4-8; 12:15; Isa. 65:20; Ezek. 44:22,25; 1 Cor. 15:24,28).

 

XXVII.– That a law will be established which shall go forth to the nations for their “instruction in righteousness”, resulting in the abolition of war to the ends of the earth; and the “filling of the earth with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah,2 as the waters cover the sea” (Micah 4:2; Isa. 42:4; 11:1-5; 2:4; Hab. 2:14).

 

XXVIII.– That the mission of the Kingdom will be to subdue all enemies, and finally death itself, by opening up the way of life to the nations, which they will enter by faith, during the thousand years, and (in reality) at their close (1 Cor. 15:25,26; Rev. 21:4; 20:12-15; Isa. 25:6-8).

 

XXIX.– That at the close of the thousand years, there will be a general resurrection and judgment, resulting in the final extinction of the wicked, and the immortalization of those who shall have established their title (under the grace of God) to eternal life during the thousand years (Rev. 20:11-15; 1 Cor. 15:24).

 

XXX.– That the government will then be delivered up by Jesus to the Father, who will manifest Himself as the “all-in-all”; sin and death having been taken out of the way, and the race completely restored to the friendship of the Deity (1 Cor. 15:28).

 

Doctrines to be Rejected

 

To the BASF is also attached 35 “Doctrines to be Rejected”.

 

• That the Bible is only partly the work of inspiration — or if wholly so contains errors which inspiration has allowed.
• That God is three persons.
• That the Son of God was co-eternal with the Father.
• That Christ was born with a “free life”.
• That Christ’s nature was immaculate.
• That the Holy Spirit is a person distinct from the Father.
• That man has an immortal soul.
• That man consciously exists in death.
• That the wicked will suffer eternal torture in hell.
• That the righteous will ascend to the kingdoms beyond the skies when they die.
• That the devil is a supernatural personal being.
• That the Kingdom of God is “the church”.
• That the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ merely.
• That Christ will not come till the close of the thousand years.
• That the tribunal of Christ, when he comes, is not for the judgment of saints, but merely to divide among them different degrees of reward.
• That the resurrection is confined to the faithful.
• That the dead rise in an immortal state.
• That the subject-nations of the thousand years are immortal.
• That the law of Moses is binding on believers of the Gospel.
• That the observance of Sunday is a matter of duty.
• That baby-sprinkling is a doctrine of Scripture.
• That “heathens”, idiots, pagans, and very young children will be saved.
• That man can be saved by morality or sincerity, without the Gospel.
• That the Gospel alone will save, without the obedience of Christ’s commandments.
• That a man cannot believe without possessing the Spirit of God.
• That men are predestined to salvation unconditionally.
• That there is no sin in the flesh.
• That Joseph was the actual father of Jesus.
• That the earth will be destroyed.
• That baptism is not necessary to salvation.
• That a knowledge of the truth is not necessary to make baptism valid.
• That some meats are to be refused on the score of uncleanness.
• That the English are the ten tribes of Israel, whose prosperity is a fulfilment of the promises made concerning Ephraim.
• That marriage with an unbeliever is lawful.
• That we are at liberty to serve in the army, or as police constables, take part in politics, or recover debts by legal coercion.

 

*****

 

Footnotes:

 

This phrase, in bold italic, was added to the earlier Birmingham Statement in 1898, as a result of the “resurrectional responsibility” controversy. It gives the Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith its “Amended” label, and also gives the largest fellowship of Christadelphians its designation of “Amended”, particularly in North America — where the division has persisted. (See the discussion, chapter 14:m.)

It is worth noting, in a time when the use (and pronunciation) of the “Memorial Name” of God has become a controversial and sometimes divisive issue, that the BASF never refers to God as “Yahweh” but only (and that only once) as “Jehovah”. It is also worth noting that, while the New Testament occasionally transliterates Hebrew words (including one of the titles of God: “Sabaoth” — hosts — in James 5:4), it does not attempt to transliterate the Tetragrammaton, even when directly quoting the Old Testament, but uses — simply — “Kyrios”, or “Lord”, in its place.

 

 

13. Comparison of the Apostolic Statement with the BASF

 

How does the “Apostolic statement” stack up against the BASF (and of course the BUSF), as to general content?

 

Apostolic

Birmingham Amended

 

Statement of Faith

Statement of Faith

 

(ASF)

(BASF)

 

1. The Bible

The Foundation clause, Doctrine to be Rejected 1

 

2. God

Clause I, Doc. Rej. 2

 

3. The Holy Spirit

Clause I, DR 6, 25

 

4. Jesus, the Son of God

II, DR 3, 28

 

5. Jesus, the Man

VI, VIII, IX, X, DR 4, 5 (The condition of the human race – of whom Jesus was part is defined in IV and V.)

 

6. Sin and Death

IV, V, DR 27

 

7. The “Soul”

IV, DR 7, 8

 

8. “Hell”

DR 8, 9

 

9. The Sacrifice of Christ

VIII, IX, X, XII

 

10. The Resurrection of Christ

XIII

 

11. The Mediatorship of Christ

XIII, XIV

 

12. The Second Coming

XIX, XX

 

13. Resurrection

XXIV, DR 16, 17

 

14. Judgment

XXV, DR 15

 

15. The Promises to Abraham

XXI, XXIII, DR 10

 

16. The Promises to David

XXII

 

17. The Kingdom of God

XXVI through XXX, DR 12, 14, 18, 29

 

18. The “Devil”

DR 11

 

19. “Satan” and “Demons”

… .No equivalent… .

 

20. Justification by Faith

XI, XII, XVI, DR 22, 23, 26

 

21. Baptism

XVI, DR 21, 30, 31

 

22. The One Body

… .No equivalent… .

 

23. The Breaking of Bread

… .No equivalent… .

 

24. The Jews

XXI, XXII, DR 33

 

25. Christ’s Commandments

XVI, DR 24

 

.No equivalent… .

DR 13, 19, 20, 32, 34, 35

 

 

Certain clauses in the BASF (i.e., III, VII, XV, XVII, and XVIII) are connective only, adding no particular principles to the whole. This leaves 25 clauses plus the “Foundation” clause, most of which find plain counterparts in the comparison above. The general doctrinal coverage between the two “statements” is almost identical, with two primary exceptions:

 

The BASF has no real counterpart for the doctrine of the One Body: involving fellowship and the breaking of bread. This is, in my opinion, a major shortcoming. This lack of emphasis, historically, on the positive doctrine of fellowship may account for an unwarranted Christadelphian preoccupation with the negative aspects of “fellowship” (i.e., the exclusive aspects) and an unwarranted Christadelphian neglect of the positive (i.e., the inclusive aspects). In short, Christadelphians seem to have always been more concerned to sever fellowship ties with those who might be in error than to seek fellowship ties with those who also constitute part of the One Body.

The BASF is much more extensive in the area of the Kingdom of God (specifically with clauses XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, and XXX: how long the Kingdom will last, its precise form at different times, the effects of the Kingdom, and the events at the end of the thousand years). This suggests that those who rely only upon the BASF may become overly dogmatic and technical in applying fellowship standards to questions about the order, the details, and/or the times of future events.

 

14. More Detailed Evaluation

 

More specifically, it is proposed now to evaluate the clauses of the BASF phrase by phrase, attempting to determine if they go too far or not far enough in defining essential doctrine. (In the analyses that follow, ASF stands for Apostolic Statement of Faith, and BASF for Birmingham Amended Statement of Faith.)

 

(a) The Bible

 

“The Foundation: That the book currently known as the Bible, consisting of the Scriptures of Moses, the prophets, and the apostles, is the only source of knowledge concerning God and His purposes at present extant or available in the earth, and that the same were wholly given by inspiration of God in the writers, and are consequently without error in all parts of them, except such as may be due to errors of transcription or translation” (BASF).

 

This could be replaced by:

 

“The Bible is the Word of God, directly inspired by Him in all its parts. It is powerful to instruct man in righteousness, and to accomplish God’s purpose in those who believe” (ASF 1).

 

The second is only about one-third as long as the first, and states the same essential truth, even adding an additional (and, as attested, essential) significant truth: “It is powerful…”

 

Furthermore, the ASF removes the problems of the BASF: i.e., the suggestions that:

 

Luke and Acts are not parts of the Bible — being written by the “non-prophet, non-apostle” Luke; and

the heavens do not tell us anything about God — since the Bible is the “only source of knowledge about God”! (This is in plain contradiction to Psalm 19:1!)

 

(b) God

 

There are no real problems with BASF I, except — again — its considerable length. The briefer ASF 2 says everything essential; in addition, it attributes God’s eternal plan to His desire to save men (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4; 4:10).

 

(c) The Holy Spirit

 

ASF 3 is a perfect match for (a) that part of BASF I which deals with God’s Spirit, and (b) Doc. Rej. 6.

 

Also in the BASF, DR 25 rejects the teaching “that a man cannot believe without possessing the Spirit of God.” It may be assumed this means that a man does not need to be directly inspired by God in order to believe (though it might better have been so stated). Surely it was not intended to mean that man does not need the beneficial influence of God in Spirit-inspired Scriptures or in Spirit- directed providence in order to believe!

 

In the absence of any proof that it is an “essential teaching”, and because of this ambiguity of meaning, DR 25 might well have been omitted from a Statement of Faith.

 

(d) Jesus, the Son of God

 

In this case, unlike the earlier ones, the ASF (Clause 4) is slightly longer than the BASF (Clause II, DR 28), but with good reason:

 

“God — in accordance with His eternal plan, and in His goodness and kindness and grace — manifested Himself through a Son. Jesus of Nazareth is that unique and holy Son of God, begotten of the virgin Mary by the power of God, without a human father. He is not the second person of a ‘trinity’ of ‘gods’, and he had no pre-human existence except in the mind and purpose of his Father.”

 

The first sentence has no equivalent in BASF II (perhaps it does, somewhat, in BASF VI), but it is well worth saying. It expresses the motivation of God in His plan of salvation.

 

(e) Jesus, the man

 

The relevant “essential doctrines” taught by the BASF are:

 

that Jesus’ nature was, like ours, condemned (VIII, IX);

that Jesus was not born with a “free life”, i.e., a life that did not need to be redeemed from sin and death (DR 4); and

that his nature was not “immaculate” (DR 5).

 

If by “condemned” is meant “condemned to mortality” (with no moral stigma attached), then Points b and c are the logical and indisputable corollaries of Point a, and need not have been included on that score alone.

 

Otherwise, the ASF (in Clause 5) perfectly coincides with the BASF (in Clauses VIII, IX):

 

“Although he was the Son of God, Jesus was also truly and altogether a man; he shared our mortal nature, with all its sorrows and griefs” (ASF 5).

 

The terms “condemned” and “condemnation”, found in the BASF, do have — for some readers — a moral connotation, and might well be avoided for that reason. The Bible evidence does not support the use of these words to describe Christ’s nature in a “first principles” statement; “mortal” is sufficient.

 

(f) Sin and death

 

It is difficult to know exactly what “very good” (Gen. 1:31, AV; BASF IV) means, or even whether it is so much a description of Adam’s condition before he sinned, as it is of the condition of the whole of God’s original creation. Therefore, use of this phrase could be avoided in any list of “essential doctrines”.

 

Likewise, “a sentence which defiled and became a physical law of his being” (BASF V) is not demonstrated to be a first principle by reference to any relevant passages. Indeed, the use of this phrase in the BASF has led to arguments such as:

 

“the sin” versus “the sentence”: which truly defiled?, and

“defilement”: is it physical, moral, legal, or some combination of all three?

 

The ASF (6) is sufficient, while not introducing controversial matters of questionable merit:

 

“The first man was Adam, who disobeyed God and was condemned by Him. Adam was responsible for bringing sin and death into the world.”

 

This is not so much a demonstrable first principle as it is a reasonable deduction from one. That is, it is difficult to find “essential teaching” that spells this out in so many words. (For example, nothing is found about sin and death per se in the “Acts statement”.) But it must be true that, since the sacrifice of Christ is the means of saving us from death, we need to be clear as to what death really is before we can appreciate our potential deliverance from it! What we need not do, however, is add to an “essential” statement matters of secondary importance and/or second-level logical deduction.

 

The phrase “sin in the flesh”, which occurs in DR 27, is found only once in the whole Bible (Rom. 8:3). There is perhaps some legitimate disagreement, even among Christadelphians in good standing, as to what the phrase means. There is even some disagreement — in fact — as to whether it is a phrase: i.e., “sin-in-the-flesh” (with hyphens understood). In other words, did God condemn (a) “sin-in-the-flesh”, or (b) “sin” in the flesh?

 

If “sin in the flesh” means the human tendency to sin, inherent in our nature, then plainly — as DR 27 states — it would be fundamentally wrong to deny its existence. But it is also redundant to state this principle in DR 27, in the light of its already being stated in BASF III, IV, and V (and ASF 5, 6, and 9).

 

(g) The “soul”

 

Just as it is necessary to understand death, so it is necessary to understand the Scriptural definition of “soul”. The ASF (7) and the BASF (IV, DR 7,8) are equivalent on this matter (except for BASF’s aforementioned use of “very good”).

 

(h) “Hell”

 

Likewise with the Scriptural definition of “hell”. The ASF (8) and the BASF (DR 8, 9) are equivalent here.

 

(i) The sacrifice of Christ

 

The ASF has:                                                                                                          †

 

“Although he was of our weak and sinful nature, Jesus was enabled, through faith in and love for his Father, to overcome all temptation and to live a righteous and sinless life. His crucifixion — accomplished by wicked men but according to God’s plan — was the means by which he was saved, and by which those who believe in him may be saved from sin and death. God was working in the sacrifice of His Son to express His love and grace and forbearance toward all men — not His wrath against them” (9).

 

The BASF has:

 

“… Jesus Christ, who was to be raised up in the condemned line of Abraham and David, and who, though wearing their condemned nature, was to obtain a title to resurrection by perfect obedience, and, by dying, abrogate the law of condemnation for himself and all who should believe and obey him” (VIII). “… the miraculous begettal of Christ of a human mother, enabling him to bear our condemnation, and, at the same time, to be a sinless bearer thereof, and, therefore, one who could rise after suffering the death required by the righteousness of God (IX). “… put to death by the Jews and Romans, who were, however, but instruments in the hands of God, for the doing of that which He had determined before to be done — viz., the condemnation of sin in the flesh, through the offering of the body of Jesus once for all, as a propitiation to declare the righteousness of God, as a basis for the remission of sins. All who approach God through this crucified, but risen, representative of Adam’s disobedient race, are forgiven. Therefore, by a figure, his blood cleanseth from sin” (XII).

 

The BASF covers everything that is an “essential doctrine” in the area of the Atonement. But clearly, the BASF goes into more detail on certain “Atonement” points than seems warranted by the evidence for the ASF.

 

Even then, it is noteworthy that many of the typical Christadelphian legalisms and technicalities concerning the Atonement are not found in the BASF: “alienation”, “inherited alienation”, “Adamic condemnation”, “clean flesh”. Even the term “resurrectional responsibility” is not to be found in the BASF.

 

The phrase “to obtain a title to resurrection” (VIII) implies a  “mechanical” or “process” orientation to the question of Jesus’ salvation. Hence the argument as to the “basis” for his resurrection (and then, secondarily, to the supposed “basis” for the resurrection of others). Such legal technicalities, possibly interesting in themselves, might well be avoided in a discussion of true “essential doctrines”, as the ASF bears out. In terms of fundamental doctrine, it is enough to know “what”; it is perhaps interesting but not essential to know “how” and “why”.

 

Also, the phrase “to bear our condemnation” — used about Christ (BASF IX) — has implied to some readers that a degree of personal guilt is thereby attached to Christ. Of course, this is very wrong. Such an idea need not even be hinted at in any “essential doctrine” — and this wording is not included in the ASF.

 

And so ASF 9 expresses Jesus’ participation in, and benefit from, his own sacrifice in quite simple terms. Some readers might wish for a fuller statement, but the “first principles” evidence does not warrant it.

 

Interesting though it might be for “experts” to probe into the “mechanics” of the Atonement, such matters need not concern the unbaptized or the “novices”. The car can carry the passenger, or the driver for that matter, from Point A to Point B even if he does not know the difference between a carburetor and a radiator. It may be good and useful to know such things, but strictly speaking it is not necessary. (And the “car” of Christ’s atonement is not going to break down along the road!) Some Christadelphians seem to think that a person must be a professionally certified auto mechanic before he is allowed even to get into a car!

 

Some of our divisions might well have been avoided if, for the sake of the One Body, we had settled on the simplest defensible teaching of the Atonement as our “first principle”!

 

(j) The resurrection of Christ

 

A mild quibble might be had with the BASF, which states that the resurrection of Christ occurred “on the third day” (XIII), whereas the Bible sometimes says “after three days” (Matt. 27:63; Mark 8:31; 9:31). (This may merely be a difference between Hebrew and Greek or Roman methods of counting days.) At any rate, and while somehow connected to a “third day”, the exact time of Christ’s resurrection is certainly not on the same order of importance as the true first principles.

 

Otherwise, the fit between ASF (10) and BASF (XIII) is perfect.

 

(k) The mediatorship of Christ

 

The ASF reads as follows:

 

“Being exalted to God’s right hand in heaven, Jesus is the only priest and mediator between God and men” (11).

 

The BASF has:

 

“[Jesus was] exaltedÖ to the heavens as priestly mediator between God and man, in the process of gathering from among them a people who should be saved by the belief and obedience of the truth” (XIII).

 

The significant feature of each is the same, as expressed in one of the Pastoral Letters’ “sayings of faith”:

 

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5).

 

Continuing, BASF Clause XIV presents some problems:

 

“That he is a priest over his own house only, and does not intercede for the world, or for professors who are abandoned to disobedience. That he makes intercession for his erring brethren, if they confess and forsake their sinsÖ”

 

Is it true that, as high priest, Jesus never intercedes for anyone other than his obedient brethren? It may be true that forgiveness of sins is only obtainable to those who enter into covenant relationship with God, and Christ as high priest and mediator is certainly involved with this. But does he not even begin the process with those not yet in such covenant relationship?

 

One of the proof texts quoted with BASF XIV is 1 Timothy 2:5. This reads, in context with vv. 1,3,4,6,7:

 

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all menÖ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher [and] a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.”

 

The use of the phrases “all men” and “all” and “Gentiles” in the context of 1 Timothy 2 plainly points to those not yet in Christ’s household. Can it be right that Christ cannot intercede at all for such as they?

 

Then there is, of course, the case of Cornelius. Though not as yet baptized, his prayers were heard by God (Acts 10:2,4,31) — presumably through Christ the high priest and the only mediator between God and men. And the one whom Peter calls “Lord” (vv. 14,36; 11:8,16,21) answers Cornelius’ prayer by sending Peter to teach the Roman soldier and his household the way of life (one of the “first principles” lectures in Acts).

 

It is also true that Jesus said, “I pray not for the world” (John 17:9), and that it is “we” (the baptized believers) who surely have a “high priest” (Heb. 4:14,15; 8:1) and an “advocate” (1 John 2:1). But are those not yet in the “house”, but moving in that direction, merely “the world”? And even if they are not yet “we” (i.e., baptized believers), can it be true that Christ is bound to take no notice of them whatsoever?

 

The collateral matters (upon which XIV touches) of repentance, baptism, and forgiveness of sins (only through Christ) are dealt with elsewhere in the BASF (and of course in the ASF also); there is no need to repeat these matters in another clause.

 

On balance, therefore, BASF XIV might well be omitted from any statement of “essential doctrines”.

 

(l) The second coming of Christ

 

The ASF (12) and the BASF (XIX, XX) are identical as to essential doctrines.

 

(m) Resurrection and judgment (resurrectional responsibility)

 

ASF: “After his return, Jesus will raise many of the dead, the faithful and the unfaithful. He will also send forth his angels to gather them together with the living to the great judgment” (13). “The unfaithful will be punished with a second, eternal death. The faithful will be rewarded, by God’s grace, with everlasting life on the earth, receiving glorified and immortal bodies” (14).

 

BASF: “That at the appearing of Christ prior to the establishment of the Kingdom, the responsible (namely, those who know the revealed will of God, and have been called upon to submit to it), dead and living — obedient and disobedient — will be summoned before his judgment seat ‘to be judged according to their works’; and ‘receive in body according to what they have done, whether it be good or bad’ ” (XXIV). “That the unfaithful will be consigned to shame and ‘the second death’, and the faithful, invested with immortality, and exalted to reign with Jesus as joint heirs of the kingdom, co-possessors of the earth, and joint administrators of God’s authority among men in everything” (XXV).

 

Like the original Birmingham Statement (before the Amendment of 1898), the ASF does not attempt to define the “responsible” — except to say, in Clause 14, that the “faithful” and “unfaithful” will appear at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This is equivalent to the BASF in XXV, which uses the identical words “faithful” and “unfaithful”. [For that matter, Clause XXIV of the BASF originally read: “the responsible (faithful and unfaithful), dead and living of both classes”. The parenthetical phrase was dropped out of the original Clause XXIV to make room for the parenthetical amendment.]

 

This ASF 14 is absolutely Biblical, being based upon a “first principles” passage (Acts 24:15) which uses terms of identical meaning in defining those who are “responsible” to a resurrectional judgment:

 

“There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust…” (KJV).

 

“… the dead, both the righteous and the wicked…” (NIV).

 

“… the dead, both the just and the unjust…” (RSV).

 

It is true that one early Christadelphian Statement of Faith (by John Thomas) seemed to limit the resurrectionally “responsible” to those of “the household” (see chapter 10). But surely the description “unjust” (or “unfaithful”) always allowed for the possibility that, besides all the unfaithful who are validly baptized or otherwise in covenant with God, some unbaptized (who are “unjust”/”unfaithful” too) will also be raised to condemnation. In Acts 24:15, the word translated “unjust” is the Greek adikos; other uses of the same original word plainly include the unbaptized:

 

1 Corinthians 6:1: “When one of you has a grievance against a brother, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous (adikos) instead of the saints?” — The “unrighteous” are directly contrasted with the “saints”.

 

1 Peter 3:18: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust (adikos), that he might bring us to God” — The “unjust” are those who are in the process of being brought to God, a perfect definition of the as-yet-unbaptized!

 

2 Peter 2:9: “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust (adikos) unto the day of judgment to be punished” — The immediate context here equates the godly with Lot (v. 7), and the unjust with the men of Sodom and Gomorrah (v. 6), and plainly says that they — being “unjust” — will be punished on the day of judgment.

 

Again in the immediate context of Acts 24:15, the Gentile ruler Felix, who heard these words of Paul about a “resurrection of the wicked”, grew fearful when — only a few days later — Paul spoke to him again of “the1 judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). If a resurrection of the “wicked” or the “unjust” (v. 15) plainly held no threat at all for any unbaptized Gentile, why did Felix tremble when told of the judgment? 2

 

The analysis of “essential doctrines” in “The Apostles’ ‘First Principles’ Lectures” section (chapter 6) demonstrates that Deuteronomy 18:15,19 and its context formed part of the teaching presented as a preliminary to baptism:

 

“The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken… I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.”

 

It is true that these words were spoken by Moses to the children of Israel, and not to Gentiles, and that — likewise — they are quoted by Peter when addressing the children of Israel again (Acts 3:22,23). But… the warning includes the serious, all-inclusive “whosoever”! It is the same inclusiveness used by Peter in Acts 2:39:

 

“For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”

 

The promise of blessing, even when spoken to Jews, is also to “all that are afar off” (i.e., Gentiles: Eph. 2:13,17; 3:5-8; Isa. 57:19). Surely — if those same “all” knowingly and willfully refuse the offer of such a promise — they cannot expect to avoid the effect of such refusal: “Whosoever will not hearken to my words… I will require it of him.”

 

The history of the “resurrectional responsibility” division indicates that the original Clause XXIV was at the time of its drafting understood to allow for the unbaptized responsible, who had refused to give heed to the words of Christ. But a prominent English brother (J.J. Andrew of London) began to teach, in the 1890s, that those responsible to a resurrectional judgment could not possibly include any who were either uncircumcised (in the Mosaic dispensation) or unbaptized (in the Christian dispensation), because such were not cleansed from “Adamic condemnation” by the “blood of the covenant”, and thus could not be delivered, even briefly and by Divine decree, from the curse of an “eternal death”. 3 The controversy from this new (or, if not so “new”, then “newly prominent”) teaching led the Birmingham Christadelphian Ecclesia to change its Statement of Faith in an attempt to rule out the teaching that Christ could not raise and judge any who were unbaptized.

 

However, the brief analysis above suggests that a careful reading of the original clause (even before the Amendment) — with its reference to the “unfaithful” — should have ruled out such teaching in the first place. Then there would have been no need for an amendment of doubtful meaning and application.

 

The amendment defines the responsible as “namely, those who know the revealed will of God, and have been called upon to submit to it”. (It does not say, as some suggest, that the “responsible” are all who know the Gospel; it might even be argued that it pointedly avoids saying such a thing.)

 

The amendment was, and is, doubtful as to its meaning, since who can truly know (a) if another has not only known enough of the will of God, but especially (b) if that same person has been called upon (by God? by man? and in what manner?) to submit to it. And thus, of course, it was, and is, doubtful as to its application in individual cases: Few if any Christadelphians ever try to apply the Scriptural warnings about resurrectional judgment to specific individuals — and that is as it should be.

 

More might be said about the ambiguities of the amendment. For example, what does “those who know” really mean? Some might say, ‘What a foolish question! The answer is obvious!’ But is it? There are two primary Greek words translated “to know”:

 

• oida = to know from observation, to know theoretically and, perhaps, rather imperfectly;
• ginosko = to know experimentally, by direct contact, and generally to know fully and intimately.

 

Understandably, there is not always a perfectly clear demarcation between these two Greek words — gray areas do exist. However, depending on which of the above definitions is given the word “know” in the Amendment, the statement can be made to mean very different things. In other words, in order to be responsible to resurrectional judgment, how much need one know? And how well need one know it? Who can say for sure?

 

Secondly, there is of course uncertainty about the phrase “called upon to submit to it”. The very reasonable questions have been asked: ‘How does God call men?’ ‘How can we ever know which — if any — among the unbaptized today have been truly called by God?’ In fact, to be “called” — Scripturally — goes far beyond “knowledge”:

 

“Those he called, he also justified” (Rom. 8:30).

 

“… Live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thes. 2:12).

 

“… As members of one body you were called to peace” (Col. 3:15; also see Rom. 8:28; 9:23,24; Eph. 4:1; Jude 1).

 

Such examples could be multiplied many times over. In fact, out of more than 100 passages, the concept of “calling” is almost invariably associated with those who have been or go on to be baptized.

 

What does all this mean? Among other things, it means that the Amendment was and is so worded that one might accept it while still not believing that all “enlightened rejectors” (whatever that means, exactly) will be raised and judged by Christ at his coming.

 

And, to stretch the point a bit further, it means that the amendment is so worded that one might accept it while having reservations about the resurrection to judgment of any “enlightened rejectors” in this modern age, when the Holy Spirit is not openly manifest. How? Because, in the absence of Holy Spirit guidance, none of us can determine how much an unbaptized person must “know” or, indeed, whether that “knowledge” must be theoretical or practical, impersonal or personal, objective or subjective. And, finally, because none of us can really determine how and when, or even if, any unbaptized person has been Scripturally “called” by God.

 

The following point needs to be made, and stressed: The original Birmingham Statement of Faith (used by many ecclesias even today, and generally referred to as the “Unamended Statement”) is not in opposition to the “Amended Statement”. How can this be said? Because the original Clause XXIV, along with Clause XXV, plainly teaches that the resurrectionally “responsible” includes the “unfaithful”, and because — as the passages above, such as 1 Corinthians 6:1 and 1 Peter 3:18, indicate — there is no Biblical warrant for limiting the “unfaithful” to the baptized class only.

 

Are the unbaptized raised upon a different “basis” than the baptized? Such a question implies that, for fellowship purposes, we must know the means (the “why” and the “how”) as well as the end (the “who”). To ask such question is to move the discussion from a “first principles” matter to a non-essential matter. And so, to pursue such a question as though it were a “first principle” is to create an artificial barrier where none need exist. The course of wisdom? Agree on the essential doctrine, and then discuss further details only with other “experts” who need — or think they need — to know!

 

So, should there have been a division in the first place? While making allowances for our lack of firsthand knowledge of those times, one may be tempted to think that, had the Christadelphian body given due prominence and weight to the (unarguably) fundamental Bible teaching of the One Body, they might have found a way to prevent a serious and destructive division.

 

The more responsible (!) question now is: what can be done about such a division? And the simple answer is: The minority (i.e., the “Unamended” in North America) — if not truly believers in  what may be called the J.J. Andrew error — should ask themselves, in the spirit of the fundamental Bible teaching on the One Body: ‘Why have we resisted for so long a statement which essentially occurs in our own (“Unamended”) Statement of Faith anyway?’

 

And, going one step further, the majority (i.e., the “Amended”) might ask themselves: ‘Why have we made our own special interpretation of a vague amendment [Remember, it does not say, “All who know will be raised”!] the test of fellowship for everyone else — thus raising a relatively minor matter to such an extraordinary level?’ And… ‘Have we used our Statement of Faith as a weapon to punish (or a wall to exclude) those who differ from us only slightly and on a secondary matter?’

 

*****

 

Footnotes:

 

The Greek text of Acts 24:25 has the definite article.

Notice: This does not prove that Felix will be raised for judgment. But it strongly implies that Felix, having heard the preaching of Paul, thought it possible he could be raised for judgment.

There is no intention here to condemn any individual. It has been argued that J.J. Andrew did NOT teach that God could not, or even would not, raise anyone not in “covenant relationship”. This may be so; it is a matter of interpretation and opinion. Even if it is so, the above point should still be made — since some today may go further than Brother Andrew, and since we must deal with principles in any case.

 

 

(n) Resurrection and judgment (“immortal emergence”)

 

The BASF has these relevant Doctrines to be Rejected:

 

15. That the tribunal of Christ, when he comes, is not for the judgment of saints, but merely to divide among them different degrees of reward.

 

16. That the resurrection is confined to the faithful.

 

17. That the dead rise in an immortal state.

 

As discussed in the previous section, the clearly essential doctrines concerning this subject include:

 

When Christ returns, he will first raise the dead, faithful and unfaithful (Acts 24:15,21; 26:8).

Then these will be brought to his Great Judgment along with the living responsible, faithful and unfaithful, where all will be judged together (Acts 10:42; cp. also Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10).

 

The Doctrines to be Rejected, above, are plainly the negative restatements of these positive “first principles”.

 

One Scripture passage presents a significant problem. The Bible teaching that the dead do not rise in an immortal state seems to be contradicted by the words of Paul to the Corinthians:

 

“The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:52,53).

 

However, in 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is equating “resurrection” with the whole process (resurrection, judgment, and glorification) culminating in the Kingdom of God. That is (letting verse 53 interpret verse 52), ‘the dead shall be raised… to put on incorruption’! Paul’s own words elsewhere (i.e., Rom. 2:6-8; 1 Cor. 4:5; 2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Thes. 4:14-17; 2 Tim. 4:1) give the step-by-step details of this process, and should be studied alongside 1 Corinthians 15.

 

There are other examples of the Bible speaking of “resurrection” as a finished work, with no indication of any judgment whatsoever or any rejection of the unworthy: Luke 20:33,35; John 5:29; Philippians 3:8-11; Hebrews 11:35; and probably Revelation 20:6.

 

It is possible that a “statement of faith” may quote 1 Corinthians 15:53,54 without teaching false doctrine. (How can the direct quoting of Scripture ever be false?) But, to be consistent with other plainly essential teachings, the words “raised incorruptible” (1 Cor. 15:52) would have to mean something like: ‘raised, then judged, and then glorified’ — even if such process were almost instantaneous after the literal coming forth from the grave.

 

It should be said, moreover, that there is no real Bible proof for the length of time (no matter how long or how short) involved in the process of resurrection, judgment, and reward. But any theory that denies that a literal resurrection will be followed by a literal judgment is — by the earlier tests — plainly a false doctrine.

 

Finally, it must be noted that there is no conclusive Bible proof for any specific procedure of judgment; it cannot be proven as a first principle, for example, that every responsible person has, one by one, his or her own individual “trial”. Certain “judgment” verses indeed might be interpreted this way (Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10), but other “judgment” verses imply very much otherwise (Matt. 13:48,49; 24:40,41; 25:32; Luke 17:34-36). But, once again, the true “first principles” passages require a literal judgment — no matter how the details are arranged by Christ and his angels.

 

(o) The promises to Abraham

 

ASF:†”The promises made to Abraham, confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require a literal inheritance in the earth for Christ and all the faithful, who are the spiritual ‘seed of Abraham’. The righteous do not go to heaven at death” (15).

 

BASF:†”That the kingdom which he will establish will be the kingdom of Israel restored, in the territory it formerly occupied, viz., the land bequeathed for an everlasting possession to Abraham and his seed (the Christ) by covenant” (XXI). “That the governing body of the kingdom so established will be the brethren of Christ, of all generations, developed by resurrection and change, and constituting, with Christ as their head, the collective ‘seed of Abraham’, in whom all nations will be blessed, and comprising ‘Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets’, and all in their age of like faithfulness” (XXIII).

 

Doctrine to be Rejected: “That the righteous will ascend to the kingdoms beyond the skies when they die” (10).

 

The hope of Abraham is the hope of the gospel, and the hope of all true believers. The promises made to Abraham are among the most completely attested of all first principles in the Book of Acts; they are the subject of comment by Peter, Stephen, and Paul alike. They form the basis for other first principles, including the second coming of Christ, the resurrection, the Kingdom of God, the promises to David, and baptism (“If ye be Abraham’s seed…”).

 

There is essentially a perfect fit between the Biblically-derived ASF and the BASF on this matter. (The implication in BASF XXI that the Kingdom of God will not encompass the whole earth is actually modified and explained by the elaboration in Clause XXII — that Jerusalem will become the metropolis, or capital, of the whole earth.)

 

(p) The promises to David

 

ASF:†”The promises made to David, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require Jesus to sit on David’s throne and rule over God’s Kingdom, which is the kingdom of Israel restored. Jerusalem will be the capital of this kingdom” (16).

 

BASF:†”That this restoration of the kingdom again to Israel will involve the ingathering of God’s chosen but scattered nation, the Jews; their reinstatement in the land of their fathers, when it shall have been reclaimed from ‘the desolation of many generations’; the building again of Jerusalem to become ‘the throne of the Lord’ and the metropolis of the whole earth” (XXII).

 

The promises to David are, like the promises to Abraham, intensively discussed by Peter and Paul in the “first principles lectures” of Acts. Once again, there is a nearly perfect fit between the ASF and the BASF.

 

(q) The Kingdom of God

 

This is not so much a separate first principle as it is an addendum to the promises to Abraham and David; this explains the lack of “essential doctrine” verses appended to Clause 17 in the ASF. The words of the Old Testament prophets (David, Isaiah, Daniel, Micah, Habbakuk, etc.) and the New Testament prophets (Jesus, Paul, and John in Revelation) are — of course — equally inspired with the “essential doctrines” verses in Acts, etc. But,

 

they were not necessarily taught to prospective believers before baptism;

they may be subject to varying interpretations unless those interpretations can be confirmed by other verses; and

they may be difficult of precise exposition because they are prophecies yet to be fulfilled.

 

With these considerations in mind, we compare the ASF 17 and the BASF XXVI through XXX, along with Doctrines to be Rejected 12, 14, 18, and 29. The statements of ASF 17 are few and simple, and verified by other first principle teachings and numerous other verses:

 

“Jesus will be assisted by his immortal brothers and sisters in ruling over the mortal peoples in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom will result in everlasting righteousness, happiness, and peace. Finally all sin and death will be removed, and the earth will at last be filled with the glory of God. The earth will not be literally burned up or destroyed.”

 

On the other hand, the “Kingdom” portions of the BASF are quite extensive and less well-attested:

 

XXVI.†The “thousand years” (Rev. 20:4-8) is mentioned nowhere else in the whole of Scripture. It was apparently unheard of through long ages of inspired writings, until John received the Apocalypse.

 

The supposed pattern of a divine “week” of precisely 7,000 years, with a 1,000-year “Sabbath day” at the end, is based on 2 Peter 3:8 and very little else. But careful reading of 2 Peter 3 suggests just the opposite: that God operates on His own quite flexible timetable, and that time is almost infinitely expandable (“a day is with the Lord as a thousand years”) or contractible (“a thousand years as one day”) as He may choose.

 

It is (or should be) axiomatic that fundamental doctrine cannot be based solely on one Bible passage. It should be doubly axiomatic that fundamental doctrine cannot be based solely on one passage from the Book of Revelation (which is prophetic, and figurative to a very high degree). And, when it is considered that all the other time periods in Revelation (1,260 days; 42 months; 3 1/2 years; 10 days; 3 1/2 days; an hour; half an hour; etc.) are often interpreted figuratively, then it would appear unwise to base an essential, saving Truth on one reference to a time period in Revelation! Might it just be possible that “a thousand years” is symbolic of a very, very long time (like the “144 thousand” may be symbolic of a very, very large number of people)?

 

Furthermore, is the passage in Ezekiel (44:22,25) — also cited for Clause XXVI — about mortal or immortal priests? About an earlier temple (planned, or actual) or a literal Temple of the Kingdom Age? The answers to these questions are by no means certain enough to constitute part of saving Bible Truth.

 

XXVII.†This clause contains nothing questionable, and is matched by parts of ASF 17.

 

XXVIII.†Once again, reference to a “thousand years” is questionable.

 

XXIX.†This is the third clause in which the “thousand years” has a prominent part. Also, the “general resurrection and judgment” at the close of the “thousand years” — being based on a single passage (Rev. 20:11-15), and without corroboration elsewhere — cannot be considered fundamental doctrine. The order of events in Revelation 20, in addition to their placement with regard to the (literal or symbolic) “thousand years”, is also subject to various expositions, more than one being reasonable and possible and compatible with all true “first principles”. If interpretations of Last Days prophecies need to be approached carefully, with due allowances for human fallibility… surely this is more so true with events which may or may not occur more than 1,000 years hence, and on the other side of the “great divide” of Christ’s coming and God’s direct intervention in world affairs. Surely a little humility is in order here. And surely we would be wrong to exclude from our fellowship those who believe all fundamental Bible teachings, yet have some uncertainties in their minds about exactly how God will continue to fulfill His purpose a thousand or more years from now!

 

XXX.†This clause is nothing more than an effort to expound the “all in all” of 1 Corinthians 15:28. No other Bible passage is (or can be) quoted on this matter. How can this be a “first principle”?

 

DR 12.†It is a “doctrine to be rejected” “that the Kingdom of God is ‘the church’.” But should it be? It would be unanimously agreed among Christadelphians that “the church”, or ecclesia, is not the Kingdom of God in final realization or in actual fact. But is it as certain that the ecclesia is not the Kingdom of God in prospect, in development, or (if you will) in “embryo”?

 

Robert Roberts, for instance, wrote that “the Kingdom of God is not exclusively an affair of futurity…”, but that it is also seen in the aspect of being “first introduced to any man called to be an heir thereof”. He went on to write of the Kingdom of God being like “leaven” (Matt. 13:33), “put into the mass or bulk of human affairs… in the gospel preached by the apostles”, etc., etc. If this is not equating the Kingdom of God, in its formative phase, with the “church” or ecclesia, then it is simply not possible to understand his words.

 

Indeed, it is fair to say that the great majority of references to “kingdom” in the New Testament have to do, not with the Kingdom of God in its future manifestation, but with the Kingdom of God as presently preached, and as presently believed upon in the “church” — that is, in its present phase among believers today, over whom the Father is the Eternal King, and in whom Christ reigns by faith. (Consider, as only a few examples, Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7; 11:11,12; 13:24,31,44,45,47; Luke 17:20,21; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; Colossians 1:13; Revelation 1:9.)

 

This is not to say that the Kingdom of God, in its future reality, is not a tremendously important Bible teaching. But why introduce wording of an alleged “first principle” which so overstates the case, and is so susceptible of criticism, and so necessary of further explanation, as DR 12?

 

DR 14, 18.†The “thousand years” seems to have inspired great fascination in the framers of the BASF!

 

DR 29.†This is clearly a first principle, since the literal destruction of the earth itself would be a plain negation of the “essential doctrines” of the promises to Abraham, the promises to David, and the Kingdom of God. This doctrine has a perfect counterpart in the last sentence of ASF 17.

 

(r) The “devil”, “Satan”, and “demons”

 

The BASF says only that it is a “doctrine to be rejected” “that the devil is a supernatural personal being” (11).  Surprisingly, the BASF has nothing at all to say about “Satan” and “devils/demons”.

 

The ASF is much more complete, dealing briefly with “Satan” and “devils” (literally, “demons” in the Greek), as well as the “devil” — though primarily in the context of what they are not! The “first principles” passages in Acts, Ephesians 4, and the Pastoral Letters have nothing to say directly about the “devil”, “Satan”, or “demons”. It may be concluded, therefore, that teachings about these concepts are only of “first principles” status if they directly contradict true “first principles” (such as the One God or the One Lord).

 

That is, belief in an immortal but wicked “fallen angel” not under God’s authority would be, in effect, belief in a second “god” or a second “lord”, and a serious false doctrine. On the other hand, belief in an angel of God acting, with God’s authority, as a “Satan” or Adversary in a specific instance would be acceptable.

 

Thus it may be possible for two believers, without either of them denying a truly essential doctrine, to hold quite different views upon certain Bible passages: e.g., the nature of Christ’s tempter in the wilderness, the identity of “Satan” in the Book of Job, or the source of the “demonic” illnesses in the gospel records.

 

(s) Justification by faith

 

The ASF teaches that men are justified, or declared righteous, not through their own works, but by the grace of God (20). However — while mentioning the “forgiveness of sins” (XII), which plainly implies grace — the BASF also has the (erroneous, or at least misleading) statement that “the way to obtain this salvation is” (among other things) to continue “patiently in the observance of all things he has commanded” (XVI)! This appears, on the surface at least, to teach justification by works and thus to contradict the “essential doctrine” of justification by faith. (See more on this in chapter 16.) This lapse is, in this writer’s opinion, a serious flaw! But, thankfully, we do not seem truly to believe this: common Christadelphian teaching is well in advance of what was surely an unintentional error in the BASF.

 

(t) Baptism

 

Both statements teach that understanding of the gospel, and belief or faith in it, must precede baptism (ASF 20, 21; BASF XVI).

 

The ASF teaches that men must turn to God and show repentance by forsaking their wicked ways and performing God’s will. But the BASF has no specific reference to conversion or repentance in connection with baptism! (Repentance is mentioned, more generally, in BASF XI.)  Surely this is merely an oversight.

 

The ASF teaches that men must be baptized in the name of Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Likewise, the BASF (XII and XVI).

 

The ASF teaches that men must be baptized in order to become heirs of the Abrahamic covenant. Likewise, the BASF (XVI along with XXI).

 

The ASF teaches that baptism is symbolic of a new, spiritual birth. The BASF has no specific reference to baptism as a new birth! Surely an oversight again.

 

(u) The one body

 

“Those who believe the gospel and are baptized into Christ become ‘brethren in Christ’, without regard to nationality. They also become a part of the ‘one body’, with Christ as their head. God calls them His children, and they become partakers of His grace and love” (ASF 22).

 

One looks in vain for any equivalent statement in the BASF. One may wonder if, perhaps, many of our problems and divisions might have been alleviated or even avoided altogether if we as a body had kept our eyes upon this principle.

 

“The body is one” (1 Cor. 12:12). It is the Father’s wisdom generally to place believers together in “families”. We are all, whether we like it or not, members of a body. No man should live to himself; that would be selfishness, and a direct contradiction of Paul’s elaborate allegory in 1 Corinthians 12. One of the most important lessons of our spiritual education is to “discern the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:29): to learn to think and to act unselfishly as a member of the One Body, and not selfishly as a separate entity, even as regards our own salvation.

 

The body is one, yet it has many members (v. 12). Some are less beautiful or feebler than others (vv. 22,23), but these too are necessary. “God hath tempered the body together” (v. 24); these individuals have been welded together with the ecclesia. In faith and obedience they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Those for whom Christ died must not be treated haughtily or indifferently.

 

“And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you” (v. 21).

 

So Paul presses home the point: There should be no schism (division) in the Body (v. 25). “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it” (v. 26). Life itself teaches everyone that pain in one member affects the whole body; and the loss of one member, even a small toe, can seriously affect the wellbeing and balance of the whole.

 

It was no meaningless rhetoric that Moses used when he sought to interpose himself as a sacrifice on behalf of his erring countrymen (Exod. 32:30-33). Neither is it to be thought strange that Nehemiah and David and Daniel and the other prophets showed no sign of dissociating themselves from Israel, no matter how wayward their brethren became. (And even when Jeremiah ceased praying for his brethren, it was God’s decision and not his! — Jer. 14:11.) These men had learned the Bible doctrine of the One Body, and the necessity to love one another, long before Paul was even born.

 

The implication of the Bible teaching of the “One Body” should be plain: An ecclesia must have clear and undeniable grounds — involving plain denial of essential teachings or serious unrepented-of moral failings — to justify its disfellowship or excommunication of any believer.

 

Are we afraid that living by this standard of the “One Body” will put us in danger of being contaminated by association with weak or sinful men? Then we must remember that the ecclesia does not exist to keep the Truth pure as a theory (i.e., ‘The purer our ecclesia, the better!’). The Truth (as an abstract principle, or set of principles communicated from God) cannot be anything but pure! The ecclesia does exist to help impure men and women (with imperfect beliefs and impure ways) to move toward purity, even if their progress is slow.

 

Consequently, certain Bible passages imply a very different treatment for false teachers than for those who are falsely taught. After appropriate warnings, false teachers must be summarily dealt with, even to the point of being rejected or disfellowshipped (see, e.g., 1 Tim. 6:3; Tit. 1:11; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; 2 John 7-11; Jude 3,16; Rev. 2:20; and chapter 2 of Biblical Fellowship). On the other hand, those who have been misled by such false teaching must be carefully and patiently instructed again — so as to be saved (see, e.g., Matt. 18:5-7; Rom. 14:1; Gal. 6:1,2; Jude 22,23). So important is the teaching of the One Body — that the ecclesia of Christ cannot afford to lose even one member who might by love and tact and longsuffering be reclaimed!

 

This idea — of the One Body and its purpose in God’s plan — should be kept in mind by every individual, and every ecclesia, when dealing with every other brother and in every “fellowship” situation, and when considering every so-called “first principle”.

 

(v) The breaking of bread

 

“The breaking of bread and drinking of wine, in remembrance of Jesus, was instituted by him for his true followers. It is a means of affirming their status as members of the ‘one body’ of Christ. It is a commandment to be obeyed whenever possible” (ASF 23).

 

Once again, on this question the BASF has… NOTHING! Into this vacuum, into this “house swept and garnished”, has entered by default the “theory” that one may lightly refuse the bread and wine to anyone who does not totally agree with him. As if to say (and it has been said!), ‘Better to give the Lord the benefit of the doubt, and cut off anyone about whom we have the least reservation!’ And further, ‘Let’s not forget also to cut off anyone else — even if fundamentally sound — who can’t go along with us in our first decision of cutting off!’ And even… ‘Of course, we never judge others; we just politely “stand aside” from them!’

 

Might our brotherhood have been much better off (might we not be much better off yet?) if we had thought of the breaking of bread positively, rather than negatively? If we have thought of it as something to share joyfully (the “feast of love”!), much more than as something to withhold prudently? If we had thought of the tokens of fellowship in the One Body as not our own, but Christ’s? If we had thought of the ecclesia itself as not ours, but Christ’s? And if we had thought of the ecclesia as a house with a “door” through which to invite others in, rather than merely as a house with “walls” to keep others out and to hide ourselves behind?

 

Once and for all, let us see the “one body” and the “breaking of bread” as true first principles (Acts 2:42; 10:34-36; Rom. 12:1,4,5; 1 Cor. 10:16,17; 12:12-27; Eph. 4:4). Then it may be possible for us to recognize, for the first time, that there is at least as much danger in refusing the bread and wine to those who believe the gospel, as there is in offering them to those who may be in error on some first principle.

 

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy” (James 2:13).

 

(w) The Jews

 

The primacy of the Jews, and their ultimate place in the plan and purpose of the God of Israel, are the subjects of a separate clause in the ASF (24). These matters might well have been dealt with as parts of other clauses, such as those on the promises to Abraham and David, and the Kingdom of God. The final regeneration of those who are Israelites indeed will be on the same principle as that of Gentile believers in all ages: belief of the one gospel, repentance, conversion, and baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

 

The BASF deals with the same matters as parts of several other clauses (XXI and XXII), and as one Doctrine to be Rejected (33). A small note of caution, however: BASF XXII appears to suggest that the nation of Israel, being God’s “chosen”, will be reinstated in God’s Kingdom with no regard to faith and repentance on their part. Surely this will not be the case, God being no respecter of persons. But the absence of any statement to the contrary may lead some to that erroneous conclusion.

 

With this slight caveat, it may be said that there is good equivalence between the two statements as regards the Jews.

 

(x) Other “doctrines to be rejected”

 

The following Doctrines to be Rejected have no real counterparts in the ASF: 13, 19, 20, 32, 34, and 35.

 

DR 13:†”That the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ merely”: This is redundant, since the whole of the ASF or BASF defines the “gospel”, and since it is already abundantly clear that the “Gospel” is much more than the above.

 

DR 19 and 32 have to do with the keeping of the Law of Moses as a means to life. This has already been effectively counteracted by the positive teachings of ASF and BASF. It is not necessary to state it again.

 

DR 20 is susceptible of misinterpretation. It is true enough that Sunday should not be kept as the Mosaic Sabbath. But it is equally true that the breaking of bread should be kept whenever possible (ASF 23), and — since this is usually done on a Sunday (cp. Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) — DR 20 might imply that this observance is unnecessary, which would be very wrong.

 

DR 34 and 35 might better be dealt with under the general heading of the Commandments of Christ, with some latitude allowed to ecclesias to apply the commandments to specific cases at their own discretion (see chapter 16).

 

15. General Weaknesses of the BASF

 

We summarize, then, some of the more general weaknesses of the BASF:

 

(1)                                                                                                                         The BASF uses uncommon and difficult words, suitable perhaps for a legal document of the Victorian era, but not nearly so suitable in a document we hope will be read (and understood!) by people in general today. (If any reader feels inclined to exclaim, “Why in the world should we want people in general today to understand it?”, then it may be because he has not seriously considered our body’s duty to proclaim the gospel to the world!) Probably many readers can define such words as these, but can our neighbors (or even our Sunday School scholars) define them?:

extant

bequeath

transcription

metropolis

underived

abolition

inaugurate

immaculate

abrogate

coercion

propitiation

 

(2)                                                                                                                         In addition to archaic and difficult words, the BASF uses lengthy and complex sentences — which obscure the meanings of some wonderfully simple concepts. (This may be seen — for one example — in the Foundation clause of the BASF, as considered previously, under the more detailed evaluation. Examples of this sort could be multiplied.)

 

(3)                                                                                                                         The BASF omits any clear statement of the fundamental Bible teaching of justification by faith. Corresponding to this is its failure to mention conversion or repentance in connection with baptism. These oversights may reinforce an unfortunate Christadelphian tendency: to understand, and perhaps to proclaim, salvation as a mechanical process (‘learn the facts, and then be baptized’) more than as a moral awakening (‘change your life, and then be reborn’).

 

(4)                                                                                                                         The failure to teach the doctrine of the One Body has reinforced a sad Christadelphian tendency: to divide too quickly, too often, and too easily. This lack of specific teaching on the subject has encouraged us to put far more weight on, and more effort into, maintaining the purity of the Truth than maintaining the unity of the Body!

 

(5)                                                                                                                         The BASF is characterized by a complete absence of “love” as an attribute or motivation of God or Jesus Christ in their work. Also, there is a complete absence of “mercy” in connection with either the Father or the Son.

 

(6)                                                                                                                         The BASF tends to say too much in stating a principle, and (sometimes) to suggest inadvertently what is plainly wrong: i.e.,

 

• that Abraham’s and David’s line was “condemned” above all other men (VIII);
• that Abraham and his seed Christ will not inherit the whole world (XXI — but apparently overridden by XXII); and
• that somehow in the Kingdom death will exist in a “much milder degree” than it does today (XXVI)!

 

(7)                                                                                                                         The BASF puts excessive emphasis (in Clauses XXVI through XXX) upon events of the Last Days, for which our Scriptural approaches to defining “essential doctrine” yield no evidence for inclusion. Considering the scant evidence from any part of the Bible for the literality of the thousand years reign of Christ, and for a “general resurrection and judgment” at the end of that period, these statements might well have been omitted from a statement of faith purporting to define fundamental and saving truth. (This is not to say that these two items, or any other points in the last five clauses, are wrong — only that they are not nearly so well-attested as most of the earlier portions, and that they are demonstrably not of the same “first principles” status. It should go without saying that other, more detailed interpretations of Last Days prophecies must likewise be kept out of “first principles” status, even if some brethren might wish to lift them there.)

Despite the undeniable fact that the BASF embodies saving truth, the above weaknesses emphasize the need for a simpler, more readable, and less confusing statement of faith — not so much for long-time Christadelphians as for the young and the newly-baptized and the interested friends.

By tacit agreement, the Christadelphian body has long used substitutes for the BASF: pamphlets and other outlines and summaries of first principles for the “outsider” and the Sunday School student.

 

It is a pity that, when asked “What do you Christadelphians believe?”, we must (for some of the reasons above) hesitate to give an inquirer our (more-or-less) official statement of faith!

 

16. The Commandments of Christ

A list of the commandments of Christ, which also includes the commandments specifically communicated by the apostles and others in their New Testament writings, has since the beginning been appended to every Christadelphian statement of faith. This is altogether reasonable, inasmuch as obedience to these commandments is surely a part of the “first principles” of the One Faith.

As indicated earlier, the BASF appears to suggest, however, that the keeping of all the commandments is an essential for salvation (XVI). Surely this was not the intention of the original framers. (Nor, in this writer’s experience, is this what is taught among Christadelphians — thank God!) The Bible, and the Apostolic Statement of Faith, plainly teach that men are justified or declared “righteous” through their faith and not their works. (“Man cannot save himself by his own works alone, no matter how good or numerous”: ASF 20):

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:8-10).

Nevertheless, works are important. As the passage above indicates: while grace saves, good works are one of the tools God uses as He continues to work upon us, so as to produce — at last — the “workmanship” of Christ’s “new creation” in us: “All those who believe these teachings should strive also to live godly, Christ-like lives… The commandments of Christ… are therefore an important part of any Statement of Faith” (ASF 25). Not to earn salvation, but to strengthen and complete and perfect one’s faith (James 2:14-26), and thus to keep oneself in the one place where forgiveness is available, and where salvation may at last be received!

One such list of the commandments of Christ, and the apostles:

• Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you (Matt. 5:44).
• Resist not evil: if a man smites you on one cheek, turn to him the other also (Matt. 5:39,40).
• Avenge not yourselves; instead, give place to wrath; and suffer yourselves to be defrauded (Rom. 12:18,19; 1 Cor. 6:7).
• If a man takes away your goods, do not ask for them again (Luke 6:29,30).
• Agree with your adversary quickly, submitting even to wrong for the sake of peace (Matt. 5:25; 1 Cor. 6:7).
• Do not labor to be rich; be ready to every good work; give to those who ask; relieve the afflicted (1 Tim. 6:8; Rom. 12:13; Heb. 13:16; James 1:27).
• Do not do your good deeds so as to be seen by men; do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matt. 6:1-4).
• Do not recompense to any man evil for evil; overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:17).
• Bless them that curse you; let no cursing come out of your mouth (Matt. 5:44; Rom. 12:14).
• Do not render evil for evil, or railing for railing, but rather, blessing (1 Pet. 3:9).
• Pray for them that persecute you and afflict you (Matt. 5:44).
• Do not hold grudges; do not judge; do not complain; do not condemn (James 5:9; Matt. 7:1).
• Put away anger, wrath, bitterness, and all evil speaking (Eph. 4:31; 1 Pet. 2:1).
• Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16).
• Do not be conformed to this world; love not the world (Rom. 12:2; 1 John  2:15; James 4:4).
• Deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts. If your right hand offends you, cut if off (Tit. 2:12; Matt. 5:30).
• Servants, be faithful, even to bad masters (Eph. 6:5-8).
• Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate (Rom. 12:16).
• Owe no man anything (Rom. 13:7,8).
• In case of sin (known or heard of) do not speak of it to others, but tell the offending brother of the matter between you and him alone, with a view to recovery (Matt. 18:15; Gal. 6:1).
• Love the Lord your God with all your heart (Matt. 22:37).
• Pray always; pray with brevity and simplicity; pray secretly (Luke 18:1; Matt. 6:7).
• In everything give thanks to God and recognize Him in all your ways (Eph. 5:20; Prov. 3:6).
• As you would have men do to you, do also to them (Matt. 7:12).
• Take Christ for an example and follow in his steps (1 Pet. 2:21).
• Let Christ dwell in your heart by faith (Eph. 3:17).
• Esteem Christ more highly than all earthly things; yes, even than your own life (Luke 14:26).
• Confess Christ freely before men (Luke 12:8).
• Beware lest the cares of life or the allurements of pleasure weaken Christ’s hold on your heart (Luke 21:34-36; Matt. 24:44).
• Love your neighbor as yourself (Matt. 22:39).
• Do not exercise lordship over anyone (Matt. 23:10-12).
• Do not seek your own welfare only, nor bear your own burdens merely, but have regard to those of others (Phil. 2:4; Gal. 6:2).
• Let your light shine before men; hold forth the word of life. Do good to all men as you have opportunity (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:16; Gal. 6:10).
• Be blameless and harmless, as the sons of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Phil. 2:15).
• Be gentle, meek, kind-hearted, compassionate, merciful, forgiving (2 Tim. 2:24; Tit. 2:2; Eph. 4:32).
• Be sober, grave, sincere, temperate (Phil. 4:5; 1 Pet. 1:13; 5:8).
• Put away all lying; speak the truth (Eph. 4:25).
• Whatever you do, do it heartily as unto the Lord, and not unto men (Col. 3:23).
• Be watchful, vigilant, brave, joyful, and courteous (1 Cor. 16:13; Phil. 4:4; 1 Thes. 5:6-10).
• Be clothed with humility; be patient toward all (Col. 3:12; Rom. 12:12).
• Follow peace with all men (Heb. 12:14).
• Sympathize in the joys and sorrows of others (Rom. 12:15).
• Follow after whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8).
• Refrain utterly from adultery, fornication, uncleanness, drunkenness, covetousness, wrath, strife, sedition, hatred, emulation, boasting, envy, jesting, and foolish talking (Eph. 5:3,4).
• Whatever you do, consider the effect of your action on the honor of God’s name among men. Do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31; 3:17).
• Reckon yourselves dead to all manner of sin. Henceforth live not to yourselves, but to him who died for you, and rose again (Rom. 6:11; 2 Cor. 5:15).
• Be zealous of good works, always abounding in the work of the Lord, not becoming weary in well-doing (Tit. 2:14; Gal. 6:9).
• Do not speak evil of any man (Tit. 3:2).
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16).
• Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt (Col. 3:8; 4:6).
• Obey rulers; submit to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake (Tit. 3:1).
• Be holy in all manner of life (1 Pet. 1:15,16).
• Do not give occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully (1 Tim. 5:14).
• Marry “only in the Lord” (1 Cor. 7:39).

There have been, in the past, divisions among Christadelphians over certain commandments of Christ. For the most part, these have not arisen because one ecclesia or group of ecclesias disavowed or renounced clear commandments, but because the two sides interpreted certain commandments in somewhat different ways.

Notorious in this respect have been the commandments concerning marriage, and the related matters of divorce and possible remarriage. It might be argued, since the commandments of Christ should constitute part of any Biblical statement of faith, that there must be perfect unanimity among ecclesias on the questions of:

1. how these commandments must be kept, and
2. what must be done with those individuals who “break” them and with those ecclesias which “condone” such,

… before there can be true Biblical fellowship.

However, there is a vast difference between denying one or more of the commandments of Christ, on the one hand, and, on the other, applying one or more of them in a slightly different way.

A clause in many ecclesial Constitutions, suggested by the original Christadelphian Ecclesial Guide, reads as follows:

“In matters not affecting essential doctrines, we mutually agree to submit to the arrangements preferred by the majority.”

We may make the mistake of supposing that “majority rule” is simply a convenient way of doing things, borrowed — with no particular Bible support — from the democratic governments of England and America. So we may assume that this rule is not especially binding, and in fact really means:

‘I agree to submit to the arrangements preferred by the majority, unless I believe them to be wrong.’

But it may be seen — upon some reflection — that the rule cannot be limited to such an interpretation: If everyone agreed to submit to the will of the majority only when he or she thought it to be right, then the clause would, in reality, mean… nothing! This would then be the perfect prescription for ecclesial disunity. Sadly, this has happened far too often among us. Brothers and sisters have stayed together in ecclesias, thinking themselves to be in perfect harmony, until the first real problem arose. Then they have divided from one another because one side or the other had supposedly “departed from the Truth”, even if only in a relatively minor matter.

No, the proper way to read the clause is surely:

‘In matters not affecting essential doctrines, we mutually agree to submit to the arrangements preferred by the majority, even when the majority is wrong.’

Even if our ecclesia makes what we consider to be a wrong decision, our duty is to remain peaceably with the ecclesia… unless that decision affects the ecclesia’s official position in relation to  one or more essential doctrines of the Truth.

And if another ecclesia similarly makes what our ecclesia considers to be a “wrong” decision on the application of one of Christ’s commands in a specific case? What is the second ecclesia to do? Nothing! As Robert Roberts has written:

“There ought to be no interference of one ecclesia with another… An ecclesia has no right to judge except for itself. This is the independence not to be interfered with: but a similar right to judge must be conceded to all, and the exercise of it, if tempered with a respectful and proper procedure, would never offend an enlightened body anywhere… There may be cases [in judging individual cases] where a reasonable doubt exists, and where a second ecclesia will come to a different conclusion from the first. What is to be done then? Are the two ecclesias that are agreed in the basis of fellowship to fall out because they are of a different judgment on a question of fact? This would be a lamentable result — a mistaken course every way. They have each exercised their prerogative of independent judgment: let each abide by its own decision, without interfering with each other. The one can fellowship a certain brother, the other cannot… The course of wisdom in such a case is certainly to agree to differ.” [A Guide to the Formation and Conduct of Christadelphian Ecclesias, pp. 33,34]

By itself, this approach (coupled with a true understanding of the difference between essential and non-essential teachings) would have prevented most Christadelphian divisions before they arose!

Would an ecclesial decision to allow one whom others might consider an erring brother to break bread with the ecclesia be a matter “affecting essential doctrines”? It might be thought, since there are commandments of Christ that deal with so many aspects of life, including the breaking of bread, etc., that — “Yes! This IS a matter of essential commandments, and they must be understood, and kept, correctly by the ecclesia as a whole. I cannot go along with what I know/believe to be wrong!”

But let us assume that there is no attempt by the ecclesia in question, or any of its members, to deny one of Christ’s commandments — but only a difference of opinion as to how to apply that commandment in a particular case. Is that sufficient reason to consider leaving the ecclesia? If it is, then, conceivably, every difference of opinion as to how to apply any commandment could be considered a matter of “essential doctrine”, and we would always be on the verge of disfellowshiping anyone and everyone at the slightest difference of opinion on almost anything!

This is not to say: ‘There is no right answer.’ It is to say: ‘Even if you or I have the perfect answer, you or I should not try to force it upon everyone else under threat of withdrawal if they disagree!’

To return to the “majority rule” principle: This is much more than a convenient way of doing things; it is really the restatement of a Bible principle, or commandment, itself — which is just as fundamental as any other commandment!:

• “All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5).
• “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God” (Eph. 5:21).

These passages most directly “prove” that the rule is Scriptural. There are other passages which, almost as directly, say the same thing, and they are the passages which teach the unity of the Body of Christ (ASF 22). All the passages, in Paul’s letters and elsewhere, that command us to “be of the same mind” or “one mind” (i.e., Rom. 12:16; 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 13:11; 1 Pet. 3:8,9) make the same point:  that in matters of non-essential questions, we must eventually, for the sake of peace and unity, submit to the will of others (i.e., the will of the majority), even if (especially if!) we think they are wrong. Just as our obedience to certain commands (to love, to be kind, and to “turn the other cheek”) is only truly tested when we are wronged — so also our obedience to other commands (to unify the Body, to submit to one another, and to be of one mind) is only truly tested when we have a significant difference of opinion with our brethren.

 

17. An Alternative

As a religious community, Christadelphians are known — and enjoy being known — as “the people of the Bible”. Our appeal to others is always: ‘Put aside your traditions; read and believe the Bible.’ It would be a pity for our community to allow itself to become enslaved to a particular statement of faith simply because it has become “traditional”, if a more Biblical alternative were available. [To characterize the ASF as “more Biblical” is not to imply that the BASF is non-Biblical. Instead, it is to assert (1) that there are Biblical (and not merely traditional) reasons for the inclusion of every ASF teaching in the “first principle” category, but (2) that the same cannot be said for the BASF — even if it may be said that its teachings are derived from the Bible.]

Is it possible, or desirable, then, for our community (or individual congregations) to consider an alternative to our most commonly used Statement of Faith? Some traditionalists will say that even to ask such a question is to invite charges of “heresy”. It is appropriate therefore to quote from an article written by the Committee of The Christadelphian:

“It is the word of God alone and not the Statement of Faith which produces faith. When someone wishes to become a Christadelphian, the question is not primarily whether he accepts the Statement of Faith but whether he holds the Bible teaching on which it is based. It is important to have our priorities right and not impute to any human writings, whoever wrote it, the power to produce saving faith and to be the authoritative basis for it. This is not to underestimate the value of the Statement: it is simply to put it in perspective.”

And, again, from the same source:

“Statements other than the Birmingham Amended Statement have always been regarded as acceptable amongst ecclesias in the Central Fellowship, provided they uphold the same Bible Teaching.” [Fellowship: Its Spirit and Practice, The Committee of The Christadelphian, The Christadelphian, January 1972 (Vo. 109, No. 1291), pp. 9,13]

The “other” such statements in the above quotation cannot be identical to the BASF; if they were, they would, of course, not be other statements but the same statement. This is so simple as to seem trite. However, it is useful to express the matter in such words. Why? Because brethren may admit the possibility that another “statement of faith” contains saving truth, who will then — almost in the same breath — fight fiercely against any such statement on the sole ground that it is different from the BASF. And the slight difference or differences (either by addition or deletion) will — in their minds — render any “other” statement, by that very fact, unacceptable.

 

Here, then, is the conclusion:

The BASF contains saving truth. But not everything in the BASF is saving truth. And not every saving truth is contained in the BASF. Nor is the BASF necessarily the best or the most complete statement of saving truth. Other statements, such as the Apostolic Statement of Faith (designated as ASF above) may more perfectly define the One Faith.

The alternative Apostolic Statement of Faith embodies the results of the inquiries outlined earlier, and thus merits its designation of “Apostolic”. This Statement has no “doctrines to be rejected” section, although the false doctrines that are most common around us today (and which truly pervert positive essential teaching) are dealt with in the body of the document. The proposed Statement is also intended to embody the Commandments of Christ, as the last clause implies.

The BASF is not wrong, while the ASF is right. Rather, the BASF is good, while the ASF (it is to be hoped) is better. (And one might hope that further research, carried out in an open-minded fashion, will improve the ASF even more.)

Brethren, then, should not quibble that one statement (the ASF) is slightly different than the other (the BASF). They should seek to understand where and why it is different, and — following the arguments presented — they will be pleased to accept the former when it is an improvement upon the latter.

They should no longer fight for those minor matters contained in the BASF but omitted from the ASF, when they come to recognize that such — even if Bible Teaching — are not saving or essential Bible Teaching.

And, likewise, they should be pleased to accept, and utilize, as saving or essential truths those items which the ASF includes that were, wrongly or by oversight, omitted from the BASF.

 

Appendix:

The Apostolic Statement of Faith

The Bible: The Bible is the Word of God, directly inspired by Him in all its parts. It is powerful to instruct man in righteousness, and to accomplish God’s purpose in those who believe.

God: There is only one God, the Father, who created all things. He is the Eternal King, all-wise and all-powerful. He has a definite plan which He will bring to pass by His mighty power. He desires that man might seek Him and be saved.

The Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the power of God, the means by which He carries out His will. It is not a distinct “god” or “person”, but is part of the Father Himself.

Jesus, the Son of God: God — in accordance with His eternal plan, and in His goodness and kindness and grace — manifested Himself through a Son. Jesus of Nazareth is that unique and holy Son of God, begotten of the virgin Mary by the power of God, without a human father. He is not the second person of a “trinity” of “gods”, and he had no pre-human existence except in the mind and purpose of his Father.

Jesus, the Man: Although he was the Son of God, Jesus was also truly and altogether a man; he shared our mortal nature, with all its sorrows and griefs.

Sin and Death: The first man was Adam, who disobeyed God and was condemned by Him. Adam was responsible for bringing sin and death into the world.

The “Soul”: There is no consciousness or other existence in death. The “soul” simply means the body, mind, or life; it is not immortal. Souls die.

“Hell”: “Hell” means the grave, or absolute destruction. There is no eternal torture for the wicked. The wages of sin is death.

The Sacrifice of Christ: Although he was of our weak and sinful nature, Jesus was enabled, through faith in and love for his Father, to overcome all temptation and to live a righteous and sinless life. His crucifixion — accomplished by wicked men but according to God’s plan — was the means by which he was saved, and by which those who believe in him may be saved, from sin and death. God was working in the sacrifice of His Son to express His love and grace and forbearance toward all men — not His wrath against them.

The Resurrection of Christ: Because of his perfect righteousness, it was not possible for Jesus to be held by death. God raised him from the dead and glorified him. Later Jesus ascended to heaven.

The Mediatorship of Christ: Being exalted to God’s right hand in heaven, Jesus is the only priest and mediator between God and men.

The Second Coming of Christ: Christ will remain in heaven until the time for restoring all things, including the kingdom to Israel. Then he will return to the earth in glory — personally and visibly — to fulfill the hope of all true believers.

Resurrection: After his return, Jesus will raise many of the dead, the faithful and the unfaithful. He will also send forth his angels to gather them together with the living to the great judgment.

Judgment and Reward: The unfaithful will be punished with a second, eternal death. The faithful will be rewarded, by God’s grace, with everlasting life on the earth, receiving glorified and immortal bodies.

The Promises to Abraham: The promises made to Abraham, confirmed to Isaac and Jacob, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require a literal inheritance in the earth for Christ and all the faithful, who are the spiritual “seed of Abraham”. The righteous do not go to heaven at death.

The Promises to David: The promises made to David, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, require Jesus to sit on David’s throne and rule over God’s Kingdom, which is the kingdom of Israel restored. Jerusalem will be the capital of this kingdom.

The Kingdom of God: Jesus will be assisted by his immortal brothers and sisters in ruling over the mortal peoples in the Kingdom of God. This kingdom will result in everlasting righteousness, happiness, and peace. Finally all sin and death will be removed, and the earth will at last be filled with the glory of God. The earth will not be literally burned up or destroyed.

The “Devil”: The “devil” is another name for sin in human nature; it is not a separate supernatural being or fallen angel. Christ overcame this “devil” in himself by defeating the tendencies to sin in his own nature. Therefore he can provide us with a covering for our sins.

“Satan” and “Demons”: “Satan” is a Hebrew word which means an adversary; it is used about people and circumstances which oppose God’s will. “Devils” (Greek “demons”) are not agents of any supernatural “devil” or “god” of evil. In New Testament times, people who had mental illnesses or disorders were referred to as having “demons”.

Justification by Faith: Man can obtain justification, or righteousness, only by the grace and mercy of God, through faith in Christ. Man cannot save himself by his own works alone, no matter how good or numerous.

Baptism: There is only one true gospel, which cannot be altered. Belief of this gospel, true repentance, and baptism (total immersion in water) are essential for salvation. In baptism we turn to God, our sins are forgiven, we become heirs of the promises to Abraham and his spiritual “seed”, we identify with Christ in his life and death, and we are born again in him. The sprinkling of babies is not true Scriptural baptism.

The One Body: Those who believe the gospel and are baptized into Christ become “brethren in Christ”, without regard to nationality. They also become a part of the “one body”, with Christ as their head. God calls them His children, and they become partakers of His grace and love.

The Breaking of Bread: The breaking of bread and drinking of wine, in remembrance of Jesus, was instituted by him for his true followers. It is a means of affirming their status as members of the “one body” of Christ. It is a commandment to be obeyed whenever possible.

The Jews: The Jews are God’s chosen people. Though scattered because of disobedience, they will be purified (after repentance and faith), regathered, and made ready for the coming of the Messiah.

The Commandments of Christ: All those who believe these teachings should strive also to live godly, Christ-like lives. This involves the keeping of Christ’s commandments, and separateness from the affairs of this world, including its politics and police and military service. The commandments of Christ, including those of his apostles, are therefore an important part of any Statement of Faith.