New I

Witness Inc.

P.O. Box 597, Clayton, CA 94517 (925)672-5979 FAX (925)672-8230

WEBSITE www.witnessinc.com EMAIL witnessinc@hotmail.com

WITNESS INC. NEWS

THE FALSE PROPHETS AMONG US

March 7, 2002

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We bring you greetings from the Witness Inc. fellowship. May it be that this newsletter finds you enjoying the bountiful blessings of our God and Savior. The reason for writing is to inform you of the work in which Witness Inc. is presently engaged and to express this ministry's desire to work with you in the mission field to those lost in the cults. There is much to share, so we've outlined this work as follows.

SECTION ONE: The "Evangelicals" of Counter-cult.

SECTION TWO: The "Christian" Counter-cult Directory.

SECTION THREE: "This We Believe"--Affirmations (Ro 10:9; Jn 8:24; 1 Co 15:1-4)

and Denials (1 Pet 3:15; Jude 3; Titus 1:9).

SECTION FOUR: The Crisis in the Church.

SECTION FIVE: The Gospel mandates belief in facts.

SECTION SIX: The Deity of Christ--the key salvation issue.

SECTION SEVEN: Walter Martin explains the Gospel.

SECTION EIGHT: The Crisis in Counter-cult.

SECTION NINE: The Christian Counter-cult Convention.

SECTION TEN: Application form for The "Christian" Counter-cult Directory.

SECTION ELEVEN: The "evangelical" mailing list.

SECTION TWELVE: Special "salvation" offers.

SECTION ONE: THE "EVANGELICALS" OF COUNTER-CULT.

Sometimes when we get so busy in ministry activities, holding seminars and classes, writing tracts and books and doing "church work," it is good to stop and reflect on the very reason why we are doing all this in the first place. Isn't it that we love Jesus and that we desire to be "witnesses" for Him? Well, what does that really mean? We'd like to begin this report by getting back to the basics with the aid of several evangelical scholars who have been called to teach on this subject. Let's look at some fundamental questions that have profound and crucial answers, especially for those of us in ministry.

1. What is an "evangelical"?

T.P. Weber explains that "evangelicalism" is a Christian movement "that emphasizes conformity to the basic tenets of the faith" and:

A person who identifies with it is an "evangelical," one who believes and proclaims the gospel of Jesus Christ….Evangelicals believe that salvation is an act of unmerited divine grace received through faith in Christ, not through any kind of penance or good works. One's sins are pardoned, and one is regenerated (reborn), justified before God, and adopted into the family of God….[Evangelicalism] is the affirmation of the central beliefs of historic Christianity.

(T.P. Weber, "Evangelicalism," Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, Walter A. Elwell, Ed., Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984, pp. 379-380)

2. Can you be an evangelical if you don't preach the true identity of Christ?

Dr. Weber then gives us an overview of "The Message" of the evangelical. He explains that: "It must include a clear statement about the centrality of Jesus Christ in God's plan of redemption: that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and that Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead, according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:2; II Cor. 5; Rom. 10)."

(Ibid, p. 383)

Dr. Tidball notes that to proclaim the Gospel is to preach that Jesus is Lord. This is the meaning of Paul's message (1 Co 15:1-4):

The Lausanne Congress on World Evangelism (1974) aptly agreed the statement: 'To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is every kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God.'

(D.J. Tidball, , "Evangelism, Theology of," B. Ferguson, David F. Wright and J.I. Packer, eds., New Dictionary Theology, Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988, p. 241)

Thomas Oden sums it up: "Reflections on Jesus are often divided into discussions of his person and work, that is, who he was and what he did. The gospel unites these two: the person of the Son engaged in the work of the servant-messiah."

(Thomas Oden, The Word of Life, Systematic Theology: Volume Two, Prince Press, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, p. 11)

3. Does the Gospel present Jesus as God?

J.I. Packer asks: "What is evangelism"? He answers:

For illustration of this, look at the famous definition of evangelism which the Archbishop's Committee gave in its report on the evangelistic work of the Church in 1918….To start with, it makes the point that evangelizing means declaring a specific message. According to this definition, it is not evangelism merely to teach general truths about God's existence, or the moral law; evangelism means to present Jesus Christ, the divine Son who became man at a particular point in world-history in order to save a ruined race.

(J.I. Packer, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1961, pp. 37-38)

Packer goes on to later comment on the chief doctrine of the Gospel:

For the truth is that you cannot make sense of the historic figure of Jesus till you know about the incarnation—that this Jesus was in fact God the Son, made man to save sinners according to His Father's eternal purpose.…

To oppose the teaching of doctrines about Christ to the presenting of His person is, therefore, to put asunder two things which God has joined. It is really very perverse indeed; for the whole purpose for these doctrines in evangelism is to throw light on the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to make clear to our hearers just who it is that we want them to meet.

(Ibid, pp. 64-65)

Finally Dr. Packer sums this all up in a nice and "concise" statement, speaking of the message of the apostle: "The testimony is explicit: faith in Jesus' deity is basic to Paul's theology and religion."

(J.I. Packer, Concise Theology, Wheaton, IL: Tyndale, 1993, p. 107)

4. Can one be a "believer" (a Christian) if he doesn't believe the Gospel?

Dr. Millard Erickson, a great writer of systematic theology, reminds us of the "means" of salvation, or grace:

Peter speaks of this instrumental role of the Word of God: "You have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God…That word is the good news which was preached to you" (1 Peter 1:23,25). Thus the Word of God, whether read or preached, is God's means of presenting to us the salvation found in Christ; faith is our means of accepting that salvation.

(Millard J. Erickson, Introducing Christian Doctrine, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992, p. 286)

Dr. Gordon Lewis, Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Philosophy at Denver Seminary, is a long time Christian apologist and a member of counter-cult. He says:

John wrote his gospel "that [we] may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing [we] may have life in his name" (John 20:31). To receive eternal life one believes in Jesus. But which Jesus? Not the first created angel (Jehovah's Witnesses)….

The first Christians determined whether people had the spirit of Christ or the spirit of Antichrist (1 John 4:1-3) by their assent or dissent to the literal meaning of the assertion that God's eternal Word or Son has come "in the flesh." By this doctrine the early church also determined whether candidates for church membership were salvifically related to God. "Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son" (2 John 9). The "teaching of Christ" that John had in mind is clear in his gospel and first epistle. In these contexts, adherence to "the teaching of Christ" does not specify here all that Jesus taught, but the doctrine that John emphasized in his gospel and epistles—that Jesus was the eternal Word who had become flesh (John 1:1,14;20:31; 1 John 1:1-3;4:1-3).

(Gordon Lewis and Bruce A. Demarest, Integrative Theology, Volume Two, Grand Rapids, MI:

Academie Books, Zondervan, 1990, p. 300)

Dr. Charles Ryrie, well-known theologian and author of The Ryrie Study Bible, spends good space proving that proclaiming Jesus is "Lord" is to proclaim His deity in the Gospel message:

To sum up: Romans 10:9-10 is not dealing with the question of the subjective lordship of Christ, but with His deity and resurrection. To believe that Jesus (the man) is Lord (God) and that He is alive (which includes the fact that He died) results in righteousness and salvation. Notice too that this interpretation is held by several generations of scholars who represent differing schools of theological thought.

(Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation, Chicago, IL: Moody, 1989, 1997, p. 67)

Speaking of the apostle John's view, Ryrie says:

The emphasis in John 1:1-18 seems to be that we must receive Him who is God and who became man. It is the God-man Savior whom John asks us to receive….The Lord stressed to Nicodemus that He was the one who descended from heaven and that He was the Son of Man. So, again, the emphasis as far as the person of Christ is concerned was on His being both God and man. Whoever believes in that unique, only begotten person will have eternal life.

(Ibid, pp. 98-99)

Furthermore, Dr. Ryrie points out that repentance for salvation includes accepting Jesus as He claims to be. Ryrie asks: "Repent! About What?" In his initial Gospel presentation to the Jews (Acts 2), Peter preached the real Jesus and Ryrie puts it this way:

Now the inescapable conclusion: Jesus is both Lord or God, and Christ or Messiah (verse 36). A Jewish audience had the greatest difficulty acknowledging these two claims for Jesus. To assert that the man Jesus was God and also Israel's Messiah and to ask the people to believe that was an almost insurmountable obstacle.

That the noun Lord (kurios) refers to God or Yahweh seems quite clear from the other occurrences of kurios in Peter's message. Notice verses 21, 34, and 39, where Peter says that the kurios is "our God." Full deity, not mastery or discipleship, was the issue.

On the significance of this phrase, "made Him both Lord and Christ," F.F. Bruce wrote: "The foundation truth on which the Church was built. The first Christian sermon culminates in the first Christian 'creed': cf. kurios Iesous [Lord Jesus] (Rom. X.9:1 Cor. Xii.3)….[Kurios] represents the Ineffable Name of God (cf. ver.21)."

Upon hearing and realizing this, conviction overwhelmed the people. They asked what they should do, and Peter replied, "Repent." Repent about what? Change your minds about Jesus of Nazareth. Whatever you thought about Him before or whoever you thought He was, change your minds and now believe that He is God and your Messiah who died and who rose from the dead. That repentance saves.

(Ibid, p. 86; see also Charles Ryrie, A Survey of Bible Doctrine, Chicago, IL: Moody, 1972, p. 139)

Speaking of the Gospel of John, Dr. MacArthur says: "He was showing that Jesus is God (e.g.,1:1-18;5:18;12:37-41). John's readers clearly understood the implication of that: If Jesus is God and we must receive Him as God (John 1:12), our first duty in coming to Him is to repent (cf. Luke 5:8)."

(John MacArthur, The Gospel According to the Apostles: The Role of Works in the Life of Faith, Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1993, 2000, p. 82)

Dr. J.I. Packer shows the importance of the content of the Gospel to true repentance. He says:

And where there is no clear knowledge, and hence no realistic recognition of the real claims that Christ makes, there can be no repentance, and therefore no salvation.

(J.I. Packer, Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God, Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity, 1961, p. 73)

5. What is the Gospel of counter-cult?

The defining message of the "Christian" counter-cult ministries has always been: Jesus is the God-man for salvation (Ro 10:9). If your ministry isn't known for that "good news," then are you truly "evangelical"? Truly this is the message that defines Christianity. For only in this way, by first knowing WHO Jesus is, does one have life (Jn 8:32; 17:3). You "believe in Him" (Jn 8:30) only if you have first come to acknowledge WHO He is--the Great "I AM" (Jn 8:24). The Lord was very dogmatic when He summed it up this way: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (Jn 14:6).

One cannot affirm the truth without denying falsehood. As Christians, we cannot affirm the true Savior without denying false Christs. Is this not a major message of those of us in the evangelical wing of counter-cult? If one is truly a member, he takes seriously the admonition to be ready to make a defense of the real "hope"--which is the real Gospel (1 Pet 3:15; cf. 1:3 and Ro 10:9). Yes, this is the only true "faith that was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 3). Paul stresses that we must "exhort in sound doctrine" and "refute those who contradict" it because "they are teaching things they should not teach" (Titus 1:9,11). This counsel should be heeded by every evangelical member of counter-cult.

SECTION TWO: THE "CHRISTIAN" COUNTER-CULT DIRECTORY.

If the doctrine above is your own, then you should consider being listed, at no charge, in the soon to be released "Christian" Counter-cult Directory. We believe it would be a great support for your ministry as well as inform many to get the needed help that you can provide. And there is another very important reason. For some time now we have believed it is crucial that those ministries in counter-cult who call themselves "evangelical," be held accountable to the clear teaching of God's Word on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In other words, we hold that it is crucial that members of the greater church community should be informed of the salvation viewpoint that is held by any counter-cult ministry. Why is it crucial? Let us listen to the apostle: "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false prophets AMONG YOU, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves." (2 Pet 2:1). "Heresies" against the salvation message are even being taught within counter-cult!

Brethren, are not the most dangerous heresies those that infect and undermine the Church of God? Jesus warned us well about false teaching within our own ranks: "Beware of false prophets who come to you IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING, BUT INWARDLY ARE RAVENOUS WOLVES." (Mt 7:15). So, the Bible encourages us to be very careful to acknowledge only those teachers and ministries claiming to be members of the true Christian congregation, yet are also truly orthodox on the Gospel. How can we call ourselves counter-cult if we don't heed our own Lord's warning? Paul stresses this with some urgency when he says:

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the ears of the unsuspecting. (Ro 16:17-18)

Paul warned that there would be those within our churches who undermine the teaching that he brought us (Ac 20:29-31), for they advocate "a different doctrine" which "does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Tim 3:5a). This means that the very foundation of the faith, "the teaching which you learned"—especially of THE Gospel is being undermined. So, he warns the brethren in the Romans to watch for the false teachers because they can "deceive" the weak-minded. How should we relate to these false teachers? If we are lovers of the true Gospel, we will "turn away from them."(Please especially see SECTION EIGHT: The Crisis in Counter-cult).

To aid in this effort to defend orthodoxy, we have felt led to create The "Christian" Counter-cult Directory. This Directory will list only those ministries and individuals who are signed in agreement with the biblically based "Affirmations and Denials" published in the book This We Believe (Appendix One, The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration, Zondervan, 2000, pages 244-248). It is our conviction that "This We Believe" is a most adequate expression of the essentials of salvation (see SECTION B: "This We Believe"). The importance of this current document cannot be overstated. Of those who have already signed on, here is but a short sample of well-known Christian leaders: John Ankerberg, Chuck Colson, Tony Evans, Jerry Falwell, Billy Graham, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, D. James Kennedy and Pat Robertson. Many others share this view of the Gospel.

Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and widely-known speaker and writer, summarized the conviction of many other endorsers of "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration," with these words:

When historians record the events of this year, they will surely take note of this statement as one of the truly momentous accomplishments of Evangelicalism. It stands squarely upon the historic Christian faith, which has energized Christians from the first century until now. Nothing could be more important to challenge the Church for the new millennium.

(ceug.org The Committee on Evangelical Unity in the Gospel, pp. 6,7)

We certainly recognize that there will be some excellent ministries that for some valid reason are not listed in the Directory. By no means do we imply that these are in any way "unorthodox" on the biblical doctrine of salvation. We plan to put out updates and additions to the Directory, especially listing new ministries on our website www.witnessinc.com. Furthermore, it is not to be implied that Witness Inc. mandates that any ministry be listed in the Directory. We have no such authority. We see this effort as a purely voluntary effort designed to aid the Church and those seeking help from truly "evangelical" counter-cult ministries.

However, we believe that it is evident that if an individual or ministry is hesitant to agree with any of the "Affirmations and Denials" listed in the book "This We Believe" then that ministry is not truly "evangelical." Furthermore, if a ministry has already exhibited such disagreement by either publishing contrary claims about the Gospel, or in any way supporting the work of heretical teachers, then we certainly cannot recommend such persons or ministries to anyone needing assistance from counter-cult. Such persons or ministries would be unorthodox. To say that one is "unorthodox" is to use a lighter expression, which means one is heretical. (See Norman Geisler and H. Wayne House, The Battle for God, Kregel, 2001, p. 289). Furthermore, "[O]rthodoxy must be implicit as well as explicit, methodological as well as confessional." (Ibid, p. 292) Therefore, for the sake of the Gospel of our Lord, we must be clear and strong in our declaration of the truth.

We believe the "Affirmations and Denials" are, in effect, a dividing line between the orthodox (evangelical) view of biblical salvation and those who oppose it--those who are unorthodox. While probably most all persons/ministries listed in the Directory are in agreement on the general teachings in the Church, the Directory is not being published to show any listed person's/ministry's agreement with that of any other listed person's/ministry's. (In fact, there may well be listed ministries that disagree with other listed ministries over non-salvific issues). Rather, our purpose is to show their agreement with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Those listed in The Christian Counter-cult Directory are claiming such agreement. This is true Christian unity—in Christ—and the public should know that.

If you have a counter-cult ministry (either as an individual or group), and would choose to be included, free of charge, in the new CHRISTIAN COUNTER-CULT DIRECTORY, please read the following AFFIRMATIONS and DENIALS.

If you are in agreement with them, please respond by filling out the form at the very end of this newsletter. Please

(1) mail to: Witness Inc., P.O. Box 597, Clayton, CA 94517 or

(2) email to: witnessinc@hotmail.com or

(3) fax us at (925) 672-8230

and we will shortly inform you regarding your inclusion in the Directory.

SECTION THREE: "THIS WE BELIEVE--AFFIRMATIONS (RO 10:9; JN 8:24; 1 CO 15:1-4) AND DENIALS (1 PET 3:15; JUDE 3; TITUS 1:9).

1. We affirm that the Gospel entrusted to the church is, in the first instance, God's Gospel (Mark 1:14; Rom. 1:1). God is its author, and he reveals it to us in and by his Word. Its authority and truth rest on him alone.

We deny that the truth or authority of the Gospel derives from any human insight or invention (Gal. 1:1-11). We also deny that the truth or authority of the Gospel rests on the authority of any particular church or human institution.

2. We affirm that the Gospel is the saving power of God in that the Gospel effects salvation to everyone who believes, without distinction (Rom. 1: 16). This efficacy of the Gospel is by the power of God himself (1 Cor. 1:18).

We deny that the power of the Gospel rests in the eloquence of the preacher, the technique of the evangelist, or the persuasion of rational argument (1 Cor. 1:21; 2:1-5).

3. We affirm that the Gospel diagnoses the universal human condition as one of sinful rebellion against God, which, if unchanged, will lead each person to eternal loss under God's condemnation.

We deny any rejection of the fallenness of human nature or any assertion of the natural goodness, or divinity, of the human race.

4. We affirm that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, the only mediator between God and humanity (John 14:6; 1 Tim. 2:5).

We deny that anyone is saved in any other way than by Jesus Christ and his Gospel. The Bible offers no hope that sincere worshipers of other religions will be saved without personal faith in Jesus Christ.

5. We affirm that the church is commanded by God and is therefore under divine obligation to preach the Gospel to every living person (Luke 14:47; Matt. 28:18-19).

We deny that any particular class or group of persons, whatever their ethnic or cultural identity, may be ignored or passed over in the preaching of the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:19-22). God purposes a global church made up from people of every tribe, language, and nation (Rev. 7:9).

6. We affirm that faith in Jesus Christ as the divine Word (or Logos, John 1:1), the second Person of the Trinity, co-eternal and co-essential with the Father and the Holy Spirit (Heb. 1:3), is foundational to faith in the Gospel.

We deny that any view of Jesus Christ which reduces or rejects his full deity is Gospel faith or will avail to salvation.

7. We affirm that Jesus Christ is God incarnate (John 1:14). The virgin-born descendant of David (Rom. 1:3), he had a true human, nature, was subject to the Law of God (Gal. 4:5), and was like us at all points, except without sin (Heb. 2:17; 7:26-28). We affirm that faith in the true humanity of Christ is essential to faith in the Gospel.

We deny that anyone who rejects the humanity of Christ, his incarnation, or his sinlessness, or who maintains that these truths are not essential to the Gospel, will be saved (1 John 4:2-3).

8. We affirm that the atonement of Christ by which, in his obedience, he offered a perfect sacrifice, propitiating the Father by paying for our sins and satisfying divine justice on our behalf according to God's eternal plan, is an essential element of the Gospel.

We deny that any view of the Atonement that rejects the substitutionary satisfaction of divine justice, accomplished vicariously for believers, is compatible with the teaching of the Gospel.

9. We affirm that Christ's saving work included both his life and his death on our behalf (Gal. 3:13). We declare that faith in the perfect obedience of Christ by which he fulfilled all the demands of the Law of God on our behalf is essential to the Gospel.

We deny that our salvation was achieved merely or exclusively by the death of Christ without reference to his life of perfect righteousness.

10. We affirm that the bodily resurrection of Christ from the dead is essential to the biblical Gospel (1 Cor. 15:14).

We deny the validity of any so-called gospel that denies the historical reality of the bodily resurrection of Christ.

11. We affirm that the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is essential to the Gospel (Rom. 3:28; 4:5; Gal. 2:16).

We deny that any person can believe the biblical Gospel and at the same time reject the apostolic teaching of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. We also deny that there is more than one true Gospel (Gal. 1:6-9).

12. We affirm that the doctrine of the imputation (reckoning or counting) both of our sins to Christ and of his righteousness to us, whereby our sins are fully forgiven and we are fully accept- ed, is essential to the biblical Gospel (2 Cor. 5:19-21).

We deny that we are justified by the righteousness of Christ infused into us or by any righteousness that is thought to inhere within us.

13. We affirm that the righteousness of Christ by which we are justified is properly his own, which he achieved apart from us, in and by his perfect obedience. This righteousness is counted, reckoned, or imputed to us by the forensic (that is, legal) declaration of God, as the sole ground of our justification.

We deny that any works we perform at any stage of our existence add to the merit of Christ or earn for us any merit that contributes in any way to the ground of our justification (Gal. 2: Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

14. We affirm that, while all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and are in the process of being made holy and conformed the image of Christ, those consequences of justification are not its ground. God declares us just, remits our sins, and adopts us his children, by his grace alone, and through faith alone, because of Christ alone, while we are still sinners (Rom. 4:5).

We deny that believers must be inherently righteous by virtue of their cooperation with God's life-transforming grace before God will declare them justified in Christ. We are justified while we are still sinners.

15. We affirm that saving faith results in sanctification, the transformation of life in growing conformity to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Sanctification means ongoing repentance, a life of turning from sin to serve Jesus Christ in grateful reliance on him as one's Lord and Master (Gal. 5:22-25; Rom. 8:4,13-14).

We reject any view of justification which divorces it from our sanctifying union with Christ and our increasing conformity to his image through prayer, repentance, cross-bearing, and life in the Spirit.

16. We affirm that saving faith includes mental assent to the content of the Gospel, acknowledgment of our own sin and need, and personal trust and reliance upon Christ and his work.

We deny that saving faith includes only mental acceptance of the Gospel, and that justification is secured by a mere outward profession of faith. We further deny that any element of saving faith is a meritorious work or earns salvation for us.

17. We affirm that, although true doctrine is vital for spiritual health and well-being, we are not saved by doctrine. Doctrine is necessary to inform us how we may be saved by Christ, but it is Christ who saves.

We deny that the doctrines of the Gospel can be rejected without harm. Denial of the Gospel brings spiritual ruin and exposes us to God's judgment.

18. We affirm that Jesus Christ commands his followers to proclaim the Gospel to all living persons, evangelizing everyone everywhere, and discipling believers within the fellowship of the church. A full and faithful witness to Christ includes the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbor, without which the preaching of the Gospel appears barren.

We deny that the witness of personal testimony, godly living, and acts of mercy and charity to our neighbors constitutes evangelism apart from the proclamation of the Gospel.

OUR COMMITMENT

As evangelicals united in the Gospel, we promise to watch over and care for one another, to pray for and forgive one another, and to reach out in love and truth to God's people everywhere, for we are one family, one in the Holy Spirit, and one in Christ.

Centuries ago it was truly said that in things necessary there must be unity, in things less than necessary there must be liberty, and in all things there must be charity. We see all these Gospel truths as necessary.

Now to God, the Author of the truth and grace of this Gospel, through Jesus Christ, its subject and our Lord, be praise and glory forever and ever. Amen.

The AFFIRMATIONS AND DENIALS are taken by permission from the book This We Believe (Appendix One, The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration, Zondervan, 2000, pages 244-248). The entire statement is copyrighted in 1999 by the Committee on Evangelical Unity in the Gospel, P.O. Box 5551, Glendale Heights, IL 60139-5551. www.ThisWeBelieve.com

SECTION FOUR: THE CRISIS IN THE CHURCH.

Since Witness Inc. fully supports the stand in This We Believe, we've chosen to appeal, in the main, to those scholars who have already signed on to the document. We believe that this is the best way for people to see real "evangelicals" speaking to the issue and that great credibility is expressed through our unity on the Gospel. We'll be referring to the writings of seven members of the drafting committee (John Ankerberg, John Armstrong, D.A. Carson, Erwin Lutzer, Thomas C. Oden, J.I. Packer and R.C. Sproul); four contributors (Thomas C. Oden, J.I. Packer, Lee Strobel and Ravi Zacharias) and eleven other signatories (Gerald Bray, Bill Bright, Harold O.J. Brown, Wayne Grudem, D. James Kennedy, Tim LaHaye, John MacArthur, Charles Stanley, John Stott, John Walvoord and David Wells). All of these men have been recognized internationally as excellent teachers on the fundamentals of the Gospel.

1. THE COMPROMISERS.

1a. R.C. Sproul speaks directly when he warns about compromising on the Gospel:

I desire peace with everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, with everyone who believes the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But if anybody claims to be a Christian and preaches or teaches another gospel from the one God has declared in Jesus Christ, I cannot be at peace with him or her regarding this message and its implications for the church. To make peace with such, in this message of the gospel, is to make war with Christ.

That is precisely how Luther saw it in the sixteenth century. If you read his letters you can feel the very agony of his soul. Virtually all of his good friends would say to him, "Martin, Martin, you're being bigoted, you're being narrow-minded, you're being tenacious; certainly you can't be right. Everybody else can't be wrong. Give this up, Martin." But we must observe his response. He repeatedly argued that this was not his cause. It was the cause of Christ. This is the gospel, he said. This does matter. God does care whether you believe that you're justified solely by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ. You can't believe in imputation and also believe that you're justified by your own participation in an inward grace that Christ pours into your heart--a grace that you cooperate with and assent to and then do works of satisfaction by which you have merit acceptable to God. The difference in these two messages is huge. The gulf is immense. We can't gloss it over with modern rhetoric that simply does away with centuries of major theological concern.

There simply cannot be two differing gospels. This is the obvious point Paul is making to the Galatians. It was also the obvious point made by our Protestant forefathers, who had real confidence in the total sufficiency of the biblical gospel. Now we have come to the place, it seems, where we no longer have this deep concern. You might say we have come to be indifferent in large measure. But our very indifference will land us in great difficulty, for as one Puritan aptly put it, "Indifference in religion, is the first step to apostasy from religion."

The gospel message is nonnegotiable. I wonder if evangelicals still understand this in the face of postmodern criticism and philosophical relativism. As Cyprian, the third-century Bishop of Carthage, slated plainly, "The gospel cannot stand in part or it will fall in part."

(R.C. Sproul, "Only One Gospel", The Coming Evangelical Crisis, John H. Armstrong, ed., Chicago,IL: Moody, 1996, pp. 112-113)

1b. Should we tolerate fraternity over orthodoxy? Dr. Sproul continues:

[I]t is an immense tragedy when in our day people are making a mad rush to bring peace, seemingly at any price, when there is no real peace. I have frequently felt the burden of pressure to cooperate in this move away from the sufficiency of the gospel now going on in evangelicalism. I feel this burden for the sake of relationships, for the sake of peace among evangelicals, and for the sake of simply getting along and not being perceived as a troublesome person. But the gospel and its sole sufficiency demands much more of me than simply "getting along" with everyone.

Some time ago I came early for a church service and sat down. I opened my Bible to pray and meditate in preparation for the service. The first thing I did was read Romans 3 and 4 again. I said to myself, I want to make sure I understand what the New Testament is teaching about the gospel. The second thing I did that morning was to read this first chapter of Galatians afresh. What struck me was something I never really noticed before, because every time I've ever spoken from Galatians 1, I've always quit reading at the end of verse 9. Consequently, I didn't see the connection with verse 10: "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ."

Paul says clearly that, if I strive to please God, then I risk every human relationship in order to do so. He endured this loss rather than compromise for one second the sufficiency of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He understood the crisis in Galatia, and he knew that only a grasp of the total sufficiency of the gospel would solve the problem.

(R.C. Sproul, "Only One Gospel", The Coming Evangelical Crisis, John H. Armstrong, ed., Chicago,IL: Moody, 1996, pp. 114-115)

1c. Comprehension of the Gospel message is not the problem. Conviction about the Gospel is the problem. (R.C. Sproul, Classical Apologetics, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984, p. 216)

1d. Dr. Sproul reports that it is now the general practice for church leaders to water down the essentials of the faith as well as to avoid enforcement of these essentials for fellowship.

(R.C. Sproul, Getting the Gospel Right, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1999, pp. 38-39)

1e. John Armstrong notes that the current crisis was expected:

The late Francis Schaeffer wrote more than ten years ago of The Great Evangelical Disaster. He warned that watershed issues had arisen that demonstrated that evangelicalism was in serious trouble. He decried, in particular, the adoption of a method that no longer maintained concern for truth. Critics replied, as they often do to impassioned fellow evangelicals, that Schaeffer had gone too far. "He was reaching the end of an illustrious career and was disappointed," some said to me. But the trends he cited then, and the issues he raised in particular, are not only still with us, but by all indications the importance of addressing them more directly has not gone away.

(John H. Armstrong, The Coming Evangelical Crisis, Chicago, IL: Moody, 1996, p. 17)

2. EXPERIENCE SHOULDN'T RULE OVER DOCTRINE.

2a. Michael Horton says:

Christianity does not rest on our testimonies of changed lives, for the Mormons, drug treatment centers, and psychotherapists can offer such examples. Nor is Christianity to be trusted because of a personal experience. How many times have we had personal experiences that turned out to be misunderstood? The Christian faith rests on the claim of its Founder that He was the Messiah, God incarnate, the Savior of the world, and the claim of its apostles that they were eyewitnesses to His resurrection.

(Michael S. Horton, "Recovering the Plumbline," The Coming Evangelical Crisis, John H. Armstrong, ed., Chicago,IL: Moody, 1996, pp. 257-258)

2b. Erwin Lutzer reports on an unhappy scenario:

As I write, the New Age movement is making significant inroads into Christianity. It is popular to believe that one can adopt some of the religious presuppositions of eastern religions and still be a good Christian. The uniqueness of Christianity is almost wholly lost in the mindless quest for religious experience, regardless of the source.

If students of prophecy are correct, a false worldwide religion will eventually dominate the world. All that needs to happen is for Christians, or at least those who affirm the title, to simply fall prey to the notion that the real curse in the church is not doctrinal error but division. Consumed with a desire for unity, doctrinal matters will be pushed aside. Experience will be the one factor that will unify all Christians and eventually bring all religions of the world under one umbrella.

(Erwin Lutzer, The Doctrines that Divide, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregal, 1989, 1998, p. 242)