Statement of Faith Changes: Scripture
John Kitchen
At its General Council of 2023, The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) ratified this statement regarding Scripture: “The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for our salvation. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice (2 Pet. 1:20-21; 2 Tim. 3:15-17).”
This statement is nearly the same as the historic C&MA statement, which read: “The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, are verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of the Christian faith and practice.”
A comparison of the two statements reveals that the only changes are found in the tense of one verb (“are verbally inspired” was changed to “were verbally inspired”) and the masculine pronoun designating general humankind was changed to a more generic form (“the salvation of men” was changed to “our salvation”).
Gratefully, these alterations do not change the substance of the statement. Regarding the Bible, we are, at least on paper, where we have always been. We do well, however, to revisit this profound and necessary statement and consider what it is we declare. We welcome this statement. We gladly affirm it. We resolutely stand in it. As we do, we observe that this strong statement carries with it implications that also cry for our reaffirmation.
A Complete Revelation
The Bible, we declare, constitutes “a complete revelation of His will.” The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are full, complete, and sufficient in every regard. We need not look elsewhere. We neither need nor expect another revelation. We do not look for any other. Even as we are continuationists regarding the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we affirm that the revelation of the Holy Spirit regarding our salvation, its outworking in our lives, and the mission on which he sent us is complete. No word of prophecy shall arise, no word of knowledge will come down, no “apostolic” declaration will appear, and no conceptualized vision will be formulated that will provide us more than the Bible already does. We lack nothing—for we have been gifted the completed canon of God’s own gracious revelation of himself and the salvation he freely offers us. We look nowhere else, for we enjoy the high and holy privilege of holding in our hands and reading and studying with our eyes, minds, and hearts the very word of God.
The Only Rule
The word “complete” is joined by the equally defining word “only.” This adjective is restrictive in its force. This is exclusivist language. Other influences will not be permitted. This statement stands as the bouncer at the door of our fellowship. Culture, trends, opinions, sociology, statistics, psychology, or any other influence or discipline of science—none of these (or any others that may arise) will be permitted entrance when it comes to determining our “Christian faith and practice.” The history of our practice and procedures in the C&MA will not be permitted to rise above the place reserved only for God’s written word. Only the words on the page (or digital screen) are constituted “divine” and, therefore, binding.
These words of God in the Bible shall alone, under the ministry of the indwelling Spirit of God, shape our “faith and practice.” We will not be ignorant of the other voices, pressures, and powers. And that, if for no other reason, because we recognize and understand the influence they seek to wield and the pressure they create in trying to shape our “faith and practice.”
Of Faith and Practice
What do we mean by these two nouns, “faith” and “practice”?
The most basic element of our “faith” is how we read and understand the revelation God has given us in the Bible. Of necessity, then, we must develop an agreed-upon, biblically defined hermeneutic. Hermeneutics may simply be defined as the determinative principles of rightly reading, understanding, and applying the text of the Bible. We must derive from the Bible itself the guidelines for how it is to be read, interpreted, and applied. Other disciplines will not be permitted in the room when those principles are deduced. On our knees before God alone, with the Holy Spirit, under the authority of God’s voice as it is given to us in the words of the Old and New Testaments—in this sacred, solitary space we must come to an agreed-upon hermeneutic. That will be no easy task! But apart from this, our statement is in danger of becoming a paper doctrine, formulated to ease our consciences but not to shape our beliefs and their practice in this world. Only after this has been accomplished will we be positioned to determine our “practice” of how this “faith” is to be lived out together in the fulfillment of the mission of Jesus in this world.
We have said these things. We have committed to these things. Every licensed, consecrated, or ordained worker among us has sworn to uphold them. Our leaders have pledged themselves to lead us according to these things. It is reasonable, therefore, to ask: Are we living in these things?
This question can and should be asked regarding every point in our statement of faith. Let’s begin with that place from which we have said every part of our “faith and practice” must arise. What does our statement regarding the Scriptures demand of us? Allow me to begin a list that together we can surely add to as we sit before the Father, calling on him through the Son, in reliance upon the Holy Spirit.
We each must ask ourselves if this is in fact what we believe. Is this what we teach and preach? Is it what we practice? If not, we must confess it as such and repent, as a necessary and verifiable step towards genuine life change. This must be true of us personally and individually as well as corporately and organizationally.
We need to identify if and where we have failed to “practice” this in our decision-making (personally, from the local church to the General Council, the President’s cabinet, and the Board of Directors). This involves, where necessary, confessing together before God our failure to do so.
We need to return to any important decisions that we may have made without submitting them first to a careful, thorough, rigorous, and transparent study of Scripture. We need then to take them up again, however long the necessary process may take.
We need to commit ourselves to a careful development of an Alliance hermeneutic. A statement regarding our view of Scripture does not unite us unless we agree on how we will handle the word together. A statement regarding the nature of the Bible, if we do not agree on how that Bible tells us we are to handle, understand, and apply it, may ease our conscience but does little to help us move in unity toward the fulfillment of the mission Jesus has set upon us.
These are beginning points. When these are in place, we can trust the Holy Spirit to further guide us from the Scripture about how to faithfully live under its authority and in its light.