That's Heresy - Not!!!
“But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.” (2 Peter 2:1)
As one who is not afraid to challenge tradition, ask questions, and seek answers which satisfy my conscientious study of God’s word, I have occasionally been charged with teaching heresy. That may shock you – it is certainly a serious matter to me. Such charges have motivated me to crusade against the abuse of the heresy charge, often made by those who have never even bothered to understanding the charge they are making. What is biblical heresy? Hopefully, by the time you finish reading this you will know, and you won’t fall into the sin of making false charges.
In the text above, note first the way the coming heretics would act: secretly. Jude said in his letter that they “crept in” and did their deeds. So at the outset, realize I’m hardly keeping things a secret here. I’m telling you openly what I believe, why I believe it, and that it goes against traditional teaching in most Christian circles. I tell all who visit here, don’t take my word for anything; do your own study! I also invite readers to share biblical evidence they believe proves what is found here is wrong. So I, and others, who openly share these things with you hardly fall into the category of individuals Peter referenced.
Beyond this observation, we need to examine the word which has been transliterated to heresy: hairesis. This word means a party spirit or sectarian manner. It carries the idea of causing disunity, or being factious. In spite of this very clear meaning, the word has been corrupted over time, such that most readers understand heresy to be adhering to and/or teaching what is contrary to the traditional teaching of “the church” (i.e. most notably, creeds and confessions). Hairesis appears nine times in the New Testament. Depending on your translation, you will likely find it rendered sect or faction, except in the passage above (some translations are consistent in rendering it correctly). If you trace the history of Christian heresy, you may start to agree with me that the word was transliterated in order to support tradition, rather than to accurately communicate the meaning of the text. When translators want to hedge, transliteration is often a useful tool because it obscures the meaning of the word, and allows it to take on whatever color the translator wishes to give it. This is not to say translators are motivated by evil, but our biases can negatively impact our understanding.
It is a real challenge to agree on things; even the most fundamental matters have divided believers throughout history. The true heresy which exists is the sectarian spirit of denominationalism. Because of their sectarianism, Paul told the Corinthians he was glad he only baptized a few of them! I know there are some who claim their group is not a denomination, but it is time to quit playing games and realize that when one group sets itself apart from other believers on the basis of its interpretation of scripture, it is a denomination. It is sectarian and biblically it is heretical.
This is not to say we cannot or should not assemble regularly with people who share our understanding. However, we must not have an attitude of being the only people of God, and our lives should demonstrate a willingness to engage believers who disagree with us as equal brethren. We are all in error about some things, and unless we study with those with whom we disagree, we will all likely cling to our error. Division hampers the growth we should be experiencing in the Body of Christ.
Of primary importance in life beyond the time of the end, is being a part of Jesus’ prayer for unity in John 17:20-21: “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in me through their word; that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me.”
Brethren, we believe in Christ because of the world of those who first proclaimed the good news of the kingdom. Jesus’ prayer applies to us. We have unity in Christ by virtue of our common faith, and we should not allow our traditions to divide us. We must be faithful to our consciences, but we must not transgress God’s word in the process. If we think we see a conflict between the two, we’ve messed up somewhere.
When we stand as one, Christ is believed by the world, and the kingdom of God flourishes. Unfortunately, believers rarely stand as one until compelled by times of hardship and persecution, and forced to see each other as allies instead of enemies. May God grant us such vision when things are easy!
Dividing ourselves, and refusing to fellowship those of other traditions is sinful. The only test of fellowship is our faith in Christ and our commitment to understand His truth, and obey it. People in every denomination (as well as those who have abandoned the institutional “church”) can meet this test, and we should not be afraid to embrace one another in fellowship. God can deal with our misunderstandings, if we commit ourselves to one another in love.
Please understand, I am not suggesting an “anything goes” free-for-all in our assemblies; however, I pray that the walls which so divide is will come down and allow us to learn from one another, and grow in grace. Those who continue to erect walls between believers are the ones truly guilty of heresy. God’s word neither envisions, or teaches such divisions in the Body of Christ.
It is ironic that the very people who carelessly use the word heresy, are frequently the ones most guilty of it! They denounce those who disagree with their understanding of scripture, and urge others to have nothing to do with them. Disagreement over interpretation is not heresy, but division because of disagreement is!
Neither I, nor any preterist I know, seek to create divisions among believers; rather, we desire to see all brethren be united in fellowship as we are in faith (and our gatherings demonstrate this – come and see!). While it can be proper to withhold fellowship from other believers as part of Christian discipline, denying others fellowship because of honest differences of interpretation is unloving, harmful to all involved, and a poor witness to the world at large.
By now, I trust it is clear to you that I am not a heretic! I am certainly wrong on some issues, just like everyone else. When my study convicts me I am wrong, I am willing to change (and my history demonstrates I will do so). Conscience demands that I embrace and act upon that by which I am convicted. Duty affords me no other course.
There are those who insist that a fulfilled view of eschatology is heresy; indeed, some call it a “damnable heresy.”* What they mean is that it doesn’t agree with their interpretation of scripture, and they won’t countenance anyone who holds the view.
It is absolutely mind-boggling that we who uphold God’s faithfulness to His word are branded heretics while they, professing that God failed to do what He said He would do, consider themselves orthodox! Like the Pharisees of old, they love their tradition, and they will castigate any who question their authority. In days past, they would have burned us at the stake; sadly, some still would.