Do YOU affirm this TRUTH? – Affirm/Deny

Do you affirm or deny what the Bible says? Can you affirm ALL or just some Scripture? Take this overview of a quiz from those theologians who do.

“Therefore, everyone who confesses Me before people, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven.

But whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.”

Gospel of Matthew 10:32-22 NASB20 – the Words of the Lord Christ Jesus

Will you Affirm this DOCTRINE? Your identity in GOD, my witness of the Gospel, our witness as Christians proclaiming Jesus Christ to the world as our Lord may come down to this TRUTH! THAT one DOCTRINE we BELIEVE and will AFFIRM as TRUTH is our witness of God’s Truth.

OR Do we DENY this DOCTRINE to the world while we sheepishly call Christ, “Lord, Lord?”

Please note that the AFFIRM & DENY images in this post are NOT linked; however if you want to READ the full text of the Chicago Statement, click on it to view ALL doctrines mentioned.

Do I DENY THIS DOCTRINE? (or DO I AFFIRM IT?)

What is the pretext for Jesus stating categorically that HE will turn away some who claim Him?

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

Gospel of Matthew 7:13-15 NASB – Teaching of Jesus Christ

Take this 21st century challenge to your personal confessions of faith:

If an authority of the world arrested you with an indictment that you are a Christian and brought into court, would they find enough evidence to convict you?

‘LORD, LORD, I’m a Christian, aren’t I?‘

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Learn more: Chicago Statement on Bible Inerrancy [1986]

In spite of our diversity we have one great thing in common. We hold to the absolute authority, integrity and full inerrancy of God’s Word…

James M. Boyce to Chicago summit participants, Oct. 26, 1978, International Council on Biblical Inerrancy

For more info and detail click secure link to 12-page pdf linked above. MORE source material linked below from one of the theologian contributors of ICBI. 

Once again I thank God for the ongoing faith and witness of Ligonier Ministries and acknowledge Stephen Nichols for his witness in R.C. SPROUL - A life, which has been integral in my series on Doctrine including excerpts in this final post of the current series. - Roger@talkofJESUS.com 

Preface

We cannot possibly cover all of the important doctrines included in this unified 1978 statement or two subsequent councils in 1982 & 1986 by leading international theologians. Therefore I will cite just some of the original six issues and abridge sixteen later articles, briefly condensing some of the five introductory points of the original Chicago Statement.

[Bold & italic emphasis of the original are my own.] – RH

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Holy Scripture is God’s witness to Himself.. [with] infallible divine authority.. The Holy Spirit, Scripture’s divine Author, both authenticates it to us.. and opens our minds to understand its meaning. Being wholly and verbally God-given, Scripture is without error or fault in an all its teaching..

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Do you believe THAT?

a few ARTICLES to Affirm

(which these internationally recognized theologians all affirmed.) [Summit III – 1986]

• What do YOU believe in EACH article?
  • Do you also believe EACH point?
    • – AFFIRM it or DENY it. (Keep score {out of 5})

BELOW: Five of the Sixteen articles covering several Doctrines,
  - first, 5 Affirmations
  - followed by 5 Denials associated to the same 5 articles.

• Article I: The Living God – WE AFFIRM
  • We affirm that the one true and living God is the creator and sustainer of all things.
  • We affirm that this God can be known through His revelation of Himself in His inerrant written Word.
  • We affirm that this one God exists eternally in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of whom is fully God.
  • We affirm that this living, acting, speaking God entered into history through the Son Jesus Christ to bring salvation to the human race.
  • We affirm that the revealed character and will of God are the foundation of all morality.

Consider and choose AFFIRM or DENY. These buttons are NOT linked since this is NOT A POLL. Only God will see your answers as you tell the whole Truth here.

• Article IV. The Church and its Mission – WE AFFIRM
  • [Abridged] We affirm that the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives the Bible its canonical authority, and the role of the church was and is to recognize and affirm this authority.
  • We affirm that identifying marks of local churches are faithful confession and proclamation of the Word of God, and responsible administration of baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
  • We affirm that churches are subject to the Word of Christ in their order as in their doctrine.
  • We affirm that the unity and clarity of Scripture encourage us to seek to resolve doctrinal differences among Christians, and so to manifest the oneness of the church in Christ.

• Article IX: The State Under God – WE AFFIRM
  • [Abridged] We affirm that God established civil government as an instrument of His common grace, to restrain sin, to maintain order, and to promote civil justice and general well-being.
  • We affirm that it is the duty of Christian people to pray for civil authorities and to obey them, except when such obedience would involve the violation of God’s moral law or neglect the God-ordained responsibilities of Christian witness.
  • We affirm that Christ’s rule of the church through His Word must not be confused with the power He grants to civil governments; such confusion will compromise the purity of the gospel and will violate the conscience of individuals.
  • We affirm that when families or churches neglect their biblically defined duties, thus jeopardizing the wellbeing of their members, the state may rightfully intervene.

• Article X: Law and Justice – WE AFFIRM
  • [Abridged]

We affirm that the Scriptures are the only infallible record of unchanging moral principles basic to a sound jurisprudence and an adequate philosophy of human rights.

ICBI AFFIRMATION Article X – 12/13/1986

• Article XVI: Stewardship of the Environment – WE AFFIRM
  • {Abridged] We affirm that mankind’s dominion over the earth imposes a responsibility to protect and tend its life and resources.
  • We affirm that Christians should embrace responsible scientific investigation and its application in technology.

How many (of these 5) did YOU AFFIRM?

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a few ARTICLES to Deny

(which these internationally recognized theologians also DENY in support of their affirmations of same article)

DON'T MISS THESE. Secure LINK to the Original document. The original denials followed their affirmations of each DOCTRINE. We will limit these to the same Articles which they affirmed we addressed above.

Do you support these five DENIALS of other DOCTRINES?

Go ahead, KEEP SCORE.

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• Article I: The Living God – WE DENY
  • We deny that the human language of Scripture is inadequate to inform us who God is or what He is like.
  • We deny that the doctrine of the Trinity is a contradiction or is based upon an unacceptable ontology.
  • We deny that the notion of God should be accommodated to modern thought which has no place for the concepts of sin and salvation.

• Article IV. The Church and its Mission – WE DENY
  • We deny that the church can grant canonical authority to Scripture.
    • {Issue of authority of the church since the Protestant Reformation – RH}
  • We deny that the church is constituted by the will and traditions of men.
    • {that is, the will and any traditions contrary to Scripture. – RH}
  • We deny that the church can bind the conscience apart from the Word of God.
  • We deny that the church can free itself from the authority of the written Word of God and still exercise valid discipline in Christ’s name.
  • We deny that the church can accommodate itself to the demands of a particular culture if those demands conflict with scriptural revelation, or if they restrain the liberty of Christian conscience.
  • We deny that differing cultural situations invalidate the biblical principle of male-female equality or the biblical requirements for their roles in the church.

• Article IX: The State Under God – WE DENY
  • [Abridged] We deny that the state has the right to usurp authority of other God-given spheres of life, especially in the church and in the family.
  • We deny that the Kingdom of God can be established by the coercive power of civil governments.
    • {i.e. a ‘State Religion’ as is common with false religions mandating obedience to their false sect}
  • We deny that God’s providential establishment of a particular government confers special blessing, apart from the government’s just and faithful execution of its duties.
  • We deny the Kingdom of God can be established by the power of civil governments.

• Article X: Law and Justice – WE DENY
  • [Abridged] We deny that legal positivism, or any other humanistic philosophy of law, is able to satisfy the need for absolute standards of law and justice.
  • We deny that any political, economic, or social order is free from the deadly consequences of original sin or capable of offering a utopian solution or substitute for the perfect society which Christ alone will establish at His Second Coming.

• Article XVI: Stewardship of the Environment – WE DENY
  • [Abridged] We deny that the cosmos is valueless apart from mankind.
  • We deny that Christians should embrace the countercultural repudiation of science or the mistaken belief that science is the hope of mankind.
  • We deny that a materialistic world view can provide an adequate basis for recognizing environmental values.

The International Council on Biblical Inerrancy was founded in 1977, with a planned life-span of ten years. Its goal, under God, was to seek by means of scholarly writing and teaching to restore the ebbing confidence of Christian people in the total trustworthiness of the Scriptures.

THE CHICAGO STATEMENT ON BIBLICAL APPLICATION Introduction

ON A SCALE OF 1-10, How many of the 5 AFFIRMATIONS & DENIALS DO YOU really believe?

• ALL?
  • Like these leading theologians you were able to draw a line in the shifting sand of contemporary ‘christianity.’
• 0-9?
  • Do you really believe THAT movable DOCTRINE built on a foundation of 21st c. ‘christian‘ conscience?
  • Perhaps the Lord now draws you away from the WIDE gate without AFFIRMATION to the Rock of Scripture.
  • Why not look back to the Source, the BIBLE and Word of God upon which we stand firmly?

You may find one additional statement from the ICBI’s third council helpful to your ongoing perspective on DOCTRINE as a Christian. [Again, I’ve added BOLDING for emphasis. – RH]

The task to which Summit III addressed itself is to apply the teaching of a trusted Bible to some of the most confused areas of modern life. This task could not in principle be tackled by Western secular society itself; for our secular society insists on judging itself, not by the revelation of the Creator that the Bible sets forth, but by evolutionary, permissive, materialistic, hedonistic, and this-worldly yardsticks for thought.

Looking back to the 1978 ICBI invitation

I close by sharing the conclusion of the ICBI invitation with which I began earlier and finally with Scripture.

the absolute authority, integrity and full inerrancy of God’s Word, and we want to present the case for this conviction and win others to it by the grace of God. Indeed, we are convinced that the health of the church depends on it.

James M. Boyce to Chicago summit participants, Oct. 26, 1978, International Council on Biblical Inerrancy

I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of his appearing and his kingdom:

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 CSB

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, will multiply teachers for themselves because they have an itch to hear what they want to hear. They will turn away from hearing the truth and will turn aside to myths.

But as for you, exercise self-control in everything, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Timothy 4:3-5 CSB

May our Lord Christ Jesus draw you by the Holy Spirit of God to this charge of Scripture and truth in your daily life, teaching of others and witness by His grace.

Won't you comment [below] and share your conversation of the Gospel which you have received here today in my post on Doctrine? - I thank you, beloved brother or sister in our Lord, in advance. - Roger