Faith of our fathers! living still, In spite of dungeon, fire and sword. O how our hearts beat high with joy, Whene’er we hear that glorious Word! Faith of our fathers, holy faith! We will be true to thee till death.
THAT’s a beautiful hymn, isn’t it? But do you know what that faith of our fathers is? I’m afraid that many who lustily sing this beautiful, soul-stirring hymn, don’t have the slightest idea what our fathers stood for what doctrines they preached, lived, and died for. It is my contention that the majority of our evangelical, conservative churches are not preaching the Faith of our fathers. Of course, some of the things our fathers taught continue to be preached. But still I maintain that there is today a wide-spread softening down, or even a denial of the basic truths which formed the heart of the message of the Reformers and Puritans and their successors.
THAT this is so can be readily seen by comparing their sermons with those of today. You will discover, not only a difference in style (that, of course, is not important), but also a difference in content, in message.
OUR fathers not only preached about the divine inspiration of the Bible, the Trinity, the need of personal salvation, and the reality of heaven and hell, but they also taught man’s total depravity, God’s sovereignty in election, a limi ted atonement, the necessity of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the perseverance of the saints. These things formed the heart of the message of such giants as Luther, Calvin, Knox, Edwards, Whitefield, Spurgeon, and many others.
I’m not saying that every Christian in the past held to the so-called five points of Calvinism, but that it was the position of mainline historic Protestantism, there can be no doubt.
IF you don’t believe what I say, just read the great Confessions of Faith drawn up by the major Protestant denominations. Are you a Baptist? Read the Philadelphia Confession of Faith, or the New Hampshire Confession. Are you Reformed? Look up your Belgic Confession or the Canons of Dort. And my Presbyterian friends, I would refer you to the Westminister Confession. And you Episcopalians will find these things in the, Thirty-Nine Articles. If you take the trouble to read these Confessions you will discover what the Faith of your fathers was. And if you then compare that faith with what is preached today from the average pulpit, you can’t help but see the difference. In many cases you will find it is the exact opposite.
WE are told today that man, far from being unable to repent and believe, is quite capable of doing so by the power of his own free will. Election is either not mentioned at all, or it is given a totally unscriptural meaning by insisting e.g., that God elects those who elect themselves. Christ is presented as having died for everyone in general, but no one in particular. Regeneration is made to depend on man’s decision and the evidence of being a Christian is that we have made a decision for Christ.
BUT this is not the Gospel the apostles preached, or the Reformers and Puritans. Dr. J.I. Packer says:
“Without realizing it, we have during the past century bartered that gospel for a substitute product which, though it looks similar enough in points of detail, is as a whole a decidedly different thing. Hence our troubles; for the substitute product does not answer the ends for which the authentic gospel has in past days proved itself so mighty.
The new gospel conspicuously fails to produce deep reverence, deep repentance, deep humility, a spirit of worship, a concern for the church. Why? We would suggest that the reason lies in its own character and content. It fails to make men God-centered in their thoughts and God-fearing in their hearts because this is not primarily what it is trying to do. . . . Whereas the chief aim of the old gospel was to teach men to worship God, the concern of the new seems limited to making them feel better.”
Packer goes on to explain that from this change of emphasis has sprung a change of content. The Biblical message has been re-formulated to supposedly make it more helpful to man. Accordingly, the old doctrines which stressed man’ s depravity, God’s sovereign election, etc., are not preached. These doctrines wouldn’t be helpful because they tend to drive sinners to despair, and this must be avoided at all cost. That such despair might possibly be a good thing is not even considered; it is taken for granted that it is bad because it is so shattering to man’s self-esteem.
SO the new gospel appeals to men as if they had all the ability to receive Christ at any time. God’s love has become a kind of general willingness to receive any who will but turn and trust. The Holy Spirit is depicted, not as sovereignly active in drawing sinners to Christ, but as waiting in quiet impotence at the door of our hearts until we are good enough to let Him in.
THIS is the message of the new gospel. But as Packer says: “this set of twisted half-truths is something other than the biblical gospel. The Bible is against us when we preach in this way; and the fact that such preaching has become almost standard practice among us only shows how urgent it is that we should review this matter.”
ONE thing is plain to all Christians, preachers and lay workers—the church has lost its hold upon the masses of the people.
BUT what is the solution? According to many, our first duty is to reach the people. We must get the Gospel across to them, using all modern methods such as campaigns, advertisements, new translations of Scripture, films, etc. But such proposals, I’m afraid, have arisen out of a wrong view of the nature of our problem and an under-estimation of its seriousness. Our need is a much more fundamental one than the need of new methods. The real cause of our spiritual impotence is the absence of the powerful operations of the Holy Spirit. But it is to be feared that many are too active to stop and recognize this. There are some indeed who realize that our need is a spiritual one, and they recommend as a remedy more prayer. But they forget that there are times when God is angry with the prayers of His people and refuses to hear them. Just ponder such passages as Psalm 80:4 and Isaiah 59:2.
WHAT is the true cause of our low spiritual condition? I think Luther had the answer when he said: “While doctrine flourishes, everything in the church flourishes also.”
And therefore, when we find that everything in the church is not flourishing, is it not high time to look first to our doctrine? Nothing brings down God’s wrath more than when we twist His holy Word to·suit the taste of modern man. Scripture itself warns us many times to take heed unto doctrine (I Tim. 4:16). Yet, today it is taken for granted that all’s well with our doctrines, but that we don’t live up to them.
NOW I agree that there is always a great danger that we don’t practice what we preach. It is possible to have very sound views of the Truth, and yet to be strangers to its power. On the other hand, I believe there is also an inseparable connection between the views we hold and the life we lead. Doctrine does influence our outlook on life and our conduct too. But this applies to false as well as true doctrine. False doctrine also has its impact on the life of a church and the individual member of that church. Therefore, the greatest need of the hour is to rediscover the doctrines of the Bible as these were preached by the Apostles, Reformers and Puritans.
I am aware that to emphasize doctrine is not popular today. Doctrine generally leads to controversy and who wants that? Yet, as Bishop Ryle says: “There are times in which controversy is a positive duty. Peace is an excellent thing, but it can be bought too dear. Unity is a mighty blessing, but not at the expense of truth.” It was this conviction, namely that God’s Truth must be proclaimed regardless of what man thinks, that led Charles Haddon Spurgeon to say in a sermon:
The old truth that Calvin preached, that Chrysostom preached, that Paul preached, is the truth that I must preach today, or else be a liar to my conscience and my God. I cannot shape the truth. I know of no such thing as the paring off the rough edges of doctrine. John Knox’s gospel is my gospel. That which thundered through Scotland must thunder through England again. The great mass of our preachers are not sound in the way they preach the faith of our fathers. Election is not mentioned once in the year in many a pulpit; final perseverance is kept back; the great things of God’s law are forgotten, and a kind of mongrel mixture of Arminianism and Calvinism is the great delight of the present age.
And hence the Lord has forsaken many of His tabernacles, and left the house of His Convenant; and He will leave it till again the trumpet gives a certain sound. For wherever there is not the gospel we shall find ‘Ichabod’ written upon the church walls ere long. The old truth of the Convenanters, the old truth of the Puritans, the old truth of the Apostles, is the only truth that will stand the test of time, and never needs to be altered to suit a wicked and ungodly generation.
Don’t you think it is high time we returned to the Faith of our fathers? Is it not time we sought the Lord confessing that we have departed from that faith? Should we not be on Qur knees daily, pleading with God to return to His Church again in power and blessing?
Preachers, that faith should be believed and preached by you. Church members, you must insist that your ministers expound that faith. It is Jiving still, and we need it in our day as our fathers needed it in their day; and our children will need it tomorrow. O Lord, revive Thy work in the midst of the years. Lead Thy Church back to the Faith of our fathers.
Cornelius Pronk is the pastor of the Free Reformed Church of Grand Rapids, Michigan. This material was delivered as a radio address, of which copies may be obtained by writing the Banner of Truth Radio Broadcast, 950 Ball Ave. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503.