Printed below are the articles of faith from the Together for the Gospel conference recently concluded in Louisville, KY.  This incredible list of affirmations and denials should serve as the benchmark by which the authentic Christian faith of the Bible is preached, taught and practiced.  As John MacArthur said, it will be just as interesting to see who signs this statement as who does not.  If a denomination or church is uncomfortable endorsing these articles, we should think twice about whether the gospel is really at the center of their faith.  The original statement is authored and signed by four prominent evangelical leaders, Ligon Duncan III, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney and R. Albert Mohler. The hope of these men of faith is that many believers will sign their names to the document, thereby affirming the pure and authentic gospel message.  We agree wholeheartedly with this statement and pray it will awaken a recovery of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We are brothers in Christ united in one great cause — to stand together for the Gospel. We are convinced that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many churches and among many who claim the name of Christ. Compromise of the Gospel has led to the preaching of false gospels, the seduction of many minds and movements, and the weakening of the church’s Gospel witness. As in previous moments of theological and spiritual crisis in the church, we believe that the answer to this confusion and compromise lies in a comprehensive recovery and reaffirmation of the Gospel — and in Christians banding together in Gospel churches that display God’s glory in this fallen world. We are also brothers united in deep concern for the church and the Gospel. This concern is specifically addressed to certain trends within the church today. We are concerned about the tendency of so many churches to substitute technique for truth, therapy for theology, and management for ministry. We are also concerned that God’s glorious purpose for Christ’s church is often eclipsed in concern by so many other issues, programs, technologies, and priorities. Furthermore, confusion over crucial questions concerning the authority of the Bible, the meaning of the Gospel, and the nature of truth itself have gravely weakened the church in terms of its witness, its work, and its identity.

We stand together for the Gospel — and for a full and gladdening recovery of the Gospel in the church. We are convinced that such a recovery will be evident in the form of faithful Gospel churches, each bearing faithful witness to the glory of God and the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Article I

We affirm that the sole authority for the Church is the Bible, verbally inspired, inerrant, infallible, and totally sufficient and trustworthy.

We deny that the Bible is a mere witness to the divine revelation, or that any portion of Scripture is marked by error or the effects of human sinfulness.

Article II

We affirm that the authority and sufficiency of Scripture extends to the entire Bible, and therefore that the Bible is our final authority for all doctrine and practice.

We deny that any portion of the Bible is to be used in an effort to deny the truthfulness or trustworthiness of any other portion. We further deny any effort to identify a canon within the canon or, for example, to set the words of Jesus against the writings of Paul.

Article III

We affirm that truth ever remains a central issue for the Church, and that the church must resist the allure of pragmatism and postmodern conceptions of truth as substitutes for obedience to the comprehensive truth claims of Scripture.

We deny that truth is merely a product of social construction or that the truth of the Gospel can be expressed or grounded in anything less than total confidence in the veracity of the Bible, the historicity of biblical events, and the ability of language to convey understandable truth in sentence form. We further deny that the church can establish its ministry on a foundation of pragmatism, current marketing techniques, or contemporary cultural fashions.

Article IV

We affirm the centrality of expository preaching in the church and the urgent need for a recovery of biblical exposition and the public reading of Scripture in worship.

We deny that God-honoring worship can marginalize or neglect the ministry of the Word as manifested through exposition and public reading. We further deny that a church devoid of true biblical preaching can survive as a Gospel church.

Article V

We affirm that the Bible reveals God to be infinite in all his perfections, and thus truly omniscient, omnipotent, timeless, and self-existent. We further affirm that God possesses perfect knowledge of all things, past, present, and future, including all human thoughts, acts, and decisions.

We deny that the God of the Bible is in any way limited in terms of knowledge or power or any other perfection or attribute, or that God has in any way limited his own perfections.

Article VI

We affirm that the doctrine of the Trinity is a Christian essential, bearing witness to the ontological reality of the one true God in three divine persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each of the same substance and perfections.

We deny the claim that the Trinity is not an essential doctrine, or that the Trinity can be understood in merely economic or functional categories.

Article VII

We affirm that Jesus Christ is true God and true Man, in perfect, undiluted, and unconfused union throughout his incarnation and now eternally. We also affirm that Christ died on the cross as a substitute for sinners, as a sacrifice for sin, and as a propitiation of the wrath of God toward sinners. We affirm the death, burial, and bodily resurrection of Christ as essential to the Gospel. We further affirm that Jesus Christ is Lord over His church, and that Christ will reign over the entire cosmos in fulfillment of the Father’s gracious purpose.

We deny that the substitutionary character of Christ’s atonement for sin can be compromised without serious injury to the Gospel or denied without repudiating the Gospel. We further deny that Jesus Christ is visible only in weakness, rather than in power, Lordship, or royal reign, or, conversely, that Christ is visible only in power, and never in weakness.

Article VIII

We affirm that salvation is all of grace, and that the Gospel is revealed to us in doctrines that most faithfully exalt God’s sovereign purpose to save sinners and in His determination to save his redeemed people by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to His glory alone.

We deny that any teaching, theological system, or means of presenting the Gospel that denies the centrality of God’s grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ can be considered true doctrine.

Article IX

We affirm that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s means of bringing salvation to His people, that sinners are commanded to believe the Gospel, and that the church is commissioned to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations.

We deny that evangelism can be reduced to any program, technique, or marketing approach. We further deny that salvation can be separated from repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Article X

We affirm that salvation comes to those who truly believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We deny that there is salvation in any other name, or that saving faith can take any form other than conscious belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving acts.

Article XI

We affirm the continuity of God’s saving purpose and the Christological unity of the covenants. We further affirm a basic distinction between law and grace, and that the true Gospel exalts Christ’s atoning work as the consummate and perfect fulfillment of the law. We deny that the Bible presents any other means of salvation than God’s gracious acceptance of sinners in Christ.

Article XII

We affirm that sinners are justified only through faith in Christ, and that justification by faith alone is both essential and central to the Gospel.

We deny that any teaching that minimizes, denies, or confuses justification by faith alone can be considered true to the Gospel. We further deny that any teaching that separates regeneration and faith is a true rendering of the Gospel.

Article XIII

We affirm that the righteousness of Christ is imputed to believers by God’s decree alone, and that this righteousness, imputed to the believer through faith alone, is the only righteousness that justifies. We deny that such righteousness is earned or deserved in any manner, is infused within the believer to any degree, or is realized in the believer through anything other than faith alone.

Article XIV

We affirm that the shape of Christian discipleship is congregational, and that God’s purpose is evident in faithful Gospel congregations, each displaying God’s glory in the marks of authentic ecclesiology. We deny that any Christian can truly be a faithful disciple apart from the teaching, discipline, fellowship, and accountability of a congregation of fellow disciples, organized as a Gospel church. We further deny that the Lord’s Supper can faithfully be administered apart from the right practice of church discipline.

Article XV

We affirm that evangelical congregations are to work together in humble and voluntary cooperation and that the spiritual fellowship of Gospel congregations bears witness to the unity of the Church and the glory of God.

We deny that loyalty to any denomination or fellowship of churches can take precedence over the claims of truth and faithfulness to the Gospel.

Article XVI

We affirm that the Scripture reveals a pattern of complementary order between men and women, and that this order is itself a testimony to the Gospel, even as it is the gift of our Creator and Redeemer. We also affirm that all Christians are called to service within the body of Christ, and that God has given to both men and women important and strategic roles within the home, the church, and the society. We further affirm that the teaching office of the church is assigned only to those men who are called of God in fulfillment of the biblical teachings and that men are to lead in their homes as husbands and fathers who fear and love God.

We deny that the distinction of roles between men and women revealed in the Bible is evidence of mere cultural conditioning or a manifestation of male oppression or prejudice against women. We also deny that this biblical distinction of roles excludes women from meaningful ministry in Christ’s kingdom. We further deny that any church can confuse these issues without damaging its witness to the Gospel.

Article XVII

We affirm that God calls his people to display his glory in the reconciliation of the nations within the Church, and that God’s pleasure in this reconciliation is evident in the gathering of believers from every tongue and tribe and people and nation. We acknowledge that the staggering magnitude of injustice against African-Americans in the name of the Gospel presents a special opportunity for displaying the repentance, forgiveness, and restoration promised in the Gospel. We further affirm that evangelical Christianity in America bears a unique responsibility to demonstrate this reconciliation with our African-American brothers and sisters.

We deny that any church can accept racial prejudice, discrimination, or division without betraying the Gospel.

Article XVIII

We affirm that our only sure and confident hope is in the sure and certain promises of God. Thus, our hope is an eschatological hope, grounded in our confidence that God will bring all things to consummation in a manner that will bring greatest glory to his own name, greatest preeminence to his Son, and greatest joy for his redeemed people.

We deny that we are to find ultimate fulfillment or happiness in this world, or that God’s ultimate purpose is for us to find merely a more meaningful and fulfilling life in this fallen world. We further deny that any teaching that offers health and wealth as God’s assured promises in this life can be considered a true gospel.

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures....
I Corinthians 15:1-4

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Revelation 14:6-7

Signed,

J. Ligon Duncan III
Mark E. Dever
C. J. Mahaney
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

Greg,

Posting the “Together for the Gospel” statement prominently would be very important. We need to always be reminded of these statements. I liked the gospel quotations you quoted.

There is a series of articles on the Together for the Gospel Blog that talk about the gospel and all four sections are worthwhile reading.

Linked here http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/05/about_the_gospel.html

Stan

Let me try that link again.

http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/05/about_the_gospe.html

Stan

Stan,

That thread you posted has a bunch of quotes about the central importance of the gospel that I have added to our “quotes database”.  You may have noticed at the bottom of every page there is a short quote.  This is randomly-generated from a collection of about 10 or so quotes now.  If anyone has any others to add, including Bible verses please send them my way or post them here.

I will find a way to make the TFTG statement remain prominent once we start adding a few more articles to the home page.  The newest articles will appear at the top, but maybe we can add a button to point to the TFTG statement.

If there are any other resources out there from blogs or elsewhere that deserve an article or pointer on the home page, feel free to post them here or send them my way.

Greg

P.S. By the way, links to other sites should show up automatically as long as you put a “http://” in front of it like this: http://www.google.com

I just had time to re-read that whole statement of affirmations and denials again. This is powerful stuff. That statement would exclude so much of what goes on in not just Adventism, but so much other popular Christianity. Even a lot of what is called evangelical Adventism would be excluded by this statement, and just about all Arminian theology would be excluded by this statement. Since 90-95% of today’s evangelicalism is Arminian. There is so much teaching that confuses justification and sanctification. The most central tenet of faith is the doctrine of Justification by faith alone.

Stan

The statements as written are indeed powerful affirmations of the Biblical gospel message and at the same time denials of historical and modern-day heresies.  Take for instance this denial from Article III:

We deny that truth is merely a product of social construction or that the truth of the Gospel can be expressed or grounded in anything less than total confidence in the veracity of the Bible, the historicity of biblical events, and the ability of language to convey understandable truth in sentence form.

That the writers of this document felt compelled to even include this should tell you something about the problems plaguing Christianity.  If we can’t even agree over what a sentences like “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” really mean, we have a much more fundamental problem than even addressing heterodox (or heretical) doctrines like the Investigative Judgment.

One of my goals with this site is not to make it too theologically abstract.  I personally enjoy theology much more now than I ever thought I would, however I think a well thought out theology will naturally flow from being saved by the Savior.  So the focus I’d like to promote is much more fundamental--ie “what must I do to be saved?” or “what am I being saved from?” I don’t think most people, let alone Adventists, have good answers to these questions.  Many professing Christians cannot even clearly articulate what the gospel is.  I think Bob has an experience from his last day in an Adventist church that he could share along these lines.

If this site can be used to proclaim the gospel clearly, boldly, and lovingly, we will have accomplished something.  I’m convinced we can do a credible job of measuring the doctrines of Adventism by the gospel in a way that an Adventist will have a hard time discrediting based on emotion alone.

Greg

Speaking of the truth of the gospel, here is a link to J.I. Packer, where he says that a half-truth masquerading as the whole truth becomes an untruth.

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/05/half-truths-whole-truths-and-complete.html

Stan

Stan,

I’ll read that link a little later today, but your post reminded me of a Tennyson poem:

That a lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies;
That a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright;
But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight.
Alfred Tennyson Tennyson (1809—1892)

It’s probably easier to share the gospel with a person having no religious background than someone who is inoculated by a lifetime of exposure to “the truth” that is really “partial truth”.

Greg

While we are on the subject of poems, there is a great Puritan poem posted on one of my favorite blogs http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/05/valley-of-vision.html The Puritans have such a great literary collection. This poem called “Valley of Vision” talks of the humility we should all have in attempting to reach others for the gospel. There is also a link to a reading of this poem by Max Maclean, a great voice who does a lot of narrations in that South African accent--sounds a lot like Van Rooyen.

BTW, this blog http://theologica.blogspot.com is a great place to go to keep up on what is new in theology, great resources, and a conservative slant on the political issues of the day. There are also direct links there to most of the other great blogs and ministries as well.

Stan

Speaking of good blogs. Another one is Phil Johnson’s blog (associate pastor of MacArthur) http://teampyro.blogspot.com There are some excellent gospel related posts on there recently.

Here is a link that I got off there site to another great sermon by Charles Spurgeon.

http://spurgeon.org/sermons/1910.htm This sermon is based on 2 Cor. 5:20,21 which Spurgeon calls the heart of the gospel. Christ was made sin that sinners might be made righteous. The emphasis of this sermon is the importance of the substitutionary doctrine of the atonement. He effectively points out that all other models of the atonement are spurious. This sermon would be ridiculed by the liberal SDAs out of the Graham Maxwell mode that is pushed on their web site Heavenly Sanctuary.

Stan

I thought that the article did specifically point to some actions and teachings that are common in the evangelical community as being outside of the Gospel. But I did not find anything that I thought had “Calvinist” stamped all over it. And I looked closely for it. I think conservative Gospel teaching churches from a wide variety of backgrounds could agree with these points.

I’m not sure how or if this fits in with other quotes but when I heard it today I found it particularly meaningful to me given the experience and awakening of this last year.  It’s from John MacArthur’s presentation at TFTG titled “40 Years of Gospel Ministry”:

“People develop conviction where they have clarity.  And conviction makes strength. And strength has impact.”

Aaron, that is a great point.  There are so many peripheral issues to confuse the clarity of the gospel--witness the Purpose Driven Church phenomenon.  Mark Dever’s church in Washington D.C. has begun to ask applicants for church membership to state the gospel in their own words.  If they can’t do it in under 60 seconds, they are asked to study more before being granted membership.

The lack of clarity MacArthur talks about is another way people become inoculated from the gospel...they get tied up on theological rabbit trails just like the pharisees who studied the Scriptures diligently for their salvation, but could not see that it was Jesus, standing right in front of them, whom the Scriptures pointed to.

Greg

There is an interesting article on evangelism by Ligon Duncan on the TFTG blog that is worth reading. This is from the perspective of the PCA:

http://blog.togetherforthegospel.org/2006/02/reformed_evange.html

Stan

Great link Stan.  This paragraph was especially good:

“Fourth, Calvinists ought to be better evangelists because we (only by God’s mercy) have gotten a clearer hold on the Bible’s teaching on man’s sin, God’s grace, Christ’s cross and free salvation — the very heart of message of evangelism. Those who have been forgiven much, love much, and love to tell the story. And we realize the depth of our own sin, the greatness of God’s grace to us, the cost of Christ’s work and the freeness of God’s grace shown to us — so we love to tell others about it.”

What a wonderful testimony that none of us has a monopoly on God’s truth, and the humility that naturally flows from an understanding of the depth of our sin and the greatness of God’s grace.  This message does not try to deny our weakness in the face of God’s strength.  It does not wield the gospel as a weapon of man’s design, but lets the good news speak for itself to accomplish God’s sovereign purpose.

Greg

Speaking of the Solas of the Reformation, I ran across this article today by Kim Riddlebarger of “White Horse Inn” fame on “Sola Gratia”:

http://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/articles/onsite/gracealone.html

Here is an excerpt:

“Why is it, then, that American evangelicals have so many problems with this biblical teaching?”

“There is no teaching in Christian theology that offends our contemporaries (especially our Christian friends and family), any more then the teaching of sola gratia. Americans hate to be told “no,” that they are helpless. Surprisingly, the greatest opposition to the biblical teaching on this point comes not from a secular culture, but from household-name leaders in the American Church. From contemporary figures such as Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel to Bill Bright and Campus Crusade, to virtually all forms of revivalism and Pentecostalism which spring from the loins of one Charles Grandison Finney (to whom we will return in a minute), to Alexander Campbell and the Restorationist movement, to Joseph Smith and what later on became the cult known as Mormonism, to William Miller and the Adventist movement, and we can go on and on; all of these movements are based, at least in part, upon a denial of sola gratia, in direct opposition to Reformation theology, and the biblical teaching on this point. Americans hate to be told that God does not depend upon them and a decision that they make. And it is here, then, that we as Reformation Christians and historic Protestants run smack dab into our culture and to much of American Christianity. This is why our friends and families look at us like we have three heads when we speak of these doctrines. But this is the historic Protestant position, and the wholesale rejection of sola gratia demonstrates how far the “evangelical movement” has departed from the historic and biblical Evangelical faith. “

Notice how Riddlebarger classifies Adventism in the same category as other Arminian and semi-pelagian movements and even Mormonism.

Stan