Theological Distinctives – an informal survey
In March 2002, I was asked to be the speaker at the MICC men’s retreat at Schloss Wort des Lebens on Starnberg Lake, near Munich. The theme was: “Living in a Postmodern Culture”. God led me, with the help of other ministry leaders from Miami, to share the truths which God had led us to emphasize in our ministry. One could call this “the theological distinctives of our ministry”. There is nothing really new here, these are simply the same Biblical truths which all orthodox Christians believe, but perhaps understood, packaged, and applied in a distinctive way. It is hard to reduce this to the “bare bones” but here is a slightly expanded version of what we tried to share:
1. A correct understanding of God’s character; in Particular that He is infinite, personal and holy. (Isaiah 6) This is the “presupposition” of the entire Christian Worldview. God is ultimate reality. Everything must start here. Otherwise creation, particularly the nature of man, the fall, redemption, and the consummation of all things on His return, makes no sense. Every subject, whether it is a Biblical view of relationships, the sanctity of life, ethics and morality, metaphysics and epistemology, marriage, conversion, sex, work, leisure, politics or economics, all must begin at this point. (See “Knowing God” by J.I. Packer and also the Holiness of God by R.C.Sproul). I have used Genesis 1-3 and Isaiah 6 in almost all my counseling. We must bow to God both metaphysically and morally not only for salvation but on an ongoing basis (Schaeffer)
2. A correct understanding of the fall. When Adam sinned, this resulted in our “total depravity”, our truly wicked minds and hearts. The fall did not make us as bad as we could possibly be, that is reserved for hell, but it was total in its scope, it affected our minds, our emotions, our will, our reason, our creativity, or relationships, our rationality, our love, out sexuality, our arrogance, our self-centered and self-righteous worldview, our universe including all of nature, and so on. (See Romans 1: 18-32; 8: 19-23) Only the fall can explain the awful phenomenon of human suffering, the cruelty and the nobility that were exhibited on September 11, 2001. If this world is an accurate reflection of God, then God is the devil. We live in an unnatural and an abnormal universe. No other worldview has a proper equivalent to the fall.
3. A correct understanding of Justification. I cannot think of a book other than the Bible itself, which deals with this properly, except perhaps Luther’s introductions to his commentaries on Romans and Galatians. Most people got the fact that Christ died for our sins right, but they omit the profound significance of the equally important fact that he “lived” to achieve our “righteousness”. As a lawyer, justification, for me, is at the very heart of the Gospel. It is the only answer for our guilt and our condemnation before a holy and mighty judge. God has used the device which we have named “the Courtroom of Eternity” in almost every true conversion which has taken place through our ministry. We use this crystal clear illustration of justification in addition to and in conjunction with The Four Spiritual Laws.
4. A correct understanding of Sanctification. John Stott’s book “Men Made New” is the classic on this to be read along with Haldane’s commentary on Romans. Books on “definitive sanctification” are to be avoided like the plague (Such as Murray’s commentary on Romans). Sanctification is a long and painful process. We do not become “super saints” overnight. What is God’s will for your life? See Romans 8:29 and Romans 12:1-3, for the answer. We know that God created us primarily to have a relationship with Him, but he also created us for something else. See Ephesians 2:10 for the answer. Of particular importance is the understanding that the Christian life cannot be lived by “obedience”. “The just shall live by faith” Whatever is not by faith is sin (Romans 14;23). Obedience is the “result” or the “end” of sanctification, it is not the “means”. Only “faith” and faith alone will suffice. This common misunderstanding leads to guilt and defeat in the Christian life. This proper view of sanctification has been crucial to the success of our ministry.
5. A proper understanding of the doctrine of Christian Liberty. A very important element of our ministry which sets it apart from most of the rest of evangelicalism is a proper understanding of the doctrine of Christian Liberty (see the WCF on Christian Liberty). It is as sinful to add to the Bible as to subtract from it. Legalism is a great hindrance to the advancement of the gospel especially to intelligent postmodern people. With this goes a correct understanding of the Biblical teaching on the “weaker brother”. God does not want the weaker brother to remain weak. We are not only not to be a stumbling block to him (everybody teaches that) but what I have only heard taught by this ministry and by John Stott is that we have a duty and indeed an obligation to love him enough to liberate him from his weakness. God wants the “weaker brother” to become the “stronger brother”. Even if he must avoid places of temptation, which are germane to his weakness, he should not impose his weakness on others. If we are to be effective “we must be all things to all men in order to win some”. How far does our Christian liberty extend? I am free to do whatever it takes to win a person to Christ, except for sin itself. This is a radical but correct view of what the Bible teaches and has been used by God in every aspect of our evangelism and discipleship.
6. A correct understanding of Evangelism and of Apologetics. Making disciples as set out in “The Great Commission” is the primary purpose of our ministry. Yet how we do this is a unique feature of our ministry. We present the gospel, not in the common truncated form, but as a comprehensive worldview. We can use the Four Spiritual Laws, but we cannot start with them. We must first find “common ground” with the unbeliever, and then discover what is his/her worldview and whether it supports his/her beliefs. Does it pass the tests of truth? (For these tests – non-contradiction, correspondence, and practice – See Nash “Worldviews in Conflict”) Then when they realize that their worldview is hopelessly inadequate or inconsistent, only when they reach “the point of despair”, do we present them with the Christian worldview. We must present a comprehensive Gospel taking account all the aspects of God’s Character, he is holy, infinite and personal, and the entire history of redemption – Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation. (Edith Schaeffer’s book “Christianity is Jewish” is probably the best example of this!) This may take a few hours, or many months or many years. That is why the next points, (7 & 8) below, are so important.
7. A correct understanding of “Worldviews” or “Presuppositional” apologetics as well as “Evidential apologetics. A quite unique thing about Dr Francis Schaeffer was that he was willing to use either evidential or presuppositional apologetics depending on the person he was talking to. It all depends on whether or not the person believes that truth is objective or not. In many cases when I am talking to an American or even some British people, especially if they are lawyers, the evidential approach is sufficient because they still believe in objective truth. However in Continental Europe, and more and more in the UK and the USA, particularly among younger College educated people, belief in objective truth has been abandoned. In these cases I have to use “Worldview” or “Presuppositional” apologetics BEFORE I can use an evidential approach such as presented by Lee Strobel or Josh McDowell. Understanding this is the “key” to reaching the post-modern man. The strength of “worldview evangelism” is that we have to take the time to understand the worldview of the person whom we are befriending; we need to show respect for his/her point of view even if we disagree with it. Only then, should we be willing to share ours. Only after I have spent time talking to a person about the concept of truth and the tests of truth and assuming that they are receptive to the concept of objective reality, do I give them books. At this point the Strobel books and Mere Christianity are of great value, as well as “the Question of God” by Armaand Nicholi (comparing the worldviews of Freud and C.S. Lewis). For Europeans, “Mere Christianity” is more effective than Strobel, but I give them all four or five books at the same time: Case for Christ, Case for Faith, Case for Creator, Mere Christianity, and the Question of God. Of course once the person is a believer, Bill Bright’s “The Uniqueness of Jesus” will always be a classic little Bible Study for new believers.
NOTE: There is no one book which one can give anyone on “worldview apologetics” which says it the way it needs to be said. There is no one book that says it all, but the British edition of “Christianity on Trial” by Colin Chapman, published by Lion Publishing, is still the best thing I have ever seen, and this book incorporates just about all of Schaeffer’s teaching in a much more understandable way. Unfortunately this book is out of print and can only be obtained 2nd hand. However before you can properly present an argument for truth you also need to read “Worldviews in Conflict” by Nash.
8. Loving One Another. This is what “Discipleship” is all about. Loving God and Loving One Another is actually the essential foundation of everything that I have said above. All the attempts to present truth to people will fall flat and even backfire if it is not done in the context of genuine loving relationships. Only God can give us the unconditional love for others which does not treat them as objects to be manipulated but as friends for life and possibly for eternity, and which does not depend on whether or not they ever become Christians, or upon their rate of sanctification. If we do not have ongoing deep friendships with non-believers, we probably do not know how to love people the way we should. The blueprint for the methodology of spending lots of fun as well as quality time with just a few disciples is the pattern of Jesus Himself. This is well chronicled and explained in the excellent little book “A Master Plan of Evangelism” by Coleman. Newcomers to our ministry are overwhelmed by the hospitality and generosity of our people. This means being sacrificial givers of both time and money. It includes, having people to our homes and to meals and drinks in restaurants, inviting them on family outings, boat trips, also giving them gifts of “non spiritual stuff” as well as a great number of books, cd’s, dvd’s, and other materials. Often for the first one to two years of knowing a new person we do all the giving and they do all the receiving. We must be pro-active and we must initiate and model “The Great Commandment.” The best book on this is of course the Bible itself, especially the First Epistle of John. However “Changes that Heal” by Henry Cloud, is the book that God used more than any other to impress this truth on me and my ministry. Earlier, when I was a pastor, I taught a series of sermons and a study of the “one another” commandments in the Bible and this profoundly impacted me also. Schaeffer wrote a little booklet on the subject entitled “Mark of a Christian”. Edith Schaeffer’s book “L’Abri” chronicles how God worked this out in their lives and ministry. We must not “love” people as “evangelism projects”, they have worth and value simply because they are made in the image of God. Each person is beautiful and loveable for this reason, regardless of their behavior or their external appearance. Even murders are loveable (see the movie “Dead Man walking”). Loving one another, like evangelism, has to be “caught” it cannot be “taught”. The personal, relational, and experiential elements are essential. Agape is not enough, there must also be Eros, Storge, Phileo. It is not our business whether or not they ever become a Christian, That is God’s business. We should love them anyway. We should develop lifetime friendships. This brings glory to God!
9. A correct understanding of the Cultural Mandate. In Genesis 1:18 God gives what we might call the first job description: “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” The first phrase, “be fruitful and multiply” means to develop the social world: build families, churches, schools, cities, governments, laws. The second phrase, “subdue the earth,” means to harness the natural world: plant crops, build bridges, design computers, compose music. This passage is sometimes called the Cultural Mandate because it tells us that our original purpose was to create cultures, build civilizations-nothing less. Our calling is not just to go to heaven, but also to cultivate the earth, not just to save souls, but also to serve God through our work. For God himself is engaged not only in the work of salvation buts also in the work of preserving and developing His creation. When we obey the Cultural Mandate, we participate in the work of God himself, as agents of His common grace”. — Nancy Pearcey in “Total Truth”. The Christian Worldview should impact every facet of life, both public and private, social, economic, political and personal.
Summary: Our vision for this ministry has to be to “teach truth in the context of a loving community”. or “to teach truth in the context of loving relationships”. This was part of my training with Executive Ministries, but in this ministry we give more emphasis to it. This was also the vision of L’Abri, but Dr.Schaeffer’s dream was that others would take this vision out of the “shelter” (which is the literal meaning of the word L’Abri) into the real world. This is what I have tried to do. We need to be “salt and light” in our major cities around the world and also in our various lives, callings, professions – law, accounting, finance, business, medicine, plumbing, etc. Our Christian worldview applies to social issues, politics, relationships, friendships, marriage, sex, or whatever. Our job is to present and live the Christian worldview in its fullness, reflecting: First and foremost: God’s character, in the context of the history of redemption which I have summarized as: “Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation.”. By consummation I mean the 2nd coming of Christ when he will put all things under his feet and usher in the New Heavens and the New Earth. This is our sure and certain hope. There is an ultimate solution to the problem! We are already sons and daughters of the Living God (see Sinclair Ferguson’s book – “Children of the Living God”) and because of our being united with Christ, we are now reigning with Christ in the heavenly realms.(Eph 2:6). This is the reversal of our union with the first Adam, which caused us to sin and fall and to be separated from God. There is the “already” and the “not yet”. We live in the “already” but we do not live as those without hope. Because we are united with the second Adam, our hope is certain and secure, and in God’s mind what is “not yet” to us, is already a “done deal” to Him (Romans 8: 28,29).
July 9, 2002. (Revised November 2004, and October 2023)
Dave
DAVE SEIVRIGHT
DAVE SEIVRIGHT is a former lawyer from Jamaica. He is a graduate of the University of Liverpool, UK, and Westminster Theological Seminary, USA. He also did graduate studies at L’Abri Fellowship in Switzerland, and Trinity College in England. He has been married to PAULINE for 58 years. They have 4 children and 11 grandchildren.
Dave had the privilege of being personally mentored by the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer, and also by Dr. J. I. Packer. Dave was also mentored by the teachings and writings, and by personal interaction with the late Dr. John Stott. Dave attempts to pass on to others the things he learned from these great men of God. Combining his studies of interpretation and evidence as a lawyer with his studies of philosophy, apologetics, and theology, Dave has taken a special interest in the subject of “Worldviews” and the influence of Christianity on the culture of Western civilization. Dave has devoted his time to teaching the Christian worldview worldwide, and mentoring and discipling intelligent young professionals, particularly in Miami, and in Germany.
