Dolly - Part 3

In 1 Corinthians 6: 9 - 11, Paul wrote a sin list that describes both the world & the Corinthian church.   He then wrote that despite their church looking like the world, the members of their church were also washed (regenerate), set apart (in the world but not of it), & justified (declared judicially righteous) in the name of Christ by the Holy Spirit. 

Yet in 1 Corinthians 15, he (Paul) also wrote that there were those among them who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, which means they didn’t believe & understand that Christ Himself had been raised from the dead.

How then is it that Dolly’s accusers can hold her to a higher theological standard than Paul did the members of the Corinthian church?  Being a good theologian doesn’t select for someone being a born again believer, & the bar for being a born again believer is far lower than Christians have been saying since the Athanasian Creed set the bar at what we today consider basic evangelical orthodox Christology. 

Athanasian Creed: Anyone who does not keep it whole and unbroken will doubtless perish eternally. 

To be saved one ought to affirm the Trinity.   To be saved, it is necessary to believe in the Incarnation & the essentials for how it operates.  To be saved, it is necessary to believe Christ died for our sins & rose from the dead. 

Paul: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9–11, ESV)

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.  (1 Corinthians 15:12–19, ESV)

Athanasius was a brilliant theologian in his time.  Nevertheless, he was also a man of his time, & so were the authors of the creed named for him & his contribution to the deposit of faith.  

The creed was written at a time in which the Christian churches were recovering from the Arian controversy, a controversy that had deeply divided the churches along the Mediterranean basin through the polarization of the issues & the ecclesiastical class at that time.   They were drawing lines in the sand relative to who ought to be recognized as what we would today consider church members & especially leaders who ought to heard, believed, & followed as to doctrinal matters.   Measured by the Bible itself as to its own grammar & syntax correctly understood, their creed gets it right as to its Christology, but when the same biblical standard as to who is a born again (regenerate), set apart (in the world but not of the world), justified (declared judicially righteous in the name of Christ by the Holy Spirit, they were very, very wrong —- & it’s happening again today.  

Two or three years ago, Sinclair Ferguson was put into time out by his peers (& those who agreed with them) for daring to advise Grandma attend a wedding in which LGBTQ issues would be up front & center. 

Men like Greg Locke & the writers at Reformation Charlotte & others like them are on record having stated that Democrats aren’t real born again, set apart, justified believers, and if they are, they ought to be treated as if they aren’t & even rooted out of the churches. 

Right now, their target is Dolly.  She was a living testament to us all about what the Sermon On the Mount & 1 John teach us about loving God & other people.  She was a living witness to the way Christian people, regardless of how deeply they are as to organized, institutional religion, ought to treat LGBTQ people & People of Color.   She was wealthy enough & popular enough to make her generally untouchable by them.  Now that she’s gone, her message about these issues is in the news again.  It’s patently obvious that they are doing their best to poison the well & have their say unless the serfs rise up against them, because we all know they (Dolly’s accusers) are the worldly ones who have in many cases, sold out to the world & its wisdom, especially when it comes to matters touching on their pet moral, social, economic, & political issues.  

This Is the Way!  This Is our Creed! 

O LORD, Hear our prayer(s)!