The Voice of the Church

An interesting side debate has now occurred after the PCA adopted its report. Should the Federal Vision adherents leave the PCA because they should have a high view of church authority? Rev. Lane Kiester is one of those who thinks they ought to just leave the PCA now they know they are not welcome. Alastair argues that men ought to stay because the PCA and/or OPC do not represent the church universal. I have to disagree with both of them.

Rev. Kiester argues that if one has a high regard for the church, then he would either repent or leave the church. While I agree with the idea of repenting, leaving the church if one is not convinced is not necessarily an action I advocate. J. Greshem Machen did not leave the liberal PCUSA. He tried to change it from within, and was eventually disciplined out. According to Rev. Kiester, Machen must have had a low view of the church because he did not repent, and he did not leave.

On the other hand, Alastair, tries to argue that because so many denominations exist we cannot treat any one of them as if it were the Church capital C. Alastair seems to think that this was not the case in generations past because he states, “we cannot simply take the ecclesiologies of previous generations and apply them directly to the local denominational congregations that we attend.” Thus, Alastair seems to argue that in the ‘olden’ days the pronouncements of a church meant something because their were not denominations. With all due respect for Alastair, I think there were always denominations. The first heretic, Marcion, is excommunicated by his father, but received in Rome and there he leads many astray. Marcion ‘churches’ are everywhere by the end of the 2nd century as are Monatnist churches. Some areas had a ‘Catholic’ church, a Marcion church and a Montanist church. How is this different than the current situation? But surely we would not argue that all three of those ‘churches’ would have to speak with one accord to say the Church spoke? Even if we leave off the history of heretics, we can still see proto-denominations. Take the case of Cyprian. He avoided martyrdom, faced harsh criticism from the Bishop of Rome no less, but he refused to say that was the Church speaking and went about his own business. Is that not a denominational spirit in the second century? Alastair’s argument is what the Patriarchs of the East said for centuries. They claimed the Church as a whole could not speak unless everyone agreed. It led to wide differences between the East and the West long before open schism occurred in 1054. That does not speak well for the existence of church wide counsels either because the Robber Council of Ephesus had wide approval, but was eventually overturned. The Seventh Ecumenical Council had the agreement of all the Patriarchs, including the Pope, but was outright ignored by the vast majority of the churches because of the influence of Charlemagne and the Franks. Is that not a proto-denominationalism even in the 8th century? Alastair’s formula means the Church never speaks, ever. Such a situation is hard to countenance.

Thus, I believe the answer is to be found in discipline, rather than pronouncements. Alastair is right in thinking that the study committees of the PCA, the OPC, and even the RCUS do not equal the church of Christ speaking to all the other denominations out there. I personally would have a hard time thinking that a study committee of the CRE constituted the voice of the Church. I also regularly ignore the pronouncements of women being preachers made by the PCUSA, the UMC, the UCC, many Baptist churches, the TEC, and several other denominations that probably have more membership than the Reformed churches. I do believe that the church does speak, and that is through godly discipline rather than study committees. Lane is right that when your own denomination speaks, one ought to listen very, very carefully. However, the way the church speaks on such matters as the FV is discipline, not study committees. Lane is correct that passing the study committee at GA was a victory, but was it the church speaking? At least three presbyteries of the PCA have vindicated the FV, or at least portions of it through study committees and/or trials. Does the study committee at GA somehow trump the voice of the Pacific Northwest Presbytery that actually examined a man? Or the Louisiana Presbytery? Does it mean the Missouri Presbytery’s committee report is no longer valid or perhaps even out of bounds? Did the OPC report reverse the decision Kinnaird case? The bible shows us over and over again that the church speaks through its godly discipline. It spoke on the Judaizers at the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. They spoke about lying in Acts 5. They spoke on Simon Magus when Peter and John pronounced upon him in Acts 8. Discipline is the voice of the church in matters of doctrinal deviation. I think if the PCA and OPC have spoken, it is at best a speaking out of both sides of their mouth. Admittedly discipline cases are pending in the PCA. That decision will be the PCA speaking, not this report. I should also point out that the discipline of the church must be consistent and applied to more than one person. I think I do not need to remind the Presbyterians of Charles Augustus Briggs, and what happened after he was the only one removed from office.

I commend the PCA for its acceptance of the report, but I encourage them to press on. They are not finished until they use the Biblical power of the keys to truly speak on this issue.