“Creeds and Deeds”

In my journey toward Reformed Theology, I have been recognizing the lack of sound doctrinal preaching in American churches.  The emphasis in today’s American evangelical church is to stress duty over doctrine; or “deeds, not creeds.”  The thought is that doctrine divides, while service unites.  The typical church’s state of faith (SOF) could fit on a single sheet of paper, and that SOF would be similar to about 99% of other evangelical churches in the country.  There seems to be an almost obsessive concern to appear ‘ecumenical’ in the eyes of today’s church consumers.

The problem if you stress duty over doctrine (or “deeds, not creeds”) is that you’re essentially stressing law over gospel.  Duty is what we do, whereas doctrine is what we believe.  This corresponds precisely with the dichotomy between law (duty) and gospel (doctrine).  The potential long term effect of this is that our churches could very well become sanctified behavior modification centers as opposed to places where the good news of the gospel is proclaimed.

What the “deeds, not creeds” crowd fails to understand is that there is no sharp distinction between doctrine and duty.  As I am learning in my study of Reformed Theology is that doctrine provides the necessary framework for Christian duty.  Duty without doctrine fails to distinguish Christian ethics from worldly ethics.  Consider this quote from “America’s Pastor,” Rick Warren:

The first Reformation was about doctrine; the second one needs to be about behavior…We need a reformation not of creeds but deeds…It’s time to stop debating the Bible and start doing it…This is the new reformation I’m praying for.

If churches were actually being taught sound doctrine and knew their Bibles well, then I would agree that we don’t want to know doctrine for the sake of knowing doctrine.  If doctrine doesn’t lead to action, then like James, the brother of Jesus, said we have a “dead faith.”  But Pastor Warren’s comment begs the question:  Are we being taught sound doctrine?  I contend that for the most part, the answer is “no.”  After having read some of Pastor Warren’s works, if what is being taught in his church is the same as that found in his books, his flock is being theologically starved.

This article from Professor Michael Horton of Westminster Seminary California really shows how our duty must flow from a steady diet of doctrine and doxology.  As we are properly taught the doctrines of Scripture, we are moved to praise the God who has done all of this for his people.  This praise leads to the desire to demonstrate our love and devotion to Christ through obedience.  To skimp on, or outright cutout, doctrine leads to a bland moralism; which saves no one.  It’s preaching of the law, no matter how one sugar coats it.

I particularly like this quote from the article:

It might seem controversial to identify doctrine with “gospel” and deeds with “law,” especially since these days we often hear calls to “live the gospel.” However, the gospel is not an imperative, but an indicative; not a program to follow, but an announcement to welcome for our own salvation and to herald for the salvation of the world. Does that mean that we do not have imperatives or that we do not follow Christ? As Paul would say, “May it never be!” It simply means that we have to distinguish indicatives and imperatives. The law gives us something to do, and the gospel gives us something to believe. Christians are no less obligated to obey God’s commands in the New Testament than they were in the Old Testament, but they are commands, not promises. The imperatives drive us to despair of self-righteousness, the indicatives hold up Christ as our only Savior, and then the imperatives become the “reasonable service” of believers “in view of God’s mercies.” There is a lot of wisdom to the order of the Heidelberg Catechism: Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. The commands tell us what we are to do; the gospel tells us what God has done. “Deeds, not creeds” leaves the sinner with the tattered garment of fig leaves rather than robed in the righteousness of Christ.

My fervent prayer is that more churches embrace the need for sound doctrine and Biblical exposition.  We don’t need a new reformation of behavior, we need a return to the roots of the original Protestant Reformation and reclaim the gospel as the center of our preaching and practice.