Thought for Today

Biblically, what makes one a heretic?

To me, while each calls the other the worst type of heretic, I’d not level that claim against either side. Nor would I label a Calvinist (in most cases anyway) nor an Arminian (in most cases anyway) as being heretical.

When we looked at the first several ecumenical councils we saw a recurring theme: those deemed heretics denied Jesus Christ, as the Bible describes him.

Jesus stated directly there was only one unforgivable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. Even a word spoken against Jesus could be forgiven. But blaspheming the Spirit would not be. What precipitated Jesus’s comments was the Pharisees’ claim that Jesus was using demonic power to exorcise demons, that Jesus was demonic, that Jesus was not God.

There is no “Plan B.” If we deny the Holy Spirit’s witness of who Christ is, there is no other option for salvation. We can believe any number of things in error and still be saved. Do I think there are more core tenets to the faith? Yes, but these are few. Belief in the Trinity would be one—again who Christ is falls within this tenet of the faith as well. Belief in what the Bible says about our need for salvation would be another. For example, we must realize that we are fallen sinful creatures in need of salvation. If we reject that, we are eternally lost.

I can hold errors about hell, I can strongly disagree with someone over “last things,” I can even insist that Calvinism or Arminianism are among the worst heresies within the church. Whatever I may think, if that Calvinist or Arminian has genuinely come to faith in Christ as their Savior—however one may describe that process—that person is a brother or sister in Christ.

Biblically, if we fail to love that fellow believer—that believer we may think has a detestable theology—we are in far greater danger than they are for holding their theological positions. After all, Scripture states that if we claim to love God whom we can’t see, but hate a brother or sister in Christ whom we can see, our claims about our love for God are false.

I realize that I’ve probably oversimplified things in some respects in this last series of blog posts. I suspect clarification may be needed on a few points. We can hold positions that place others in eternal jeopardy: denying hell for example, a position I’d consider to truly be heresy. So again, it isn’t quite as simple as I’ve briefly stated here. It gets back to the question of how many core tenets of the faith exist, and what those tenets are. As a reference, I do discuss that issue in my second book: “One in Christ: Growing toward Christian Maturity.”

What I’ve stated here I think is the overarching point: the key biblical heresy is denying some aspect of Jesus Christ, a type of heresy that lands one outside the faith for all eternity, as opposed to adhering to, or failing to adhere to, one or another theological system. The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses are heretical for denying Christ, Calvinists, in general, are not, as they confess Christ was precisely whom he claimed to be.

May we treat one another with love, grace, and humility in our theological disagreements.