We know that more of the same will not do,’ convocation told
By Craig M. Kibler, February 9, 2007
ORLANDO, Fla. – “We know that more of the same will not do,” the co-moderator of the New Wineskins Association of Churches said Thursday. “Our purpose is not to stay angry, it’s to move past to what is the church God has in mind for us.”
The Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Baton Rouge, La., told more than 500 people in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church that, “What’s before is recalling who we are in the vision of the New Wineskins.”
He said that vision includes being a member of “a church where confessing essential tenets is not a burden, but a joy.” That joy, Dawson said, “is in the boundaries.”
Those essential tenets, he said, is “what’s necessary to be said for the time in which we live.” Otherwise, Dawson said, there will be those who say, “I believe in the rules, but I don’t want to know what they are.”
He then went through a list of essential tenets previously approved by New Wineskins delegates, comparing them to similar tenets in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. The essential tenets, Dawson said, have five main points:
- The love of the Triune God.
- Revealed through Jesus Christ.
- Revealed through Scripture.
- Through the work of the Holy Spirit.
- Who calls forth and sends the Church to the world.
The first part, he said, is that the Triune God makes himself known, citing two Scriptural passages:
“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!” (Revelation 19:1).
“In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3).
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“Joyfully and humbly, as undeserving recipients of the gracious work of God through Jesus Christ, we confess these essentials of our shared faith:
“God is majestic, compassionate, and lovingly desires to be known. Therefore we worship him. God is revealed generally through creation, specifically through the Holy Scriptures, and finally in the living Word who became flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.”
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever!”
The New Wineskins affirms this stance, stating:
“The LORD our God, the LORD is one. The one true God exists in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe that each person of the Trinity is engaged in all that God has done, does now, and will yet do. The LORD our God is the One who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
In regard to the authority of the Bible, the New Wineskins tenet states:
“The Bible is the only infallible rule of faith and practice. The Holy Spirit spoke through its authors and witnesses to us today that it is indeed and in truth the very Word of God, God’s gift to the world and guide for his people.”
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“All Scripture is self-attesting and being truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God’s redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. …
On the person and work of Jesus Christ, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church tenet states:
“Jesus Christ, the living Word, become flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one person forever. He died on the cross a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the majesty on high, he now is our high priest and mediator.”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“Jesus Christ is the living Word, the promised Messiah, and the eternal Son of the Father, sent in mission to the earth. Incarnated in the womb of the virgin Mary, he is fully God and fully human, come to reconcile God and humanity. During his earthly ministry Jesus lived a sinless life, healed the sick, raised the dead, drove out demons, befriended sinners, preached the gospel to the poor, and died as our substitute on the cross. He rose bodily from the dead, ascended to the Father, and remains our faithful mediator and high priest. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by faith in him. He is the only head of the Church, our Lord and Savior.”
Regarding our need for salvation, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God’s free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifies them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“In the beginning, the sovereign God created all things good. Humanity, bearing God’s likeness, crowns creation. Through the disobedience of those made in the image of God, the whole of creation fell into the darkness of sin and rebellion. In love, God initiated the plan of redemption, which stands upon the historic events of the crucifixion, resurrection, and exaltation of Jesus the Messiah. God’s gracious redemptive work results in the Church and culminates in the new creation.”
On the work of the Holy Spirit, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, He gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Jesus Christ and to apply his saving work to our lives. By the Spirit, the redeemed cry ‘Abba’ as God’s adopted children. The Spirit awakens from spiritual death those whom God has chosen, convicting them of sin, comforting their hearts with the hope of the Gospel, uniting them to Christ, making Christ real to them, gathering them into a people of his own possession, and sealing their salvation. Indwelling their hearts, the Spirit sanctifies them for lives of holiness, and empowers them for ministry in the Church and mission to the world.”
“At this point,” Dawson said, “we are laying ourselves bare to each other. Where is your heart of hearts? Who are you? What matters to you most? It is all intertwined.”
Regarding God’s Church and our mission in the world, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where Scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“From the beginning God has sovereignly elected and called a people who are the true Church, the Body of Christ. The Church is the fruit of God’s redemptive work; a covenanted community of worship, prayer and service, called to love God and neighbor and to live out the ethical and moral imperatives revealed in Holy Scripture. All believers are baptized in one Spirit into this Body, which finds expression in local congregations. In these believing communities the loving presence of God is embodied, the Gospel is preached in truth, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are rightly administered, compassionate and Godly discipline is exercised, and Kingdom mission is faithfully carried out. The Church is a connectional and confessional community in which theological, ethical and moral accountability is demonstrated.”
Now, Dawson said, “sharing these beliefs, what are we called to do?”
The Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to ‘Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.’ He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. ‘For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them’ (Eph. 2:10). These Essentials are set forth in greater detail in the Westminster Confession of Faith.”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“The Church is called to make disciples of all nations, proclaiming the Gospel to the spiritually lost and equipping believers so that they may be presented mature in Christ. The Lord calls all believers to be ministers and witnesses to God’s amazing grace and readily to participate in the task of making disciples, for which God gives the Church powers, gifts and talents. It is the responsibility of the Church and its leaders to develop, equip and release people into their God-given ministries in the Church and the world.”
On the return of Jesus Christ, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church’s tenet states:
“Jesus Christ will come again to the earth – personally, visibly and bodily – to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. ‘Even so, come, Lord Jesus’ (Rev. 22:20).”
The New Wineskins tenet states:
“Finally, in the fullness of time, Jesus Christ will leave the Father’s side to return to earth in glory to fulfill God’s promised purposes. All believers look forward to this day when our lowly bodies will be transformed to be like Christ’s glorious body and the Church, the bride, will be presented to her bridegroom. For Christ will liberate creation from its bondage to corruption, judge the living and the dead, usher in a new heaven and earth, and establish God’s everlasting Kingdom. ‘Even so, come Lord Jesus!'”
Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications for the Presbyterian Lay Committee and Executive Editor of The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at cmkibler@www.layman.org.