A fifth century heretic in modern clothes is abroad on the Australian Christian scene. To find out what he’s doing here and why he’s talking so much about baptism, read on…
Pelagius is a 5th century heretic who will not stay dead. While controversy about the exact details of his life and teaching continues in the late 20th century, Pelagianism is alive and well.
Pelagianism is a broad term covering views that minimise God’s gracious work by asserting human ability in faith and works. The exact character of these ‘Pelagian’ doctrines has kept changing down through the centuries, but the theme remains the same-an emphasis on human response rather than divine grace.
Like all heresies, Pelagianism starts by trying to defend ‘the truth’. The Pelagian hears the Calvinist talk of predestination and is appalled at the religious fatalism that this seems to involve. The consequences of this fatalism, the Pelagian argues, will be spiritual lethargy, non-responsiveness to the gospel, a lack of urgency in preaching the gospel, and immorality. If the ‘gospel is all of God and none of man’ then surely the Christian will lose all motivation to press the gospel upon his contemporaries, and to pursue holiness for himself.
SPLITTING CHURCHES
Within churches, Pelagianism is hard to combat because it keeps rising phoenix-like from the ashes in some new form. It’s the same beast, but it just won’t stay dead.
Moreover, it never comes as a blatant lie. The Pelagian will point to those Scriptures, which encourage us to take action and persevere, to pursue holiness and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. But half-truths are always more seductive than full lies. Pelagianism, in its different forms, appeals to Christians who are unaware of its theological roots and final outcome. The Christian may reject Pelagianism in three or four of its forms and get ensnared by the fifth. As long as the gospel is understood in terms of our subjective response to an experience of God rather than on the objective reality of what God has done in Christ Jesus, we are in danger of Pelagianism.
His twofold evangelistic mission, to reach the outsider and to transform the Christian, makes the committed Pelagian a danger to any congregation.
To make matters worse, the Pelagian is usually evangelistic not only to the non-Christian but also to his ‘Christian’ brothers. He is keen for everyone to respond fully to the message of the gospel. His twofold evangelistic mission, to reach the outsider and to transform the Christian, makes the committed Pelagian a danger to any congregation. In one generation the Pelagian comes with the hook of perfectionism. In another generation it’s a particular view of holiness and how we may obtain it. In another generation he may come with the spiritual experience of tongues. In yet another it will be the necessity of baptism or for a particular form of church membership.
The end consequence, however, is always legalism and a denial of the gospel. Pious people become enslaved to a new set of rules and regulations as the centre of theology moves away from God’s reconciling work in Christ. Pelagianism may accept that God has provided the means of salvation, but ultimately that salvation depends upon our own efforts. Thus we are placed once more under the law, our assurance of salvation is undermined, and our faith is no longer in Christ but in our works.
TROUBLED WATERS
At present we are going through a new spate of baptismal Pelagians. Baptism has always been an easy area in which to ensnare Bible-believing Christians. Our baptismal practices are considerably removed from the New Testament experience, and so Bible verses can easily be used to demonstrate our deficiencies and to confuse unwary Christians.
The baptisms recorded in the New Testament are quite different from the practice of baptism in 20th Century Australia. In the New Testament, we have no reference to the baptism of the children of Christians, be they infants or adults. Every New Testament reference to baptism involves pagans or Jews. We certainly have no reference to the baptism of christianised people, nor to the baptism of people whose family tradition is with a heretical church.
Christ may be the bridge between God and man, but you have to pay the toll in your baptism…
In the New Testament, there is little confusion about baptism-it is the primary symbol of conversion. Today there is considerable confusion as to whether baptism symbolises repentance, or belief, or covenant acceptance and pledge, or spiritual regeneration. There is also difference of opinion these days about how baptisms are to be conducted and the nature of their efficacy. It is little wonder that different traditions have disagreed about whom should be baptised when, how and for what reason.
Those of us who have attached baptism to the initiation of children into Christianity are particularly vulnerable to the accusation of unbiblical practices. Those denominations with a large number of nominal adherents have the additional problem of an undisciplined formalism that has used rites and sacraments meaninglessly with unbelievers. Consequently we have many believers whose nominal, unbelieving parents took them through the form of baptism and/or confirmation in their childhood and who have not come to any meaningful faith until their adulthood. In other traditions we see Christians who have been dedicated by unbelieving parents, baptised as teenagers and converted later as adults. Baptism has become detached from conversion. Thus the New Testament references, which use baptism almost synonymously with conversion, seem unrelated to our experience.
Into this situation the Pelagian arrives. He takes us to passages of Scripture like Acts 2 where we are taught that we must repent and be baptised. He questions whether we have ever been truly baptised. The legalistic formality with which we were ‘done’ as babies sounds a million miles away from the New Testament practice. The earnestness with which the gospel is preached by the Pelagian, and the clear, potent, symbolism and experience of adult baptism unnerves the Christian. Those who go through the experience become zealous that others may share in their ‘obedience to Gods word’. Refusal to participate in this baptism is regarded as a wilful disobedience to Jesus.
The modern Mr Pelagius ends up teaching that Salvation comes through faith in Christ plus baptism.
The modern Mr Pelagius ends up teaching that salvation comes through faith in Christ plus baptism. Once ‘faith alone’ is dispensed with, all manner of legal demands and good works follow. With the necessity of baptism comes the rest of the law, just as with the necessity of circumcision came all the Law of Moses. (Gal. 5:2-6) Christ may be the bridge between God and man, but you have to pay the toll in your baptism and you must walk across the bridge, hanging on desperately lest the winds of persecution blow you off, or the enticements of sin encourage you to jump.
The half-truth of our responsibility is certainly vindicated in the New Testament. We must repent and believe. We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil. 2:12) We must take heed lest we fall. (Gal. 6:2-5) We must keep ourselves in our most holy faith. (Jude 20-21) We must not allow the worries of this life, or the deceitfulness of wealth, or the desire for other things, to come in and choke out the word in our lives. (Mark 4:18-19)
However, there is another truth of the Scriptures that we must hold in balance: that he who has begun a good work in us will bring it to completion; (Phil. 1:6 cf. 2:13) that the one who calls us is faithful and he will do it; (1 Thes. 5:24) that none shall pluck us from his hand; (Jn 10:28) that there is one who is able to keep us from falling and present us before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy. (Jude 24) The Pelagian omits this truth. The half-truth is the greatest lie.
HOW TO BURY PELAGIUS
Some new, fiercely Pelagian churches have appeared on the Australian landscape. They are using baptism as the bait to ensnare Christians in legalism and it is imperative that we learn how to handle this issue.
Firstly, we must identify the disease and the symptoms: baptism is the latest symptom; Pelagianism is the age-old disease. There have been other symptoms (like speaking in tongues and perfectionism) but the root cause is the same. The remedy lies in understanding both the objective reality of God’s work of grace and the subjective reality of our experience of repentance and conversion. We need both of these truths to cure this disease. Those of us with responsibility to teach must train those in our care in the theological deep waters of predestination and election. To run away from these hard issues is to leave people vulnerable to the latest Pelagian apparition. With those already caught up in the new legalism we must turn their attention to the weighty issues of saving grace, rather than simply dealing with the symptom of baptismal disagreements.
Secondly, it is time that we started to deal with the current symptom-baptism. We cannot continue to make the gospel clear amidst the present chaos of baptismal ill discipline. It is not an easy issue and will not be resolved simply. However, there is massive confusion throughout the Christian community and the failure of Evangelicals to speak clearly and consistently on the issue is leaving us wide open to attack from the sects and cults that are exploiting this area. As well, it makes our claim to represent ‘biblical Christianity’ seem ludicrous.
Thirdly, we must face up to the problem of the cults. Pelagianism almost invariably encourages a cult mentality. Any religious system which emphasises human endeavour and which desperately seeks to illicit a conversion response is tempted to manipulate its inquirers. As people are urged to undergo unusual and ‘essential’ experiences to join the legalistic club, they are imbued with zeal to have others follow suit. As we saw in Briefing #4, we must avoid the errors of cult activity while learning from their positive attributes. We must take the criticism that is inherent in the very existence of a cult, especially one based upon Christian baptism, with utmost seriousness.
If we do not take action in these three areas we will continue to see keen Christian souls, who want all the experiences of God, sidetracked into the bondage of legalism and false promises. Indeed, it is the keen, new Christian, desirous to obey God’s word and unaware of the pitfalls of Pelagianism, who is attracted to these cults. They see in these groups what they fail to see in their home churches: passion and zeal for obedience to God’s word, for growth in holiness and for the evangelisation of the world.
It is a terrible indictment that legalism should produce such results where spiritual regeneration by the gospel of Jesus Christ seems to fail. It is a sad reflection on the spiritual lethargy of our congregational life that Pelagianism should present a viable and credible alternative. The existence of the cult highlights the problems within our churches. Our first point of attack must be our own lives, and the spiritual commitment, or lack of it, within our congregations.
