“One of the perennial questions facing the church in every age and place concerns its relationship to the Bible. How do the people of God and the Word of God relate to one another? Did the Word create the church or the church the Word? Is the church over the Bible or under it? Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches answer these questions differently, and our division at this point is arguably deeper and wider than at any other.
2 Thessalonians 3 throws a bright light on this controversy, since it gives pre-eminence to the Word. Its opening prayer that ‘the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph’ puts all parochialism to shame and challenges us to develop a global vision and a commitment to world evangelization. And Paul’s repeated commands, with their expectation of obedience, also condemns those churches whose attitude to the Word of God appears to be subjective and selective. They wander at random through Scripture, choosing a verse here and discarding a verse there, like a gardener picking flowers in a herbaceous border. They have no concept of a thorough study of the Bible, or of a conscientious submission to its teaching. Let not such a church imagine that it will receive the blessing of the Lord! For to despise the Word of the Lord is to despise the Lord of the Word, to distrust his faithfulness and to disregard his authority.
To what kind of church do we belong? Is its vision global or merely parochial? Is its attitude to Scripture principled or unprincipled, obedient or disobedient? While history moves towards it denouement and we await the rebellion of Anti-christ which will herald the revelation of Christ, can we say from the heart ‘Let the Word of the Lord run and be honored throughout the world’ and ‘Let the Word of the Lord be honored and obeyed in the church?’ For then, fully committed to the Lord and his Word, we can humbly expect to enjoy in our day, his peace, his presence and his grace.”
(John Stott, The Gospel and the End of Time, The Message of 1 & 2 Thessalonians, pp.198-199)
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Ted, I am really glad you’re doing this. I am especially encouraged to read this entry. For years I have heard a clergyman in the Episcopal Church trade on a story in which he says that Stott told him to stay in the Episcopal Church come what may.
It is easy to claim a sort of magesterium for Stott, but when he unpacks the Scriptures, he moves from the anecdotal to the permanent. If only my clergy friend would look beyond the Stott that is affirming of his own desires to the Stott that points to the Lord of the church.
Such a good reminder, Ted. Thank you.
Andrew, in my new book on the teaching of John Stott, now available on Amazon, I have a chapter on The Church in which I quote John enumerating the situations in which orthodox believers should leave their denomination. In an interview published in Christianity Today he went on the record to affirm when he would have to leave.