IACE 2020: Robert Sloan on Confessional Commitments

ROBERT B. SLOAN

(Editor’s Note: What follows is the outline of an address from Robert B. Sloan at the IACE’s inaugural meeting in Orlando on February 13, 2020.)

1. David’s assignment regarding the importance of theological conviction for our work. He explicitly mentioned foundational authoritative touchstones such as:

IACE is clear

  • Scripture

  • The transforming power of the gospel

  • The Nicene creed

  • The Lausanne Covenant

2. I’m going to do this presentation in the form of four theses.

I. The Affirmation of our Sources of Authority is Vital and demands Transparency not only for faculty, staff, and students, but all of our constituencies. Our constituencies need to know what we believe about scripture; IACE is being clear; so should we as institutions and educators.

a) The Scriptures are authoritative

  • It may seem obvious to us, but it’s important that we know why we confess that and that we can articulate it. Among the many reasons we affirm the authority of Scripture as inspired, fully truthful, and indispensable for normative faith and practice is that such confessions are in keeping with all theological and historical sources of our faith. It is impossible to understand or teach the Christian faith without reference to this authoritative body of canonical texts.

  • This confession about Scripture as authoritative, as God’s very voice and words is the ancient church’s theological tradition

  • It’s true of Jesus and his understanding of the Old Testament

  • It’s true of the New Testament writers with respect to the Old

    Testament.

  • It’s true with respect to the long-standing practices of the church; the Scriptures are vital for history, doctrine, for worship, for instruction, spiritual formation, for hope, confession, for the story of God's purposes for the world, for the story of salvation [the creation, the Fall, Abraham, Israel, the Messiah, the death and resurrection of Jesus, his enthronement, the descent of the Spirit, the church and its mission, the return of Christ, and the restoration of the entire creation, including all things visible and invisible.]

b) The transforming power of the gospel is an essential affirmation.

  • The gospel provides historical, theological, and hermeneutical focus. Luke 24:25-29, 44-46; 2 Cor. 1:20; All the promises of God… “grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).

  • It is the climax of the story of the Bible as focused in Jesus. It is “according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

  • It is the proclaimed message and theological vehicle of divine power. Romans 1:16-17; 1 Cor. 2:1-5

c) The Nicene creed (and for you, perhaps other creeds, depending on your tradition)

It is ancient, authoritative, and performative.

[It reminds us that there is no reason for us to reinvent the theological wheel. The church has pronounced on central features of our belief regarding God, Christ, the Spirit, and the church.] The Nicene Creed is a strong reminder of the importance of the Christian intellectual traditions as supported by the history of Christian doctrine.

  • The Nicene Creed is based on the Apostles’ Creed.

  • The Apostles’ Creed in turn is based on the rule of faith (see Irenaeus).

  • The rule of faith is based on the apostolic preaching and the foundational theology of the New Testament. That apostolic theology is based on the teachings, life, and enacted scriptural fulfillments associated with Jesus.

  • Jesus in turn is the climax of God's purposes for creation and his plan of rescue as enunciated in Scripture.

d) The Lausanne Covenant - It is a covenant that relates to the evangelistic determination of its signatories to obey the Great Commission, to press forward with our responsibilities regarding God's plan of rescue through Jesus.

II. While it is right and good to be clear and transparent about our sources of theological confession and behavior, such clarity is indispensably necessary but not sufficient: our sources must be (a) sincerely embraced (i.e., embraced with integrity), (b) rightly understood and used, (c) by all.

a) “Sincerely embraced” means there is no dishonesty with respect to our submission to these authorities.

  • Illustration of professor who said of the constituents he was at the moment mocking because of their theological concerns as to the beliefs of the seminaries and the universities - "If they only knew what we really believed…"

  • Or of the well-known seminary professor who annually signed a statement of faith, but later admitted that he had done so with "mental reservations."

b) “Rightly understood and used” means correctly interpreted;

  • Illustration of my exegesis of II Peter 1:16-21 at a seminary chapel.

[16 For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”— 18 and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. 19 So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.]

  • It is vital that our schools, agencies, and organizations allow for and support the hard work of Bible research, teaching, and the integration of Christian thinking, which includes Scripture, worldview studies, the Christian intellectual tradition, and the ethical and moral teachings of Scripture. Who else is going to do this?

  • And, it is vital that the results of this kind of hard research be studied across our campuses and made a part of our traditions of thinking and practice, which includes:

    Hiring

    Orientation

    Special lectures

    Seminars

    Reading groups

    Various learning experiences which teach and encourage the integrative practices of Christian thinking in classroom teaching.

    [At HBU, we have many faculty members who are proficient in biblical history and interpretation at world-class levels, several faculty members who are quite expert on issues of apologetics, and probably three faculty members who are truly knowledgeable with regard to gender and sexual practices from a biblical and theological point of view. It’s important to let others around the university benefit from their knowledge. This kind of knowledge sharing could be expanded across our institutions with regard to other disciplines, for example, history, pedagogy, etc.]

  • Use your own people! It promotes shared embrace and accountability in our theological and ethical convictions; our convictions of belief and practice.

c) “All” points to the institution-wide affirmation and understanding of our authoritative sources

  • No administration vs. faculty rhetoric

  • No brochure talk vs. on-the-ground reality

  • Faculty and staff have the greater hold on the factors that influence the minds and behaviors of students (after peer pressure).

  • I realized early in my career the importance of hiring: faculty, students, alumni, trustees

III. Our theological commitments must be translated into policies, written statements, and action. ADF and Greg Baylor, Beckett

We must all work closely with Christian attorneys and other policymakers who can help us compose and if necessary defend the theological freedoms we subscribe to and practice.

IV. The issues we have to face constantly change over time: Authority of Scripture, supernatural worldview = abortion/life, same-sex = gender identity as a matter of choice.

  • We must pay attention to controversial issues. Just as the creeds were often hammered out in various church councils after long years of controversy and study, so we too must be alert to the kinds of language and political practices being advocated in our culture. Again, attorneys and policymakers are helpful translators for us.

  • Illustration of the biological female who wanted us to provide housing in a boy’s dorm. A situation which made us realize that we had not sufficiently translated our convictions into student life policy. [We had already nuanced our policies of hiring with respect to life and sexual behaviors, but not gender self-identification.]

  • Student life policies and board approved convictions must be in writing.

  • Issues related to gender, life, family, marriage, and sexual behaviors.

  • These policies must be discussed honestly and approved by boards and regularly taught to the faculty and staff and others who support the University and are involved in its mission.

It is not enough to say that we believe the Bible. If the behavioral standards we confess are not clearly articulated and enforced, we will lose the ability to defend them and have them.

V. CONCLUSION: Theological convictions require the fellowship of the church. The church is a worshiping community, but it is also a thinking community. In our worship, indeed, as part of our worship, we also think. See I Corinthians 14:29 — “And let two or three prophets speak, and let the others decide.”

We need one another. Vigilance, charity, clear thinking, and banding together in fellowships such as this are absolutely vital for us to renew ourselves theologically, to encourage and share best theological insights and practices.

This is true when it comes not only to biblical exegesis but also to the Christian intellectual tradition and worldview studies as we seek to express these not only in doctrine, creeds, and confessions, but also in the defensible language of policy and the best professional practices in research sharing and pedagogy.

We need one another.

The unity of the church which is clearly taught in Scripture is not only a mandate, but it is something to be practiced as we seek to know how we can “stimulate and encourage one another to faith and good works” (Hebrews 10:24).

Robert B. Sloan is president of Houston Baptist University and a member of the IACE Board of Directors.

Robert B. Sloan