The wooden, sail-powered, tall ships of old relied on external points of reference to navigate the seas — a compass aligned to the magnetic north pole and fixed stars to calculate their positions. Modern ships of today rely on modern external references, such as global positioning satellites and land-based beacons. These external sources are used to provide continuous course corrections to assure the ships successfully reach their destinations.
As believers, we all have been given the free gifts of faith and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, yet they originate and rely on what is entirely external to us. Like the magnetic compass within a ship which relies on the external magnetic field of the Earth, the indwelling of the Holy Sprint operates with the external source of the Word of God to provide course corrections.
Do believers today use an external[1] source to make course corrections?
In 1962, a split[2] developed[3] within the Church.[4] One side, the Reedites, relied on God’s Word while the other side, the Aunesites, asserted “The world has the Word, but we have the Spirit,” and “We don’t need [the Bible’s] instructions,[5] they can be fed to the cows.”[6] The essence of this false doctrine could be summarized as a suppression of the Word, separating the Spirit from the Word,[7] and a rejection of correction. Sadly, the Aunesites rejoiced as they embraced their errors and refused to make course corrections.
In 2019, I documented several errors in doctrine and practice that had developed within the Church (the present-day Reedites) and submitted[9] them to Church leadership.[10] They asserted[11] my document exhibited “Too much use of the Word and not enough Spirit,” and “Correcting others demonstrates a lack of trust in God.” The essence of their response could be summarized as a suppression of the Word, separating the Spirit from the Word,[12] and a rejection of correction. Isn’t this the same false doctrine asserted by the Aunesites in 1962? Church leadership embraced the errors and refused to make course corrections.
In 2020, a similar exhibition of this false doctrine was repeated in a sermon[13] with an interesting half-twist. The minister suggested that believers should be open to correction, but the source of the correction is internal, that is, we should only let the Holy Spirit correct ourselves, implying the Spirit is separate from the Word. He never mentioned how the Spirit operates through the external Word, and never mentioned the necessity to correct our neighbors in love.[14]
Did believers of old use an external source to make course corrections?
During the centuries that passed after Christ’s ascension and before the Reformation, the doctrine of the Church didn’t change suddenly, it slowly drifted over generations, progressively getting worse, not better. In the 16th century, Martin Luther (and other Reformers) rediscovered the pure doctrines of God’s Word and documented the progressively devolving doctrines of the Medieval Church. Luther tried to work within the Church to make corrections. The Church embraced the errors and refused to make course corrections. Luther wrote about one of his attempts to discuss the errors with his Church leadership:
“After he had stated that he did not wish to argue with me, but to settle the matter peacefully and in a fatherly fashion, he proposed that I do three things which, he said, had been demanded by the pope: first, that I come to my senses and retract my errors; second, that I promise to abstain from them in the future; and third, that I abstain from doing anything which might disturb the church.”
(Martin Luther)[15]
The response Luther received is not unlike the response I received from my present-day Church leadership.[16]
“Therefore, since the sacred Scriptures are abandoned and the traditions and words of men are accepted, it happens that the church of Christ is not nourished by its own measure of wheat, that is, by the word of Christ, but is usually misled by the indiscretion and rash will of an unlearned flatterer. We have come to this in our great misfortune that these people begin to force us to renounce the Christian faith and deny Holy Scripture.”
(Martin Luther)[17]
Luther relied on the external source of God’s Word for course corrections. Scripture contains a plethora of examples[18] for the necessity to correct errors and to avoid false doctrines. All the prophets of old implored God’s chosen nation to make course corrections (repent) with the external source of God’s Word.[19] Without a reliable compass or fixed stars for navigation, course corrections are futile. Believers must rely on God’s unchangeable[20] (fixed) Word for correction. Disaster awaits those refusing to make course corrections.
“[These are] wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever.”
(Jude 1:13)
While true believers—through faith—are already fully justified before the face of God, our process of sanctification has only just begun and our perfection will finally be completed on the day of resurrection. Until then, we are still imperfect creatures—sinful by nature—and need continuous correction (and repentance) with guidance from an external source—God’s Word. Only through His mercy and grace will we be able to reach our eternal destination.
Are believers today repeating past errors — using the Spirit without the Word and avoiding course corrections? Please reply with your comments.
[1] A Catechism According to God’s Word. Augsburg Confession, Article V: “[The] Gospel teaches that we have a gracious God, not by our own merits but by the merit of Christ… [Condemned are] others who teach that the Holy Spirit comes to us through our own preparations, thoughts, and works without the external word of the Gospel.”
[2] Laestadian Divisions in America. Family tree of Laestadianism in America.
[3] The Laestadian Movement: Disputes and Divisions 1861-2000, Chapter 7, Matt Reed vs. Aunes Salmela.
[4] Finnish Independent Apostolic Lutheran Congregations (I.A.L.C.)
[5] In this context, instructions that remain unfollowed is synonymous with corrections. Please note the instruction definition 3a in The American Heritage Dictionary.
[6] Unfortunately, a multi-generational tradition within the Church is an unwillingness to document[8] doctrine, disputes, or decisions. The Aunesite quotes and actions noted are largely derived from oral history, however some details have been captured by others: The Laestadian Movement: Disputes and Divisions 1861-2000, Chapter 7.
[7] “[We] must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one, except through or with the preceding outward Word, in order that we may [thus] be protected against the enthusiasts, i.e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word, and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken Word, and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Muenzer did, and many still do at the present day, who wish to be acute judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet know not what they say or declare.” (The Smalcald Articles, Part III, Article VIII, Dr. Martin Luther, 1537.)
[8] “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana 1863-1952)
[9] Out of Love for Truth
[10] Minneapolis Independent Apostolic Lutheran Church (M.I.A.L.C.) at Dayton, Minnesota.
[11] Follow-up letter from meeting held March 11, 2020.
[12] The concept of separating the Spirit from the Word is one of the features of Gnosticism. It is partly based on an internal spiritual experience above that of objective pure doctrine. The so-called Gnostic Christians became one of the first groups to be formally declared heretical by the early Christian church.
[13] I.A.L.C telephone call-in broadcasted live from the Duluth church in Minnesota on Sunday, June 14, 2020, 10:30 AM service, 2nd sermon.
[14] “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16) See also: Genesis 4:9, Proverbs 12:15, Judges 17:6.
[15] Grimm, Harold J. (1957) Luther’s Works: Volume 31, Career of the Reformer: I. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Published by Fortress Press. ISBN: 0-8006-0331-1, Proceedings at Augsburg, 261.
[16] Church leadership was unwilling to document their responses. Their verbal responses included the following statements: “You must admit that you were wrong to write the essay.”; “You don’t need to carry such a heavy burden. We have your request, it’s off your shoulders now, nothing more is to be done, leave it alone.”; “What we have [this Church family] is so precious, why would you do anything to upset it?”
[17] Grimm, 276.
[18] “For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.” (Matthew 24:24) See also: Matthew 7:15, 1 Timothy 4:16, 2 Peter 2:1, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, Romans 16:17-18, et al.
[19] See: The Holy Bible
[20] Hebrews 13:8, 1 Peter 1:25, et al.