WHEN GOD IS DOING A NEW THING,

DOCTRINE DEVELOPS

Have you ever read a sermon written by The Reverend John Wesley (1703-1791)? If you have, you know Rev. Wesley’s sermons were long, lacked entertaining stories, and contained some heavy theology. This morning’s sermon will be like a Wesleyan sermon -- except that today’s sermon will be brief. With brevity, I aim to purchase your patient attention.

"THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOCTRINE"

My strong hope is that this sermon will put into the collective mind of St. Peter’s United Methodist Church an idea: the development of doctrine.

The development of doctrine is a crucially important idea for the Church to have and to understand. To be sure, this idea will probably not start a revival that spreads across the land and converts thousands to Christ. Even so, the idea of doctrinal development helps to protect the Church from stagnating and wandering, and the Church’s faith from irrelevance and corruption. In our time, the Church and her faith are being distracted, tempted, and challenged by all kinds of spiritualities, theologies, philosophies, and movements. So as a gift from God, the development of doctrine can help the Church to negotiate some very rough waters and weather.

John Henry Newman (1801-1890) coined the phrase "the development of doctrine." Newman was an Anglican priest in England, who later became a Roman Catholic. In 1845 or 1846, Newman published a book entitled An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine. Guided by the Holy Spirit, John Henry Newman gave the Church the phrase and the idea about doctrine developing.

Through Isaiah, God says: "Behold, I am doing a new thing." (43:19a)

"Behold, I am doing a new thing." This is often quoted in our day. In our time, new programs, new theologies, new moralities, and new methods in the churches are often stamped with "Behold, I am doing a new thing" (emphasis added). Because of that stamp, we are led to believe that God is behind the "new thing" being done. But that deserves examination.

NEW DOCTRINE THAT IS TRUE

This morning I would like to narrow our concern to doctrine, the Church’s doctrine. Doctrine, as we know, is simply the Church’s common faith or authoritative teaching. Doctrine is not about a person’s experience or opinion. Doctrine is the Church’s faith, the Church’s teaching, what we hold in common; and doctrine is built on God’s revelation through Israel (Old Testament) and Jesus Christ (New Testament).

Now, consider Church doctrine. Some would claim that Church doctrine is always stable, that doctrine never changes, that God never does a new doctrinal thing. Others would claim that Church doctrine is very flexible, that doctrine is always changing, that God is always doing a new doctrinal thing.

Here I humbly submit that doctrine is neither forever unchanging nor frantically changing. Rather, doctrine develops in truth -- under God’s guidance, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

For example, the doctrine of the Trinity -- God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- developed. The doctrine of Jesus as the God-man developed. The doctrine of justification by faith, in the Lutheran Reformation, developed. The doctrine of Christian perfection, in the Wesleyan Revival, developed. The moral doctrine against slavery developed in England and in the United States.

HOW DOCTRINE DEVELOPS

But how does doctrine develop? Doctrine develops when a less noticed aspect of God’s revelation through Israel and Jesus Christ takes on increasing importance and responds to a challenge of the day. For example, God’s revelation through Israel and Jesus Christ speaks of mankind created "in the image of God" (Genesis 1:27) and reports on Jesus seeking out the least and the lost. Taking seriously revelation regarding the Creator’s work and Jesus’ ministry, the Church over time came to recognize that slavery -- one human owning another human being -- is out of bounds for Christians. In this way, the moral doctrine against slavery developed.

In The United Methodist Church today, doctrine develops through the votes of General Conference. Lacking a central teaching authority (as Roman Catholicism has in the Magisterium), United Methodism relies on General Conference to interpret Scripture and develop doctrine through its democratic deliberation and decision-making.

Whenever doctrine develops in truth, the new doctrinal development does not diss, discard, or destroy the Church’s foundational revelation. Instead, when a doctrine develops in truth, another doctrinal layer is added atop the original, foundational revelation to reinforce it.

ISAIAH DEVELOPS DOCTRINE

"Behold, I am doing a new thing."

When Isaiah spoke these words, the cities of Judah were desolate. The Temple was in ruins. Many Jews were in Babylonian exile. Hopelessness reigned. (Bernard W. Anderson)

In this circumstance, Isaiah stood up and spoke a word of comfort and hope. He promised that God would act to pardon, to deliver, to free Israel from exile. Isaiah proclaimed a New Exodus to come. The first and foundational Exodus had freed the Hebrews from Egyptian slavery through the Red Sea. The New Exodus would liberate the Jews from Babylonian exile.

The same God would do the same thing to the same people -- but in different circumstances. Therefore, the doctrine developed. The Jews of Isaiah’s day were told by Isaiah not to get stuck looking back at their history. God was alive! God was active! God was indeed doing a new thing!

DOCTRINE DEVELOPS OR MISCHIEF RUNS WILD

"Behold, I am doing a new thing!" Even today, God is doing a new thing. But whatever God is doing anew builds on what He has first revealed through Israel and Jesus Christ.