That's Heresy, my Friend

Reviewing some ancient heresy "isms" and how they're active today

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

“The only heresy is saying that there’s heresy.” Those words were penned and rapped by artist Shai Linne in his popular song “False Teacher$.” Though the song is relatively old, the words still ring true.

These days it’s off-putting, deemed insensitive, and labeled judgmental to point out heresy within the church. To many it’s unloving to say what someone believes or teaches is wrong. In the age of “your truth,” it’s quite “bigoted” to claim there’s only “the truth.”

That, however, should not hinder Christians from pointing out erroneous doctrine. It should not stop followers of Jesus from exposing damnable heresy. As children of God, we should be willing to confront damnable error. Or in the words of Michael Scott, “That’s heresy, my friend!” So let’s point out some ancient heresies that are showing their face today.

Arianism

Originating with Arius, this heresy claims that Jesus was not divine, but came into existence as God the Father’s “first act of creation.”¹ This heresy attempts to emphasize the humanity of Jesus so much so that it removes His divinity altogether. Though Jesus was the first of God’s creations, He still nevertheless was not God Himself.

This heresy is alive and well within the Latter-Day Saint (Mormon) Church and Jehovah’s Witness. Both of these religions cults defend the notion that Jesus was merely a created being, and not God in the flesh. We see the heresy of Arianism even within the walls of Christian churches today. This is not so much that evangelical churches teach forms of Arianism, but rather select professing Christians perhaps ignorantly believe in Arianism. To be sure, many might see Jesus’s title as the Son of God and take it literally. This is why biblical literacy is vital to the church.

Of course, if there are professing Christians who willingly and knowingly believe Jesus wasn’t divine, they’re simply not Christian.

Gnosticism

There are different facets to the heresy of Gnosticism, but we’re going to focus briefly on one, since the other relates to the another heresy below. The big part of this heresy has to do with having a type of “secret knowledge” that only select people receive and is very subjective. Gnosticism essentially says, “I know something you don’t. I’m in on the secret. I’ve been enlightened. I’ve woken up. I’m spiritually on a higher level.”²

The issue with Gnosticism is that it values this secret knowledge, this hidden wisdom, over the explicit doctrines of sacred Scripture. You don’t need hidden truths to follow Christ, but only what the Word of God says. This silliness (to put it lightly) leads to all sorts of mystical mischief and has had somewhat of a resurgence through New Age teachings.

Pelagianism

All damnable heresies are well, damnable, but perhaps none has had a greater impact than Pelagianism. This heresy denies original sin, and claims that every person is inherently good, not bad. Further, it teaches that man can achieve salvation by himself, that grace is not necessary for righteousness.

We perhaps don’t see full-blown Pelagianism as much today, but we certainly see a branch of it in semi-Pelagianism, which consequently downplays the need for God’s sovereign grace in the act of regeneration. This teaches that a person is in more of a neutral state before salvation, that their heart is not completely enslaved to sin, and that although they need God’s help for salvation, they have the ability to take the first step.

Docetism

This is the belief that claimed Jesus never really had a true physical body and did not take on human flesh; therefore, Jesus was never human. This has to do with Gnosticism in that the heresy teaches physical creation is inherently evil. In the same way that Arianism rejects Christ as divine, Docetism rejects Jesus as human.

The problem, of course, is Jesus has to be truly God and truly man. When you reject one, you lose the gospel. To say Jesus wasn’t really human is to remove His perfect obedience to God’s righteous and just law. It removes His ability to sympathize with us (Heb. 4:15). Jesus had to obey every single law on our behalf as a human. When you remove His humanity, you distort the gospel message at the core.

Marcionism

There were many issues with the originator, Marcion, but none more than his rejection of the Old Testament. He believed God was capricious, “a demiurge, an evil god who occupies a lower plane of being than the pure spirit from which all things come.”³

We see this today in various forms, but more explicitly from those who pit the Old and New Testament against each other, as if you have two different Gods. Two examples come to mind.

“Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures,” Andy Stanley said, “and my friends, we must as well.” There is much more to this controversy, but I will let you research that on your own.⁴ Additionally—and more randomly—Robert Griffin III, a former college football star at Baylor University and former quarterback in the NFL, recently posted this on Facebook:

God loves you despite your flaws. Show others that New Testament God love instead of the Old Testament one.⁵

RGIII, not one to be shy about his Christian faith, was doing great during the first sentence. But then everything came crashing down when he suggested either there are two different Gods or that God didn’t express love in the Old Testament. Of course, this is the same nonsense people shout who claim God is capricious, unloving, and vindictive in the OT, that Jesus somehow rescues us from that God in the NT.⁶

We must remember that Jesus, who has always been divine, was present with the Father (and Spirit) in the OT. God showed an immense amount of divine love, keeping His promise to the people of Israel despite their constant rejection and idolatry (and that’s just one example).

That’s Heresy, my Friend

Christian, don’t be afraid to call out heresy when you see it. Be discerning, ask for wisdom from God to help you see things that are concerning. Certainly don’t be a heresy-hunter, but always be on watch for heretical things that may come to you. The gospel is at stake.

1. https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/arianism-2

2. https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/simply-put/gnosticism

3. https://learn.ligonier.org/devotionals/marcions-challenge

4. https://albertmohler.com/2018/08/10/getting-unhitched-old-testament-andy-stanley-aims-heresy/

5. https://www.facebook.com/RG3/posts/god-loves-you-despite-your-flaws-show-others-that-new-testament-god-love-instead/1165540204929063/

6. God the Father and God the Son (and the Spirit) were all on the same page for Jesus’s work in the cross. The Father sent the Son (Jn. 3:16) because of His love for sinners.