A few days ago, a short YouTube came out called, “Don’t Elevate Doctrine above the Holy Spirit.” It’s a clip from Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Revelation 2:1-7
preached at the ancient Celsus Library in Ephesus. Apart from the
excerpt on youtube, there are some helpful things said at various points
in the sermon. However, the portion in the video is a perfect example
of a wider error often seen in the church today: the pitting of
“doctrine” (cue ominous music) against the work of the Spirit in the
heart.
In Driscoll’s latest hit, he warns against the supposed consequences
of elevating doctrine over the Holy Spirit with statements such as: “You
don’t need to pray much anymore, because you have a theology that tells
you what to do. You don’t have to listen to the Holy Spirit anymore,
because you have a theology that directs all your steps. I’m not saying
we avoid our doctrinal clarity, but we still need to be filled with the
Holy Spirit.” He proposes that “cessationism…[is] a clever way of
saying, we don’t need him [the Holy Spirit] like we used to.” One of the
repercussions of cessationism, he says, is that “Christianity goes from
a relationship we enjoy to a belief system we adhere to.”
Whatever cessationism is, it’s anything but these things (see Nate Busenitz’s article here for helpful clarification on what cessationism is not).
But more to the point: Can doctrine be elevated over the
Spirit? It’s a charged issue, no doubt. Much could be said in response
to the quotes above, but the bottom line is this: to say, “Don’t elevate
doctrine above the Holy Spirit,” is to make a boogeyman distinction.
It’s a non-existent dichotomy that sounds catchy, but is false through
and through, and needs to be laid to rest. Continue at Eric Davis
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