Last Sunday, I briefly mentioned a conflict in Scotland in the 1700s about the doctrine of repentance & who the gospel is for.
THE AUCHTERARDER CREED
Auchterarder is a small town in southern Scotland, which for our purposes was the location of an important controversy in the early 1700s.
In those days, there was much discussion about who the gospel is for in the church of Scotland. Is the gospel only for those who have repented and turned from their sins? Or, is it for those who have not yet repented and turned from their sins? Should the gospel be preached freely and to everyone? Or, should it only be preached to those who show signs of being elect?
These discussions came to head during an ordination exam of William Craig in 1717 in which he was asked to affirm or deny the following statement:
“It is not sound and orthodox to teach that we must forsake sin in order to our coming to Christ.” The Auchterarder Creed
Mr. Craig denied the statement, claiming that we must forsake sin in order to our coming to Christ.
This statement went on to be known as the Auchterarder Creed and was condemned by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as an “unsound and detestable doctrine.”
This judgment split the Church of Scotland into two groups: “Marrow Men” and “Neonomians.” The Marrow Men, which included Thomas Boston, Ralph Erskine, Ebenezer Erskine, and others, affirmed the creed, while the Neonomians denied it.
WHAT IS UNDERNEATH THIS CREED?
The creed it admittedly a bit clunky and could be worded better, but the root question underneath the creed is vital.
The root question this creed seeks to answer is: How freely should the gospel be preached?
Must a person repent into order to receive the gospel? Must a person turn from their sins in order to believe in the gospel? Must a person show signs of believing in order to receive the gospel?
The Marrow Men argued that the gospel should be freely preached for the following reasons:
A person does not need to repent in order to receive the gospel.
If a person does need to repent in order to receive the gospel, then repentance becomes a condition and a good work that makes a person worthy of receiving the gospel. But faith and works are gifts of God (Eph. 2:8-9)! To affirm repentance as a condition of receiving the gospel introduces legalism, which is seeking to gain acceptance by God through my obedience to God.
Moreover, a person cannot repent before receiving the gospel, because repentance is the fruit of believing the gospel and being born again by the Spirit. Repentance is a fruit of regeneration, not a root of acceptance before God.
Therefore, the gospel should be offered freely without the condition of repentance or any other condition to anyone and everyone.
WHY DOES THIS CREED MATTER FOR US?
As we saw in our passage from last Sunday, the main reason the Pharisees were angry with Jesus is because he ate with tax collectors and sinners before they repented.
Tax collectors and sinners were those who were unclean, unholy, and unwelcome into the synagogue, yet Jesus goes to eat with them!
This angered the Pharisees because they were self-righteous. They believed they were “well” and didn’t think they needed a doctor. They believed they were “righteous” and didn’t think they needed a Savior. They were legalists—they believed they were accepted by God through their careful obedience to God. So, when Jesus welcomed and ate with sinners before they repented, they got angry.
This creed matters, because it warns us to avoid the same danger of self-righteousness & legalism.
Let us remember that God has saved us by grace. The only thing we contributed to our salvation is, Martin Luther famously said, our sin.
We were saved by grace through faith, and our faith is a free gift of God! We have no reason to boast and no reason to think we are better than anyone else!
Let us remember this grace when we find sinners in need of grace. If we fail to remember that God has saved us by grace, we will begin to believe we were saved because we repented and are good people.
And we will have a hard time with sinners, those who have not placed their trust in Jesus. With people who do not fear God and do not obey his commands. With people who have no regard for how they wrong us. With people who celebrate what we hate.
The reason we often have a hard time with sinners is not because they are bad; it is because we think we are good.
Just like the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son,
Sinclair Ferguson warns, “Until grace and God himself masters a man, that grace will never flow out to other people. He will become Jonah under his tree with a heart shut up against sinners in need of grace because he thinks of God in conditional terms.”
Let us remember this grace when we find Christians in need of grace. Jesus said, the world will know who Christians are, because of their love for one another.
Yet, love is not usually the best word for describing the way Christians relate to one another. A better word is probably comparison or criticism.
Once we receive grace, we often treat others who have received grace according to their performance. If they are kind to us, we are kind back. If they are hospitable to us, we are hospitable back. If they are loving to us, we are loving back.
But, that’s not grace.
Let us rather:
outdo one another in showing honor (Rom. 12:10), refusing to give in criticism and critical judgment
think the best of one another (Phil. 4:8), pondering what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise.
speak the best of one another (Eph. 4:30), refusing to share or participate in any gossip or slander of one another but choosing to build others up when they aren’t around.
encourage one another (Eph. 4:29), using our words to give grace to one another.
forgive one another (Eph. 4:32), choosing to focus on how freely we have been forgiven so that we can forgive others freely.
and there’s so much more!
MORE ON THE MARROW CONTROVErsy
If you are interested in the Marrow Controversy, I would encourage you to check out the resources below.
These two are some of my favorite books of all time.