16-6-7 Lost Emphasis Upon Grace

Not only did the early church become harsher in their view of the world; they likewise became graceless in their view of each other. Hermans (Man. 4.3.6) wrote: “After the great and holy calling, if a person be tempted by the devil and commit sin, he has one repentance; but if he sin and repent repeatedly, [repentance] is unprofitable”. This is in direct conflict with the Lord’s teaching about forgiving the repentant sinner 490 times / day, i.e. without limit. Raymond Brown comments: “In the first centuries it was ecclesiastical discipline not to forgive the sins of adultery and apostasy”⁽¹⁾ . Soon, the writings of the early church were linking salvation with good deeds- whereas the New Testament clearly links salvation with pure grace. Consider The Shepherd Of Hermas, 2.3.2: “You are saved by not having broken away from the living God… if he refrains from every evil lust, he will inherit eternal life” (3.8.4). These graceless attitudes led to hypocrisy, as church leaders had to live in denial of their own humanity and sinfulness. The early Christian leaders such as Paul and Peter constantly alluded to their own weaknesses of faith; and the Gospel records, transcripts of the disciples’ own preaching, are shot through with reference to their own weakness of faith and understanding. Tertullian even went so far as to write that "The basis of salvation is fear". This is such a very far cry from the spirit of the New Testament, where John wrote of the perfect love which casts out fear, and the Lord Himself continually comforted His flock: "Fear not".

And despite the unparalleled emphasis upon ‘grace’ amongst us recently, it would appear we are heading the same way. ‘Sins’ involving adultery and divorce are often seen, in practice, as unforgiveable. ‘One sin and you’re out’ became the rule of the early apostate church, despite their theoretical understanding of grace. And there is no lack of evidence that in our own beloved community, leaders likewise have come to live in denial of their own sins, misjudgments and inappropriacies.

Notes

(1) Raymond Brown, The Epistles of John (Garden City: Doubleday, 1982) p. 238.