I turn now to the third of the twelve theses which I posted as a way of giving shape to a new reformation of the Anglican Communion.
If the Anglican Communion is to be reformed again it needs to hear and heed these crucial truths:
3. The most urgent and important need of every human being is to be reconciled to God. We are all naturally God's enemies (Rms 5:10) with the result that we stand under the wrath of the God who loves us (Rms 1:18; Eph. 2:1–3). Our natural disposition is to insist on our own autonomy, to repeat the folly of the Garden of Eden where the goal was to determine right and wrong without reference to God and the word he had given (Gen. 3:4–6). If we are to be reconciled to God, then the cconsequences of our rebellion against him — our guilt, corruption, enslavement to sinful thinking and behaviour, and death — must all be dealt with in their entirety. A gospel which does not explain this most basic need is no gospel at all.
This thesis challenges the new gospel of inclusion that in some circles has replaced the gospel of Jesus Christ. At the heart of this new gospel is a refusal to face the truth about the natural condition of all men and women. The consistent testimony of the New Testament is that those who do not come to Christ in repentance and faith are lost, alienated from God, arraigned as his enemies, and stand under his judgement (Rom 3:9–20; Eph. 2:1–3). Paul was crystal clear and uncompromising when he wrote: '... the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth ...' (Rom 1:18).
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