By Robin G. Jordan
In a communiqué issued
after its February 1-5, 2016 meeting the Standing Committee of the Church of Nigeria
(Anglican Communion) “calls upon all provinces
of the Anglican Communion to uphold and maintain the faith of the church as
expressed in the Holy Bible, the Anglican Formularies and the Jerusalem
Declaration.” It is a call to which
I give my hearty approbation.
At the same time I must ask, “Are the leaders of the
Anglican Church in North America listening?”
As long as Archbishop Nicholas Okoh and the other GAFCON
Primates recognize the ACNA as a part of the Anglican Communion, this call
applies to the ACNA's leaders, not just the leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada and the
Episcopal Church in the USA.
What are they doing to uphold and maintain what the communiqué
describes as the Anglican Church’s “historic faith”?
Very little if the formularies of the ACNA are used as a
measure of their commitment to that faith—a faith based upon the Holy
Scriptures and set out in the Anglican Formularies and the Jerusalem
Declaration.
While they have not gone as far as the Episcopal Church’s
leaders in their departure from that faith, they have nonetheless strayed from
it. They espouse teaching and practices that are inconsistent with the Bible,
the Anglican Formularies, and the Jerusalem Declaration.
It may be wishful thinking on my part to hope that this call
might resonate with the leaders of the Anglican Church in North America. They
are committed to upholding and maintaining a different faith—a faith of human
contriving. No doubt they may sincerely believe what they believe but as Bishop
J. C. Ryle pointed out more than a century ago, sincerity of belief is not
enough. Salvation comes from hearing the gospel and believing on the Lord’s
Jesus Christ. It does not come from sacraments and good works. The doctrines of
salvation are found in God’s word written, in the Holy Scriptures. They are not
found in the traditions of men.
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