A friend forwarded this to me.
First off, I agree with the overall thrust of what Chandler is saying – that belief without works isn’t enough. But...
In the article he says things like
“It seems like every generation thinks of ways to make the faith real and authentic in their time.”,
which I find troubling. The faith was once for all delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3), so it seems that the faith changes me, not vice versa.
He then says
“In fact, the very first Christians were not called Christians at all; they were called "The Way" (Acts 9:2).”
This seems to be a misreading of Acts 9:2, which reads: ‘...so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.’ I read “The Way” as referring to Christ, or the Christian faith, not Christians themselves. (We belong to Christ, not each other, right?). It’s not a major theological error, I suppose, but nonetheless it doesn’t seem to be an accurate reading.
In the end, I’m left with the feeling that he’s trying to de-emphasize doctrine more than he’s trying to re-emphasize the importance of godly living. It’s not an either/or choice: doctrine or right living. It’s a both/and command.
Well, those are my 2 cents.
