Okay, so I have your attention (at least I hope I do). I'm a bit bothered at some of the recent threads where individuals are called to repent because they hold to doctrines that are consistent with their confession. I want to put this issue in its own thread and have it dealt with.
First, isn't membership on this board predicated (partly) on subscribing to a confession? Would it be the consensus of PB members that the doctrinal positions held by the approved confessions would be within the sphere of orthodoxy? If not among the membership, how about the owner, mods and administrator? I believe this is a question that warrants an answer. If the PB allows members who are not orthodox in their doctrine, doesn't that under-mind the purpose of this board? We've seen PB leadership react strongly to the FV and NPP. They are to be applauded for that. But shouldn't that consistency be shown in all doctrines that would be deemed unorthodox? I'm open to correction if I am wrong.
Second, is repentance routinely called for outside of the local church? One of the more prolific passages on confrontation and repentance is Matthew 18:15-17:
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Matthew 18:15-17 15 "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. 17 "And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax-gatherer.
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What is interesting about this passage is that discipline is seen within the confines of the local church. James indicates the same line of reasoning:
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James 5:14-15 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
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The call to repentance is part of church discipline. Botched church discipline has harmed more people than it has helped. The PB is not a local church. It cannot practice church discipline and I question whether a formal call to repentance can be made outside of the local church.
So what constitutes accepted orthodoxy? Does the PB allow members who do not hold to the orthodox faith? Are the approved confessions of the PB within the sphere of orthodoxy? If a person holds to one of these confessions can we say that they are orthodox and stop calling on them to repent?
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