What Can We Learn from Christian Fundamentalists? David M. Doran Responds

^{Editor’s Note: 9Marks Ministries recently dedicated their recent eJournal issue to discussing Fundamentalism. SharperIron has received permission from them to reprint the articles here for discussion. We will post ten articles over the next two weeks. If you would like the complete eJournal or would like to subscribe to further editions, please go to www.9marks.org.}

David M. Doran

In light of the subsequent doctrinal decline in Evangelicalism, it seems important to learn that granting Christian recognition and fellowship to those who deny essential Christian doctrines is not only disastrous for the health of the church, but, more fundamentally, it dishonors God by disobeying His Word. Many texts are clear that false doctrine and those who teach it must be identified and rejected (e.g., Romans 16:17), and that giving such false teachers any encouragement makes one a participant in their evil deeds (2 John 9-11). Fundamentalism’s commitment to maintain the line between truth and error was the right position, and rejecting that position has yielded a harvest of heresies among professing Evangelicals.

In light of the subsequent fragmentation among Fundamentalists, it seems important to learn that separation must always be viewed in relation to the gospel. In the early stages of Fundamentalism, this was clear. Both modernism and compromise with it were genuine threats to the gospel—the former by denying essential elements of the gospel and the latter by denying that acceptance of the Christian gospel is necessary to be recognized as a Christian. Later, in the midst of the conflict between the Fundamentalists and new Evangelicals, in some ways the focus shifted off of the gospel to secondary matters. Separation, rather than serving the goal of gospel purity, sometimes came to be viewed as end in itself—separation for the sake of separation. That’s a path to constant schism.

In summary, gospel believing people and churches need to recognize the biblical call to defend the gospel even to the point of separation while not getting sidetracked into divisive battles matters which are not essential to the gospel. The 21^st century church needs to embrace and wisely apply biblical separation for the sake of the gospel, the health of the church, and, ultimately, for God’s glory.

David M. Doran is the pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church in Allen Park, Michigan, and president of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. He also wrote For the sake of his name: Challenging a New Generation for World Missions (Student Global Impact).

March/April 2008, ©9Marks

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