Reading through part 25 of the Westminster Confession of Faith, a decidedly Reformed Confession, one comes across this:
V. The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error; and some have so degenerated, as to become no Churches of Christ, but synagogues of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a Church on earth to worship God according to His will.
Well, my friend Chris L., who also blogs here sometimes 
has taken a lot of heat for his use of the ’synagogues of Satan’ phrase found in Scripture and his particular application of it. But here we see that even in this Confession, this is a validly used phrase to describe *some* who have drifted away from so-called orthodoxy. So, let’s rework this ‘confession’ of faith and give it a broader application, 25:5:
V. The purest blogs on the internet are subject both to mixture and error; and some have so degenerated, as to become no blogs of Christ, but blogs of Satan. Nevertheless, there shall be always a blog on the internet where the Word of God is rightly divided.**
Thanks Chris, for a great series of posts on the Revelation.
**in case you missed the categorization, this is satire and meant to lessen the tension by giving you a laugh or two. May your pleasures be many, your troubles be few!
![Image of The Prodigal God (An Unabridged Production)[2-CD Set]; Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31Jl6fhDLxL._SL75_.jpg "The Prodigal God (An Unabridged Production)[2-CD Set]; Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith")
8 Comments(+Add)
Also, Jerry, would not that tenant indicate that the purest churches on earth have a degree of uncertainty about them?
Rick,
I should not only think so, but hope so. Is that not the essence of ‘the righteous will live by faith’?
jerry
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Jerry,
I can’t say that I would agree with your sentiment that “uncertainty” is the essence of “the righteous will live by faith.” The above passage from Hebrews leads me to the conclusion that “certainty” would more accurately be considered the essence of the righteous will live by faith. Of course, our certainty is in the nature and promises of God, which cannot fail. The righteous (through Christ) live by certainty and trust in the promises of our faithful God.
EVD,
You speak to me as though I am denying that which is the furthest thing from the truth. But as I have said before, if you think you are alive in Christ and never suffer a crisis of your faith, then you are more of a man than I am. I choose to be realistic about life and about faith. The essence of faith is the willingness and courage to believe even when uncertainty rears it’s ugly head. I don’t think you have fully understood my point about this. Christ doesn’t reject us because we have uncertainties at times, but he just might be uncertain about us when we reject him at times. I continue to trust him, even there are times when I am uncertain.
jerry
Certainty in the promises of our God to be sure, however not always certainty about our own versions and interpretations. That, in essence, is doctrinal self esteem. There are the core truths of Christianity:
* The Incarnation
* The substitutionary death of Christ
* The Resurrection
* Salvation by faith alone
Those are the issues that should bind us. And even if we have secondary issues concerning methodology or approach, we cannot engage in vicious assaults on our brethren. Those who see almost everything as a frontal assault on the gospel are self righteous and do not seem to care about meekness, grace, and most of all love.
No one seems to be warriors for humility, or vocally certain concerning love, or standing for the truth concerning interactive grace. Some are so consumed with what others do, they leave the weightier issues of Christ and deal in certainty about others, thinking they represent the Living Christ.
The so called “truth war” seems to have limited parameters. The war is not about being like Christ or even knowing Christ, it is fact about how to know about Christ. It seems to deal with apersonal aspects of exegesis and hermeneutics and even the supremecy of Scripture.
But how can we understand someone who shout the supremecy of Scripture but ignores much of the truths about being like Jesus Christ? What does it say about us if we stand firmly on the doctrine of the Trinity but ignore the Sermon on the Mount, except if we are teaching it in the abstract?
“Doctrine without works is dead.”
Rick Frueh circa A.D. 2009
Rick,
When I get back to writing my Confession of Faith, I might include some of that. There may be some editing, but as long as you don’t mind…
jerry
Sure.
The Supremacy of Scripture.