Orthodox Presbyterian Church Endorses Teaching of John O. Kinnaird
July 2003
Friends,
At its 2003 General Assembly (the highest body in the church), the Orthodox Presbyterian
Church (OPC) reversed the conviction of Elder John O. Kinnaird and declared his
teaching on justification to be consistent with Scripture and the Westminster
Confession of Faith.
Elder Kinnaird had been charged with and convicted of teaching
a doctrine of justification by faith and works, contrary to the Word of God
and the Westminster Standards. His appeal of that conviction to the Presbytery
of Philadelphia was denied, and the conviction upheld. The OPC GA overturned
the decisions of both local church session and Presbytery.
Here are excerpts from the teaching of Elder Kinnaird that the
OPC has officially declared to be acceptable and Biblical:
"The answer
to our question, 'Why do people need to be sanctified and glorified?' The
answer is that when Adam sinned, he and all descending from him (WCF VI.3)
lost the righteousness wherein mankind was created and, thereby, mankind also
lost communion with God. If communion with God is to be restored, righteousness
of a real and personal nature must be restored."
Comment: According to Kinnaird, it is our "real and personal
righteousness" that "restores communion with God," not the perfect
imputed righteousness of Christ.
Kinnaird: "God
has appointed a day when he will judge the world in righteousness. All persons
who have lived upon the earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ to
give account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and to receive according
to what they have done in the body, whether good or bad. On That Great Day
of Judgement, God's righteous judgement will be revealed. God will then give
to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence
in doing good (we Presbyterians call this perseverance) seek glory, honor,
and immortality, he will give eternal life. For those who are self-seeking
and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be eternal wrath and
anger [Romans 2:6-8] and destruction from before the face of the Lord. It
is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous on that Day of Judgment."
Comment: Note that Kinnaird says the judgment according to works
will decide whether one receives eternal life or death. Those who will be "declared
righteous," that is justified, and given eternal life will be "those
who obey the law." He is not discussing degrees of reward, but salvation
and damnation. In fact, he explicitly denies he is discussing degrees of reward:
Kinnaird: "Those
who teach that the purpose of the Day of Judgement is not to reveal God's
righteousness in his judgements (judgements that will be unto eternal life
or death in accord with what men have done on this earth), but rather only
to determine types and degrees of rewards to be given to Christians, are in
error."
Kinnaird: "These good works are a required condition if
we would stand in the Day of Judgment and they are supplied by God to all His
people. Every description of the Judgment events speaks of these good works.
Without them, no one will see God.... Who are these people who thus benefit--who
stand on the Day of Judgment? They are those who obey the law who will be declared
righteous."
Comment: Good works are a "required condition" of
salvation. The imputed righteousness of Christ is insufficient. Those who will
be "declared righteous," that is, justified, will be "those who
obey the law."
Kinnaird: "It
is not possible that any could be a brother to Jesus Christ and enjoy with
Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, the presence of God the Father except that
one be fully conformed to the image of Christ in true and personal righteousness
and holiness. Neither the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, which
all Christians receive at justification, nor the infusion of the righteousness
of Christ (a false and non-existent concept taught by the Roman Catholic Church)
can suffice for that purpose. Christ does not have an imputed righteousness.
His righteousness is real and personal. If we are to be conformed to his image,
we too must have a real and personal righteousness."
Comment: Kinnaird asserts that the imputed righteousness of
Christ cannot suffice for making us brothers of Christ or allowing us to stand
in the presence of God. Kinnaird makes our "real and personal righteousness"
sufficient for both those things, adoption and communion with God. Among other
things, his language suggests that Christ's imputed righteousness is not "real."
Kinnaird: "Further,
it seems to be alleged in certain circles that the Westminster creedal system
is a faith-alone system. I judge it to be the very opposite."
Kinnaird: "On
the Day of Judgement I will hear God declare me to be righteous. As to the
reason for that, it is not because of the works, even though it will be in
acord with the works. The reason will be: first, because it [God's declaration
that John Kinnaird is righteous] will be true because God will have changed
me so that I am really and personally righteous. After all, we will be crowned
with righteousness. This is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit in my
sanctification in this life."
Comment: According to Kinnaird, God's declaration of righteousness
is not made because of the imputed righteousness of Christ, but because "God
will have changed me so that I am really and personally righteous." Had
God not changed Kinnaird, such a declaration of righteousness presumably would
not have been true. Kinnaird will be saved by his sanctification and the work
of the Holy Spirit.
Again, the imputed righteousness of Christ is omitted from Kinnaird's
soteriology, for he thinks imputed righteousness is unreal and impersonal.
Conclusion
Ten OPC Elders signed a Protest against the decision of the
OPC endorsing the teaching of John Kinnaird. Among other things, the Protest
declares:
"The decision
of the Assembly to sustain the appeal opens the gate, in the judgment of the
undersigned, to the use throughout the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of a hermeneutic
that allows interpretations of Scripture that are out of accord with the whole
body of the Word."
This writer applauds the Protest, and prays that there will
be an overwhelming reaction in the OPC against this decision, and a return to
the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But I would argue that the hermeneutical gate to
Antichristian interpretations of Scripture was opened long ago in the OPC. Indeed
it is the prevalence of this irrational, dialectical hermeneutic that permitted
this decision to be made.
To change the metaphor, the cancer that has long been present
in the OPC has now metastasized.
John O. Kinnaird has long been associated with Norman Shepherd
and has defended him publicly. The OPC failed to deal with Shepherd properly
20 years ago, and now his protégés and sympathizers apparently
control the denomination.
John Robbins
The Trinity Foundation
July 18, 2003
For further reading go to Review Archives at www.trinityfoundation.org
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