I would begin with a quote from Francis Bacon, English philosopher and statesman: Small amounts of philosophy lead to atheism, but larger amounts bring us back to God.
I think Bacon’s idea is that the fuller the picture is regarding life, its origin, and meaning, the more we will be convinced of the reality of God. This principle regarding the acquisition of knowledge is sound. Reality looms large and will present itself to an interested and unbiased intellect. And, the fuller our understanding becomes, the more accurate and useful it is. In contrast, a person can easily be misled by partial understanding. As an example relative to the subject of God, if a person only looks at the evil in the world and doesn’t consider how it got here or how the Bible reveals God is dealing with it, he may hastily conclude there is no God. Many things in life, perhaps most things or even all things, may similarly be wrongly concluded when knowledge or understanding is lacking. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in the sphere of religion. In spiritual matters, Scriptural revelation is self-described as being “here a little and there a little”, meaning the whole of revelation on any given subject may not be contained in one place (Isaiah 28:13). Applying Bacon’s principle to salvation doctrine, we can say that some people may only know enough to be dangerous, to themselves and others. That is so because small amounts of knowledge on salvation doctrine lead to false doctrine but larger amounts lead to truth. There are many powerful examples of this. Here are a few. Most of these are understood very superficially by many, if at all, and yet they are chief components of Christian doctrine.
1/ The Great Commission
A partial view of the Great Commission is extremely misleading. It skews the baptismal formula. Most Christians and websites that I have encountered consider Matthew 28:18-20 as the Great Commission. That simply is not true. It is a part of the Great Commission. Serious doctrinal error grows out of their reduction of knowledge. Because they narrowly look upon the Great Commission, they draw the conclusion that baptism is to be administered in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19). In actuality, the Great Commission was given by Jesus over a forty day period, culminating at His ascension. When looking at the fuller picture, it can be determined that Jesus was teaching the fact of His absolute deity and that baptism was to be administered in His Own name (Luke 24:47), which was precisely how the Great Commission was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:38) and how it was said to continue throughout the Church age (Acts 2:39).
2/ The Day of Pentecost
The Day of Pentecost is a defining moment in Christian history because it is the beginning point of the Christian era. Few things impact the determination of Christian salvation doctrine like the Day of Pentecost. It literally proves Acts 2:38 is the plan of salvation. That is because it is a dynamic context. Logically, the plan of salvation must be revealed at the first occasion of Christian evangelism and conversion. And, that’s what we have on the Day of Pentecost. Those who were convicted of their sins and sought reconciliation with God asked Peter and the others what to do. That was in verse 37. Verse 38, then, must record the Christian plan of salvation. Chronology requires it and solidifies it. There is no logical way around this.
Not only is the Day of Pentecost dynamic because it is the birthday of Christian history but it is also marked as the fulfillment of long-awaited prophecy, as Peter noted, signifying the authenticity of salvation made available and announced on that momentous day (Acts 2:16-40).
Many people do not perceive the dynamic quality of the Day of Pentecost. It’s just another day in history to them. But the Day of Pentecost controls what may be preached for salvation. The plan of salvation was set in Acts 2:38-39 for the Church age.
3/ The examples of Christian salvation
People often cite the thief on the cross when they want an example they think will prove that all a person has to do to be saved is believe in Jesus. They do well to realize the importance of examples to prove a salvation position but their selection of the thief is outside the pale of Christian conversion, which began on the Day of Pentecost. Here is a good example of where smaller amounts of knowledge can lead to false doctrine. Christian examples of conversion are numerous in the book of Acts and involve thousands of people. These provide the “larger amounts” of knowledge that safeguard Christian doctrine.
4/ Old Testament prophecy
Rarely do people cite Old Testament prophecy when supporting their doctrinal position on salvation. And, in the few cases when they do, it is not expansive. It’s usually simply Joel 2:32, which, by itself, can easily be misconstrued. But New Testament salvation is based on Old Testament prophecy, as Peter pointed out on the Day of Pentecost using a larger portion of Joel. There are also many other prophetic passages, such as those in Jeremiah 31, which is referred to in the book of Hebrews, and Ezekiel 36. In fact, there are so many Old Testament passages prescribing Christian salvation that Jesus rebuked Nicodemus for not recognizing the concept of new birth when He mentioned it to him (John 3:10).
5/ Unity of the Gospels, Acts, Epistles
Every verse of Scripture comports with every other and with the whole. The Scriptures are in perfect agreement. But a narrow look at a portion of the New Testament with disregard for the whole may easily render a faulty view of salvation. As shown earlier, some people may single out the thief on the cross and ignore the Day of Pentecost and the other numerous examples of salvation in Acts. Or, someone may dwell on Paul’s theology of justification by faith in the epistles and not realize that he was theologizing about Acts 2:38 itself. But, if a person pays attention to the book of Acts, he will see that Paul himself obeyed the Acts 2:38 message and preached it to others (Acts 9; 19). There is unity in the New Testament, of which the book of Acts is pivotal. The New Testament would actually be confusing and suggest a variety of ways to be saved if it weren’t for this valuable book where Christian salvation is showcased. Christianity is anticipated in the Gospels, realized in Acts, and theologized in the epistles.
Conclusion
We should be aware that every topic, secular and sacred, is only true and understandable in relation to its entirety. Partial truths can be the most dangerous errors. In fact, partial truth, when presented as the whole truth, is a lie. That very subtlety is what makes it so inconspicuous and dangerous.
We have an obligation to learn about God and the salvation He provides. If we handle matters of salvation carelessly, we have only ourselves to blame (Hebrews 2:1-3). Thankfully, there’s joy and delight in learning God’s Word. There is also reward (Psalms 19:7-11).
In the next post, I would like to show the positive and negative effects of the Reformation.