Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 37, No. 13 Home Page
RENEWAL THEOLOGY
J. Rodman Williams. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
Williams, who teaches at Regent University in Virginia, acknowledges that much of what can be found in his 1500-page survey of Christian theology can be found in other books, but since he has experienced a charismatic renewal, he would like to add a bit of excitement to the study of Systematic Theology. Part 1 deals with God, the World and Redemption; part 2 with Salvation, the Holy Spirit and Christian Living; part 3 with the Church and Eschatology.
Anabaptist readers will find much in these pages that they can agree with. Williams holds to the "progressive revelation" of God--that the Old Testament must be seen in the light of God's final revelation in Jesus Christ. He denies cessationism (that miracles were limited to the apostolic age) and dispensationalism.
Part 2 is devoted almost entirely to the work of the Holy Spirit (of the 411 pages only about 100 deal with Calling, Regeneration, Justification, Sanctification and Perseverance). This is a very lopsided section, but, then, Williams has an axe to grind. He wants to show the weaknesses of evangelical Christianity's experience of the Holy Spirit compared to the charismatic movement's.
As one would expect, Williams advocates the so-called "second blessing"—first we come to faith in Christ, and then we are encouraged to seek baptism with the Spirit. How this position can be supported (as he does) on the basis of Acts 1:5, where Jesus explains that the baptism of the Spirit is to take place at Pentecost, escapes me. And certainly I Corinthians 12:13 speaks of the beginning of the Christian life, for here Paul says that "all" were baptized by the Spirit into the body of Christ. It is biblically unacceptable to suggest that believers today can duplicate once-for-all salvation events such as the cross, the resurrection or Pentecost. That we experience the benefits of these historical events is, of course, quite a different matter. Williams argues that none of the references to the coming of the Holy Spirit upon believers in Acts have to do with salvation, but always with a post-salvation experience. His favourite passages to support this are Acts 8 and 19, but these passages have nothing to do with a post~conversion baptism with the Spirit.
Williams devotes an entire chapter to speaking in tongues. He finds references to tongues even in passages such as Ephesians 5:18-19, where Paul speaks of singing spiritual songs. It is presumptuous for Williams to suggest that those have not experienced the "baptism of the Spirit" (as he understands it) have no right to speak to the question of spiritual gifts. He suggests that the gifts of the Spirit, mentioned in I Corinthians 12, are like members of a body: When one member is missing or not functioning, the body is badly handicapped; therefore, all nine gifts should be present in church worship today. But surely that is not what Paul had in mind when he compared the church with a human body!
In his discussion of the individual gifts, Williams relates the "word of wisdom" to preaching, and the "word of knowledge" to teaching. However, he adds that Christian worship should be structured in such a way that people who have inspired utterances, as well as officially recognized preachers and teachers, should have the opportunity to speak.
With respect to the gift of "faith", Williams disagrees with people like Hagen and Copeland, who advocate the "health and wealth" doctrine. We would agree with him.
The "gifts of healings" are understood as supernatural and separate from the healing profession (doctors, nurses, medicines), although Williams says that when a person breaks a leg, he or she needs to go to the doctor and not wait for miraculous healing. Also, he acknowledges that not all sicknesses are healed, even by those who have a gift of healing.
The "gift of prophecy" (inspired spontaneous utterances, not a prepared message), Williams says, can be exercised by any member of the congregation. However, these do not have the same authority as prophecies found in Scripture. Williams further warns against "directional prophecy" (e.g., God wants you to marry this person), which can have disastrous results. However, these qualifications do not remove all the difficulties. If God gives people revelations today, one wonders why Jesus and the apostles encourage us to study the Scriptures. Isn't a word straight from God more interesting than a sermon?
Regarding the gift of "tongues", Williams distinguishes between "devotional tongues" (praise, prayer) and "ministry tongues", and criticizes churches that discourage or even forbid speaking in tongues in public services. Tongues with interpretation are equal in value to prophecy, according to Williams.
After devoting an unusual amount of space to spiritual gifts, it is refreshing to read, "Spiritual gifts cannot substitute for goodness, righteousness and truth". To his credit, Williams devotes a number of pages to the fruit of the Spirit, without which, as Paul says in I Corinthians 13, the gifts are nothing. Although he warns against thinking of oneself as being on a higher plane because one possesses certain gifts, there is an elitism or triumphalism that Williams can hardly hide.
Part 3 is divided into two major sections: the church and the return of Christ. In the section on the church, there is much that Anabaptists could identify with. Williams criticizes those who since Reformation times have spoken of the visible and the invisible church. He thinks the desire of some believers to belong to the invisible church and not to the visible, is wrong; the church is the people of God, represented in a local congregation. He cautions against putting a lot of emphasis on church facilities, and objects to pastors being called "Reverend". In carrying out its mission in the world, the church, he says, must strive to keep a balance between word and deed, between evangelism and deeds of mercy. He makes much of the priesthood of all believers, the plurality of church leadership, the Sermon on the Mount, believers' baptism (by immersion) and participation in the Lord's Supper being limited to believers. However, when he comes to the believer's relationship to the state, Anabaptists would part company with Williams. He holds to the just war theory, and that involves service in the military.
In contrast to the more extreme charismatic groups who teach that God is restoring "apostleship" (in the New Testament sense) in these last days, Williams denies both apostolic succession and apostolic restoration. He recognizes, of course, that the word "apostle" is used also in a more general sense in the New Testament in contrast to the foundation-laying apostles (Ephesians 2:20), and in that sense the church has always had apostles. I would, however, part company with Williams when he insists that the signs and wonders that accompanied the ministry of the apostles in the first century should be expected today as well.
In the area of eschatology, Williams rejects dispensationalism, which holds to two comings of Christ (the rapture and the day of the Lord). Against theologians such as Hal Lindsey, he rejects a pre-tribulation rapture, for which he finds no grounds in the New Testament. The last days began with Pentecost, and the church always lives in end times. Prior to Christ's return a great apostasy is to take place, although the "mystery of lawlessness" is at work even now. In light of this, there is a temptation (and Williams leans in that direction) to guess how close we are to the end by looking at the anti-Christian forces at work in the world today.
As for the millennium, Williams is an amillennialist, although he doesn't like the label. He holds that the binding of Satan (Revelation 20) took place through Jesus and that those who rise from spiritual death (through faith) reign with Christ today for a thousand years (a symbolical number to indicate that God knows how long). At the end of this age come the ultimate triumph of God over all evil forces, the final judgement and the emergence of the new heaven and new earth.
There is much in this huge volume that is praiseworthy. Williams has a great gift for outlining and ordering his material. Although he puts an undue emphasis on the book of Acts, there is a great amount of useful material here.
David Ewert is Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Concord College now living in Abbotsford, B.C.
Return to the M.B.Herald Vol. 37, No. 13 Home Page