Five Major Heresies in the Church: Docetism

by David Chadwick

Heresies. They are the beliefs and opinions that are contrary to the Christian faith. As we move forward, let me first add how important it is to note that not every area of disagreement is a heresy.

Unfortunately, in my many years of pastoral ministry, I have seen many who deem things they are uncomfortable with as heretical. Dear friends, please be careful. Unless it’s a clearly outlined biblical and historical heresy, we should not toss this word around loosely.

With that said, let’s look at another one of the historical deviations from Biblical Christianity so we can learn more clearly what are considered true heresies.

Docetism. It is the belief that Jesus is not human. The Greek word “to seem” is the root of the word Docetism.

In this heretical thought, Jesus seemed human but is not. He did not have a real human body. It only appeared to be real. All of the suffering on the cross was not real. It only appeared to be real. So, according to this way of thinking, the crucifixion was an illusion of reality and Jesus, as a perfect spirit, only “seemed” to suffer and die. Don’t fall for this heresy! Its logic is no better than a sleight of hand trick.

Jesus was totally God and totally human at the same time (Philippians 2:5-11)! Both his body and his spirit were real. He was a flesh and blood person, conceived in a virgin’s womb. He walked this earth and chose to suffer just like us, as a demonstration of love! He is able to help us because he knows everything we experience (Hebrews 2:18). Plus, he had to be fully human, the second Adam, to pay the price for the forgiveness of our sin (Romans 5:12-19).

I find it interesting that Gnosticism promotes the separation of the spiritual and the material and Docetism encourages the separation of divinity and humanity. Oh how humankind loves extremes! But the profound message of the Gospel is found in the tension and mystery of extremes. A message that is profoundly material and mystically spiritual. A Savior who was fully God and fully man.

This is the Gospel that saved my life! I pray it has saved yours as well!

Five Major Heresies in the Church: Gnosticism

by David Chadwick

Theology is one of our “Core 4” at Moments of Hope Church. Scripture, Theology, Wholeness, and Outreach are 4 pillars we believe create a healthy diet in maturing Christians.

Developing a strong understanding of theology is a crucial part of living as a mature Christ follower. It is important to understand the key doctrines of the Christian faith. But it is also important to understand the key heresies, which is what I am teaching you this week.

Today’s heresy is Gnosticism. This is the belief that the material world is bad and the spirit world is good. Therefore, God had to place many different “emanations” between him and the fallen, evil world. What are emanations, you might ask? Think of them as abstract layers in between God and this world. They become degrees of separation, distancing a perfect spiritual God from this evil world.

So, following this consistency of thought, Jesus had to be only spiritual in nature, not material at all. And salvation is only achieved through esoteric knowledge.

The term “Gnosticism” comes from the Greek word “gnosis,” which means “knowledge” or “to know.” It implies that there is a spiritual knowledge that only a few can actually attain.

Paul addresses Gnosticism in the book of Colossians. Take a look at Colossians 2:18, for instance, where he corrects the wrong thinking that only a few really understand and attain a certain level of spirituality: “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.”

Bottom line is this - earth and matter is good because God created it. It’s the Lord’s earth (Psalm 24:1)! Yes, it’s tainted by sin, but still lovely in its beauty, productivity, and livability! Moreover, concerning Jesus, he was totally God and totally human at the same time–the major Christian tenets Gnosticism could not grasp nor believe.

May we never partner with this heresy of Gnosticism that creates an unhealthy chasm between the spiritual and the material. May we never teach a Gospel that is unattainable and unreachable, granting oversight to only a few elites.

Finally, may we followers of Jesus always live as ambassadors of the Kingdom of heaven, who reveal the many displays of the wonder of God in the midst of this broken world!

Five Major Heresies in the Church: Legalism and Antinomianism

by David Chadwick

We recently looked at 15 key doctrines of Christianity. Doctrines are the deeply held beliefs of the Christian faith that have withstood time and testing. Each day, I urged you to think of each doctrine as a key, creating a collection of keys to use when faced with resistance, questions, or confusion.

Heresies, on the other hand, are the beliefs and opinions that are contrary to the Christian faith. I want to share some of those with you this week so you can see where the ever so slight deviations can cause people to stray from the pure and simple Gospel.

Let’s begin with two heresies found in the New Testament: legalism and antinomianism, two extremes of one another.

Legalism is seen in the work of the Judaizers. They were supposed Christians who believed that one is saved by grace AND by circumcision. Circumcision was the outward evidence of entrance into the Jewish community of faith. The Judaizers believed identifying with Jewish heritage in this way was required to be saved.

Paul vociferously argued that if you have to add anything to grace then it’s not grace. He wrote Galatians 1 largely to refute the Judaizers who followed him after he planted the Galatian church. As you read this chapter, you can sense Paul’s frustration and anger toward the Judaizers.

Another example of the Judaizers’ influence on the early Christian church can be found in Acts 15 and what’s called the Jerusalem Council. This meeting was called to determine if Gentiles needed to be circumcised for salvation. After much debate, the answer was a resounding, “No!” Paul and Barnabas were then sent out on their second missionary journey after this victory, inviting Gentiles to receive Jesus by grace through faith alone.

Antinomianism, on the other hand, is the opposite of legalism. Another word for this would be licentiousness. It’s the belief that because we are saved by grace and because the law has been canceled, we can keep on sinning and not worry about judgment from God. People use this heresy as a means to sin. This could not be farther from the truth! And Paul loudly refuted this in Romans 6:1: Can we purposely sin knowing grace saves us? Paul answers, “Absolutely not!” A right understanding of grace motivates Christians not to sin.

May we never misuse the grace Jesus gave on the cross to err on either extreme of legalism or antinomianism.