“Before the Christian Church goes into eclipse anywhere there must first be a corrupting of her simple basic theology. She simply gets the wrong answer to the question, “What is God like?” and goes on from there. Though she may continue to cling to a sound nominal creed, her practical working creed has become false. The masses of her adherents come to believe that God is different from what He actually is; and that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.” (A.W. Tozer)
God is thought of in such terms today that He is thought to be something like a doting grandfather, an indulgent and kindly man, or perhaps a blob of love floating around. Many people belong to churches with orthodox creeds but they have a wrong idea of God and that almost completely. The creed that people work by is their real creed since it reflects the deepest beliefs they have in their hearts. Regardless of what the official belief is that a particular church has adopted, and perhaps the people can even intellectually defend it, it is in the business meetings and the practices of the church that the practical working creed which can show the deepest beliefs of people is really seen. What do people believe about God? Do they really believe in God when they develop a budget? Do they really believe in a sovereign God when they think of how they are going to practice evangelism? Do they really believe in a sovereign God when they try to think of supporting missionaries? Do people really believe that God is a God that dwells in His people when they disagree in a business meeting? Do people really believe in a holy God when no human beings see them?
If we take Tozer’s statement seriously, then we must look soberly at the churches we attend. What is the practical working creed of the church that I attend? While “my church” may have an orthodox creed, could it be guilty of heresy of the most insidious and deadly king when its practical working creed is seen? Many believed Jesus when He fed them and healed them, but as He said to a crowd that had believed in Him: “So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine.” People must continue in His word in order to show that they are truly His disciples. Believing is not simply a matter of saying a prayer or of agreeing to a creed in a church, but it is a matter of having the life of Christ in a person and believing what He said. It is to take the views of Christ about things over the things of the world and so walking by faith and not by sight. This includes what Jesus revealed about the Father by action and word. If a person does not believe what Christ says about the Father, then one does not believe in Christ and has never really seen Christ (spiritually understanding). Jesus told His disciples that if they had seen Him they had seen the Father (John 14:9). No matter what a church says about believing in Christ, if they do not believe the truth about God they have not seen or understood Christ since He is the outshining of the glory of God (Heb 1:3).
When the practical working creed of a church has become false, this shows that the church has a different God and that they do not know Christ either. This may sound harsh and judgmental, but it is still true. Eternal life is to know God and the Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Christ came to reveal the Father (John 1:18) and in fact was the very dwelling place of the glory of God, the glory of grace and truth (John 1:14-17). As the dwelling place of the glory of truth, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and the only way to really understand and know the Father (John 14:6). No one can even go to the Father and see or understand His glory without seeing it in Christ and going to Him by way of understanding and faith in the truth displayed in and through Christ. A wrong view of God, therefore, is a wrong view of Christ. As Jesus said, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him” (John 14:7). If a person knows Christ they know the Father. On the other hand, if a person does not know Christ s/he does not know the Father.
The devastating results of a church that has a practical working creed that displays a heretical view of God is indeed sad. A church that has an orthodox creed is a dangerous place to worship if it has a heretical view of God in it practical working creed. In fact, a church with an orthodox creed could be more dangerous than liberal groups. A person trusting in an orthodox creed and yet does not understand the heretical notions about God within the practical working creed can be drawn into heretical beliefs that are hidden and disguised by the orthodox creed. This is a very dangerous place to be. Tozer called it this: “that is heresy of the most insidious and deadly kind.” Can he be correct? Is it far more deadly to have a practical working creed that is heretical than the official doctrinal statement? It very well could be. Maybe that is why Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees. This kind of idolatry goes under the name of “orthodoxy.” Can correct doctrine hide heretical hearts? Indeed it can, so beware.
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