Heretic!

I was listening to a Mark Driscoll sermon this morning and I heard him recall a conversation with J.I. Packer. Packer was kicked out of his Anglican denomination because he opposed same-sex marriage. He didn't just disapprove of the Anglican shift in considering homosexuality as sinless, he opposed it by calling the Anglican leaders to repentance.

Imagine being passionate about something... something that you are so convicted of as true. So convinced that this ideal is true that you are willing to go at lengths to defend your "truth". Then someone you know and respect tells you that you are wrong. In light of this, I understand why the Anglican leaders kicked Packer out of their denomination.

But the final straw seemed to come when Packer called them heretics. To these Anglican leaders, this was tantamount to name-calling and not to be tolerated.

So what does "heretic" mean? It means: "a person believing in or practicing religious heresy."

For me, this word seems medieval and dated. Probably because I rarely hear it. But I realize that Packer is very right to use the term. He adds that heresy happens when a person does not call another to repentance. The Anglican leaders were sinning by not leading others away from sin, and thus they are themselves accused. Repentance is the necessary consequence.

No one likes to label anymore, a deficiency of our post-modern era. But in cases where life and death is on the balance, labels can help us understand who we are.

So are we leading others to repentance? If not, then it is clear that we are heretics, no less worse than the Anglican variety...