Stephen is a controversial figure due to his views over Israel. He argues Jesus is the fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant and the people of God in the NT are found in Christ. While he endorses the right of the Jewish people to live safely in Israel, he also advocates for the Palestinians and encourages Christians to work compassionately for reconciliation and justice. He critiques popular Zionism found in the Left Behind series and in books like The Late Great Planet Earth.
His visit has revealed a harsh and at times nasty underbelly to New Zealand Christianity seen in strong emails (often anonymous) slamming Stephen Sizer as a sympathiser with terrorists, anti-Semitic and a heretic.
Organisations that hosted him have been targeted as guilty by association. In my view, the response is unwarranted and sad.
First, Stephen Sizer is a warm and learned man who is deeply dedicated to God and his word. He is no sympathiser with terrorists nor anti-Semitic. He repudiates violence and urges Christians to show indiscriminate love and mercy to all. Secondly, his theology is not new but continues that of greats such as St Paul, John Calvin and Reformed Theology. Indeed, it is Dispensationalism that is the theological newcomer, a creative read on Scripture which emerged in the 19th century — yet its proponents do not realise this.
What interests me most is the way we Christians speak to each other when we disagree. The loaded term “heresy” is used loosely. I suggest it should be reserved for violations of the central tenets of the faith — things like the Trinity, salvation by grace through faith, Christ’s resurrection, and so on. We evangelicals have to watch that we do not become Pharisaic in our quest.
As we seek right doctrine, we sometimes forget the central ethical doctrine of Scripture. Aside from the centrality of faith, the dominant relationship-shaping ‘doctrine’ in the Bible is ‘love’ — we are first to love God and then to love one another — this should our dominant feature (John 13:34–35). Love should not be limited to those who agree with us, but to all, even our enemies.
Love should saturate everything, the way we relate in the Church, across denominations, and with the world.
What is the bigger heresy; to get the details of the Christian faith wrong or to fail to show love? Are zealous Christians with good intentions who attack others on matters of detail unwittingly falling prey to a ‘greater heresy’ of a violation of the command to love? I suppose I am asking the question: what is the greatest heresy, to get it wrong on Israel and the return of Christ (on either side) or to fail to love? I think I know what the answer is.
Show love, and go deeper!
By Mark Keown , lecturer in New Testament at Laidlaw College,
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