Does the new ACNA catechism teach the Roman Catholic doctrines of grace and justification?

By Robin G. Jordan

In this article we examine Part IV of Being a Christianity: An Anglican Catechism. Titled “Behaving Christianly: The Ten Commandments and Obedience to Christ,” this part of the new ACNA catechism goes well beyond an exposition of the Ten Commandments. It serves as a platform for indoctrinating those studying the catechism in the teachings of one particular school of Anglican thought in a number of key doctrinal areas.

Both the answer to question 256 and the answer to question 259 give the appearance of having been taken from an unidentified work on the Ten Commandments. The new ACNA catechism, however, does not provide footnotes identifying its sources. Such footnotes should have been included with the catechism.

In the answer to question 263 we are introduced for the first time to how the new ACNA catechism views sanctification: “I learn God’s Law now so that, having died to sin in Christ, I might love him as I ought, delight in his will as he heals my nature…” This view of sanctification does not exclude the Roman Catholic view of grace and justification. As we shall see, the Catechism of the Catholic Church has a similar view of sanctification.

The new ACNA catechism’s view of sanctification also appears to be indebted to the psychologizing of Christianity, a twentieth century development that influenced a number of denominations, including the Episcopal Church. The Anglican Church in North America is an offshoot of the Episcopal Church. Most of its bishops and other clergy were trained in seminaries in the Episcopal Church or other denominations influenced by this development.

The answer to question 264 reiterates what the catechism teaches about faith, regeneration, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. The answer to question 265 infers a particular doctrine of the Church, doctrine that is historically associated with Anglo-Catholicism and Roman Catholicism and is based on tradition, not Scripture. It is not a doctrine of the Church with which all Anglicans are in agreement. The answer to question 266 emphasizes a connection between the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper and the process of “learning and living God’s Law.”

In the Lord’s Supper or Holy Eucharist, I hear the Law read, hear God’s good news of forgiveness, recall my baptismal promises, have my faith renewed, and receive grace to follow Jesus in the ways of God’s Laws and in the works of his Commandments.

What is notable about the answer to question 266 is that it presumes that the Ten Commandments will be read at every celebration of the Holy Communion. This is certainly not the case for ACNA congregations using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Even the trial services of Holy Communion authorized by the ACNA College of Bishops do not require the reading of the Ten Commandments at every celebration of the Holy Communion. 

What is also notable about this answer is that it infers a Roman Catholic view of grace. See the explanation of actual grace and sanctifying grace in Grace: What It Is and What It Does on the Catholic Answers website. It certainly does not infer the Protestant view of grace as unmerited and unearned divine favor, a view of grace that historic Anglicanism has shared with other forms of Protestantism.

The answer to question 276 offers a part of the rationale that Anglo-Catholics have used to justify their practice of decorating their churches with crucifixes, paintings, and statues, a Medieval practice that the English Reformers rejected as idolatrous in the sixteenth century and over which Anglicans are divided in this century. The inclusion of question 276 appears to be unwarranted except to provide an argument that Anglo-Catholics can use to support their continuation of this practice and to promote its adoption by other Anglicans.

In the answer to question 279 we encounter the tendency to use terminology associated with the psychologizing of Christianity. As we shall see, this tendency is pronounced in the new ACNA catechism’s discussion of sanctification.

In question 280 and the answer to that question we see another tendency in the new ACNA catechism. It is to use the discussion of one topic as a springboard to start a discussion of something else, which may at be best be only indirectly related to the topic under discussion. This question and answer appears to have been included to reinforce a view expressed earlier in the catechism.

280. How can you love God in worship?

The Holy Scriptures teach me how to worship God, and the Church’s liturgy guides my worship in keeping with the Scriptures. I can show love to God by worshiping him in this way.

T he answer to question 280 raises the authority of “the Church” to the level of the authority of the Scripture. Whether the liturgy of a particular church is capable of guiding the worship of its members in accordance with what the Scriptures teach depends upon the extent that such liturgy conforms to the teaching of the Scriptures. This in turn depends upon a particular church’s willingness to fully accept the authority of the Bible. The Anglican Church in North America has so far produced services that depart from the Scriptures as well as the Anglican formularies in doctrine and practice.

The answer to question 280 also infers that the celebration of the liturgy (and by implication the sacraments) as a form of worship is superior to a life that honors God in all things. This is, however, not what the Scriptures teach. Rather the Scriptures teach that obedience to God lies at the heart of true worship.

We see in the answer to question 285, “How can honor God’s Name?” further evidence of the inability of the authors of the new ACNA catechism to use language that is clear and correspond to today’s use of language and to make the questions and answers easy to explain and remember.

I honor and love God’s Name, in which I was baptized, by keeping my promises and by upholding honor in relationships, charity in society, justice in law, uprightness in vocation, and holiness in worship.

A simpler answer drawn from the Scriptures themselves would have been a better choice.

The new ACNA catechism appears to have been written with a particular target group in mind—individuals who are fairly educated and literate and have a good grasp of the English language. Its choice of vocabulary would be a significant obstacle to its use with a large segment of the unchurched population in North America. It suggests a lack of a genuine commitment to the Great Commission’s mandate to make disciples of all people groups.

The answer to question 298 takes the position that we honor the Fifth Commandment by respecting “tradition,” among other things. We, however, do not find any support in the Scriptures for the notion that respecting tradition is a fulfillment of the commandment to honor one’s father and mother. Nor do we find such support for the notion that respecting authority figures is likewise a fulfillment of the same commandment. None of the New Testament writers unambiguously express such ideas. The answer to question 298 is clearly an unscriptural attempt to give the authority of the clergy and church tradition the added weight of the Fifth Commandment.

In Concise Theology: A Guide to Historical Belief J. I Packer identifies the three purposes of God’s moral law. These three purposes are to convict the sinner, “to restrain evil,” and “to guide the regenerate into the good works that God has planned for them.” They are how Anglicans have historically viewed the Ten Commandments. Only the first of these three purposes receives any mention in the new ACNA catechism.

The answers to questions 339-345 articulate the new ACNA catechism’s view of sanctification.

339. What is the first benefit of Christ’s sacrifice?

My sins are forgiven when I confess them and ask for pardon through Christ’s shed blood. I live by being forgiven. (1 John 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:11-12)

340. Are you still broken, despite God’s forgiveness?

Yes. Sin leaves me wounded, lonely, afraid, divided, and in need of Christ’s healing ministry. (Psalms 32:1-5; 51; 130; Matthew 15:19; 1 John 2:1-2)

341. How does Jesus heal you?

Through the gift and fruit of the Holy Spirit, Jesus mends my disordered soul from the effects of sin in my mind, will, and desire. (Acts 2:38; Romans 8:26; 12:2)

342. What is this healing called?

This healing is called sanctification. In it, by the work of the Holy Spirit, my mind, will, and desires are progressively transformed and conformed to the character of Jesus Christ. (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:1-3; 3:14-21; 4:17-19; Philippians 2; Colossians 2-4; 1 John 3:2-3)

343. What does the Church offer you as helps for your sanctification?

The Church’s teaching, sacraments, liturgies, seasons, ministry, oversight, and fellowship assist my growth in Christ and are channels of God’s abundant care for my soul. (Ephesians 4-6; Philippians 3; Colossians 3; Ascensiontide Collects)

344. For what does sanctification prepare you?

Sanctification prepares me for the vision and glory of God in conformity to my Lord Jesus Christ, who has promised that “the pure in heart shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

345. With what attitude should I live a life of sanctification?

God calls me to a life of joy. Constant thoughts of God’s love for me, and of my hope in Christ, will keep me always rejoicing. (Philippians 4:4; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-19)

Compare the answer to these questions with what the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches about grace and justification.

1989 The first work of the grace of the Holy Spirit is conversion, effecting justification in accordance with Jesus' proclamation at the beginning of the Gospel: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Moved by grace, man turns toward God and away from sin, thus accepting forgiveness and righteousness from on high. "Justification is not only the remission of sins, but also the sanctification and renewal of the interior man.

1990  Justification detaches man from sin which contradicts the love of God, and purifies his heart of sin. Justification follows upon God's merciful initiative of offering forgiveness. It reconciles man with God. It frees from the enslavement to sin, and it heals [emphasis added].

1999 The grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us of his own life, infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin [emphasis added] and to sanctify it. It is the sanctifying or deifying grace received in Baptism. It is in us the source of the work of sanctification....

2000 Sanctifying grace is an habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to enable it to live with God, to act by his love. Habitual grace, the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God's call, is distinguished from actual graces which refer to God's interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of sanctification.

2003 Grace is first and foremost the gift of the Spirit who justifies and sanctifies us. But grace also includes the gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church. There are sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments. There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning "favor," "gratuitous gift," "benefit." Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or of tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church.

Note that the ACNA catechism’s view of sanctification does not exclude Roman Catholic teaching on grace and justification. The catechism does not unequivocally articulate the New Testament doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This is one of its major weaknesses. This doctrine is central to the historic Anglican understanding of the gospel—an understanding that the Thirty-Nine Articles seek to protect and to which the 1662 Book of Common Prayer gives liturgical expression.

It is also worthy of note that the new ACNA catechism does not entirely exclude the Eastern Orthodox view that while humanity bears the consequences of Adam and Eve’s sin, it does not bear the guilt of their sin. The catechism teaches that human conscience is corrupted by sin and the human will is the captive of sin to the point that human beings cannot save themselves by their own efforts. They need divine help. But that is the extent of its teaching. It does not teach that humanity bears both the consequences and guilt of Adam and Eve’s sin.

While the New Testament contains a number of references to healing, they are all with four exception references to physical healing or deliverance from demons. The exception are a reference in Matthew 13:15, John 12:40, and Acts 28:27 to Isaiah 6:10 and in 1 Peter 2:24 to Isaiah 53: 5. The Greek word used in these passages is ἰάομαι, pronounced iaomai. Its usages in the Bible include to cure, heal; to make whole, particularly to to free from errors and sins, to bring about (one's) salvation. It can be interpreted as “saved,” as well as “healed.” It does not appear in any of the New Testament passages about sanctification. It has been interpreted as supporting the Roman Catholic teaching on grace and justification .

The use of the terms like “heals” and “healing” has a particular appeal to North Americans who have been influenced by humanistic psychology and are inclined to think in psychological terms. It also has an appeal to charismatics who have been influenced by the charismatic movement’s teaching on inner or spiritual healing. They are not apt not to question the use of these terms in the new ACNA catechism. But as we have seen, the same terms can be used to teach the Roman Catholic view of grace and justification.

Note also the prominent role that the answer to question 343 gives to “the Church” in the process of sanctification. However, the view of “the Church” articulated in the answer is the view that is historically associated with Anglo-Catholicism and Roman Catholicism. It is a view of “the Church,” which is derived from tradition, not Scripture.

The New Testament recognizes only the invisible church—the body of all believers, past, present, and future, and the visible church—a congregation of the believing Christians in a particular time and place. The Thirty-Nine Articles in its doctrine of the church mirrors the New Testament.

The New Testament emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in our sanctification, God at work in us to will and do his good pleasure. Sound biblical doctrine and the local gathering of believers and its leaders play a part in our sanctification. They are means through which God works.

The New Testament, however, makes no mention of “the Church” through its “teaching, sacraments, liturgies, seasons, ministry, oversight, and fellowship” helping us to grow in Christ and channeling God’s care for our souls. The New Testament does not place such a human creation as a mediator between God and ourselves, much less entrust to it the dispensing of God’s grace.

In this article we have completed our examination of Parts I-IV of Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism. As we have seen, the writing team that put together the new ACNA catechism did not follow the three guidelines that J. I. Packer lists in the introduction to the catechism. The catechism also suffers from a number of other defects and weaknesses.

Among these defects and weaknesses the new ACNA catechism in its choice of language appears designed more to impress those studying it rather than to inform them. The catechism not only uses too many words in answering questions but also uses words that are more difficult than is necessary to answer them.

A number of the questions appear to have been chosen principally for the purpose of enabling the authors to indoctrinate those studying the catechism in the doctrinal views of the particular school of Anglican thought favored in the catechism. These views are derived not only from that school of Anglican thought’s interpretation of the Scriptures but also from extra-biblical sources, which rather than reflect what Scripture teaches, add to or change its teaching. They are not views with which all Anglicans would agree, particularly Anglicans who fully accept the authority of the Bible and the Anglican formularies and in their doctrinal views stand in continuity with the English Reformers.

Those who authored the catechism also give the appearance of seeking to so overwhelm those studying the catechism with questions and answers that they will not question the truth of its contents. The catechism has 345 questions and answers. The catechism used by the the Church of the Province of Southern Africa has only 144 questions and answers; the revised catechism of the Anglican Church of Kenya, only 61.

In the next article we will look at the appendices of Being A Christian: An Anglican Catechism.