“For the vast majority of redemptive history,” said Ortlund, “the people of God received Scripture through fallible means. That didn’t mean for them that the canon was not functional or trustworthy.”
Ortlund’s next argument was that “all Christians today should recognize that fallible processes can still be trustworthy.” He continued, “All Christians have this same basic dynamic of a fallible appropriation of infallible teaching.” Just because we’re flawed “doesn’t mean we can’t trust in God’s guidance.”
Referring to infallible teachings, Ortlund said, “Every single Christian—every single Christian church has this issue of fallibly receiving the infallible and therefore disagreeing on exactly where the edges of that lie.”
“It’s not a criticism,” said Ortlund. “It’s a recognition this is just a human phenomenon.” We are flawed, but that “doesn’t mean we can’t trust in God’s guidance.”
Even the conclusion that Christianity is true is “a fallible judgment that we make because we’re fallible,” he said. “But we can still have reasonable confidence about our faith.” Another point to consider is that if someone concludes Christianity is true, “How do you know which church is the true church?”
Someone choosing between the Roman Catholic church and the Eastern Orthodox church is facing a question “that gets really nuanced,” Ortlund said. “You have to prayerfully consider using your fallible judgment.”
“So the point is,” he said, “that if a fallible process can be trustworthy, we can trust the church’s recognition of the 27 books of the New Testament canon, which are universally agreed upon by all major Christian groups alive today.”
Ortlund concluded his thoughts by answering the following objection: “Isn’t it inconsistent if you accept the early church’s New Testament canon but don’t accept other deliverances from the early church?”
Ortlund gave as an example the doctrine of the bodily assumption of Mary. Sometimes people accuse him of being inconsistent in his views because he rejects the belief that Mary ascended into heaven but accepts the New Testament canon, even though both are “from the 4th century.”
RELATED: Baptists Have Historically Had ‘No Trouble’ Affirming the Nicene Creed, Says Gavin Ortlund
However, the belief that Mary ascended into heaven is not like believing the New Testament canon is God’s Word, said Ortlund, because “the process of canonization begins right away.” In fact, it begins in the actual New Testament.
