Friday, October 14, 2022

Fred A. Malone's Definition of Important Terms (e.g., Analogy of Faith)

For Latter-day Saints who interact with Protestants, the following definitions of important terms will be useful. What follows is taken from

 

Fred A. Malone, The Baptism of Disciples Alone: A Covenantal Argument for Credobaptism Versus Paedobaptism (rev ed.; Cape Coral, Fla.:  Founders Press, 2008)

 

The analogy of faith. This means that the final authoritative interpreter of a specific Scripture is the rest of Scripture, i.e., the whole counsel of God. Scripture interpreting Scripture is the best friend of the literal-grammatical-historical method. This places Scripture over man’s tradition, church history, science, or ecclesiastical pronouncements. It also limits the unbounded paedobaptist application of good and necessary inference when it contradicts God-given revelation concerning an instituted sacrament. (p. 30)

 

The perspicuity of Scripture. This means that Scripture is sufficiently clear upon essential matters of faith and practice, even in modern language translations, to guide the common Christian in faith and life. This does not deny the need of gifted teachers to explain God’s Word, but it does affirm that the Scripture is clear enough that the common Christian should be convinced of their beliefs from the Scripture alone without blindly following respected teachers. (p. 30)

 

The finality and clarity of the New Testament. The New Testament is the final and clearest revelation of God to man, and men must not add to it by alleged further revelations. The New Testament is clearer than the Old Testament because it finally and authoritatively interprets Old Testament types and shadows, not because the Old Testament was unclear as a revelation of God. (p. 31)

 

The priority of the New Testament. Because “the Old is in the New revealed,” there must be a final dependence upon the New Testament revelation to determine how the Old Testament is fulfilled in it. This is a necessary corollary to the concept of progressive revelation and biblical theology and is an essential prerequisite to a sound systematic theology. (p. 31)

 

The typology of Scripture. Typological exegesis is a necessary principle to understand when interpreting Old Testament prophecy and New Testament fulfillment, i.e., the New Covenant prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31-34. This is true especially when good and necessary inference from the Old Testament is the justification for a New Testament instituted sacrament. According to Bernard Ramm, typology has been a major area of disagreement between dispensational and covenantal scholars (Ramm, Protestant, 239-241).

 

Classically, dispensationalists have required an Old Testament prophecy to be fulfilled in the exact literal form of the prophecy, thus projecting elements unfulfilled exactly and literally in the New Testament into a future millennium containing a future temple with sacrifices in Jerusalem (Ezekiel 37;26-28). More covenantal interpreters understand the New Testament quotations of Old Testament prophecies as biblically fulfilled literally in the New Testament quotations of Old Testament prophecies as biblically fulfilled literally in the New Testament if there is a historical correspondence and a heightened fulfillment. For instance, Jesus literally fulfilled and abrogated the temple sacrifices, then entered the better heavenly tabernacle, negating the necessity for another earthly one (Hebrews 9). Also, the church fulfills the Ezeiel 37:26=28 prophecy, according to literal New Testament revelation (2 Corinthians 6:16), thus eliminating the inferred need for another physical temple to fulfill the prophecy. God dwelling in His people is a heightened fulfillment far superior to the building of another physical temple on earth.

 

However, paedobaptist covenatalists make the opposite error. They erroneous attempt to make the Old Testament “church in the wilderness” virtually identical to the New Testament church. This includes the placement of the covenant sign upon infants, ignoring principles of typological exegesis, as well as ignoring the fact that infants were not circulated in the wilderness. The church in the wilderness is simply the typological shadow of the New Testament revealed form, not requiring literal correspondence in every element, as dispensationalists require. After all, one should remember that dispensationalists often interpret the church in the wilderness as evidence for the “carnal Christian” doctrine of the modern day.

 

Typological exegesis places the priority upon the New Testament as the final authoritative interpreter of the Old, rather than turning to the Old as the final interpreter of its own new Testament fulfillment. (pp. 32-33)

 

Further Reading:


Not By Scripture Alone: A Latter-day Saint Refutation of Sola Scriptura