How Heresies Function

As I was thumbing through Volume 3 of Francis Schaeffer's complete works, I found the following teaching about how heresies function. I found his observation compelling and particularly applicable to this corner of belief and practice known as "Messianic" as we have encountered many "Points 40–50" teachers and have to some extent been guilty of emphasizing certain points of teaching out of context and proportion to the whole (Points 1–100). The quoted passage is from the last few pages of the book The New Super-Spirituality, as found in The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer, Volume 3, A Christian View of Spirituality (p. 399ff).

"It is interesting to see how heresies function and how the Devil wins out. Let us say that the complete body of Christian teaching consists of points 1–100. Now, then, we must realize that this Christian teaching is not just dogmatic, but meets the needs of man as God has made him and as man now is since the Fall. So, in order for the whole man to find fulfillment, he must have teaching from points 1–100. If you study church history, I think you will find that heresies arise like this: the church begins to fail to preach, or preaches very weakly, say, points 40–50.

Let us say, therefore, that points 40–50 are unstressed. Two things follow. First, the situation is unbiblical. True Christianity is a balanced whole. Second, Satan takes points 40–50 out of the total Christian framework and encourages someone to overemphasize them. And this becomes heresy. In other words, points 40–50, instead of being kept in line and in relationship to the rest of Christian doctrine, are moved out and away from the whole system. Being out of place, they somehow become inverted or reversed.

But why does Satan win? He wins because there is a longing and a need in the human heart and mind; points 40–50 are needed because the whole of Christian teaching is needed, not only to give one the right Christian system, but to meet the needs of total man as he is in the fallen world. Satan wins because when people recognize the lack of points 40–50 in their church and suddenly see someone stressing them, they go to that group not realizing that the points are being overstressed, and they are caught in a net.

One group is stressing points 40–50, but in an overemphasized way, out of relationship to the whole of Christian doctrine. Another group, on the other hand, sees this overemphasis on points 40–50 as a heresy, and so they retreat in the opposite direction. They preach points 40–50 even less than they did before in order to be safe, in order to be clearly seen as not being a part of a heresy or wrong teaching. Satan fishes equally on both sides, and he wins on both sides."

For the reader: what are some "points 40–50" that come to mind? How have we or have we not been successful these types of situations? Please leave comments, stories, and questions in the comment box.