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God uses heresy. At first glance this is a frightening statement. What could this possibly mean? Simply that in the history of His church, God has always allowed heresy to challenge the Church. As a result of these challenges, the church was forced to better understand its faith, and to put this understanding in writing. This is evident in the historic creeds of orthodoxy. For example, the councils of Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451) were convened in part to settle issues concerning the deity of Christ and the relationship of th etwo natures of Christ, respectively. Going back futher in time, Irenaeus, the disciple of Polycarp (who was in a disciple of the apostle John), wrote his famous Against Heresies toward the end of the second century. In it he countered the theologies of various gnostic sects, showing them to be theologically incompatible with the teachings of the apostles, and philosophically flawed. And although these creeds and Irenaeus' work were written primarily to correct the heresies of theier ages, history has proven that the Christian Church has been blessed and matured as a result of these works. Through this book you will see how God used heresy to bring people closer to Him.
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