Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 20:1 (Spring 2023)
Article: Interview With Matthew Barrett
Author: Anonymous

Interview With Matthew Barrett

Matthew Barrett is the author of the new book, The Reformation as Renewal: Retrieving the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church (Zondervan Academic). He is professor of Christian Theology at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, editor-in-chief of Credo Magazine, and director of the Center for Classical Theology. He is currently writing a Systematic Theology with Baker Academic.

What Is Theological Retrieval, And What Does A Study Of The Theology Of The Reformation Offer The Life Of The Church Today?

Retrieval can be found wherever there is humility to recognize that our faith is indebted to those who came before us. When Paul was encouraged by the “sincere faith” of Timothy the apostle did not praise Timothy alone but the two generations before him. “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5; cf. 3:14–15). Paul’s charge also galvanized entire churches. After describing the coming Day of the Lord and the man of lawlessness, Paul told the Thessalonians that they should be on guard against anyone who might deceive them. Paul charged, “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thess. 2:15). In the context of 2 Thessalonians 2, tradition was not a barrier but a pathway to the gospel of Jesus Christ in a world of competing ideologies.

In the first several centuries of the church, this apostolic witness became instrumental to gospel fidelity. One does not have to accept Roman Catholicism’s belief in papal succession to observe the variegated ways the Rule of Faith became pivotal for novices preparing for baptism or martyrs facing execution. They understood the scriptures alone were inspired by God, but they also understood those same scriptures gave birth to a Rule of Faith, a succinct summary of Christianity. The Rule of Faith even became a hermeneutical lens, a rule to guide the novice to see the proper interpretation of the Old and New Testaments so that they were

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not seduced by heretical teaching that distorted the unity of the canon or its message.

The church fathers of later centuries were defined by such hermeneutical humility as well. For example, when the doctrine of the Trinity came under fire by subordinationists in the fourth century, the church fathers at Constantinople said, “We believe…in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” Such a credo came subsequent to their...