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With this intriguing question, taken from a popular ballad of the 1960s, Greg Bahnsen began two messages which profoundly affected all who heard them. Hearts were melted, tears flowed, and sins were confessed. It was the fervent desire of all present that the Lord Jesus Christ would powerfully use these sermons to prune away the dead branches of his church, heal her of schism, comfort her to his Word, and make her a light to the nations.
Dr. Bahnsen taught us that a school of thought, no less than an individual, is known by its fruits (Luke 6:44). Worldviews which have roots deeply planted in the living vine, Jesus Christ, have always produced much fruit unto the honor and glory of God. They have done so because they have remained consistent to his revealed will in the Bible. Those Systems that have departed from the Word of God become dead wood, fruitless branches, and have been cut off by Almighty God, the Sovereign Vinedresser.
Titre original
1995 Issue 1 - How Many Times Can a Man Turn His Head and Pretend He Just Doesn't See? - Counsel of Chalcedon
With this intriguing question, taken from a popular ballad of the 1960s, Greg Bahnsen began two messages which profoundly affected all who heard them. Hearts were melted, tears flowed, and sins were confessed. It was the fervent desire of all present that the Lord Jesus Christ would powerfully use these sermons to prune away the dead branches of his church, heal her of schism, comfort her to his Word, and make her a light to the nations.
Dr. Bahnsen taught us that a school of thought, no less than an individual, is known by its fruits (Luke 6:44). Worldviews which have roots deeply planted in the living vine, Jesus Christ, have always produced much fruit unto the honor and glory of God. They have done so because they have remained consistent to his revealed will in the Bible. Those Systems that have departed from the Word of God become dead wood, fruitless branches, and have been cut off by Almighty God, the Sovereign Vinedresser.
With this intriguing question, taken from a popular ballad of the 1960s, Greg Bahnsen began two messages which profoundly affected all who heard them. Hearts were melted, tears flowed, and sins were confessed. It was the fervent desire of all present that the Lord Jesus Christ would powerfully use these sermons to prune away the dead branches of his church, heal her of schism, comfort her to his Word, and make her a light to the nations.
Dr. Bahnsen taught us that a school of thought, no less than an individual, is known by its fruits (Luke 6:44). Worldviews which have roots deeply planted in the living vine, Jesus Christ, have always produced much fruit unto the honor and glory of God. They have done so because they have remained consistent to his revealed will in the Bible. Those Systems that have departed from the Word of God become dead wood, fruitless branches, and have been cut off by Almighty God, the Sovereign Vinedresser.
1994 A.c.T.S. Conference REviEWED BY CHRIS STREVEL Introduction With this intriguing question, taken from a popular ballad of the 19605, Oteg Bahnsen began two messages which profoundly affected all who heard them. Hearts were melted, tears flowed, and sins were confessed. It was the fervent desire of all present that the Lord Jesus Christ would powerfully use these sennons To . prune away the dead branches of his church, heal her of schism, confonnher to his Word, and make her a light to the nations. Dr. Bahnsen taught us that a school of thought, no less than an individual, is known by its fruits (Luke 6:44). Worldviews which have roots deeply planted in the living vine, Jesus Christ, have always produced much fruit unto the honor and glory of Ood. They have done so because they have remained consistent to his revealed will in the Bible. Those Systems 'that have departed from the Word of Ood become dead wood, fruitless branches, and have been cut off by Almighty Ood, the Sovereign Vinedresser, Nowhere is this more clearly illuslri!ted than in the modem theonomy debate. One group of the Mosaic polity as a blueprint advocates the nonnativity and for civil governments, these applicability of all of Ood's law to theologians have denied that the all walks of life. The other group Bible's judicial laws are binding considers such an outlook as on modem man. Emphasizing the dangerous, deceived, and out of heart, Spirit, and love, these men, step with the historic confessions churches, and schools have of the Refonned faith. Dr. suspended the law of Ood, Bahnsen encouraged us to evaluate rejected the Refonnalion, and both schools by their respective have engulfed the world in the fruits. Simply put, . let's visit one cultural and ethical darkness, another's neighborhood. decay, and destruction that it is . '. experiencing today. The results were not exactly . what we expected. ' " Dr. Bahnsen ('nVl'ted us to take a walk with him through the How's It GOing in the Other evangelical neighborhood. How's Guys' Neighborhoodl it going with those who have , The majority of churches, repudiated the law of Ood seminaries, and pastors in our land . contained in the Old and New d v ~ t e a grace that is freed from Testaments! What is the fruit of the restrictive; authoritarian codes their commitment to a lawless of the law of Ood. They stress the gracel In all honesty, their liberty that believers have in the neighborhood looked like a war Holy Spirit. Driving a wedge zone. between the Old and New Testaments, or between the theocracy of Old Testament Israel and the spiritual, non-national church in the New Testament, they reject the civil polity that Ood revealed to his people under the Old Testament. Accordingly, they have vehemently criticized the Reconstructionists for their belief in the law of Ood as the model for political institutions. We are under grace, they say, not law. . More specifically, these groups have abandoned the historic . position of the Church of Jesus Christ with respect to the nonnativity of the Mosaic polity. Whereas the fathers of the church early and often affinned the hannony of the law and the gospel, and the binding authority . Devastation, 'relativity, confusion, and ethical darkness surrounded us wherever we turned. Our once great land, which our Puritan forefathers intended as a model of what a society based upon Ood's law could be, is little more than a suburb of hell. Psychology and education have erased the categories of right and wrong. Individuals, govemments, and judicial bodies are free to make up their own laws, irrespective of the revealed decrees of man's only Lawgiver. Crime and sexual perversion are nonnal in our society. The churches, which should be citadels full of light, examples of righteousness, justice, and wisdom, give an unclear sound. But they can give no other sound. Denying the 12 ~ THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon ~ January, 1995 all-sufficiency of (jod's Word for men and nations, the churches in America have no message that will resist the spirit of autonomy that is ravaging our land. The saddest and most frightening element of this visit consisted in the realization that 35% of Americans claim to be evangelical Christians. Having abandoned (jod's law, however, having sold their heritage of submission to (jod's law in all areas of life for a mess of respectability and pluralistic porridge, this huge segment of our population is causing (jod's name to be blasphemed among the heathen. Our culture, you see, is following the lead of the church. We are free from (jod's law, modern theologians say. Hallelujah, shouts modern man. Now we can get to work, building our modem-day towers of Babel! In the face of this social decay, Dr. Bahnsen asked the question, "How many times can a man tum his head and pretend he just doesn't seel" The problem in the other guys' camp is not simply that their system has born no fruit, but that they refuse to admit the problems within their system. Rather than returning to (jod's law as the answer to our society's problems, they attack us. They criticize, misrepresent, and slander those of us that are seeking to call men back to (jod's Word as the only rule of faith and obedience. They tum their heads to the decay and darkness surrounding them. Rather than seeking to reconstruct their neighborhood by the Word of (jod, they waste their time hying to defend an unbiblical ethical system that has produced the bloodiest and most immoral century the world has ever seen. The other guys' neighborhood was worse than we anticipated. Not only is there no fruit on the tree, but the tree itself is diseased, rotten to the core. The salt has lost its saltiness. There is no light left on the hill. Those who insist on a lawless grace are a disgrace to the Lord Jesus Christ and his law. As this part of the tour came to an end, we were saddened over the state of the church in 1994. We were also gratified, thankful, and excited. For we recognized that out of his love and grace, Almighty (jod had preserved a . faithful remnant in his church that is seeking to call men back to the law of (jod. It was now time for a trip through our own neighborhood. Hows It (joing in OUf Own Neighborhoodl Reconstructionists expect their neighborhood to be significantly better than the other guys. In a sense, this is true. We are advocating the law of (jod as the only answer to man's cultural and political problems, Our churches are giving a certain sound from their pulpits, which are devoted to preaching the whole counsel of (jod. If men will turn in faith and repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ, and follow the principles of (jod's law that we are advocating, society can be restored and restructured in a way that has been commanded by and will glorify (jod. Dr. Bahnsen pOinted out, however, that the law is not enough. Wisdom is needed to apply (jod's law correctly. In (jod's Word, law and wisdom go hand in hand. The law of (jod makes us wise (Deut. 4:6), and wisdom leads us to (jod's law (Prov. 10:8, 28:7). The law, however, in the hand of fools is an ugly thing. While the Reconstructionists have (jod's law, they lack wisdom. They have not leamed how to apply (jod's law in a loving, attractive, and wise manner. In short, we have used the law like children. We have uglied ourselves through our foolish wielding of (jod's law. At this point, we swallowed hard. We could see where Dr. Bahnsen's second message was gOing. After touring the other guys' neighborhood, and finding it devastated, we expected our own to reveal substantially more fruit. We anticipated a city full of life and light, a bastion of wisdom for all the world to see. Through our foolishness, however, through our lack of wisdom in living out the requirements of (jod's law among ourselves, our own neighborhood is'devastated as well. Because of our foolishness, the world has tumed its back on the answers we have to give. Our own foolishness in handling (jod's law has allowed our enemies to use ad hominem arguments against our position. The arguments are invalid, the criticisms are just! What did Dr. Bahnsen mean when he called us foolish in our application of (jod's law? Simply this. An intellectual understanding of (jod's law is insufficient and destructive if we January, 1995 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 13 lack the skill to mold our daily lives by its precepts; If a man does not remember the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith, his understanding ofthe finer points of the law is us'eless. It is obvious, Dr. Bahnsen pointed out, that Reconstructibnistslack wisdom. They have spent thousands of hours applying the finer points of God's law, but they have neglected to apply the weightier matters of the law to their own relationships with each other. True wisdom is pure, peaceable, gentle, and easy to understand. Reconstructionists do not have the reputation of making peace among themselves. Our own hO\Jse is filled with strife. While we repudiate and condemn human autonomy in ethics, we have been content to allow it in our interpersonal relationships. This is sinful and will incur God's wrath if it continues. If the Christian Reconstructionists are going to impact the future, if their goal of societal transformation based upon the Word of God is to be achieved, they must make peace.among themselves now. The schism among many of its leaders is downright shameful. While all of us need to repent of our failures to love one another and resolve differences in a biblical manner, the autonomous attitude of many of the leading adherents of theonomy will bring Clod's judgment down upon us. Our house is divided, brothers. We must confess our sins and beseech Clod for wisdom in resolVing these decades-old rivalries. True Wisdom tames the tongue. Clossip, stahder, and the sowing of -discord among brothers are par for the course among many segments of the. Reconstructionists. If we cannot control our tongues, James says,. we cannot call ourselves Christians! He writes that our religion is useless, vain,worthless if we cannot speak in a loving way. Many within our movement slander others behind their backs. They lie. They repeat falsehoods as if true, and refuse to confront the supposedly wayward brother. Sadly, it seems to be the pastime of some to spread rumors. True wisdom demonstrates a teachable ilttitude. Sadly, whenever some attempts toward reconciliation have been made, the offending party refuses to listen. Proverbs teaches us, however, that it is a fool that refuses to listen to what others say by way of correction and instruction. As Dr. Bahnsen's second sermon drew to a close, we r e ~ l i z e that our neighborhood looked like a war zone as well. While our theory is great, our practice is often abominable. When we fail to apply Clod's law in a wise manner, we ugly ourselves, pervert Clod's Word, and become hypocrites in the eyes of the world. Where is the fruit among the Reconstructionists which gives us any hope that we are truly united to Jesus Christl Where is the love, resolved interpersonal conflicts, and kindness that proves we take Clod's law seriously! Do we really love our neighbor as ourselves! Dr. Bahnsen cut us badly on H ~ THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon' ~ January, 1995 that Sundaymoming. Each Of us bears the blame. We take sides without verifying our information. We d() not pray for wisdom for ourselVes and for our leaders. Because of our lack of wisdom, we are giving the enemies of Clod's law a reason, invalid though it may logically be, to repudiate Clod's law. After all, they say, a tree is known by its fruits. Look at your neighborhood. While you criticize ours, your own is little better. What can we do to remedy the situationl We must humble ourselves before Clod and repent of our foolish handling of his law. We must fear the Lord. This is the beginning of wisdom. We must mediate upon Clod's character. We must ask Clod for wisdom. He will not tum us away! Brothers, we must tum our head to the problems in our own neighborhood. By Clod's grace, we have the tools by which we may resolve them and reconstruct our ownlleighborhood for the glory of Clod! If we refuse to hear wisdom as she cries in the streets, our intramural problems will continue. And sadly, the criticisms of other Christians and unbelievers alike will obscure the real issue. Do we really waht our personal character to be the reason why this generation does not listen to our vital messagel Dr. Bahnsen's initial question must be answered by Christians on both sides of the theonomy issue. How many times can a man tum hiS head and pretend he just doesn't see! Q
Part 4: Exposing The Extensive Coverup of Tom Chantry's Child Abuse by Top Officials in The Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America (ARBCA) The Last 18 Years (12.21.18)