Two Sennons Preached by

. Dr. Cireg Bahnsen at the

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