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1983 The Fundamentalist Journal

12-1983

Fundamentalist Journal, Volume 2, Number 11

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Recommended Citation"Fundamentalist Journal, Volume 2, Number 11" (1983). 1983. Paper 9.http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/fun_83/9

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fohn Wycliffe NEW!1984 will mark the 600th anniversary of Wycliffe'stranslarion of the Bible inro English. The fi lm JOHNWYCLIFFE vividly depicts the trials and heroicstruggles of this monumental l4th century man ofGod who is commonly remembered as "The Morn-ingstar of the Reforrnation"Dramatic/75 minutes/Color/$85. (U.S. rental)

,,ASTUPENDOUSBOOK"- Joserrh Sobran

Nationsl Reuiew

Mr. Sobran's review explains why:Liberals forever remind us that the

Soviet Union lost twenty million people inWorld War II. Nikolai Tolstoy (grand-

nephew of Leo) puts the figure even higher.But he argues that most of them were killedby Stalin himself. . . .

He was incomparably the richest man whoever lived: "Stalin virtually owned the SovietUnion in as absolute a sense as property canacquire." When a dog in the street wokehim with its barking, he had dog and mastershot. A series of painters who produced in-sufficiently flattering portraits of him -

five-feet-four, scrawny, scrofular - werealso shot. While the proletariat was reduced,at times to cannibalism. he had mountainsof caviar specially flown to his enormouspersonal estate, where he watched theAmerican gangster movies he loved. . . .

He drove one wife to suicide, obscenelyabused his daughter for wanting to marry aJew, beat and insulted a son, whom he laterallowed to die unransomed in a Germanprison camp. He delighted in tormenting hishighest confederates including thenominal president of the USSR, Kalinin -

in front of foreign dignitaries. . .

With his own criminal example he en-couraged what one trusts was by far themost brutal period of violence in humanhistory. Even The Gulog Archipelagohardly

prepares one for this. One example will con-vey the tone: a man who would not "con-fess" to Trotskyist activities even aftercastration was forced to watch his pregnantwife beaten until she delivered a stillbornchild. Such things were done thousandsupon thousands of times, year after yearafter year. Special instruments of torturewere apparently mass-produced, one forsqueezing the skull, another for the testicles,and so forth, though interrogators were per-mitted to use broken bottles, ice picks, orwhatever other conventional tools appealedt o t h e m . . . .

There was apparently only one foreignhead of state Stalin really trusted. He wasparalyzed with shock and incredulity whenAdolf Hitler broke his word by attackingRussia. For days he could barely composehimself sufficiently to order the usual poten-tial enemies shipped off to labor camps; buteventually he did, even when he couldn'tformulate a battle plan against the Cermans.

It was always the domestic enemy hefeared most: the kind of wartime revolt thathad toppled Kerensky. Stalin did indeedmake unremitting war on his own people; henever really understood why they didn'tfight back, and he was amazed at the patri-

479 pages I meticulously docu-mented with over 1,000 noles Iendpaper maps of Soviet slave

camps | 13-page index

otism that drove them to fight for Russia,despite everything, when Hitler invaded.

Instead of returning the favor, he steppedup his pre-emptive purges all the while hispeople were saving his skin. It is wickednessof an astounding degree. This book makesThe Rise and Fall of the Third Rejcft seemlike Restoration comedy.

Tolstoy, who is worthy to inherit thename, interprets the slaughter of the Polishofficers in the Katyn Forest as one ofStalin's attempts to forestall domesticrevolt: the officers might have given poten-tial rebels in the western part of the SovietUnion the leadership they needed, igniting ageneral uprising.

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EDITORS'NOTE

hristmas is a time of sharing gifts, and this year weare pleased to share with you a special gift-the beau.tiful artwork of Joni Eareckson Tada. Joni's special

talent came about as a result of an accident and God has usedher to minister to hearts in a unique way. Her article'Joy tothe r$(/orld" reflects her thoughts on Christmases past.

Additional articles about the Christmas season include,-,. "The Miracle of God's Incarnation" bv tf[.A. Criswell, "Speciali Guests at the First Christmas" by Richard Patterson, "Stranger

Heard on High" by C. Fred Dickason, and "The ChristmasQ"estion" by Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

In a tongue-in-cheek manner, \falter Byrd looks at how' and why Christian symbols have been ejected from Christmas

in "One Good Myth Deserves Anotheri"'Fundamentalism To-day" looks at "How to Know the Will of Godl'

An interview with Norman Geisler expresses the need forChristians to become the preserving salt in society.

Regina Schaeffer outlines the importance of reading tochildren not only as a time of instruction, but of challengingminds and strengthening family ties.

Our "In Review" section has been expanded from BookReport to include books, films, games, and other items rele-vant for pastors, laymen, children, and families.

The Fundamentalist Journal staff extends our warmestwishes to our readers for a joyous and blessed season ofcele-brating Christ's birth.

STAFF

Editor,Tornr Frrhnrall

Moncging Editor,Nelson KeenerSenior Editors,Ed DobsonEd HindsonCoordinqting EditorDeboroh Ht-rjfBook Editor'W. Dovid BeckContributing Editor,Doniel MitchellEditoriol Assistonts,Ecrlene R C'oodwit:f - indr r / } rn ta r

\rlenje \zl l-hernmr^rn

News Writer'Yvonne VestCreotive Director,Stonhen T Alhrrrr-htgnv ,v lJ r rv r r

GrcrpNcs/DesigrnVonesso Hozelton, Mgn'.

Kerth RobinsonChorles H Akirs. Jr.Bricrn C Robertson

Photogrrcrphy,Les Schofer

T rrnn l]rrriJ-r.rr(1ar

Tlpognophers'Sue Driskill

Angelo R. SrmonsSheri Boyd

Editoriql Boqrd,Verle Ackermcn-rRoymond Bcrber

Trumcm DollcrDovid Jeremicrh

John RowJingrsElmer Towns

Jock WyrtzenWendell Zimmermcu-r

FundcErentqlist Jounal is published montily. ll lssues per yeol, by Old-Time Gospel Hour. Postqge is pqid ot Lynchbug, Virginio, ond odditionojmoiling ollices. Address qll correspondence to FundqmenlqlistJouncl, Lynchbug, Vtgrtnic 2,4514.Ccgradldn Office, Box 5O5, Richmond Hill Ontqrio IAC 4Y8.Advertlstng, Som Pqte Associqtes Inc.. P.O. Box 4315. Lyncbburg, Vlginio24502 (8c'4)237-2903.

Subscf,ip'tion SlO.95 c yecr (ll issues) in U.S. Outside U.S. odd S5.OO postogeplepcrid U.S. currency. 51.95 per issue.Ctrcrnge ol Address, When ordering o chonge ol qddress, pleose rehlnyour old mailing lqbel qlong with the new oddress Aliow lourweeks lor ochonge.Submissions, Mc8'ruscripts zubmitted to Fundamentclist Jounql should beqccomponied by sell-qddressed envelopes ond rehrm postqge. hiclisherossumes no responsibility lor rehnn ol ursolicited mcrteilol, Mcrnuscriptsunoccomponied by retum postqge will not be rehrmed to sender.

A)l mqteriol in this issue is subjecl to U.S. ond intemcrtional copyright lows.Permission to reproduce may be obtcrined by writing to FundqrnentqlistJournql01983. Old-Time Gospel Hour.

Stcrtement of PtrrposeThis mogczine is corffnitted to the historic fundqmentols ol the Cfuistiqn

Iaith biblicol seporcrtion morql crlcsolutes, the priority ol the locql churcilqnd world evcrngelizotion Although no mqgqzine or individual con speokIor the overoll Fund€roentolist movement it is our desire to creqle o lorum toencouroge Chdsticm leqdership ctnd stqlesmqnsNp to stcnd lor lhe old-timereligdoninlhese criticol dcrys. We will excrnine motters ol contemporory in-lerest to oll Fundcrnenlqlisls, providing cn open discussion ol divergent opi-nions onrelevcnl issues.The FuDdctrnentalist Joumcrl will olso recffirm ourhistory ond heritoge, c6 well crs point the wcry to our ploce in the tutue.Cover art by Joni Eareckson Tada @ World Wide Products.

Volume 2/NumberllDecemberlgS3

Arttcles

14 Tlre Mtrccle ot God's InccmcrtonWA, Crlsweil

18 A Musicql tor the Decd

2TYvonne Vest

Wlll q Mcsr Rob God?RT Kendoll

Rcdstng tn HsonDovid Hrl}s

ZC The Importcnce d Recdingto Our ChlldrenReglno Schcreffer

/'r -l

JI Speciql Guesb crt the Ftrst Chrtstrncs

a aRlchcrd D. Pcrtlerson

Joy b the WorldJonr Ecreckson Todo24

44 chcnles Haddon spurgeonMaster PulplleerEcnl Miller

Editorials

6 Jerry Fclwell CommentsOn Kennedy ond Kemp ct Libefi

10 Rrndamentqlism ToclcryHow to Know the Will oI GodEd Dobson ond Ed Hindson

Depcrtrnents

28 F\rndqmentcrls in FocusAngels We Hcrve Hecud on HighC Fred Dickcrson

A f4 I O & A

An Interview with Normqn Geisler4 .7+./ Thunder in the Pulpit

A CMstmas QuestionChcnles Hcrddon Spuloeon

50 tttr st'clyThcrt Strcnger in the MongerHorold L, Willmrnglorr

r-1Cl Prolile

R.O. WoodworthAn lrstitutionol PersonolityBll1y V Bcrtlett

OZ In ReviewFor PostorsFilmsFccrnily Bookshell

r AC4 fieqsures lrom the Text

Soy AmenlRichord D. Pcrflerson

Columns

a/1Z\) Fqce the Fqcts

Meet the EnemyCol Thomcrs

60 *.*o specrtrs crt LBcYvonne Vest

61 world Religior:s NewsA l ^\rJ Thinl About It

57CY oubide view

Jerry Folwell of PrincetonJoseph Sobrcn

CO Socp BorWorking the FencerowsRichord Lewrs

One Good Myth Deserves AnotherWol.ter R Byrd, Jr

Updcrte

, / rCO For Your Inlormcrtion

SHIMEI'S DUST

A recent survey token ccnrongFun-cromentohst churches reveols o sul-prsrng prece of inlormcrtion, It seemsthot the person rrthechurchwho hosthe leost contoct with the i:nchurchedis the postols wife. Few of thosesurveyed hcrve even one close fnendwho does not crftend church, She islolowed by those who cue most in-vu,lved n keeping the church doorsopen, The postor, hrs stcdf, cnd the 15percent of the members who do 90lrrcent of the wolh crveroge only 1.5unsovd persons cu'nong their pelsonolfiiends,

A lorge percentoge of Fundcnrren-tolst churches hove deqcors crrdother church leqders who nevel wrrro srrgle soul to Chnst. The soulwinnrngrs done by youngChrstiors, by "non-prJlcu fypes," who iove the Lord crndhove not yet been elected to theSonhednn of the congnegcrtion.

I thrrk it wonld be o good ideo tohove o reguuement for oll pcnd crrrdvolurrteer leoders rn the church, in-cludrng the Sundoy school teochers,thot wonld lorce the resigrnotion ofony person who does not corsrstentlywrn the lost, After oll, churches cnesmctly "morkey see, monkey do"orgcnizotiors If the postor crnd hiswfe hcrve no rrrterest rrr the unsovedneighbors cnd spend oll theu trme jnchr.uch ochvrtres, why should onyoneelse be diffelen? If the deocors do notwrn the lost, why should those whosee them os exo-nples of Chnsticr-rmohrrity do so?

The lost holJ of the suwey wos there<rl shocker, it reveoled thqt the"possive members who simply ccu:reon Surrday morningcu'rd drd little else

ln the church crveroged 4,5 unsoved,unchurched fiiends each, In otherwords, by spending less time rrvolvedin the church prog[om, they spendmore time with the urrscrved, Urrfor-hrnotely, the'prllors" cne not winningonyone, cnd so the possle folks hoveno workrng models fiom whom tolecnn how to win their unscrvedfriends.

How long will it go on? Until wereolize the church is not cnrr irstifutionin the New Testoment,lt's solt. mxedin with the flour. lt's yeost, mrxed inwith the dough. Our trouble rs wehcrve "come crpcnt to be sepcnote"-crrrd there exists no more omong usthose who cne known os "Frlends ofWinebrlcbers crrrd Sirrners."

Ifs o good thrrg, tool If one hke thotshowed up, wed probcdcly stone hrmfor not being o "sepcnoted Christlon"

SHIMEI

Amsterdom '83,.,

I wish to toke exception to o stcrtement in on otherwise fine orticle onThe lnterncrtlonol Conference forItinercrrrt Evcnr-rgelists or Amsterdom'83, which oppeored in the Octoberissue,

"ln obvious obsence from themeeting," rt scrid,'Were Fundonren-tohst or Evcrrrgelicol Conservotiveswho feelzuch o corrferencewouldbetoo ecumerucol,"

The impresion conveyed rs thcrtthose of uswho crftendedcre not"F\.n-Oo-.n1olist or Evcmgelicol Corser-votiveg" thot we cne not opposed toecumenism cn'rd thot we endorsecoopercrtion with Modernrsts,

Celtornly we would not erpect tosee present those whom the Joumqlreported on the next poge cs denounc-ing Jeqr Folweli or those described onpoge 10 os procticrng "SecondcqlSepcrotion-Iso1crtlon." Ttre sentencemight hove moreoccurotely spokenof the obsence of 'Those Fr:ndcn-nen-

tolst or Evongeiicol Conservcrtiveswho , . "-but thot ls not the lcrrrguogeused,

Let me corrfess, I om o firlllimeitineront evongehst who crftendedond received glreot benefit fromAmsterdcrm '83, I om olso o Fun-dcn-nentolist culd cn Evcrngehcol Conservcrtive, I om in o thoroughly con-servotive denominqtion (thePresJcytencur Church rn Amenco) cu-rdhod o sigrnficont role in the movement thot formed thcrt denomrncrtionrr o sepcrcrlion from o WCC cndNCCrelcrted, Liberol-controlled denomino-tlon I feel thot Grohom hos beenncrrve in his ossocicrtlons wlth Lrlcerolrehgnonists Communist govemments,cu-rd Americcu-r presidents (not thot ollthree cotegones ore olike) But howmuch better is it thcrt our most promr-nent evongelist is known for beingnorve rother thon cvmcol?'Most

of the nortir:incrnts of Amster-r l r v y w l r v r y

dom'83 were Fundomentolists ondEvongelicol Conservotives. Monyhod reservotions obout differentospects of the Glohom mnstry. Butwe were wilhng to recognize thot hers o mon whom God hos used cu-rdwere glod for the pnvrlegre to lecnnmore obout evcu-rgellsm cu-rd ourLordfrom hlm cnd from one cn'rother,

Don DunkerleyPensocolo, Florido

Let's hecn the other view,.,

I hove reod with grrecrt interestevery lssue of the FundamentalistJoumql srnce its inceotion. I cnrrfindrng thcrt there is o deilrrrte slcrrrt ofviewpoints presented, porticulolly inthe oreos of Chnsticm living

I zuggest thot,tobefoirto more con-servative Christicnrs, you publish cn-ticles on the scrme subjects but bywell-known Fr.rndomentohsts wrth odiffering viewpornt. For exomple,Dr Jock Hyles cu-rd Dr Donold Howcrdon occredrtcrtion of Christicrn schools

FL'NDAMENTAIIST JOURNAI

or Postor Sileven of Nebrcrsko on stcrteLicensure of church mimstrres,

T r^ rnr r l r l a lca mnroc ic to cnm-s r u v s y y , v

narrr t i r ro arfrc loc ^n an incroaqrnnhr

i m n n r t a n t i c c r r o - r 1 a r ^ / a r a - l l \ / h m / au a r } J v r t q r

* l -ra \^InrA ^{ f -^zl laAxr2 A n rrr t ic lo l -rrru l v v v v l u u l v u u t v u u y : r u r u r l u l v v y

Tlr Rnl.r l l rmr nn t l - r ic cr r l ' r iaar \^/Ar r l . l l . \av r s ] v l r t r r r J u w j v v L

good,The Fundqmentqlist Joumcl hos

served well to rnform the church ofJesus Chrlst os to the trends of mcnyof our well-known preochers It hosreveoled o 10t

Mrs. Aprile M ClorkKrrkwood, New Jersey

Find Bibles lor them, pleqse,..

Whot type of "Brlcle" do Mr, Dobsonond Mr. Hrndson use when they wrlteortrcles such os "Gurlt by Assocrcrtion"ln the October Fundqmentqlist Jour-nqP It is evrdent thcrt Dobson ondHindson must hove "Brlcles" thot hovenddaq miqcinc hocm r.^ .1- '^" aa+ l i l -a- |JU\,Ur r i r iNur\ , uvuuuDY l l lYy UUI UNU

they hove never seen some very rm-portcmt texts of Scriphxe such oslJohn4,.I, Romcrrrs 1617, Trhx 113, Ephesicn-rs 511,Tihrs 3 lO, 2 Corinthrons 6J7, 2 Thessolo-nicrns 3,6, 2 John 1O ll

Wor.rld you pleose find Dobsonanr] l] indcnn Rrhlaq /Kinc Tcmoc \/or-

\ r u r r v J q ' l r v r v v ,

sion) whrch do not hove these versescut out so they con see thot bJclicolsepcrcrtion from hereticol brethrenanri mnci-cr/ tc r^rhlTt / -nA ram r i .neu r l v u l J v o r u o y r o v v r r u r g v u l g \ - l u l g D .

When the outhors of "Guilt by Assocrotr^n ^r Rr rmod hrr l lra Socnnrl T)omm"v v y r r a v u v v r v v

{ rn r l ihaco r rArqac f l51r nan eaa * l - ra . rl r l l u t 1 l g o v v v l o g o / . r r s y U U l l J W l l l g y

hove violcrted the Word of God ond

cnn ronont nf mncq miqrrca nf lnnicv s r r r v y v a l v r r v v r v

ond srn they hove commrtted,Torry SchottMrnnecrpohs, Minnesoto

Not sympcrthetic, but...

Thank rrnr r fnr con.lrnc dn aY-

cmrnncrtion copy o1 F\rndcunentclistJoumol. Although I connot scry I omranihrrr crrmnr-flraria.vtth most of the

cfiicles, 1t is certolrrly true (os ColThnmcq qa cnnon i l r r nn ioq \ t l ra i

v v v v v v r l r f

sfudents should be exposed to thepont of VIew presented n the Journql

Rrchord W BehlingAssocrcrte Professor of PhilosophyUniversity of W$consin-Ectu Cloile

Don't mqke light ol it...

I questron the volue of on orticlefEr rndamanfal icm Tadmr f)ctnl-ror\u u r r v v r r r v l t , q u J r r r v e v f / v v t v p v ' /

thot mokes light of seporotion, The cn-ticle stcrtes thcrt mony differences orebosed on "personol prefelences." Thedcmger of the stotement liesrnthe foctthcrt it wos found in the some orticlethcrt used illustrcrtions thcrt were notnrofcrcnr:cs k)r r+ r.rthel btbl icolv r v r v r v r r v v u

pnncrples,Ftomcl en rrrfrr iq nnt c nroforonr-or v v \ 4 r r ]

It is o blessed loctThe Chorrsmcrtic movement is not

^ ^ - ^ { ^ - ^ ^ ^ a T } i a * n ,(j prelererlce 1r rs cllr eIIOIBcrptrsm by lmmersion is not o

nrofcronr-o T1 ic rr hil^rligql COmmOnd.If I rndeed believe these to be

brlclicolpnnciples cmd teoch them ossuch. then I shou-ld show my behef

lhrough my prochce by hndly cndin n frranr] l rr m,mnay canmrrf ina frnmr r r v u r v r r \ 4 l

those who do not.T - , ,^+ ̂ - , rL^, . -L thdl I hove en_I r t l w L D U y , r l l V U \ , r r ,

inrod rarrdrnr-r q.rr1o nf the mCftenOl tnl v l v e r v u w r w w r l r v v a

the Fundomentolist Joumol.

Steve Love, PostorFrrst Bcrptrst ChurchGrlcroltor, Michigon

You left out the number one reoson . , .

In the Seplember ort ic le,"Accrdemic Accredrtcrtron Quohty orCompromise?" you left out thenumber one reoson why somec c h o n l c n l . r r o c t i n r o c r n n n l

occreditotlon-the school wouldhmra tn hmr d l rrral . r lo r^rdda dnrj

V q Y V

rou-ir rao fna r l f rr loaclr rna lnar lc a)r rr

school wos consrderng Iegonol oc-credrtotion until the odministrcrtionleorned thcrt they worild hcrve to cuti ha fnnr lh r lonch ina lncdc l ' r r r nna-, a a v r v v w r l r v \ J v r l r r v

third ond double focr:lty ncome Wecenoinly hcrve to respect the secu]orworld for the common sense theyhove to reolize thot no one con be cIgood teocher while holdrng downdn-thar rnh in ^ralar t^ qrrnnn# l 'rrq

Jvv r r r ruyyv i l r uu

fomilyVcrrrs .'r.'ro T .'rlr^/.n/S heOfd ObOUt

tho nnnr torrr-horq l\TnW J See teqchefa{tar taanhar lamra hS teOChinO

ministry to toke ochuchwhere his rn-come is three trmes os muchl Is lhelal-raror r^r^rtl ' \\r a{ h ic h rro nnlrr rf ha iq

v v v r r r r I v r r r f 1 r r ] v l j

o poston

Nome Withheld

Upset...

I wont to let you know thcrt the or-trcle on GB Vick 1n the Septemberiqcr rc r rnset me tn no end,

I think rt wos the usuol opproochthot BBF hos hod down through theyecrs. The cnttcle mode tt seem os ilDr, Vick wos o knight on o wfrte horsewho never mode o mistoke, while itwos demeonlng to Dr, Nonts ond Dr,En lzminaar T r^rac nffanr locl l ' r r r qt tchL r r r 4 r ' r l r v v r ' v v v J u u v r r

trosh,

John Spltzo, PostorNew Hope Boptist ChurchWestlcnrd, Michigon

We welmme your @mments and uill inclufuthem in our lztten to the Hltor section as srycepermits - subject to mndercation at the dism-tion of the editorial snff.'Wg KEIPASKING tr FoR gqq CHURCH GROrrll PRoJtCrtoNg

AND IT KLEPS PRININ6 'RLPENTJ ' I19 'ND 19 NEAR.'"

DECEMBERl9B3

JEBPY T'ALVTLL COMMENTd

On Kennedy and Kempat Liberty

enator Edward M. Kennedy addressed the students ofLiberty Baptist College and other guests in October.Some people have misunderstood our motivation and

purpose for having Kennedy here.The Political Science Department at Liberty Baptist Col-

lege is growing rapidly. One of the goals of the department isto train young people for service in the national and interna-tional political arena. This philosophy of equipping studentsfor their arcas of service is applied to every field of study at LBC.

For several years students from our Speech and Communica-tions Department have debated students from other majoruniversities and colleges-William and Mary, GeorgetownUniversity, U.S. Naval Academy, University of Virginia, George\0ashington University, to name a few. Our students win oftenand are rapidly becoming recognized as experts in criticalthinking.

Last year the Division of Natural Sciences helped sponsora Creation versus Evolution debate, involving two scientists.Not only did the student body see and hear a graphic exampleof truth winning over error, but even the liberal VashingtmPoxhad as headline for its article the next morning, "Creation 1,Evolution 0." Dr. Duane Gish, a Christian with the Institutefor Creation Research, defended scientific creation. Of coursewe could not find a Bible-believing Fundamentalist to arguethe side of evolution, so we invited Dr. Russell Doolittle fromthe University of California to defend evolution. When I askedDr. Doolittle, on the platform, if he believed in God, he said,"I believe in hydrogenl' I do not recall one letter or call com'plaining about having Dr. Doolittle here.

We cannot expect to train champions for Christ who willgo into the arena of leadership and change our nation if weinsulate them from their philosophical opponents. We are notafraid to allow the other side to speak. If one Liberal Pied Pipercan come to Liberty Baptist College and in a single speech stealaway the spiritual and intellectual loyalties of our students, thiscollege's faculty and administration have not done a good jobof educating our young people.

Further, the original intent of Kennedy's appearance wasnot to have a one-sided debate. Representative Jack Kemp wasinvited by the Political Science Department to debate SenatorKennedy on the topic "Contemporary Issues Facing Americain 19841' We wanted to bring Senator Kennedy and Con-gressman Kemp to Lynchburg on the same night, October 3,but this simply could not be arranged. Jack Kemp spoke onNovember 1.

Invitations have been extended to former President RichardNixon, Henry Kissinger, and other well*nown political leadersto participate in upcoming Liberal/Conservative Debate andbcture Series on our campus.

8

non-Fundamentaliston their campus, becauseof a balanced liberal arrs

By having Senator Kennedy

In a different vein, for years hostedin Artists Seriesvalue and need

, we gained atremendous amount of credibilitv with factions who have

pluralism, and I took this opportunity to demonstrate that.Norman l-ear criticizes me for being narrow but has never givenme his platform. And Mr. lear will not accept my many in-vitations to debate me on the "Phil Donahue Show" or anyforum of his choice.

When Ted Kennedy was at Liberty he was allowed to speakfreely, without one catcall or heckle. Our student body gavehim courteous and respectful applause before and after hisspeech. In recognizing this he said, "It does not help anyone'scause to shout such epithets-or try to shout a speaker down-which is what happened lastApril when Dr. Falwell was hissedand heckled at Harvard. So I amdoubly grateful for your courtesyhere today. That was not Har-vardts finest hour,"

Jacqueline G. \fexler, Presi-dent of the National Conferenceof Christians andJews, made thisstatement: "Both Senator Edward

FUNDAIVGNTAIJST JOURNAI

Kennedy and the Rev. Jerry Falwell deserve credit and praisefor the event that took place at Lynchburg, Virginia. [Ve] ap-plaud this dramatic example of confrontation without conten-tiousness. \Ue believe that it is possible to disagree without be-ing disagreeable. We encourage the partisan advocates on bothsides of all public disputes to follow the example of candor andcourtesy practiced at the event at Liberty Baptist College.

"The problems that we face in this nation, in this world,are not going to be solved either by dividing ourselves into war-ring camps, talking only to those within our own circle of sup-porters, or by being so patronizing that we deny that differencesexist.

"Brothers and sisters dorlt always agree. They should notbe expected to. But they can learn to ffght fair. That is an im.portant part of the growing process. That is as true for a na-tion as it is for a family.

"Jerry Falwell and Ted Kennedy have given us a good ex-ample of what it means to fight fair. We are indebted to them.That is what makes America workl'

Some will quickly say, "\Uell, we're not brothers and sistersl'Maybe we are not brothers spiritually and theologically, butwe do belong to the same human family. Some of my Fun-damentalist brothers should think about Jacqueline Wexler'scomments.

Others have said, "But why Kennedy? He's the most liberalof the Liberalsl' I believe that to grow in the Christian life wemust always be challenging ourselves. We must strive for ex.cellence. If a good football team wants to get better' they mustplay tougher opponents. lf a good golfer wants to be a better

VV e cannot expect to trainchampions for Christ who will sointo the areno of leadership andchange our notion if we insulatethern from their philoso phicol

opponents.

golfer, he must play on more difficult courses. And if a think'ing Christian wants to become a better thinking Christian hemust understand that confrontation with the world system ispart of the growth process. Jesus Christ constantly confrontedand debated the scribes and Pharisees. The apostle Paulchallenged the intellectual scholars on Mars Hill. \7e shoulddo no less.'\7e

know what we believe. \fhen we allow open debate onour campus, we are strengthened in our convictions. \fe arecommitted to changing America. We cannot do this by hidingbehind the walls of our institution, taking potshots at the restof the world. We must go into the oppositiorfs territory andmeet them head-on. We must also allow the other side to comeonto our field and face us head-on. Tiuth-whether political,social, or religious-will always stand the test of debate.

DECEMBER 1983

Just as our baseball team is not comrpted by competing witha team from a secular school, nor our debate team ideologicallytainted because they have dared to confront a liberal school,so our students and faculty have not swung over to SenatorKennedy's philosophy or lifestyle because of this debate.

Before Senator lGnnedy spoke to nearly 6,000 students andvisitors from the area, he had dinner at my home. It was a timefor a one-on-one dialogue. Yet, I think I spoke for most of ourschool family when I released my media statement, which saidin part, "He's a Liberal on most issues and I'm a Conservative.No amount of dinners will change thatl'

Aside from Kennedy's ex-pected comments about thenuclear freeze, prayer in schools,and the Department of Educa-tion, he kept emphasizing toler-ance, pluralism, and religioushumility. ln reference to themany religious faiths so prevalenttoday even Kennedy recognized,"Pluralism obviously does notand cannot mean that all of them are right. But it does meanthat there are areas where government cannot and should notdecide what it is wrong to believe, to think, to read, and todo. The proper role of religion is to appeal to the conscienceof the individual, not the coercive power of the statel'

Now that may sound good, but it simply doesrft fly!Kennedy's specific example of this was abortion. If the govern-ment were to follow Kennedy's point, all laws against murder,rape, stealing, and violations of civil rights would be dropped.It would be up to the church to "appeal to the conscience ofthe individualj'hopefully to reduce crime in America. Of courseit is important to be loving and friendly, but tolerance is notalways the answer. It has been said that tolerance of the in-tolerable is not tolerance-it is foolishness.

Our frame of reference is contrary to that of the far l-eft,but that does not mean we cannot or should not exercise ourright to freedom of speech and action to influence governmentand its policies. The Liberals, including the Liberal clergy, havebeen doing this for years. As I have said many times, what isgood for the Liberal goose is also good for the Conservativegander.

\ilhile every LBC faculty and staff member must always betotally committed to the Fundamentalist and separatist posi-tions, and every chapel and class so oriented-we must neverbe afraid to challenge, debate, and do verbal battle with ourphilosophical opponents.

There are certain things that you and I believe in and wouldbe willing to die for. The same is true with the Liberty BaptistCollege young people. Yes, even after the senator's address. Syn-dicated columnist John lofton gave the bottom line as to howour philosophy has changed since Gd lGnnedy's speech in Oc-tober. "The difference between the "Ibd Kennedys and the JerryFalwells of the world is a gap that is unbridgeable; it is a circlethat cannot be squared. Kennedy's god is pluralism; Falwell'sGod is God. Both men are sincere but their differing faiths can-not be reconciled. No wayl' I agree! !

MFlat pastor sat in his office alone. Although he intended

I to study for his message, his mind was preoccupied.L with the events of recent davs. He had received a

letter from the pulpit committee of a large church asking himto consider being a candidate for the position of senior pastor.The letter came at a very difficult time in his current ministry.Several key families had just left the church to start a newchurch down the street and for the first time in five years at-tendance was going down. After rereading the letter, hepicked up a pen and legal pad and wrote across the top, "Howcan I know the will of God?"

This story can be repeated a thousand times over. The peo-ple and circumstances may be different but the question isalways the same: "How can I know God's will for my life?"Life is filled with important decisions. In all decisions it is criticalto discern the will of God.

The subject of God's will is one of the most popular topicsin both Christian literature and preaching. Yet with volumesof information on the subject, few topics are ftlled with as muchconfusion and contradiction as this one. We want to considerthe four dimensions of God's will and then suggest some biblicalcriteria for determining God's will in our daily decisions.

A Definition

The word translated "will" means what one desires or whatone has determined must be done. It comes from a verb thatmeans "to be resolved, to determine, or to purpose." Noticethat the idea of God's will is more than God's general desire;it is what God has purposed will be done. It is one thing todesire something, but it is entirely different to determine thatthe object will be accomplished. For example, you can desireto play sports, but that desire will not be a sufrcient cause todo so. You must not only desire it, you must also determineand purpose that you will do it. Now when you are talkingabout the will of God, it is more than God's general desirefor your life. It is what God has determined and purposed willbe accomplished in your life!

The Four Dimengions of God'e Will

A study of the will of God in Scriprure reveals that the em-phasis is upon doing the will of God, not drscussing it. Jesus toldHis disciples that "not every one that saith unto me, Lord,[ord, shdl enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he thatdcrzth

10

How to Knowthe Wfll of God

the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 721). Hetaught His disciples to pray "Thy will be done" (Matt. 6:10)and told the multitudes that His true brethren were those whodid His will (Mark 3:35). In our study of God's will it is im-perative that we desire to know the will of God in order todo it and not to uote on it.

In the Bible there are four distinct dimensions to God's will.Each of these dimensions reveals a certain aspect of God'scharacter as He relates to His creatures. These dimensions pro-vide a conceptual framework out of which to understand andapply God's will.

The Ultimate Will of God-His Sovereignty. "Hav-ing made known unto us the mystery of his will, accordingto his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himselfi Thatin the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gathertogether in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,and which are on earth; even in him" (Eph. 1:9-10).

The ultimate will of God is to gather rogether everythingin heaven and earth in Christ. In Philippians, Paul addressesthis in different language when he states that one dayeverything in heaven, on earth, and under the earth willrecognize the lordship of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:9-l l). There arethose who suggest that God created the world and set in mo-tion certain natural, spiritual, and moral laws. He is allowingthe world to exist according to these laws, and He will remainuninvolved until the day when He gathers everyone togetherin Christ. Is God involved in determining the events on earthright now?

The answer is "In whom also we have obtained an in-heritance, being predestinated according to the purpose ofhimwho worketh all things after the counsel of his own will"(Eph. 1:11). God is working all things "after the counsel of hisown will." Paul reminds us that God's sovereign will is beingaccomplished in all affairs of this cosmos. He is involved inthe kings and kingdoms of this world (Prov. 21:1), the affairsof His saints (Rom. 8:28), and even in the results of castinglots @rov. 16:33). God is sovereign in His relationship to theworld He created (l Chron. 29:ll-13\.

Does God's sovereignty eliminate the will of man? If Goddetermines all things, then that implies that man has no choiceat all. However, the Bible is clear that God's ultimate will doesnot destroy decision making. In lsaiah l4J2-14, the prophetdescribes the fall of Satan. Satan rebels against God and his

by Ed. Dobson and Ed Hindson

FUNDAVGNTAT]ST JOURNAI

rebellion utilizes the words "I will" ftve times. It is obvious thatSatan made a conscious decision rooted in his freedom ofchoice. We also have the ability to make decisions. God deter-mines all things without being the author of sin or destroyingman's free will.

The Redemptive Will of God-His Grace. "Blessedbe the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenlyplaces in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him beforethe foundation of the world, that we should be holy andwithout blame before him in love: Having ptedestinated us un-to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, accord-ing to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory ofhis grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved"(Eph. 1:3-6). God has determined in the good pleasure of Hiswill to redeem fallen man. This redemption is predicated totallyupon His grace (Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus emphasizes this redemptivewill when He states that "this is the will of him that sent me,that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him,may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the lastday" flohn 6:40).

All of mankind is living within the conftnes of God'ssovereign will. However, only those who have acceptd by faiththe message of the gospel are a part of God's redemptive will.\7e who are recipients of this redemptive will have an obliga-tion to share it with all the people of the world Matt. 28:19-20).The message is still "whosoever believeth in him should notperish, but have everlasting life" Qohn 3:16). Charles HaddonSpurgeon said that wlwsuuer means "Everybody of some sorts,everybody ofno sorts, and everybody ofall sorts in between."

Goa deturrnines ollthingswithout being the author of sinor destroying rnan's free will.

The Preceptive Will of God-Hie Word. "The secretthings belong unto the Lord our God: but those things whicharc reuealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, thatwe may do all the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29).

The preceptive will of God is His revealed will as containedin His \Uord. Moses states that there are some secret thingsabout Qod that we cannot understand. However, we have anobligation to obey what we do understand-"all the words ofthis law." When you come to the New Testament, God'spreceptive will is clear. It is the will of God to abstain fromimmorality (l Thess. 4:3), to give thanks (1 Thess. 5:18), todo good (1 Peter 2rl5), to suffer (l Peter 4:16), to surrender(2 Cor. 8:5), and to be transformed (Rom. 1212).

God has revealed His will through His Word. \fe muststudy His Word in order to know that will, and we must sub-mit to it. Andrew Murray, writing on this dimension of God'swill, states, "The great mistake here is that God's children donot really believe that it is possible to know the will of God,or if they believe this they do not take the time and trouble

DECEMBER1983

to ftnd it out." Although all Christians are living within thesovereign and the redemptive will of God, some are not livingin obedience to the preceptive will of God.

The Individual Will of God-His Guidance. "Paul,an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheusour brother" (Col. l:1). This dimension of God's will is themost controversial and, for many Christians, the most con-fusing. Whom should I marry? Is God calling me to the mis-sion fteld? Should I accept a job with this company or thatone? God's preceptive will is applicable to all Christians,whereas God's individual will is persotal and not applicableto others.

In discerning the will of God in these areas, there are twoextreme models of decision making you must avoid. First, thereis exreme fatalism. This is the idea that God has predestinedevery detail of your life and you must accept that. With thatconcept when you trip and break your arm, you simply say,"Thank God that's over with!" In fatalism you make no realdecisions; you allow what is going to happen, to happen.

The second extreme model of decision making proposes thatin the individual decisions of life God has no will and thatwhatever you decide is the will of God. Once you understandthe ultimate will of God, accept the redemptive will of God,and live by the preceptive will of God, you just go ahead andmake the decision. You have complete freedom in these areasof God's will. The problem with both these extreme interpreta'tions of God's will is that they are not indicated in Scripture.The true balance is somewhere between the two extremes.Notice that Paul's vocation was according to the will of God(Col. l:1). Paul's plans and schedule were in accordance withGod's will (Rom. 1110). James emphasizes that our businessplans must be in accordance with God's will (ames 4:15). Godexpects us to make decisions, but we must have a consciousdesire that those decisions are in keeping with God's will.

Deciding God's Individual Will

The ultimate will of God includes all of mankind. God'sredemptive will is realized in the lives of those people who haveaccepted the message of the gospel. Once we become part ofGod's family, we have an obligation to know and to do Hispreceptive will as revealed in His Word. There are at least ftvebiblical criteria by which to make our decisions.

Pray about it. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him askof God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not;and it shall be given him" (ames 1:5). Whenever you are inthe process of making a decision, you ought to pray and askGod for wisdom. Human wisdom is insufficient in making com-plex decisions. We must recognize our dependence on God andreceive our direction from Him.

Analyze your glfts and abilltieE. "This is a true saying,If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work"(1 Tim. 3:1). Paul outlines the qualiftcations for pastors anddeacons in I Timothy. The implication of these verses is thatpastors and deacons must possess these chaiacteristics as aprerequisite to pastoring. The Scriptures teach that God givesus spiritual gifts and abilities (Rom. 12:l-8). God will not callus to do something that He has not given us the gift and abilityto do. When making decisions it is important to determinewhether our abilities are commensurate with the oppornrnity.If you cannot sing, God has not called you to a music ministry.

Seek godly advice. "Wherefore, brethren, look ye outamong you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghostand wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business"(Acts 6:3).

The choosing of the first deacons in the Jerusalem churchsuggests the importance of seeking the godly advice of othersin making decisions. The apostles were spending time deal-ing with the business concerns of the growing church, and thiswas detracting from their ministry in the Word and prayer.They chose seven honest men who were Spirit-filled and ap-pointed them over the business. God's will was accomplishedthrough their consultation with one another and theirestablishing qualifications for the new positions. Seeking thegodly advice of others is important when making decisions.

Make a logical decieion. "For that ye ought to say, Ifthe Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that" (|ames 4:15).

In this passage of Scripture James is addressing businessmenwho have developed a financial snategy for selling their prod-uct. They identified a market, outlined their plans for saturatingthe market and moved to that location to do business. Jamesdoes not condemn them for their careful planning, rather hecondemns them for not submitting their plan to the will ofGod. God expects us to make reasonable decisions and thenrecognize that those decisions must be submitted to Godts will.

Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. "Now when they hadgone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were

forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, afterthey were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia:but the Spirit suffered them not" (Acts 16.6-?).

The Holy Spirit indwells all Christians. It is God's will tobe filled with the Spirit and to be sensitive to His directionof our lives (Eph.5:17-18). Paul made a decision concerningwhere he would journey in order to preach the gospel.However, the Holy Spirit led him in a different direction. Afterwe have prayed, analyzed our abilities, sought godly advice,and made a logical decision, we must be sensitive to the HolySpirit who will confirm that decision or resist that decisionin our hearts.

Knowing His Will

God wants us to know His will for our lives. His will isnot some deep, dark secret that can be discovered by only afew. The Scripture makes it abundantly clear that the will ofGod is revealed in the \[ord of God. As we walk in obedienceto the principles of Scripture, we can have every confidencethat God will lead us. It has often been said, "Where Godguides, God provides." Our greatest concern is not where Heis guiding but the personal reassurance that He is guiding usaccording to His will. o

D

What are the children age one to five doing at your church onSunday morning?Distracting the servico in the "big church"?Playing in the Sunday school room while they restlsssly wait for Mom and Dad?or

Are they learning about God, "precept upon precop! line upon line...here al i t t le, and there a l i t t le" ( lsa. 28:1Ol?

The Children's Ministry of Thomas Road BaptistChurch can provide the ikey for helping those littleones learn about God, The key is total training.

Frorn presession Ectivities to tho pastor's final"amen." the Children's Ministry Curriculumprovides creative and enjoyable learningexperiences designed to capture th€ heart andmind of each precious child.

To illustrate th€ Biblo story or character lesson,physical activities aro alternated with listeningactivities. Even "snack time" is planned to add alittle more to each child's understanding-"lineupon line. . . here a littlo, thore a little."

Used successfully with thousands of children atThomas Road Baptist Church, the curriculum isalso enjoyed by hundreds of fundamental churchesacross th€ nation.

"Excellent matorlal .., propor ago level and verytruo to Scdpturcl" Mrr. Fran Corulla, RlverdaleBsptlrt Church, Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

"Wc found lt very ratlrfactory-even adaptablc for cvcnlng lervlcer; very well-wdttonl" Mrs. Royal Bluo, North Valloy Baptl.tChurch, Rcddlng, Callfornla.

"l recommond lt hlghlyl" Rcv. Don Rotcoe,Narhvllle Baptlrt Church, Naahvllle, Mlchlgan.

Church

Name

Address

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Acorn Children's PublicationsChildren's MinistryThomas Road Baptist ChurchLynchburg, Ya.24514

Position

Sta Zip-

Send now for further information.

FUNDAN/GNIAUST JOURNAT

First Full Scale Attempt By A Single SchoolFaculty To Produce A VERSE-BY'VERSEExposition Of The Entire Bible

. fundamental . evangelical o premillennial

Designed to meet the needs of pastors, teachers, and Iay Christians, LibettyBible Commentary is written in clear, easy-tounderstand language and is ar-ranged for easy-to.use reference. Biblical text and commentary are printed sideby side on each page for convenience and quick comparison.

At the end of each commentary, a bibliography suggests further references formore indepth study. Map supplements throughout the book illustrate importantinformation, such as "facob's Travels in the Land of Canaan," the "Exodus andthe Route of Wandering," the "Events of David's Wanderings," the "Division ofthe Kingdom," and the "Return to Zion."

Available at your favorite Christian bookstoreHardcover, $29.95

Thomas NelsonNashville, TN 372L4.1000

ferry Falwell, ExecutiveEditor, is chancellor of Liberty Baptist College and$smingly and is founderand senior pastor of Thom-as Road Baptist Church inLynchburg, Virginia.

tllneJ/tiftCI cheby V.A. Criswell

he angel Gabriel was sent toMary, a virgin girl in Nazareth.The angel made this an-

nouncement to her:

And, behold, thou shalt con'ceive in thy womb, and bringforth a son, and shalt call hisnameJesus [loslun, Hebrew, andlesoru, Greek. In every language,the word means "Saviour" or "Je'hovah saves"l.

He shall be great, and shall becalled the Son of the Highest: andthe Lord God shall give unto himthe throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over thehouse ofJacob fot ever; and ofhiskingdom there shall be no end(Luke l:31-33).

From the beginning of this an'nouncement, the preaching of the Chris-tian faith has literally been interdicted,denied, and abused. There has not beenanything evil and vicious that could besaid about the Christian faith that hasnot been said.

In the days of the sainted aPostle

John, who was pastor in Ephesus in hisold age, there was a gnostic namedCerinthus. He taught that Jesus wasborn by natural generation ftom Josephand Mary and that the emanation, thatis, the messianic Spirit from heaven,came upon Jesus at His baptism and thenleft Him at His crucifixion. Cerinthusbegan with a denial of the Incarnationand the Virgin Birth.

In the Talmud, the oral tradition ofthe Jews that has been canied down

I4

,W,,,. ci t ,h,r::;

ff&;l**trrw

FUNDAI\iEMAUST JOURNAT

through the generations, there are storiesthat suggest immoral illegitimacy in thebirth of Christ. ln those stories, a Romanofficer named Panthera supposedly livedwith a Jewish girl named Mary inNazareth. lnto the illegitimate union thechild called Jesus was supposedly born.Those stories of illegitimacy have con-tinued through the years.

In our day there are two tremendousfocuses of battle and confrontation:

(1) The inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. That battle rages world withoutend. In every denomination the battlerages over whether or not the Bible isthe Word of God or whether it was writ-ten by men as they tried to interpret themeaning of God. That is the ftrst focusof war in the theological world.

(2) The other battleground concernsthe Virgin Birth. Bitterly and continuallythe doctrine of the Virgin Bifth is atta&edby the critics of the Bible. MatthewArnold, one of the tremendous literaryffgures ofEngland, said, "I do not believein the Virgin Birth, for that would im-ply a miracle and I do not believe inmiracles. Miracles do not happen."

Indeed, it may be forensically in-tergsting among infidels for a man to say,"These stories in the Bible are justmanufactured out of somebody's wild, il.limitable, ungovernable imagination."But what are you going to do about ex-plaining some of the great facts of humanlife in history?

For example, the greatest single factthat I know in human history iq the factof Jesus Christ. I do not know anotherfact comparable to it. I think you can ex-plain the lives of Alexander the Great,Julius Caesar, or Napoleon Bonaparte.I think you can explain the genius ofShakespeare, Homer, or Dante. I thinkyou can understand the scientiffc prow-ess that lies behind a Thomas AlvaEdison or an Albert Einstein. But I donot know how any man in any age isable to explain the unique, towering per-sonality of Jesus the Christ.

A rationalist named Schmidt oncewrote: "Jesus is inexplicable psychologi-cally, casually, or by evolutionary

W.A. Criswell is pastor of FirstBaptist Church, Dallas, Texas, urd,fwnder of Criswell Center for BiblicalStudies and, Criswell ChristianAcad,mt"t.

development. Something derived cre-atively from God is necessary to explainthe life and consciousness of Jesus."

There are those who seek to findsome natural, phenomenal explanationto dl of the "miracles" in the Bible. Theydo it sometimes ingeniously.

Here is an example of such ingenuity.The Bible describes the marvelousmiracle of the deliverance of the childrenof Israel at the Red Sea. They wentthrough with the waters piled up oneither side of them. Then whenPharaoh's'army tried to follow afterthem, God let the waters go back againand drowned Pharaoh's armv. That is

Goa brought lishtout of darkness, formout of chcos, life outof death, and glory

out of gloomand despair,

what the Bible says. But these so-calledscientists and critics sayr "That was notthe Red Sea. It was the Reed Sea, andthe water was about three inches deep.It did not even come up to their ankles.The children of Israel just walkedthrough." That is a fine explanation ex-cept when it comes to drowning Pha-raoh's army in three inches of water!

The same type of mentality that seekssome kind of natural, phenomenal ex-planation for the miracles of the Biblealso explains away the Virgin Birth.These unbelieving intellectuals say thatthere is a thing called parthenogenesis.That is, there are fungi and algae andplant lice that self.fertilize from spores.They do not need male and female, theyjust self-fertilize from spores. They holdthat Mary just self-fertilized like a plantlouse, like a fungus, like an alga. To placeMary in the category of a plant louse oran alga or a fungus is beyond me!

Some say that the Virgin Birth is nota part of the Bible. But wherever thereis a manuscript of the Bible, the VirginBirth is in it. As far back as these an-cient autographs can be traced, in every

version, this is woven into the Word ofGod.

Of course, there are others who com-pare the phenomenal and miraculousbirths in the Greek and Roman myth-ologies to the birth of Christ. They saythis is just another one of thosemythological stories about somebodywho is supposed to be great. Alexanderthe Great, for example, is no longer theson of Philip of Macedon, but the off-spring of a serpent who cohabited withhis mother. The mother of AugustusCaesar went to sleep in the temple ofApollo, and Apollo transformed himselfinto a serpent (I do not know why theyliked those serpents), and Augustus Oc-tavius Caesar was born.

Or look at the mythological story ofthe birth and life of Achilles. Peleus wasthe king of Thessaly, and he cohabitedwith Thetis who was a sea nymph, andout of that union Achilles was born.Thetis took Achilles and dipped him inthe River Styx to make him immortal,but she held him by his heels, which lefthim vulnerable only at that spot. In theTrojan War, Paris of Troy took a poi-soned arrow and shot Achilles in theheel and he died.

There are two observations to bemade about these stories: (1) They areall plainly and flagrantly and manifestlymanufactured. They are fictitious. (2) Notone of them has to do with a virginbirth. They have no theological mean-ing. We are now back to where westarted. How do you explain the incom-parable, towering character and per-sonality ofJesus Christ? From where didHe come? r$(/e have a certain and reason-able and God-honored answer.

The Birth of Christ Is a Workof the Holy Spirit

Christ Jesus is a fashioning, a mak-ing, a creation of the Holy Spirit of God.The Holy Spirit fashioned a body for theincarnate Saviour of the world. God didit. In that marvelous passage in Luke 1,the angel Gabriel said to Mary, "TheHoly Ghost shall come upon thee, andthe power of the Highest shall over-shadow thee: therefore also that holything which shall be born of thee shallbe called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35).His birth was the work of the HolySpirit.

It is a remarkable thing that at thebeginning of the life of our Lord the

15DECEMBERl9B3

creative and fashioning work of theHoly Spirit of God is present, and at theend of His life His Resurrection is alsodescribed as the work of the Holy Spiritof God (Rom. l:,1). The Spirit of Godcreated the body in the womb of Mary,an{ the Holy Spirit of God raised thatbody from the dead. As I read the story,there is no incongruity when I pass fromthe story of His marvelous birth into thestory of His incomparable minisry. Hecould raise the dead and open the eyesof the blind with the touch of His hand,speak words that no man ever heard be-fore, and finally He Himself was raisedfrom the dead. It is all one story, and itftts together like a beautiful and perfectmosaic.

The Intervention of Godin Human History

Not only is the fashioning of thebody of Christ the work of the HolySpirit, but the Incarnation alsorepresents an intervention of God inhuman history. From time to time andfrom the beginning to the consumma-tion of the age, God miraculously andmarvelously intervenes in the life ofmankind.

The Spirit of God brooded over theface of the chaotic world and broughtlight out ofdarkness, form out ofchaos,life out of death, and glory out of gloomand despair. That is the intervention ofGod in human history.

ln the days of universal wickedness,Noah found grace in the sight of theLord, and God intervened and sparedNoah when He judged the world. In thedays of universal idolany, God calledout Abraham to begin a new people andestablish a new nation.

God also intervened in human his-tory when He came down and becameone of us. Numbered with us, living ourlife, crying our tears, knowing our sor-rows, bearing our sicknesses, dying ourdeaths, He was one of us. And we havethe glorious promise of our resurrectionthrough Him someday. This is the in-tervention of God in human history.

The Creation of a Bodyfor Sacrifice

What is this marvelous thing that wecall the Virgin Birth? It is the acceptanceon the part of God Almighty of a bodyto be offered in sacrifice for our sins. Inthe tenth chapter of the Book of

16

Hebrews, the author avows that theblood of bulls and goats could neverwash our sins away. He pornts to the factthat those sacriftces that were offeredagain and again remind us of our yetfuture unforgiven iniquities. Suchsacrifices in themselves do not avail.They are not sufficient to wash the stainof transgression out of our souls.Therefore, they are repeated again andagain.

At the beginning of the age, up inheaven, a volunteer offered to give Hislife for our iniquities that we might besaved from the judgment of our sins.Hebrews 10 says that a body wasprepared in order that God might makean atoning sacrifice for our transgtes-sions. A spirit could never do that. Thatbody, which was necessary to make pro-pitiation for our sins, was framed by theHoly Spirit of God in the womb of theVirgin Mary, and God lived in thatbody. He came to make a sacrifice forour sins once for all, and in Him we haveredemption, expiation, propitiation,forgiveness, cleansing, and all that Godhas in store for those who are washedclean and white in the blood of theLamb. That is the gospel and that is theessence of the Virgin Birth-a body pre-pared for God in which He made sacri-ffce and atonement for our sins.

The Two Great BiologicalMiraclee of God

There are two great biologicalmiracles from the hand of almighty God.The ffrst is seen in the creation of thefirst Adam with the miracle of mitosisor cell division. In every human bodythere are billions and trillions of humancells, and each of those cells has in it46 chromosomes, little threads to whichare anached the genetic genes ofheredityand life. In the female ovum God puts23 chromosomes and in the male sper-matozoon He puts 23 chromosomes; andwhen they come together in conception,there are 46 again. That is the first greatbiological miracle of God-the miracleof mitosis or cell division, conception,the creation of human life.

The second great biological miracleof God is this: The Lord's hand reacheddown and entered into that geneticchange of mitosis and did a creativework unparalleled in the history ofmankind. Without the spermatozoon Hecreated a bodv for Christ in which God

incarnated Himself to make atonementfor our sins and to be our Lord andbrother and friend and fellow pilgrimand sympathetic High Priest and Saviourand King forever and ever. Genesis 3:15says that the seed of the woman wouldcrush Satan's head. A woman does nothave seed. A man has seed. From thebeginning aged rabbis would pore overthat passage. They would never knowwhat it meant until the story was fuI.ftlled in the birth of our Lord. The seedof the woman-Jesus, God Incarnate-would bruise Satan's head. That is whatit meant, and we did not know it untilthousands of years later.

The incomparable prophecy of Isaiahdeclared: "Behold, a virgin shall con-ceive, and bear a son, and shall callhis name Immanuel" (Isa. ?:14). Godincarnate-that is what it meant.

The beautiful prophecy in Isaiah 9says, "For unto us a child is born, untous a son is given: and the governmentshall be upon his shoulder: and his nameshall be called Wonderful, Counselor,The mighty God, The everlasting Fa-ther, The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6).

The magniftcent passage of the apos-tle Paul in Galatians avows, "But whenthe fulness of the time was come, Godsent forth his Son, made of a woman,made under the law [Man did not haveanything to do with itl, to redeem themthat were under the law, that we mightreceive the adoption of sons" (Gal.4:,1-5). \0e become brothers and sistersofJesus in the family of God through ourbrother, Christ Jesus.

That is what it meant in that marvel-ous last invitation in Revelation, "Andthe Spirit and the bride say, Come. Andlet him that heareth say, Come. And lethim that is athirst come. And who-soever will, let him take the water of lifefreely. He which testifieth these thingssaith, Surely, I come quickly. [A human,bodily Jesus Christ, our Saviour, God In-carnate in the flesh. Oh, that all of usmight pray the responding, answeringprayer of the sainted apostle John]Amen. Even so, come, LordJesus" (Rev.22:17,20). \Uhat a glorious word! Whata marvelous gospel! Vhat a precioushope! Vaiting, watching, praying, serv-ing, until that same virgin-born LordJesus comes again!Adapted ftom Grut DffiiMs ol thz Bible, Vol. 3, by V.ACrisvell. Copydght @ 1982 bv Thc Zondewan Corporation.Used by pemision.

Scriprure quotatioro ftom the KJV.

FUNDAIV{ENTAUST JOURNAI

3errysrWHAT

Bis it?aptist Fundamentalism'84will be the largestconvention ever plannedby Baptist

Fundamentalists. The three.dayspectacular is filled with motivationalpreaching and inspirational musicespecially designed for pastors, churchstaff members, and laymen. Anyonewho wants to see whatFundamentalism is all about iswelcome to attend,

WHERE will it be held?apus(Funda-mentalism'84 will

take place in thenew \TashingtonConventionCenter locatedin Washington,D.C. Thislocation will givehigh visibility tothe independent Baptist movement byaccommodating the gathering of 26,000Fundamentalists in a settingconsistent with the hisroricsignificance of this meeting.

WHY such an undertaking?

he Fundamentalistmovement has become a

dynamic spiritual force inAmerica today. Born at

the turn of the century,Fundamentalism is now receiving longoverdue recognition.

Baptist Fundamentalism '84 willbring together 26,000 Fundamentalists

to encourage Christian leadership andto stand for the old-time religion inthese critical days. BaptistFundamentalism '84 will reaffirm ourhistory and heritage as well as pointthe way to our future.

WHEN will it take place?

pri l 11.13, 1984,\Tednesday through

Friday, Delegates areencouraged to come

;r. early and enjoy the sights of ournation's historic capital. A limitednumber of hotel rooms has beenreserved so it is imDortant to

p.- register immediately.

following speakers:Raymond Barber

Jack BaskinClyde BoxJoseph BrownBruce CummonsTruman DollarJerry FalwellHerman FranklandDan GelattBob Gray

Ray HancockA.V. HendersonEd Hindson

J. Don JenningsDavid JeremiahFrank JohnsonTom \Uallace

John \Uhite'Wendeil

Zimmerman

WHO will be there?

Y\ astors. Families. Christiana -t Educators. Members of- -

l- u3"'il';'i: *'fff ::; o'"'Fundamentalism, including the

RAItnsrrur,{D$,m\m{Il$,t-'Bt-

t-9"-49"1+-Y

Jlll: . r . rr .*" ' , - . ;* .-Jg

President Reagan has been invitedto give the closing speech and istentatively scheduled to attend.

Don't miss the Event of theCentury - make plans to join usl

Washington Convention CenterApril 11.13, 1984

n % 5 L.-- --r

-,

Request for InformationYes, please send me more information about the Bapt ist Fundamental ism '84 Convent ion.

Please check posit ion in church: Pastor Church Staff Lay Member

Describe involvement

Return to: Bapt ist Fundamental ism '84 o P.O. Box 9428 . Kansas City, MO 64133-0228

Other

Name

City

Church

State

Home Phone

zipBusiness Phone

A Musical for the DeaJ

s the Resurrection musical be-gins, a spotlight directs au-dience attention to three peo-

ple in dark clothing-a blonde woman,a black woman, and a man. The sharpcontrast of their faces and arms againstthe darkened background eliminatesdistraction, as their intense facial expres-sions, full (pantomimed) body move-ments, and sign language infuse the mu-sic and narrative with brilliant clarityand depth. Only after the curtain fallsand tears are hurriedly brushed away dowe realize that these three people, andthe dozen or so costumed supporting ac-tors, never once spoke a word.

In fact, most of the performers aredeaf, The Riverdale Baptist Church'sadaptation of David Clydesdale's cantata,"The Day He Wore My Crown," tran-scends the barrier of deafness. As thestory of Christ's crucifixion unfolds innarrative and music, the excellent vocalarrangement becomes an accompani-ment to the dramatic visual interpreta-tion of the actors. This special blend ofsign language, pantomime, and dramawas created by Linda Humphreys, JohnMark Ennis, and Bill Ennis, all per-formers in the play. This unique combi-nation of visual and auditory com-munication creates a vivid and total im-pact on the listener.

Audience response speaks for itself.Ninety percent of the salvation andrededication decisions following the pro-gram were made by hearing people.

Riverdale's minister of music, KimCannon, directs the choir and giftedsoloists who provide the excellent musicduring the cantata. FIe is primarilyresponsible for bringing together thegroup of talented actors from theWashington area, the Riverdale BaptistChurch, and the church school, whoparticipated in the visual interpretation.The program is narrated by Ken Mahan,youth director of Riverdale.

18

During a second performance, themusical was videotaped at Thomas RoadBaptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia.Afterwards, Sandra \Uitt, director of theNational Counseling Center for theDeaf at the Old-Time Gospel Hour, said,"In 15 years of working with the deaf,this is the greatest signed production I'veever seen-the music is thrilling, thedramatic interpretation is excellent.Every church would be blessed by thetape or performance.tt

Kelly Keys, a Liberty Baptist Collegestudent and one of the 18 or so peoplemaking decisions for salvation orrededication at the TRBC performance,said, "Since I had been in Lynchburg Ihad grown accustomed to greatpreachers and great music. I'd begun tospend more time on sports, studies, andwork, and less on witnessing and visita-tion. I'd grown a little callous and coldas a Christian. But focusing on the facialexpressions and actions ofthose deafper-sons really conveyed the meaning ofwhat I was hearing. It has given my lifenew purpose and direction-I want toalways be reached by God's message andHis messengers.t'

Alberta Couthen, age 17, is one ofthe three principal dramatic interpretersin the production and a student at theRiverdale church school. She under-stands the difficulties of the deaf in ahearing world because her parents are

deaf. She has conversed with themthrough sign language all her life.

Linda Humphreys, a deaf interpreterfor the government and the blonde ac-tress in the cantata, became interestedin visual sign language dramatization atGallaudet College. Performing profes-sionally for hearing audiences since 1980in churches and other organizations, shefinds the response rewarding.

As an interesting spin-off to thisunusual musical, Linda is president ofVisual Music Production Companyformed by John Mark Ennis, the thirdprincipal actor/interpreter in the can-tata, and Bill Ennis, his deaf brotherwho plays the part of Pilate. John Mark,a realtor by profession, was impressed bythis relatively new art form aftertranslating "He's Alive" to sign-mimelast year. Bill Ennis has blended comedyinto successful visual entertainment forseveral years in area churches andbusinesses.

Plans for the future include a springtour, says director Cannon. The churchwould like to take "The Day He WoreMy Crown" to as many churches aspossible during the Easter holidays andmake the videotape more widelyavailable even sooner. Meanwhile,Visual Music Production Companyplans to adapt and perform more sign-mime dramas, filling a need for bothhearing and non-hearing worshipers.O

FUNDAMEMAUSTJOURNAI

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,'+ Meet the Enemyhave become convinced that Secular Humanism is notour greatest enemy. Our greatest enemy is the apathyof people of faith. \(/e say we believe certain things. \7e

memorize hundreds of Bible verses. We attend church threetimes a week. But we live as practical atheists.

Our problem is that we have not extended our religiousfaith beyond the private areas ofchurch and home and outinto the culture as salt and light. A recent interview with thehead of McDonald's, the hamburger chain, quoted him as say-ing that his priorities at home are God, his family, and ham.burgers. But when he gets to the office, he reverses the order-hamburgers are ffrst. I'm sure he was being facetious but hisjoke is right on target.

We wear religious symbols on our lapels, as tie tacks, onT-shirts and on sunglasses and jewelry. Some of us hand outreligious tracts and even go door-to-door, telling others aboutour faith. There is nothing wrong and much that is right aboutall of that-unless there is nothing beyond that. Then it is verywTong.

One doesn't need to join a group. In fact, joining a gtoupcan be another form of privatization if that is all one does."Send a check and don't get involved" is as bad as sending

a check to the church without attending. Our religious lifeshould touch all of our life or it isn't worth much.

Are we honest in dealings with business clients? Do we treatfellow employees and those under us with consideration, com-passion, and a feeling that they are worth something beyondtheir ability to produce? Do we bother to cast an informed votelDo we realize that just as much of a religious statement canbe made by going to law school or journalism school and intothose professions as by going into the ministry or a church-related profession?

Do we write letters to the editor to express our viewpoints?Do we attend public school board meetings and voice our con-cerns? Are we intimidated when someone accuses us ofviolating church-state separation, or do we hand them a copyof the Constitution and say, "Please show me where that ap-pears?" (It does appear in the Soviet Constitution, by theway-article 124.)

No, Secular Humanism isn't the ultimate enemy. We are.We could use a liale less noise about the evil Secular Humanistsand a lot more involvement by our own people in our owncountry. As our old comic strip friend Pogo once observed,"We have met the enemy and he is US."

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FUNDAVIHNTAUST JOURNAI

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here is ultimately only one rea-son why every Christian shouldbe a tither: because it is biblical.

All other reasons, whatever their advan-tages may be, would not have any weightbehind them at all if what we are talkingabout is not utterly biblical. To put itanother way: tithing is not adiaplnron-a "thing indifferent." Whether or not aminister wears a robe when he preaches,whether a church meets on a Friday ora Wednesday for its weeknight Biblestudy or prayer meetings, whether a per-son sits, stands, or kneels when praying-

DECEMBERI9B3

these are things indifferent. Tithing is notlike that.

Tithing was so deeply imbedded inthe Jewish conscience that it needed vir-tually no menfion in the New Testament.Tithing was an assumption in Israel whenJesus came on the scene. "Woe unto you,scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For yepay tithe of mint and anise and cummin,and have omifted the weightier mattersof the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:tlwse anght ye to have done, utd not to leauetfu otlvr undane" Matt. 23:23). It is strik-ing that our Lord endorsed tithing in this

verse, for He had linle patience with thescribes and Pharisees and wasted no dmein getting to the heart of matters withthem.

What the Pharisees had done was this.They upheld the law of Moses whichleaves no doubt on the matter of tithing,"All the tithe. . . is the Lord's" (Lev.27:30). Tithing was in fact the easiest partof the law to keep. Not that tithing didnot require self-discipline and care, butone could most certainly keep paying histithes to the storehouse without havingthe slightest sense of judgment (or justice)

2)

to his fellowman, of mercy to his fellowman, or of personal faith. Paying a titheon mint, dill, and cummin could give thePharisee a self'righteous feeling. Jesusknew this. He attacked the Phariseesbecause of their distortion and lack ofbalance with respect to their understand-ing of religion. And yet Jesus honoredthat part of the law with respect to tithes!If tithing was a part of the law that wouldor could be dropped under the NewCovenant this is the place our Lordwould have done it. Hi did not.

There are those who point out thatMatthew 23:23 is the only place (otherthan its parallel passage in Luke 11:42)where our Lord endorsed tithing. This

Tt rrris nothingmore disgraceful than

a church thatstruggles financiallysimply because its

people will not tithe.

suggests to them that the New Testamentpresents a weak case for tithing. I mightpoint out that our Lord said "Ye mustbe born again" only to Nicodemus (|ohn3:lff.), but surely no one would seriouslythink that it is not a weighty tmthbecause it emerged only with Nicodemus.

"But wait a minute,tt says someone."The apostle Paul did not mention tith-ing." This at ftrst would seem to be aweighty objection. But the same thing isoften put forwatd regarding Paul's doc-trine of eternal punishment. Some haveargued that it was Jesus who mentionedthe vividness of eternal damnation in helland that Paul was weak on this matter,

R.T. Kendall, tfu first American tobe minister of Vestminster Chapel,Londan, England, since its fanding in1U5, is a gadtnte of Scr.ttlwn BaptistTlwologiml Sanimrl and,lwlds aD.Phil. frun Oxford.

if not silent. My answer: Jesus saidenough about it so that Paul did not needto mention hell. Vhen Paul did alludeto it (cf. Rom. 5:9; I Thess. 1:10; 2 Thess.1:9) it merely cohered with all Jesus saidabout it. I suspect Paul used the word hellin his preaching and I suspect he used theword tithe when building up the faith ofthe saints. I equally suspect his readersknew exactly what he meant in 1 Corin-thians 16:2, "LJpon the first day of theweek let every one of you lay by him instore, as God hath prospered him, thatthere be no gatherings when I come."This is about as clear a reference totithing as one could get without actuallyusing the word.

Now I would like to lay down threepragmatic reasons for tithing. SomeChristians are afraid of emphasizing thepragmatic side. It is argued by some thatif the Bible says it, that is enough. I amvery sympathetic toward this line ofreasoning. And yet I cannot ignore suchverses as Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all thetithes into the storehouse, that there maybe meat in mine house, and prove menow herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, ifI will not open you the windows of hea-ven, and pour you out a blessing, thatthere shall not be room enough to receiveit." Or "He which soweth sparingly shallreap also sparingly; and he which sowethbountifully shall reap also bountifully"(2 Cor. 9:6). The pragmatic test is notthe most important but it is importantenough that a lot in the Bible is saidabout it. These two verses alone are suf-ffcient to encourage us to believe that ourgrving is followed by certain "results."

We should tithe becauoe of what itwill do for the work of God onearth. Let us look at Malachi 3:10,"Bring ye all the tithes into thestorehouse, that tlwe rnay be rwat in mhwlurse." The same God who claims to own"the cattle upon a thousand hills" (Ps.50:10) equally claims His dependenceupon His people to return to Him whatis rightfulh His-namely, the tithe. "Thetithe is the Lord's." As a consequence theprophet Malachi regarded the withhol&ing of any tithe as robbing God. "\[illa man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.But ye say, Wherein have we robbedthee? In tithes and offerings." Therefore"bring ye aII the tithes into thestorehouse, that there may be meat inmine house" (Mal. 3:8,10).

We are faced with an antinomy regarding tithing. An antinomy is two parallelprinciples that are irreconcilable butboth true. Dr. J.l. Packer tells us in hisbook, Euangelisrn and" tfu Sovereignty ofGod, that, theologically speaking, twoparallel ideas only "appear" to be ir-reconcilable. Vhat then is the antinomyregarding tithing? Answer: God oqlnseuerything but will lwue nothing unless Hispeople giue to Him.

There is nothing more disgracefulthan a church that struggles financiallysimply because its people will not tithe.There is nothing more melancholy thanan underpaid minister. ln most cases aminister is underpaid because the peo-ple in his congregation are not tithing.There is not a church in the world to-day that should have any ftnancial prob-lem whatever if all its members wouldtithe.'We

won't be tithing in heaven. Therewill be no soulwinning in heaven. Therewill be no promise of blessing upon obe-dience in heaven. What we do for Godwe must do now.

We should tithe because of what itwould do for God in heaven. Whaton earth, you may ask, could tithing dofor Godl Answer: Much. How so?Because He loves us so much. God gaveus His Son. Those who look to His Sonare declared righteous. This is calledjustification by faith. But according to

James not only is there such a thing asjustification by faith but also justificationby works. James was not referring to theway we get to heaven when he said, "Ye

Goa wantsto blessus far more than wewant that blessing.

see how that by works a man is justified,and not by faith only" (]ames 224).1\arAbraham was justifted by faith alarc wasacknowledged by James: "And the scrip-ture was fulftlled which saith, Abrahambelieved God, and it was irnputed untohim for righteousness: and he was calledthe Friend of God" (fames 2:23). WhatJames was on to was with reference to

zz FUNDAMENTAUSIJOURNAT

the obdialce of that person who has beendeclared righteous. There were two greatwatersheds in Abraham's life and Jamesrefers to both of them. The first greatwatershed is described as God said,'Look now toward heaven, and tell[count] the stars, if thou be able tonumber them: and he said unto them,So shall thy seed be. And he [Abraham]believed in the Lord; and he aunted[that id, imputed] it to him for

Goa cares aboutwhat we do, He careswhether or not we fiy

to plewe Hhn,

righteousness" (Gen. 155-6). That waswhen Abraham was justiffed by faith.This alone is what ftts a man for heaven.

The second great watershed in Abra-ham's life was with reference to hisobedience when God said, "Take nowthy son, thine only son Isaac, whomthou lovest, and get thee into the landof Moriah; and offer him there for aburnt offering upon one of the moun-tains which I tell thee of" (Gen.22:2). Abraham followed God's ordersperfectly and fully intended to sacriffceIsaac. Abraham was unexpectedlyprevented from following through withthis and at the last second: "Lay notthine hand upon the lad, neither dothou anything unto him: for now I knowthat thou fearest God, seeing thou hasnot withheld thy son, thine only sonfrom me" (Ge* 22:12).

According to James, Abraham's sec-ond great watershed may be describedin terms of justification by works.Abraham's sacriftcing Isaac would nothave helped him get to heaven becauseAbraham was going to heaven anyway;his trust in God in Genesis 15:6 assuredthat. But God wanted to see how mucha man loved Him who was righteous byimputrition. Vhat Abraham did in obey-ing God the second time was afulfiIhnentof justif ication by faith alone.Righteousness by imputation that is notfollowed by obedience is left unfulfilled,or incomplete. This does not mean that

DECEMBER1983

a man's justification is uncertain, or evenrendered null and void by disobedience.Did not God know Abraham's heartwithout Abraham having to go throughthis? Of course. God knows everything.And yet there is this incredible expres-sion "now I know." Why is this there?Whatever number of answers could begiven, surely this much is undoubted:God shared His feelings with Abraham.God let Abraham know that He waspleased. God cares about what we do.He cares about the way we live our lives.And He cares whether or not we try toplease Him. And obedience to the Lordis righteous; and to the extent that weare first assured of our eternal salvation(so that works do not contribute) suchobedience may be called a righteousness,or justification by works. They fulffll, orftlI out, our justiftcation by faith.

We should tithe because of whattithing does for ue. IVhatever else maybe learned from the story of Abrahamand Isaac this much is clean God blessesobedience. He wants to bless us far morethan we want that blessing. But He waitsto see whether we take Him seriously.The blessing that follows obedience maybe grasped both at a natural and spirituallevel. t$Uhen Abraham got Isaac back hegot him "in a ffgure"-showing thespiritual side of the blessing. And yet ituas actually Isaac-in the flesh-showingthis visible, or natural, side of theblessing.

What tithing does for us, then, isrealized at two levels: the natural (ormaterial) and the spiritual. The spiritualis by far the more important, for the veryblessing that comes from heaven is essen-tially spiritual. It is God telling us He ispleased with us.

Tithing is one way to find greatspiritual release. Sooner or later we comeface to face with this matter and thefailure to walk in the light results in agreater bondage than ever. But whenone enters upon the life of faithful tithingthere is a sweet release to be experiencedthat cannot be fully eglained to anotherperson. This release by itself is enoughto convince one fully how serious Godis about this matter of tithing. The peaceand joy are so wonderful that a frequentreaction is a kind of sorrow that one hadnot been doing it sooner.

The blessing at a natural level is in-ferior to the spiritual blessing I have

described above. But it cannot be ig-nored. "I will rebuke the devourer foryour sakes, and he shall not destroy thefruits of your ground; neither shall yourvine cast her fruit before the time in thefield, saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 3:11).The "blessing" promised by the prophetMal.3:10) is primarily spiritual, but thefact that the prophet continues as hedoes indicates that this blessing is notonly spiritual. God has a way of bless-ing us materially that just happens tocoincide with our having become tithers.The 90 percent that we keep to ourselvesafter the tithe is given to the Lord hasa way of equalling the 100 percent beforethe tithe. Sometimes the 90 percent goesfar, far beyond what that 100 percentwould have purchased. How can this be?Frankly, I do not know. But I believe it.

Adrptcd from Tithiigr A Catl o Saim, Bibtnal Gioing,@ 1982 bv R.T. Kcnddl. Ucd by pemision of thcZondoao Corporation.

"An uncommon booh indeed! . . .a testament of spirit, courage,hope, and tAith. "

-Syhtia O. Richardson, M.D.

byJames S.Evans

son of Dr. Louis H. Evans. Jr. andColleen Townsend Evans, JamesEvans knows first-hand the pain andconfusion that come with beinedyslexic and hyperkinetic. His verypersonal story of how he overcamethese handicaps throughdetermination, self-discipl ine, thehelp of family and fr iends, and a deepfaith wil l provide inspirat ion and helpfor all who refuse to accept defeat.Hardbound. $10.95.at local bookstoresor direct fromThe Westminster Press.

-=-tril$cbootu-THE WESTMINSTER PRESS925 Chestnut StreetPhi ladelohia, PA 19107

23

ew people sing when they sufferbut that is exactly what Pauland Silas did in an ancient

Roman dungeon. Like their Master,the Lord Jesus Christ, these two fieryevangelists were unjustly accused andsentenced to suffer for doing good.They had helped a young demon-possessed girl find freedom. Hermasters, who had profited from herdivination abilities, saw their financialloss and dragged Paul and Silas into themarketplace for public judgment. Theseunscrupulous men presented falsecharges and gained the support of thepagan crowd and rulers. The lash cutinto the backs of Paul and Silas 39times. Then they were imprisoned,their feet held by wooden stocks.

For most people this would havebeen a time to cry and indulge in self-pity. History cites examples of victimslashed with the cruel whip who neverlived bevond 30 lashes. Yet the Bible

David Hillis isFounder and Directorof Vord of Lifein Australia.

records three times that Paul waslashed 39 timesl He certainly had everyright to complain---of intense pain, in-justice, discomfort, and public humilia-tion. Yet the Bible records the miracleof his inner peace over outer cir-cumstances. Paul and Silas did whatevery Christian should do in the midstof pain and trialsr they prayed! Theyprayed that even their chains and painsmight be used to bring God glory, ask-ing for divine sffength and comfort.They even prayed for their persecutors,that God would forgive them and turntheir hearts to the gospel.

Some can handle pain if they areunder medical care or at least sym-pathetic comfort. These two were inprison, but this did not dull their zealor result in depression. At midnight,when the suffering would have been in-tense and the body naturally worn out,these two champions sang out! Prayerduring pain is difficult, but to praise-that is supernatural! They sang soloudly that the entire prison heardthem. They were not ashamed of theirMaster or of the misery they were enduring. Their open, courageous witnessis a wonderful example to follow.

In a dramatic way, God respondedby sending a strong earthquake. The

foundations of the prison shudderedand the doors gave way. The prisoners'chains and shackles fell off. The confu-sion provided opportunity for a massescape and the jailer feared his owndoom. Death would have been hispunishment if the prisoners fled. Hedrew his sword to kill himself but Paulstopped the suicide attempt. All theprisoners remained in the jail.

Satan had wanted to discourage,defeat, and delay the cause of Christ;instead, the prisoners heard the gospel,the jailer and his family receivedChrist, and Paul and Silas gave boldand victorious witness. What an exam-ple of God's mercy and the importanceof being courageous over the world'scorruptions! God showed His power inbinding the spirits of the prisoners,even though their feet and hands werefree. The jailer was amazedl

Rather than seeking honor orrecognition, Paul and Silas dealt withthe needs of people bound by sin andfacing eternal judgment. Such victorywas truly something to sing about. Tosing while in suffering because of godlyservice-that is saintlyl \7hat is"prison" for us today? Are we singing?

t l

FL]IIDAIVEMAUST JOURNAL

The Importanceof Reading to Our

by Regina Schaeffer

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ad to say, I did not have any in-terest in reading at all until myearly teens. Reading was a subject

taught rather dryly at school and was tobe avoided at all costs when objects ofhigher interest, such as television orsports, were available. But my poormother, driven to despair by my lack ofperformance at school, finally resortedto bribery when I was 12. She quietlystated she would give me 25 cents (oneweek's allowance) for every book I read.I was amazed, shocked, puzzled by hertaking leave of her senses to such adegree, but quickly seized the opportu-

DECEN{BER 1983

nity to capitalize on what might proveto be a temporary weakness. The nextfew weeks saw me trotting to the library,checking out the simplest, shortest booksimaginable and striking it rich. But Momdidn't blink an eyelash, just kept to heragreement, until the day came when Iforgot to collect. I had become so ab-sorbed in the whole new world ofliterature and expression, unknown andunsuspected such a short time before.

I do not want to suggest that mymother's method would work on everv-one, and some people might rightlypoint out the weaknesses in appealing toa child's greed so blatantly, but please

bear in mind this was a last desperate e0fort. Of course, I would have been bet-ter off spending less time in front of thetelevision set, and making up my owngames and entertainments. However,that was before the extent of the destruc-tive effects of television's invasion intohome life was fully realized. Now thereis little excuse for not recognizing thedamage and danger of too much televi-sion viewing. Now a good case can bemade for junking the set altogether.However, I would like to examine analternative way of spending time andenergy that has been tested throughoutcenturies and has proven its worth.

25

The virtues of reading aloud tochildren are many and diverse. Tobegin with, the atmosphere of sittingquietly together as a family group, or justtwo, and sharing that very limitedcommodity-time-is important in itself.If the extra element of reading aloud isadded to that, the bond created by shar-ing the experiences of relaxing, listening,and discussing new ideas, other worldsand ways, is very precious and strong,The enjoyment of following along in ourminds as new thoughts develop and plotsunfold is something that is not limitedto any one age group.

The smallest child loves to be held onthe knee and shown bright-colored pic.tures of toys, animals, and simple ob-jects. The sturdy cardboard or fabricbooks of farm animals or nursery rhymesare a good introduction, especially whenaccompanied by animal "sound effects"(the infant can imitate these more easilvthan words). Gradually, as the worldcomes into sharper focus and understand-ing increases, books come into their ownas a tool for developing imagination, in-creasing vocabulary, and-also very im-portant from a mother's point of view-occupying a small child corurnrcriuely.Even if they haven't a clue how to readyet, children love to look at the picturesin a familiar book and repeat the storiesto themselves. Many studies have shownthat children who have been talkedto and read to from an early age aremore aware of and in tune with their sur-roundings. They have been given anunderstanding of what a word meansand can discover how to use it to expresstheir own thoughts and feelings ac-curately. The child who can form hisown thoughts, say what he means, makehimself understood to the world aroundhim is bound to have an easier or lessfrustrating time than one who learns tocommunicate later in life and must doit entirely through his own efforts.

This is also crucial in preparing achild for school. You, as a parent, will

Regina Schaeffer,wde of filrnnuku andwriter Franky Schaeffer,k a board mnrbo ofAser North ClvistianSchool and u icsDirectcr of PublicRelatiotu.

have accomplished much by havingequipped your child with the tools(vocabulary, contentr concentration) tocope with what is expected of him atschool. An interesting rule of thumb inteaching is that anyone being introducedto new material needs to be familiar withtwo-thirds of the content andvocabulary to comprehend the lesson. Inaddition, children accustomed to listen-ing and sitting still at home are morelikely to carry over this achievement toschool, conversations, times of travel,and so forth. Also, writing will be afamiliar, natural way to express theirown ideas. They will have assimilatedsome writing skills and sentence struc.ture simply by listening.

Reading aloud needs to be apleasurable activity for all con,cerned. If this is done merely as aduty, that mood will all too easily com-municate itself, and the whole purposeis defeated. Care must be taken in choos-ing reading material that will holdeveryone's attention. If there is a disrup-tive toddler, occupy him with specialtoys reserved for that part of the day. Orwait until after he has had his storiesseparately and been put to bed, beforereading an "older" book to his brothersand sisters.

I'm not sure why this is, but childrenof all ages relish stories of how othersmall creatures (be it animals or children)were naughty, and what the results were.Of course, this is a constant theme inchildren's literature and a good one fora person (small or otherwise) to identifuwith in recognizing the human condi-tion. My three.year-old son, John, hasbeen enjoying the exploits of BeatrixPotter's Peter Rabbit more and moreover the past six months. Even thougha lot ofher vocabulary is over his head,he can understand enough ofthe storyto know what is going on (with the helpof her beautiful illustrations). As I goalong, I stop and explain parts of thestory or words he might be missing.Recently I had to explain that whenPeter is caught in the gooseberry net, thesparrows are not imploring him to"hurt" himself but "exert" himself, analtogether different thing. John seemedrelieved.

Use words and correct English thatbring children up to your level ofspeech.

Do not underestimate their abilities anduse an oversimplified vocabulary thatmay hold them back. If you ask a ques.tion or make a request and get a blanklook in returnr you can always rephrasein simpler words.

Reading aloud allows childrento come into contact with a diver,sity of ideas and concepts that theyare quite capable ofappreciating but areunable to get at through their own ef-forts at reading. It opens doors to discus-sions that will help a child formulate hisattitudes toward the basic elements oflife. And certainly it gives the parent anopportunity to have input and givedirection toward what is good, whole-some, beautiful, true, and Christian, aswell as helping the parent or friend tokeep abreast of what is going on in thechild's thinking. \ile have found manybooks helpful in this area. C.S. Lewis'sNarnia stories and Robert LouisStevenson's Treasurelsl,and are good. Butthe best so far have beenJ.R.R. Tolkien'sTfu Lord. of tlw Rings trilogy. We readThc Hobbit a few years ago during fre-quent rest stops on a hike, and thatseemed an appropriate way of ap-preciating it. But we decided to wait tofinish the Inrd. ol tlw Rings series until thechildren were older because the imagesof evil portrayed are so overwhelminglyoppressive. That time arrived last winterwhile Jessica (age 12) and Francis (age 10)were on Thanksgiving vacation. Longevenings of absolute suspense followedone after the other. The contrast be.tween the forces of good and evil pro-voked a lot of thought and provided agood way of comparing the Srar lVarsconcept ofthe dark and light side oftheforce to that of the biblical perspective-good and evil.

Fantasy in ftction is very enjoyable,no matter what age child or children youare dealing with. But there are also ex-cellent books that bring us inro contacrwith past ages and real people we mightotherwise consider too remote and alien.The investigation of classical literatureis a fabulous way to try to retrieve someof the important insights and attitudesoverlooked or discarded by modernman. Homer, Shakespeare, Dickens, theBronte sisters, and Jane Austen arevarious authors who are wonderfulsources for revealing different aspects of

)A FUNDAMENTAUSTJOURNAL

life and culture. They are,'however,steep going for very young children.Among many good authors for childrenare Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House inthcBigWdsr, Louisa May Alcott (Litde'Vomen),

L.M. Montgomery (Anne ofGrear Gablcs). Also, biographies writtenfor children can be very good.

The extraordinary thing about classicliterature is that, because it is so wellconceived and written, it has incrediblywide appeal. Vind in tlw Villows, AliceinVonderland,, lungle Boolc, and Tales ofRobinHood can be read and reread withequal pleasure being derived each time,but for different reasons. The first'timereader loves the novelty and excitement,the person rereading can pay closer at.tention to the beauty of the language,be reminded of his own youth, anticipatethe next twist in the plot, or simply pro-vide a moment to relax and contemplatesimpler and more noble themes.

Here it should be noted that aschildren get older and can read forthemselves, the times of reading shouldstill be maintained for the whole family.Father, mother, and children now enjoybooks adult enough for all to reallyappreciate.

Reading aloud ae a family can goa long way toward reetoring peacein the home after a long day ofeveryone dashing about. Each person hasa chance to unwind, while at the sametime being part of the group. We'vefound that reading after dinner providesthe necessary space of time to feelsomewhat more fully human. However,all families go through different stages andwhat might work one year isn't possiblethe next. Discretion as well as persever-ance is needed.

The matter of reading materialbecomes quite an issue in itself when oneconsiderc the tremendous diversity ofbooks. Recommended reading lists areavailable from your library or bookstore,but you will have to do some sifting foryourself. Much of what is being writtencurrently is not great literature in anysense of the word, and a lot is slanteddirectly against traditional Christianvalues. In any book, there will always bea point or two to question and discussbut you don't want to plow through thiskind of thing constantly if the purposeis to relax as a family. On the other hand,it is important to all to be aware of the

DECEMBER1983

issues and problems of our twentieth-century culture. We need to acquaint ourchildren with the secular perspective,relativistic value system, and the modernlack of a means to make sound moraljudgments. Books for preteens and teen-agers often contain overly mature themesand harsh treatment of reality. It wouldbe a mistake to censure this type ofmaterial entirely, but it should bediscussed with care and not be allowed

Cnnaren who haqtebeen talked to and

reod to from an earlyage are rnofe aware ofand in tune with their

su1,?oundings.

to dominate precious family readingtime. The opposite is also true; that is,much contemporary "Christian" chil.dren's "literature" is of little value. Thereis no use reading Christian books thatare poor in quality to chiidren. This iswhy I urge the classics as the best choicein most cases.

Children shouid also be made awarethat not everything reported as news-in print or on television-is accuratecoverage. There is a definite bias againstJudeo-Christian ethics and traditions thatwe all need to guard against and prepareto battle. We have found mealtime agood forum for this type of discussion,and reading aloud a means of stimulatingideas in this area.

Guidelines need to be drawn whenrelating Bible stories to young childrenas well. I have had difficulties withchildren's Bible story books that eitheroversimplifu or overinterpret the Scripture. The method I favor is a straightBible reading with a bit of paraphrasewhere needed. Or, for the young toddler,just tell the straight story in your ownwords. Children can frequently well ap-preciate the content and meaning, andthe transition from our reading theBible aloud to their reading it forthemselves is made easily.

However, if you are interested in us-ing Bible story books, research carefullyand look for accuracy in content and il-lustrations. Such a detail as a blond, blue-eyed Jesus does place an untrue image ina child's mind that is difficult to dislodge,and who needs the added confusion?

Reading with children is a good wayto supply what might be lacking in manyschools. History is a subject oftenneglected or poorly presented; yet, it isa fascinating study of man at his best andworst. It is an essential key to under-standing our present state of affairs andwhere it all is likely to lead. Yet mostgrade school children receive only thebarest minimum of United States historylet alone world history. To have anygrasp at all of Western culture, we shouldreally start with the Greeks and Romansand carry on from there. If we must jumpahead, fine, but the children should haveat least some background and not rhinkthe world began with the discovery ofAmerica.

Fine school textbooks can be locatedat the public libraries. And correspon.dence courses (Calvert School, for in-stance) are a good source of material toenrich and the normal schoolcurriculum.

All this serves to educate ourselvesfurther, as well as to provide a greatcreative outlet. The drama and expres-sion we use when reading aloud increasethe enjoyment for all. And the commonbond and shared experience increasefamily unity and security.

Like everything concerning the up-bringing ofthe next generation, the needto do our best by them, the desire to passon the knowledge of the greatness butalso the wiles and ways of man, is bestserved by early contact wiih the richnessof life wonderfully reflected in books.

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We Have

However, angels are not associated onlywith our Lord's birth.

During Christ's life angels protectedHim from harm as a child, strength-ened Him in the wilderness temptations,and supported Him when He agonizedin Gethsemane as He faced the horribleprospect of enduring God's wrath for oursins. Legions of angels stood ready to in-tervene for the Saviour as He faced theCross (Matt. 26:53),

Angels announced Christ's Resurrec-tion, predicted His Second Coming, andwill accompany Him when He comesagain to earth.

The Fact of Angels

The fact that angels exist is as certainas the existence of God. The Bible statesthe reality of each. Of course Godcreated angels, and they serve andanswer to Him; brrr they are genuine,personal beings, agents of God in theworld and servants to believers.

The Lord Jesus presented angels aspersonal creatures and servants ofGod.In facing His opponents among the Sad-ducees, He put the Resurrection and theexistence of angels on the same factuallevel (Matt. 27:29-30\.

He should have known. Paul statesthat angels owe their very existencedirectly to the Son. He is the creator of

ccording to a recent survey ofmain l ine denominat ionalpastors, angels were said to be

projections of human aspirations andfears, mythological personages derivedfrom primitive religions, or superstitiousexplanations of paranormal phenomena.

Christmas must be an embarrassingseason for these Liberal pastors whodeny the existence of angels referred towith candor and credulity from the Oaksof Mamre in Genesis to the Isle of Pat-mos in Revelation. There is no questionthat the Christmas season spotlights theradical contrast existing between theclear teachings of the Bible (the Bookthese men hypocrit ically claim touphold) and what they preach from theirpulpits. When one considers this appall-ing fact, it is not surprising in 1983 tofind a Baptist pastor leading the fight toexpel Christmas Nativity scenes from a

C. Fred Dickason isCltairman and Professor ofTheology at Moody BibleInstitute and authar ofAngels, Elect ondEc)il. He holds a Th.D.

from DaIIas TheologicalSeminary.

New England town square. The Su-preme Court may have ruled on this caseby the time this article is read,

For over a century now, acceptanceof the reality of the supernatural hasbeen the litmus test of a commitment tothe inerrancy of Scripture and the realityof God's participation in the affairs ofmen. How sad that a whole company ofpersonal beings created to bring glory toGod and minister to His saints havebeen demythologized out of existence.

Angels on a Starry Night

If angels are a mere delusion, it musthave been a case of mass insanity thatwintry eve when the angels appeared toa group of shepherds on a Palestinianhillside (Luke 2:B-15). Indeed these per.sonages are so important to the biblicalaccount of Jesus' birth that the storybecomes unintelligible when one re-moves them, for their involvement goesfar beyond hallucinations around acampfire on a dark and dreary night.

Previously, the angel Gabriel had ap-peared to the Virgin Mary to predictChrist's unique birth by God's special in-tervention (Luke 1:26-33). To Joseph,faced with a dilemma of love andrighteousness, an angel gave assuranceof Mary's purity and gave him theprivilege to name the child "Jesus."

a9 FM{DANGMAUSTJOURNAT

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gels and defeat them (Rev. l2:7.8tDan. 10:13) .

What Do Angels Do?

Angels are subordinate to Christ. Healone is God's Son and heir; no angelcan make that claim (Heb. 1:4). Theyworship Christ (Heb. l:6, Rev. 5:11.12)and serve Him in many ways, includingcaring for the physical well-being ofbelievers (Heb. 1:14). They do notbecome tired or sick as they serve Godwith unflagging fervor and swiftness(Heb. 1:7).

Special classes of angels includecherubim, perhaps the highest class, aswas Satan (Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 10:4r28:14,16; Heb. 9:5); seraphim, the wor-shipers who prociaim God's holiness (Isa.6:3); and the living creatures, anundefined but exalted class of spirit be-ings who stand in God's presence at thecorners of His throne (Rev. 4:5).

Michael, the only one called "arch-angel" (Jude 9), leads God's armiesagainst Satan (Rev. l2:7-9) and protectsthe nation Israel from her enemies (Dan.1Z:1). Gabriel, a special messenger withnews about the kingdom (Dan. 9:21;Luke l:11-12), told Mary of hermiraculous conception of the Saviour(Luke 1:26-29).

Angels serve God primarily. Theyworship Him and Christ (Rev. 4:6-ll;5:8-13). They are His messengers (Ps.103:20; Heb. 1:14). At t imes they act asagents in controlling nature (Rev. 7:1;16:3, 8-9) and nations (Dan. 4: l7ll 0 :13 ,21 ; Eph .6 :12 ) . They execu tejudgments for God, as in the plagues ofEgypt (Ps. 7843,49) and in the comingtribulation plagues (Rev. 6:lff; 8:1-6;1 5 : l ; 1 6 : 1 - 2 1 ) .

Angels also serve men. Much of theBooks of Daniel, Zechariah, and Revela-tion came through the mediation ofangels. Angels guided men such as Philipand Cornelius, provided manna toIsrael, and food for Elijah and Christ.Daniel and Elisha were protected byangels. Angels have encouraged andstrengthened persons, as with Peter andPaul (Acts 5:19-20; 27:25). SometimesGod used them to answer prayers. Theymay even escorr the spirits of believersat their death into the presence of Christ(Luke 16:22).

Angels serve us in external mattersand direct our paths, whereas the HolySpirit works in us internally and guardsour spirits and cultivates our minds.Though we are to respect angels, we

continued. on page 64

Heard,g*,#Ilglt

all things visible and invisible, includingthrones, dominions, principalities, andpowers (Col. 1:16).

The holy angels enjoyed the fel-lowship and service of God who sur-rounded them with every good thing.Satan and his followers, on the otherhand, are angels in constant rebellionto overthrow God (Ezek. 28:16,18; Isa.l4:13-14).

What Are Angels Like?

Angels are real persons, since theycan think, feel, and will with God. Aspersons, they are moral creatures. Theholy ones evidence this in intelligentworship of God (Rev. 4:8); the evil ones,in their rebellion against God (Isa.14:17-15).If personality has any relationto the image of God, then angels are alsomade in His image, although this issomewhat conjectural.

Angels are spirit beings with greatpower, exceeding that of men. However,we need not fear holy angels, since theirpower is granted and governed by God(Rev. 4:8,11; 2 Sam. 24:14.17). Thevhave been used to judge sinful men(Gen. 19;1,13,24"25;2 Kings 19:35) , in-flicting great suffering and death. In theGreat Tribulation period, they will causeenormous ecological catastrophes (Rev.8,9,16) and do battle with Satan's an-

DECEMBER ]983

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FI]I\DAMEMAUST JOURNAT

n announcing the birth of His Son,God selected shepherds and wisemen to be part of the holy celebra-

tion. Why shepherds? Why the wisemen? Why should God announce sostupendous an event as the coming of HisSon to mere shepherds?

'\fhat is the

significance of the subsequently arrivingmagi?

After giving the account of Jesus'birth in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7), Lukeswitches our attention to a nearby fieldwhere shepherds were watching overtheir flock. It is night. "And, lo, theangel of the Lord came upon them, andthe glory ofthe Lord shone round aboutthem: and they were sore afraid" (Luke2:9). The angel quickly calmed theshepherds'fear. They were to stop be-ing afraid, for the angel had a messageof comfort and cheer, of joy and goodnews. It was a universal message de-signed to meet the needs of all men.lsrael's Messiah and the Saviour of theworld had been born that very day inBethlehem ofJudea.

The message concerning the Saviouris ever one designed for response, andso it was with the shepherds. They wereto go to Bethlehem and verifu the eventfor themselves and all concerned. But atthat instant, "there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host prais-ing God, and saying, Glory to God inthe highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men" (Luke 2:13-14). \Uhata marvelous song! There would be peaceon earth among men, the objects ofGod's good favor.

Having traced the advent of theSaviour and the announcement of theangels, Luke records the acquiescence ofthe shepherds (Luke 2:15-20). \fouldn'tyou love to have been there as thestunned shepherds made their way ex-citedly to Bethlehem and to the side ofthe manger-cradled Jesus? And wouldn'tyou like to have seen the amazement ofthose at that scene as they heard thethrilling testimony of the shepherds?

Richard D. Patterson* Clwirman of ilteDepartment of BiblicalStud,ies, Liberty BapdstCollege and Seminary,Lynchburg, V irginia. Heholds a Ph.D. in Semiticsfrom UCLA.

But why shepherds? Why would Godannounce the birth of His Son to peo-ple in such a station of life? Perhaps thechoice is not so strange as it seems.Truly, God's plans for man are never ar-bitrary, never without propriety.Shepherding, after all, was an honoredprofession in ancient Israel. Theshepherd had a responsible task. Withcourage and concern the shepherd wasto see to the well-being and growth ofthe sheep to a point of usefulness forman. This involved finding grass andwater (Ps. 23:2), providing protection(Amos 3:12), and retrieving the strays(Ezek. 34:8).

The figure of the shepherd wasassumed by God Himself. He had ledIsrael all along the way (Gen. ,18:15; Ps.80:1), seeing to their needs (Ps. 23J-Z),protecting and guiding them in accor-dance with His good purposes for them(Isa. 40:9-20 cf. Ezek. 34:12; Zech.9:15-16).

God announced through His proph-ets that He would send His own trueShepherd, the Messiah, who would saveand care for His flock (Ezek. 34:22.24).

nestled in an obscure feeding trough inBethlehem.

Likewise, the choice of the wise menseems strange, yet it was full of meaning.The events described in Matthew 2: [-12took place some time after those de-scribed in Luke 2:l-20. The original textof Matthew 2rl literally reads, "Nowafter Jesus had been born." Moreover,a comparison between Matthew 2:11,Luke 2:27-24, and Leviticus 12 assuresus that such was the case. If the wise menhad arrived sooner than the ,10th dayafter the birth of the child, theceremonial offering of ritual purificationdemanded by the Law of Moses wouldnot have been the poorest possible oneoffered by Jesus' parents. Further,Matthew 2:1 I clearly indicates the familywas now quartered in a house. Possiblysix weeks had elapsed since the birth ofJesus. Even though we may sing, "WeThree Kings of Orient Are," we do notknow whether the three wise men werekings, or for that matter, that there wereexactly three, even though they are iden-tified in Ben Hur as Caspar, Melchoir,and Balthasar. Of course, Isaiah's proph-

A, for God's choic e of she4herds, whocould better understond the Shepherd of

Israel, nestled in an obscure feedinstrough in Bethlehem?

Christ affirmed that He was that GoodShepherd who would lay down His lifefor the sheep (John 10:11ff.). Christ isalso that Great Shepherd who sees to thematuring and well-being of His believ-ing flock (Heb. 13:20-21 cf. I Peter 2125).Christ is the Chief Shepherd who hasentrusted His work to other "under-shepherds" until He Himself shall comeagain for His flock (1 Peter 5:4). One ofthe terms for pastor in the New Testa.ment means "shepherd," and Paul eveninstructed the Ephesian elders in"shepherding" (Acts 20l.17 -38),

As for God's choice of shepherds,who could better understand and sym-bolize the significance of all that wastranspiring that night? The promisedMessiah, the Shepherd of Israel, lay

ecy that "the Gentiles shall come to thylight, and kings to the brightness of thyrising" (lsa. 60:3) and the fact that therewere three gifts made both inferenceseasily accepted by the early church. Cur-rent scholarship tends to equate themagi with a class of wise men or states-men of priestly origin from ancient Per-sia whose astrological skills had in thiscase been superintended by God so asto bring them to Bethlehem and to thebirth of Israel's Promised King.

Bypassing the earlier narrative inMatthew's account (2:1-10), we shalllook at the gifts of the magi and theirsignificance. "And when they were comeinto the house, they saw the young child

continued on page 39

FUNDAMENTAUSTJOURNAI32

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ow, years later in a wheel-chair, I cannot get aroundeasily in the snow and cold.

It's difficult to navigate a wheelchair inthe ice or snow. I watch others go sled-ding now. I leave the baking to thosewho can more easily stir, mix, and cut.My hands cannot unwrap the gaily dec-orated packages. But the gifts God givesat each Christmas celebration are moremeaningful than ever. For, limited as Imay be, I still can do many things. Mostimportantly, I can express through mypaintings the wonder that I feel and thebeauty I see as a Christian.

Painting by mouth takes a great dealof time. Yet, that time can be usedwisely. In the rush and hurry of thisseason, perhaps we all should take moretime to contemplate the joy of Christ'scoming. Limited by my wheelchair, Imust be patient with my slow progressin painting, but slow progress can oftenbe God's way of teaching me to be pa-tient with my disability. Also, I must de-pend on others to help me mix mypaints. Yet, depending on others forthese needs teaches me a great dealabout dependence on God. The limita-tions may be pressing, but I 'vediscovered that God uses my weaknessesto best demonstrate His power andgrace. Each piece of artwork becomes apersonal expression of God's love andHis sustaining power in the midst of mylimitations.

I remember the special lessons Ilearned when, not long ago, I preparedto paint a rendering of the Nativity ofJesus. As I began preparation for thispainting, I sensed once again thechildlike wonder, awe, and respect forthe miracle of mother and child that Iwas about to recreate on canvas. As Ip lanned color testsr organizedmy brushes and mater ia ls , re-searched subject matter and worked onpreliminary sketches, I paused often toreflect on the Christmas mystery of Godbecoming man-Jesus Christ in the flesh!What colors would I choose to portraythe majesty of His birth? \Uhat sort ofdesign would focus the viewer's attentionon Jesus in the painting? Should I choosea large canvas for the rendering? \fhatverses of Scripture could I use for inspira-tion, and what composition would bestportray a mother and child? I wantedthis painting to be my best efiort!

After much preparation, I picked upthe brush with my teeth and began to

lay the color on canvas. As the paintingprogressed, I dreamed of the wonderMary must have felt deep in her heartas she held close to her breast theFulness of the Godhead. Jesus, who wasolder than time, now nestled in her armsas a new baby! Can you imagine herthrill as she grasped the tiny hands thathad once laid the foundation of theuniverse? \Uhat joy she must have feltto lean down to kiss the cheek of Godt

After several days ofwork, I reachedthe point of painting the face of Mary.As an artist, I wanted to capturesomething special in the look of thisyoung virgin's face. As I began to paint,I wondered what she must have felt asshe watched this same Jesus who hadnever slept, slumber quietly in her arms.Did she really understand that this tinybaby dreaming in her lap was the same

glorious One who dreamed up time andspace? As she sang her quiet lullabies, Iwonder if she knew that this Onedesigned her song long before she ut-tered her tune. I wanted the expressionon Mary's face to reveal joy and wonder,beauty and peace. After all, she wasbeholding the face of Jesus!

As the design and composition beganto take shape, I slowly mixed paints forthe face of Jesus. This little One wholistened to her lullaby had once ladledout seas. This same Jesus had pusheddown the valleys and puckered up themountain ranges. The hand of Christhad carved out rivers and poured out theoceans. More than that, though, thisJesus was the One who laid aside Hisrobes ofstate and put on the incredibly

great indignity of human birth. Hehumbled Himself and became like man-Jesus among us for our redemptiont

After weeks of work, I finally com-pleted the closing details on my paintingof the Nativity ofJesus. I leaned my headover and released my brushes out of mymouth and onto the specially designedtray. I backed my power wheelchairaway from the easel to take a long ftnallook at the total picture. As I studiedeach detail I felt anew the sense ofwonder and awe at recreating on can-vas a moment in history that was at oncemiracle and mystery. That God shouldlove His creation so much that Heshould put on baby flesh in order tosecure for us a rich salvation is, to me,a miraculous mystery. Certainly, Godowed the inhabitants of this utterlyrebellious planet absolutely nothing; yet,"While we were yet sinners, Christ diedfor us." What a miracle, what a mystery!

The framed painting now hangs inmy office. And whenever I have the op-portunity, I love to tell its story. I mayno longer take part in the kinds ofChristmas things I once did as a child,but God has ftlled my weaknesses withreal joy. The coming of Christ meansthat God can redeem us in the middleof our limitations, giving us peace,power, and purpose. With Christ's com-ing, truly we can say'Joy to the World!"

Certainly, my wheelchair doesn'tlimit my ability to sing of that joy. Andthis Christmas, as on many Christmasesin my past, I will join with friends andfamily in singing that beautiful oldhymn:

Joy to the worldl the Lord iscome;

Let earth receive her King;Let every heart prepare Him

room,And heav'n and nature sing,

And heav'n and nature sing,And heav'n, and heav'n and

nature sing.

Joy to the earth! the Saviourreigns;

Let men their songs employ;ti(/hile fields and floods, rocks,

hills, and plainsRepeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. D

Joni's atwork @ World Wide Products.

n lune of 1967 at tlw age of 17, Joni EctrecksonTaAatook a reckless diue into thc Cfusapeake Ba1 that lefther paralyTed frun the slwulders dnun withaut tlv use

of her hands or legs. HospitaliTed for the next two Jears,loni began developing a Latent artistic talent by sketchingwith a pen held between her teeth.

Joni Earecl<son Tadn's story and artwork received na-tional attention through her autobiographl, JONI, releasedin 1976. Amoqtie uersion of the book, in which sfu portrayller own role, was released nationwideby WorldlYide Pictures. Other films,including REFLECTIONS OF HISLOVE and a four-part series entitledBLESSINGS OUT OF BROKEN-NESS, are being released in cluncfusacross the country. Thnse films speakto srrch issues as affliction, healing andmiracles, and building relationshipsbetween disabled and able-bodtedpeople.

As a resuh of the book JONI, theauthor receiued tlwusands of lettersfrom reod"ers whn identified with herbouts of dcpression, despair, and.Ione-liness. C)ut of this came a sense of re-sporcibility to respond with a secondbrnk, A STEP FURTHER.

In 1979 Joni Earecl<son Tadafounded Joni and Friends in Wood- formation and education, the etti-

tu.dinal baniers which exist in societl can be chttnged."Mrs. Tala has ako shared hcr abilities through two

record albums now availdble under the Word label, ' ' J oni' sSong" and "Spirit \X/ings."

On luly 3, 1982, Joni manied KenTada of Burbank,Califomia, a high school hisrory and plqsical educa-tion teacher. Ken is also a member of the Board of loniand Friends. Joni and Ken make their hnme in \X/oodlandHills.

Joni Eareckson. Tada

lnnd Hills, California. This religious, nonprofit organiTa-tion began as an outreach to assisc churches in helping peo-ple with disabilities. Through workslwps and seminars, dis-tribution of materials and cunicu,Ium, Joni and Friends ishelping churches sharpen congr egational aw ar eness tow ar dthe needs of thnse with handicaps and disabilities.

Joni andFriends hnld IAF Seminars ao.oss th.e country,gathering together church lay lealers who want to beginspecial ministries in their congregations. Also, Hmdicap

Awareness Sunday is a packet of materials distributed tochurches which desire to incorporate tl:.r- gifts and talents ofdiwbled people in a special Sunday serc)ice. "I believe thosewlw are disabledhaorc mrch to sh.are and giue to the lit'e ofth.e. church," states Tada.

Joni and Friends also produces five-minute radio pro-grms annently being aired on over 170 rolio stations, en-Iightening the listening ardience to onrious causes and char-acteistics of dilf erent disabilities.

IncluABd in the program of loniandFriends, is People PIus, an educa-tional training progrun which equipsable-bodied individuals with thc bosicskills needcd as thel asslst a disabledperson. The course is held twice a yearon the campus of Califomia StateUniversitl.

Along with a spiriunl counselingand adq.,ice service, Joni and Friendsh.as compiled information n answerquestions concerning education, f inan-cial aid and sources of govemmenthclp, rehabilitation centers and spe-cial schnols for thz disabled. "\Weeamestly believe these objectives arewarthwhile and will leal to a greaterunderstanding of tfu special gifts ofthose wlw were disabled. Throuph in-

WFIENTHEYTELLYOTJTI{A|

ISAffiJTJSTBM

AMAN{D HERDOCTOR

We cqn't. Christ commands us to rememberthe "least of these." I'housands of churches acrossthe United States will obserue Sanctity of Human Lif eSunday on January 22, 1984, and cont inuethe witness of 2,000 years. Join with us in worship-ing the Cod who "uindicates the t'atherless"(Ps. 82:3-4. And pray we all do our part toestablish justice for the unborn and prouideministries t'or women with crisis pregnancies.

CHRISTIAN ACTION COUNCIT422 c st., NEWashington, DC 20002(202) s44-7720

TTIEY,RE,FORGETilNG

SOMEONTE,-Please send me more information on how mychurch can participate in Sanctity of Human Life Sunday!

Photograph Dr. Rainer Jonas

@1983 Peter D. Erhard.

z ip

Speiral Gzestscontinued, from page 32

with Mary his mother, and fell down,and worshipped him: and when theyhad opened their treasures, theypresented unto him gifts; gold, andfrankincense, and myrrh" (Matt. 2:11).Gold was a symbol of royalty. That theMessiah would be of kingly descent is theconsistent Old Testament teaching. Godhad revealed explicit ly that theAbrahamic blessing should be chan-neled through the royal line of David(2 Sam. 7:16-19'1. "I have made a cove-nant with my chosen, I have swornunto David my servant, thy seed will Iestablish for ever, and build up thythrone to all generations. Selah"@s. 89:34). Other portions of the Psalmsreecho the same truth, and Zacharias,the father of John the Baptist, proph-esied the imminent initiation of the royalprovisions in the Davidic and Abra-hamic Covenants (Luke l$7-75\.

Gold was a fitting gift for a king.Although Jesus was yet a babe, one dayHe will be proclaimed as King of Kingsand Lord of Lords! Though He wouldcome to His own world, His very ownpeople would largely reject Him flohnl:ll). Though He would be welcomedby many as King on Palm Sunday (Matt.2l:5-9), He would be cruciffed only a fewdays later. He would never be more ofa king than when He hung on Calvary'scross for man's sin and when He rose onthe third day as victor over sin anddeath (1 Cor.15:55-57). Paul reminds usthat every knee shall bow and everytongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord(Phil. 2:10-11). John (Rev. 19:11-21) por.trays His descent out of heaven to van-quish the assembled forces of ungodli-ness and establish the promised king-dom, taking His seat on the throne ofDavid @zek. 34220-24; 3? 24-28). Indeed,the very presence of the magi remindsus that all shall surely pay homage toChrist (cf. Ps. 2:10-12), whether simplestshepherd or richest royalty.

The second gift, frankincense, wasalso a precious commodity. In theLevitical ritual it was used in the mealoffering, providing tangible evidence ofGod's favor toward the service of thededicated believer. It was a "sweet savorunto the Lord" ([rv. 222 cf. 2 Cor.2z14-16). Even so, Christ's ministrywould be that which the meal offeringsymbolized-one of unselftsh service

DECEIvIBER1983

Matt. 20:28). Christ would ever beabout the Father's business (Luke 2:49),doing His work (John 5:19-30) and pro-claiming His words of salvation (John17:6-8). In so doing, He was the prom-ised prophet of old @eut. 18:15-19), theprophet pm excellarce. and God's Son(Heb. lrl-2). The frankincense remindsus that Christ was not only a King, buta Prophet.

The third gift, myrrh, like frankin-cense, was a valuable product. Both ofthese gum resins were highly prized inancient times and in great demand formany usages throughout the EasternMediterranean and Near Eastern worlds.Together they made the South Arabian

Tnruisit of themagi to the Christ

child u,cs csombassadors of o kins

to o king,

traders, who had a monopoly on theirtransport, exceedingly wealthy. Bothsubstances were used for medicinal pur-poses. Both were noted for theirfragrance, the frankincense often beingemployed as incense and myrrh beingparticularly prized as an ingredient forcosmetics and perfume.

Myrrh was also employed in prepar.ing a dead body for burial. Its mentionin connection with the burial of Jesus$ohn 19:3940) reminds us that Jesuscame to die. This Jesus was that GreatHigh Priest that would one day be bothofferer and sacrificial victim (Isa.52:13-53:12 cf. Heb. 7:26-8:2; 9:ll-15;10:4-14) in effecting the full redemptionof a lost mankind (Rom. 5:6-10).

The visit of the magi to the Christchild was as ambassadors of a king to aking. Their gifts were distinctively ap-propriate, easily worthy of the King. Butthe particular use of each gift symbolizesfor us much more. This Greater Davidwho had come as a baby was the Prom-ised Messiah, the One whose comingwould, as prophesied, combine inHimself three offices: King, Prophet, andPriest. The gold reminds us that He is

the Great King, the frankincense, thatHe is the greatest of all prophets, and themyrrh, that He is our High Priest, thebelievers'Saviour. No wonder the magileft by another way (Matt. 2:12). Sosacred had their journey been that itsvery path had been rendered holy(1 Kings 13:9-10).

As we observe in various ways thenaditions of Christmas this year, may wenot neglect its spiritual riches. May wecontemplate the best of all gifts-God'sfree gift to us of abundant life in JesusChrist our dear Saviour and living Lord.May we, as the shepherds of old, notonly praise Him with our lips but, asthey, go eagerly in response to God'sdirection to carry the good news ofsalva.tion to the lost sheep of mankind. Godgrant that we, as they, will be foundfaithfully at our tasks (Luke 19:13) whenonce again the heavens shall be piercedwith the Second Coming of David's Son(1 Thess. 4:16-l?).

As the magi, may we be remindedthat we, no less than they, in ourearthly pilgrimage serve as ambassadorsof a King (2 Cor. 5:20). Let us, too,offer Him a gift-the gift of our livespoured out in a holy walk and in hum-ble and faithful service to Him "as goodstewards of the manifold grace of JesusChrist" (1 Peter 4:10).

Yes, the Christmas season is rich innadition and ought to be a time ofgenuine happiness and joy. However,may those very traditions take our mindsand hearts beyond the actual signs to theOne whose person and work they sym-bolize. May we consider Him in our wor-ship and our walk (Heb. 12:1-3), that inour very lives "he might have the pre.eminence" (Col. 1:18).

Shepherds and wise men; how appro-priate after all! May the spiritual insightgained from their observance ofthat ftrstChristmas season teach us how we maybetter honor Christ in ours. -

39

m!Sermons that have led over a half-mill ion souls to Jesus Christ inover 1,000 soul winning Freddie Gage Evangelistic Crusades.What Others Say AboutThe Freddie Gage Ministry,Books & Tapes

Fredd ie Gage, in myop in ion , i s one o f theoLts tand ing preachers andoersona l sou lw inners in ourworld today.

' /

I shal l never torget thefirst t ime that Freddie cameto Thomas Hoad BaplistChurch . Every n igh t theChurch was Dacked tocapacity. I have never seenanyth ing l i ke i t . Dur ing tha tweek of revival we had over1200 to ta l dec is ions fo rChrist, more than 400 weresa lva t ion dec is ions jo in ing the Ichurch by bapt ism. The Isecond t ime he came here therewere 861 salvation decisions. We havehad Freddie Gage at Thomas Road onsix dif ferent occasions.

Freddie sooke on the 400 T.V.stat ion networks of "The Old TimeGospe l Hour . " M i l l ion heard h isfamous sermon "Al l My Friends AreDead. "

God used Freddie Gage to touchand cha l lenge our en t i re church fo rsou lw inn ing . I know o f no man tha thas inf luenced more people to winsou ls in our genera t ion . Our churchprays for Freddie and thanks God forh im.

I am del ighted, at last, Freddie hasput h is sou lw inn ing min is t ry in bookand tape series. As you read thebooks and l isten to the tapes you wil lfeel the heartbeat of Freddie Gage.

Fredd ie Gage has wr i t ten one o fthe most provocative books on soulw inn ing tha t has been produced inour genera t ion . l t burns w i th f i re andpu lsa tes w i th l i fe .

The t ime is la te , the hour i s u rgent .T h e r e w i l l b e n o s o u l w i n n i n g i nHeaven. What we do we must doqu ick ly . My prayer to the Lord 01 theHarves t i s tha t the f i re in th is bookwi l l leap f rom i ts pages and in to thehearts of God's people everywhere. Iexa l t the grace o f God fo r h ismarve lous min is t ry .

Dr. Adrian RogersBellevue Baplist ChurchMemphis, TN

All My Friends Are Dead

This iamous sermon has beenpreached by Freddie Gage over 2000times result ing in over 100,000decisions for Qhrist. On$unday when Freddie Gagepreached h is sermon, 'A l l My Fr iendsAre Dead'i I feel we had the greatestsinqle service ever for First Southern.Th6 joy, love and convict ion I felt inthat service is the kind ot spir i t thatw i l l con t inue to make us grow inqua l i t y and in quant i t y .

Fredd ie Gage has main ta ined theintegri ty of his cal l ing. He l ives whathe preaches, I know of no one moresold out to bring men to Jesus thanFredd ie Gage. I am thank fu l a lwaysfor h is l i fe . He has been a b less ingand enrichment to my ministry.

Dr. Bai ley SmithFirst SouthernBaplisl ChurchDet City, OK

Dr. Jerry FalwellThomas RoadBaptlet ChurchLynchburg, VA

f*++=:="+t- Pr i ce Quan t i t yD G o T e l l , T h e S o u l W i n n e r s E n c v c l o o e d i a $7 .00i A l l M y F r i e n d s A r e D e a d ( B o o k ) $3 00O E x c l l 5 s s 1 g e 6 h 1 $5.00D H o w T o B e B o r n A g a i n ( T r a c t ) 25! Go Tel l - s ix casset te tapes ser ies $25 00n Ch r i s tmas G i J t SPec ia l

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FUNDAMEMALISTJOURNAL

Questions and Answers

wtth NormanGelslerAn Intervlew

Eeccr

4z=l&lv2

U'Fo.@

Gtrfq

Dr. Norman Geisler is o pro,fessor of systetnttic theology otDallas Theologicol Seminary onil aIeading spokesrnan in opologetics,the ilcfense of Christion truth, Helws appeoreil as a religious odubor aseveral fiials ilealing with the crea,tion/evolwion ilcbae and tcstifieil inilefense of Bible clcsses in Bistol,Virginia, schools.

Dr. Geisler has B.A. cnd M.A.degees from Wheoton College,Wheoton, Illinois, and o Ph.D.degree from Loyoh University ofChicqgo. He is the onfihor of numer.ous books inchd;ins his newest, IsMan the Measure? This most recentbook offerc a.nincisive evahtuion ofSecnlar llu:nzrrljsrn.

o'How does the inerrancy question relate to salvation?

A!Th.r. are different levels of fundamentals. The Bible isthe fundamental from which the other fundamentals come.And as I often say, "If the fundamental of the fundamentalsisn't fundamental, what's fundamental?" The answer wouldbe, "Fundamentally nothing." So if the Virgin Birth, theDeity of Christ, the substitutionary Aronement, the bodilyResurrection, the Second Coming, come from the Bible, thenthe Bible is indeed the fundamental of the fundamentals. Thisis true, not in the sense that if you do not believe that fun.damental you are not saved, but if you do not believe thatfundamental you do not have any basis for believing the fun.damentals by which you are saved.

DECETIBER 1983

is the battle?

A:*. battle is twofold. One issue is whether the Bibleis true in what it affirms; andlthen,second,what the Bibleis affirming. So the issue is a question of truth and a ques-tion oliwhether the truth is to be understood literallv or not.

A.A(,oVould you illustrate the issue of understanding theBible literally?

A:t*. the mafter of Genesis 1. If you understand the ear$chapters of Genesis literally, you understand that the doctrineofcreation was taught there and that you cannot accept theisticevolution. Another issue that is more current, though.notnecessarily more important is the issue of Robert Gundry'sCornmnta:ry on Matircw. Can some passages in Maahew beunderstood as "midrash" or allegorical interpretation? Heclaims, for example, that the story of the wise men is not to be

11.\!oVhat involvement do you have in the work of the In- Q,"ru have been recognized as one of the most outspokenternational Council on Biblical Inerrancy? leaders on the issue of inerrancy. What is the issue and what

A:t was one of the founders of ICBI and am on the ex.ecutive council. I am also the editor of their scholarlv books.

understood literally, but was constructdto teach evangelism. I think that is adenial in practice of inerrancy, althoughhe affirms inerrancy to be formally true.

11.A(,.How do you think this issue is go-ing to affect the Evangelical TheologicalSociety?

Alrn. ETS is built on the doctrineofthe inerrancy ofScripture, that is thesingle statement they have as a test fororthodoxy. Now either the statement iscompletely vacuous and means nothingbecause it means everything, or it hassome teeth in it. If it has teeth in it, thenyou cannot simply say that any way youinterpret the Bible is correct, and still saythat you believe in inerrancy in anymeaningful way. My question to thosewho say that you can is this: "Would wehave Mary Baker Eddy join the ETSbecause she said that the Bible is withouterror, although you have to understandit all allegorically?"

11.A(,'You have been involved in anumber of very important court casesrelated to creation and the Bible in theArkansas trial. Vhat really happenedthere?

A!Wft", really happened can besummarized in one sentence: "We lostbecause of a biased judge." The judgewas an evolutionist, the son of an evolu-tionary biology teacher, and a liberalMethodist. His liberal Methodist bishopwas the first witness against creation atthe trial. He interrupted creationistwitnesses, criticizing them for theirpoints of view during the trial. He madea decision, which, if ftue, would meanthat the Declaration of Independence isunconstitutional. He stated that anyreference to a creator is automaticallyunconstitutional, and the Declaration ofIndependence has that. Darwin's ThzOrigin of Species also has a reference tothe Creator, so that would be un-constitutional, too. It was just an absurd,inconsistent, illogical, and unconstitu-tional conclusion on the part of a biasedjudge.

A.A(,.What about the trial on Biblereading in the public schools in Bristol?

a,

lThe B.istol Bible trial was a grearvictory for those of us who believe in theBible. The judge ruled that it is constitu-tional to teach the Bible as history andliterature in the public schools on avoluntary basis. He ruled that the Bibleis the foundation of our society and ofour laws, that it has an important partin our culture, that you cannot under.stand much of modern literature andhistory without an understanding of theBible, and that the Bible ought to betaught on a voluntary basis in the publicschool.

A.\!o\(/hat is at the bottom of the kindof thinking in our society today thatwould cause people even to raise such anissue in the first place?

lAt th. bottom is the humanisticview in our society. It started officiallyin 1933 with Humanist Manifesto One,and again in 1973 with Humanist Mani-festo Two. In the interval, the Humanistswon almost every major court decision.In 1943 came the ruling that one did nothave to believe in God to be a conscien-tious objector. In 1961 in the TorcasoCase, Secular Humanism was recognizedas a religion. They got prayer and theBible cut out of public schools. In the1968 Epperson case, evolution was legal-ized. After 1980 we cannot even post theTen Commandments on a schoolbulletin board, and since 1982 we can-not even teach creation with evolution.In 1925 at the Scopes Trial, ClarenceDarrow, the ACLU lawyer, said, "It isbigotry for public schools to teach onlyone theory of origins." In Arkansas theyargued, "It is bigotry to teach twotheories of origin." My conclusion is thatbigotry has not changed since 1925, onlythe bigots have.

A.A(,.The secular press tries to portraythe people involved with the HumanistManifesto and the Humanist Society asa small group of old men and women,and accuses Fundamentalists of thinkingthere is a large conspiracy. How do youaddress that?

Alw.tt, the ftrst thing to point outis that it was not Jerry Falwell, it was notFrancis Schaeffer, it was not Tim

LaHaye who ftrst called Humanism areligion. The Humanists ffrst called it areligion. They declared themselves areligion in 1933, and the Supreme Courtrecognized it in 1961. Now they realizethat once they have been declared areligion, and if they are teaching theirviews in the schools, then they areteaching religion in school and that isunconstitutional.

There are not that many people whowould say, "I am a Humanist. This is myreligion." That group of people is verysmall. But it is totally wrong to thinkthat this point of view is not widespreadin our society and held by a large num-ber of people. They have a legal arm inthe ACLU, they have an official de-nomination, the Unitarian UniversalistChurch, and there are many otherreligions that are Humanist religions,such as Buddhism. They have a wholeprogram for the public school. A prize'winning article in The Humanistmagazine stated, "We must become themost zealous preachers in the publicschool, preaching Humanism from thelectern as the most rabid Fundamentalistpreacher preaches from his pulpit." Ifone thinks that there are no Humanists,he ought to go to Aspen for the Humanist Society meetings, to read TheHumanist magazine, to read the RehgroruHumanist. He ought to remember thatthe signers of the Humanist Declarationwere influential Americans, includingJohn Dewey, the father of modern Ameri-can education. It is naive to say thatHumanism is not a widespread influencein our society.

!wh", is a Humanist?

lA Hrr*"rrist is someone whobelieves that there is no creator, no crea-tion, no supernatural acts, no moral ab'solutes, and man can get along on hisown without God.

(1.A(,'Vhat do you mean by saying thatHumanism rejects all moral absolutes?Obviously they believe in some prin-ciples by which to live.

Alfn.v are simply inconsistent atthat point; otherwise, nobody wouldbelieve them. They ride piggyback onthe Judeo-Christian ethic. They believe

0A

FLN\TDAN/ENTAIIST JOURNAL

in dignity and freedom and tolerance.But where did they get these? From theChristian ethic. But they are inconsis-tent in that, while they live as thoughthere were absolutes, they say that thereare none.

A.A(,oHas it come to a situation wherethe Christian worldview and the Human-ist worldview are really the two ulti-mate choices available to our societv?

Als,r"ngely enough there are threeoptions. There is Humanism on the left,Pantheism on the right, and Christianityin the middle. What we are doing todayis fighting the Humanist out the frontdoor while we are being blindsided bythe Pantheist at the back door. TheHumanist says that everything is reduc-ible to matter. The Pantheist says thateverything is reducible to spirit. TheHumanist says that the world is all thereis. There is no God. The Pantheist saysthat God is all and there is no world.The world is just an illusion. Let me giveyou some examples of Pantheism. Human-ism has taken over the schools. Pan-theism has taken over the theaters. StarWars is Pantheism. All three Sta:r'Warsmovies, Close Encounter of tlv ThirdKind, Superman-all these films have aPantheistic worldview. They teach thatthere is an impersonal power thatpermeates the whole universe. Many ofthe cults are pantheistic: transcendentalmeditation, yoga, Hare Krishna, Chris-tian Science, and Bahai, for example.Pantheism and Humanism are diameni-cally opposed, but they have one thingin common: they are both naturalisticin that they believe that there is nosupernatural God beyond the universewho can intervene and do supernaturalacts. So they have in common that theyare archenemies of Christianity, becauseChristianity is a supernatural religion,with a God beyond the world who cre-ated it, and who intervenes in the worldin the person of Christ.

A.\!'There is much discussion today asto the Christian reaction to Humanismand Secularism, especially as it istranslated into legislation and politicalpolicy. Some argue that Christiansshould not be involved in political andsocial issues; others argue that theyshould be. Where do you stand?

DECEMBER1983

3t ,hint that when the history ofthe twentieth century is written, JerryFalwell will go down as one of the greatchampions for Christianity because hesucceeded in getting so many Christiansinvolved. The Bible says that we shouldbe both salt and light. Salt does not doany good in a saltshaker. Falwell has suc-ceeded in shaking up the shaker and get-ting us out there in society where salt cando good. Christians have been very goodat being light but not too good at beingsalt. Light shines but salt penetrates. Ido not see any basis in the Bible for thiskind of isolated "I'll yeachit and let theLiberals do it" attitude. You can be onthe right track but if you sit there longenough you are going to get run over.And a lot of Christians have been on theright track but they have been sittingthere too long and getting run over.

11.X(tl. the area of social and politicalinvolvements the ultimate issue even-tually comes to even the question of civildisobedience. How far do we take ourposition, for example, against abortion?

lAbo.tion is murder. The Biblesays, "Thou shalt do no murder." So ob.viously we have to oppose it. We haveto preach it, we have to pray, we haveto legislate, we have to do everything wecan. But two wrongs do not make aright. We cannot murder. We do notwant to assassinate doctors for perform-ing abortions because we would bemurdering in order to counteract mur-der, and two wrongs never make a right.We have to pray, exert moral influence,picket, Iegislate, get a constitutionalamendment or anything we can dou,,ithin the law to change the law to pro-tect innocent lives. The precedent is setdown in the Bible very clearly: alwaysobey the government when it takes itsplaceundn God; never obey the govern-ment when it takes the place o/ God.And in every case of biblical civildisobedience, Exodus I (the Hebrew mid-wives), Daniel 3 (Shadrach, Meshach,and Abednego), Daniel6 (Daniel in theIions' den), Acts 4 (Peter and Johnpreaching the gospel), Revelation 13 (theAntichrist), it is always when the gov.ernment took the place of God that some-one had to say no to the government."Here I stand, I can do no other,"

11.\!'Suppose in reference to abortion,that we fail to change the makeup of theSupreme Court, the human life amend-ment does not pass, and we have triedunsuccessfully every legitimate optionwithin the law. At that point would youwithhold income tax?

A:*". Because Romans 13 says veryclearly to pay taxes. Remember, that waspaying to(es to an oppressive regime.Nero, who was emperor at the time, wasone of the most oppressive rulers whoever lived, yet Christians were told topay taxes to him. So I do not believe itis biblical to withhold taxes. Secondly,it is not effective. Suppose I percent ofyour taxes went for abortion and youwithhold I percent of your taxes. Theywill simply take I percent out of the99 percent that you paid. Protest, workwithin the law, change the law, startsave-alife programs, but pay your taxes.

A.\!'Is revolution ever justified?

3Eu.ry biblical revolution was con.demned, and I do not see biblical jus-tification for a revolution, even againstan oppressive government. You may aswell ask me the next question, "'Whatabout the American Revolution?" ThisRevolution was justified on a theistic basisbut not on a biblical basis. You say, "Doyou celebrate the Fourth of July?" Yes,I celebrate the Fourth of July. For thesame reason that I respect a baby bornof rape. I do not like how the baby gothere, but I like the baby. And I like the"baby" America. I think it is the greatestcountry in the world and I proudly salutethe flag and say the Pledge of Allegianceunder God. But how the baby got herewas not the right way.

11.A(,'Is there ever justifiable reason,then, for a Christian to take up arms?

A!Y.r, if the government commandsit in a just war against evil aggressors,such as against Hitler in the Second\0[orld \7ar or in the Korean War. It isjust naive to say that we should not de-fend ourselves. Exodus 22 says that ifsomeone breaks into your house and youkill him in self-defense, it is justifiable

43

Master,Bphfteeror over a century now, Charles Haddon Spurgeon(1834-1892) has been the Prince of Preachers, thehomiletic folk-hero of world Evangelicals.

Gharles Haddon Spurgeon -

George Truett read his sermons weekly. Moody confided,"I have read everything by Spurgeon I can get my hands on."Few other gospel ministers have been accorded suchsuperlatives: "The world's greatest divine" (Russell Conwell);"the mightiest preacher in Christendom since the apostle Paul"(A.\U. Blackwood); "the greatest preacher of all times since theage of the apostles" (W.C. Wilkinson).

A great preacher as well as a preacher of great sermons,many feel Spurgeon should be the /irst reading for every can-didate for the ministry. Sir Robertson Nicoll, who readSpurgeon daily for years, thought every minister shouldsaturate himself with the sermons of Spurgeon. Which is tosay: every preacher needs "an encounter with Spurgeon."

lndeed, it is not too strong to couple H.H. Farmer's "Whososaid Christianity, said preaching" with "and whoso saidpreaching, said Spurgeon."

The account of this giant of the faith begins with his con-version on the wintry Sunday of January 6, 1850, when hewas but 16. That morning a blizzard in Cochester, England,foiled Spurgeon's aftempt to reach his regular place of worship.

u FUNDAIVGNTAIJST JOURNAL

Instead, he veered down a side streetwhere he happened upon the ArtilleryStreet Primitive Methodist Chapel.

lnside, he joined about 15 persons.At length, a layman agreed to pinch-hitfor the snowbound pastor, taking for histext lsaiah 45:22-"Look unto me, andbe ye saved, all the ends of the earth."

The substitute pastor championedthe idea of looking to Christ for salva-tion. Finally, he sighted under thebalcony the distressedJooking Spurgeon,hunched forward in his seat. The manexhorted Spurgeon to look toJesus, andSpurgeon responded in saving faith. lnMay that year, on his mother's birthday,Charles was baptized in the River Lark.

He preached his first sermon that fallon l Peter 2:7.\n early 1851 at 17, heassumed his first pastorate, at Water-beach. In less than three years he wascalled to the New Park Street Chapel inLondon. This famous old church of Ben-jamin Keach and John Gill had a dwin'dling flock when Spurgeon arrived.

By the time he was22 Spurgeon hadbecome the most popular pulpiteer of hisday. He preached weekly to such crowdsthat regular meeting places could notcontain them. Indeed, not only were theSurrey-Gardens Music Hall's 10,000seats ftlled for the first service, butanother 10,000, unable to gain entrance,stood in the gardens outside. On Oc-tober 7, 1857, the 23-year-old Spurgeonpreached to 23,654 hearers in London'sCrystal Palace.

In 1861 the Baptist tenants at SurreyGardens moved into the newly built,paid-for, 6,000-seat Metropolitan Taber-nacle. Here, for the next three decades,the popular preacher would attract 7,000people twice each Sunday-with hun-dreds standing, and even more wereunable to get inside for the service.

For the most part they were com.moners. Yet, the elite were there: poetsand statesmen, Queen Victoria (in dis-guise), the rod of Empire swallowed bythe shepherd's staff. And the unwashedcame-black sheep, fallen angel, scala-wag, disgrace charmed by grace.

Ear lMi l le rka f ree-lance writer in Lynchburg,Virginia.

During this period, the Tabernacleadded 15,700 members to its roll, 10,800of whom came by baptism. But thou-sands ofother converts never joined hischurch, not to mention that global10,000 who came to Christ by readinghis books and sermons.

"Whoso soidChristianity, said

preaching, and whososaid preaching,said Spurgeon,"

For one l0-year stretch (1880-1890)not a day passed but from two to fourconversions were reported. Moreover,Spurgeon exulted that every seat in theTabernacle had somebody converted onit! "My life has been one long harvesthome."

Though he lacked college and semi-nary training, was never ordained, andeven declined honorary degrees, CharlesSpurgeon was perhaps the most prolificpreacher-author in modern churchhistory.

Spurgeon addressed l0 million hu-mans during his career, and another50 million via his books and sermons.The late Wilbur M. Smith claimed, "Noman in modern history who remaineda pastor ofone church has preached toas many people face to face as didC.H. Spurgeon."

For 34 years he published a sermona week, beginning at age 20. By the timeof his death over 100 million copies hadbeen sold worldwide. And for 25 yearsthereafter, his previously unpublishedsermons went to press. What's more, hissermons have been translated into over40 languages.

In addition to his sermons, Spurgeonauthored devotional, expository, homi-letic, and literary works. For 22 years heedited The Sword and, tlw Trowel, apopular paper.

All in all, Spurgeon's published out-put totals about 200 books and pam'phlets. By word count, his publicationsare enough to fill the 27-volume ninth

edition of the Enryclopacdia Briannica.Called "a homiletic prodigy,"

Spurgeon was gifted with exceptionalpulpit talents: an alert mind, a richvoice, a sense of humor, keen powers ofobservation, a robust imagination, aretentive memory, a fine literary bent,and above all, a massive individuality.

lnasmuch as he was short, thick-set,and homely, Spurgeon's chief physicalasset was his voice-resonant, musical,virile, clear, of almost limitless range. Itwas said that 10 to 20 thousand couldhear him distinctly.

W.C. Wilkinson, esteemed critic offamous preachers, most notedSpurgeon's surprising fluency, a free flowof clear speech. Spurgeon's speaking ratewas 140 words per minute, 20 wordsabove the average.

Wilkinson also singled out his direct-ness, his familiar and conversationalmanner. Spurgeon did not orate ordeclaim, neither did he bawl nor roar-he talked. He talked to men en ?rursse ashe talked to them one-on-one.

To type Spurgeon as "essentially ahumorist" may go too far, but he wasbuoyant, optimistic, radiant, and witty-one who took life by the hand andromped with it. A natural punster, helet the quips fall where they may. Oncescolded by a pious soul for causing anaudience to laugh, he responded, "Ifyouonly knew how much I suppress, youwould forgive me."

"M, tife hw beenone long harvest

home."

Mindful that ears must be turnedinto eyes, Spurgeon's preachment waspictorial-video as well as audio. Hecommunicated in lMng color, not black-and-white. Every sermon was his canvas,colorful with rich and varied word pic-tures: "You see that miserable sufferertied to a pillar and lashed with terriblescourges, till the shoulder bones are seenlike white islands in the midst of a seaof blood."

He excelled as a textual preacher. Hefelt "the best way to preach upon a text,

A EDECEMBER1983

if we would have it remembered, is totake it word by word." He was "sure thatno preaching will last so long, or buildthe church so well, as the expository."

How do you get a proper text? "Cryto God for it. And wait for that electword, even if you wait within an hourof the service."

Let no one suppose becauseSpurgeon fomwlly composed his Sundaysermons on Saturday night and Sundayafternoon he was smug or slipshod aboutpreparing for the pulpit. Hardly. Thepreacher who dawdles until the eleventhhour "tempts God," he alleged, "anddeserves to stand speechless on theSabbath."

Though Spurgeon's own texts"charmed" him or "sprang upon [him]like a lion from the thicket," selecting atext was difficult for him, "an embarrass-ment of-riches!" Lavish in preachabletexts, he suffered a dilemma: "Whichgold coin from that fat purse should hepluck out?"

Text in hand, he compares his ap-proach to a bath: "I like to get a text andfind out its meanings and bearings. . .and then, after I have bathed in it, Idelight to lie down in it, and let it soakinto me. . . then I can talk about it."

To be sure, Spurgeon was alwayst'text-getting and sermon-makingr" con-stantly " . . . foraging for the pulpit, in allprovinces of nature and art, storing andpreparing at all hours and seasons." Ac-cordingly, he garnered ideas and il-lustrative materials from observation, ex-perience, and wide reading.

Spurgeon read everything: The Bible,newspapers, Bunyan's Pilgrirn's Progress(a hundred times), the Puritans, six hardbooks weekly. He read history, science,astronomy, literature. Such nonreligiousgenre comprised nearly half of hisI 2,0O0-volume library.

An indexer found that in over 3,500separate, printed sermons, thoughSpurgeon often spoke on the same sub-ject, he never repeated himsel{l "Keep tothe Spirit's track," he advised, "and youwill never repeat yourself or be short ofmatter: His paths drop fatness."

As to the matter of Spurgeon'spreaching, he was a great preacher ofdoctrine. His major topic was the graceof God-"free, sovereign, undeserved."To him, salvation was all of God and allof grace. A favorite text was Jonah 2:9,"Salvation is of the Lord." With a mind

46

tracked on its riches, he conjugated gracein a thousand forms. "If there be onestitch in the celestial garment of myrighteousness which I am to insert, thenI am lost." He stressed an infallible Bible,the Virgin Birth, Christ's Deity, hisatoning death, the empty tomb, and theSecond Coming. He also accented theTrinity, justiftcation, heaven, and hell.

"It there be onestitch in the celestial

garment of myrighteou.rness which Iam to insert, then I

orn lost,"

Spurgeon found himself embroiled inthree major controversies. Early in hisLondon ministry he was assailed both byArminians and by Hyper-Calvinists-for different reasons. The Arminianbrethren objected to his Calvinism("You may talk of free will, but I shalltalk of free grace"), the Hyper-Calviniststo his stress on human responsibilitv.

On June 5, 1854, Spurgeon preachedagainst baptismal regeneration, a widelydistributed sermon that raised a stormwithin the Church of England.

Lastly, in 1887, he withdrew from theBaptist Union on account of its softnesson theological Liberalism-or what hecalled a "down-grade" movement. ThisAthanasian stand-at the zenith of hisfame and power-has endeared Spurgeonto Fundamentalists everywhere.

Spurgeon preached his last sermon atthe Metropolitan Tabernacle on June 7,1891. Toil, infirmity, and controversyhad exacted a heavy toll. His health inshambles, he repaired with his wife,Susannah, to Mentone, France (a favor-ite spot), to seek rest and healing. Hedied there on January 31, 1892.

Sixty-thousand participated in hisLondon funeral service, while a worldmourned. On the casket an open Bibleexposed the text of his conversion. IraSankey sang. In America, B.H. Carrollpaid tribute, "The tallest and broadestoak in the forest of time has fallen."

Etched on his gravestone was his fullname, and on the reverse side, a line ofthe hymn he often appended to hisautographs:

E'er since by faith I saw the streamThy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,And shall be till I die. O

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FLIN]DAVGNTA]IST JOURNAL

THUNDflP IN TTIE PULPIT

Delivered on Sabbath moming,December 25, 1859, at ExetsrHaIl, Strand.

"For unto us a child k bom, un-to us a son is giuen" (Isa. 9:6).

s Jesus Christ is achild in His humannature, He is born,

begotten of His Father frombefore all worlds, begotten-not made, being of the samesubstance with the Father.The doctrine of the eternal af-filiation [sonship]of Christ isto be received as an undoubtedtruth of our holy religion. Butas to any explanation of it, noman should venture, for it re-mains among the deep thingsof God-one of those solemnmysteries indeed, into whichthe angels dare not look, nor

A GhrlstmasQuestlon

bJ Chcrles Hadnun Spwgeon

F!rr,, is ir so ? Secondly,if it is so, whot thenTThirdly, if rt,s not so,

what then?

Child that was born inBethlehem?-that He hasbrought glad tidings to us?-that to as He belongs?-andthat we belong to Him? I saythis is a matter of very graveand solemn investigation. It isa very observable fact, thatthe very best of men are some-times troubled with questionswith regard to their own in-terest in Christ, while menwho never are troubled at allabout the matter are frequent'ly presumptuous deceivers,who have no part in thismatter.

If any man tells us thatChr is t is h is Redeemer,although he has never ex-perienced regeneration, thatman utters what he does notknow; his religion is vain, andhis hope is a delusion. Onlymen who are born again can

do they desire to pry into it. If we could grasp Him, He couldnot be infinite. If we could understand Him. then were He notdivine. Jesus Christ then, as a Son, is not born to us, but given."For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begottenson" (John 3:16).

The principal object of my discourse, and indeed the soleone, is to bring out the force of those two little words, antoas. For you will perceive that here the full force of the passagelies. "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given," Thedivisions of my discourse are very simple ones. First, is it solSecondly, if it is so, wlwt then? Thirdly, i/ ir is nor so, wlwt then?

Is It So?

Is it true that unto as a Child is born, unto us a Son is given?It is a fact that a Child is born. Upon that I use no argument.'We

receive it as a fact, more fully established than any otherfact in history, that the Son of God became man, was bornat Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in amanger. It is a fact, too, that a Son is given. About that wehave no question. The infidel may dispute, but we, professingto be believers in Scripture, receive it as an undeniable truth,that God has given His only begotten Son to be the Saviourof men. But the matter of question is this: Is this Child bornto as? Is He given to us? Have we a personal interest in the

DECEMBER1983

claim the Babe in Bethlehem as being theirs. "But," says one,"how am I to know whether I am born again or not?" Answerthis question also by another: Has there been a change effectedby divine grace within youT Are your loves the very oppositeof what they were? Do you now hate the vain things you onceadmired, and do you seek after that precious pearl which youat one time despised?

If this Child who now lies before the eyes of yourfaith, wrapped in swaddling clothes in Bethlehem'smanger, is born to you, then you are born again. Allwho have an interest in Christ are, in the fullness of time, bygrace converted, quickened, and renewed.

But I put another question. Although the main matter ofregeneration lies within, yet it manifests itself without. Hasthere been a change in you in the exterior? Do you think thatothers who look at you would be compelled to say, this manis not what he used to be? Do you think now that if an angelshould follow you into your secret life, should track you toyour closet and see you on your knees, that he would detectsomething in you which he could never have seen before?There must be a change in the outward life, or else there isno change within. The proof of the Christian is in the living.To other men, the proof of your conversion is not what you

47

feel, but what you do. To yourself yourfeelings may be good enough evidence,but to others who judge ofyou, the out-ward walk is the main guide.

Not only is the inward self altered,and the outward self too, but the veryroot and principle of the life mustbecome totally new. When we are in sinwe live to sel( but when we are renewedwe live to God. \Uhile we are unregener-ate, our principle is to seek our ownpleasure, our own advancement, butthat man is not truly born again whodoes not live with a far different aimfrom this. Change a man's principles,and you change his feelings, you changehis actions. Now, grace changes the prin-ciples of man. It lays the axe at the rootof the tree. It does not saw away at somebig limb, it does not try to alter the sap,but it gives a new root, and plants us infresh soil. The man's inmost self, thedeep rocks of his principles upon whichthe topsoil of his actions rest, isthoroughly changed, and he is a newcreature in Christ. "But," says one, ttl seeno reason why I should be born again."Ah, poor creature, it is because you havenever seen yourself. Did you ever see aman in the looking glass of the \Uord ofGod-what a strange monster he is. Didyou know, a man by nature has his heartwhere his feet ought to be? That is to say,he is kicking against the God of heavenwhen he ought to be setting his affec-tions on things above.

If thie Chitd ie born to you, youare a child and the question arises,are you so? Now, "except ye be con-verted and become as little children,"this Child is not born to you. Except likea child you are humble, teachable, obe-dient, pleased with your Father's willand willing to assign all to Him, thereis grave matter of question whether thisChild is born to 1oa. But what a pleas-ing sight it is to see a man converted andmade into a little child. Many times hasmy heart leaped for joy, when I haveseen a giant infidel who used to reasonagainst Christ, who had not a word inhis dictionary bad enough for Christ'speople, come by divine grace to believethe gospel. That man sits down andweeps, feels the full power of salvation,and from that time drops all his ques-tionings, becomes the very reverse ofwhat he was. He is content to do themeanest work for the church of Christ.

I

and takes his station with Mary as a sim-ple learner, sitting at Jesus' feet, to hearand learn of Him. If ye are not children,then this Child is not born to vou.

Au who houeinterest in Christ ore,

in the fullness oftime, by grace

conaerted, quickened,ond renewed,

Is this Son given to us? Now, ifthis Son is given to )orr, you are a sonyourself. "But as many as received him,to them gave he power to become thesons of God" (John 1:12). Christ becamea Son that He might be like His brethren.The Son of God is not mine to enjoy,to love, to delight in, unless I am a sonof God too. Have you a fear of Godbefore your eyes-a filial fear, a fearwhich a child has lest it should grieveits parent? Say, have you a child's lovefor God? Do you trust to Him as yourFather, your Provider, and your Friend?Have you in your breast "the Spirit ofadoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Fa-ther" (Rom. 1:16)? And while thiswitness is borne, does your heart fly upto your Father and to your God, inecstasy of delight to clasp Him who longago hath clasped you in the covenant ofHis love, in the arms of His effectualgrace?

If unto us a Son is given, thenwe are given to the Son. Are yougiven up to Christ? Do you feel that youhave nothing on earth to live for but toglorifu Him? Can you say in your heart,"Great God, if I be not deceived I amwholly thine. I would give up all mygoods, all my powers, all my time, andall my hours; and thine I would be-wholly thine"? "Ye are not your own.For ye are bought with a price" (1 Cor.6:19-20). And if this Son of God be givento you, you will have consecrated your-self wholly to Him; and you will feel thatHis honor is your life's object, that Hisglory is the one great desire ofyour pant-ing spirit.

I will just repeat the different proofsagain. lf unto me a Child is born, thenI have been born again; and, moreover,I am now in consequence of that newbirth, a child. lf, again, a Son has beengiven to me, then I am a son, and againI am given to that Son who is given tome.

If It Is So, What Then?

I/ir is so, wl:q y unI dnubtful today?Whyis my spirit questioning? If the Son isgiven to you, how is it that you are thisday asking whether you are Christ's ornot? \Uhy do you not labor to make yourcalling and election sure? Why do youtarry in the plains of doubt? Get up, getup to the high mountains of confidence,and never rest till you can say withoutfear that you are mistaken, "I know thatmy Redeemer liveth. I am persuaded thathe is able to keep that which I have com-mitted to him." Rest not content unlessyou know assuredly that Christ is yours,and that you are Christ's.

Again, if it be so, another question.VhJ are we sad? I am looking upon facesjust now that appear the very reverse ofgloomy, but maybe the smile covers anaching heart. Brother and sister, why arewe sad, if unto us a Child is born, if un-to us a Son is given? There is a Princeborn; therefore there is this salute, andtherefore are the bells ringing. Ah,Christians, ring the bells of your hearts,fire the salute of your most joyous songs."For unto us a child is born. unto us ason is given."

Ct onre a rnan'sprinciples, and youchange his feelhgS,

I l .you cnange nrsoctions,

But, once more, if it be so, whatthen? IThy are our llearts so coll? Andwhy is it that we do so little for Him whohas done so much for us? Jesus, art Thoumine? Am I saved? How is it that I loveThee so little? Why is it that when Ipreach I am not more in earnest, andwhen I pray I am not more intensely fer-vent? How is it that we give so little to

FUNDAMENTAIIST JOURNAT

Christ who gave Himself for us? How isit that we serve Him so sadly who servedus so perfectly? He consecrated Himselfwholly; how is it that our consecrationis marred and partial? We are continuallysacrificing to self and not to Him.

O beloved brethren, yield yourselvesup. What have you got in the world?"Ohr" says one, "I have nothing; I ampoor and penniless, and all but house-less." Give yourself to Christ. You haveheard the story of the pupils of a Greekphilosopher. On a certain day it was thecustom to give to the philosopher a pres-ent. One came and gave him gold.Another could not bring him gold butbrought him silver. One brought him arobe, and another some delicacy of food.But one of them came up and said, "Oh,Solon, I am poor, I have nothing to giveto thee, but yet I will give thee somethingbetter than all these have given; I givethee myself." Now if you have gold andsilver, if you have aught of this world'sgoods, give in your measure to Christ;but take care, above all, that you giveyourself to Him.

Do not I love Thee, dearest Lord?Oh search my heart and see,

And turn each cursed idol outThat dares to rival Thee.

Do not I love Thee from my soul?Then let me nothing love:

Dead be my heart to every joy,When Jesus cannot move.

If It Is Not So, What Then?

I cannot tell where you are-butwherever you may be, the eyes of myheart are looking for you that when theyhave seen you they may weep. Ah! mis-erable wretch, without a hope, withoutChrist, without God. Unto )oa there isno Christmas mirth; for you no Childis born; to you no Son is given. Sad isthe story of the poor men and women,who during the week before last felldown dead in our streets through cruelhunger and bitter cold. But far morepitiable is your lot, far more terrible shallbe your condition in the day when youshall cry for a drop ofwater to cool yourburning tongue, and it shall be deniedyou; when you shall seek for death, forgrim cold death-seek for him as for afriend, and yet you shall not ffnd him.For the fire of hell shall not consumeyou, nor its terrors devour you. Youshall long to die, yet shall you linger in

DECETIBERT9S3

eternal death-dying every hour. First ofall confess your sins, not into my ear,nor into the ear of any living man. Goto your chamber and confess that youare vile. Tell Him you are a wretch un-done without His sovereign grace. Butdo not think there is any merit in con-fession. There is none. All your confes-sion cannot merit forgiveness, thoughGod has promised to pardon the manwho confesses his sin and forsakes it. Itis the least that you can do to acknowl-edge your sin, and though there be nomerit in the confession, yet true to Hispromise, God will give you pardonthrough Christ. You have been restingperhaps in some hope that you wouldmake yourself better, and so saveyourself. Give up that delusive fancy.You have seen the silkworm: it will spin,and spin, and spin, and then it will diewhere it has spun itself a shroud. Andyour good works are but a spinning foryourself a robe for your dead soul. Youcan do nothing by your best prayers,your best tears, or your best works, tomerit eternal life. The Christian who isconverted to God, will tell you that hecannot live a holy life by himself. Now,give up self.

/1h, Christians, ringthe bells of your

hearts, fire the saluteof your most ioyous

songs.

Then, when you have confessed yoursin and given up all hope of self-salvation,go to the place where Jesus died inagony. Go then in meditation to Cal-vary. There He hangs. It is the middlecross of these three. I see Him now. I seeHis poor face emaciated, and His visagemore marred than that of any man. I seethe drops of blood still standing roundHis pierced temples-marks of thatrugged thorn-crown. Ah, I see His bodynaked-naked to His shame. See thereHis hands rent with the rough iron, andHis feet torn with the nails. The nailshave rent through His flesh. There isnow not only the hole through which

the nail was driven, but the weight ofHis body has sunken upon His feet, andsee the iron is tearing through His flesh.And now the weight of His body hangsupon His arms, and the nails there arerending through the tender nerves.Hark! Earth is startledl He cries, "Eli, Eli,lama sabachthani?" Oh, sinner, was evera shriek like that? God has forsakenHim. His God has ceased to be graciousto Him. His soul is exceedingly sor-rowful, even unto death. But hark,again, He cries, "I thirstl" Give Him

Y ou can do nothingby your best proyers,

your best teors, oryour best works, tomerit eternal life,

water! Ye holy women let Him drink.But no, His murderers torture Him.They thrust into His mouth the vinegarmingled with gall-the bitter with thesharp, the vinegar and the gall. At last,hear Him, sinner, for here is your hope.I see Him bow His awful head. The Kingof heaven dies. The God who made theearth has become a man, and the manis about to expire. Hear Him! He cries,"It is ffnished!" Sinner, believe in Christ.Cast yourself on Him. Sink or swim,take Him to be your all. Throw nowyour trembling arms around thebleeding body. Sit now at the feet of thatcross, and feel the dropping of theprecious blood. And as you go, each oneof you say in your hearts,

On Christ's kind arms I fall,He is my strength and righteousness,My Jesus, and my all. O

Adapted from The New Pok Steet Pulpit, Zondervan PublishingHourc, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Used by pcmission.

49

b1 Harold L. V,/illmington

The Fact of His Birth. Genesis3:15 is known to Bible students as theyoto-evangel verse. This literally means"ftrst gospel verse," the ftrst mention ofChrist's birth. This is important to note,for neither Adam nor Eve (to whomthese words were first spoken) had experi.enced physical birth. Both were directlycreated, one from the dust ofthe ground(Gen. 2:7) and the other from a humanside (Gen. 2:21-22\. But the Messiahwould be born.

The Method of His Birth. Ftrst.He was to be born of a woman! This toomust have been a shocker. Originally thewoman had come from the man, but notso with the future Messiah. He wouldproceed from the seed of the woman(Gen. 3:15).

Second, He was to be born of a virginwoman (Isa. 7:14). This woman wouldconceive and bear the Christ childwithout the aid of a man!

The Nationality of His Birth.First, He would come from the nationIsrael (Gen. 12:3). This prophecy was

SprcrAL Wnvs FoR SpectAL DAYS

That Stranger lnthe Mangcr

especially remarkable, for lsrael did notofficially become a nation until the daysof Moses, centuries later (Exod. 19,20).Even then, it would remain a small andinsigniftcant country in the Middle East.

In matters of military strength,cultural accomplishments, inventions,and so forth, lsrael would contribute lit-tle. Her mission, however, was to be farmore important, for the Saviour of allmen would come from within herborders!

Second, He would come from Judah,one of lsrael's l2 tribes (Gen. 49:10). Theoldest tribe was Reuben, and perhaps themost influential tribe was Ephraim, butthe Messiah would come from the tribeof Judah!

Third, He would come from thehouse of David, of the tribe of Judah inIsrael (2 Sam. 7:12-13). David was theeighth son of a poor Bethlehem sheep-herder, but this family would producethe Saviour of the world!

The Time of His Birth. Accord-ing to Daniel9:24-27, His death wouldoccur 483 years after the beginning of

the project to rebuild the Jerusalemwalls. He was born, of course, 33 yearsprior to his death.

The Place of His Btrth. Godcould have chosen Rome, or Babylon,or even the Jewish religious center ofJerusalem, but instead He picked Beth-lehem, the house of bread (Micah 5:2)!

The Sign Accompanying HlsBirth. A special supernatural light inthe form of a star would brighten theheavens and point to His birthplace(Num. 2,1:17).

The Unusual Interest at HisBirth. Vise Men would come toBethlehem to worship Him (lsa, 60:3,6,9;Ps.72:10) .

Vicked Men would come toBethlehem to kill Him $er. 31:15).

The Reasons for His Birth. Hewould be born that he might redeem sin-ful men (Isa. 53).

He would be born that He might ruleover saved men (Isa. 9:6,7).

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FUNDAMEMAUSTJOURNAL

Profile

or 33 years a ftesty, intense,gregarious ftgure has stalked thehalls of Baptist Bible College

adding spice, verve, and excitement towhat could otherwise have been a drollacademic atmosphere. Reginald O.\Voodworth, affectionately calld "R.O."by students and friends, has admiaedlybeen in enough scrapes to qualifo as agood, card-carrying Fundamentalist. lnall candor, he has also had his share ofdetractors. After more than threedecades ofscrutiny, however, a consen-sus of the Baptist Bible Fellowship rankshis contribution to the movement at thelevel of such names as Vick, Dowell,Smith, Rawlings, and Zimmerman.While it is atypical for an institutionalftgure to be accorded peerage in a pastor-dominated organization, \Toodworth isesteemed by older preachers and held indeferential awe by more recent graduatesof BBC. In short, he is a legitimatefellowship hero and an institution withinan institution at the college.

A nat ive Canadian of New

Billv V. Bartlett uDedn of Studcnt Affairsa tupist Bibb G,llcge,SprindieE, Mrssoan.

R.O. Woodworth -An Inctltutlonal Perconaltty

Brunswick, he moved with his family toDetroit when he was 16. There he rodeout the Depression as a'subcontractor,bidding the services of his own crew ofworkers. This was invaluable training fora future college business manager whowould supervise several million dollarswonh of construction,

When J. Frank Norris assumed thepastorate of Detroit's Temple BaptistChurch in 1934, Voodworth's spiritualtransformation from worldling who"ridiculed religion and Christianity" todeacon, Sunday school teacher, andBible college student had already takenplace. In 1935 G.B. Vick was persuadedby Norris to accept the resident leader-ship ofthe church and began a relation-ship with the young deacon that wouldprofoundly affect both men as well asseveral religious institutions.

For instance, as president of the\7orld Fundamental Baptist MissionaryFellowship, Vick hired \Toodworth tohead the old fellowship's Chicago head-quarters. While in Chicago, Woodworthdecided to further his education atMoody Bible Institute, earning a Pastor'sDiploma in August of 1942.

In 1946 when Vick rotated out of of-fice, Norris took control and moved theoperation-including Woodworth andhis wife, Dorothy-back to Fort r0[orth,Texas. After a short time Voodworthaccepted an offer from a Florida pastor,Bob Ingle, to become his Sunday schoolsuperintendent. Under Woodworth'sdirection the Berea Baptist Church grewfrom around 300 to over 1,250 in twoshort years. The future Baptist BibleCollege would thus boast a professor ofSunday school administration who wasmore than a speculative theorist.

In 1948 Vick accepted the presi-dency of the old fellowship's Bible Bap-tist Seminary. Again he turned toWoodworth, installing him as businessmanager of the Fort \U(/orth school. Theundertaking seemed fraught with dif-

b Bilb V. turdcttffculty and after a time the situation gavebirth to the Baptist Bible Fellowship.

Vick-the newly elected president ofthe group's proposed Springfield-basedBible college-designated Woodworth ashis chief administrator. For the next 19years, the man successive generations ofstudents affectionately referred to as"Woody," "ROV'(as in row your boat),and "R.O."'functioned as an executivevice president without the title. In thatcapacity he was an expediter withoutpeer. He was a general contractor onconstruction projects, liaison betweenthe school and its absentee president, apublic relations man to the Springfieldpopulace, a buffer between the schooland countless groups of irate pastors,and a mentor disciplinarian and role-model for over 40,000 students who havegraced the campus. In 1969 he acceptedthe position of national fteld represen-tative and both taught and preachedvigorously up to his retirement inMay 1983.

The modern minister has beendescribed as "a mildmannered man, giv-ing a mil&mannered message to mild-mannered men, about how to be mild-mannered." If that is accurater then RegWoodworth is decidedly not "modern."He is rather a throwback to Sam Jonesand Peter Cartwright who had a pen-chant for keeping the pot boiling.However, looking back over Woodworth'sbumpy, pot-hole-studded road thatstretches back ,10 years, it becomes ap-parent that he steered an amazinglystraight course, and the students ofBaptist Bible College could not have had abetter guide.

In summary, his many friends feelthat Baptist Bible College's institutionalpersonality is largely the result of his im-press. Its soul and verve and will to suc-ceed and survive were transferred by ex-posure to the hot iron of his personality,and he will be difficult-perhapsimpossible-to replace. O

DECEMBERI9S3

t%ut roGreat Doctrlnes ol lhe 8lble,vols, 1 & 2by W.A. CriswellZondervan, 1982, Vol. 1-128pp.,Vol. 2-203pp., $16.95 a setReviewed by John D. Morrison,Assistant Professor of Theology,Uberty Baptist College,Lynchburg, Vkginia.

ln Christian theology the axiom re-mains that the greatest theology of thechurch has been written by itschurchmen. One need not dig far todiscover debt to such ones aslrenaeu$, Augustine, Martin Luther,John Calvin, and Jonathan Edwards.Unfortunately, in this century, as theneed for deeper insight and light fromthe church becomes greater, the will-ingness of pastors to take the time toprepare and deliver "meat" from theWord is otten on the wane. Dr. W.A.Criewell stands in the gap as a clearexample of God's man who has bothscanned the course of this age withthe eyes of a prophet and reacheddeeply into the fulness of God's Wordto answer the complex questions ofthe times with "Thus saith the Lord."

In ordgr to present his maturetheological thought in message form,Dr. Criswell has had to alter his usualexpository form somewhat. The re-quirementrs of topic, breadth, and syn-thesis of God's truth necessitrated thischange of structure. For this, thepastorof Dallas's First Baptist Ghurchwas truly up to the task.

52

ln the first volume of Great Doc-trines of the Bible, Dr. Criswellengages the timely topic of bibliology.In so handling the doctrine of Scrip-ture, Criswell rightly deals with God'sself-revelation in relation to the Godwho lovingly reveals and to the churchthat hears, heeds, and wholeheartedlyobeys. Weighty topics and issueswithin the spheres of verbal, plenaryinspiration of the Bible are not cursorilytouched nor simplistically waved away.Thankfully, Criswell is not a preacherof cliches or easy slogans. He showshimself both a scholar willing to fairlywrestle with complex questions and apastor able to tie God's mighty an-swers to where the Christian's shoe-leather strikes the pavement. May Godmultiply such men behind the pulpitsof this land!

fn the second volume ol GreatDoctrines, Griswell moves to theologyproper and Christology. Having estab-lished his authority base-the Word ofGod-ln volume one, he logically pro-gresses to the God of the Word. Again,the purpose is to tie the great truthsof God, that are high as heaven, to thedaily living of the obedient believer. Inthe various messages, Criswell makesthe doctrines sing triumphantly as theglory, persons, and works of God arecreatively shown in something of thesplendor rightly theirs. Many of thechapters moved me to tears, worship,and prayer. These two volumes aremust reading for all.

Vofume three of Great Doctineshas just been released. lts topic is Ec-clesiology, the doctrine of the church.As God's man, called to lead the greatFirst Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas,W.A. Criswell will surely be worthreading on this issue also.

James Clavell'sThe Chlldren's Storyby Charles A. Gale

At a time when the very fundamen-tals of public education are beingscrutinized and when it seems thata major reform of the system mightbe in order, James Clavell's filmThe Children's Story is a parable forour time. lt was never enough toteach our children what to think; nowmore than ever, we need to teachthem how to think and how to discernthe ditference between good and evil.

Our story begins in a neighborhoodclassroom at 8:56 R.la. and "they"have just conquered the world. MissWorden, the teacher of this secondgrade class, is fearful yet valiantly triesto comfort her charges. Johnny,seated at the back of the class, tellseveryone that his dad says that we'renot to panic or to be scared.

At the stroke of 9:00 n.u. thepretty new teacher arrives and leadsMiss Worden out of the classroom. Ayoung girl bolts for the door but thenew teacher intercepts her and triesto comfort her with a song. She ex-plains to the children that there isnothing to fear. They are to put foodin their tummies, not fear.

ln the next 23 minutes the newteacher wins the hearts and minds ofthe children with her knowledge andcharm. First she amazes the childrenby already knowing each of theirnames. She tells them she has spent

FUNDA\IENTAIIST JOURNAI

three days working hard to learn them.She then asks the class, how do youstart school?

The children explain that after rollcall it is customary to pledge allegianceto the flag. As they begin, the newteacher interrupts to ask what doesallegiance mean? Since none of themknows, she tells them it is wrong tosay something with long words in it,especially if you don't understandthem. ("That's like saying the flag ismore important than a person.")

The subversion continues whenshe prompts the children to cut the flaginto pieces. ("Since it's so pretty, lwishwe could all have a piece of it.")

Before classwork begins she asksfor any questions. After she gives hername simply as Teacher she proceedsto explain that "we" think teachersshould be young. Since the war is nowover, you and I and all of us are one.We all won the war.

But Johnny wants to know whereis his father, who recently served dur-ing this war. Teacher explains that hewas sent to school to be reeducatedbecause he had wrong thoughts. Inthis new order everyone is beingreeducated according to his age groupand according to his need.

Next on the agenda for subversionis prayer. The children are cleverly in-structed to pray to God to bless eachof their mommies and daddies, and in-cidentally to give them (the children)candy. Since candy is not forthcom-ing, Teacher suggests that instead ofpraying to God they should pray to"our leader" for the candy.

Predictably, candy appears. WhenJohnny insists that Teacher actuallyprovided the candy and not "ourleader," her anger is uncontrolled. Herreproach to Johnny is that only anotherhuman being will ever give youanything. To the Humanist, prayermeans nothing. God becomes super-fluous. The subversion is nowcomplete.

As every schoOlchild has heard,eternal vigilance is the price of li-berty. In other words, freedom has tobe worked at to be protected.

At the end of the film the narratorasl<s what is the value of a child's mindor of your right to doubt without fear.Parents must remain aled and becomeinvolved in the lives of their children.

DECET\4BER1983

Otherwise we might replace what istimeless and true with what is currentand popular.

The film leaves the feeling thatfreedom is a valuable possession.Unless we conscientiously endeavorto maintain it, one day we may wakeup to find that it is gone.

The Droodles TenCommandments Storybookby Ray and Sally CioniDavid C. Cook Publishing Company1 983, 63pp., $7.95 (6-1 0 years old)The Babe and the Lamb1982,30pp., $8.95 (6-10 years old)

The Droodles Slorybook ol Proverbs1981 , 63pp., $7.95 (6-10 years old)

Reviewed by Jean BeckChildren'sCurriculum WriterThomas Road Baptist ChurchLynchburg, Virginia

Ray and Sally Cioni have createdan imaginary group of characterscalled the Droodles. Lenny Lumpkin,Gloria Tattletooth, and their friends areplaced in a variety of situations de-signed to spark original thinking andunderstanding of God's Word and tohelp the reader put the command-ments into action in his own life.

ln the Droodles Ten Command-ments Storybook, character develop-ment is excellent and the illustrationsbright and whimsical. However, theaverage child may not be able to graspon his own the relationship each storyhas to the corresponding command-ments. Therefore, the book will bemost etfective when used in a settingwhere a discussion of personal ap-plication can follow each chapter.

ln The Eabe and the Lamb theCionis have created an allegory alohgthe lines of C.S. Lewis's Tales ofNamia. The action story wlll hold thechild's attention from the first to lastpage, and the concluding pages willspark much discussion of similaritiesbetween the "Babe" and the sacrificesthat our Saviour made for us.

lleMWkdhovstuwill bring a barrel of chuckles to eachboy and girl. Through characters suchas loudmouth Jenny Jingles, proudDanny O'Daring, and prayerful NatalieCreampuff, the Cionis have built abridge between the Bible's Proverbsand the experiences of children. Theirstories are illustrations of 12 particularproverbs and gives excellent sugges-tions for using the book as a teachingtool, ultimately affecting the actions ofits reader-tomorrow, next week, ornext year. -'J.8,

Poor Ralphby Kurt MitchellCrossway Books, 1982, 30pp.,$8.95 (6-10 years old)

Poor Ralph is the story of a kindlyold man whose material possessionswere few but whose great wealth layin his ability to read books of all kinds,

Gffiiiitlm;n

l ' r t t l X'i-:lril

r.L{ye sA!J-1/cK

TAIvIILY

53

especially the Bible, One night, whilereading the Bible, "poor Ralph" re-ceived a special promis€ from God butwas not quite sure the promise wasmeant for him. He did not know whatto do, until he was given a preciousjewel that changed his life.

ln Por Ralph Kurt Mitchell corn-bines his skills as writer and illustrator.The bright and colorful pictures bringlife to a story that captures the reader'sattention from beginning to end.However, the story oontains a gooddeal of symbolism which is too difficultfor the avorage child to unravelon hisOwn. -,J.8.

Jonahby Ray Cioniand Kurt Mitchell(The complete text of Jonah from theHoly Bible, New International Version)Crossway Books, 1981, 30pp.,$9.95 (6-10 years old)

the New InternationalVersion with thecreative, full-color illustrations of KurtMitchell. The duo brings a fresh under-standing of the story of Jonah to eachreader. The value of the book is fur-ther enhanced by Edith Schaetfer'sforeword, which summarizes the teach'ings of the Book of Jonah. -.J.8.

ln Jonah Ray Cioni, the designer ofthe book, skillfully accomplishes hisgoal of motivating young readers toread the Bible for themselves. Hecombines the exact text of Jonah from

fromthe

Scqf Amen!( ( f you're saved and you know it, say Amen!" says

the gospel chorus. Our prayers are often ended byan Amen. Too often, it may be just a formality,

a magical word by which we hope our prayers may come true.However, properly used, Amen has rich significance and strongscriptural precedent.

Believers in the early church used it to consciously confirmtheir thanksgiving and praise to God (cf. 1 Cor. 14:16). In-deed, their prayers and doxologies are often concluded byAmen, as reflected in both the New Testament (as in Rom.11:33-36; 16:25-27; Gal . 1 :3-5; Eph. 3:20-21; Phi l . 4 :20; 1 T im.l:17 ; 6:16; and others) and the writings of the apostolic fathers.For example, as the aged Polycarp was tied to the stake awaitingthe fires of martyrdom, he concludes his prayer:

I praise Thee, I bless Thee, I glorify Thee, throughthe eternal and heavenly High-priest, Jesus Christ,Thy beloved Son, through whom with Him and theHoly Spirit be glory both now (and ever) and for theages to come. Amen.

The early church manual, the Didache, closes its prayer afterthe communion service by saying,

May grace come and may this world pass away.Hosanna to the God of David. If any man is holy,let him come; if any man is not, let him repent. MaranAtha. Amen.

In all these cases reciting Amen is more than a ritual orliturgical response; by it, the believers consciously acknowledgedGod's sovereignty over their lives, their acceptance of His willfor them, and the supremacy of His Word in their conduct.

In so doing, New Testament believers perpetuated the tradi-tional response of Old Testament believers (cf. Deut. 27:15-26i1 Chron. 16:36; Neh. 5:13; Ps. 106:47-48; Jer. 11:5). The

Hebrew word for Amen comes from a verbal root that meansto "be permanent/secure/reliable," hence, "be faithful." Theverb, in turn, became associated with the idea of genuine faith,therefore could be translated "believe." Thus, we read ofAbraham in Genesis 15:6, "And he believed in the Lord; andhe counted it to him for righteousness." Jesus affirms thatAbraham's faith was saying yes to God in all the activities ofhis life, as evidenced particularly in his offering of Isaac (James2:21.23]'.

From this same root comes the r'our^ emuna"h, oftentranslated "faith" but literally meaning "firmness" or"faithfirlness." Thus, it is used of the faithfulness of God Himself(Ps. 36:5;40:10; Lam. 3:23) and of the necessity of the believerto be faithful in his life and service to God (Ps. 119:30; Prov.12 :22 ;2 Ch ron . 19 :9 ) .

Of all men, the believer alone knows that real living, nowand for eternity, means "The just shall live by faith" (Hab.2:4). It is a life entered into by genuine faith (Gal. 3:8-11), mustbe l ived out totally in faith (Rom. 1:16-17), and may be ter-minated by the coming of Christ for His faithful ones (Heb.10:35-38). The true believer says Amen to God with all hisheart, soul, and strength (Deut 6:4-5; Matt. 22:37 -38, cf. Prov.3:5-6: Rev. 22:20\.

As believers, may the closing Amen of our prayers, praises,and hymns be a continual renewal of our pledge to be faithfulto Christ OUR GREAT AMEN: in Him are being accomplishedall the divine promises of the ages (2 Cor. 1:20).

Praise ye the Lord! O let all that is in me adoreHim!

All that hath life and breath, come now withpraises before Himl

Let the Amen sound from His people again:Gladly for aye we adore Him.

-loachim Neander

R / FUNDAMEMAIIST JOURNAL

by'Vaber R. Byrd, Jr., M.D.IInk,ouL

T

One Good Myth Deserves Another

t strikes me that for the most partChristians have been hoodwinkedby the Liberal legal establishment

on this mafter of the so-called separationof church and state. We have allowedthem to utilize one of our own strengthsagainst us very effectively, that sftengthbeing our firm beliefin the existence andintegrity of God. Their strategy has gonesomething like this: They have estab-lished in the mind of the courts thatsomething very objective and definablecalled "religion" exists, and that thissinister force termed "religion" has noplace influencing government. We haveplayed right into their hands by arguingthat there is such a thing as religion andthat religion does have a place ingovernment.

We have allowed them to lure usinto adopting the term "freedom ofreligion" as our central theme word, andthen they have successfully argued thatreligion has no place in government orthe public sector. The irony of this isthat they have not had to deftne whatreligion is; we have been willing to dothat for them with great verbosity. Andonce we have neatly delineated religionas some clearly objective, deffnable, andpotentially zealous movement, they havesimply proceeded to demonstrate incourt that this movement called "reli.gion" has no place in government or thepublic sector. Rather than requiring thatthey-the Liberal Left-define religion,we have willingly defined it for the courtsourselves. \Vith religion then depicted asa potentially coercive and divisive forceto be reckoned with, they have had lit-

Walter R. Byrd isD irector of P sychiatricSeruices at LibertyBaptist College,Lynchburg, Virginia.

tle difficulty in demonstrating tothe court's satisfaction that it shouldbe eliminated from the government.altogether.

We would be well-advised for allpractical purposes to do away with theterm religion in the legal forum. As faras the legal system is concerned, weought to maintain that as Christians we

" Gtre not thatwhich is holy unto

the dogs, neither c&stye your pearls before

swine, lest theytrample them undertheir feet, and turn

again and rend yottr,"

have a particular set of "myths," sym-bols, and customs that we enjoy recog-nizing. And although our "myths," sym-bols, and customs have special meaningsto us, they need not be considered moreor less valid than the literally hundredsof myths, symbols, and customs thatpermeate every sector of society. In thecourtroom there should be no differencein the myth of Santa Claus and the"myth" of a baby born of a virgin; nodifference in the "myth" of the three wisemen and the myth of the Easter bunny;and no difference between the cross asa mystical symbol and the shamrock asa mystical symbol.

In declaring as Christians that our"myths," symbols, and customs deserve

societal acknowledgments as truth, wehave violated one of God's wisest Scrip-tures. Matthew 7:6 states, "Give not thatwhich is holy unto the dogs, neither castye your pearls before swine, lest theytrample them under their feet, and turnagain and rend [tear] you." By willinglyaccepting the label religion as a name-plate for the beliefs, symbols, and customsof Christianity, we have strategicallythrown the pearls of our faith before theswine of the secular world, particularlythe Liberal legal establishment.

Instead of committing this naive /aaxpas, we should have been making themdefine what religion is. If the publicschools want to utilize the custom of theThanksgiving turkey, the myth of SantaClaus, and the symbols of Valentine'sDay, then we should simply ask for equaltreatment for the so-called myths, sym-bols, and customs that we Christians en-joy. As far as the law is concerned, thereading of biblical legends in theclassroom should pose no more a threatthan reading the story of "Frosty theSnowman," or "'Twas the Night BeforeChristmas." A myth is a myth, a sym-bol is a symbol, and a custom is acustom; yet we Christians have let thesecular world throw out our "myths,"symbols, and customs while keepingtheir own. If the National Forestry Ser-vice can have a talking bear namedSmokey giving sound advice about ftresafety (admittedly a pretty strange fan-tasy), then why shouldn't children alsobe allowed to discuss openly a storywhere a donkey gave some sound adviceto a man? (Num. 22:28-30\.

Can you see how we have beentricked? In the courtroomr the secularworld has taken our "myths," symbols,and customs and branded them with the

continued on page 56

DECEMBER1983 55

One Good Mythcontinued from page 55

name of religion, and then proceededto argue that religion has no place ingovernment. At the same time, no onehas chdlenged their mytls, symbols, andcustoms that permeate the public sector.

As far as the legal system is con-cerned, we should demand that a mythis a myth. If school plays can be put onwith the fantasy figure "E.T." talking toreal live children, then plays should bepermitted that feature angels talking tochildren as well. Remember, a myth's amyth, and the government has no busi-ness getting into the matter of decidingwhich myths are more acceptable thanother myths. Does the Supreme Courtdecide whether the Smurfs are in andSpiderman is out? Of course not. Thenwhy should they be in the business ofdeciding whether Noah's Ark is in or theGreat Pumpkin is out? Jesus warned usabout evil days such as these when Hesaid, "Be ye therefore wise as serpents,and harmless as doves" Maa. 10:16). Inthe legal arena we have been innocentas doves all right, but not nearly wiseenough for the adversary we face.

It is a matter of respect and restraint,In the Constitution, the person of Godreceived respect both as the Creator ofman and the Originator of all liberty. lnHis role as Creator He was respected bythe framers of the Constitution as an in-tegrai part of the mind-set of freeAmericans. ln order to protect the wor-ship of God from any future oppressionfrom government, the framers of theConstitution established a system ofrestraint, commonly referred to as "theseparation of church and state." Thelegal provisions they placed in the Con-sritution and the Bill of Rights were toprotect the freedoms Americans enjoy toworship God without governmental in-terference. This worship of God was souniversally respected and so fundamen-tally understood by Americans, that itbecame known as "religious freedom,"and the term religion emerged as an ac-cepted legal and popular concept in thethinking of Americans.

Unfortunately, in the years since theConstitution was written, there has beenan erosion of mainstream morals inAmerica toward the Liberal Left. Thisfiltrating government. They have care-fully ignored the fact that the Found-

56

ing Fathers established restraint as aConstitutional principle only after hav'ing frst established the principle ofresp€ct for a Creator or God in thatdocument. Having no respect for the ex-istence of God themselves, the Liberalshave used our Christian respect for Godas a weapon against us. Since we respectthe "myths," symbols, and customs ofthe Bible as inerrant communicationsfrom God, they have said that this is"religion" and hence must be bannedfrom government and the public sector.We have handed away our freedoms tothem in this area with little more in theway of a credible argument than suchphrases as, "Don't you do that, or elseGod will get you!" and "ThomasJefferson never meant it to be this way."

If they want to tell us that "religion"has no place in the classroom or thegovernment, then we should say, "Fine,let's do away with religion. Now, aboutthis matter of myths, symbols, andcustoms, surely you wouldn't havegovernment divest itself of all the richmyths, symbols, and customs of theAmerican people that are an integralpart of society?" And if one myth is asgood as another myth (unless theSupreme Court wants to get into thebusiness of "myth" judging) then thefiery chariot of Elijah should be asnatural in the classroom as science fic-tion, and the exploits of Samson shouldseem as no more preposterous than thoseof the Incredible Hulk.

Are we compromising? Are we givingaway too much when we discard theterm religion and give the "myths," sym-bols, and customs of the Bible equal bill-ing with all the secular ones in theclassroom? Not at all. Because we asChristians have a promise that appliesto the "myths," symbols, and customsof the Bible: "So shall my word be thatgoeth forth out of my mouth: it shall notreturn to me void, but it shall ac-complish that which I ple4se, and it shallprosper in the thing whereto I sent it"( Isa. 55:11) .

Let's put the burden ofproofon thelegal system to show why our "myths"are less acceptable than anyone else's inthe classrooms and govemment buildingsof the nation. That would constitute alevel of censorship that even the LiberalLeft could not support.erosion has affected every area ofAmerican life, but it has especially im-

pacted on the two legal/religious con-cepts of respect and restraint. Thenonreligious and atheistic elements inour society have chosen to attack the ex-istence of the legitimate worship of Godthrough many means, but in no areahave they been more effective than inthis legal arena. They have taken theconcept of restraint (separation of churchand state) and used it as a courtroomcrowbar to pry loose the observance of"religion" from the public sector. Th.yhave shouted far and wide, and arguedeffectively, that the Founding Fathersmeant to restrain religion from ever in-

So when we are busily assembling aNativity scene on the local courthouseIawn, and someone asks the question,"Aren't you trying to impose yourreligion on the community?" we cansimply point to the sleigh and reindeeron the nearest lamppost and reply witha smile, "We don't know what you meanby that term religion. It's Christmas and,as far as we're concerned, one good mythdeserves another.tt !

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A freport on the Thomas Boad Baptist Church and Related Ministries

Elim Home for Alcholics Ministers for 24 YearsAs the first outreach ministry

of Thomas Road Baptist Church,Elim Home has helped hundredsof alcoholic men find a moreabundant life in the Lord. SinceFebruary 1959 Elim Home hasprovided a place for men at nocharge. Almost a third of themmake decisions to turn their livesover to Jesus Christ, and abouthalf of them make rededicationdecisions.

CalendarUpdate

Novembern.3aForeign exposure group led byMissioru Department fron LBCandTRBC toMexico City

December2-3Lib erty Mount ain BuketballClassic Toumament

9 .11Living Chnstmas Tree at TRBC16Chnsmas vacation begins forLBC College and Sclrools

I8"Tnro Nights Before Christmw,"a musical performed by theJunior Stnday school clrss ccTRBC

January1 9New and rearming studeotsanive at LBC

Ray Horsley has directed ElimHome in Amherst County since1964. His son, David, joined himas codirector of this specialoutreach in 1979.

"Most of the recular treatmentprograms call alcoholism a di-sea.se," says David Horsley. "Thisgives a man no hope for escapingthe condemnation of this degrad-ing lifestyle. But we deal with itas a sin, according to I John 1:7

and 2 Corinthians 5:17. Christcan release one from this and anyother burden of sin into a vic-torious life."

Elim Home does not dependon drugs in working with thealcoholic; instead it relies on aprogram of Bible study and mem-orization and counselingto leamthe unfailing biblical principlesfor living a successful life inChrist.

The staff of Elim Home iscomposed of men who were savedfrom alcoholism through the ef-forts of this ministry.

Although the home can han-dle only 18 men at a time, planscall for a new facility to house50 men, thus freeing the existingstructure for ministering toalcoholic women, another area ofgreat need.

Government Political Leaders Teach LBC ClassDr. Jeny H. Combee, Chair-

man of LBC's department ofhistory and political science, hasinvited outstanding conservativeleaders from various politicalorganizations in Washington toteach Introduction to PoliticalScience at LBC. The purpose ofthe class is to demonstrate therealism and relevance of politicalscience in action,

Guest teachers includq MortonBlackwell, special assistant to the

President; Michael Horowitz fromthe White House's Office of Man-agernent and Budget; Paul Weyrichfrom the Committee for the Sur-vival of a Free Congress; RichardDingman, Moral Majority inWashington, D.C.; Lany Butler,Head of Broadcasting in U.S,Chamber of Commerce: HowardPhillips, leader of the Conser-vative Caucus; and Peter Oemmaof the National Pro-Life PAC.

ift.$I

I

Michael Horowitz

President Reagan and Morton Blackwell Richard Dingman

DECEMBERl9B3 57

LBC Band Chosen for MacynsThanksgiving Day Parade

The Liberty Baptist CollegeFlames Marching Band waschosen from over 350 nationalapplicants, over 40 from Virginiaalone, to attend Macy's annualThanlagiving Day Parade in NewYork.

The decision was based upona videotape of the band's perfor-mance sent to the selection com-mittee by Ray S. Locy, director ofthe Flames Band for six yeais.

The invitation was confirmedin early October when NBC'sDick Schneider and MarkSchonberg from Macy's visitedthe LBC campus.

"We're very pleased that wehave this caliber group coming toNew York," Schonberg said tostudents. "\ilhen we see groupslike you, we know our countryisn't in any trouble."

Over three million people linethe srreets of New York to see thefamous three-hour parade. An-other 100 million watch bytelevision.

The 160-member FlamesMarching Band and LBC werehonored to be one of the12 bands chosen for this vear'sparade.

Junior Branches ChoirPerforms Christmas Musical

The Junior Branches Choirand Herb Owen, junior depart.ment pastor, presented the pre-miere performance of a newmusical, "Two Nights BeforeChristmas," during the ThomasRoad Baptist Church SuperConference.

The choir, 120 children ingrades four through six, and ad-ditional junior actors weredirected by Lynne Brower andCarol McMillen, the musical'sauthor and compocer, rapectively.Pastor Owen narrated the storyand played the central character,Mr. McDuff, a grouchy toy store

Living Christmas Tree Presentso'An Old-Fashioned Christmas"

The thirteenth annual LivingChristmas Tree, directed byDavid Randlett, with a cast of350 musicians, singers, and ac-tors, will present "An Old-Fashioned Christmas" at ThomasRoad Baptist Church, December9-ll. The l45,member LivingChristmas Tree choir will stand35-feet tall, providing a dramaticbackdrop of lights and music.

Mack Evans will serve asnarrator-host of the musicaldrama, Special vocal ar-rangements will be sung by sixsoloists, including Don Norman,Robbie Hiner, and Mark lowry.Additional numbers will bepresented by two trios, theSounds of Liberty, and the Menof Liberty Quartet. The Old.TimeGospel Hour Orchctra andspecial bras antiphony will be ledby Ray Locy. David Allison is thedrama director.

Admission is free for the fiveperformances: Friday-? 30 r.v.,Saturday-2:00 p.t',t. and 7:30P.M,, and Sunday-2:00 P,M. and6:00 p.u,

As the first school semesterdraws to a close, Liberty BaptistCollege has achieved a growthrate of 16.8 percent, making itone of the fastestgrowing Chris,tian liberal arts colleges in theworld.

Enrollment reached 4,332 thissemester, and represents all 50states and 25 foreign countric, Inaddition, Liberty Home Bible In.stitute has 14,225 correspondence

students, and Lynchburg Chris-tian Academy, grades K4-12, hasover 1,400 students.

Tuition for the 198334 schoolteiln was not raised from lastyear's cost of $2,000. This is aboutone-third the actual cost ofa stu-dent's education at LBC. Thebalance is underwritten by theFounders, 15,000 Club members,and other friends of the minisny.

LBC - One of Fastest-GrowingColleges in the United States

58 FUNDA\IENTAUST JOURNAI

custodian who unravels themeaning of Christmas.

The musical will be presentedngain on December 18 at ThomasRoad's evening service.

WRVL InstallsNew Antenna

VRVL station manager JerryEdwards reports that the FederalCommunications Commissionhas given permission for LBC toinstall a new antenna and test itat 50,000 watts.

The station's previous 38,foottower on Tobacco Row Moun-tain in Amherst County was cutdown by vandals in May 1982.

The new antenna, installed ona 450-foot tower on JohnsonMountain in Bedford County,should allow the FM religious sta,tion to reach north of Char-lottesville, Virginia, and toCreensboro, North Carolina, inthe south.

Edwards said that the newlocation offers an omnidirectiondadvantage which is better thanthe old facilitv.

Oufside View

Liberal fear. At first glance this mayseem strange, since Liberals are foreverbelittling fear of Communism and evenrationalizing Communist behavior.

"We hate the Soviet Union a lotmore than you think," a Liberal jour'nalist recently told a Conservative friendof mine. I don't doubt this a bit. But whydo Liberals spend so much more time de-nouncing Jerry Falwell than YuriAndropov?

The answer is Freudian. People areoften afraid to admit their real fears, sothey disguise them. But buried fear ffndsother avenues of expression, usuallydisplaced against relatively harmless ob-jects. Thus Liberalism constantly inventsneurotic scenarios of "danger on theright," as an outlet for deeper anxietiesabout the real danger on the left. Freudcalled this pattern "the return of therepressed.tt

Jerry Falwell has no nuclear weaponstrained on New York City. He merelycalls overt attention to those who do. In-stead of generalizing about "the threatof nuclear war," he speaks speciftcally ofthe Soviet threat.

By doing so, he forces Liberals to beaware of their real fear; and they hatehim for it. They also feel it is safer to at-tack him than to criticize the Soviets. Allhe really threatens is their cherisheddelusions. But that is what the neuroticresents most of all.Rcprintcd by pcmision of thc Lo Angcles Tiro Smdna.

ferry Falwell at Prlnc,f,l",g"*hen Rev. Jerry Falwellwas about to speak atPrinceton University, a

bomb threat forced the evacuation of theauditorium. Falwell was unperturbed.The founder of Moral Majority getsmore than 200 death threats everymonth, and he can usually tell theroutine empty threats from the heartfeltones.

He assured the police that there wasnothing to worry about, and thestudents crowded back into AlexanderHall. There were boos, hisses, and cat-calls as he was introduced. I sat besidehim on the stage before he spoke. Iasked him whether this sort of hostilitywas typical.

"College audiences are usually about50 percent against us at the beginning,"he said. "With a little luck we can turnthat around and have about two'thirdson our side at the end."

And so it was. This crowd was notessentially hostile, but rowdy. There wasmore humor than hatred in the booingand hissing. Falwell, who knows how tohandle an audience, caught that note ofhumor and played on it.

"You can't shock me," he told theclose-packed crowd of 1,200. "I'vespoken at Harvard." The name of thelvy League rival drew more delightedboos. Falwell and Princeton were at play.

His half.hour speech stressed hisusual themes: The foundations ofAmerica in the Judeo-Christian moraltradition, the family, and the work ethic.Then he answered questions for nearlyan hour.

He answered even the silly questionsearnestly, passing up the chance to showup the lvy League wise guys who camein contemptuous of his Fundamentalism.Now and then he tossed in anotherplavful reference to Harvard. He was in-gratiating, as when he stressed hissolidarity with Israel; surprising, as whenhe called for full civil rights for homosex-

DECEMBER1983

uals; and uncompromising, as when hesounded his bedrock theme of thenecessity of accepting Jesus Christ asone's personal Saviour.

B, the end of theevening, the kids

aPPlauded him withworrnth, There was

no booing.

By the end of the evening, he hadeasily won two-thirds of the audience,emotionally if not intellectually. Thekids applauded him with warmth. Therewas no booing.

Princeton had met heartland Protes-tant Christianity, and it turned out tobe a friendly meeting. Later Falwell toldme how impressed he had been with thekids'intelligence. It had beer. much nicerthan Harvard, where two people hadrushed the stage and had to be resnainedby security guards.

"You can't let yourself be afraid," hesaid. "You have to just go out there anddo what you have to do, and trust theLord." The irony is that this gentle manhimself is so widely represented as"dangerous," when he and his familyhave to live in fear of violence.

There could hardly be a lessdangerous group of people than JerryFalwell's followers. They are decent,pious, generous people who seek nothingmore sinister than a return to the moralnorms that were taken for granted untilthe Eisenhower years. Why, then, hasMoral Majority met such a hystericalreaction?

Part of the reason is fear ofCommunism-not Conservative fear'

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News

Kemp's Response to KennedyPleases tBC Audlence

In response to the Liberal openinggambit of Senator Edward Kennedy onOctober 3 at Liberty Baptist College,Representative Jack F. Kemp, "a bleedingheart Conservativej'as he called himse[gave the New Right's perspective onNovember I in the debate on "lssues Fac-ing America in the 1984 Election."

Formerly a successful quarterback forthe Buffalo Bills, Kemp now quarter-backs Conservative causes in his seventhterm as a U.S. Congressman from NewYork. He recently gained nationwiderecognition for his efforts to restorie t:u(incentives for savings, capital investment,and individual initiative. In l98l Kemp'stax reform legislation which included anacross-the-board tax cut became a majorcomponent of U.S. tax policy.

In his discussion of religion andpolitics, Kemp noted that the two oftenintersect. "Far from dividing life into aspiritual realm and a political realm, civilgovernment rightfully claims a part ofour life, but God rightfully claims all ourlifei'he said. The purpose of governmentshould be to "secure" the rights ofcitizens, not "confert' them ttbecause

what the government gives, it can alsotake awayl'

In response to Kennedy's point ofview that certain parts of life, like abor.tion are "uniquely personalj' Kempdisagreed saying that abortion involvesthe rights of two people. "Those whofavor abortion, like those who favoredslavery, must assume that the other per-son is not a human beingl' he said. Inhis viewpoint, both religion anddemocracy demand that the weak, thedefenseless, and those in the minorityshould be protected and represented.

The First Amendment was intendedto provide freedom for religion, Kempsaid, but it is recently being interpretedto provide freedom from religion. Hecited several examples including aMassachusetts school board allowing avulgar library book while a Kentucky

60

school system banned wall plaques con-taining the Jbn Commandments. "Yetthe Ten Commandments hang on thewall of the Supreme Court, apparentlywithout ill effectsj' he said as the au-dience responded with laughter. WhereasKennedy seemed to say those who be-lieve in God and oppose such court deci-sions are imposing their will on others,Kemp felt these decisions denied somecitizens equal protection by the law onthe basis of their religious beliefs.

"No field of human endeavor can beunaffected by the knowledge that Godis there and that right and wrong ab-solutes existj' Kemp maintained.

Even in the area offederal fiscal policywhere religion would be an intrusion ac-cording to the Liberal view, Kemp af-firmed that the lack of an honesteconomy and honest money is a "mat-ter of morality" and a "gross injustice."

\fhere Kennedy interpreted socialfairness to mean unequal treatment ofsome to achieve equality, Kemp preferreda social policy of equal opportunities toreduce the need for the heavy socialspending because "the noblest generos-ity is to prevent people from ever needinggenerosity3'

On the subject of nuclear freezeKemp said history points out that weak-ness is far more provocative to aggressorsthan a strong defense program. "Moralrelativisrrf is a dangerous pohcy that supposes all governments are equal.

Kemp summarized his Conservativeviewpoint toward the 1984 election bysaying, "When we fail to vote on thebasis of our moral and religious heritage,then we will lose that which distin.guishes us as Americans. Democracywithout morality is impossible."

Yvonne Vest

FUNDAVENTAUSTJOURNAI

Vorld Qelig,ious Nevs

BF'84 RegistrationSurpassing Expectations

LYNCHBURG, Va.-Cochairmenand members of the central committeefor Baptist Fundamentalism '84 met inOctober to finalize convention details.BF '84 was planned in order to reaffirmthe doctrines of the Fundamental Bap-tist movement. It will be the ftrst gather-ing of such magnitude for independentBaptist churches.

Of the 26,000 participants expectedto attend, 5,488 have already registeredfor the Washington, D.C., conventionscheduled for April 11, 12, and 13, 1984.

"Officials with other religious con-ventions say this response is highlyunusual six months prior to an event,"said Duke Westover, national conven-tion chairman for BF '84. Ohio has thelargest enrollment to date, followed byTexas, Maryland, Pennsylvania, andCalifornia. Participants have alsoregistered from Canada and severalforeign counries.

Dennis Fields, exhibit coordinator forthe convention, reported that due tohigh sales response, exhibit booths areexpected to be sold out by January,which may be a problem to latecomers.

A book containing the 19 sermonspresented at the meetings will beavailable for purchase during the con-vention. Plans are being made to honorthe most outstanding Fundamentalistleaders of this century with specialawards for their contributions to theFundamentalist movemenr.

Dave Randlett, music coordinator forBF'84 said, "We have nine exciting newchoral arrangements prepared especiallyfor BF'84. Representatives of over 2,000churches will comprise the conventionchoir, accompanied each night by a fullorchestra."

Coneervative VirginiaSouthern Baptiets ConsideringAdditional Association

LYNCHBURG, Va. -Pastor ArthurBallard, Jr., of Old Forest Road BaptistChurch, on September 26 headed a meet-ing of 19 Virginia church representativesto consider formation of a conservativeassociation with the Southern BaptistConvention organization. The new asso-ciation would seek to exercise localchurch autonomy inherent in the SBCstructure toward a more outspoken con-servative and evangelistic policy, saidBallard.

The new association would speak outin a united conservative voice on moralissues: against abortion, in favor ofpublic school prayer, and combatingpornography. lt would sponsor a conser-vative newspaper. Further, Ballard said,it would encourage the SBC to channelmore mission funds into establishingnew churches and less into adminis-trative management. A primary goal ofthe conservative association would be toreach the lost in Virginia through en-thusiastic evangelistic crusades.

A study committee was set up to in-vestigate the feasibility of the newassociation.

Legislation Proposed to ProtectChurches from Unjust IRS Exam

WASHINGTON-The ChurchAudit Procedures Act, currently in com-mittee in both houses of Congress, couldestablish guidelines for church auditsand examinations by the lRS.

Connie Heckman, chief legislativeassistant to Congressman MickeyEdwards, one of the act's cosponsors,reported that the White House hadgenerally endorsed the legislationthrough Treasury Department testimonyat Senate hearings held September 30.

Heckman said the Church AuditProcedures Act would require the IRSto have evidence that a religious groupis not a church or that it has unreportedtaxable income, before instigating a taxinvestigation. The CAP Act would re-quire informal conference opportunitiesbefore an investigation and give eachchurch opportunity for swift judicialfollow-up. lt would place a three-yearstatute of limitations for failure to file areturn. In general, the CAP would pro-vide safeguards for churches against un.just tax investigations.

The act has 76 House cosponsors,said Bill Billings, president of the Na-tional Christian Action Coalition, butfurther sponsors are needed to bypassresistance from Dan Rostenkowski,Chairman of the House Vays andMeans Committee, who decides thecalendar of bills to be considered.

Bible PublisherProhibits Blasphemyin lts Secular Books

NEW YORK-Thomas NelsonPublishers, the largest publisher of Biblesin the world, has objected to the use ofblasphemy and vulgarity in bookspublished by its recently acquired sub-sidiary, Dodd, Mead & Co.

According to the September 16'Vashington Post, Sam Moore, president

of Thomas Nelson Publishers, said, "Wefeel good about this policy, and webelieve the people in America at largefeel good about it." He explained that80 percent of Nelson's sales are Bibles,and the company intends to keep a"clean house" image in its secularbusiness endeavors as well.

When authors of three books de-clined to delete the offensive language,two manuscripts that were alreadytypeset were returned to the authors andanother book ready for distribution wasput on hold.

61DECEMBER 1983

Vorld Qeligious News

Baptiet Bible FellowshipPlans National Meetingin Lynchburg Church

DENVER, Colo.-Board membersof the Baptist Bible Fellowship Interna-tional, meeting here recently, have ac-cepted the offer of the Thomas RoadBaptist Church of Lynchburg, Virginia,to serve as host for the fellowship's 1984annual national meeting.

The Rev. Leland Kennedy, pastor ofTrinity Baptist Church in Abilene,Texas, and newly elected fellowshippresident, wil l preside over theSeptember 24-27 conclave,

The conference theme will center onmissionaries sent out and supported bythe Fellowship.

Members and pastors of more than3,000 Fellowship churches will be urgedto attend.

Brain Damaged PianiotExceeds Doctor's Expectations

EL PASO, Texas-Tim Baley, brain-damaged since birth and a concertpianist since age 29, is a young man whohelps dispel the current notion that han&icapped children must expect an inferiorquality of life. When the boy wasdiagnosed at age 5 as having cerebralpalsy, doctors recommended that he beinstitutionalized as he would never beable even to read or write. ParentsRosemary and Jerry Baley refused,because "we had prayed for this baby,and you have to accept what you prayfor."

Though Tim was hyperactive anddestructive during childhood, by age 13he had absorbed enough of the gospelto ask to be baptized. Tim's father ledhim through the plan of salvation anda scriptural baptism followed. Tim's faithhas been unwavering.

62

Since 1981, the Baley family hastraveled nearly 30,000 miles a year asTim's incredible piano concerts "shownot what Tim can do, but what God cando," says Mrs. Baley.

The concerts, which open with"America" and close with "How GreatThou Art!" have been given at the Pen-tagon, in various churches and hospitals,and twice on the White House lawn. Hehas also performed on NBC's televisionprogram ttFantasy.tt

During the concert, as his parents ex-plain the need of Christian training forthe handicapped and Christian counsel-ing for their families, Tim's piano exper-tise gives clear testimony of God's powerin all circumstances.

Legislation for Equal AccessReadied by Senate

WASHINGTON-A Senate floorvote is expected soon on JeremiahDenton's bill (5.1059) to allow groupsmeeting for religious purposes equal ac-cess with other community organizationsto publicly funded school facilities.

Currently, local court decisions havebeen split on this issue, depending on in-dividual circumstances. The bill wouldlegislate a broader application of theequal access policy, says Ed Larson, assis-tant Republican counsel with the HouseEducational and Labor Committee.

A similar bill in the House (H.R.2?32) sponsored by Republican WhipTrent Lott, needs additional sponsors tomove from committee. Nonpartisan sup-porters consider the bill a protection ofthe right to free speech.

Rellglouo GroupeAllowed Equal Accecsto School Facilities

KANSAS CITY, Kan.-Lowercourts may be setting a precedent in thereligion/school issue favoring religious

free speech in public schools. Last MarchU.S. District Court Judge Dale E.Saffels declared unconstitutional andvoid a Shawnee Mission School Boardpolicy prohibiting the Christian Churchof Lanexa from using school facilities forpublic worship. According to a courtclerk, Saffels said that since the districtallowed other community organizationsto use its buildings during non-schoolhours, prohibiting the church groupfrom having the same privilege wouldviolate their constitutional right to freespeech.

In May, Judge William G. Nealon ofWilliamsport, Pennsylvania, ruled thathigh school students must be permittedto hold voluntary religious club meetingsduring the activities period set aside forextracurricular pursuits in WilliamsportHigh School. In the decision, Nealonsaid that "passive acquiescence" by theschool does not excessively entangle thestate in the church or imply sponsorshipor approval of a particular religion.

Creation Sciencein Court Again

NEW ORLEANS-On October 17the Lousiana Supreme Court upheldthe state legislature's right to pass lawssaying what must be taught in publicschools. In so doing, the court uphelda 1981 Louisiana law that calls for crea-tion science to be taught equally withevolution science in public schools.

State Senator Bill Keith, who wrotethe law, looks forward to a federal courttrial early in 1984 that will hear the con-stitutional merits of teaching creationscience.

Eight attorneys have worked toprepare a solid case on the basis ofacademic freedom and first amendmentrights. Further, creation science is de-fined as "scientiffc evidences for creationand inferences from those scientific evi-

FUNDAMENTAIIST JOURNAI

\ilorld Qeligious Nevs

dences" rather than inserting religion,Genesis, or the Bible into the classroom.

"Evolution is part of the religiousbeliefs of Confucianism, Buddhism, andSecular Humanism, but this law doesnot specifically refer to religion or to asupreme being," said Senator Keith.

"I think we have an excellent chanceof winning this case because this law isbetter than the one Arkansas declaredunconstitutional," Senator Keith said ina recent telephone interview.

The American Civil Liberties Unionwill continue to oppose the Louisianalaw in federal court. Senator Keithreported that a legal defense fund spon-sored by private sources concerned withtruth in public schools has been set upto handle court expenses.

Christian FlagFlies Again in Dallas

DALLAS-On July 31 whenDelbert Fields flew the Christian flagoutside his Deeper Life Book Store ofDallas, Texas, he was cited for display-ing an illegal sign. Only the flags ofTexas or the United States were permit-ted on flagpoles, said the city's sign boardof adjustment. All other flags had tofollow the sign ordinance. He was giventhe choice of flying the flag at a ftne of$200 a day or attaching it to his businesssign in front of the building.

Believing that Americans should befree to fly the Christian flag, he sued.Lorne Liechty, his attorney, called thecity ordinance "an impermissible restric'tion upon Mr. Fields's free exercise ofreligion," according to the Dallzs Morn-ing Nerrs, September 15.

Fields said in a recent interview, "Weput up a fiega[ sign saying, 'City ofDallas said we cannot fly the Christianflag. Keep us in your prayers.' Wegathered the signatures of over 3,000people in a petition against the or-

DECEMBERl9{j3

dinance, and hundreds of people com-plained to city hall by phone on ourbehalf.

"On September 23 we received a let-ter saying they are excluding the Chris-tian flag from the ordinance."

A flagraising ceremony was held infront of the Deeper Life Bookstore onOctober I to celebrate a victorv forreligious freedom.

good news for them. Countless numbersdo not know that the greatest Christmasgift of all is not one that they can give,but one that they can receive-one thatwill never break or wear out. They havenever heard the good news in a personalway.

Christmas is still good. And itsmessage is still news.

Chrietrnas Story RemainsWorld's Greatest News

(RNS)-The gift that was broughtinto the world by Christ is the greatestgood possible. It means that people canbe reconciled to God without having todepend on their imperfect attempts tomeet His standards.

One of the foundational beliefs ofChristianity is humanity's inability tosave itself. Despite all the good worksdone by believers through the ages andtoday, followers of Christ acknowledgethat their efforts could achieve nothinglasting but for the grace of God. ThatGod chose to bring His grace to theworld through the person of Jesus Christis unquestionably good news for allpeople.

To a world jaded with constantreports of violence, hatred, andselfishness, anything good isautomatically news. And the good newsof Jesus, being the greatest good, istherefore the greatest news.

The details of the Christmas storynever become so familiar that they losetheir signiftcance and wonder for Chris-tians. The idea that God came to earthin human form is so fantastic that it bog'gles the mind. The eternal Creator tookon the form of a ftnite creature. He wasborn. He died. He rose again.

Yet today there are still people whodo not realize that Christmas can be

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63

Angelscontinued from page 29

are never to worship angels (Ex. 20:L-6;Col. 2:18); they are our fellow servants(Rev. 22:9).

A Song No Angel Can Sing

Marvelous though angels may be,God created them with definite limita-tions. For example, once an angel hasfallen, he cannot be redeemed.

"But God can do anything," some-one might say. Yes, but only those thingsin keeping with His character and plan.Once He created angels with the naturethey have, He could not and wouldnot change their design or basiccharacteristics.

Angels are individual, direct crea-tions of God. They do not procreate(Matt. 28:28-30). They are not a "race"as such; they have no kinsmen. Thereis no way that Christ would become a

Kinsman-Redeemer for them as He didfor humans.

God's wise and righteous plan ofredemption was to have Christ, who wasgenuine deity and genuine humanityunited in one eternal Person, to becomean equivalent, substitutionary sacrificefor men. As God-man, He paid man'sdebt in His death. Since His humanitythrough the Virgin Birth related Him toall the human race, He is genuinelyrelated to us as our Kinsman-Redeemer(Heb. 2:11-15) .

Since angels are not a race, they can-not be dealt with "representatively" inthe way our Lord took the place of sin-ful mankind. Each stands or falls alone.Those angels who rebelled and fell withSatan (Ezek. 28:12-19), were irretrievablylost.'We

can rejoice that, through theVirgin Birth, the incarnate Son becamethe Last Adam, the Kinsman-Redeemerfor all of those who place their trust inHim.

We have a song no angel can sing-asong of personal praise and thanksgiv-ing to the God-man and His saving graceand love (Rev. 5:9-10). This is the match-less song of the redeemed which will sur-pass any song ever sung by an angel ona starry, starry night. O

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Ior Your Information

Doctor Sentenced for Murderot Live Child FollowingAbortion

EL PASO, Texas-Dr. RaymondShowery, age 55, was sentenced to 15years in prison for drowning a baby whosurvived an abortion at his FamilyHospital in El Paso, reported the Lynch-burg, Virginia, Daily Aduance,September 29.

Five former employees testified thatin 1979 the late-term baby girl was bornalive after an abortion, weighed aboutfive pounds, and was drowned byShowery in a bucket ofwater before be-ing placed in a plastic bag, according tothe report.

Atheists ctrrd Le@'s GroupCritlclze Tercrs Textbooks

LONGVIE\U, Te><as-Te><as presentlyprovides 12 months for textbook selec-tion, which allows for public hearingsconcerning the merits of books offeredfor each school subject, committee deci-sions to narrow the list to five with twoalternative choices, and the final adop-tion of books that best meet statespecifications. The texts that emergefrom this stringent selection process arethen generally accepted by the rest ofUnited States schools.

For 20 years Mel and Norma Gabler,of Educational Research Analysts, havesought to influence decisions toward anundistorted view of Christian values,theories, and doctrines.

A recent interview with Mel Gablerrecounts criticism heard at the August Ihearings from Madalyn Murray O'Hairand the American Atheists, and Nor-man Lear's People for the American\0ay. Educational Research Analystsreported that several ofthe history booksomitted historical documents like the

DECEMBERl9B3

Mayflower Compact. Some of the healthbooks soft-pedaled the serious effects ofhard drugs and defined family as "anygroup ofpeople living together." Bookson language composition emphasizedverbal communication and de-empha-sized the importance of correct grammar.The American Atheists located inAusdn, Texas, found world history text-books too religious and objected to evo-lution being treated as a scientific theory.People for the American Way objectedto the "censorship" in public textbooksof liberal ideas in favor of more conser-vative viewpoints.

College BcrrsArtwork Depictlng Abortion

FREDERICKSBURG, Va.-ArtistMary Cate Carroll has caused quite acontroversy wi th her paint ing"American Liberty Upside Down." Thepainting depicts a man and woman sit-ting on a sofa with an outline of a child.Behind a small door on the canvas arethe remains of a saline abortion, agreenish fetus curled in a jar.

Invited to place several paintings atthe alumni art show this fall at MaryWashington College, where she hadearned her bachelor 's degree,Mrs. Carroll was ordered to remove thispainting before the show opened.

"I didn't expect my work to be cen-sored," said Mrs. Carroll during atelephone interview. "I had earned areputation at Mary

'Washington as a

confrontational artist, confronting peo-ple with social and moral issues to makethem think. After all, 20 fetuses wereavailable to students in biology lab whenI took Biology 101. \ i lhat's thedifference?"

The school had agreed to allowMrs. Carroll to choose and hang herown paintings for the show. Whenschool officials told her to remove the

painting, she suggested the compromiseof posting a statement signed by collegeofficials to explain the censorship. Theyrefused.

Mrs. Carroll says she uses modern artto examine the moral implications ofsocial issues. "If we could have seen theholocaust's effect on the Jew, we wouldhave stopped it. Abortion is a holocaust,too . t t

Fcrntly Structurecnd Roles Chcngring

WASHINGTON-The CensusBureau said that for the first time in 20years the number ofnew households hasnot significantly increased from theprevious year, reported the WashingtonPost on August 16.

Divorce rates are dropping from 5.3per 1,000 population in 1981 to 5.1 per1,000 in 1982, reported the NationalCenter for Health Statistics in the Post,February 2.

The Bureau states that 1.5 millionAmerican homes are maintained by twoor more "related" persons, 49.9 millionhave both husband and wife, 2 millionhave no wife present, and 9.5 millionhave no husband present.

In San Francisco a Gallup Poll com-missioned by Levi Corporation revealedthat 96 percent of fathers help with thecare of their babies, and most workingmothers prefer for husbands, relatives,or friends to babysit. Only 13 percentuse daycare centers and 3 percent usenurseries.

65

I

Working the Fencero\MsRichard Lewis

is a missionary to KerLya.

uge tractors work the rich farmland, wide discsturning under several acres ofland in a single day.Often such technology overshadows the need for

single plows and shovels. Yet, those big tractors miss a lot ofsoil near the fencerows, leaving much soil unturned and ne-cessitating hand labor in those untouched areas.

Like the farmer who has traded in his team of mules fora tractor, the role of Fundamentalists has changed with thetimes. No longer are the obscure Bible-believers meeting inrented storefront buildings. In general, Fundamentalists todayare a visible and influential force in society. Fundamentalistsare sweeping the conscience of America, speaking out on issuessuch as abortion, voluntary prayer in schools, homosexuality,and separation of church and state.

In this age of the super-aggressive church, the Fundamen.talist who is called to work the fencerows of the world maynot be part of the limelight of Fundamentalism. Yet, as in farmwork, there is need for not only the big tractors but for mento work the smaller places of the world for Christ.

rTlI he Fundomentolist who is

called to work the fencerows ofthe world may not be port of the

lirn eli sht of F undomentali sm.

The main objective of the Fundamentalist on the foreignfield is evangelism. Each year we go into virgin territory break.ing new ground with the gospel of Christ. While the mainlinedenominations emphasize the social gospel, building schools,hospitals, and so forth, Fundamentalists are known for plant.ing churches.

Winning and teaching are the heart of the Great Commis-sion, and both the laborers in the States and those on the mis-sion field strive to achieve them. \Uhile one in doctrine, Fun-damentalists in the States and those on the foreign field havedifferent strategies. Those who ride the tractors in the States

work to get more yield on existing property, with a goal ofbuilding a large and successful ministry. Fundamentalists onthe foreign field are more interested in clearing land andteaching the nationals how to drive the tractors. We then moveon to another area to start all over again.

Unlike our distant brothers, we cannot own the land; ina very unique way, we are squatters. The governments tolerateour presence as long as we stick to preaching Christ. Whileour stand against immorality is concrete and our loyalty toour country is unwavering, our purpose is to make disciplesfor Christ. To do otherwise, we would soon find ourselvesunemployed in overseas work.

As we share in the strengths of our fundamental family backhome, we also share in its weaknesses. We have been extremelycritical of other religious groups, yet we continue to use theirservices agrd reap from their programs. The Bible translationswe use are from other groups. The books we teach from arewritten by others. \ile would not think of having an agriculturalprogram, but if another group will teach the nomads how tosettle down and farm, we will be there to start a church. Ibelieve all Fundamentalists at home or abroad must learn howto appreciate the work of other denominations without com-promising our convictions.

We are proud of our brothers in Fundamentalism ridingthe tractors making a sweeping impact on the moral conscienceof our homeland. Though obscure, we Fundamentalists on theforeign field also take pride in our work and feel comfortablewith a shovel in our hands. Being a missionary is not glamorous-it is hard and dirty work. However, there is a reward for thecalloused hands ofthe fencerow farmers that our brethren can-not understand. Following our special calling from the Lord,we feel the carpenter from Nazareth empathizes with us. It wasour Saviour who left the glamour of heaven for a stable. Hespent a lifetime walking the dusty roads of Palestine, training12 men to do His work before He left them with the chargeto build His church. We feel that we are following the exam-ple the Lord established.

May the Lord be pleased to give us a few more men whoare willing to grab a shovel and find the great joy in workingthe fencerows for the Master. O

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