Bible scholar C.R. Stam’s
quintessential 1950s expose book, The Controversy, details the
apostate nature of so-called fundamental Bible-believing preachers from his
day, including the one-time nationally famous Philadelphia preacher Dr. Donald
Barnhouse.
Stam writes, “. . . depend upon it,
God will never give us further light on the Word until we stand true to the
light we have already received.”
“ . . . Where financial need does
not cause men to capitulate, ‘the fear of man’ often does, and where ‘the fear
of man’ fails to silence them, love of position and popularity often succeeds,
as it did with certain spiritual leaders of our Lord’s day.”
Stam quotes John 12:42-43:
“Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of
the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”
*****
Paul admonishes Believers at
Galatia for being lured back into their religious system of performance. They
were incorporating elements from Israel’s law program into their worship of
Jesus Christ.
Paul argues, “But now, after that
ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak
and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?”
Jordan explains, “If there’s a
family down the street and we say that family has suffered some problems and
are destitute, what do we mean? They’re poor; they’re beggarly. So
Galatians 4 describes religion as lacking any strength—it’s weak, feeble,
destitute.
“Paul marvels, ‘That’s what you’re
trying to go back to?!’ and notice he says, ‘whereunto ye desire . . .’ This
is a will problem! You know why people are so enticed by
religion and enticed by the law; enticed by performance, rituals, ceremonies,
all that kind of stuff?
“We read in Colossians 2:23 about
those things which have a ‘shew of wisdom in will worship, and humility, and
neglecting of the body.’ They look wise. In Galatians 6:12, you’ll see that
again—that show: ‘As many as desire
to make a fair shew in the flesh.’
“Paul says, ‘I am afraid of you,
lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.’ Paul travailed in getting them
saved and now he’s afraid it’s all just going to be wasted!
“When he says, ‘Brethren, I beseech
you, be as I am,’ who’s the pattern they’re to follow? Paul is. He’s their
pattern.
“Notice how Paul qualifies it in
Galatians 4: ‘But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are
known of God.’ They are saved—the Lord
knows them that are His—but they really don’t know the Lord in any in-depth way
or they wouldn’t be doing what they’re doing.
“It’s not a question of them being
saved; he’s saying you just don’t know much about Him or you’d never turn back.
“It’s fascinating, if you study
through your Bible, when Satan wants to do something, he’ll get it as close to
God’s (stratagem) as he can, and when God laid aside the Kingdom program and
introduced a new program with Paul, Satan came along and picked up the program
God laid down and made it equal to another paganism.
“It’s that real and dangerous and
serious! This is not simply a matter of arguing about how many angels dance on
the head of a pin!"
*****
In a Q&A period following an online
Bible study, Southern California preacher John Verstegen (www.helpersofyourjoy.org) was asked
about the Apostle Paul’s admonition in I Corinthians 9 regarding a Believer’s
“prize” and striving for an incorruptible heavenly crown.
Verstegen answered, “It’s all going
to be glory for us (out there), but it has to do with the ability to take God’s
Word and function with it here, and hence when we get there we’ll be
put into a position that is parallel to that capacity and functioning in grace
developed here.
“By the way, I should say as well,
that even when we’re there in the heavenly places we will continue to grow and
develop in our capacity to serve. We’ll be studying and learning forever.
Learning will never end. The Word of God is eternal in nature. Your soul and my
soul—you and I will be learning forever.”
*****
As Jordan once outlined grace,
“Grace exalts the Lord Jesus Christ as nothing else can because it holds up what
He accomplished at Calvary and says, ‘That’s the answer! That’s it!’
“God’s grace enables the Believer
to recognize sin has been successfully dealt with, totally conquered and
vanquished. You can walk as a son. You
can live and be who you are in Christ, not who you are in yourself.
“Listen, the way to get victory
isn’t focusing on you; it’s focusing on what God’s given you in Christ. That’s
the path of victory.
“You check Paul’s Epistles and
you’ll find the principle is ‘put off and put on’ and it’s never anything else.
That’s why there isn’t any victory over sin in confessing sin.
“You beg God, you plead with Him and get Him to forgive you but you know
there’s never any victory over sin in that. Never is. That never
stops you from sinning. It just doesn’t do it. You check your life; it doesn’t
do it.
“What’s going to stop you? I’m not
talking about not identifying it—confess means to say the same thing—but under
the law you did it for one reason and under grace you do the same good work for
a different reason.
“I’m not identifying the sin in
order to get His forgiveness—I’m identifying it and dealing with it because I
am forgiven! It’s a different motivation, and it’s a motivation that will give
you victory because the sin has been dealt with and therefore you can put it
away.
“Grace puts you on the spot. Grace
demonstrates who you love; it manifests your heart. It shows who you love. He
said, ‘By love serve one another.’ Not because you have to.
“You know what grace does? It says,
‘Okay, no judgment. Judgment’s gone; it’s passed. I want you to do this because
you love me.’ You say, ‘What can I do?’ The answer is, ‘By love serve one
another.’ ”
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