Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Guest (Male): The alliance of confessing evangelicals presents the timeless teaching of Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: In the genetic pattern of the human race, there is essential evil as God sees it. The most colossal blunder is to think that man is naturally good or that there is a divine spark in each man which must merely be fanned to flame. The Bible everywhere teaches the contrary of this idea. And here we have the climax of the teaching as it is set forth that man is naturally bad. And hereby the basis is laid for the subsequent doctrine of the grace of God giving salvation to those who put their trust in the Savior.

Guest (Male): Over a half a century ago, the late Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse, then pastor of 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, saw the need to spread God's word beyond the hearing of his local congregation. He started the radio outreach which has become known as Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible. The application of God's word as taught by Dr. Barnhouse is as relevant today as when he first taught over the radio airwaves decades ago. The message we will be featuring on today's edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is entitled A Reprobate Mind. Many feel-good movies and children's stories seem to have this moral.

If you want to find happiness and make your dreams come true, just follow your heart. But according to the Bible, this is a recipe for disaster. It is a terrible thing to follow one's own judgment or conscience apart from the sure guidance of the word of God. What is in the heart of man that makes it such an unreliable guide? And how can we avoid its deception? The scripture text for this edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is Romans 1 and verses 28 through 32. Here again is Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse with the message entitled A Reprobate Mind.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto the our Father and our God and in the Holy Spirit. We thank thee that we can come boldly without any human mediator of the race of Adam and that we can know that we shall be received in thy presence. We pray thee that the word shall come forth by the power of the Holy Spirit in this hour and do its work in the heart of men. We pray thee that if there are any who have not been born again that they may know the conviction of sin and that thou shalt build thy people in the truth.

We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. We're studying together at the end of the first chapter of the book of Romans. And three times in the closing verses of the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, we are told that God abandoned mankind to himself and to the perversions that grow out of man's departure from God. We saw in our last study how men were abandoned to the lusts of their hearts and how this took the race into great depravity. In this study, we come to the close of the chapter and see the 21 fruits hanging on the cluster of man's disobedience and sin.

For the third time, we read that God gave man up. And this time, the race is abandoned to a reprobate mind. The text reads and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things that are not convenient. The final abandon is the result of the fact that men did not like to retain God in their knowledge. In the Psalms, David says, Psalm 77:3 I remembered God and was troubled. God will always come to trouble the minds of those who are not at one with him through the Savior.

Therefore, because men do not like to be pricked in their conscience and troubled in their hearts, they devise means by which they can banish God from their knowledge. Our civilization is organized in such a way that man can live without remembering God. The great cities have bunched men together in a way that gives them a false sense of security in their independence. Their great buildings bar out the sunsets and screen the sky. The lights of their streets have shut out the stars and their abnormal hours of living make them sleep through the sunrises. Their laws have protected them from major harm and their welfare provides for the creature needs of the masses.

Poverty has been largely banished from our land and men have settled down to a round of life that is for the most part so sheltered and protected that the majority feel no need of God. And since they were born with a conscience, which is a vestigial remnant of the moral image of God in which man was originally created, they must seek to blot out the thought of him from their minds. As a natural result of this, God lets them go the whole way to a reprobate mind. There is a play on words here that is not easily reproduced in the English translation.

They abandoned God, so God abandoned them. The responsibility and the fault is directly laid to the account of man. They did not like to retain God in their knowledge is translated in the revised version as they refused to have God in their knowledge. The Roman Catholic version renders it they resolved against possessing the knowledge of God. The Greek word is one that is used commonly for examining, proving, scrutinizing, and to recognize as genuine after examination. The idea then is that they did not think God worthy to be kept in their knowledge. They had come to such a high opinion of themselves that they had a low opinion of God.

It is the story of the fall of Lucifer all over again. For this reason, God gave them up. At first, he had abandoned them to uncleanness. Then he had given them over into the slavery of their own hearts' lusts to a terrible master indeed. And now he delivers them over to their own corrupt mind. It's a terrible thing to follow one's own judgment apart from the word of God. It is a terrible thing to follow the human conscience apart from the word of God. The Lord commands the Christian to follow him saying, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. And as we are to put the word of God above our own common sense, so we are to put the word of God above our own conscience. There is no desperate act of history that has not been justified in the conscience of someone. The human conscience is like a pet dog that can be made to sit up on its hind legs and beg. And as long as it has its piece of sugar, it will roll over and play dead at the proper moment. To be abandoned to one's own conscience or to one's own mind is to be abandoned indeed.

God gave them over to a reprobate mind. The word reprobate has almost no usage in our language apart from the Bible and writing on biblical subjects. It is the translation of a Greek word that is used for coins when they were lightweight, for metals when they had too much dross, for the earth when it was sterile. There are those who talk about the necessity of placing mind over matter. But there can be no doubt of the fact that God has disapproved of the mind and called it unfit for comprehending him. This is why we read in 1 Corinthians 2:14, The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him.

Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. And again in Romans 8:7, The carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now the practical result of this abandon was that mankind was delivered to himself and the consequent practice of things that are not convenient, things that are not fitting, things that are forbidden, shameful. 21 of these things are now named and it is the most formidable list of sins to be found in the word of God.

We might well quote a verse from the Epistle to the Hebrews at this point. We read in Hebrews 4:12 for the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged surgeon's scalpel as it is in the Greek, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. And we must not forget as we read this horrible list that God says that men are filled with these things.

And of course, it means that all men are filled with these things. Or it does not necessarily mean that all of these things break out in every member of the human race, but that the seeds of all these things are an inherent part of the makeup of everyone of us. In the genetic pattern of the human race, there is essential evil as God sees it. And all that is wrong with humanity comes from the heart of humanity. There have been those who have wished to deny the doctrine of total depravity on the grounds that it failed to recognize any good in man.

The presence of all this evil does not deny the existence of a natural goodness in varying degrees. All that such goodness can do is to make it possible for men to live together with men. What the doctrine of total depravity means is that there is no good in man that can satisfy God. And that therefore all the help that man receives must originate in God and come to man by the grace of God. And it is the grace of God that brings salvation that has appeared to all men in Jesus Christ. Some of the evils in man that are described here are set forth in terms that need some clarifying.

We will take them briefly and bring out some of the hidden meaning to be found in some of the terms. Unrighteousness. This is a term that is used in the scriptures for injustice in a judge, for unrighteousness of heart and life, unrighteousness by which others are deceived. It is the word used by our Lord in speaking of deceitful riches. And the word used for the reward of iniquity, the 30 pieces of silver which Judas received for betraying the Savior. Lord Palmerston in a letter to Lord Clarendon wrote, There is a passion in the human heart stronger than the desire to be free from injustice and wrong.

And that is the desire to inflict injustice and wrong upon others. And men resent more keenly and attempt to prevent them from oppressing other people than they do the oppression from which they themselves suffer. The second word is wickedness. The word is used for depravity, iniquity, evil purposes and desires, wicked ways. It is the word used in Ephesians 6:12 for the followers of Satan in the spiritual realm. The hosts of wickedness. And a kindred word is used for the devil whenever he is called the wicked one. When David had the opportunity of killing King Saul in the cave, he refused to do it.

And in crying out to Saul afterwards, he reminded him that there was a proverb of the ancients, Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked. 1 Samuel 24:13 Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked. Once more, it is the human heart that is seen to be the fountain of evil water. The third word is covetousness. The word is used this way in all occurrences except once when it is translated greediness. We see people who are grasping, itching for more, who are extortioners, wishing to make gain from the losses of others. This is the characteristic described in this word. It's much more prevalent than is thought.

Liddell and Scott include in its definition quote to take advantage of another's simpleness, to overreach, to defraud. The Holy Spirit defines covetousness as idolatry in Colossians 3:5. And idolatry of course is the worship of another object than God. Be sure that you ask the Lord to keep down this root of sin lest it spread in your life like a noxious weed. The fourth word is maliciousness. The word denotes ill will, malice, malignity, a desire to injure. It is wickedness that is not ashamed to break the laws. It is a word that denotes a vicious disposition.

Thomas Jefferson wrote to Madison, Malice will always find bad motives for good actions. The fifth word is full of envy. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the word to feel displeasure and ill will at the superiority of another in happiness, success, reputation, or the possession of anything desirable. To regard with discontent another's possession of some superior advantage which one would like to have for oneself. We remember that the scripture tells us in connection with the crucifixion of our Lord that pilot knew that for envy they had delivered him. It was when the Lord healed the man on the Sabbath day that the leaders of the Pharisees held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

They should have been holy and were not. They knew that he was holy and powerful and they envied him his holiness and his power and therefore they hated him. The sixth word is murder, the taking of another's life because he has something that one wants or because he has offended the ego of the murderer who arrogates to himself the place of God to take the life of his victim. Murder follows envy not only in our list, but also in life. There is a remarkable likeness in the two words in the Greek. The two words, if you pronounce them, are phonos and phonos.

And only the labial th distinguishes them. There is but a breath between envy and murder. The next word is debate. The revisers have used the word strife here for there is no thought in the original of orderly discussion, but of contention and wrangling. It has been said that debate is masculine and conversation is feminine. At all events, wrangling and strife are human. The next word is deceit. And the Greek word, interestingly enough, means fish bait. And by extension, it came to mean to lure, to ensnare, to beguile, to deceive. Much of the business of life in the world is carried on by such means.

Is it any wonder that at the time of the end Babylon the Great includes the symbol of commercial profiteering which has fattened on the bait that has been set before the poor fish of the world? You know the prophet Habakkuk describes men as fishing for other men and snaring them in their net. They succeed so well that we read they sacrifice unto their net and burn incense unto their drag because by them their portion is fat and their meat plenteous. The next word is malignity. The lexicon translates it bad character, depravity of heart and life, malignant subtlety, malicious craftiness.

And Aristotle defined the word in his rhetoric as taking all things in the evil part. The next word is whisperers. This word in the English is onomatopoetic. That is imitative from the sound that is made by the sibilant rush of breath as one speaks softly. The Greek word is also imitative. And the lexicon translates it secret slander or to speak in one's ear. There is a verse in the Old Testament that throws considerable light on this word. In Ecclesiastes, Solomon says, The serpent will bite without enchantment and a babbler is no better. Now the Hebrew word that means the murmuring of the snake charmer is translated in the Septuagint by the verb of our word whisperer.

Let it be remembered that God Almighty has thus stamped gossip with the name of snake bite. And after the use of the simile, the Lord goes on to describe the emptiness of the words of a foolish man. It was Chrysostom who said that slander is worse than cannibalism. Jeremy Taylor in one of his sermons said, Slander rends in pieces the very heart and vital parts of charity. It makes an evil man party and witness and judge and executioner of the innocent. The next word is backbiters. The original is a word that brings a further development of the last vice.

There as a whisperer, it was secret slander. Here it is the open slanderer. For there are some who are not content to whisper into the ear of the listener, but who will publicly flaunt false charges against their fellow man. All phases of the evil are rooted in the heart of man. The next word says haters of God. This is a word that's used only here in the Bible. It certainly does not mean that the hatred originates in the heart of men. The truth is taught elsewhere, for we read that the carnal mind is enmity against God.

But the Greek is most certainly hateful to God. It is so used in the classics by Euripides for men who are so odious, so detestable that God must hate them. And then we read despiteful. The revisers have translated it insolent. It refers to one who uplifted with pride either heaps insulting language upon others or does them some shameful act of wrong. And then God says they are proud. The revisers render it haughty. It is that arrogant showing oneself above others with an overweening sense of one's means or merits, despising others or treating them with contempt.

The next word is boasters, the empty pretender who prates of that which he does not possess. Never forget it's the empty wagon that rattles. The next word says inventors of evil things. In the Psalms, we read that men provoked God to anger with their invention and that they went a whoring with their own invention. Psalm 106 Man turns to evil, even the inventions that are full of potential good. And now we come down to the last five of the catalog of evil. And they all emphasize the negative ills in the heart of man. They are without obedience to parents.

Literally, the word means the children will not be compliant to the parents' wishes. One of the prophecies of the time of the end is the children will be disobedient to parents. But from the beginning, rebellion against authority was a part of the race. Only one of the 10 commandments had a promise attached. It is the promise of long life to those who are obedient to their parents. How many an early death could be explained by this commandment? Then again, we read that they are without understanding. This means of course that the race is without spiritual or moral understanding.

The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit. The word is sometimes translated unintelligent and stupid. But the deepest meaning is that of a spiritual stupidity, an ungodliness because a wicked man has no mind for the things which make for salvation. Even the greatest minds of earth are born into this world as spiritual morons. The next word says covenant breakers, literally without good faith. Never forget that an emperor precipitated the First World War calling a solemn treaty a scrap of paper. Those who are honest only when it is the best policy are faithless to their contracts.

There are nations today that sign treaties knowing at the moment of the signing that they have no intention of keeping their word. And individuals break confidences without considering the horror of their sin. The next word says without natural affection. The ties of home should be the strongest on earth. But we see homes broken today on the slightest pretense. One great weekly news magazine frequently carries in a column that is half humorous the causes for divorce that are laughable in their selfish littleness. And men and women who can put off a husband or a wife as easily as they put off a coat engender children without natural affection for home or kindred.

And then the word says without mercy. Positive cruelty has been the mark of savages so that the very names of some of the tribes have become synonymous for such cruelty. The Tartars and the Huns and the Vandals have left their names behind them for their deeds. And we in our own country have monuments of cruelty in some of our public institutions for the care of prisoners, the insane and other unfortunates. In the days of Samuel Johnson, the famous writer was able to say in the Idler that stories of cruelty were made up by news reporters and that the greater the distance from home, the greater the cruelty.

But we know that cruelty is in the human heart. Schopenhauer has written that man is little inferior to the tiger and hyena in cruelty and savagery. Now at the end of the catalog of horrors, there is a statement that demands closer scrutiny, namely that the human race is aware that these qualities exist in their hearts and that they know that God hates them and that he must punish those who persist in them, but that in spite of all this they go on their precipitous way to the doom that lies before them. Now there are two conclusions to such a study as this.

If you are a man or a woman who has not yet put your trust in the blood of the Savior, shed to purchase your pardon, then flee to the love of God before his wrath is forced to break forth on you. For behold now is the accepted time and behold now is the day of salvation. And on the other hand, if you are a believer in Christ, remember that the roots of sin are in all men and that the roots of sin are still in you even though you are saved. Accepting Christ as Savior does not remove even one of the roots of sin or make the natural heart any different from what it has always been.

But the entrance of the life of Christ into our life does bring in a new principle which makes it possible for us to triumph over the evil that is ours by nature and by choice. Flee then to the holiness of God for your daily cleansing and for your maintenance in Christ so that his power may rest upon you and that you may know the joy and the life of victory in him. And our God and Father, we pray thee that the Holy Spirit will take this message to each heart. If there should be any who listen in this hour who have not been born again, we pray thee that thou shalt accompany them with restlessness, that they may know no peace until they rest in Christ.

But upon thy believing own, truly redeemed by the blood of Christ, may thy grace, thy mercy, and thy peace abide. And a new sense of the horror from which thou hast saved us and the glory in the cross that has saved us. And unto thee be all the glory and the majesty, the dominion, and the power now unto our Lord Jesus come again and forever. Amen.

Guest (Male): Living by human wisdom and understanding will always lead you astray, but God promises to direct your path if you trust him with all of your heart and acknowledge him in all of your ways. We hope you have benefited from today's message by Dr. Barnhouse entitled A Reprobate Mind. You can listen to additional Bible teaching by the late Dr. Donald Gray Barnhouse anytime, anywhere around the globe via the internet by visiting the alliance of confessing evangelicals website at alliancenet.org. An audio copy of today's teaching is available by calling us toll-free at 1-800-488-1888. Today's message again is entitled A Reprobate Mind or simply request message number R1-26.

We would also like to make available to you a free copy of Dr. Barnhouse's booklet entitled Overcoming Fear in Witnessing. Are you intimidated about sharing your faith? Does fear hold you back from telling your family, friends, and coworkers about Christ? This free booklet will help you boldly and confidently proclaim the good news. Dr. Barnhouse explains how the Lord can help you overcome the barriers to effective witnessing so you can share the gospel clearly in love and without fear. If you want to be a bold, confident witness for Christ, ask for your free copy of Overcoming Fear in Witnessing when you call or write.

Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is a radio ministry of the alliance of confessing evangelicals headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The alliance of confessing evangelicals exist to promote a biblical understanding and worldview. Drawing upon the insight and wisdom of reformation theologians from decades and even centuries gone by, we seek to provide contemporary Christian teaching materials which will equip believers to understand and meet the challenges and opportunities of our time and place. Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible comes to you through the generous gifts of our listeners. If you have benefited from this broadcast and would like it to continue, please prayerfully consider a donation to help us keep this ministry on the air.

For more information or to make a contribution to support and further our work, please contact us by writing alliance of confessing evangelicals, box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Call toll-free 1-800-488-1888 or visit us online at alliancenet.org. Be sure and ask for free updated resource catalog featuring books, audio teachings, commentaries, booklets, daily devotionals, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding reform teachers and theologians including Donald Gray Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Michael Horton, and Martin Lloyd-Jones. Again our phone number 1-800-488-1888. Then join us again next time for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.