Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: The Holy Spirit is leading us away from all forms of law so that we may be brought to the likeness of Christ and fulfill the principle of love. This will enable us to live within the Christian community in peaceable relationship even with those who stubbornly desire that which most flatters their ego. Love is that which makes it possible to live with those whom we might not like. For it is true that while we are to love everybody, our own nature makes it very difficult for us to like some people.

Now the love of Christ will enable us to see what Christ will do for these and thus to see them in a tenderness that makes it easy to help them bear their burdens. Perhaps the key word in all this is to be found in the first phrase of the text: We ought to bear with others. The word “ought” in early English was the past tense of the word “owe.” The sense of obligation is very great in this word.

Guest (Male): Over a half a century ago, the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, then pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, saw the need to spread God’s Word beyond the hearing of his local congregation. He started the radio ministry 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’ll be featuring on today’s edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is entitled “Bearing with Others.” Good parents do not kick little children out of their home when they act immaturely or irresponsibly. They bear patiently with their children, knowing that it takes many years of hard work and patience to train them into becoming mature, responsible adults. Sadly, Christians are often quick to write off other believers or break fellowship with them because of their failures, weaknesses, and spiritual immaturity.

How can we learn to bear patiently with one another in the body of Christ and encourage each other on to spiritual maturity? Let’s find out as today Dr. Barnhouse takes us to Romans chapter 15 and verses 1 and 2. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse with a message entitled “Bearing with Others.”

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto Thee, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. How great Thou art and how wonderful. Thou dost provide for all our need and dost make available for us the wonderful stores of Thy grace. And above all, Thou dost love us. Love us. How wonderful for us to know that we are loved by Thee.

Strengthen us in this hour and may Thy Word come to us in such a way that we may be able to manifest Thy love to others with whom we may come in contact from day to day. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. In the 15th chapter of the book of Romans, in the first and second verses, we read: “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him.”

Our text has been paraphrased by Phillips: “We who have strong faith ought to shoulder the burden of the doubts and qualms of others and not just to go our own sweet way. Our actions should mean the good of others, should help them to build up their characters.” In one sense, we may say that our text charts the whole purpose of life so far as our relations with others are concerned. If man’s chief end is to glorify God, it follows from this text that God is pleased and glorified when we become outgoing individuals, thinking of the lives of others, and not ingrown personalities centering everything on ourselves.

There are other verses in the New Testament which express this same sentiment so strongly that we can quote them and weave them together into a single theme that becomes almost astonishing as we realize its tremendous implications. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I might win them all. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let no man then set his own advantage as his objective, but rather the good of his neighbor.”

Put these verses together from Galatians, Corinthians, and Philippians. In one sentence it might read: The law of Jesus Christ is that the redeemed man who has been set free from the slavery of sin has become the bondslave of Jesus Christ. He is therefore Christ’s man, to live as Christ in the midst of the world. Even as Christ gave himself for others, so the believer is to give himself for others. He is to plan his life with the thought that he is to serve God by serving his fellow men.

His attitude is away from the center of himself and toward Christ, as found in his fellow man. The Lord Jesus announced that the basis of one of the future judgments would be the manner in which men had treated him, as he felt himself to be incarnate in the poor, the miserable, and the needy. “When the Son of Man comes in his splendor with all his angels with him, then he will take his seat on his glorious throne. All the nations will be assembled before him and he will separate men from each other like a shepherd separating sheep from goats. He will place the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left.”

Then the King will say to those on his right: “Come, you who have won my Father’s blessing. Take your inheritance, the kingdom reserved for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was lonely and you made me welcome. I was naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you came and looked after me. I was in prison and you came to see me there.”

Then the true men will answer him: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you food? When did we see you thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you lonely and make you welcome, or see you naked and clothe you, or see you ill or in prison and go to see you?” And the King will reply: “I assure you that whatever you did for the humblest of my brothers, you did for me.” The remainder of the prophecy reverses the conditions and shows that those who refuse to minister to the needy have refused to minister to Christ.

The divine principle is therefore established. The one who knows Christ and follows him will have a life that moves away from self and moves out toward others. This is a supernatural transformation. The human being who has not been touched by the Lord Jesus Christ does not move naturally away from selfish motives and selfish interests to subordinate his own good in the good of others. We have only to survey the literature on the subject and we see how mankind has derided unselfishness and exalted selfishness.

In the 18th century, Bernard Mandeville wrote his “Fable of the Bees, or Private Vices Made Public Benefits.” In it he said: “There is no merit in saving an innocent baby ready to drop into the fire. The action is neither good nor bad, and what benefit soever the infant received, we only obliged ourselves. For to have seen it fall and not striven to have hindered it would have caused a pain which self-preservation compelled us to prevent.” A century later, Max Stirner wrote: “A race of altruists is necessarily a race of slaves. A race of free men is necessarily a race of egoists.”

In our own century, an unidentified author has written: “Altruism is the art of doing unselfish things for selfish reasons.” In our modern day, the cynic would look upon a good deed well done and ask, what was his angle? Where's the gimmick? Johnson told Boswell: “To act from pure benevolence is not possible for finite beings. Human benevolence is mingled with vanity, interest, or some other motive.” Walter Scott said: “A good part of philanthropy arises in general from mere vanity and love of distinction, gilded over to others and to themselves with some show of benevolent sentiment.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: “I tell thee, thou foolish philanthropist, that I grudge the dollar, the dime, the cent I give to such men as do not belong to me and to whom I do not belong.” Now in this last quotation is to be found the clue to the difference between the man who does not belong to Christ and the man who does belong to Christ. The non-Christian thinks that he is his own master and that he belongs to himself. The believer in Christ knows that he is not his own, that he has been bought with a price, and that therefore he is to glorify God in his body and in his spirit, which are God’s.

What a wonderful truth it is to know that when I am in Christ, all men belong to me and that I belong to all men. This is a truth which the world cannot see because it has not met Christ. It must be realized that all unselfish outgoing comes as a result of the Lord Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no true love. When I speak thus, it must be understood that I believe that he, the Lord Jesus, is the author of the entire Old Testament as well as its center and aim.

From the Father and the Son has come the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who wrote the sacred truths which reveal the heart of God moving toward the heart of lost humanity and which reveal the nature of the transformation that takes place in the heart of a man in whom Christ has come to dwell by faith. Several hundred years before Christ, there lived in Greece a dramatist named Menander. Among the fragments of his writings that have been preserved is one which contains the following: “The man who first proposed to support the poor increased the number of the miserable. It would have been simpler to let them die.”

Only in the world of God’s truth were charity and love set forth as virtues. Moses wrote: “When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.” David learned to sing: “Blessed is he that considereth the poor.” John the Baptist said: “He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none, and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

When the apostolic age was passed and the church began to decline, it was Basil who sought to get men out of mysticism and into hard work for others. In one of his sermons he said: “The bread that you store up belongs to the hungry. The cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked. And the gold that you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor.” In the text which we’re considering, there is the full expression of this outgoing of the heart toward others. It might be said that the common matters, like provision of food for the hungry and clothing for the naked, is taken for granted.

Such matters should not take the discussion of time of believers. It’s self-evident that the follower of Jesus Christ is to give to all the physical needs of all men in so far as he has the opportunity of doing so. There is something more here. The believer in the Lord Jesus Christ must give himself to the mental, moral, social, and psychological needs of others. There are some people who are not fully equipped to face the great struggles of life. Even though the sun is high in the heavens and though there are hundreds of people jostling them in the street, these simple souls are like children afraid of the dark.

They walk alone. They live in fear. At every moment, they carry darkness in the heart and blink before the light that we seek to give them. These people, we must seek to help at every moment. I came upon a fantastic set of statistics the other day and I believe that they are most revealing of the great need in many people round us and show us the way in which we must seek to help others. I read of the great studies which have been made in the matter of suicide. Scholars have gathered a mass of material on these poor unfortunates who have taken their own lives.

Every known factor about these people was assembled and tabulated. The study resulted in the revelation of astonishing facts. More suicides take place between 10:00 in the morning and 2:00 in the afternoon than at any other time in the 24 hours. Far more suicides take place on sunny days than on rainy days. Far more people end their lives in May and June than in any other months of the year. What does all this reveal? It means that there are souls walking about this world whose hearts are cellars of dark loneliness.

On dismal and gloomy days, they are able to continue life for their surroundings are like their own thoughts. Outside and inside climates are one. But then spring awakens the earth. The sun shines and the flowers burst out to color the world. The contrast of their darkness within and the light that is without becomes intolerable. The tension grows immeasurably. Christ described it: “If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness.” Life becomes unbearable, the light of the day unendurable, and the cord snaps.

Now when we understand that there are such beings around us, it makes us realize how many borderline cases there are and how we must do all that we can to help them. For the only cure for weak souls is to relieve the insufferable agony of self by bringing in the glory that comes through Jesus Christ. Just as a candle brought into a cave begins to light up the echoing corridors, so the love of Christ, brought by us, by our hands and our hearts, into the lives of others, can dissipate their darkness.

The main thrust of our present text now narrows down the application of these great principles to the give and take among Christians in all matters of privilege, liberty, diet, celebration of days, religious practices, and all other matters of conscience. Hodge describes it in this way: “As the points of difference are not essential, as the law of love, the example of Christ, and the honor of religion require concession, we that are fully persuaded ought to accommodate ourselves to their opinions and not act with a view to our own gratification merely.”

“We that are strong,” in reference to the subject of the discourse, that is, faith, especially in the Christian doctrine of the lawfulness of all kinds of food and the abrogation of the Mosaic law, “we ought to bear,” ought to tolerate. We ought to tolerate the weaknesses and the prejudices, the errors and the faults which arise from weakness of faith, “and not to please ourselves.” We are not to do everything which we may have a right to do and make our own gratification the rule by which we exercise our Christian liberty. We are not to please ourselves but others.

The law of love is to regulate our conduct. We are not simply to ask what is right in itself or what is agreeable, but also what is benevolent and pleasing to our brethren. The object which we are to have in view in accommodating ourselves to others, however, is their good, their religious improvement, their spiritual welfare. Now it should go without saying that we are not to abandon principle in order to accommodate ourselves to those who are ignorant of the true principles of life under grace.

This would not help those with whom we are living and working; in fact, it would be to their detriment. Calvin wrote along this line: “We must have regard of God so that our object may be their edification. For the greater part cannot be pleased except you indulge their humor, so that if you wish to be in favor with most men, their salvation must not be so much regarded but their folly must be flattered. Nor must you look to what is expedient, but to what they seek to their own ruin. You must not then strive to please those to whom nothing is pleasing but evil.”

We must have the balance of love toward God which brings true love towards men. Now Calvin spoke in the horrible irony that the situation demanded, but we must understand that this is true and that we must seek to please others. Everything that we do must be with the thought that others are to be helped and that their lives are to be built so that they may become strong enough to accept the principles of grace and in turn help those who follow in the next Christian generation.

It should be realized that the life that is being outlined here is a supernatural life. We have seen that the world sneers at true benevolence and cannot understand the outgoing life that is spent for others. The things of the Spirit are foolishness to the unbeliever. The life that is described here cannot therefore appeal to the natural man. In all probability, therefore, the believer who seeks to walk in the way of this verse will find himself walking quietly and almost alone with God. There will be many who simply cannot understand.

Moreover, this spiritual life of pleasing others and not working for self, this effort to see others grow in order that they may become more like Christ, does not come to us through any hard and fast legalistic principle. The Holy Spirit is leading us away from all forms of law so that we may be brought to the likeness of Christ and fulfill the principle of love. This will enable us to live within the Christian community in peaceable relationship even with those who stubbornly desire that which most flatters their ego.

Love is that which makes it possible to live with those whom we might not like. For it is true that while we are to love everybody, our own nature makes it very difficult for us to like some people. Now the love of Christ will enable us to see what Christ will do for these and thus to see them in a tenderness that makes it easy to help them bear their burdens. Perhaps the key word in all this is to be found in the first phrase of the text: We ought to bear with others.

The word “ought” in early English was the past tense of the word “owe.” The sense of obligation is very great in this word. If we possess another’s property, we owe it to him, and if we owe it, we ought to pay. It is not a pun to say that “owe it” and “ought,” though now pronounced with a slightly different vowel stress, the spiritual pronunciation of the two is one and the same. Because of Jesus Christ, we ought. We owe it. And because of Jesus Christ, we owe it and ought to love and bear with one another.

And when we do, God is making us like the Lord Jesus Christ. Never forget that this is God’s purpose: that we might be made like the Lord Jesus Christ. And oh, if he came from heaven in order to die, in order to communicate life to us that we might have a life that is his life and that we might in all our thinking become like him, let us understand that he has left the poor and the miserable and the needy of the world round about us to remind us of the fact that when he came, he came to us, the poor and needy and miserable, and that he stooped to lift us in order that we might turn and help to lift others.

And oh our God and Father, we pray Thee that the Holy Spirit will take these great truths to our hearts and use them to Thy glory. We ask it in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Guest (Male): We must learn to love one another and bear patiently with the failures and weaknesses of fellow believers so we can all grow together in genuine holiness and spiritual maturity. We hope you’ve benefited from today’s message entitled “Bearing with Others.” Listen to additional Bible teaching by Dr. Barnhouse anytime via our website at alliancenet.org. An audio copy of today’s teaching is also available by calling us toll-free: 1-800-488-1888. Today’s message again is entitled “Bearing with Others,” or simply request message number R15-1.

We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our 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 overcome the barriers to effective witnessing so that 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. We 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 which will equip believers to understand and meet the challenges and opportunities of our time and place.

The Alliance also produces the radio broadcast The Bible Study Hour, featuring the teachings of the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice, and Every Last Word, featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Philip Graham Ryken. For a full listing of radio stations carrying our programs, visit our website at alliancenet.org. Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible comes to you through the generous gifts of listeners like you.

If you have benefited from the 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 help further our work, contact us by calling toll-free: 1-800-488-1888. Again, that’s 1-800-488-1888. You may also write to us at Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19103, or visit us online at alliancenet.org.

Be sure to ask for a free resource catalog featuring books, audio teachings, commentaries, booklets, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding Reformed teachers and theologians, including Drs. Donald Grey Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Martin Lloyd-Jones, and Philip Graham Ryken. Thank you for listening today. Join us again next time for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.