Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: You cannot mouth the creed that leaves out righteousness and justice in daily actions. You cannot claim salvation from sin through Jesus Christ and then hold fast to the sin and refuse to walk in the way of righteousness. The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?"

And though there will be those in the day of judgment who will cry out in astonishment because their smugness will be gone, and they will be seen to be what they really are: hypocrites who acted a part but who were not moved by fundamental righteousness. The Lord will bring to light truth in every instance that has ever occurred where there has been a conflict between right and wrong.

Let's face it: God will not be trifled with. If we accept His salvation, it must be manifest in our lives. We must hate that which is evil. We must love and hold fast to that which is good. He will not have it any other way.

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 "Goodness in Action." In football, an elusive running back can make the other team's defense look foolish as he constantly slips from their grasp. The defense must pursue the runner, lay a hold of him, and tenaciously hold fast until they tackle him. In the Christian life, genuine goodness can be very elusive and difficult to maintain.

We must learn to continually reject sin and evil and cling tenaciously to what is good in order to grow in our relationship with the Lord. Do you put love and goodness in action as a committed disciple of Jesus Christ? The Scripture text for this edition of *Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible* is Romans chapter 12 and verse 9. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse with a message entitled "Goodness in Action."

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto You, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. We thank You for all the gifts of Your love: daily provision for health and strength, food, clothing, and shelter, and for the privileges of freedom, for continuing peace, and above all, for the salvation that You have given us through our Savior, Christ the Lord.

In this hour, we pray that You will speak to the center of heart and will and that we shall grow in grace and in our knowledge of You and Your ways. All these things we ask in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text in Romans 12:9 is "Hold fast to what is good." In our last study, we looked at the command of God which states that we are to hate that which is evil. And we discussed many of the verses in the Bible where we're told that God hates evil things and that He must ultimately hate evil people if they hold to their evil ways. The text which follows turns this truth around and gives us the positive command to hold fast to what is good.

Many of us are familiar with the anecdote that is often told to illustrate the taciturnity of former President Coolidge. Returning from church one Sunday, he was asked what the preacher had talked about. Coolidge answered with the one word: "Sin." When he was further asked what the preacher had to say about it, Coolidge replied, "He was agin it."

Now, if we're to be like God, we must be against sin. But if we're to be like God, we must love righteousness positively and to hold it fast. Some might wish to say that this is obvious and needs no discussion, but the very presence of this text in the Bible is revealing in itself. It shows us that there's a tendency in all of life to allow the good to slip away from us. We must hold it fast.

The half-world of the mediocre has many inhabitants. The dim path of compromise is well-traveled. The lazy world of taking things as they are and of being satisfied with the status quo holds great attraction for multitudes of people. The foggy atmosphere of half-truth obscures the landscape and causes all too many to go off the road.

The old proverb which reminds us that the good is the enemy of the best must be supplemented by the truth that the lazy compromise with the mediocre is the enemy of the good. Now, let us apply this principle in three ways: to the Christian's attitude and life in connection with civil government, to the church, and to our own individual lives.

Too often, there are masses of people who let honesty in politics go by default. The bad people are always registered and always vote. The good people often do not take the trouble to register, and when they are registered, they allow little things to keep them away from the polls. But where an aroused citizenry obeys the command of God to hold fast to that which is good, there will be an immediate decrease in crime and an immediate increase in good order.

In the United States, it is well-attested that multitudes of people are against the law rather than for it. The sympathy of the crowd is too often with the arrested man rather than with the policeman. I lived in Europe for many years, and in England especially, and in Canada also on our side of the water, the situation is the opposite. I lived abroad, I say, for many years, and I adopted what I believe is the Christian attitude towards the law.

Shortly after returning to this country many years ago, I had occasion to be in one of the large cities in the western part of the United States. I was in my car, parked by the sidewalk, when I witnessed an accident just a few yards away. A car wove crazily in the traffic and smashed into another car. I got out and watched the driver, obviously drunk, being pushed out of his seat by a companion who took the wheel and awaited the arrival of a policeman.

The pseudo-driver began to complain bitterly to the policeman that the wrecked car had been at fault. I immediately spoke out. I showed where I'd been seated and how the exchange of drivers had taken place, and I pointed to the drunken man who had been at fault. There was a growl from the crowd that had gathered. Why was I interfering?

I said loudly enough to be heard, "There's a matter of right and wrong here. This good driver is being accused of bad driving while the fault definitely belongs to this drunk. I was not 20 feet away when he was removed from the wheel, and this other man took his place. And if this man attempts to go into court and perjure himself, swearing that he was the driver, I'll come from Philadelphia to testify against him. And I will identify this drunken driver by this scar on his cheek."

The policeman took my card, and I gave my name and address to the innocent victim. As I returned to my own car, there were bystanders who cursed me under their breath with terrible oaths. I don't know why they were against the law. Perhaps they figured that the blow which would fall on the innocent driver would be less than that which might fall on the drunk. Perhaps they knew the drunk personally. I don't know.

But whatever the cause of their evil, they were violating every principle of righteousness, human or divine. And they were failing to hold fast to that which is good. They were willing to be the friends of perjury, the friends of wrong to an innocent man. They were not willing to stand for truth and honesty and right. Now, let us examine this incident a little more closely.

There are many who would say that the best thing to do in such an incident would be to keep still. The world says callously, "Don't be a sucker. Don't stick your neck out." But a Christian may not take such an attitude. A Christian must be willing to suffer for righteousness' sake. A Christian must be willing to stand up and be counted wherever there is a moral issue.

A Christian must be willing to lose two or three days' pay in order to go into court and testify on the side of truth. A Christian must be willing to take the sneers of the world of evil which will not look well on those who will stand for righteousness without regard to the cost. Now, this same principle should pervade all of our public dealings.

There is a time when it may well be counted as a great honor to have your home dynamited because you have been willing to hold fast to that which is good. There can be no compromise in such matters as these. You cannot mouth the creed that leaves out righteousness and justice in daily actions. You cannot claim salvation from sin through Jesus Christ and then hold fast to the sin and refuse to walk in the way of righteousness.

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you?" And though there will be those in the day of judgment who will cry out in astonishment because their smugness will be gone and they will be seen to be what they really are: hypocrites who acted a part but who were not moved by fundamental righteousness. The Lord will bring to light truth in every instance that has ever occurred where there has been a conflict between right and wrong.

They did not hold fast to that which was really good, and they will be judged. On two different occasions, the Bible records that Jesus Christ spoke out against such hypocrites and announced their doom. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said, "On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?' And then Jesus said, 'I will declare unto them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.'"

On another occasion, Jesus went on His way through the towns and villages teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem. And someone said to Him, "Lord, will those who are saved be few?" And Jesus said to them, "Strive to enter in by the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter in and will not be able. When once the householder has risen up and shut the door, you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, open to us.' And he will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'

Then you will begin to say, 'Why, we ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.' But he will say, 'I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.' And then Jesus continues, 'There you will weep and gnash your teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.'"

Let's face it: God will not be trifled with. If we accept His salvation, it must be manifest in our lives. We must hate that which is evil. We must love and hold fast to that which is good. He will not have it any other way. Now, having applied these principles to our relationships to law and order, let us apply this principle to the life of our churches.

Our text tells us that we're to hold fast to that which is good. Most certainly this means that the quality of our fellowship one with another must be that of love and that we must work in righteousness and goodness toward one another. The church must not become a social club but a place of worship towards God, love towards one another, and the free offer of the gospel to those who are outside and who do not know Christ, together with a willingness to face every need and sacrifice for the good that we proclaim and that we are seeking to live.

If we are to hold fast to that which is good in our church life, there must be a definite cleaving to the Word of God. A church must govern itself through good men, led by the Holy Spirit. Elders, deacons, stewards, or whatever title may be given to those who have the spiritual direction in any congregation should be chosen in accordance with the principles laid down in the Word of God.

Such a man should be, as the Bible states in 1 Timothy 3, "above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, dignified, hospitable, an apt teacher, no drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, and no lover of money. He must manage his own household well, keeping his children submissive and respectful in every way. For if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for God's church?

He must not be a recent convert, or he may be puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, or he may fall into reproach and the snare of the devil." Now, this is the great principle laid down in 1 Timothy 3, and what a difference it would make in all of our churches if when we had the elections for elders, deacons, and other officials of the church, we followed these principles.

And if this is to be the standard for those who are the laymen who govern the church, how much more must these be the standards for those who are ministers? For they indeed must be godly men. If we're to hold fast that which is good within the church, there must be no domineering. No man in a place of religious authority should ever seek power over the soul of another person. All authority must be spiritual, and every moving of the mind and heart of another must be in purity and by the impulsion of the Holy Spirit.

All efforts should be for the glory of God and not for the glory of a denomination or of the church in itself. I would suggest to any who are in such a position of authority that they should think deeply on the passages which state that they should not lord it over those in their charge but to be examples to the flock. And above all, a man who's to be a leader in the church must not be sanctimonious.

When God saves us, He gives us the righteousness of Christ, and we must not cover it over as though we had a pretended piety. But we must allow it to act deeply in our lives so that everyone who knows us shall know that what we are living is reality. If we cleave to that which is good, will we not desire biblical principles in church government?

If so, will this not lead us to the smallness of New Testament congregations where the church shall be a fellowship of groups that know, love, and sustain each other in all spiritual growth? Incidentally, I have just read a report from godly men in Australia who have been allowed to visit Red China. The evidence is overwhelming that there is a real revival of Christian truth inside mainland China and that there are perhaps twice as many true believers in Christ in that poor land today than there were even five years ago.

And the church in China is growing in a New Testament way. There is no multiplication of buildings, committees, or organization, but a multiplication of groups meeting in homes to worship God through Christ, to sing His praises, and to break bread and drink the wine of the communion service in holy simplicity. Now, I know the men who have made this visit and who have brought back this report, and I know some of the men in China with whom they've been in contact.

And I'm gladly forced to believe that their report is true. I do not seek to explain this phenomenon except that it is the work of the Holy Spirit. But the facts are there. Perhaps God is allowing this to happen so that we Christians of the Western world may see the folly of ecclesiastical organizational methods which we have followed and may learn to hold fast to that which is good, turning again to the simple methods of the New Testament.

Oh, this will be difficult because one of the laws of all history is that every power has the tendency to enlarge its own circle of control. May God give us men in church leadership who will hold fast to that which is good, returning to the early purity of the Word of God. Finally, let us consider our text in relationship to our homes and our own personal lives. We're to hold fast to that which is good. This means that we'll hate every form of evil and that we shall seek to increase our love for all things that are good.

This means that husbands and wives shall love each other and shall strengthen the ties that bind them and their children to each other and to the Lord. The father is responsible for the good order of the household and, together with the mother, must set the tone of all that comes into the home. This means, for example, that television is not to be used as a cheap babysitter to the fouling of the minds of the children.

Any parent who has ever walked down the street with a small child knows that by nature, the curiosity of the child is so organized that he'll attempt to put his foot in every puddle and to kick at every bit of filth that any dog has left in the way. The parent will watch the path and see to it that the child does not get his shoes dirtied in such filth. And yet, parents who are careful about the shoes of their children, perhaps because they'd have to clean them, will allow all of the dogs of television to bring their moral filth into the living rooms of our homes and to foul the minds of the children.

Now, this is flat disobedience of the command of God: "Hold fast to that which is good." Now, if we're to hold fast to that which is good, we must build a higher standard of culture as well as a higher standard of faith. It will be good to have record players in our homes where we can listen to good music.

We can build the minds of our children if we let them go to sleep at night with the strains of the great masters playing in another room. We can see to it that there are good books around the house and that they are read. A child is always imitative, and if he sees mother and father occupied with reading something that's good, he will turn naturally to good reading. There are classics in literature which are the heritage of our civilization. We must hold them fast.

Happy the family that can sit around while father or mother reads aloud some of the great and majestic tales of our literature. And all of this life in the home must be centered, of course, in the Word of God, the Bible. If there is not family worship, a home can scarcely be called a Christian home. It is the duty of the father to see that at least 10 minutes—that's less than 1% of the day—that at least 10 minutes is set apart each day with deepest reverence for family prayer and the reading of the Bible.

If this is done and if each heart is surrendered to the Lord, then home can be heaven on earth, and each member will be aware of the basic foundations in righteousness. And each one will know what it means to hold fast that which is good. And our God and Father, we pray Thee that the Holy Spirit shall take this lesson to each heart and use it to Thy glory. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we ask it. Amen.

Guest (Male): If we want to grow in our relationship with Jesus Christ and live as His disciples, we must demonstrate sincere love, hate what is evil, and tenaciously hold fast to what is good. We hope you have benefited from today's message entitled "Goodness in Action." Listen to additional Bible teaching by Dr. Barnhouse via the internet by visiting us online at alliancenet.org.

An audio copy of today's teaching is available by calling us toll-free: 1-800-488-1888. Today's message again is entitled "Goodness in Action," or simply request message number R12-21. We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our booklet entitled *The Bible Under Attack*. Believers embrace the Holy Scriptures as the very Word of God, but for years, the reliability and trustworthiness of the Bible has been challenged by the enemies of the gospel.

This free five-chapter booklet powerfully reaffirms the inerrancy, infallibility, and authority of God's living Word. Ask for your free copy of *The Bible Under Attack* 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.

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