Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Announcer (Male): The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals presents the timeless teaching of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: When I was a boy, I was taught right out of the Sunday School literature that we were the men who were seeking things of great value, or at least we should be. When we find true faith and hope in God, we should give up everything that we have in order to attain to salvation. When we find Christ, we'll know Him as the pearl of great price and must be willing to give up everything that we have in order to secure Him for our own.

Now, this idea contradicts almost everything that is taught in Scripture about salvation. In the first place, salvation and Christ are neither lost in a field or put up for sale. God does not possess something which He is willing to sell to us. While we were yet helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Furthermore, man does no seeking. The Scripture is final on this point. We read in Romans 3, "None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one."

Announcer (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 will be featuring on today's edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is entitled "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 2." Dr. Barnhouse considered the parables of the leaven, found in Matthew chapter 13, as a key understanding to the entire New Testament. When he was a boy, he was taught that the leaven represented the gospel as it spread throughout the world. In today's study, Dr. Barnhouse points out the difficulties with this interpretation and reveals surprising insights from this parable about the characteristics of the Kingdom of God.

The scripture text for this edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible: Romans chapter 14 and verse 17. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse with a message entitled, "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 2."

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto Thee, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. We worship Thee and acknowledge that Thou art our God and that there is none like Thee. Thou alone art God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and there is none other. In this hour, we ask Thee that Thou wilt do Thy work in our hearts. Prepare the speaker for speaking and prepare the listeners for listening. Give grace to us and whatever our need, supply it as Thou dost measure the need. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

We continue our study in the Kingdom of God. Many years ago, when I first became pastor of the church which I still serve in Philadelphia, I was on the committee of the Philadelphia Presbytery for the examination of candidates for the ministry. It fell to me to give the examinations in Greek. In the oral test, the young men were first examined on the questions that had been given them in what is known as the parts of trial, and then there was a time for free questioning.

I always handed the candidate a Greek New Testament and asked him to translate aloud a few verses in the 13th of Matthew, including the third and fourth parables in that series of seven parables. When the student finished, I asked him to explain the passage. This was not a required part of the examination, but it intrigued my mind as it always does to know how a man explains the parable of the leaven. For I am persuaded that a man's understanding of the New Testament may be rated by his understanding of the Gospel of Matthew.

His understanding of Matthew by his understanding of the 13th chapter, and of the 13th chapter by his understanding of the 33rd verse: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all leavened."

When I was a small boy, they taught me out of the Sunday School literature that the leaven was the Gospel and that the Lord had planted it in this horrible world, but that little by little the Gospel was leavening the world and making it better and better until after a while it would be all good. They told us about the progress of missions in the world and how fast we were making America fully Christian. They said we would have a saloon-less nation by 1920.

David Starr Jordan, president of Stanford University, said that he could see as in a vision the United States Navy dismantled as an instrument of war, but going out to Africa and the other dark places of the world, carrying doctors, nurses, and teachers in order to bring the world to full enlightenment and to end the plagues of the festering places of the earth. The ink was hardly dry on the papers that carried his statements before World War I began.

At approximately this same time, William Jennings Bryan was Secretary of State. He had a sword, a Mexican War trophy, melted down and turned into little plowshares, with Isaiah 2:4 engraved on them, which he handed out to diplomats. Bryan did not know that before the swords would be beaten into plowshares, there would be a time, as we read in the book of Joel, when plowshares would be beaten into swords.

The inherent error of such an interpretation is that it contradicts Christ's own explanation of the parables of the sower and the wheat and the tares. If the world is to be leavened by the Gospel, we must rewrite the parable of the wheat and tares so that it reads something like this: A householder came to a large field of weeds and planted a few grains of wheat in the field. The wheat grew up, and as it grew, the wind rubbed it against the weeds and they turned into wheat, and this same action continued until by the time of harvest there was nothing left in the field but wheat.

Someone interjects, "But if you believe that leaven is corrupting influence at work in the world, you make the Kingdom of Heaven something that is evil." To this, I boldly answer, "The Kingdom of Heaven in its mystery form has evil in it, just as the great Kingdom of God has within it the Kingdom of Satan."

But to understand this parable, we must realize that it does not teach that the Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven. It teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is like the process in which a woman takes leaven and mixes it in three measures of wheat till it was all leavened. Or it could be stated, the Kingdom of Heaven is like three measures of meal into which a woman mixed leaven until it was all leavened.

When this is understood, it's possible to interpret the parable without contradicting Christ and making Him the author of nonsense. If we make a careful study of the word "leaven" in the Old Testament, we discover that the words leaven, leavened, and unleavened occur in 22 verses. In 20 of these, there is no question that leaven is a symbol of evil.

The Jews searched their houses before Passover and cleaned them thoroughly because they were ordered by God to put away all leaven out of their houses. In the sacrifices, there was a strict commandment against offering anything to God that contained leaven. The one instance in which leaven was commanded was in the sacrifice for the Feast of the 50 Days, which foreshadowed the Feast of Pentecost.

The Greek word for 50 days is Pentecost, and this feast was the beginning of the age of the Church, which, as is everywhere evident in Scripture and history, is fully permeated by evil mixtures introduced by man. It should also be noted in passing that when civil war came at the death of Solomon and the Northern Kingdom was established, the false priests of the North cooperated with the king to build substitute altars for Jerusalem.

Bethel and Gilgal were the places chosen, and the people went up there in defiance of God's command not to offer a sacrifice in any spot other than Jerusalem. To make it worse, these sacrifices were offered with that which was leavened. With utmost irony, the Lord invites these people to "Come and sin." The words are these: "Come to Bethel and transgress, to Gilgal and multiply transgressions." It must be read with this tone of sarcasm. "Bring your sacrifices every morning. Offer a sacrifice with that which is leavened. It is just like you, O Israel."

Now, in the light of all this, to make leaven a symbol of the Gospel permeating and purifying an evil world would be as out of place as if the Lord had used the word fornication to symbolize purity, or the word thievery for honor. There is no such juggling of words in Scripture. In defense against this argument, one interpreter stated that the lion is both a symbol of Satan as a roaring lion, and a symbol of Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

But surely, what is in view in these figures is not the lion as a lion, but his ravening qualities in one instance and his kingly qualities in the other. I'm convinced that in this parable, the Lord was teaching the theological history of the past 19 centuries. He was pointing out that false teachers would introduce false doctrines which would permeate all Christianity.

It is significant that Christendom is divided into three great historical branches: the Eastern and Western Churches and Protestantism. Are these not the three measures of meal? Is not the Lord stating that false doctrine and false practice would be introduced into the Church during the course of history? And does not the history of theology show this great decline in spiritual fruit?

Just as the parable of the mustard seed shows that the Church would be corrupt in organization, so that of the leaven shows that the Church would become corrupt in doctrine. It would be easy to make a long list, but we have only to recall the Arian movement in the early centuries, which denied the Trinity, and note its many modern imitations. We have seen the rise of clericalism, false doctrine of the sacraments, prayers for the dead, the introduction of liturgy, prayers to saints, arithmetricks, and the whole concept of the Church as an earthly body with power and prestige instead of the simple, humble, persecuted band of believers who were ready to die for their faith and who often did become martyrs.

Surely, we must admit that history bears out the prophecy of this parable. But before leaving this, we should also introduce the note that if anyone says, "All right, then, let's leave it all, let's go out and start a pure church," this cannot be done. That's the teaching of all these parables, that it's not our business to judge, that we are not to try to separate with brethren, and that we are to understand that our place is to live where God has placed us in the midst of all this confusion, and that we live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, waiting for the Lord to come and to do the separating by His angels.

One other item in the parable should be noted. The one who introduces the false doctrine is a woman. We must not overlook the word of the risen Lord to the messenger of the Church in Thyatira, as we read in Revelation 2: "The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze, 'I know your works, your love and your faith and your service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and beguiling My servants to practice immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her immorality. Behold, I will throw her on a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her doings. And I will strike her children dead. And all the churches shall know that I am He who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve.'"

These solemn words remind us of our Lord's warning in the Gospels, "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." After telling the parable of the leaven, Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. From this point, His parables take on a different tone. The truth becomes much more intimate. Out by the sea, He spoke of the visible aspects of the Kingdom in its mystery form, the whole of Church history as the outside world may see it.

He now speaks of inner phases of this period. First, He explains the parable of the wheat and the tares. The Lord did not give this teaching to the crowd, but reserved it for the disciples. The crowd could not understand that the Devil would plant imitation wheat in the field alongside the Lord's own planting. This can be discovered only with the eyes of the Spirit. The average worldling takes offense when the children of the Kingdom speak of the tares as children of the wicked one.

When a faithful minister of the Word of God speaks truth that classifies some group as heretics or non-Christians, they cry out, "But didn't Christ say, 'Judge not that ye be not judged?'" Christ meant that we are never to judge others in matters of life and actions, for we do not know the stresses and the motives which animate another individual. But just as surely, He commanded us to judge in all matters of doctrine concerning the person and the work of Christ.

For here we have a sure and perfect straightedge, the Word of God, by which we may gauge any deviation, indeed by which we must judge. To one of the seven churches, the Lord gave praise because they had challenged the teaching of false apostles and found them to be guilty. "I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men, but have tried those who call themselves apostles, but are not, and found them to be liars."

But again, I warn that we're not to judge and separate on simple matters of differences of practice, but reserve this to the great, great judgments against those who deny that Jesus Christ is God and that salvation is by the blood. The next two parables are so similar and have such important likenesses, and yet one such important difference, that I propose to take them together.

We read, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Again, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Let us look first at the similarities.

In both parables, there is a man, in one case identified as a merchant. Both men found something of great value. One found a treasure, hidden in a field; the other found a pearl of great price. Both men desired what they had found. Each sold all that he had in order to buy the thing of value. Under Jewish law, the ownership of the field gave title to the treasure.

Under the rules of merchandising, the merchant must raise the price of the pearl, which he did by selling all that he had. In the end, each buyer had the thing of value which he desired. When I was a boy, I was taught right out of the Sunday School literature that we were the men who were seeking things of great value, or at least we should be. When we find true faith and hope in God, we should give up everything that we have in order to attain to salvation.

When we find Christ, we'll know Him as the pearl of great price and must be willing to give up everything that we have in order to secure Him for our own. Now, this idea contradicts almost everything that is taught in Scripture about salvation. In the first place, salvation and Christ are neither lost in a field or put up for sale. God does not possess something which He is willing to sell to us.

While we were yet helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Furthermore, man does no seeking. The Scripture is final on this point. We read in Romans 3, "None is righteous, no, not one. No one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong. No one does good, not even one."

Sin caused Adam to run away from God. God sought the hiding sinner. And surely, if Christ were the treasure, He was never hid, and if we find Him, we're not to hide Him again. But turn this parable right side up, and the truth immediately flashes forth. Christ is the man who found the treasure hid in the field. Christ is the merchant, seeking fine pearls.

He came to the earth for the purpose of redeeming us. He had one chosen people, the children of Israel. When He came, they were hidden in the world and unacknowledged by the authorities that ruled the Roman Empire. Christ also had another chosen people, the true Church, that was to be taken out of every kingdom, tongue, tribe, and nation. We, the true Church, are the pearl of great price. And by the true Church, I do not mean any organization, but I mean the invisible body of Jesus Christ, composed of all who have been made alive in Him.

The only difference between the two parables is that the treasure was hidden and that when found, it was hidden again. And what beauty can be found in the fact that our Lord sold all that He had to buy the field, all that He had to buy the pearl of great price. Could anything better describe the truth of the Philippian letter: "Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross."

Truly He sold all that He had. It was love that drew Him to make this sacrifice. He wanted Israel, His treasure. He wanted the Church, His bride, the pearl of great price. How this explains the great verse which says that, "For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame." The joy of having nails driven through His hands and feet? Oh no, the joy of buying the treasure and the pearl. The joy of purchasing me, you, at the cost of His own life.

And how this illuminates a great verse in the 53rd of Isaiah: "It was the will of the Lord to bruise Him. He has put Him to grief. When thou makest His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His offspring. He shall see the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied." Travail, this means the pangs of childbirth. Can there be satisfaction in this? Ask any mother who has brought forth a beloved child. Oh, Savior Christ, was there satisfaction in the pangs which Thou didst suffer upon the cross? And He looks at the treasure and the pearl which He purchased by these sufferings. And Jesus says, "I am satisfied."

And our God and Father, we worship Thee for such love, and we acknowledge that Thou art our Lord. Love so amazing, so divine demands soul, life, all. Bless in this hour, we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Announcer (Male): From the time of the apostles until today, false doctrine has spread throughout Christendom. We must ever be on our guard and test every teaching against the sure Word of God. We hope you have benefited from today's message entitled "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 2." To listen to additional Bible teaching by Dr. Barnhouse, visit 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 "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 2," or simply request message number R14-33.

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Request your free copy of "How God Saves Men" 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.

We also produce 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 complete list of radio stations carrying our programs, visit our website at alliancenet.org. Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is on the air because of generous gifts from 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.

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