Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

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

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Today those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are filled and satisfied. This is true because Christ is dwelling in our hearts by faith. And since He is our righteousness and we are possessed by Him, how can we be otherwise than fully satisfied?

Today the merciful obtain mercy. This does not mean that Christians may not be martyred in Russia or China or Colombia, but it does mean that the Lord Almighty sees the heart and knows those who, because of Christ, have received the forgiving spirit and His grace covers them and forgives them in all their needs.

Today the pure in heart see God. The Lord dwells in our hearts, and in the measure that we allow Him to fill our being, He makes His presence known to us. Today the peacemakers are the sons of God. We are not talking about the flitting peace of the armistice makers who change the pace of war from hot to cold, but rather the peace that God makes in the souls of men and which we have the privilege of spreading as we give our witness for Christ.

Guest (Male): God's word is good for godly gain to teach, rebuke, correct, and train; equipped by Him, we then pursue the work God has for us to do. God's word is the Christian means to grow in grace and do good deeds.

Guest (Male): Over a half-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 "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 3." "I've Got a Secret" was a popular television gameshow for many years in which panelists tried to guess the contestant's secret. The Lord has many secrets about the kingdom of God, and we do not need to guess about them because He has revealed these mysteries in several of His parables.

But misinterpretation, inconsistent Bible exposition, and contradictory teachings about these parables have cast confusion and obscured their true meaning. Stay with us as we examine these parables and unlock the secrets 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 3."

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto thee, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. Open our eyes that we may behold wonderful things out of thy word. We pray thee today for all who are in need: the prisoners in many lands, the distressed populations under dictatorship's iron heel, for Christians who suffer for the name of their Savior.

We pray thee for the distressed, the sad, the defeated, the bereaved. Help each one to realize that there is a full solution to all problems to be found in Jesus Christ, and be to us in this hour all that we need for studying thy word together. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

We continue our study today in the kingdom of God. The last of the parables of the kingdom in mystery properly has to do with the climax of the age in which we live. The Lord gave these seven parables to outline the history of our age, which has been going on for more than 1900 years.

This has been a seed-sowing age in which good wheat and imitation wheat have been mixed together and will be until the end. The organization grew abnormally from a shrub to a tree, and false doctrine permeated all Christendom. But the Lord has His own in the world. He is preserving Israel for the future use and triumph, and He is taking out a people from all the nations of the world, the church, stamped as His very own. When all this is achieved, the end will come.

This end is now set forth in the parable of the dragnet. A dragnet is different from a seine which is drawn through the water and permits fish to swim underneath it. The dragnet scrapes the bottom of the fishing grounds, and nothing can escape it. It is a solemn thought that every believer will have to deal with the Lord Jesus Christ. None can escape facing Him.

This fact is taught throughout the Bible. In Acts 4:12, we read, "For there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." Not only does the Bible teach that Christ is the only way to approach God the Father, but it also teaches that those who approach Him with faith in the redemptive work of the cross will be saved, and those who do not own Him as their Savior must inevitably meet Him as their judge.

This truth is taught in terrifying passages in the Bible, one in the last book in the Old Testament, the other in the last book of the New Testament. In Malachi, there is a stern warning to the priests whose daily occupation included preparation and the killing of lambs for sacrifice.

The figures are very terrible. In fact, the one in Malachi, the second chapter, is so terrible that we hardly dare use it. You'll have to read it for yourself. Now, this terrible figure of speech is that because the priests did not put their trust in the blood of the lamb, they would have to deal with God in terrible judgment and that they would be thrown away with what remained.

It was the equivalent of saying that if a man rejects the free and full redemption provided by Christ in His death, he must suffer the judgment that God meets out in full righteousness on the grounds that Christ has died. The death of Jesus Christ is the means of blessing and salvation for the saved and the basis and the grounds of condemnation for those who refuse the love of God in Christ.

In the last book of the Bible, there is a similar parable in an action. When the Lamb, the Lord Jesus Christ, opened the seventh seal, an angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne. And the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God.

Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. And there were peals of thunder, loud noises, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. It is inexpressibly solemn to note that the great judgment of the tribulation falls upon earth in the form of a censer full of coal from the altar that has been mingled with incense as worship before God.

The altar is always the symbol of the death of Jesus Christ. Here God is saying that blessing and salvation come from the death of the Lamb of God, and the judgments which God must cast upon man will come from the fire of that same altar. It is the Lamb or the fire. Every man must face it.

The combination of these two pictures from the last books of the two Testaments gives us a definite ground for the biblical teaching. You must be cleansed by the death of Christ or go through the judgment that comes from the cross of Christ. You must have the Lamb of the altar or the fire from the altar.

The dragnet of God will allow none to escape. Whether men will or not, they are under the government of God. The skeptic or agnostic who turns his radio off and refuses to listen to the gospel of the grace of God is strictly accountable to God and will give a full accounting to Him in the future day.

This parable of the dragnet does not mention the fishermen. The witness for Christ is set forth in the parable of the sower. Here, however, are only separation and judgment. The parable includes the phrase, "When the net was full, men drew it ashore." When will this fullness come to pass? Here is a point on which we are not allowed to answer.

Not only do we not know the day, the hour, the time, or the season of our Lord's return, but we are commanded not to set dates. When Christ was upon earth in the days of His humiliation, He Himself did not know the date of His second coming, for He said, "But of that day or hour knoweth none, no not an angel in heaven or even the Son, but the Father."

This fullness of time is coming; of that we may be certain. One of the most solemn studies in the Bible is that of the word "until." We look at the world and the seemingly normal course of nature and events, but everywhere the Bible teaches us that there will be a climax, a change, the divine intervention of God, a great overturning, and the establishment of a new type of life and a new mode of existence.

When Christ ascended into heaven, the Father met Him with the greeting, "Sit at my right hand till I make thine enemies a stool for thy feet." And since then, He has revealed many of these changes that are to take place, announcing that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The history of Israel is understood in this word. A hardening has come upon part of Israel until the full number of the Gentiles come in, and so all Israel living at that time shall be saved. Oh, how many exhortations include this thought: Occupy till I come. Hold fast till I come. Judge nothing until the Lord come.

That's a solemn word. Oh, how this slashes across the practices of some Christians who believe that it is their right to try and have a perfect church on earth and who force separation between believers on grounds that God never permits in His word. Judge nothing until the Lord come. And whenever we sit at the Lord's table to take the bread and wine of the memorial feast, we cry, "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, you show the Lord's death till He come."

Oh, thank God the day is coming when the dragnet will be pulled to shore. Thank God that the separation will take place. The good, those in whom Christ has been made wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, will be gathered to the Lord. The bad, those who have not been born again, even though righteous by the world's standard, shall be cast away.

The Lord did not interpret the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth parables. And we have seen their meaning in the light of that which had been previously given. But now He interprets: At the end of the age, the angels shall come out and separate the evil from the righteous. How important it is to understand what constitutes evil in the sight of the Lord.

Perhaps I can illustrate this by a story. When I was a boy, I made a mistake in memorizing a certain verse from the Bible. I memorized Hebrews 7:25 as though it read, "Wherefore he is able to save from the uttermost them who come unto God by him, seeing that he ever lives to make intercession for them." I thought the verse referred to the depths of degradation from which God could save a vile man.

Years passed, and I heard Mel Trotter preach. He had been a drunkard and an outcast. When his little child was very sick, his wife gave him money to buy medicine, but he spent the money for liquor and the child died. Trotter was so drunk that he could not attend the funeral. Later, he was marvelously saved in the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago. He told of this and said, "God is able to save from the guttermost to the uttermost."

I listened, did a double take, and looked up the verse. Sure enough, it said that God was able to save to the uttermost. But what Trotter said was true: God is able to save from the guttermost. Talking this over with my wife after I had used this illustration one day, she remarked, "But the gutters that are dirty in the streets are not the only gutters. There are gutters high up on the roofs of houses, and they must be cleaned out also."

Oh, how true this is. Evil in the sight of God may have a high altitude as well as a low altitude. In fact, the greatest moral wrong is in the moral man. The man who is honest and morally upright without Christ is the greatest enemy of God, for he gives the impression that his life is successful because of his good deeds and his honest ways.

This is a delusion, and when the dragnet is brought in, the moral man will be seen to be evil and not good and will be cast away because his morality stems from his own life instead of from the life of Christ in him through regeneration. The next point in Christ's explanation of the parable is that the wicked will be thrown into a furnace of fire.

We have no right to bypass this important truth. We must not forget that the doctrine of eternal punishment is not primarily an Old Testament doctrine, nor does it come to us from the Pauline epistles. The doctrine of the lake of fire comes to us from the lips of the gentle Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is not the place here to discuss the nature of eternal punishment.

The most terrible thing about it is that it will be in outer darkness, in separation from the presence of God. But that is where those who do not love the Lord really want to be. We remember that the Lord said, "How often would I have gathered thee to my bosom as a hen gathereth her chicks, but ye would not." And on that sad note, we leave this fearsome mystery.

When Christ had finished these seven parables of the kingdom, He said, "Have you understood all this?" They said to Him, "Yes." It is hard to understand this arrogance and ignorance except on the grounds of the high pride which characterizes the human race. They certainly had not understood Him.

And the proof is in the fact that after His resurrection, as they were walking with Him to the Mount of Olives where He was about to ascend to heaven, they asked Him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" The more we know the Bible, the better we understand that we do not know it.

I read recently that mathematics is now so complicated and such a vast amount of knowledge has been discovered in this field that it would be easier for a man to learn the grammar of all the languages of the world, 2000 of them, than to learn all that there is in mathematics. But I believe that there's even more to be learned in the word of God.

As we bow over its pages, we must always have as our motto the words of the Holy Spirit to the Corinthian believers: "If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know." Christ completed His lesson on these parables by saying, "Every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old."

How important this is. It takes us back to the key verse of this chapter: "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." The scribe who is trained has this great treasure of the word of God. Out of this treasure, we must bring forth what is new and what is old.

That which is new is the secret aspect of the kingdom, unknown before the moment that Christ revealed it. That which is old is what was revealed in the Old Testament, namely all the truth about the kingdom of God that was covenanted to David in its historic aspects, but especially in its prophetic aspect.

At this stage in our study, it remains to be remarked that many passages which speak of the Lord's spiritual kingdom at the present time also look forward to the complete flowering of that kingdom at His coming. When the Lord said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," He was talking about the spiritual kingdom into which we enter by being born again.

But He was also looking forward to that time when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of the Father. All of the beatitudes have this double application. Out of this treasure, we can bring truths that are both new and old. In the Old Testament, it was not known that the poor in spirit would possess the kingdom.

In the Old Testament, the mourners were rarely comforted. The meek inherited nothing. Those who hungered and thirsted after righteousness were not satisfied. The merciful did not always obtain mercy. The pure in heart did not see God. The peacemakers were not called sons of God. Those who were persecuted for righteousness' sake did not always understand what was happening to them.

The reason for this great difference is that the believers of the Old Testament times did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them as we have Him dwelling in our hearts today. The Lord taught His disciples this amazing difference in the upper room, the night in which He was betrayed. "I will pray the Father," He said, "and He will give you another counselor to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you."

But now what new riches the householder can bring out of his treasure. The promises are not pie in the sky by and by, but are for us here and now because of the spiritual kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, these things shall be ours in the future more than they are at present, but the important thing for us while we are in this life is that we have the assurance of the present possession and continuance of God's spiritual blessings here and now.

Spiritual kingdom truth for us right now is that the man who is poor in spirit is the present possessor of all the joys of that kingdom. To be poor in spirit means the opposite of being rich in pride. It means to stand low before God and accept His verdict about our sin and His verdict about His delight in Christ.

Today those who are in Christ are comforted when they mourn. We sorrow not as others who have no hope when death comes into our circle. The Holy Spirit is with us as our comforter. Today the meek inherit the earth. We must understand who the meek are and what meekness is and what it means to inherit the earth.

This is not a guarantee of title deeds to oil wells. Nor must we think that the meek are the timid and the backward. The meekest man who ever lived, God says, was Moses. His meekness did not stop him from marching into the presence of Pharaoh and crying with full confidence, "Thus saith the Lord: let my people go."

This is meekness. He had been so low before God that he could stand high before the mightiest ruler of his day. Paul knew what this meant when he spoke of having nothing, yet possessing all things. Today those who hunger and thirst after righteousness are filled and satisfied.

This is true because Christ is dwelling in our hearts by faith. And since He is our righteousness and we are possessed by Him, how can we be otherwise than fully satisfied? Today the merciful obtain mercy. This does not mean that Christians may not be martyred in Russia or China or Colombia, but it does mean that the Lord Almighty sees the heart and knows those who, because of Christ, have received the forgiving spirit and His grace covers them and forgives them in all their needs.

Today the pure in heart see God. The Lord dwells in our hearts, and in the measure that we allow Him to fill our being, He makes His presence known to us. Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Today the peacemakers are the sons of God. We are not talking about the flitting peace of the armistice makers who change the pace of war from hot to cold, but rather the peace that God makes in the souls of men and which we have the privilege of spreading as we give our witness for Christ.

Today those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake know the joy of the presence of Christ in a special way. And already theirs is the kingdom of heaven in present possession and in anticipation. Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. And our God and Father, we ask thee to bless the truth to each heart in this hour through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Guest (Male): When we prayerfully and carefully examine the parables of Christ in light of the entire word of God, we can receive profound spiritual insights into the secrets and mysteries of His kingdom. We hope you have benefited from today's message entitled "The Parables: Secrets Revealed, Part 3."

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 3," or simply request message number R14-34.

We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our booklet entitled "How God Saves Men." A Latin poet once said that there were as many opinions as there were men. You can find a wide variety of ideas about salvation even among Christians. This free booklet clears up the confusion by setting forth God's word about how He saves people.

You will understand God's grace, love, and power in salvation as you read about God's part in salvation: faith and God's workmanship in your life. 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. For more information or to make a contribution to help further our work, contact us by calling toll-free: 1-800-488-1888.

Write to us at Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103, or visit us online at alliancenet.org. Be sure to request a free resource catalog featuring books, audio teachings, commentaries, booklets, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding reformed teachers and theologians, including Doctors Donald Grey Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Philip Graham Ryken.

Again, our toll-free number: 1-800-488-1888. Thanks for listening today. Join us again next time for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.

Guest (Male): The Bible has commanded words to do God's saving work on earth, which draws our souls from death to life and rescues us from endless strife. Amazing gift, of worth so high, the life-imparting word of God.