Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Scholars have bent every effort to explain why Paul included this particular teaching at this point in his epistle. I'm inclined to believe that it is the logical sequence to the previous chapter where the believer has been told that he is not to exercise private vengeance, that God will take care of him.

What more natural than to continue to the next kind of trouble that could come to a believer, that which would rise from contact with the civil government?

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 Who Has Priority.

Many people make a sharp distinction between the sacred and the secular. They consider religion to be simply one facet of their complex, compartmentalized lives. But Jesus Christ will not be relegated to a distant corner of your life. His lordship extends over every area of our lives, and we must acknowledge this fact and surrender ourselves to him.

Does Jesus Christ have the place of priority and preeminence in your life? The scripture text for today's edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible: Romans chapter 13, looking at verses one through three. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse with the message entitled Who Has Priority.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ, we come unto thee, our Father and our God, and in the Holy Spirit. We confess to thee that we live in a nation that honors thee with the lips, while the hearts are mostly far from thee.

May each listener appraise his own relationship with thee, and then live in such a manner that the unthinking world may be brought to the place where thou shalt be honored. Send a real quickening into this nation, and may many hearts be turned to thee. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

We come now in our study of the epistle to the Romans to the third verse of chapter 13. There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

The purpose of the Bible is to reveal to us the being and the person of our God. When we are at one with him, we have peace and joy. When we separate ourselves from him in order to follow our own way, we are on the road to misery. There is no true rightness apart from divine righteousness. Our relationship to the true God must be one that joins to him and follows his way in every phase of life.

The natural man wants to follow his own way and wants no authority outside himself. Because of this, men have created other religions that they are willing to follow because they think themselves still independent. They will even go to the extent of becoming slaves to some other religion or to a system like Communism in order that they may not have to give up their own wrong way for God's one true right way.

I recently read a book on anthropology concerning the religion of some tribes of American Indians. The writer said there is no word in Navajo for religion. Among the Pueblos too, it is inseparable. Religion is inseparable from all the functions of life. Upon it is built the secular social system and the character of the individual. From the Indian point of view, religion is the way of life.

And then the writer says, to us, religion is a distinct phase of life, separate from and often contradictory to our economic and social phases. It is divided into innumerable creeds to which complete devotion is restricted to a professional few, and whose tenets are casually observed by the masses only on Sunday morning.

Well, he is correct in thinking that for many Americans and other nations too, life is separated into two phases. But many more than a few professionals know that Christ enters the life in order to take over all its functions. In fact, the true Christian life is the working of God in the individual to transform him from complete worldliness to the place where Christ controls all his life, so that he who bought us may indeed possess us.

The Christian starts out by being a part of this world and becoming alive through the new birth. Henceforth he is in the world, though his roots have been cut and a new planting has taken place. I have seen a garden that was overrun with weeds. Then small roots of cover plants were set at intervals among the weeds.

After a year, one could see that there was a battle between the weeds and the cover crop. And then the cover crop began to take over. And after a few more years, the weeds were completely crowded out. The Christian life has some resemblance to this process.

We are saved while living in the world that wishes to have everything its own way. Political life comes twisting a verse into a slogan saying, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And this cry is taken up by the investment world, which says, render unto Wall Street the things that are Wall Street's and unto God the things that are God's.

It isn't long before there are many other cries. Render unto society the things that are society's, and render unto art the things that are art's. This process goes on, sniping pieces out of the cloth of life until there is not enough left to make the Christian life. It is even possible to hear some voices saying that we are to render unto the church the things that belong to the church and to God the things that are God's.

At this point, the Holy Spirit must step in and force upon us the perhaps unwanted knowledge that God controls all phases of life. He is to be Lord over our religious life, certainly. But he is also to be Lord over our life in business, politics, and society. Any attempt to remove him from the throne must be seen for what it is: the attempt of Satan to usurp God's throne and the attempt of self to sit there and reign for self.

Christ must be Lord of every part of our lives. This is God's purpose for us and in us. He is getting us ready to share with him all of his power and glory. In order to make us ready, he must work in us to bring every thought into captivity and obedience unto himself. We must learn in our lives to experience that with God which is expressed in a hymn so well known in England.

Search me, O God, my actions try, and let my life appear as seen by thine all-searching eye. To mine, my ways make clear. Search all my thoughts, search all my sin and know my heart, who only canst make known and let the deep, the hidden part to me be fully shown. Throw light into the darkened cell where passion reigns within. Quicken my conscience till it feels the loathsomeness of sin.

Search all my thoughts, the secret springs, the motives that control, the chambers where polluted things hold empire o'er the soul. Search till thy fiery glance has cast its holy light through all, and I by grace am brought at last before thy face to fall. Thus prostrate I shall learn of thee what now I feebly prove: that God alone in Christ can be unutterable love.

Now, it is important for me as the preacher to open my meditation in this way because even in connection with the doctrines involved in our text, I used to be inclined to accept the world's doctrine of splitting life into sections and letting God have the smallest possible part. For many years, I accepted our present text with a stark literalness.

I believed that God wanted each individual Christian to live under the government in which he found himself. If a man had the misfortune to live in Germany while Hitler was in authority, I thought that our text commanded him to be subject to the Nazi government. If a man had the misfortune to be born in Russia, I thought that he had to be subject to the government of the Tsars until the time of the revolution, and then to be subject to the Communist government.

I even applied it to our own history and thought that a colonist should have been subject to England until our revolution took place, and then to be equally subject to our republican government. Now, in one sense, this is all true. But I am now sure that there are tremendous limitations on this interpretation. First, we shall consider the sense in which the text is literally true, and then we shall consider the limitations.

Let us take for our first example a Russian peasant born and living under the Tsars, but of course one who has been spiritually enlightened so that he is alive in Christ. There were tremendous evils under the Tsarist regime. The Mir system, M-I-R, the system whereby they governed the little villages of practical slaves, this Mir system was filled with violent injustices.

But this individual as a believer had to fill his niche in life where he had been placed by the providence of God. If he were told by his masters that he was to do certain work, he was to obey and to do that certain work. If there were injustices involved, he was to accept them without murmuring, suffering as a Christian.

As God said, if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God. Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will do right and entrust their souls to a faithful creator. Now, when the great forces of revolution swept over Russia and brought down the evil Tsarist government to put an equally evil Communist government in its place, the individual had to continue the same obedience to his new masters that he had had for his former masters.

This simple obedience is commanded of the Christian and is to be yielded in matters of working in the fields, on the roads, in the factories, and other places to which the individual might be assigned. The exceptions will be considered later. Now, transfer our thinking to Germany.

An individual living in the generation that saw the transfer of power from the Kaiser's regime to the first wobbling republican government, and then to the government of Hitler, had also to be conformed to the general implications of our text. He was to live as a law-abiding citizen, keeping himself for God and doing whatever work he had to do as unto the Lord.

It was also true that a Christian in these American colonies before 1775 should have lived as a law-abiding citizen, working in his fields or at his trade and doing all things as unto the Lord. This same man after the revolution was over was called upon by the word of God to live that same quiet, law-abiding life under the republic.

The Bible sets forth certain conditions under which an individual Christian must disobey the civil government. First, the Christian is to obey God and not human government in all matters that have to do with the preaching of the gospel. We have this clearly set forth in the book of the Acts. The disciples had been preaching Jesus and the resurrection, and they were arrested for it.

The authorities examined them and the evidence of their miracle power was evident. Privately in council, the authorities decided to warn the disciples against preaching. So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But we read that Peter and John answered them, whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge.

For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. The disciples went right back to preaching the gospel. And as a result, they were arrested and lodged in prison. Then the rulers discovered that they had been delivered from prison by the angels and had them brought quietly for a second trial.

When they had brought them, they set them before the council and the high priest questioned them, saying, we strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and the apostles answered, we must obey God rather than men.

The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God exalted him at his right hand as leader and savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him.

The rulers were enraged and would have killed them, but for the quiet advice of one of their number. They satisfied themselves by having the apostles beaten, and then they set them at liberty. And the chapter ends, and every day in the temple and at home, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

These incidents establish flatly that God is the Lord of the Christian conscience and that his commands to preach the gospel take precedence over any commands of a secular government to stop preaching the gospel. In passing, we should state that the Christians should obey ordinances as to the time and place of the preaching of the gospel.

In our land, we have absolute freedom to preach Christ. In fact, our government grants liberty of speech to any human being to preach anything, whether truth or absurdity. The only limitations are as to time and place. A Christian's liberty is not infringed if he is refused the right to preach in the street in a loud voice in the middle of the night when people want to sleep.

Nor is Christian liberty infringed if ordinances forbid the gathering of a crowd that would obstruct traffic. An overzealous young man came to me and said that his Christian freedom was being violated by his employer. He had been told not to speak to other employees about religion. I replied that in working hours, his time belonged to his employer and he was being paid for working and not for preaching.

He could preach by the way in which he did his work. He could do his witnessing at lunchtime or after hours. In like manner, a citizen must conform to ordinances. If it is necessary for a man to get a permit from the police to hold a street meeting, then such a permit must be secured. And if one has a permit, it does not give the Christian the right to exercise bad taste.

He can preach that men are sinners and that it's necessary to be born again, but he may not criticize the religion of his hearers. The preaching of the historical facts of Christ and the salvation which he bought by his death is enough. There is still another sphere in which the Christian may disobey the authorities.

No human government has the right to command a Christian to do an entirely non-Christian act. I can give an example from the life of Christians in Germany before and during the Hitler government. Before Hitler, we knew several Christian families in Berlin and also some good Jewish friends.

When we returned to Berlin under Hitler, we were asked by the Christians to visit the Jews for them and to give them certain things. The Christians had been commanded to have no dealings with them. We visited the Jews, and since we were Americans, did not come under the authority of the Nazis.

The Christians would have been perfectly free to disobey the commands of the Nazi government that required persecution of the Jews. They had the right to go into Jewish stores and buy as they wished. They had the right to sell to them and to be friends with them. They had the right to speak the truth and to say that racism was a black lie.

In fact, they should have stood up against these monstrosities. Pastor Niemöller had been preaching the truth from his pulpit and ultimately he was arrested and lodged in prison. Another minister came to call on him and told him that he did not have to remain in prison. All that he had to do was to keep off certain subjects and give full respect to the government and he would be given his liberty.

And so continued the visitor, why are you in jail? And to this Niemöller answered, why aren't you in jail? It was a telling question because it showed the visitor that he was not exercising his true Christian witness. He was by his silence upholding the lie. By his failure to speak out for the truth, he was giving strength to that which was false.

When a malignant power takes control like that of a Hitler or a Communist, then it is the duty of the believer to stand for righteousness and not to compromise with the evil. The believer in atheist Russia will not fail to proclaim that the fool hath said in his heart there is no God.

Such faithfulness may pass unobserved by the governing authorities. A man should not have a martyr complex, nor seek to put himself in danger. He should live quietly but faithfully proclaiming the truth. If his faithfulness should come under the notice of the authorities and he should be arrested, then he must stand faithfully even if it means prison, exile, or martyrdom.

At the moment that Paul wrote this epistle, Nero had recently come to power. The great persecutions were about to fall upon the early church. It had not yet spread to Rome, but the Holy Spirit was giving them their line of conduct before the terrors should come upon them. Rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad.

Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good and you will receive his approval. It can readily be seen that such a passage cannot be applied to a reactionary race-hating dictatorship like that of Hitler or to an atheistic human-rights-destroying dictatorship like that of Communism.

But nevertheless, the people who lived under a dictatorship like that of Nero were to be in subjection to the divinely appointed authorities in all matters save those spiritual matters of preaching and teaching Christ and of living before God in every Christian relationship. Scholars have bent every effort to explain why Paul included this particular teaching at this point in his epistle.

I'm inclined to believe that it is the logical sequence to the previous chapter where the believer has been told that he is not to exercise private vengeance, that God will take care of him. What more natural than to continue to the next kind of trouble that could come to a believer, that which would rise from contact with the civil government?

We are as Christians to be law-abiding citizens. If governments forbid our preaching the gospel, we will disobey and preach the gospel. If governments order us to do evil things, we will disobey. This brings up the problem of revolution, which the Lord willing will be discussed in our next study.

And our God, we pray thee to bless the teaching to each heart, that we may love thee and that we may stand before men with such lives that they may see our good works and glorify thee, our Father which art in heaven. We ask it in the name and for the sake of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

Guest (Male): Jesus Christ must have the priority and preeminence in every part of our hearts and every phase of our lives. We hope you've benefited from today's message entitled Who Has Priority. To listen to additional 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 Who Has Priority, or simply request message number R13-2. We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our booklet entitled Abounding Grace.

In his book, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, John Bunyan described his despair over the weight of his sin before finally finding peace in Jesus Christ. Perhaps like Bunyan, you feel the burden of your sin pressing in on you. You may feel that you have fallen so often and sinned so badly that you may have given up any hope of salvation.

This free booklet will convince you that the superabundant flood of God's grace is available to cleanse you and give you peace. Ask for your free copy of Abounding Grace 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 complete list of radio stations carrying our programs, visit us online at Alliancenet.org.

Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible comes to you through the generous gifts of listeners like you. 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 help further our work, contact us by calling us toll-free 1-800-488-1888. That's 1-800-488-1888.

Write to us at Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. 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 doctors Donald Grey Barnhouse, James Montgomery Boice, Martin Lloyd-Jones, and Philip Graham Ryken. Thanks for listening, join us again next time for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.