Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible

Narrator: The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals presents the timeless teaching of Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse.

Singer(s): God's word is good for all he came.

Truth teach, reprove, correct and train.

Equipped by him, we can pursue the work God has for us to do.

God's word is all a Christian needs to grow in grace and do good deeds.

Narrator: Over a half a century ago, the late Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, then pastor of 10th 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 Oath of God. In a courtroom, witnesses place their hand on the Bible and swear an oath that they will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Human nature being what it is, the courts need special assurance in the form of an oath that the testimony of a witness will be trustworthy.

But God's character is such that his word is his oath. Everything he speaks is trustworthy and true, and whatever he promises will certainly come to pass. The scripture text for this edition of Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible, Romans chapter 14 and verse 11. Here again is Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse, with a message entitled The Oath of God.

Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse: Through the Lord Jesus Christ we come unto thee our Father and our God and in the Holy Spirit.

We ask thee that in this hour thou shalt speak to us. Thou knowest the need of thy people, and if we do not hear thy voice, we shall not know how we should go, nor the way by which we should travel.

But thou hast said, you shall hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk you in it. So we pray thee that thou shalt speak to each heart this hour and give us that which we need from thee. We ask it in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

We return once again to a study in the Epistle to the Romans, and our subject today is The Oath of God. And the text is in Romans chapter 14 and verse 11. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow. As I live.

Have you ever stopped incredulous, unbelieving before some statement that was made to you by a friend or acquaintance? And then the one who has told you the story says, I swear it's true.

Why do men take oaths? The standard dictionary of folklore explains as follows: The deplorable fact that many of us have reason to doubt most of the things that are said to us, and the further fact that this situation seems to have existed since the very beginning of time, has led to the elaborate checks of evidence known to law enforcement officers and lawyers.

Policemen test truth by the ordeal, lawyers check it by the legal oath, which, if violated, subjects the perjurer to lengthy imprisonment.

Children also have their oaths. Cross my heart and hope to die, says the small boy, when his word has been questioned.

In Europe and America, men make a statement and add, so help me God. In other countries, men appeal to other gods.

In one tribe of India, men spread the skin of a tiger on the ground and ask for death if they lie, may the tiger eat me. Other peoples call on bears to devour them or ask that they may rot as ropes rot. Some swear by their children, others by their sisters.

Why do men take oaths? Yes, it's because we know that all men are liars. When we turn to the Bible, we find several different methods of taking an oath that prevailed among men in Bible times.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says, the Mosaic laws concerning oaths were not meant to limit the widespread custom of making oaths so much as to impress upon the people the sacredness of an oath. Forbidding on the one hand swearing falsely, and on the other, swearing by false gods, which latter was considered to be a very dark sin.

Swearing in the name of the Lord was a sign of loyalty to him. Moses commanded the people in Deuteronomy, chapter 10 and verse 20, you shall fear the Lord your God, you shall serve him and cleave to him, and by his name, you shall swear.

Through Jeremiah, God commanded the nations to swear by his name. It shall come to pass if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, as the Lord lives. Even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, says the Lord.

We know from the Bible that people who were afraid to swear by the name of the Lord, because they knew they were not telling the full truth, began to swear by things. In ordinary life, we have Bible references which show that it was customary to swear by the life of the person addressed, or by the life of the king, to swear by one's own head, to swear by the earth, by heaven, by the temple and by different parts of it. Some men swore by Jerusalem.

Christ taught that such oaths were attempts to avoid truth, and that God was greater than all the things he had made. Alas for you blind leaders, Jesus said, you say if anyone swears by the temple it amounts to nothing. But if he swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.

You blind fools, said Jesus, which is the more important? The gold or the temple which sanctifies the gold? And you say, and if anyone swear by the altar it doesn't matter, but if he swears by the gift placed on the altar, he is bound by his oath. Have you no eyes, said Jesus, which is more important, the gift or the altar which sanctifies the gift?

Any man who swears by the altar is swearing by the altar and whatever is offered upon it. And anyone who swears by the temple is swearing by the temple and by him who dwells in it. And anyone who swears by heaven is swearing by the throne of God and by the one who sits upon that throne.

We turn to one other method of taking the oath, and with this we pass from the human oath to the divine oath, which is the main object of our present study. This form of oath is used by men according to the prophecy of Jeremiah, but elsewhere in the scripture, it is used only by God.

In the prophecy, there is a terrible warning of judgment to come. God says in Jeremiah 34, I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. And the men who transgressed my covenant and did not keep the terms of the covenant which they made before me, I will make like the calf which they cut in two and passed between its parts. Their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air, and the beasts of the earth.

From the great illustration of this covenant oath in the book of Genesis, we know that the body of the sacrificial animal was cut in two parts, and that the covenant makers walked around the two parts, following the path of a figure eight, around and between the parts.

God made a promise to Abraham, concerning the land of Palestine, that it should belong to him and his seed after him forever. Without hesitation, Abraham believed God in this matter.

God, after all, is the only being in the universe who cannot make a mistake, who cannot be in error, who cannot go back on a promise, who cannot lie. Abraham had believed God when the first call came to leave the land of Ur for the land of Canaan. But now he was getting old, and he had no children.

So now in the 15th chapter of the book of Genesis, Abraham asked God for a sign because he wished to be more fully informed about this promise which was so vast and so solemn. How shall I know? he says. How shall I know that the Jews shall inherit Palestine forever?

God had brought Abraham out of the tent and had shown him the stars, promising that his seed would be as that infinite host, and that his seed would possess the land forever.

At first, Abraham's question and God's answer seem unrelated. But on close study, we see that God was about to take an oath. The answer is one of the strangest ever given to a question. Yet it was the only possible answer.

Abraham asks, how shall I know that I shall inherit this land? God answers, take me a heifer. One might think that the dial of the radio had slipped from one program to another. The question might seem to come from a program of legal advice, but the answer comes from a broadcast of the Department of Agriculture.

However, in the mind of God, the heifer and the inheritance are bound together, and this reply is the only possible answer. The heifer is to be killed, and its blood is to be shed. The Lord is really saying that the guarantee of the title of the land to Israel is nothing short of the cross of Jesus Christ.

All the promises are yea and amen in Christ. And the promise of the land to Israel is guaranteed by this symbol of the cross of Christ.

It is a stirring experience to witness Abraham's encounter with God, in the hours in which he waited in anxiety, fighting off the fowls that would destroy the sacrifice, in deep sleep and in horror of great darkness. But after the remainder of the night of the starry vision, the heat of the whole day of watching, there came the sunset, and the intervention of God in reaffirming his promise.

Know of a surety, God said to Abraham, know of a surety. God never wants his children to know a thing halfway. He has made provision for us to know with certainty.

Surely we read in Amos 3:7, surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. Anyone who has a vague hope so faith, does not know the reality of God's revealed truth.

In the last verse of the first Epistle of John, we read, we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding to know him who is true. That not only tells us that we know, but that we may know that we know. This certainty gives peace to the mind, and it is diffused through the whole of our life and being.

So in answer to Abraham's question, how shall I know? God points to the sacrifice and says, know of a certainty.

The Lord did not allow Abraham to take part in this oath. Of what good would it be for a man to make a promise and then swear to God that he would keep it? After all, if you look closely at the life of Abraham, you learn not only that he was a liar, but that he had teaching degrees in it. He was a professor of lying, and taught his wife to lie and told her exactly what she was to say.

Is it possible for any of us to fulfill our obligations to God, even though we took 10 million oaths and made 10 million vows? The standard by which we would have to live if we were to satisfy God by anything that comes from our own lives, has been explicitly and completely set forth. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

But we have never done it. No man has.

And thus we may be thankful that God showed us through his dealings with Abraham, that he himself takes all the responsibility, and that the fulfilling of the promise does not depend on us at all. Abraham was not asked to swear. God did all the confirmation of the oath by himself.

Oh, thank God it is so. If any part of grace depended upon us, we would soon be quailing with fear and trembling with doubt. But when we know that all rests upon the oath of God, we can be certain.

God passed through the burning pieces of the sacrifice in two symbols of his presence, the smoking furnace and the burning lamp. It's on the word of his oath that we may be sure, that we may be certain.

Now our text is in the 14th of Romans, and it is an oath by God, concerning the ultimate resurrection of every man and of ultimate judgment by God. Of this we shall see more in our next study. Here, however, we must spend our time looking at the fact that God would deign to take an oath when giving a promise to mankind.

When I first began to study this text in detail, I turned, as my custom is, to see what parallel passages there were in the rest of scripture. I asked an assistant to look up all the references where God takes an oath, who swears by himself, or when he says, as I live.

I was almost stunned when I got the list. I had expected half a dozen or maybe 10, but here were verses by the dozens, more than half a hundred. And as I began to read the references, I soon discovered that the reason there is a human race left upon this earth is because God had sworn an oath to some of the earlier sinners of the human race, that he would not destroy them or their descendants.

God made a covenant with Noah and his sons with him. Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood. And never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.

And therein lies the present safety of the godless multitude of the human race.

We have seen the later covenant made by God with Abraham, a covenant that was confirmed with an oath. Hundreds of years later, the Lord spoke through Moses to tell the people of Israel why he had chosen them. In Deuteronomy 7, we read, for you are a people, holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth.

It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you. For you were the fewest of all peoples. But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath which he swore to your fathers.

As we go on through the Bible, we find the oath of God, the covenant of God, the sworn promise of God, and the constantly recurring words of our text, as I live, saith the Lord.

There are many sworn statements of judgment, and these we will have to consider in our next study. But the sworn statements of blessing, mercy, and promise are there like a necklace of emeralds, rubies and diamonds throughout the whole of the divine revelation.

Listen to this promise found in the midst of the book of Chronicles, concerning the land of Palestine. He is the Lord our God. His judgments are in all the earth. He is mindful of his covenant forever. Of the word that he commanded for a thousand generations, a covenant which he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel, saying, to you I will give the land of Canaan as your portion for an inheritance.

A sworn covenant by God.

In addition to these emerald green promises of the land, there is the blood red ruby promise of redemption. Both the birth and the resurrection of Christ are tied in with the oath of God.

In the first chapter of Luke, we have the story of the birth of John the Baptist, and when the time came to name him, his father burst forth into a prophetic song. Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people. To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Furthermore, the Holy Spirit tied the oath given to David in the Psalms with the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In the Psalms, we read, thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nor let thy holy one see corruption.

When this promise is quoted by Peter on Pentecost, the Apostle continues, showing that David was not talking about himself, but being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne. He foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to hell, nor did his flesh see corruption.

The promises that shine like diamonds in the diadem of the Messiah are also confirmed with an oath. I will not forget you, says the Lord to stricken Israel. Behold, I have graven you on the palms of my hands. Your walls are continually before me. Your builders outstrip your destroyers, and those who laid you waste go forth from you.

Lift up your eyes roundabout and see. They all gather, they come to you, as I live, and there's the oath, as I live, says the Lord, you shall put them all on as an ornament, you shall bind them on as a bride does.

Let us never forget that world peace will not come from education, nor from conferences between ambassadors, nor from the United Nations, but from a restored, converted, reborn Israel. God has sworn it.

Finally, let us ask one question and hear God's own answer to it. Why should God stoop to use human forms in giving his promise to men? The reason the small boy has to say cross my heart and hope to die is because he knows that often he's a liar.

But God has revealed himself through Balaam, in a magnificent declaration of his nature. God is not man that he should lie, or a son of man that he should repent. Has he said and will he not do it? Or has he spoken and will he not fulfill it?

Why then did he use the oath and swear by himself with the constantly recurring, as I live? The answer is found in the Epistle to the Hebrews, for there we read in chapter six, beginning with verse 13. When God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself.

Men indeed swear by a greater than themselves. And in all their disputes, an oath is final for confirmation. It is the end of all quibbling.

So, when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise, the unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two unchangeable things, the word of God and the oath of God, in which it is impossible that God should lie. We who have fled for refuge, might have strong encouragement to seize the hope that is set before us.

We have this hope as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, an anchor that is fastened in heaven, and that cannot drag an inch. For it is Jesus Christ, who took that anchor and fastened it to the throne of God.

Is it any wonder that our hearts rejoice, and that we long to sing the praise of the God of Abraham? You know the old hymn, he by himself hath sworn, I on his oath depend, I shall on eagle's wings upborne to heaven ascend. I shall behold his face. I shall his power adore, and sing the wonders of his grace forevermore.

And then when we sing the hymn, my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness, we come to the third verse with very great joy, his oath, his covenant, his blood, support me in the overwhelming flood. When all around my soul gives way, he then is all my hope and stay. On Christ, the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Oh, it's true. The word of God is true, the oath of God is true. As I live, says the Lord, it is true. And our God, we pray thee to bless as the word goes forth and use it to thy glory in Jesus name. Amen.

Narrator: God has made his oath that every knee shall bow to him and confess his absolute supremacy. He has sworn by himself to grant eternal life and blessing to all who trust in his son, Jesus Christ. We hope you have benefited from today's message entitled The Oath of God. 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 Oath of God or simply request message number R14-20. We would also like to make available to you a free copy of our booklet entitled The History of Sin. The reality of sin is a stumbling block for many people when they consider the existence and character of God. If God is loving and all powerful, then why does he allow sin, evil and suffering to exist? In this free booklet, Dr. Barnhouse carefully and scripturally outlines the history of sin and examines its nature, extent, and course. Ask for your free copy of The History of Sin 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 world view. 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 full list of radio stations carrying our programs, visit our website at alliancenet.org.

Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible is able to remain on the air through 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. Write to us at Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Visit us online at alliancenet.org.

Remember 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. Thanks for listening. Join us again for more classic teaching on Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible.

Singer(s): The Bible has come and empowered to do the saving work for us. His cross our souls from death to life and rescue us from evil's strife. Amazing grace, wonder so hard, the life in parting work of God.