BROADCASTER
Featuring the Best of King’s Business Magazine
FEBRUARY 1971
VOLUME I
NUMBER 2
JANUARY RADIO FEATURES
Production Editor...
President...
J. RICHARD CHASE
EVELYN GIBSON
Editor ...
Biola Hour Host ...
DON RANSON
HAROLD PENROSE
C O N T E N T S Devotional T h o u g h t s .................................................... 3 Editorial Comment . . . . . . 5 J. Richard Chase Magna Carta of the Christian Faith . . . 7 Dr. James Borror Death of a C u l t u r e .................................................. 19 Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland The Christian Community . . . . . 21 Dr. Richard McNeely Panel Discussions . . . . . . 23 Studies in God’s W o rd ..................................................31 Dr. Lloyd T . Anderson
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DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS
acter is our standard, and nothing short of absolute likeness to Him should satisfy us, and to this infinite standard of perfection we are finally to attain by the grace of God in Matthew 6:1-8 There are wonderful lessons here on doing righteousness, giving alms and praying. The lessons are very plain and simple if one will take Jesus Christ as meaning just what He says. SATURDAY Matthew 6:9-15 The prayer which our Lord taught His disciples is usually called “the Lord’s Prayer.” It is rather the dis ciples’ prayer, the Lord’s prayer be ing found in John 17. This prayer is the model prayer. Only the one who has received Jesus, and therefore, has a right to call God “Father” (John 1:12) has a right to offer this prayer. SUNDAY Matthew 6:16-34 If our “treasure” is above our hearts will be set upon that which is eter nal, and eternal satisfaction is se cure to us. Live a day at a time. Tomorrow will have enough care of its own, and praise God it will have also enough grace to meet the need. Christ.. FRIDAY
MONDAY
Matthew 5:1-12 Jesus points out eight classes of men whom God pronounces happy. They are not at all those whom the world esteems happy. God is the personal embodiment of infinite beauty and glory. There can be no joy or rap ture beyond that of beholding Him. TUESDAY Matthew 5:13-16 These verses emphasize our respon sibility and obligations. Believers in Christ are to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” It is a glorious thought, but also a very solemn thought, that the world gets all its light through us! WEDNESDAY Matthew 5:17-27 The law of Moses contained the A, B, C of ethics — in Christ we go on to the advanced grades. Christ alone has kept the law of Moses in the way in which He interprets it here, but He is ready to keep it again in us if we will surrender to him entire control of our innermost life. THURSDAY Matthew 5:28-48 Love should go out to all, not mere ly to the friend and neighbor, but to the enemy as well. It is clearly im plied that in all things God’s char
This is the second in a series o f excerpts from a devotional guide written by R. A. Torrey in the January, 1915, issue o f The King's Business Magazine. Page 3
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EDITORIAL COMMENT
THE OBLIGATION OF A LIFETIME by J. Richard Chase
might not sin against Thee.” Growth in the Christian life has as its core increased learning of the Word of God as well as the daily experiences that a Christian undergoes. To mark time is to become stag nate. God has given us a capacity to grow in wisdom as well as in grace, and this is a life-long process. The problems of the 70’s will not necessarily be solved with the an swers learned in the 40’s, 50’s, or ev en 60’s. With each new decade there are new problems, and new answers must be sought for those problems. A physician who has not kept pace Page 5
Is your education complete? I hope not! Education is not merely a class room function; it is both a privilege and obligation of a lifetime. Peter reminds us in Scripture that we should add to our faith virtue, and to our virtue knowledge. Our knowledge, on the other hand, is ac companied by the ability to endure. Paul in I and II Timothy urges the disciple to be ever diligent in the study of God’s Word. In the Old Testament, Psalm 119 places tre mendous emphasis upon a growing knowledge of God’s Word: “Thy Word have I hid in mine heart that I
with a changing world will be un able to solve the perplexing prob lems facing him. A moment’s thought on the technological advances over the last 20 years staggers the imag ination. The world’s fund of informa tion in this computer age is increasing at a phenomenal rate. The potential for greater insight and intelligent decision making is certainly avail able.
sure you are concerned about Chris tian matters, but are you aware of what is taking place in missionary strategy? Did you know that the New Scofield edition of the Bible has almost twice as many valuable footnotes as the previous edition? Have you read any of the fine ar ticles on Biblical exposition that can be found in Christian periodicals or books? Everyone need not be a Bib lical scholar in the technical sense of the word, but greater insight into God’s Word can help us in daily de cisions that must be made. The by product of such a study will assur edly lead us to a deeper walk with our Lord. Is your education complete? Not in light of God’s Word. As Peter suggests in Chapter One of his sec ond Epistle, the ultimate goal of knowledge and the other qualities of character suggested in this pas sage are designed so that we should not “be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Biola College and its Graduate School, Talbot Theological Seminary, seek to educate students for a life of growth—a life of intellectual growth in the important affairs of a chang ing world, and a life of growth in an increasing knowledge of Christ and commitment to Him. Education is, indeed, a lifelong privilege and responsibility!
As a Christian, you have your own views on politics, taxes, law-en forcement, education, and a host of other contemporary topics. You may even speak up frequently on such subjects. But, when did you last con sult a serious work in these areas? Apart from the popular interpreta tion that you might find in the news media, have you kept up-to-date with the contemporary works being produced in any of these areas? I am Page 6
The new demands of the 70's, the unique opportunities for service, and growing concern for a solid Biblical foundation may work against us if they are a prod uct of tradition and culture rather than a knowledge of God’s Word and the needs of today’s world.
Grace of God Almost 1900 years ago a brilliant Jewish rabbi wrote a document which has become one of the most important pieces of information the world has ever known. I refer to the Apostle Paul and his letter to the Galatian Christians. For the believer it ranks above our Constitution or the Bill of Rights. As the Holy Spirit moved upon him, Paul sets forth the true principles of liberty and free dom. No wonder this little epistle has been called “the Magna Carta of the Christian faith.” Problems of legalism had entered into the churches Paul had been hu-
many enemies. You see, the Galatian Christians had been told erroneously that they had to become circum cised, carrying out the law of Moses, going through all of the rituals, in order to be true Christians. This is completely false. Paul’s second purpose is to defend his apostleship. There were false in sinuations that his teaching was not really tha Word of God. This is re futed in the first two chapters. In this manner he authenticates the en tire gospel. His third purpose is to teach the doctrine of grace. Salvation from be ginning to end is all and only of the pure grace of God. How grateful we
GALATIANS: MagnaCartaoftheChristianFaith by Dr. James Borror Pastor First Baptist Church of Lakewood
manly instrumental in founding. It was an extremely serious situation calling for drastic action. Without the book of Galatians, Christianity, from a human point of view, would have been nothing but a little sect of Judaism. The book was written approxi mately 48 to 50 A.D. in Antioch, a town in Palestine. The reason for its writing has several bases. The first was to counteract the Judaizers — those of the Hebrew race who be lieved that in order for a man to become a Christian he had to first become a Jew. God, through the Apostle, wanted to point out that Christianity is completely separate, being the gospel of die grace of God. Because of this Paul encountered
can be for His undeserved, unmer ited favor. There are no strings at tached to His grace. The theological key is found in 5:1, while the practi cal key is 2:20. If we were to take a birds-eye view of all six chapters, an easy outline could be adopted. Chapters one and two are Paul’s biographical argu ment. Three and four give us the theological argument presenting the truth that salvation has always been by the grace of God through faith. Finally, five and six show us the practical argument as Paul applies principles to our own individual lives, enabling us to walk in a new liberty through Him. Another simple outline sets aside the first two chapters as the authen- Page 7
tication of the Gospel by faith. Three and four, teaching on the doctrine of justification by faith. Five and six, there is the doctrine of our spiritual ity by faith. In each of these points, however, there is one common de nominator: “by faith.” There are always two basic “pulls” in a believer’s life. On the one hand there is the temptation to legalism which is the fleshly attitude of con forming to a code for the purpose of exalting self. Our pride tempts us to follow such a pathway. This is not the plan of God. Legalism was one dangerous extreme which the Apostle was combating. The second dangerous extreme is that of license. Having trusted the Lord Jesus as personal Saviour we are free to serve Him not out of fear but from pure motives of love. This does not mean, however, that he can do anything he pleases. That is not the definition of freedom, whether spiritual or national. The Galatian believers were warned not to use their liberty as a cloak for license. They, with us, must walk by the power of God’s Holy Spirit in the light of His Word. The proper pathway is between license and legalism. Liberty is de fined as “the opportunity for self- discipline.” It is the opportunity to reach our highest potential through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. We have the assurance of God’s love since Christ has died for our sins. Because of this I am free to serve the Saviour because I love Him and Him alone. Today, there is a danger of mak ing Christianity simply a list of “do’s” and “don’ts”. This is legalism. These Judaizers would admit that it is necessary for Christ to die for our sins, but something else has to be added. The plus sign is made a part of faith. Paul shows how wrong this is by saying that as a result Christ would have died in vain. As far as salvation is concerned, to faith we Page 8
Dr. Robert Thomas (above) Registrar and Professor at Talbot Seminary. cannot add church membership, rit uals, baptism, and all the rest. By so doing we would be committing Galatianism. This deprecates the fin ished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Paul is very explicit as he expresses it, ‘This I say then, walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Authority of Scripture In writing to the Church at Gala tia, Paul had to face some very real problems. There were those who wanted to add the law to faith. Paul was accused of not being truly an apostle. They falsely stated that he had gotten his message second-hand, perverting and oversimplying it. The refutation comes in the first two chapters (1 :13 ). Basically, there are two real religions in the world:
works and grace. All religions, apart from Christianity, have their basis in the former premise. Christianity ex horts, “God already loves you. He sent His Son to die on the cross pay ing the penalty for your sins. He offers you salvation freely, with no strings attached. You have but one responsibility and that is, by faith, to receive Christ as your Lord and Saviour.” Such a concept could nev er have come from Judaism. Paul further testifies that education could not have given such teaching to him (1 :14 ). Tradition can never be a final authority for the Chris tian. Our final source can only be the Word of God. In verses 16 and 19 the apostle shows that an ecclesiastical author ity could never have given him such wonderful good news. This Gospel did not come second-handed. He had only barely seen Peter and James. The message came completely inde pendent of them. Paul says, “I went to Damascus.” In other words, he went back to where he had been converted. There he began his witness among those who knew he had come originally to persecute the church. Next he says, “I went to Jerusalem.” To do so meant he was taking his life in his hands. From there he went to Syria and Cilicia which was his home town. So, before beginning a ministry through the known world especially winning Gentiles to Christ, he went to the hardest place any might have—his own home-town en vironment. Then for the convincing proclamation, “For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” In every area of life today one of the most important questions is that of authority. Paul claims he knew because God told him so. We, too, have to answer the same question. Here are five basic evidences why we believe the Bible to be the Word of God, the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It comes as a handy acrostic. Write down the word “truth” vertically on the page. Let the “T” stand for the teaching of Jesus. Christ Himself re vealed that the Scriptures form the very Word of God. The Saviour cer tainly believed in verbal plenary in spiration. He forcefully showed that when Moses and other Old Testa ment writers spoke it was actually God speaking through them. The “R” of our acrostic represents the reliability of its contents. In the Old Testament there are hundreds of prophecies which have come to exact fulfillment to the minutest de tail. There is absolutely no question about this. Its history is recorded with the utmost faithful detail. Ar cheologists can only confirm our faith. Every spade of dirt unfolds some, further enrichment of Biblical accuracy. It almost goes without say ing that it is also completely reliable in its theology and total contents. There are no proven contradictions to be found anywhere in the Word of God. For the “U” we have the unity of the Bible. Here are 66 books penned by over 40 writers of completely dif ferent backgrounds. They lived in various countries and spanned over 1600 years. They had no conferences with each other. Yet the Bible is one harmonious, orderly account of the entire dealings of God with man. What strong evidence for the super natural origin of Scripture. The second “T” brings to mind the testimony of the writers themselves. How familiar were their words, “Thus saith the Lord!” The same emphasis is found in the New Tes tament ( I I Tim. 3:16). All of these men knew they were writing from God. There is no other possible hu man answer to be found. The final letter “H” reminds us of the help the Bible gives no matter where it is found. All of the writings Page 9
cation is always a two-way street. The third principle of unity is that Paul had a courageous conviction (2 :5 ). There can never be a sacri fice of truth. We need to stand for the Word of God, refusing to give place to error. There must be a bal ance between courtesy and courage, and between communication and conviction. We should be self-reliant but not self-sufficient; tactful but not timid; steadfast but not stubborn; serious but not sullen; unmovable but not stationary; tenderhearted but not touchy; disciplined but not de manding; discerning but not criti cal; progressive but not pretentious. Such desirable attributes were char acteristic of Paul. The fourth principle of unity is that Paul had a careful recognition (2:6, 9 ). He wasn’t overawed by wealth*, social standing, or political pressure. It can be true that “famil iarity breeds contempt.” Churches must learn to give careful recogni tion to their leadership in the Lord if there is to be unity.
of man put together cannot begin to compare with the Bible. Darwin supposedly once made the statement, “Even the atheist when his ship wrecked craft sails toward the na tive island, hopes that the mission ary has beat him there.” In other words, where the Bible has gone, men’s natural inclination to evil has been tamed. Yes, this book is true! What a great source of strength, wisdom and guidance it affords along life’s path way. Why then do we not read and meditate upon it with more consis tency in our daily lives? May the Lord help us to do that which will bring glory to His name. Unity of Believers Because of those who doubted and deprecated his apostleship Paul, in Galatians, defends the calling God has given in the first two chapters. There are six basic principles he uses to bring unity to the body of believ ers. It is an important and effective lesson for us to learn as well. The first is that there must be a common authority (2 :2 ). The revel ation of God had to be the final ref erence point and bench mark for their faith, as well as ours. Paul speaks of communicating the Gospel of the grace of God. Christ is the head of the church in love, not as a dictator, nor a tyrant. This same type of leadership needs to be shown by a husband in his home. The second principle of unity is kindness and meekness. Paul was always courteous in his communica tions with others. Paul did not broadcast their differences; there was no whispering campaign. He pri vately confronted those with whom there was a problem. This is what we need to do in all our relation ships (Matt. 18:15). The Greek word translated “communicated” in Gal. 2:2 literally means “to lay something out for a conference.” Paul was a good listener. Courteous communi- Page 10
The Believer in Christ must be careful that he does not lose out by forfeiting that which is essential for that which is optional.
The fifth principle is the need for a charitable activity (2 :10 ). The early church was not only united on theological grounds, but also on the practical, moral grounds of helping others. They sought to remember the poor. The family, or the church, or even the nation, that can work together for the common good of all will find in that charitable activity a strong bond of unity. The sixth principle is found not necessarily in Galatians, but in Isaiah 53:6. While the context of the famil iar verse shows it to be a salvation
testimony, yet there is also a truth here for human relationships. The tendency in our homes today is to grow apart. Everyone goes his own way. The relationship is like a tri angle in which the man and the woman are the two bottom angles and God is at the apex of the top. As the two move toward the top being closer to God, they are also growing closer to one another. If you want unity in your home, church, and business then you need to follow the apostle’s example as he seeks to bring the Galatian Chris tians together. He uses this common authority, courteous communication, courageous conviction, careful recog nition and charitable activity. Let us seek the Spirit’s strength to do the same. Justification by Faith In illustrating the unity Paul had with the other apostles, he wrote to the church at Galatia concerning an incident which took place at Antioch. It seems that Peter had eaten with the Gentiles, although such was for bidden by Judaism. Peter had been given a revelation from God that nothing was to be called unclean. He knew that these old legalistic bondages were broken. Hearing of his activities certain men came from the church at Jerusalem to survey the situation. Peter seemed to have second thoughts about what he had done and so left the table of the Gentiles to eat again only with the Jews. This brought the people face- to-face with whether these former barriers between Jews and Gentiles had been forever broken down be cause of the finished work of Christ. Paul tells how he had to confront his fellow apostles with this matter, telling Peter that he was wrong (Gal. 2:11-16). Justification is the act by which God declared the sinner right eous. Since man sinned in Adam, and individually man sins, God the Judge must condemn the sinner. He can only declare righteous the one
who had righteousness. In His love, the Lord wanted to save you and me. This is why He sent His own Son to the cross. Jesus died in our place to make us righteous in the sight of God. God’s judgment fell upon Christ (I Cor. 1:30). Position- ally, we are perfect in Christ. Through salvation, as God looks at me He looks at Christ’s shed blood on the cross. He sees only His Son. He can only pronounce one verdict on me and that is “justified.” You see, Christ “was made sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the right eousness of God in Him.” Now we can say with the poet, “Near, so very near to God. Nearer I cannot be. For ih the person of His Son, I am as near as He. For dear, so very dear to God, dearer I cannot be, For in the person of His Son, I am as dear as He.” In the third and fourth chapters of Galatians Paul amplifies and ex pounds the doctrine of justification by faith. In the ancient story of King Arthur he had a place called Came- lot which was known all over the world for its righteousness, justice, and fairness. Everything was as per fect as possible here. The king falls in love with Lady Guinevere and they are married. Things are very peaceful until Sir Lancelot comes along and also falls in love with the woman. She returns his affections. Everybody seems to know it, except the king. Things begin to deteriorate as is always the result of sin. The people begin to fight with each oth er, and a question of justice in Cam- elot comes into view. Adultery in this area was to be punished by burning at the stake. When the king learns of his problem he has to make a decision. Lancelot leaves to build an army against Arthur. As Guine vere is about to be executed, love must triumph. The king cannot go against justice and righteousness, and Page 11
by grace through faith. Very few people would put their faith in a racial distinction to be saved. This does not guarantee an entrance into heaven. There is a tendency, how ever, to take for granted such things as being reared in a Christian home. Remember, there are no grandchil dren in God’s family. Every person must be born again through faith in to the family of God. The same is true with the danger of trusting in denominational church membership, or some ritual. God says none of these things can save us (Eph. 2:8,9). The next point the Holy Spirit uses Paul to declare is that the meth od o£ salvation is not a new doctrine whatsoever (3 :11 ). In every age sal vation has always been, first of all, through faith. The 11th chapter of Hebrews gives ample evidence of this. Look at such Old Testament verses as Gen. 32:10; Ps. 145:8, 9; Hab. 2:4 and others as good ex amples. Yes, salvation has always been by grace through faith. It is always based the blood sacrifice pointing ahead to Christ in previous dispensations. The third principle Paul uses that Abraham would be in complete ac cord with his teaching, is that salva tion never depends upon race (3:12). The apostle shows that it is not our vain attempt to keep the Mosaic law which will gain us entrance into heaven. You see, God’s covenant to Abraham was given before the law, and as such has priority (3 :15 ). If men do not alter contracts certainly God will not. The Judaizers adding conditions to salvation would neces sitate God breaking His promise with Abraham. The promises to the pa triarch of old are still in force (3:16). We are saved in the same manner Abraham was. In verse 19 he shows why the law was added. There are several areas of law mentioned in Scripture. There is the moral law which predates the Ten Command ments, known as the Mosaic Law.
so he stands in his tower looking down on the scene, unable to help. The story has Lancelot coming to rescue Guinevere. Suppose, that in stead of just observing the problem he had gone down, freed his wife, and then ordered that he be burned at the stake in her place. In this manner both love and the law would have been justified. But this illustra tion becomes insignificant when we consider what God did in the send ing of His Son to die in our stead, that we might go free. The story of Camelot ends with a little boy coming to Arthur desiring to fight against the armies of Lance lot. The king asks, “Why do you want to?” The lad responds, “Be cause everyone knows of the fair ness, justice, love, and greatness of Camelot.” The king is visibly touched. He gets off his horse and knights him on the spot. In doing so, he gives him a commission not to do battle, but to go into all the king doms telling everyone that justice and fairness still reigns in Came lot.” Beloved, the analogy is true. Since we have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, we are told by God, the King, to go into all the world telling men and women ev erywhere the Good News! God is still upon the throne! Are we ready and willing to do that today? Salvation by Grace Alone Paul’s message to the Galatian Christians is that salvation comes by grace, which is actually the un merited favor of God. It is received through faith with no strings at tached. In the third chapter Paul deals with those who might say, “Yes, but that cannot apply to us. We are Jews, the children of Abra ham. We also keep the law.” Again comes the positive assertion that sal vation is first of all by grace and not by race (3 :6 ). Paul demonstrates that there was no intrinsic righteous ness in Abraham. He, too, was saved Page 12
Seniors Dawn Hefty (I.), Edwin Shepperson, Ruby Robbins will present recitals during Spring Semester.
sons of Abraham by faith when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour. We are all one in Christ being given a new inheritance (3:28. 29). Our new position is fur ther explained in 4:1-5. Paul’s entire argument is built around the point that God, in every age, has one single plan of salvation. It has always been and will always be by grace, the unmerited, undeserved favor He be stows freely upon us. Always remem ber that there are many ways to the Lord Jesus Christ. Some come intel lectually, emotionally, or in some other way. But there is only one way to God and that is through faith alone in Jesus Christ! Page 13
Then there are national laws which various countries make and which we are to live under according to Romans 13. Finally, there is Christ’s law of love which should motivate all believers to tell others the good news of the Gospel. Salvation does not exclude certain principles by which we are to live. No man can be a law unto himself. Paul argues next that the law which came after the promise to Abraham cannot cancel God’s cove nant and promise. We become heirs of God by faith, just as Abraham became a child of God by faith (3:26, 27). It is all summed up in the one word, “sonship”. We become
say, “Christianity will not work for the average man.” My answer is, “You are exactly right. The average man does not have the power with in himself. Only the Spirit of God through His indwelling presence can give him that strength and victory!” The moment you become a Chris tian you have three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. They are all very real and seek constantly to attack the believer. There is an answer for each one in Scripture. The world’s best combat is Romans 12:1,2. The word against the devil comes from such passages as James 4:7. When it comes to the flesh, God tells you to run (II Timothy 2:22). The world works primarily in the realm of the spirit. The flesh works primarily in the realm of the emo tions. Now, not only do we have four levels of living and three enemies, we also have two pulls in the Chris tian life. There is the pull on the one hand of legalism, trying to become spiritual by a list of rules and regu lations, and going to the other ex treme of complete license. Legalism is wrong! God does not want your promises. He rather wants you to be lieve His promises. License is also wrong because in addition to new life in Christ you still have your old nature. There is still that warfare of flesh against spirit (Galatians 5:17). Grace and liberty do not exclude certain rules and regulations. There is no such thing as absolute freedom. This is true of God Himself who can only act in accordance with His own character. By way of illustration, I am per fectly free to walk down the street swinging my arms. There is no law that says I cannot do that. But my freedom ends where your nose may begin. You see, there are limits to all of our liberties. As far as the believer is concerned, love limits our liberty. There is no real freedom in life until you are running on the track of God’s
Liberty or License Paul has taken the props from un der the boasting Judaizers who were proud of being Abraham’s seed, ob serving the Mosaic law, and thereby thinking to merit salvation. In the latter part of chapter four he illus trates this using Abraham’s two sons: Ishmael born of the bondwoman, Hagar; and Isaac from the free wo man, Sarah. The conclusion is force fully seen in verse 31. We are not bound by the law, but are of Christ. He points out that the two systems of law and grace cannot co-exist (5 :4 ). If a person attempts to win the favor of God by keeping the law, then Christ becomes of no effect or value. He may as well not have died. In chapters five and six Paul teaches that we are not justified by the law, and also we cannot be made spir itual by the law. Spirituality is not a matter of practicing certain “do’s and don’ts.” Asceticism holds that anything which is enjoyable is wrong. This does not bring spirituality any more than emotionalism. The prob lem Paul faced, and it is true today, that as one moves away from the law he may drift into an equally dan gerous extreme of license. Man is controlled on one of four levels of living. The first is instinct. This is, at times, almost animal—doing what comes naturally. The second is cus tom— following the accepted pattern of the majority. This is the life style of most individuals. We fail to real ize that just because something is normal does not make it right. The third is the level of conscience. Scripture is quick to remind us that it is never safe to follow this as our infallible guide. It cannot be trusted always to tell us what is right. It must be controlled by the mind of Christ, in obedience to the Word of God. The fourth is the Christian level of living which is far above instinct, custom or conscience. It is the super natural way o f life. People sometimes Page 14
It will never work. Spirituality is not a matter of how much I do, but what Christ does through me. Paul warns us in Gala tians Five not to let our liberty be come an occasion to the flesh. He reminds us that we are to love our neighbor as ourself. That is “agape” love, the highest form possible. This is not merely emotional as is true with the world’s vain philosophies. It is an act of the will by which I say, “Regardless of my emotional state or my fondness for an individ ual, I will act lovingly toward him.” This is why Jesus commanded, “Love yOur enemy.” Love is something you do, more than something you feel. It can come only as it is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. In the fifth chapter we see that every believer is a walking civil war. Though you can win the individual battles, you will never end the war until the Lord Jesus comes again (5 :17 ). Then he tells us what some of the works of the flesh are: idol atry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, wrath, fornications, seditions, here sies, envyings, murders, drunkeness, revelings and the like. I want to call your attention especially to the word “sorcery” translated in the King James as “witchcraft” in verse 20. The word comes from the Greek, originally meaning “to be under the influence and addiction of drugs” which were used by those who sought to cast spells on others. This is certainly rel evant to our day. Then we have the blessed fruit of the Spirit (5:22,23). Keep in mind that the fruit of the Spirit is love which produces all of the results. These are joy, peace, long-suffering,
will for your life. Vary from that and you will find yourself rather enslaved. Liberty is limited by love, but em powered by the Spirit. Finally, there is but one power (Gal. 5:16). “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” This is to be a total habit and manner of life for us. The desires may still be there but they will not have dominion over us. That word for “walk” in the Spirit has a military background. It sug gests proper order and cadence. We are to watch the inputs coming into our life. In many senses we are like a computer. We give out what is put in. A friend of mine tells the story of hitching a ride with a couple. The husband made the wife drive the car. But since she did not do it to his liking he ordered that she use the steering wheel and he would manipulate the accelerator. Coming up behind a car he would step on the gas so that she would have no choice but to pass. My friend said he prayed like he had never done so before. What a strange arrange ment. The problem was that here was a vehicle designed to be driven by one person, yet two people trying to control it. I wonder if this is the problem in your life? You were de signed to be controlled only by the Spirit of God. When you run either the steering wheel or the accelerator you will have problems. Turn every thing over to Christ right now, and let Him have control! True Spirituality Galatianism is the error of trying to earn the favor of God either for eternal salvation or for spirituality.
The KB-Biola Broadcaster is the official publication of The Biola Hour and is mailed automatically each month to the members of The Biola Fellowship. The Fellowship includes all those who have a desire to invest in the work of the Lord at Biola College on a regular basis. For informa tion concerning membership, please write Biola College, 13800 Biola Ave., La Mirada, California 90638.
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gentleness, goodness, faith, meek ness, self-control. Spirituality then, is a moment-by-moment yieldedness to the Spirit of God. There are basically two principles to spirituality—one negative, the oth er positive. The negative is confes sion. We as God’s children need to confess any known sins in our lives. Jesus gives us this principle when He gives the illustration of the vine and the branches (John 15). It is not the job of the branch to bear fruit. It is simply to make certain it is rightly related to the vine. In this manner, organically, it will bear fruit. Notice the contrast in Galatians 5 between the works of the flesh, and fruit of the Spirit. Anything mechan ical can do work. But only some thing living can bear fruit. As you abide in Christ He will work and flow through your life (I John 1:9). The word confess is the exact oppo site of rationalize. Do not say, “Lord, I am sorry, but you know how angry she made me.” You are the only one to blame. The second step to spirituality is simply a commitment to the Spirit of God (Romans 6:13; 8:3-4; 12:1,2). In Galatians 5:16-25 we are told to walk in the realm of the Spirit so that we may have the fruit of the Spirit flowing through us. A Chris tian is simply a mind through which Christ thinks; a heart through which Christ loves; a voice through which Christ speaks; a hand through which Christ helps. David Livingstone, the great pioneer missionary, once de clared, “I will place no value on any thing I have, or may possess, except in relation to the kingdom of Christ. To Him I owe all my hopes in time and eternity.” The Believer needs to come to the position where, having confessed any known sin, he com mits his life totally to the Lord Jesus Christ. In chapters five and six of Gala tians Paul teaches spirituality by faith. It is the basic doctrine of sanc
tification, though he does not specifi cally use that word. This simply means to be set apart unto God. The vessels used in the worship of the Old Testament were sanctified, or set apart, for the ministry in the Taber nacle or temple alone. To be sancti fied does not mean sinless perfection. To “sanctify the Lord God” in our hearts does not mean that we make Him sinlessly perfect. It does mean to set Him apart, as well as our selves, in a very special way. When my wife and I were first married, she did not know too much about how to live with a man. One day I walked into the bathroom to shave. Taking my razor I began the daily ritual. All of a sudden two great big streaks of blood came run ning down my face. I turned to her and asked, “Honey, have you been using my razor?” She replied inno cently, “Well, no, only to cut some cardboard.” A firm rule was made then and there. That razor was to be used by me alone, and for but one «purpose—shaving! In a sense, I had sanctified that razor. It was set apart for a specific task. God wants to set us apart for Him self alone. Scripture speaks of three kinds of sanctification. There is that which is positional so that the mo ment you believe, God sets you apart and declares that you are personally owned by Him. Practical sanctifica tion is the moment-by-moment expe rience whereby God is bringing us progressively to the point of yielding ourselves completely to His will and work. The final is perfect sanctifica tion. When the Lord Jesus comes again, we are told that we shall be like Him. No wonder these bodies groan for that wonderful coming day. Quit asking God to help you, and ask Him to do it all through you. You would not buy a brand new automobile with a four or five-hun dred cubic-inch engine, and then try to push it down the road. That is
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taken in a fault we are not to judge or condemn him. In a spirit of meek ness we are to restore him to fellow ship. Jesus said that we are to be slow to judge (Matthew 7:1-5). We are rather to be quick to forgive (Ephesians 4:32). A third danger of the spiritual life is to overlook the needs of others (6 :21 ). We have a real responsibil ity toward others. There are so many crushing loads people have to carry. Are we interested in them? In Galatians 6:7-8 we find one of the most frightening statements ad dressed to Christians in the Word of God. Whatever we sow we will also reap. Keep in mind that Paul is talking about service, not salvation. His message is to believers not the unsaved. His point concerns time, not eterAity. The first truth is that presumptive sin is blasphemy. No Christian can say, “Because I know I will be for given if I confess my sin, I will just go ahead and sin. Next, confession does not stop the consequences. While God forgives in the spiritual sense there can also be certain nat ural results. The wounds may heal, but the scars may well remain. The third eternal principle is that the seed determines the harvest. You will reap in kind to what you sow. If one continuously sows to the flesh in the literature read, things seen, music listened to, then the life will simply produce the corruption of the flesh. Yes, the seed determines the harvest. When the seed is from the spirit then there will be a harvest of joy, peace, and love, with a life that has the quality of eternity. It is true, “Sow a thought and you reap an act. Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.” Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have.
ridiculous. Get in, turn on the key to start the engine, and all that power goes to work for you. Yet, many a Believer is trying to live by his own power, struggling, striving and groan ing. Turn the double key of confes sion and commitment to unleash the great dynamic power of God Him self, by His Holy Spirit! This will bring you a life of fruitfulness and victory. Eternal Principles Since the beginning of time, there have been two competing philoso phies. One is man’s attempt to reach up to God, the other is shown in God’s reaching down to man. The former is religion while the latter is Christianity. These two philosophies are shown in the book of Galatians. Our only hope of salvation is through personal belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, accepting Him as our person al Saviour. Taking this step of faith we walk with the Lord along the road of liberty. This fellowship is not by any rules and regulations, but by the principles of His love and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Chapter six points out the possible dangers. A person can be miserable unless certain principles govern his life. In 5:26 we are exhorted, “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, pro voking one another, envying one another.” When one thinks he is spir itual it is easy to fall into conceit. This always promotes competition. Instead of cooperating, we all too often are battling one another. This can be true in the home between parents. There are some things about which we are to be ambitious. This includes our witness (Romans 15:20), walk ( I I Corinthians 5 :9 ), and our work ( I Thessalonians 4 :11). But ambition is never to come to the point of conceit. Envy can also re sult in competition. This is a great danger to our spiritual life. Another great pitfall is censorious ness (6 :1 ). Finding someone over
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connotations for the future of the na tion.” The article continues: “In a survey of 2,000 different cultures, Winick found that some 55 were characterized by sexual ambiguity.
DEATH OF A CULTURE
by Dr. Samuel H. Sutherland
An article entitled, “Killing a Cul ture,” appeared in the October 12, 1970 issue of news magazine Time. This was a most timely report, in view of the fact that today numbers of men are endeavoring to look like women and so many women are try ing to resemble men in appearance and actions. Women are demanding absolute equality with males in ev ery facet of life. The Women’s Liberation Move ment seems determined to eliminate the distinctives of the sexes insofar as possible. They seek to bring the entire human race into one frightful homogeneous mass, or better stated, one terrifying mess. That such a con cept is entirely anti-Scriptural, flying directly into the face of Almighty God in a most blatant and blasphem ous manner, apparently is beside the point in the view of these women liberationists. The Bible record of the purpose of creation of the sexes is disregarded shamefully. However, entirely apart from any religious connotation in these pres ent degrading trends, history proved long ago that all such unisexual civ ilizations came to an early and tragic demise. In the Time article, Dr. Charles Winick, professor of anthropology and sociology at the City University of New York, is quoted as declaring that this unisex trend has “ominous
Not one of these cultures has sur vived.” Dr. Winick pointed out fur ther that the Grecian empire fell, in part at least, because of the unisex ual attitude and activities of the common people, as well as of the gov ernmental leaders. Even the Greek gods were fashioned in a way which made it difficult to distinguish their sex from that of the goddesses. Dr. Winick stated: “Hermes and Aphro dite have the same boyishly slender body, girlishly fine arms, and sexu ally undifferentiated expression.” He also declares that before its fall, Rome had sunk into the same type of Page 19
other: “Male and female created he them” (Genesis 1:27). Throughout Scripture the man has his role to play in the human relationship. Like wise, the woman has her part to per form. When men try to take the place of women in society or women to replace men, it is indeed an abom ination unto the Lord. It is open de fiance of His ordained plan for hu man beings. This whole unisex business is but another distinguishing feature of the end times as foretold in Scripture. The world is blurring the sexes. This is another way in which Christians can identify themselves as not be longing to this world order or to the things of the world. Instead, we are to abide by the law of God as re vealed in His Word and to proclaim these great truths on every possible occasions as “thus saith the Lord”. Our Lord and Creator spoke to wo men as women and to men as men when *He spoke plainly in I Corin thians 6:20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
life-style. One of the Roman histori ans of the day, it is stated, “decried the ubiquity of foppish, feminine, perfumed males. Elagabalus ap peared publicly in women’s clothes. Caesar was likened to ‘every man’s wife and every woman’s husband’; Antony had a harem of men and wo men; and Nero is thought to have married a castrated male.” Other civilizations, before and after these above-mentioned, descended into this trend and they too perished miser ably. Dr. Winick points out some fore boding conditions in our own cul ture: “Clothes and hair are the least of it; sales of jewelry and fragrances for men have risen massively in the past three years. Since World War II, there has been a 66% increase in the number of women tennis play ers, a 1,000% rise in women golfers. Every third gun-owner is a woman, and so is every fifth sky-diver.. . . Houses are becoming sexless; they contain few leather club chairs or boudoir chairs —or even boudoirs. Names are sexually equivocal; one child out of five has a name like Robin or Leslie or Dana.” Even the reading pattern of children has changed: “They prefer easy-to-read real-life adventures to fairy tales with their idealized, romantic role- models of the masculine and fem inine.” Dr. Winick makes no attempt to describe how masculinity and fem ininity are to be defined, “as long as they are defined.” He points out: “The sexes are equal but not equiv alent. There need be no hurt feel ings because difference does not mean deficiency.” Nowhere, of course, does Dr. Win ick appeal to Scriptural authority for the delineation of the sexes, al though his conclusions in this regard agree perfectly with the clearly re vealed statements found in the Word of God. God created the sexes to be definitely distinguished from each Page 20
God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of useful ness and blessedness. Money is a gift of God and it is to be used for His glory. If it is squandered selfishly, or employed greedily, it can kers and brings misery and distress upon him who possesses it.
THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY
by Dr. Richard McNeely
Dr. McNeely presents a timely discussion on the Christian Community and its relationship to the individual Believer.
Many long for what is termed, “the New Testament Church.” There is hardly an evangelical, pastoral lead er today who does not voice his goals as those of producing such. This is a worthy goal and it is attainable. However, too often what is produced is not what the New Testament talks about, but that which the leader would like it to be. What is the Chris tian Community? I would suggest three things which are introductory to its composition. First, it is personal. The Christian Community cannot be conceived of as a mass only. It is made of living, dynamic, lethargic, joyful, depressed, triumphant, and defeated people. Further, it is composed of persons who operate on different organiza tional strata but who must be seen individually. The point is, that in such a community there must be an Page 21
this is the chief thrust. The love of which the Bible speaks is that which provides function to the body of be lievers. As the muscles, ligaments, and tendons of our physical body give support and function to the re mainder of the body, so love does this in the Christian Community. This Christian Community is more than Baptist, Methodist, Presbyteri an, Brethren, or any other group. It is accepting all born-again believers as part of that Community. Church relationship is not to be denied, but the personal feeling of corporateness with other believers is to be encour aged as our “belonging to one anoth er” (Romans 14:7).
acceptance of individuals, an appre ciation of their individuality, and a suppression of the concept of abso lute conformity to a group. In a gen uine Christian Community, there is no “generation gap.” Mutual respect of persons toward others is very im portant! Polarization or fragmenta tion is foreign to such a concept—the Community must be a cohesive unit. Secondly, it is diversified. Too of ten, this is the place where the Scrip tural form of church life suffers. To read First Corinthians, one has the feeling that with all its failure, there was an exciting work going on there. The Corinthians are commanded that they “come behind in no gift.” (1 :7 ) In 12:28 of the Epistle, the various gifts of the members are recognized. Just as there is diversity in the hu man body, so there is diversity in the local body, and in the larger body of believers. Diversity, however, should never lead to division. There is a bond which should give a spirit of cohesiveness to the Christian Com munity. Then, the Christian Community is supportive. In the Biblical exhorta tions for saints to ‘love one another,”
Lawrence Richards in his book, A N ew ‘F ace for the Church, notes that as a Christian Community, it does not mean that which we speak of as a “church,” or a religious organization. It does mean, “an association of be lievers gathered together, and in volved in the lives of one another to encourage, to love, to discipline, to strengthen, and to sustain the bud ding life and character of God with in each Christian.” Dr. McNeely is Chairman o f the Biblical Studies Division at Biola College, and a popular speaker in the Southern California area.
Adrian House (right), Director of Alumni, always enjoys the opportunity to talk with Biola students.
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