JACK HYLES SPEAKS ON
BIBLICAL SEPARATION
by Dr. Jack Hyles
Originally published in 1984 by Hyles-Anderson
Publishers, Hammond, Indiana.
Electronic printing, May, 1997 by FFEP.
CONTENTS
Introduction
1. The Main Reason for Separation
2. Sanctify Yourself
3. Liberty Through Separation
4. A Christian's Attitude Toward Other
Christians with Whom He Cannot Cooperate
5. What About Secondary Separation?
6. Separation from Good Christians
7. Separation of God's Money
8. Separation from Weights
9. Separation from Unbelievers in Marriage
10. Ecclesiastical Separation
11. The Way Satan Breaks Down Separation
12. Why Separation?
13. Separation and Our Relationship with God
14. The Hardest Thing About Separation
15. What Is a Fundamentalist?
INTRODUCTION
I AM WORRIED. I am worried about what appears to be
a breaking down of the doctrine of separation among fundamental believers.
I am worried because I believe that Biblical separation is necessary for
the preservation of New Testament Christianity and the preservation of the
nation. I am worried because I love my country, and I believe the doctrine
of separation and its practice by God's people is necessary for
deliverance of that country and for the avoiding of the judgment of God.
I AM NOT ANGRY at anyone. I am not angry at those
who disagree with this treatise. I am not angry at those who will attack
it and its author. I am worried-worried enough to feel that this must be
in print, that it must be read and considered.
I AM NOT ACCUSING anyone of compromise. I believe
that compromise is committed when one knows what to do, but for the sake
of convenience or reward does not do what he knows is right or does not
preach his own conviction. I am aware that one may disagree with the
contents of this manuscript and not be compromising; he can be wrong on
his position, but he may nevertheless be sincere, so I am not accusing
anyone of compromise.
I AM NOT SLANDERING the character of those who might
disagree. Some sincere people will, no doubt, not agree with the author's
position. I am not and will not attack them personally or be accusative in
my conversation concerning those who do not agree with my position.
I AM NOT ATTACKING. No names of fundamental brethren
will be mentioned in the following pages, and there is no desire on the
part of the author to be hurtful, unchristian or unkind.
I AM JUST WORRIED. I am worried because I believe
Biblical separation is necessary for the salvation of this civilization. I
am not asking the reader to believe what the author believes unless the
reader finds himself disagreeing with what he wants to believe because of
conscious or unconscious drifting from what he once accepted as the
Biblical position of separation. I only ask the reader to examine the
contents and consider the possibility of its being true. I ask this
sincerely, not for the sake of dispute or controversy, but for the sake of
my country whose future I believe does not rest in the White House, the
Supreme Court or the halls of Congress, but in the behavior of God's
people! May these words be read with the same loving spirit with which
they are written.
-Jack Hyles
Dear
Reader, Please read Introduction before reading Chapter One.
Chapter
1.
The Main Reason for Separation
Titus 2:14, "Who gave Himself for us, that He might
redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people,
zealous of good works." Luke 1:17, "And he shall go before Him in the
spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a
people prepared for the Lord." Ephesians 1:5, "Having predestinated us
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the
good pleasure of His will. " It is obvious from these passages as to why
God created man. Man was created for the glory of God. He was created for
the praise of God. He was created in order that the great heart of God,
Who is love, would have a special object of His care and recipient of His
love. God does not want us basically to save us from Hell, though that is
one reason. He does not want us mainly to give us Heaven, though that is
another reason. He does not want us mainly to give us joy and peace, but
that is certainly another reason. God mainly wants us for Himself, that we
may praise Him, adore Him, magnify Him, fellowship with Him and become the
object of His great love. This is why we are commanded to do everything we
do to the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31, "Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
One might then ask, "Isn't it wrong to want to
receive glory for yourself?" Yes, it IS wrong for man to desire glory, for
man does not deserve glory. It is not the desire for glory that is wrong;
it is the desire for undeserved glory that is wrong. Hence, it is not
wrong for God to want glory for Himself, for He is deserving of glory.
Then why isn't that the reason that God appeals to
us to be saved? Why doesn't He come to man and say, "I want to be
glorified. Would you trust Me as your Saviour and receive Me as your God
because I will get more glory if you do?" The simple answer is that few
would be saved through those incentives. So God comes to us, offers us
peace, joy, Heaven and salvation from Hell if we will receive Him. When we
do receive Him, He then gives us the Holy Spirit Who leads us to desire to
praise God, glorify God, to fellowship with Him and to be the object and
recipient of His great heart of love.
Now if God does not have us, He is jealous of
whatever takes us from Him. This is the basis of separation. God wants the
Christian to be separate from everything that would take away the purpose
of God's creation and redemption of man. If God doesn't have all of us, He
is jealous of what takes us from Himself. Exodus 20:5, "Thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous
God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate Me. " Exodus 34:14, "For thou
shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, Whose name is Jealous, is a
jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24, "For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire,
even a jealous God." Deuteronomy 5:9, "Thou shalt not bow down thyself
unto them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and
fourth generation of them that hate Me." Zechariah 1:14, "So the angel
that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord
of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy."
Zechariah 8:2, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with
great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. " In these and
other passages in the Bible we find that God is a jealous God. At one
place, He is named Jealous. We find in these passages that He is jealous
of His people. He is jealous for Jerusalem. He is jealous for Zion. This
means that since God made us for Himself and redeemed us for Himself, He
wants us for Himself and desires that we be separate from anything that
detracts from His praise, from His glory and from His fellowship with His
special creation.
This is the reason God is jealous of and wants us to
be separate from liberal theologians and those professing Christians who
do not believe the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the virgin birth, the
perfect life of Christ, His deity, His vicarious death, His bodily
resurrection, His ascension into Heaven and His second coming to earth.
When God's people fellowship with such doubters, there is a good chance
that some seeds of doubt will be lodged in their hearts. God wants to be
praised. Anything that takes away the deity of Christ could be a barrier
between the praise and glory that God should receive from us. He does not
want us to associate with those who doubt His honesty, His deity and His
integrity. Because of this, He tells us to separate from such people. II
Corinthians 6:14-17, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what
communion hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with
Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what
agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the
living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and
I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from
among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you." You will notice that we are to separate
from unbelievers, from darkness, from Belial, from the unclean. God is not
just being "picky"; He wants us for Himself. He wants the purpose for His
creating us and redeeming us to be fulfilled. Therefore, since this would
be hindered by our fellowship with those things mentioned in the above
passage, He wants us separate from them.
A Christian in bad health cannot praise the Lord as
much as a Christian in good health. This is why He wants us to separate
ourselves from things that would impair our health, thereby limiting our
ability to praise Him, honor Him and glorify Him as we should. God does
not tell us to separate ourselves from unclean things such as strong
drink, narcotics (which would include tobacco and alcohol), etc. just
because He wants to restrain us from a few of His pet peeves; rather, He
knows that if we partake of these things, we will limit our physical and
mental ability to fulfill the purpose for our creation and redemption.
Since man can praise his God better with a sound
mind than with one that is weakened and deadened, He tells us to separate
ourselves from those things that would limit our mental ability to give
Him the honor, glory and praise that He wants and deserves from us.
"But," says someone, "jealousy is wrong, isn't it?"
Certainly jealousy for man is a dangerous thing, but it is not wrong for
God. God has a perfect right to our praise, our glory and our honor, and
so the attribute of jealousy is certainly justifiable for God.
God wants us especially for Himself. Lamentations
3:24, "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in
Him."
In the time of the patriarchs, the firstborn
belonged to God. Later, God turned to a tribe. Instead of the firstborn
being set apart for God's service, the tribe of Levi was chosen. Numbers
3:12, "And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of
Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the
children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be Mine." The Levites were
chosen because of their separation after the "golden calf' sin. Exodus
32:26-28, "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on
the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered
themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from
gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and
every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the children of
Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that
day about three thousand men."
The Levites were divided into three groups-the
Gershonites, the Merarites and the Kohathites. Basically, the Gershonites
were given the responsibility of transporting the tent and the hangings of
the tabernacle as the Jews traveled from place to place. The Merarites
were given the responsibility of transporting the bars, the boards and the
pillars. The Kohathites were given the responsibility of transporting the
furniture. The tribe of Levi had replaced the firstborn of the patriarchal
days, as those given to God especially for His service.
When the Israelites got to the land of Canaan, the
tribe of Levi was given no inheritance. Numbers 18:20, "And the Lord spake
unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt
thou have any part among them; I am thy part and thine inheritance among
the children of Israel." Deuteronomy 10:8, 9, "At that time the Lord
separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord,
to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name,
unto this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his
brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, according as the Lord thy God
promised him." Deuteronomy 18:1, 2, "The priests the Levites, and all the
tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall
eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and His inheritance. Therefore
shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their
inheritance, as He hath said unto them." Ezekiel 44:27, 28, "And in the
day that he goeth into the sanctuary, unto the inner court, to minister in
the sanctuary, he shall offer his sinoffering, saith the Lord God. And it
shall be unto them for an inheritance: I am their inheritance: and ye
shall give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession." God told
them that He was to be their inheritance. He was their portion. In other
words, God wanted to be all that they needed.
Today all believers have access to the priesthood.
God is our portion. He wants to be all that we need. He wants us to
Himself. He wants our praise, our glory, our honor, our adoration, our
devotion and our worship, just as He wanted to be all that was needed by
the Levites.
However, this is not all that God wanted. He not
only wanted to be their inheritance and for Him to be their portion, but
He wanted for the Levites to be His portion. Deuteronomy 32:9, "For the
Lord's portion is His people; Jacob is the lot of His inheritance. " Not
only was He all that they needed, but they were all that He needed. He
wanted them separated to Himself so that they could find their all in Him
and He could find His all in them. Today, through salvation, all believers
have access to the priesthood. I Corinthians 2:5, 9, "That your faith
should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. But as it
is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into
the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
Him. "God wants us to find our all in Him, and He wants to find His all in
us.
In summary, God made us for Himself. He redeemed us
for Himself, and He is jealous of anything that takes us from Him. So He
has made "off limits" for us anything or any person that would hinder the
purpose for our creation and salvation. He did not just arbitrarily sit
down and make a list of things from which He wanted us to be separated,
but rather, He listed those things that would hinder the very purpose for
His creation and redemption of His people. Any personal pleasures that
would detract from our purpose of being, any contact with people who would
hinder God's purpose for us, or any endeavor that would damage our union
with Christ for Whom we were made are out of bounds. He made you for
Himself He wants you for Himself, and He wants you to separate yourself
from anything or anybody that would keep Him from being your portion and
keep you from being His.
Chapter
2.
Sanctify Yourself
Joshua 3:5, "And Joshua said unto the people,
Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you." I
am worried! Years ago Satan tried to get fundamentalists and liberals
together. These Sanballats and Tobiahs exhausted themselves in an effort
to unite Bible-believing Christians with those who were infidels. Thank
God, they failed. Soon Satan sent a mediator to pull us together. This
mediator was simply a hypocritical liberalism hiding behind fundamentalist
terminology. He said he believed in the Bible, but not word for word. He
believed in a hell without fire and in sin without enumeration. He spoke
against liquor but not for total abstinence. He had a Heaven without
golden streets and a salvation without regeneration. He was called a
neo-orthodox. Soon the fundamentalist stripped him of his facade and
showed him for what he really was.
Wounded but not defeated, Satan inserted another
intercessor to woo the fundamentalist in an effort to get him to betroth
liberalism. This subtle cupid shot his arrows of love toward us until we
became ashamed of our hatred for wrong. This evangelist for compromise
told us to believe right but to seek acceptability. He sent us to study
Barth and prodded us to read Brunner and Niebuhr. He taught us that
righteousness and justice meant little and that love meant everything. He
sent us to questionable colleges and compromising seminaries and told us
that in order to be prepared we needed to know both sides. He made us
ashamed of proven terms like "fundamentalism," "mourner's bench,"
"Hell-fire and brimstone preaching," "altar calls," "revivals," "get right
with God," etc. He put liberal eye shadow on our fundamentalist eyes and
liberal earrings on our fundamentalist ears. He put liberal rouge on our
fundamentalist cheeks and liberal lipstick on our fundamentalist lips. He
put liberal powder on our fundamentalist noses and liberal shoes on our
fundamentalist feet. He put liberal dye on our fundamentalist hair and
liberal terminology on our fundamentalist doctrine. He appealed to our
second-generation city slickers in an attempt to make us ashamed of our
founding fathers. He reminded us of their lack of education and refinement
and assured us that we could be suave AND fundamental. He made us ashamed
of our heritage and clouded what our forefathers said by ridiculing how
they said it. This was new evangelicalism. We courted him for awhile but
soon saw through his man-made love and found it actually to be hatred.
Finally we rejected his proposal only to find that
there is another girl in the block. It is hard to tell whether she is
loving us to right or seducing us to wrong. She is very attractive, but I
worry about the look in her eye. In as much as I want to like her, I feel
very suspicious about her.
Now who is this temptress? It is fundamental
preachers becoming involved with outsiders in secular endeavors, and I am
afraid that this contact with the liberal crowd will make us like them,
for believe me, they ARE likable, and this new girl in the block just may
accomplish what liberalism, neo-orthodoxy and new evangelicalism could not
accomplish.
All of us have one thing in common. We long to see
our nation and its freedom preserved for our children and grandchildren.
Because of this we find occasion to rejoice. We can rejoice at the growth
of our fundamental churches. We can rejoice at the inevitable results of
this growth such as Christian schools for our children and Christian
colleges for our youth and rejoice because of the men whom God has given
us to appear at courts of justice on our behalf, and we can even rejoice
at the political clout that has followed our new miraculous growth. It may
be, however, that we have become so excited that we can mistakenly feel
that we are ushering in the kingdom. We may be tempted to rush out and buy
a lion and lamb to lie down together. We may bore a hole in the cockatrice
den. It may be possible that we have forgotten the real reason that God
spares societies; that is, in a miraculous response to the sanctification
of His people. We seem to have forgotten that God was not looking for ten
saved people in Sodom; He was looking for ten righteous people in Sodom.
We face a peculiar kind of Christianity where a professed, born-again
quarterback gives an interview to Playboy Magazine and implies that Jesus
would do the same thing if He were here.
A famous singer who is a professing Christian
appears at nightclubs, and at giant rallies he testifies concerning his
love for Jesus. A publisher of a pornographic magazine says he has been
born again yet continues to publish his illicit material. A famous
evangelist says that he is not sure if Hell has fire. All of a sudden we
old-timers cannot believe it!
The children of Israel were in the wilderness. They
had no house of God, they had no law, they had just left Egypt. God's
command is for them to sanctify themselves. Exodus 19:10, "And the Lord
said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and sanctify them to day and to
morrow, and let them wash their clothes."
These same Israelites came to a place where they had
no flesh to eat and pleaded with God to provide flesh for them, but first
they must sanctify themselves. Numbers 11:18, "And say thou unto the
people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for
ye have wept in the ears of the Lord, saying, Who shall give us flesh to
eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the Lord will give you
flesh, and ye shall eat."
Now they stand before the Jordan River. It is time
to cross the Jordan and enter into the land of promise. God will give them
the victory, but first they must sanctify themselves. Joshua 3:5, "And
Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for tomorrow the Lord
will do wonders among you."
After they entered the Promised Land, the Israelites
lost the battle at Ai. Now they come to Ai for the second time. Before God
will give them the victory, they must first sanctify themselves. Joshua
7:13, "Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to
morrow: for thus saith the Lord God of Israel, There is an accursed thing
in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies,
until ye take away the accursed thing from among you."
The ark of the covenant is gone from Israel. God
wants them to have it returned, but first they must sanctify themselves. I
Chronicles 15:12, "And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of
the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren, that ye may
bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel unto the place that I have
prepared for it."
Under King Ahaz there has been terrible apostasy!
God raises up the good king, Hezekiah, and revival is about to come, but
before revival comes, the people must be sanctified. II Chronicles 29:5,
"And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and
sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the
filthiness out of the holy place."
Then there comes even a worse apostasy under
Manasseh and Amon. God raises up a young king named Josiah through whom
comes a great revival, but first there must come the sanctifying of the
people of God. II Chronicles 35:6, "So kill the passover, and sanctify
yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the
word of the Lord by the hand of Moses."
When the temple was dedicated God wanted the people
sanctified before the dedication. II Chronicles 7:14, "If My people, which
are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
America needs a miracle ! Though voting is
important, this country will not be spared the judgment of God at the
ballot box. We need a Red Sea to part or some walls around Jericho to fall
or the sun to stand still or a pillar of cloud to lead us or the fire to
fall. If America is saved, she will be saved because of direct
intervention from God Almighty in response to a sanctified people. The
troubles in our nation are not caused mainly by the homosexuals, though it
is a godless crowd. The troubles in America are not mainly caused by the
liquor traffic, though it is a disgrace to our nation. The troubles in
America are not caused basically by the dope traffic, though it is a
horrible Satanic menace. Nations are spared when the remnant is
sanctified. God looks for ten righteous people in Sodom. He looks for a
covenant of salt. He looks for Gideon's three hundred who are set apart
wholly to God. God will intervene and spare this nation when His people
are sanctified; when Christian ladies turn off the soap operas; when
Christian young people forsake their rock music; when Christian ladies
learn to dress modestly; when a liberal is a liberal again and a
fundamentalist is a fundamentalist again; when right is right, wrong is
wrong, black is black and white is white again; when God's men are
prophets again; when we again hear sermons on judgment, Hell, drinking,
dancing and gambling; when fundamentalists sing like fundamentalists, talk
like fundamentalists and dress like fundamentalists again; and when we get
back to our sawdust-trail, mourner's-bench Christianity which preaches
holy living from the pulpit and practices it in the pulpit and the pew!
Let us fight abortion. Let us fight the liquor traffic. Let us fight
communism. Let us fight the dirty television shows.
Let us fight indecent dress. Let us fight
homosexuality. Yet, we must face the issue squarely-the salvation of any
nation is caused by God's intervention in response to the sanctification
of His people in that nation.
Chapter
3.
Liberty through Separation
Psalm 119:41-46, "Let Thy mercies come also unto me,
O Lord, even Thy salvation, according to Thy word. So shall I have
wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in Thy word. And
take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in
Thy judgments. So shall I keep Thy law continually for ever and ever. And
I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts. I will speak of Thy
testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed."
In our fundamental churches and schools we have some
rules and standards. We have rules about dating, rules about hair styles,
rules about clothing, rules about smoking and dancing and rock music,
rules about speech and respect and behavior, rules about contact with the
opposite sex, and rules about many other matters. Immediately the
accusations begin to roll: "Legalism! Legalism! Legalism!" Such statements
are often made by men with neo-evangelical hearts who masquerade in
fundamental clothing. Sometimes they are made by men who have been
fundamentalists and yet have become weary of the battle and yearn to
return to the onions, watermelons, leeks and garlic of acceptance.
Then this cry of legalism often comes from the desks
of colleges and seminaries built on a fundamental foundation with walls of
compromise and a leaky roof of pseudo-liberty.
'Tis sad but true, we have grown to desire that our
truth be accredited by worldly error. We want a license from wrong to do
right. We want darkness to approve light. We want the unclean to accredit
the clean. We want Belial to give Christ the right to exist. In so doing,
not only are we betraying the standards of our forefathers, but we are
betraying our own standards of a few years ago. If we cannot have padded
pews AND Hell-fire and brimstone preaching, then let's return to the
sawdust trail in a storefront building! If we can't have organs AND
trained choirs without the sevenfold amens and crusty anthems, then let's
go back to the piano and the tuning fork! If we can't have a marriage of
proper grammar and mourner's-bench Christianity, then let's go back to
splitting infinitives, dangling participles and hanging gerunds! If tiled
rest rooms and chandeliers aren't conducive to the old-time religion, then
let's mark off a path, build an outhouse and use 60-watt light bulbs! If
we have to include Kierkegaard, Niebuhr and Brunner in order to be
theologically intellectual, then let's go back to the blue-back speller,
the A,B,C's and the Word of God!
We have listened too much to the worldly
psychiatrists and not enough to the prophets of God. We have listened too
much to humanistic philosophers and not enough to men of God.
The beautiful feet of those who preach the Gospel of
peace have historically been shod with common shoes. The hands that have
wielded the Sword of the Spirit have historically been callused ones. The
eyes that look through the helmet of salvation have been tear-stained
ones. The bodies that have been protected by the shield of faith have been
pure ones. Yet sad to say there are those who would have us forsake our
standards of behavior and they cry, "Legalism! Legalism! Legalism ! "
Someone needs to inform these dear souls as to what
legalism really is. Legalism is attaching something besides faith to
salvation. Salvation by faith plus works is legalism. Salvation by faith
plus baptism is legalism. Salvation by faith plus keeping the law is
legalism. Salvation by faith plus communion is legalism. Salvation by
faith plus confirmation is legalism. Salvation by faith plus Sabbath
keeping is legalism.
The legalist is not the godly mother who insists
that her daughter be modest. The legalist is not the dedicated old dad who
takes his son to the barber shop. The legalist is not the faithful pastor
who insists that his Sunday school teachers do not drink or smoke. The
legalist is not the godly educator who forbids his students to dance or
listen to Satan's music. The legalist is not the man of God who cries
aloud and spares not concerning the evil of our generation.
Was Paul a legalist when he told men not to have
long hair? I Corinthians 11:14, "Doth not even nature itself teach you,
that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him?" Was Paul a
legalist when he told ladies not to have short hair? Was Moses a legalist
when he gave us the ten commandments? Was Paul a legalist when he
admonished the deacons in I Timothy 3 not to be double-tongued, and to be
the husband of one wife, be honest and temperate? I Timothy 3:8-13,
"Likewise must the deacons be grave, not double-tongued, not given to much
wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; holding the mystery of the faith in a
pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the
office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even so must their wives be
grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let the deacons be
the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.
For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves
a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus."
Was Paul a legalist when he told pastors to be sober, the husband of one
wife, not given to wine and greedy of money? I Timothy 3:1-7, "This is a
true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good
work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant,
sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; not given to
wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler,
not covetous; one that ruleth well his own house, having his children in
subjection with all gravity; (for if a man know not how to rule his own
house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest
being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the Devil.
Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he
fall into reproach and the snare of the Devil."
Was Paul a legalist when he admonished Titus to tell
the aged men to be sober, grave, temperate, sound, loving and patient?
Titus 2:2, "That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith,
in charity, in patience." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to tell
the aged women to be holy and temperate? Titus 2:3, "The aged women
likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false
accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things." Was Paul a
legalist when he told Titus to teach the young women to be sober, love
their husbands, love their children, etc.? Titus 2:4, 5, "That they may
teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their
children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their
own husbands, that the Word of God be not blasphemed." Was Paul a legalist
when he told Titus to tell the young men to be sober minded, clean, pure,
etc.? Titus 2:6-8, "Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all
things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing
uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech, that cannot be condemned;
that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing
to say of you." Was Paul a legalist when he told Titus to exhort the
servants as to their behavior? Titus 2:9, 10, "Exhort servants to be
obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things;
not answering again; not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that
they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." Was Paul a
legalist when he gave us standards for women's dress? I Timothy 2:9, "In
like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with
shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or
costly array."
Now why do we have these rules? Notice Psalm 119:45,
"And I will walk at liberty: for I seek Thy precepts." The Psalmist says
here that he walks in liberty because he seeks God's precepts or because
he keeps His commandments. Modern thought teaches us that if we walk in
liberty, we don't have to keep commandments, but the Bible says the
liberty is in keeping the commandments and not in being free from them.
The Scripture here deals with walls. The Psalmist is
likening commandments to a wall of protection around a city. The ancient
Eastern cities had walls built around them in order to keep the enemy from
the people. Now these walls were not to keep the people from liberty, but
to keep the people in liberty and free from those who would kill them or
enslave them. Suppose an attack were to come from without and the enemy
armies would begin to advance. Where would the people be free? Inside the
walls or outside the walls? Inside, of course! The walls were built around
the people in order that they may be free from the bondage of the enemy
attacking from without. Rules and standards do not enslave; they liberate!
The very purpose of commandments, rules and standards is to build a wall
so those things which could enslave cannot reach our people. We have a
rule against drinking because drinking enslaves. Hence, it is put outside
the wall. We have a rule against narcotics because narcotics enslave.
Hence, they are put outside the wall. We have a rule against stealing
because stealing enslaves. Hence, stealing is placed outside the wall. The
very purpose of rules is to build a place of freedom so those things that
enslave us cannot reach us.
There is a commandment that says, "Thou shalt not
kill." Now where is freedom? Inside the commandment or outside the
commandment? Inside, of course! A man may say that he is free to kill, but
he loses his freedom when he kills. The same is true with adultery, dope,
drink, smoking, rock music, homosexuality and other things that enslave.
Humanistic universities often shoot their satiristic
barbs toward fundamental schools and say they are prisons. Nothing is
further from the truth! The humanistic school is the prison. Many of the
students there are bound by liquor, bound by narcotics, bound by
homosexuality, bound by immorality, bound by nicotine and bound by rock
music. No one loves them enough and no one is wise enough to build a wall
of standards around them in order that they may be free from those things
which enslave. Freedom is not in the university which has no rules;
freedom is in a university which loves its students enough to build rules
of protection around them. Love is not breaking down the walls; love is
building the walls! Love is not freedom to go to the captor; love is
freedom from the captor!
Recently I was in southern California. It was a
beautiful morning, so I took a walk. I saw a perfect illustration of this
point. I walked by a corner house which had a fenced-in back yard. Inside
that fence was a little Chihuahua dog and outside the fence was a giant
bulldog. The little Chihuahua began to run up and down the fence barking.
Then I thought I heard him speak a little bit. I think I heard him say,
"Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! I want my freedom! I'm tired of being
a slave. Let me out. I want to be free. Let me out!" How foolish that
little dog was! The big bulldog had already put his napkin around his neck
and said grace. Now where was the freedom for the Chihuahua? Inside the
fence or outside the fence? Inside, of course. There are millions of young
Americans like that Chihuahua. "Let me out. I want to be free. Woof! Woof!
I want to be free. " Then they are allowed to leave the freedom provided
by the fence. They leave what they think is slavery and are soon captured
by those things from without which hitherto were not allowed to reach them
because of standards and rules built as a fence for their protection. When
I was inducted into the Army in World War II, the first night I slept in a
tent in Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. A sergeant came to me and said, "Private
Hyles, do you see that fence over there?"
I said, "Yes, I do."
He said, "Those men on the other side of that fence
are the worst of the German prisoners of war. You are not allowed to go
over there."
Brother, he wasted his time and effort in making
that last statement. I wasn't about to go over there, for my freedom was
provided by that fence. The boundary itself gave me freedom. To go across
the boundary would be a loss of freedom.
Many years ago when I was pastoring in Garland,
Texas, I had a daily radio broadcast. Ordinarily the broadcast was live.
However, on occasion, if I were scheduled to be out of town for a day or
so, I would make a tape and take it to the radio station located on the
eleventh floor of the Stoneleigh Hotel of Dallas, Texas. On one occasion I
took a tape to the station. When I got on the elevator, I told the
operator, who was an attractive young lady, that I wanted to go to the
eleventh floor. She didn't hear a word I said! She was in a daze because
Elvis Presley had just ridden her elevator. Finally I convinced her that I
needed to go to the eleventh floor, and all she talked about was the fact
that she had been alone with Elvis Presley for a few minutes. She finally
gathered herself together and took me to the eleventh floor. She waited as
I took the tape across the hallway to the station and then took me back to
the main floor. On the way, however, she stopped the elevator, and Elvis
Presley got on. He had on a green satin suit and at that time was in his
heyday. I introduced myself to Elvis, we shook hands, and then I asked
him, "Elvis, do you know, if you died today, you would go to Heaven?"
His answer was startling. "I certainly do," he said.
"I was saved when I was a child." Then he proceeded to tell me the
circumstances. As best I remember, he said that his grandmother or some
other relative had taken him to hear an old-fashioned Gospel preacher. He
had received Christ as his Saviour. He told me in clear, positive language
of his salvation.
I then looked him square in the eye and said,
"Elvis, how could a person who is born again live the kind of life that
you are living?"
He said, "Jack, I got tired of the rules. I wanted
to be free."
Need I say more? The very type of death that he died
is living proof that though he thought he was leaving slavery to go to
freedom, he was leaving freedom to go to slavery.
We have the idea that freedom is detachment, but
this is not so. Freedom is being delivered from one master to a higher
form of servitude to our Deliverer. Freedom is deliverance from the law
for a higher law. Freedom is a higher law liberating me from a lower one.
Romans 8:2, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death." Freedom is deliverance from that
which God did not intend for me to do in order that I may be a servant to
that which God intended me to do.
Jeremiah put it this way. Thou hast broken the yokes
of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron." (Jeremiah 28:13b)
Abstinence from liquor is a yoke of wood; when it is broken, its place is
taken by alcoholism which is a yoke of iron. Abstinence from narcotics is
a yoke of wood; but when it is broken, it is replaced by the yoke of iron
which is addiction.
David said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he
became a slave to his passions. Lot said, "I will be free," and in so
doing, he became a slave to the sins of Sodom. Samson said, "I will be
free," and in so doing, he was bound to the mill with his eyes blinded.
Solomon said, "I will be free," and in so doing, he became a slave to
lust.
I thank God for an old-fashioned wall-building
mother who built around me a wall of rules that kept me free from those
life-ruining things that would have enslaved me. I thank God for an
old-fashioned wall-building preacher who preached multitudes of "thou
shalt not's" and in so doing kept me free from the captor. I thank God for
old-fashioned schools, churches and preachers who still in this permissive
society build little places of freedom and wall these places with rules so
that our young people cannot be captured by the enemy.
Choose if you will, the bondage of compromise, but
build for me the liberty of fundamental separation, or as one has
previously said, "Give me liberty, or give me death!"
Chapter
4.
A Christian's Attitude Toward Other
Christians with Whom He Cannot Cooperate
Recently I was flying to a speaking engagement. The
gentlemen seated beside me on the airplane looked at me and asked, "Aren't
you Dr. Jack Hyles?"
I said, "Yes, I am."
He introduced himself to me as a Christian brother
who was in the Lord's work full time. He was saved, and yet was aligned
with a group with whom I could not align myself in cooperation. However,
we had a nice conversation on the airplane. We talked about salvation, how
wonderful it was to be a Christian, and many other things that we mutually
shared. Now I would not have this brother in my church to speak nor would
he have me in his church to speak. There is no way that I could cooperate
with him in an endeavor that would cause us to yoke up together, but that
did not mean I was unkind to him. That did not mean that I doubted his
salvation, and that did not mean that we could not spend a few minutes
rejoicing in our common salvation.
Recently I was in a clothing store. A former member
of First Baptist Church who is now leading a compromising life was there.
I went to that member, talked with him and we enjoyed being together for a
few minutes. We have some common experiences and memories that we relived
and shared. For about fifteen minutes we talked and laughed and
reminisced. Now this does not mean that I would invite this member living
in a position of compromise over to my house for an evening, nor does it
mean that I would cooperate with him in some kind of an endeavor.
Not long ago I crossed the path of a husband and
wife who have drifted far from God and His purpose for their lives. They
are saved but backslidden. I chatted with them courteously and kindly and
then passed on. I did not have to choose between yoking up with them in
some endeavor which involved my compromising and being rude to them. The
Bible is plain concerning how we are to behave toward believers as far as
our manner toward them is concerned. Following are some of the attitudes
that we are to have toward all believers:
1. We are to love each other. I John 3:14, 15, "We
know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the
brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath
eternal life abiding in him." Romans 12:9, 10; "Let love be without
dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be
kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour
preferring one another." Ephesians 4:15, "But speaking the truth in love,
may grow up into Him in all things, Which is the head, even Christ."
2. We are not to hate a Christian brother. I John
2:9, "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in
darkness even until now."
3. We are not to count a Christian brother as an
enemy. II Thessalonians 3:14, 15, "And if any man obey not our word by
this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be
ashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
4. We are to edify our Christian brother. Romans
14:19, "Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and
things wherewith one may edify another."
5. We are not to have bitterness, wrath, anger,
malice or evil speaking toward our Christian brother. Ephesians 4:30, 31,
"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, Whereby ye are sealed unto the day
of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and
evil speaking be put way from you, with all malice."
6. We are to be kindly affectioned toward our
Christian brother. Romans 12:10, "Be kindly affectioned one to another
with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another."
7. We are to offer forbearance to those in the body
of Christ. Ephesians 4:2, "With all lowliness and meekness, with
longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."
8. We are to respond to their evil with good. Romans
12:21, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
9. We are not to sow discord among Christian
brethren. Proverbs 6:16,19, "These six things doth the Lord hate: yea,
seven are an abomination unto Him . . . a false witness that speaketh
lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren."
10. We are not to cause our Christian brother to
stumble. Romans 14:10-13, 21, "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why
dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the
judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord,
every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore
judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a
stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. It is good
neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother
stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak."
11. We should do all we can to restore a Christian
brother o has erred. Galatians 6:1, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a
fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of
meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted."
12. We should warn a Christian brother concerning
unruly behavior. I Thessalonians 5:14, "Now we exhort you, brethren, warn
them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be
patient toward all men."
13. We are to do our best to strengthen our
Christian brother. Romans 14:1, "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye,
but not to doubtful disputations." Romans 15:1-3, "We then that are strong
ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. For
even Christ pleased not Himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of
them that reproached thee fell on me."
14. When our Christian brother does err, we are to
speak the truth to him, but we are to do it in love. Ephesians 4:15, "But
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, Which is
the head, even Christ."
15. We must always realize the possibility of our
stumbling. Galatians 1:7-9, "Which is not another; but there be some that
trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an
angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we
have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I
now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed." Notice the Apostle Paul entertains the
possibility that someday he could come and preach the wrong doctrine.
This, no doubt, prevented him from thinking too highly of himself Romans
12:3, "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but
to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of
faith." He always entertained the possibility that he could also fall. I
Corinthians 10:12, "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall."
16. We should give extra care in our attitudes
toward pastors who are saved and are God's men. They who rule well are to
be counted worthy of double honor. I Timothy 5:17, "Let the elders that
rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour
in the word and doctrine."
We are not to lift our hands against God's anointed.
I Samuel 26:9, "And David said to Abishai, Destroy him not: for who can
stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless?" I
Chronicles 16:22, "Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets no
harm." Psalm 105:15, "Saying, Touch not Mine anointed, and do My prophets
no harm."
We are to take extra care in our treatment toward
God's men. I Timothy 5:1, "Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a
father; and the younger men as brethren." I Timothy 5:19, 20, "Against an
elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them
that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear. "
There are many other attitudes and manners of
behavior that we are supposed to have for God's people. This does not
mean, however, that it is always proper to yoke up with the people of God
in some kind of Christian endeavor. Romans 16:17, "Now I beseech you,
brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the
doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." I Timothy 1:19, 20,
"Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away
concerning faith have made shipwreck: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander;
whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme."
Philippians 3:17-19, "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them
which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. (For many walk, of whom I
have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ: whose end is destruction, whose God is
their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the
Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." There are Christian students in Christian
schools to whom our children should be friendly and courteous and kind but
with whom they should not have their social lives interwoven. There are
Christian young men that should not be dated by spiritual young ladies.
This does not mean that they should be looked down upon or mistreated; it
simply means that there are some Christians whose lives must cause us not
to enter into close contact or social interaction with them.
There are preachers who are saved men but who belong
to compromising denominations and who support schools that lean toward
infidelity. It is not wrong for us to be kind to these preachers and even
to feel kindly toward them. It is unwise, however, for us to choose them
for places of leadership or places of honor or have them speak in our
churches.
I traveled with such an one recently. He believes
the Bible, he is saved and was on the same airplane with me. He changed
his seat, came up and sat beside me, and I was pleased that he did. I did
not scold him for his relationships and affiliations. He already knew how
I felt about that. I felt kindly and brotherly toward him and enjoyed
being with him, just as I did with the brother mentioned at the beginning
of this chapter. He is my brother in Christ, and though I cannot endorse
him nor speak for him or have him speak for me, I nevertheless felt kindly
toward him and realized that we are brothers in the same family. There
seems to be an attitude that I either have to slander him or cooperate
with him. What is wrong with doing neither? What is wrong with being
courteous and nice to him, loving him and having forbearance toward him
just as I am commanded, and at the same time realizing that he is not in a
position spiritually but IS in a position ecclesiastically that would keep
me from wanting him to speak for me or wanting to enter into some
spiritual endeavor with him. He has chosen the crowd with whom he wants to
run. I have chosen the crowd, according to the Scriptures as I see them,
with whom I want to run. If I entered into some joint endeavor with him,
we would have occasion to be tempted to be unchristian toward each other I
can be a better Christian if I am nice and courteous to him at a distance
rather than being tempted to discourtesy up close. By at a distance," I
mean avoiding joint endeavors, etc.
Whether we believe it or not, we all as Christians
practice this type of separation. The wise parent says to a daughter, "I
know the young man is a Christian, but he is not living right and I don't
want you to go with him." The wise parents say to a son, I know she is
saved, but she is not the kind of young lady that we want you to date." A
wife may say to a husband, "I know the fellows at the job are saved, but I
wish you would not associate with them; they are doing questionable things
Wise parents who have children in Christian schools will say to them, "Now
you be nice to everybody at school, but there are some of the Christian
young people that are doing wrong things and I don`t want you to be close
to them You be courteous and nice but don t you socialize with them Now
you can call this secondary separation or anything you want to call it It
is just something that all spiritual Christians practice.
Without malice, bitterness, wrath or clamoring, we
choose for ourselves and for our loved ones those particular Christians
who are spiritual with whom we want to fellowship and with whom we want
our loved ones to fellowship.
If the unseparated Christians will let us, we will
help them If they want us to, we will restore them If they seek it, we
will forgive them but until they are restored and have proven themselves,
we refrain from social intimacies and cooperative endeavors. We all
practice this form of secondary separation We don't want our children
running with the wrong crowd of Christians. We don't want our children
running with Christian young people that run with the unsaved We exhort
them to be nice, yes; to be kind, courteous and forgiving of course, and
yet not to run with them as good, close friends Now if this be true for
our young people, why wouldn't it be true for Mom and Dad? Perhaps parents
should not make their close friends and associations with those who run
with the unsaved Then why shouldn't it be true also for a preacher?
Perhaps a preacher would be wise to be careful not to run with other
preachers who run with the unsaved A preacher can be courteous to them and
even thank God for the measure of faithfulness they have to the Word of
God and even rejoice with them in their salvation, but if contact with
them puts him in a position to be tempted to violate the Biblical laws of
separation, he might be wise to take extra care. One does not have to
choose between running with the wrong crowd and being intimately
associated with believers who are running with the wrong crowd and being
courteous and kind with all the body of Christ.
When our girls were teenagers I did not feel unkind
toward the boys whom I would not let them date There were simply some
Christian boys whom I felt they should not date. This did not mean I hated
them nor wrote articles against them nor slandered them. It just meant
that my daughters could not go with them.
When our son, David, was a teenager, there were some
Christian girls whom he could not date. Some of these attended First
Baptist Church. I was their pastor, I loved them and I was happy to be
their pastor; I simply felt that their Christian lives were not such as I
wanted my son to date them. There were young ladies in Hammond Baptist
High School that I did not want him to date, and there were young ladies
in Hyles-Anderson College that I did not want him to date. I loved them,
taught them, trained them, prayed for them, strengthened them, encouraged
them, and even accepted the fact that someday they could be restored to a
place where David could go with them. They had done nothing to cause them
to be expelled from school, but they had not done enough to cause them to
be the kind of young lady that I wanted Dave to date and eventually marry.
There are carnal adults, preachers, and members of
First Baptist Church with whom I would not suggest spiritual folks become
intimately associated Yet I love them and am doing my best to restore them
to the position of spirituality they once knew While awaiting that time, I
am going to continue to love them. I am not going to slander them. I am
going to encourage my people to be courteous, kind and gracious toward
them. I am simply not going to suggest that my spiritual people get so
interwoven with them that they too will become carnal.
Chapter
5.
What About Secondary Separation?
One of the big issues of our day is not only,
"Should we separate, from the wrong crowd?" but also, "Should we separate
from those who run with the wrong crowd?" We could go on and on and ask, "
Should we separate from those who run with those who run with the wrong
crowd?" and "Should we separate from those who run with those who run with
those who run with the wrong crowd?" To enter into such a subject is like
tiptoeing through mine fields, but since the issue needs to be faced, we
will do so.
Sin is basically that which causes bad consequences
to me or to someone else. This is an oversimplification, but to say the
least, sin has consequences. The ultimate consequence of sin is death.
Because of this, the wise person will find what leads to death and avoid
it. The answer to this is in James 1:14,15. "But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death." The Bible teaches us that sin brings death. We are reminded
in the Word of God that the soul that sinneth shall surely die. We are
reminded that the wages of sin is death. If we could just find what brings
death and avoid it, we could avoid death-death of dreams, death of homes,
death of hopes, etc. Since we don't want to die, then we should avoid sin,
for sin brings death.
What brings sin? We find in our text verses the
answer to this. Temptation brings sin. Hence, the wise person will stay
away from death by staying away from sin and will stay away from sin by
staying away from temptation, for temptation leads to sin and sin leads to
death. To be two steps from death is better than to be one step from
death.
We could be even safer if we could find what brings
temptation. Again, our text verses tell us that enticement causes
temptation. Enticement is someone or something trying to get us to
consider wrong. Since enticement leads to temptation and temptation leads
to sin and sin leads to death, then a person is farther from death if he
stays away from enticement. If one does not want to die, he should avoid
sin. If he wants to avoid sin, he should avoid temptation. If he wants to
avoid temptation, he should avoid enticement. If this can be done, we are
another step farther from death. Far too many of us walk just inside the
boundary of sin, and then one stumble sends us across the line ! However,
if a person can find that temptation brings sin and enticement brings
temptation, he can be several steps from death; then if he stumbles, he
will not stumble into sin but into enticement.
Recently a young lady in Hyles-Anderson College came
to my office in tears and completely broken. I asked her what was the
trouble. She said, "Dr. Hyles, I am a fallen woman."
I said, "Oh, my, I'm sorry!"
She said, "I know I have broken your heart. I never
thought it would happen to me, but it did. I know my parents will be
heartbroken! My pastor will be crushed! I know, Brother Hyles, that I have
hurt you deeply."
As she told me this she was weeping uncontrollably.
I wept with her. I asked her, "Where did this happen?"
She said, "In the halls of Hyles-Anderson College."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I said,
"Exactly what did you do?"
She said, "Brother Hyles, I held a boy's hand."
Though I continued to look concerned, I could not
help but rejoice inwardly. To her, to become a fallen woman was to hold a
boy's hand. She had stayed so far away from sin that when she did stumble,
she was far enough away from the edge of sin not to go into sin itself How
tragic it is that many schools have their rules just between temptation
and sin! The only rules are those which keep young people from sin. Why
not make rules that keep them from temptation? Then why not make rules
that keep them from enticement? Then why not make rules to prevent
enticement in order to keep the young people even farther from death? If
sin brings death, let us stay away from sin. If temptation brings sin, let
us stay away from temptation. If enticement brings temptation, let us stay
away from enticement.
If we could find what causes enticement, we could
take another step away from death. The answer once again is in our text.
Lust brings enticement. Lust simply means "desire." We lust, then we are
enticed, then we are tempted, then we sin, then we die. We could take a
step farther from death if we could find what leads to lust or desire.
Again we find in our text that being drawn away leads to lust. God has a
plan for each of our lives. Each of us is to be busily engaged in
fulfilling that plan. When we are drawn away from that plan and the work
that God has called us to do, we then notice what the world has to offer
and we desire it. Once we desire it, there is always someone who can
entice us. Then we are led to temptation which leads to sin which leads to
death!
If we would keep from death, we must keep from sin.
If we would keep from sin, we must keep from temptation, which takes us
two steps from death. If we would be kept from temptation, we must be kept
from enticement, which makes us three steps from death. If we are kept
from enticement, we must be kept from lust, which puts us four steps from
death. If we are kept from lust, we must be kept from being drawn away,
which makes us five steps from death. It just makes sense that the farther
one can stay from death the better off he is, and since death is caused by
sin and sin brings death, we should stay as far away from sin as possible.
Everyone who goes into sin follows the same pathway. He is drawn away from
doing the things he is supposed to do. His eyes see something after which
he lusts. Then someone entices him to take, whereupon he is tempted. The
temptation leads to sin, and sin leads to death.
When I was a boy my mother taught me to come
straight home from school. There was a certain route that I was to take
every day. One day I did not take that route but joined some other boys in
traveling another way. We had taken the first step. I was drawn away!
On this new way home there was a peach orchard which
also had a big pecan tree nearby. We came by, looked at the peaches and
pecans and desired them or lusted after them. Now we had taken the second
step toward death which is lust.
Then one of the fellows suggested that since I was
the smallest, I should climb to the top of the fence and the other boys
would keep me from falling inside. I could lean over the fence, pick up
some pecans and peaches and throw them out until there was enough for all
of us. Then they would pull me back over the fence and we could go our
way. There was the enticement. I was a step closer to death.
As I looked at the peaches and listened to their
plan, I was tempted, and I was a step closer to death.
Then came the sin! I climbed the fence and reached
for the pecans and peaches on the other side. One boy was at the top of
the fence holding me, another boy was at the bottom of the fence holding
him and the other boy was on the ground holding him. I got several pecans
and peaches and threw them outside the orchard, and just as I was about to
get enough, I noticed that the police had arrived! I was the only boy
inside the fence, and as soon as the other boys saw the police coming,
they let me go! I fell inside the fence and they scurried home. (This is
always the case! Those who lead you into sin always drop you as soon as
they are through with you or as soon as trouble comes.) There I was facing
the police officers. Being drawn away had brought lust, lust had brought
enticement, enticement had brought temptation and temptation had brought
sin. Sin brought the police. (My mother had called them and told them to
scare me to death.) They took me to the police station and warned me of my
plight. I could see life imprisonment or perhaps even the electric chair!
My predicament was caused by sin. My sin was caused by temptation, my
temptation was caused by enticement, my enticement was caused by lust, and
my lust was caused by being drawn away from the straight route home.
How foolish we are to live just outside sin! How
foolish we are to make our rules and standards just outside sin! The
farther we can walk from sin, the safer is our walk, and the farther from
sin that we can keep those young people over whom we have authority, the
safer will be their walk. Too many of us have our rules and standards
right after temptation or right after enticement or right after lust or
right after being drawn away. The wise leader will keep himself and his
followers as many steps from death as possible; hence, as many steps from
sin as possible.
Now concerning the matter of secondary separation,
this is not even the issue. The issue is to be as safe as possible. If it
is safe not to run with the wrong crowd, then it is safer not to run with
the crowd who runs with the wrong crowd. Let us suppose, for example, that
when our oldest daughter, Becky, was dating the young man who is now her
husband, her boyfriend came by one night to get her and had with him a
friend. Suppose he said, "Brother Hyles, I want you to meet my friend. He
is a sex pervert who has just escaped from the mental ward of the state
penitentiary. He is going to go with us on our date tonight. " My daughter
would not have gone on a date that night, and I would have told Tim so!
Suppose he would have said, "Brother Hyles, don't
you approve of me?"
I would have said, "Yes, Tim, but I don't approve of
your crowd. Now you take the sex pervert home before you take my daughter
out, and you sever your relationship with him before you think seriously
about my daughter."
Now if a person is a Christian, he is my brother in
Christ, and I am to be kind to him, but if he is running with the wrong
crowd, I will not promote him. I think it not necessary for me to declare
the names of those with whom I do not choose to cooperate. I simply
quietly use care so that I may stay as far away as possible from sin. Many
churches and ministries have died because the pastor and people have not
stayed far enough away from death and that which brings death-sin.
I have no tabloids or papers in which I verbally
abuse the brethren, but there are brethren whom I love dearly and whom I
think are saved whom I will not have preach for me. I am not going to list
them, be unkind to them or verbally abuse them, but I will very quietly
exercise care. The reader may call it what he wants to call it. I call it
being careful. Perhaps this chapter should be called, "Careful
Separation," but whatever it is-whether it be the sin of drinking, the sin
of adultery, the sin of dope, or the sin of denying Christ and the Bible,
the farther that I can stay away from it, the safer I am.
Because the command of the Bible is to be separate
from sinners, it is wise that we exercise special care as we deal with
others concerning this subject and its implementation.
If a young person wants to stay away from adultery,
which is sin, then he would be wise to stay away from heavy petting. If he
wants to stay away from heavy petting, he should stay away from petting.
If he wants to stay away from petting, he should stay away from kissing.
If he wants to stay away from kissing, he should stay away from embracing.
If he wants to stay away from embracing, he should stay away from
hand-holding. There is nothing in the Bible that says hand-holding is sin,
but there is certainly nothing wrong with exercising care and good sense.
I am very aware of the fact that there is a great
difference between the hair standards required for our young men at
Hyles-Anderson College and what would be called sin. A young man could
wear his hair much longer than we at Hyles-Anderson do and not sin, but
why stay right next to the edge? The same is no doubt true with standards
concerning young ladies' dress, but we believe that there is safety in
staying a great distance from sin and its consequence-death. Each man must
decide for himself how far that distance is, but there is certainly wisdom
in safety.
Now the Bible is plain concerning separation from
unbelievers. II John 7-11, "For many deceivers are entered into the world,
who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver
and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which
we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He
that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him
not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him
God speed is partaker of his evil deeds." You will notice that we are not
to receive false teachers into our house and we are not to bid them God
speed when they leave, lest we become partakers of their evil deeds. If a
nice, personable fellow comes by with a briefcase, a tape recorder or
slide projector and tells you that he wants to talk to you about religion,
you are not supposed to receive him into your house until you are sure
that he is not a false teacher.
The Bible promises a great blessing to those who
abstain from fellowship with the ungodly. Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of
sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in
the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he
shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth
his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he
doeth shall prosper." Here are five points or steps to guaranteed
prosperity and success.
1. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly.
2. Do not stand in the way of sinners.
3. Do not sit in the seat of the scornful.
4. Delight in the Law of the Lord.
5. Meditate in the Word of God day and night.
Notice that three of these deal with separation from
the wrong kind of people.
There is also a blessed fellowship offered to those
who separate themselves from being yoked with unbelievers. II Corinthians
6:14-18, "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion
hath light with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or
what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath
the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as
God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I
will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons
and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." Notice verse 18 where God
promises a sweet relationship between Himself and the separated believer.
To be sure, all of us who are saved are God's children, but sometimes that
relationship is strained and God will not treat us like His children. This
depends upon our running with the right crowd and being separated.
Unbelievers want us! Acts 20:28-31, "Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy
Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath
purchased with His own blood. For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of
your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away
disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of
three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Jude
3, 4, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common
salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye
should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of
old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our
God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus
Christ." II Peter 2:1-3, "But there were false prophets also among the
people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them and
bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their
pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken
of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make
merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and
their damnation slumbereth not."
Just as Sanballat and Tobiah wanted to help in
rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem, even so unbelievers want believers
and their fellowship. For one thing, they need our zeal. Their only hope
for growth is the zeal and fire of those who believe and preach the
Gospel. Apostate denominations love to confuse zealous believers and use
them as window dressing. They put them in front of the denomination
national meetings in order to convince the denomination that everything is
all right while behind the scenes they continue to chop away at the
foundations.
They also want God's blessings. This is why they
came to Balaam and asked him to come to Moab. Though they themselves were
heathen, they wanted the blessings of God that accompany God's men.
Then they want our money. They don't mind you
criticizing them as long as you feed them and send your money to their
liberal programs.
Then they want our fame. They love to choose some
famous evangelist and appear before him because he is famous. The truth
is, if he were not famous, they would destroy him if they could. Wrong
always wants to run with right. An immoral boy always wants to marry a
moral girl. Wrong always entices right, and the tragedy is that right
always seems to think that it can change wrong. This is never the case.
Those decaying denominations are never salvaged from within by their
zealots. A long time before the zealots realize the decay, the places of
denominational leadership and the schools have turned toward apostasy.
The Bible is clear that we are not to yoke up with
unbelievers, but how about those who do yoke up with unbelievers? That has
been discussed from many angles in this chapter. Much care should be taken
here. Suppose your son has a good friend, but the good friend runs with
homosexuals. Would you want your son to run with a fellow who runs with
homosexuals? The truth is, the farther away he can get from the
homosexuals, the better he is. Somebody says, "Prove it by the Bible." In
this case, I do not have to do so. I can prove it by good sense. I am
thinking now of a Canadian preacher who once was a successful evangelist,
but he got the idea that he could run with the National Council of
Churches and not be affected. He soon became their evangelist. He did not
change them; they changed him. He then got out of the ministry. While
sitting in a motel room in Canada, I saw him on a television program, and
I heard him deny the Bible, deny Christ and even declare atheism!
The hope for America is the sanctity and purity of
God's people. It is the hope for your children and mine and for your
grandchildren and mine. Too much care cannot be taken to preserve this
holy position in order that God may, for His people's sake, spare our
generation!
Chapter
6.
Separation from Good Christians
Yes, you read it right. This chapter does not deal
with separation from liberals, separation from new evangelicals, or even
separation from carnal Christians. It will deal with separation from good
Christians, from spiritual preachers, from godly deacons, from good,
dedicated Sunday school teachers, and from loyal and faithful staff
members. To be sure, Christian fellowship is important for God's people,
but this fellowship should be both planned and scheduled lest Christians
spend an excess of idle time with each other. Someone has said, "Great
minds talk about ideas; good minds talk about things; weak minds talk
about people." It would be a good idea for Christians to cease their
fellowship when they leave off talking about ideas; certainly before they
begin talking about people. Even casual talk will often deteriorate into
criticism.
1. The Christian is not to talk about unclean
things. Ephesians 5:1-3, "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear
children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given
Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling
savour But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not
be once named among you, as becometh saints." Certainly this includes
obscene talk, but it goes beyond that. We are not to talk about unclean
things that are true. For example, I was in a certain city preaching. I
had been to the same church on two other occasions while another man was
its pastor. He had obviously run into some difficulty at the church and
had resigned. The young preacher met me at the airport. In a few minutes
he said, "I guess you heard about the trouble the former pastor had."
I said, "No. The only thing I heard was that he
resigned."
The young preacher then told me that it was a sad
story and began to tell me the story.
Immediately I said, "Hold it, son! I don't want to
know what happened. I'm here to be a blessing, and if there is something
bad about the former pastor, I do not want to know it unless he himself
comes to me for help. Then I must learn the story in order to help him.
Otherwise I have no desire to know."
During the two days that I was at the church,
numerous pastors and laymen mentioned how sad they were about what had
happened to the former pastor and each began to tell me. Each time I said,
"Hold it! I don't want to know what happened. I don't need to know unless
it is to help the brother, and then I want to find the facts from him." Of
course, gossip is bad, but it is also bad for the Christian to talk about
unclean truth. The mind is the original computer. It is unwise to allow
unclean things to enter therein.
The word "covetousness" in Ephesians 5:3 means
"wanting to know more." The word "named" means "mentioned or talked
about," which means we are not to want to know more or talk about or
mention things that are unclean, even if they are true.
Recently I was talking to a friend on the telephone.
He said, "Did you hear about so-and-so doing a certain thing that was
bad?"
I said, "I don't believe it and don't want to talk
about it."
Several years ago I was in a motel room
fellow-shipping with two great preachers. One of them asked if I had heard
something negative about another great preacher. I said, "No, I have not
heard it, and I don't want to hear it. In the first place, if I heard it,
I would not believe it. In the second place, I do not want a negative
thought to enter into my mind about that brother."
I was preaching in a Midwestern city in a church
pastored by a dear friend. He asked me if I would go out to eat with him
after the service. (He knew that I rarely did so.) I told him I felt like
I didn't have time. He said, "Please, Dr. Hyles. You are going to be here
only one night, and I want to fellowship with you. Would you come if I
promise not to talk about people?"
With a grin I agreed to do so. He kept his promise.
We had blessed fellowship together.
2. The Christian is not to spend much time talking
about light or frivolous matters. Ephesians 5:4, "Neither filthiness, nor
foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving
of thanks." The word "filthiness" in this passage means "shameful." The
term "foolish talking" comes from the Greek word "moros" which means
"silly" or "comic." The word "jesting" comes from a word that was used
concerning the quick movement of apes and people. It means "quick talk" or
"chitchat." The word "convenient" means "properly timed. " This means that
we should be appropriate with our humor, our jesting and our chitchat. It
does not teach that we are never to be humorous, folksy or casually
humorous in our talk. It means that such talk is to be properly timed,
which should be in good taste and should be limited. God wants us to
laugh. He certainly is not opposed to a funny story that is appropriate.
I have known personally some of the greatest
Christians of the past. I was an intimate friend of John R. Rice, Bob
Jones Sr., Lester Roloff, Bill Rice, G. B. Vick, Ford Porter and other
great men of God. All of these men were delightfully humorous, but always
with propriety and within boundaries and limitations. God is telling us
here that planned, limited, appropriate chitchat and humor are acceptable,
but this should not be unbridled, and it should not occupy a great portion
of our time.
I suggest to our young people that they plan their
dates. I suggest that they plan to do things together and not to spend a
lot of time sitting and talking. Perhaps at the end of a date, ten to
fifteen minutes could be allowed for chitchat and conversation, but when a
young couple just sits and talks they usually will say things they should
not say, or they will have a problem in their relationship.
The wise Christian will allow a set amount of time
for telephone chitchat. It is a good idea to make notes prior to telephone
conversations in order that the conversation may go in a proper direction
and to prevent a waste of time. At the end of the conversation, perhaps
two or three minutes could be allowed for casual talk, but it is dangerous
for people just to call and talk by telephone for a length of time without
a planned conversation. Soon the conversation will deteriorate into
gossip, criticism, or people talk, or become a waste of time, or all four.
3. The wise Christian will put some time in his
schedule for light talk. For over 22 years I shared platforms all over
America with Dr. John R. Rice. I preached with him over 2200 times. I have
shared the same motel with him, shared hundreds of meals with him and
flown tens of thousands of miles with him. When we were together in a
Bible Conference, we would set some time for light talk. We would share a
funny story. I can hear him now as I would arrive at the destination and
see him on a Monday afternoon. He would say, "Dr. Hyles, did you have a
good day yesterday?"
I would reply in the affirmative and share some of
the blessings of the day.
Then he would slyly say, "You know, that First
Baptist Church of Hammond would really go to town if it had a pastor!"
Dr. Rice would come to breakfast in the morning. He
would sit across the table from me and I would say, "Dr. Rice, did you
sleep well?"
He would look across the table over the top of his
glasses and say, "No, Dr. Hyles, I confessed sin all night."
I would say, "Dr. Rice, with as many sins as you
have, it probably would take all night."
He would smartly reply, "Dr. Hyles, I wasn't
confessing my sin. I was confessing your sin!" We would then enter into
conversation about the Bible, about the spiritual condition of America, or
about some philosophy. We had our time for light talk, but it was brief
and planned.
It is wise for the Christian not to get close to
people who talk about people. Certainly we should be their friend, but we
should avoid spending excessive time with them.
The same is true concerning family time. Family time
should be planned. If Dad is home for an evening, let him plan a game of
PingPong with his son. Then maybe they could take a trip to a drive-in
restaurant and maybe go for a drive around town. Some of the worst gossip
and most idle conversation takes place around the family circle. Many
children have been turned off to Christianity and have lost faith in
Christian people and in God's men because of casual talk by parents!
When our children were growing up, I spent planned
time with them. I would take one of the girls on a date. I would get the
basketball and shoot baskets with Dave or play a game with one of the
children. The time spent was not as much as I would have liked, but it was
planned time and quality time.
Every Monday I arrive at an airport somewhere in
America. I am met by a pastor or a Christian layman and driven to my motel
room. I am then driven to the services at night from my motel room and
again the next morning and again the next night. I try to plan some
conversation just in case there is nothing in particular that my driver
wants to discuss. Recently I was driven from my motel room to the morning
services by a fine man. I decided it would be a good thing for us to talk
about the blessings of sleep and rest. When I got in the car I said, "Good
morning, my brother. Did you rest well through the night'?"
He replied that he did and asked if I rested well. I
then said, "Yes, I slept like a baby, which means I cried all night!" (Now
this was a little planned, brief humor.) I followed it with this
statement: "My brother, I sure thank God for sleep. How we ought to be
grateful if we can sleep well! Millions of people last night could not
sleep. Thank God, He gives His beloved sleep."
He replied with a statement of praise, and we had a
delightful time driving to the services praising God for rest and sleep.
We had had a brief moment of light talk and then about fifteen minutes of
giving praises to God.
God is not telling us that we should never be folksy
or humorous. He is saying that we should keep it within bounds and that it
should be planned and appropriate.
4. The Christian should bypass disagreements in his
conversation. I Timothy 2:23, "But foolish and unlearned questions avoid,
knowing that they do gender strifes." The word "foolish" in this verse
means "silly." The word "unlearned" means "conversation where no one
learns or teaches." The word "avoid" means "to walk around or to detour.
"God is telling us that we should detour conversation that is silly or
where no one learns or teaches. Many times I am met at the airport by
somebody who wants to discuss his pet conviction or his pet hate. He will
bring up some controversial subject or some silly thing that divides
fundamentalists. I often think that he is hoping that I will disagree with
him so he can debate with me and thereby gain some measure of self-esteem.
On the other hand, I am often impressed by some
young preacher who will meet me at the airport and will say, "Dr. Hyles,
would you mind my asking you a question concerning your book on rearing
children," or "Brother Hyles, I am in a building program. Could I ask you
a few questions about it?" or "Brother Hyles, I am counseling with a
couple, and I need to probe your mind concerning some wisdom." I am not in
the car three minutes until I can usually predict the success or failure
of my host.
In my contacts with great men of the past, I have
always tried to probe their minds in order to gain knowledge, information
and wisdom.
5. The Christian should avoid conversation that does
no good to anyone. II Timothy 2:16, 17a, "But shun profane and vain
babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word
will eat as doth a canker." The word "profane" in this verse could be
translated "accessible." The word "vain" means "void of results." The word
"babblings" implies "picking up scraps." The word "canker" comes from the
word "gangrene" or "an eating sore." God is telling us here that we should
avoid conversation that is void of results, that picks up scraps of
information or that discusses an eating sore. Notice Titus 3:9, "But avoid
foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about
the law; for they are unprofitable and vain."
For years I have set boundaries on my fellowship, as
follows:
(1) I do not fellowship with those who want to
argue.
(2) I try not to fellowship with those who just want
to talk.
(3) I will not join in criticism of persons.
(4) I will not listen to nor share gossip.
(5) I will avoid discussing bad truth.
(6) I will do no second-party counseling. In other
words, I will not counsel with someone for another so that they can take
my counsel to a friend or loved one.
(7) I put a time limit on light conversation.
(8) I refrain from giving my opinion unless I feel
it will help.
(9) I am always for the one who is attacked. I
defend the one who is absent.
(10) I try never to believe bad about anybody. In
other words, when I hear a rumor about someone, I do not believe it.
(11) I try not to have an opinion about something
unless my opinion is needed.
(12) I do not seek to know bad news or something bad
that a person is alleged to have done.
This means that the Christian must spend much time
alone. He will have to separate himself from many unnecessary meals, from
much of what is called Christian fellowship, from continuing telephone
conversations after their purpose is ended. This does not come easy for
me. I love people. I love to be with people. I love humor. The truth is, I
can see humor in so many things, but I have to guard myself constantly
lest I engage in an excess of idle talk and light conversation. Knowing
this, I discipline myself concerning the time and quality of time I spend
with good Christians. I believe this helps us to remain good Christians.
Chapter
7.
Separation of God's Money
That which is God's is supposed to be kept separate-
it is sanctified. The word "sanctified" (holy) is a very important word in
the Bible. It means, "set apart for God's use only. " When something is
set apart for a specific purpose, it is called "sanctified. " The pulpit
in the First Baptist Church of Hammond is sanctified. It is not a perfect
pulpit; it has scratches and marks and is marred by much use, but it is
sanctified. It is set apart for one thing-for the preaching and the
teaching of the Word of God. It is used for nothing else. It is a
sanctified pulpit. The chairs in the choir are sanctified, which means
they are set apart for a specific purpose. The church pews are sanctified.
Some things in the Old Testament were sanctified to
the service of the Lord. In such cases man could not touch it. For
example, the ark of the covenant was that little piece of furniture inside
the Holy of Holies. It was sanctified to the Lord and could not be touched
by the hands of men. When Uzza steadied it while it was shaking, he was
immediately taken by death because he touched that which was sanctified to
God.
In the Old Testament, God sanctified the tithe. It
was set apart to Him. It was His, and man could not touch or use it. The
first tenth of all the increase was sanctified to the Lord. The firstborn
of all animals was sanctified to the Lord. The firstborn child was
sanctified to the Lord. Jesus Himself was sanctified. I Corinthians 15:23,
"But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they
that are Christ's at His coming." The Word of God is sanctified. The very
fact that we call it "Holy Bible" means "sanctified Bible."
The firstfruits belong to God. The first ten percent
of our increase is His. It is not something that we give to Him; it is
already His. It is not ours to give. It is holy and sanctified to God.
1. The sin of Adam and Eve was taking that which was
sanctified to God. God said to Adam and Eve,- "All but one of the trees in
the garden are yours. You can use them; enjoy them, but one is Mine. It is
sanctified. That one is not for your use." When Adam and Eve ate of the
forbidden tree they were taking that which was sanctified to the Lord. In
other words, the sin of Adam and Eve was the sin of not tithing. That tree
was God's just like ten percent of our income is His. They took it for
themselves, and when they did, a curse came upon the entire human race. An
entire race fell because that which God had set apart was taken by the
hands of man. They had touched that which was holy which is the same thing
that the Christian does when he touches the firstfruits of his income.
I was teaching this in a service one night, and a
man who has a great knowledge of botany and horticulture came to me with a
startling statement. He told me that all the trees in the world originated
from nine trees that were in the Garden of Eden. He listed these trees as
the pomegranate, the mulberry, the berry, the rose, the palm, the ebony,
the rue, the nut and the vine. If this be true, then there were ten
species of trees in the Garden of Eden- nine were for man and one was for
God. One of the ten was sanctified. Whether or not the statement from this
expert on botany is true, one thing is true for sure, and that is, the one
tree that was set apart and sanctified as holy to God was taken by man!
This is the same sin committed every Sunday in thousands of churches
around the world when God's people walk out of the church building with
the tithe in their pockets. Malachi 3:8-10, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye
have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and
offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this
whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may
be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts,
if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing,
that there shall not be room enough to receive it." I Corinthians 16:1, 2,
"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to
the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that
there be no gatherings when I come."
The first money that I ever made was as a
ten-year-old boy when I had a Dallas morning newspaper route. The first
week I made $3. As soon as I got home, my mother told me to change one of
the dollars. I did. She took three dimes and set them apart and said,
"Son, these are God's. This is the tithe. It is not yours." I confess that
1 did not quite understand it, for God did not throw my papers for me nor
get up at three o'clock in the morning to fold them and deliver them, but
I believed Mother, and the next Sunday morning I placed my 30 cents in the
offering plate. From that moment until this, the first ten percent has
always been God's.
2. The sin of Cain was the sin of not tithing.
Genesis 4:1-4, "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare
Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And she again bare his
brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the
ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the
fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought
of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had
respect unto Abel and to his offering." Hebrews 11:4, "By faith Abel
offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he
obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and
by it he being dead yet speaketh." Notice that Abel brought of the
firstlings of his flock. This was that which God had set apart to Himself.
Nothing is said about Cain bringing the firstlings of his flock. Oh, yes,
it was a sin for Cain not to bring a blood sacrifice, but it was also a
sin for him not to let God have that which was holy. The firstling of the
flock was holy. Abel brought to God that which was sanctified to Him. Cain
did not. Cain's sin was that of not tithing. An entire civilization was
destroyed because of this wicked sin. Just as a race fell because Adam and
Eve did not let God have that which was sanctified wholly unto Him, even
so an entire civilization was destroyed because Cain did not let God have
that which was set apart.
3. The sin of Achan was the sin of not tithing. When
the Israelites came into the Promised Land, God wanted the firstfruits for
Himself. The first city was Jericho, so God said that Jericho was a holy
and sanctified city, set apart to God Himself. When Achan took the
Babylonish garment for his wife, the wedge of gold and 200 shekels of
silver, in a sense he was taking the tithe. This was the first city of the
land, the firstfruits of the land, and it was God's! It was set apart unto
God. Because Achan took that which was sanctified unto the Lord, he was
stoned to death, as were his wife, children and animals. It makes one get
the idea that not tithing is a pretty wicked thing.
4. The body of the believer is sanctified. I
Corinthians 6:18-20, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is
without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his
own body. 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." The very word "saints" comes from the word
"sanctified" and means "sanctified ones." Your body is the Lord's; it is
not yours. You are bought with a price and your body belongs to Him. He
sanctified it and made it so.
5. Jesus is sanctified. I Corinthians 15:23, "But
every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that
are Christ's at His coming." Notice especially the words, "Christ the
firstfruits. " Here we go back to the tithe. The firstfruits are God's.
The first tenth is God's, and Jesus is called the firstfruits. He was set
apart, holy and sanctified to be our Substitute.
THEN THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE SET ASIDE AS HOLY !
The tithe is already set aside as the Lord's, but there are times when we
make promises and vows to God to give more than the tithe. When this vow
is made, then the amount of money that is pledged becomes sanctified, just
as the tithe is sanctified, and it becomes as holy as the tithe.
This was the sin of Ananias and Sapphira. Barnabas
had sold a piece of ground in Cyprus and had given to God all of the money
received for the ground. Ananias and Sapphira also had a piece of ground.
They made a vow to God that they would sell it and give all the money to
Him. When they made that vow, their pledge joined the tithe as being
sacred and holy. When they did not give it all to God, their lives were
taken. They had done the same thing that Uzza did. Uzza touched that which
was sanctified, which was the ark of the covenant. Ananias and Sapphira
touched that which was sanctified, which was a vow that they had made to
God. Had they not made that vow, they would not have been killed. Suppose,
for example, they had promised God half of the sale. Then that half would
be sanctified and they could be at liberty to use the other half. If they
had kept all of it for themselves except the tithe, they still would have
continued to live if they had not made God a promise to give more than the
tithe. When that vow was made, God transferred that money into the
treasury of the Lord, and it became holy just as the tithe is holy.
When a person makes a promise to give so much to a
building program or a pledge to a special offering at his church, the
amount of that pledge and promise becomes holy and sanctified to God. It
is a serious mistake and tragic sin to use it for one's self. Only
eternity will reveal how many people have been taken to Heaven prematurely
because they used that which was God's.
Not only does our money belong to God when it is
pledged, but have you, dear reader, ever promised God soul-winning time?
Perhaps you have promised God a certain time of the week. It is His. When
you made that promise, that time became sanctified! It is dangerous to
touch that or use that which is set apart to God.
There are others who have promised God a life in
full-time service. Romans 12:1, 2, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God." When they surrendered their life to full-time service, their
life became sanctified or set apart, just as the life of the high priest
in the Old Testament. A person who has given his life to full-time service
has set it apart as holy and sanctified to the Lord. Not to keep that
promise is to take that which is God's. It is the same sin which Adam and
Eve committed in the Garden of Eden, which Cain committed, which Achan
committed and which Uzza committed-the sin of taking that which has been
set aside as sacred to God and using it for one's self.
Many years ago God spoke to me and told me that He
wanted my life full time in His service. Just a bit before midnight at a
watch night service at the Hillcrest Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, I
gave Him my life. At that moment it became sanctified. Then I preached my
first sermon. I was so disappointed. I spoke for only three minutes, sat
down in embarrassment and failure. That night I said that I would not be a
preacher, but God said, "Your life is not yours. You gave it to Me." I had
no choice. I had to let God keep that which was set aside and sanctified
to Himself or commit the awful sin of being sacrilegious by profaning that
which was holy unto God.
Have you promised God a time when you would pray? It
is His. Have you promised God a certain time for Bible study? It is His.
Have you promised God that you would be faithful to certain services of
the church? Then those times are holy. I believe that Sunday is God's day
and that God's people should go to church on Sunday. It is a holy day, a
sanctified day and should be treated as such. However, for me Wednesday
night has equal sanctity with Sunday because years ago I set aside
Wednesday night and gave it to God. God said He wanted Sunday. I said I
would add Wednesday night. When I did, Wednesday night became as holy as
Sunday. It is His. This is the reason I would never think of missing
church on Sunday morning or Sunday night or Wednesday night, regardless of
the circumstances. Many Christians have some catching up to do. They are
holding in their hands sanctified time and sanctified money. Some of these
sanctified things are things sanctified by God Himself, and others have
been sanctified by a believer's vow.
Chapter
8.
Separation from Weights
Hebrews 12:1, "Wherefore seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us."
God has for each of us a unique race to run. In
order to run that race effectively, there are two things that we must lay
aside: We must lay aside our sin, and we must lay aside our weights! Much
is said about the laying aside of sin, but not much is preached about the
laying aside of weights.
A weight is something which is not in itself sin but
hinders the individual Christian from running the race that God has set
before him.
Suppose two men decided to run a race. They enter
the 100-yard dash with some other men. The first of the two goes out the
night before the race and gets drunk. He takes narcotics, lives in
immorality, smokes cigarettes, goes to a disco and listens to rock and
roll music. All night he is awake. The next morning he lines up for the
beginning of the race. Will he win? Of course not! Why will he not win?
Because of his sin! His sin will prevent him from winning the race.
The second of these two goes home the night before
the race and gets a good night's rest. He does nothing that will hinder
his effectiveness in running the race the next day. He gets up after a
good night's sleep and cares for himself. Now it is time for the race. He
lines up at the starting blocks, buttons his overcoat and laces his combat
boots. Will he win the race? Of course not! His problem, however, is not
sin. He did not drink nor live an immoral life nor take narcotics nor go
to the disco. His was a clean life, but his overcoat and boots will
prevent him from winning the race. As far as the race is concerned, his
weights are as detrimental as the sins of the other runner.
Now let us suppose that the runner who engaged in
sin lays those sins aside. He goes to the altar and confesses them. The
night before the next race he gets to bed early; he does not go out into
sin. He rises the next morning with his sins laid aside. He approaches the
starter's block for the 100-yard dash. He then buttons HIS overcoat and
laces HIS boots. Will he win the race? No, he will not. Why? He has
forsaken his sin; he has laid aside the sin that did so easily beset him,
but he has not laid aside his weights. He will fail in the race just as
much because of his weights as he did because of his sins, and as far as
the purpose of God in his life, he will be just as unable to accomplish it
and perform it as he was the day after his escapade into sin. The great
problem with sin is what it keeps us from doing. The great tragedy, for
example, about being where you should not be is that if you are where you
should not be, you cannot be where you should be. There is a race to run.
Just to lay aside the sin and keep the weights will do little to help us
win the race. The weights must also be laid aside. Hence, the church altar
should be a place not only where God's people lay aside their sin but also
a place where they forsake their weights. The preacher should cry aloud
against sin, but he also should cry aloud against weights. The Christian
should confess his sin, but he also should confess his weights.
Someone says, "Okay, I'm convinced. Show me my
weights and I will lay them aside." Now this is the great danger about
weights. They are not the same for all of us. Sin is the same for every
Christian. It is wrong for anybody to drink strong drink. It is a sin for
anybody to steal. It is a sin for anybody to murder, but our weights are
not the same. My weights are not yours, and your weights are not mine, for
my race is not yours and your race is not mine. Since each of us has his
own individual race to run, each of us has his own particular and unique
weights to lay aside. There are some things in my life that are not
sinful, but my race forbids me from doing them. You, perhaps, can do them.
On the other hand, there are some things that I can do which you cannot do
because your race is different from mine and these particular things may
hinder your race whereas they would not hinder mine.
Suppose, for example, that you came to hear me
preach somewhere and you waited outside the front door to watch me arrive
because you wanted to shake my hand. You are shocked as you see me drive
up on a motorcycle. I have on a helmet, goggles, leather jacket,
turtleneck sweater, blue jeans and boots. You are amazed; you cannot
believe that Dr. Jack Hyles would come to a preaching engagement dressed
like that riding on a motorcycle! Is a motorcycle sinful? Of course not.
Is it a sin to wear a helmet? Of course not. Is it a sin to wear a leather
jacket, a turtleneck sweater and blue jeans? Of course not. Is it a sin to
wear boots? Of course not, but for my race these would be weights. It
would hinder me from accomplishing the purpose of my life in the service
where I was to preach. Now if one of the teenagers of the church rode up
dressed in the same attire riding on the same type vehicle, it would not
be a weight to him. No one would be surprised. It would be a weight to me
because it would hinder my race.
When I was a young man I was a semiprofessional
softball pitcher. When I was in the army I was an all-star softball
pitcher. When I got out of the army, I went to a Christian college. A
local softball team was playing a championship series. They felt their
pitching was not strong enough to carry them to victory. They were allowed
to draft one player who did not play with them through the year. They
asked me if I would pitch for them. I agreed to do so. There were two
games left, and if they won both games, they would be champions, but these
games were against the best team in the league, which was favored to win
the championship. The first game I pitched was a one-hit shutout. We won
5-0. The second game was for the championship. If we won the game, we won
the city championship. If we lost the game, we came in second place. Along
about the fourth inning the score was tied 0-0. One of our players hit a
ball down the first base line. Their first baseman fielded the ball and
dropped it. He crossed first base without the ball in his hand. The
umpire, however, was behind the first baseman and called our batter out. I
could not believe it! The ball was on the ground and most of the people
saw it. I rushed to the umpire, told him that the first baseman had
dropped the ball. The umpire said, "I did not see it."
I said, "Ask the first baseman." The umpire asked
him. He refused to admit he dropped the ball. I was infuriated. Everybody
there except the umpire knew that the first baseman did not have the ball
in his hand or in his glove when he crossed the base. The first baseman
said some things to me that were less than complimentary, whereupon I
replied, "You wait until you get up next time. You had better be sure and
say your prayers."
As fate would have it, the first batter up in the
next inning was the first baseman. Now I did not aim at his head; I aimed
at a target, and just before I pitched the ball, the target moved in front
of his head. I threw the ball at the target, and it went straight toward
its suggested destination. The batter threw the bat in front of his head
and the ball dribbled down the first base line, halfway between home plate
and first base. This meant that I had to field the ball on the first base
line, and the batter who was the first baseman who had cheated, had to run
right past where I was fielding the ball. He and I collided and a fight
followed. After we had fought a few minutes, suddenly I realized what a
poor testimony I was! At that very time I was pastoring a little church
outside town in the country, and my members had gotten together and come
to the game that night to watch their pastor pitch. Now there he is on the
first base line fighting with the first baseman. I screamed, "Hold it!
Hold it! Hold it!" I got up, took the ball, put it in my glove, took the
glove and the ball and placed them on the pitcher's mound, walked to my
car and drove off in the middle of the game, and I have not pitched a
softball game from that day until this. Now there is nothing wrong with
pitching softball, but for me it became a weight. No doubt there are many
readers who pitch softball, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
It was not a sin for me to pitch softball; it was a weight.
One of the fine men in our church bought a $30,000
Mercedes-Benz automobile, drove it out in front, called me outside and
said, "Preacher, it's yours!" I turned it down! It would be a weight for
me. Now I do not think it would be a sin if I drove a Mercedes-Benz, but
certainly it would be a weight. I could not run the race that I am now
running and drive a Mercedes-Benz.
Driving a Mercedes-Benz is not a weight for some,
but it is for me and there are things that would be a weight to the
Christian that drove the Mercedes-Benz that would not be a weight for me
because our races are different, making our weights different.
On September 24, 1966, I was spending my last day in
my thirties. I decided to stay awake until midnight so I could be
conscious through the last minute of my thirties. I went to the basement
of our home, and there God broke my heart for my country. On my desk at
the time were letters opening every door to me that a fundamental preacher
could imagine entering. Two different colleges were offering me their
presidency. One seminary asked me to become its president. Twenty-two
letters were there from ministerial groups in large cities asking me to
come and preach city-wide revival campaigns in coliseums and stadiums
across America. Some of the largest cities in our nation were represented.
None of that appealed to me. I did not feel that I was supposed to be a
seminary or college president at the time, and I did not feel that I was
to be a city-wide evangelist, but I had a thousand invitations on my desk
from all over America asking me to come to meetings to stir preachers and
churches and Christians to evangelism, church building, etc. The Holy
Spirit began to speak to my heart. Suddenly I began to weep uncontrollably
for my nation.
I went upstairs at about a quarter of midnight on
September 24, 1966, and awakened my son, Dave, who was 12 years old at the
time. I asked him to come to the basement which he did. He said, "What's
wrong, Dad?"
I said, "Doc, God has broken my heart tonight for my
country." I showed him the letters. I reminded him that somebody needed to
stir churches and Christians and preachers across the nation. I reminded
him that unless something miraculous happened, he and his three sisters
would not have a free country, and that someday he might even be killed
for preaching the way his dad preaches. He said, "Dad, what does it mean
if you decide to go and take these invitations on a regular basis?"
I said, "Doc, it probably means that you and I have
been fishing for our last time. It may mean that we have been to our last
ball game together." Then I said, "Doc, what do you think I ought to do?"
He looked at me through tears and said, "Dad, I
think you ought to go," and Dave and I both fell to our knees and he began
to pray aloud without my even asking him to do so, and this is what he
prayed:
"Dear Lord, tonight I give You my dad." Now there is
nothing wrong with having a dad, but for at least one young man in
America, having a dad at home with him all the time was a weight. Somebody
had to go and stir preachers to build great churches that somehow America
might be spared.
What is your weight? What is that thing that is not
wrong in itself but is hindering the race that God has set before you? Lay
it aside! It is as necessary for you to lay aside your weight as it is for
you to lay aside your sin!
Chapter
9.
Separation from Unbelievers in Marriage
Nothing quite so displeases God as when His children
intermarry with children of wrath, for nothing so corrupts a nation as
does polluting of the people of God by intermarriage.
1. Intermarriage with unbelievers was the main cause
of the flood. God says that the flood was caused because the wickedness of
man was great in the earth. Genesis 6:5-7, "And God saw that the
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the
Lord that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.
And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of
the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of
the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them." The basis of this
wickedness, however, was the intermarriage of the descendants of Seth with
the descendants of Cain. Genesis 6:1-4, "And it came to pass, when men
began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto
them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair;
and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My
spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh; yet
his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the
earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in
unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became
mighty men which were of old, men of renown." Because of this
intermarriage between God's people and the heathen, God's wrath was so
stirred that He destroyed every person on the face of the earth except
eight. Think of it! The flood was caused because the godly line of Seth,
that is, God's people, intermarried with unsaved people. The descendants
of these marriages became so wicked that God destroyed earth with a flood.
You see, when a lost person marries a saved person, the children usually
follow the unsaved parent instead of the saved one. The reason for this is
that the disobedience of the saved person in marrying an unsaved person
usually causes him to lose his testimony so the children usually follow
the unsaved parent instead of the saved one. Such was the case when the
descendants of Seth married the descendants of Cain. They followed the way
of Cain instead of Seth until the earth became so wicked that God
destroyed it.
2. God gave different languages in order to prevent
intermarriage. In Genesis 11 the people built a tower called the Tower of
Babel. Genesis 11:6-9, "And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and
they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing
will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let
Us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not
understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from
thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the
city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there
confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord
scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." Notice again verse 6,
"Now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do."
Compare that with Genesis 6:5 when before the flood God said, "that every
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." The
imagination in Genesis 6:5 was intermarriage. Now God says that since the
races are getting together in the building of the tower of Babel, they
will once again imagine what they imagined before the flood and nothing
will be restrained from them, which means intermarriage between God's
people and the heathen. Because of this, man's language was confounded in
an effort to prevent intermarriage.
3. The unholy union between Abraham and Hagar shows
God's displeasure with the mixing of His people. A famine came in the
land. Abraham and Sarah, at a time when their faith had lapsed, fled to
Egypt. There they hired a young lady named Hagar to be a servant. When
they returned to Canaan, Hagar went with them. In the process of time,
Abraham had sexual relations with Hagar in an effort to perpetuate his
seed. Not only was the adultery wrong, but the crossing of lines between
God's people and heathen people was also wrong. From their unholy union
came a son named Ishmael. Ishmael became the father of the Arabs. He and
his descendants claimed that the Promised Land was theirs because God had
promised this land to Abraham and to his seed. Genesis 12:7, "And the Lord
appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land; and
there builded he an altar unto the Lord, Who appeared unto him." Ishmael
justifiably had a right to claim it, for he was the firstborn son of
Abraham. On the other hand, Isaac had a right to claim it because he was
the son of promise and was given to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. So
we have two races- the Jews and the Arabs- both justifiably claiming the
land, the Arabs claiming it because Ishmael was the first son of Abraham,
and the Jews claiming it because Isaac was the son of promise. Now for
nearly 4000 years there has been nothing but war and strife in Canaan
because of this unscriptural union between Abraham and Hagar. Hagar was a
descendant of Cush, who was a son of Ham.
4. Esau married a heathen woman against the will of
God. Esau married Ishmael's daughter, who was also Hagar's granddaughter.
Esau's name was changed to Edom, which means "red" because he had sold his
birthright for a bowl of red soup. This unholy union between Hagar's
granddaughter and Esau brought forth a heathen nation known as the
Edomites. They were a constant thorn in the flesh to God's people, giving
special trouble to them as the Israelites entered into the Promised Land
after their departure from Egypt and their forty years in the wilderness.
Generations of heartache have been caused by God's people marrying
unbelievers.
5. Moses erred in marrying the Ethiopian woman. Now
to be sure, Miriam's criticism of Moses and this marriage was punished by
God because the judgment belongs to the Lord, not to Miriam or any other
human being, but the fact is, Moses saw few good days after this
unscriptural marriage.
6. The error of Balaam was leading God's people to
intermarry with the heathen. Jude 11, "Woe unto them! for they have gone
in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward,
and perished in the gainsaying of Core." When Balaam went to Moab for a
reward, he did not intend to compromise his message, but he should not
have gone to Moab. Because he did go to Moab, God's people followed and
the inevitable intermarriage followed. Not only was the purity of the race
destroyed but the purity of their faith was also destroyed.
7. David's marriage with Bathsheba was an example of
an unscriptural yoke in marriage. So much is said, and rightly so, about
David's sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah the Hittite,
Bathsheba's husband. Little is said that David's marriage to Bathsheba was
unscriptural. David was one of God's people. Bathsheba and Uriah were
Hittites. The Hittites were descendants of Heth. Genesis 10:15, "And
Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth." Heth's father was Sidon; his
grandfather was Canaan, who was a son of Ham. Genesis 10:6, "And the sons
of Ham; Cush and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan." So David's sin was more
than adultery and murder; it was an unscriptural yoke in marriage.
8. Samson and Delilah formed an unholy yoke. Judges
16:4, 5, "And it came to pass afterward, that he loved a woman in the
valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines
came up unto her, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great
strength lieth, and by what means we may prevail against him, that we may
bind him to afflict him: and we will give thee every one of us eleven
hundred pieces of silver." You will notice that Delilah was a Philistine.
The Philistines came from Philistim. Genesis 10:14, "And Pathrusim, and
Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim." Philistim was the
son of Casluhim, who was the son of Mizraim, who was the son of Ham.
Genesis 10:6,13,14, "And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and
Canaan. And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,
and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, (out of whom came Philistim,) and Caphtorim."
Once again, there was more than adultery involved; there was a mixing of
the seed of God's people and those who were not God's people.
9. Jezebel and Ahab corrupted Israel by an
unscriptural yoke in marriage. Ahab was an Israelite; Jezebel was the
daughter of the king of Sidon. Sidon was the son of Canaan and the
grandson of Ham. Genesis 10:6, 15, "And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim,
and Phut, and Canaan. And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth." Not
only was Jezebel a wicked woman, but she was an unbelieving woman, and she
led Israel into wickedness and idolatry. This was unnecessary and would
not have happened if Ahab had not disobeyed the commands of God in an
unholy yoke in marriage.
10. Solomon married unsaved women who turned away
his heart. I Kings 11:4, 5, "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old,
that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was
not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.
For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after
Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites." Because of this, God removed the
ten tribes of the kingdom from Solomon's son. Solomon's downfall was
marrying heathen women.
11. Nehemiah rebuked the Jewish remnant because they
married unsaved women. He used Solomon as an example of such unholy
action. Nehemiah 13:23-27, "In those days also saw I Jews that had married
wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and Moab: and their children spake half in the
speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according
to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed
them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them
swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons,
nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not
Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was
there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king
over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress
against our God in marrying strange wives?"
12. The Samaritans became bitter enemies of Cod's
people and were people founded on unscriptural marriages between God's
people and unbelievers. When Nebuchadnezzar took the Israelites captive to
Babylon, he took the wealthy and middle class, but did not want the poor
people. They were left in the land. Assyrians migrated into the land while
most of the Israelites were in captivity and intermarried with the remnant
that was left. Now these Assyrians were from Babylon. Their founder was
Nimrod, who was the son of Cush, who was the son of Ham. From this
unscriptural union came the Samaritan people, who are bitter enemies of
the Jews and cause them much heartache.
13. God forbade the Israelites to intermarry with
the Canaanites when they came to the Promised Land. The Canaanites were
the descendants of Canaan, who was the son of Ham. Genesis 10:6, "And the
sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan." As such, they were
heathen people. This is the reason God wanted the Israelites to drive the
Canaanites out of the land. They were idolatrous people and God did not
want His people to intermarry with them.
When God's people intermarry with unbelievers, they
are rebelling against the Word of God and sinning against God. They are
also sinning against their unborn children and their children and their
children. It should be ingrained in every child in his earliest days that
he should never marry an unsaved person. Hence, he should be taught that
he should never date unsaved people. Think of it! Intermarriage between
God's people and the heathen caused the entire world to be destroyed and
also caused man to have his language differ from others. This has caused
and is causing all the trouble in the Middle East and has brought grief
and heartache to millions of people who have violated the command of God
and to millions of people who are children and grandchildren of those who
have violated the command of God. Marriage is a yoke, and we are plainly
commanded not to yoke up with unbelievers.
Chapter
10.
Ecclesiastical Separation
The subject of this chapter does not deal basically
with standards and separation concerning personal behavior, though our
hair is getting too long on our men and seeing a fundamental lady in pants
is something we never saw until recent years, and it might be good for our
people if we pastors preached a few sermons against mixed bathing,
smoking, card playing, miniskirt wearing, seeing movies, and singing and
listening to rock music! Also, we must take care not to have a Heaven
without a Hell, not to have a resurrection without a judgment, a do
without a don't and a love without wrath; yet, the subject at hand is
ecclesiastical separation.
Maybe we fundamentalists have become too enchanted
with famous people. Maybe we should let the little widow testify for a
while. Maybe we HAVE gone too far toward having famous people who are baby
Christians testify in our churches before they have become rooted and
grounded in the faith. It may be that our Shimeis are sent from God and
that we need to consider their barbs. Our critics' guns may have been
loaded by our own mistakes, and maybe that friend with a questionable
disposition can help us to reestablish a proper position. Maybe we are too
careless about the crowd with which we run. Maybe we ARE sliding back
toward our own mother of harlots who once cast us out as illegitimate
children. Maybe one step to reuniting fundamentalism would be to check
carefully to see if our houses are in order. Maybe we SHOULD check to see
who our playmates are!
Maybe there ARE things not wrong to do that may not
be wise to do. Maybe we HAVE invited Sanballat and Tobiah to help us in
building the wall. Maybe we HAVE fallen asleep on the trip and need to
look out the window to see where we are. Maybe we SHOULD check the church
memberships of our guest speakers and check their check stubs to see where
they invest their tithes and offerings.
Maybe we SHOULD be extra cautious of those who are
staying in to "CLEAN IT UP."
Maybe we ought to get "cleaned out" instead of
trying to "clean up."
Daniel didn't clean up Babylon. Abraham didn't clean
up Egypt. Lot didn't clean up Sodom. Balaam didn't clean up Moab. Jacob
didn't clean up Haran. Jehoshaphat didn't clean up the northern kingdom.
Naomi didn't clean up Moab. Ezekiel didn't clean up the Medes and
Persians. W. B. Riley didn't clean up the Northern Baptist Convention. R.
G. Lee didn't clean up the Southern Baptist Convention. Chuck Templeton
didn't clean up the National Council of Churches. Bob Shuler didn't clean
up the Methodist denomination. Charles Spurgeon didn't clean up the London
Baptist Association. Jack Hyles didn't clean up the Southern Baptist
Convention. Maybe you can't either!
Maybe we are wanting to enjoy a certain intellectual
standing. Is that why we are so obsessed with accreditation? Is that why
we seem dissatisfied with the old King James Bible? Are we afraid of being
called unscholarly? Are we unwilling to be simple?
Maybe we were smarter when we were dumber!
We didn't have enough sense to conjugate a verb, but
we had enough sense not to let Communism take over Cuba. We were too dumb
to graduate, but we kept Communism off the campuses.
We may have been too dumb to learn theology, but we
were smart enough not to take graduate study under Niebuhr, Brunner,
Kierkegaard and Barth. We may have said, "l have did," instead of "I have
done," but what we "had did" was faithful to the Word of God! We may have
said, "I have saw," instead of "I have seen," or we may have said, "I
seen" instead of "I saw," but what we "seen" was worth seeing, and what we
"had saw" was the right thing to see!
We may have done right wrongly, but bless God, we
didn't do wrong rightly!
Our disposition may have been wrong, but bless God,
our position was not wrong!
We had better come back to separation! Running with
the wrong crowd will affect all of us sooner or later. Daniel kept on
praying. He went to the lion's den. He refused the king's pizza and
enchiladas. He wouldn't drink the king's wine. He proved it pays to do
right! However, later when the Jews were allowed to return to rebuild the
temple, those who wanted to return could do so, but the list in the Bible
nowhere includes Daniel! I wonder where he was. Zerubbabel and Ezra
returned, but it seems that Daniel would have been the logical one to have
headed up the expedition to return to Jerusalem for the rebuilding of the
house of God. Could it be that Daniel should not have gone to the
university of Chaldea? Was he influenced? Maybe so!
We speak well of the courage of Esther, and we
should, but was it right for her to marry a king who was divorced,
unsaved, a winebibber and lustful? God doesn't change His principles for
anybody! Suppose your daughter came to you and told you that she wanted to
marry a man who was divorced, unsaved, a winebibber and lustful. You would
be opposed to it, of course. Could that be the reason why Esther never
mentions God? The word "God" is never mentioned in the book of Esther, but
it would have been if Esther had spoken about God to the king.
The wrong crowd will damage anybody's life. If
Abraham had not been with the wrong crowd in Egypt, there would never have
been an Ishmael or our middle eastern crisis. If Balaam had not gone to
the wrong crowd in Moab, the race would not have fallen. If Jehoshaphat
had not run with the wrong crowd in the recapturing of Ramoth in Gilead,
he would never have joined up with Ahab and Jezebel, and his son, Jehoram,
would never have met Jezebel's daughter, Athliah, and tragedy would have
been averted in the southern kingdom! If Esau had not run with the wrong
crowd, he would not have married a heathen woman, and the wicked nation of
Edom never would have begun! If Samson had not run with the wrong crowd,
he would never have lost his power in the lap of Delilah! If Solomon had
not run with the wrong crowd, he never would have lost the blessing of God
because of his strange wives! If Lot had never run with the wrong crowd,
he would never have gone to Sodom, committed incest with his daughters,
and had two heathen nations born as a result of that incest! If Peter had
not run with the wrong crowd, he would not have denied our Lord and the
faith! If the descendants of Seth had not run with the wrong crowd, there
never would have been a flood to destroy the world! If Jacob had never
been with the wrong crowd, he would have never spent 20 years outside the
will of God and married the wrong person! If Ahab had not run with the
wrong crowd, he would never have met Jezebel! If Elimelech and Naomi had
not run with the wrong crowd, they would never have gone to Moab and lost
their two sons in death, nor would have Elimelech have lost his life
there!
Fundamentalists, let us be fundamentalists! We do
not need liberal rouge or National Council of Churches eye shadow or
ministerial association eye lashes or eccumenical toupes Let us be what we
are old-fashioned, Hell-hating, sin-fighting, separated, soul-winning,
Christ-honoring, window-rattling, barn-storming, God-fearing,
Bible-loving, compassionate, weeping fundamentalists- and bear the name
with joy and pride!
Chapter
11.
The Way Satan Breaks Down Separation
The Christian has three enemies: the world, the
flesh and the Devil. The Christian is a threefold person: He is body, soul
and spirit. Each of his enemies attacks a particular part of the
Christian. The flesh attacks the body, the world attacks the soul, and the
Devil attacks the spirit. In the Garden of Eden, Satan could not attack
the soul with the world, for there was no wicked world. He could not
attack the body, for there was no fallen flesh. Hence, he could appeal
only to the spirit. So he came through the only entrance that he had.
The Devil could not come to Adam and Eve and suggest
that they get drunk or kill someone, so he attacked them in the only way
that he could- through the spirit. He promised Eve that if she would eat
the fruit that she would be as gods, knowing good and evil, or discerning
good and evil. Notice that Satan was telling Eve that she would be a
better Christian if she ate the fruit. He appealed to her through a noble
temptation.
The Christian is admonished to be like God.
Philippians 2:5, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus." I John 4:17, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have
boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this
world." Psalm 17:15, "As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness." John 14:12,
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I
do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I
go unto My Father." John 20:21, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be
unto you: as My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you."
So Eve saw spiritual growth by eating the forbidden
fruit. Here is something new spiritually. Here is a chance to be like God.
Here is a chance to have spiritual insight that she had never had before.
Satan was appealing to her through spiritual methods. He does the same
thing today!
1. He appeals to the Christian to change the world.
Now certainly the world can be changed through Christ, but it is changed
as people are born again and know regeneration. The changing of the world
is a by-product of the Christian. The main thing is to work with the
individual.
Years ago a famous preacher was in his study. His
little five-year-old granddaughter was with him that morning. He put her
in the outer office and asked her to play for awhile so he could study,
but she kept bothering him, asking him for a drink of water, etc. Finally
he thought of an idea. There in his office he had a jigsaw puzzle of a map
of the world. He went to the outer office and asked his little
granddaughter if she would like to play with the jigsaw puzzle. She was
thrilled at the possibility. He told her that he would give her another
drink of water as soon as she got the puzzle put together, then retreated
to his office for what he thought would be a lengthy time of study. In a
very few minutes his granddaughter came to his door to inform him that the
puzzle was all put together. He didn't believe it, but sure enough, when
he went to the outer office he saw the world all put together, and the
jigsaw puzzle was completely in the proper order. "Who's been in here?" he
asked. "Who helped you?" he questioned.
"Nobody, Granddaddy," she replied.
"Then how did you do it?" he asked.
She said, "Granddaddy, it was easy. I found that on
the back side of the map of the world was a picture of a man's face. So I
turned it over and worked on the man. When I got the man together, the
world took care of itself."
Ah, what a great truth which Christians seem to
forget!
Satan comes to the child of God to detract him. He
takes him from the main thing which is soul winning and building up the
individual Christian and gets him excessively involved with changing the
world. Notice, this is a noble motive. The Devil knows he cannot come to a
good, separated Christian and persuade him to get drunk, to be immoral, to
curse or to steal, so he comes and appeals through his spirit to do that
which is noble. He suggests that we change the world. Now in changing the
world, we must get involved with it, and when we are involved with it, we
are not separated from it. Soon we will be like it. We are soon captivated
by worldly personalities. Then sin becomes less sinful and less shocking
to us.
A quarter of a century ago some of us set out to
travel the length and breadth of this country to encourage church-building
and soul winning on the part of God's people. Thank God, all over this
nation great churches were built. Conversions and baptisms multiplied, and
the breath of God was upon us. Because of this, our numbers increased and
because our numbers increased, our voting power increased and because our
voting power increased, we were influential in being a part of electing
men to office, but in so doing we traded the best for the good. We then
made the enemy aware of us and crystallized him against us. We caused him
to organize resistance. Pastors who once went soul winning now are
excessively involved with politics. Churches that once were centers of
evangelistic zeal and phenomenal growth have now settled back to
complacency. Somehow we fail to realize that we influence the world more
when we work on the individual and less when we work on the world. Now
preachers who used to be separated have joined in endeavors that caused
them to be in contact with cultists, false teachers and liberals, and
whether they admit it or not, it has taken its toll. We become like our
associates. We cannot help but be affected by our environment. Convictions
are changing, standards are sliding, soul winning is decreasing,
attendance is down in many of our churches that once were great centers of
evangelistic fervor, and, by the way, we are influencing the world less
than we were.
It all started with a spiritual motive and with
Satan appealing to our nobler person.
2. Satan appeals to us through soul winning. Again,
he comes to appeal to the flesh through the spiritual. He says, "Now, to
win them you must be with them, and in some cases you must be like them."
Notice that the motive is wholesome. He is trying to get us like the
world, but he knows that he cannot appeal to the spiritual Christian with
that tactic, so he says, "Go to the beach and win them, but you must dress
in beach attire or they will think you are some fanatic." He will say, "To
win the rock and roll crowd, you will have to appeal to them through their
music. Of course, put some religious words to it, but use their beat." He
will convince us that if we win them, we must dress as they dress and our
young men must wear long, hippie-type hair in order to win their
long-haired friends. He breaks down our separation through a holy and
noble motive. How wise he is! How foolish we are!
I know a fine man who is a good soul winner, but he
is affluent, a man of means. He set out to win the elite to Christ. This
appeared to be a good motive, and he did win some elite people. Then he
brought them to his church, but they were not impressed with the
old-fashioned atmosphere and old-time religion of his church. He soon
became discouraged and disenchanted and came to his pastor informing him
that he could no longer be a member of the church where he had attended
for many years because his affluent friends did not like to come there,
and if he won them, he would have to go to a more affluent church. So he
left one of the greatest churches in the world to go to a church filled
with compromise. Now he has lost his separation, he is with the wrong
crowd, in the wrong church and, yes, doing the wrong things. Satan did not
come to him and say, "How about running with the wrong crowd?" He came to
him and said, "You should win everybody you can," and through this noble
and holy motive, the Devil led this man away from the great truths of
separation.
Satan will come to your spirit and suggest that you
find a religion that will help your body and soul. Because of this, you
then must find a religion that pleases the body and soul. Now you are
using the body and soul to choose your religion. Then you will choose a
religion to approve the body and soul. Now you have idolatry. Your mind
and body are choosing your religion, which means that the spirit is not
the guiding factor, but you are making yourself a religion with your mind
that will appeal to your intellect and to your senses. This is as much
idolatry as the heathen in the jungle who makes an idol with his hands.
Those of us who have lived awhile have watched Satan
break down separation by his aforementioned method. How sad to see a
spiritual person tempted to do good by using questionable means of doing
good! How wise and shrewd is Satan! Of course, he can tempt the weak
Christian by appealing to his flesh or to his soul, but the spiritual
Christian is attacked through his spirit, even as was Eve, who had no
fallen flesh or wicked world to lure her. She was lured into a breakdown
of separation by a satanic appeal to her spirit. What an appeal it was for
her to be like God, for her to have spiritual growth, for her to know
things she never could have known before! This is one of Satan's favorite
methods in our generation. May God help us to walk in the Spirit and walk
in the Word so we can resist the satanic attack upon the spiritual, noble
and higher part of us!
Chapter
12.
Why Separation?
Perhaps the first hint of separation in the Bible is
in Genesis 1:2-5, "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face
of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the
darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
And the evening and the morning were the first day." Notice especially
verse 4b, "God divided the light from the darkness." As we know darkness,
there is simply the absence of natural light. Matthew 27:45, "Now from the
sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour."
There are, however, figurative meanings of darkness:
1. The place of misery. Matthew 22:13, "Then said
the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and
cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth."
2. Ignorance. John 3:19, "And this is the
condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness
rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
3. Secret. Matthew 10:27, "What I tell you in
darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach
ye upon the housetops."
4. Wickedness. II Corinthians 6:14, "Be ye not
unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath
righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with
darkness?"
Hell is called "outer darkness." Matthew 8:12, "But
the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 22:13, "Then said the
king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast
him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 25:30, "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Satan is called the god of this world II Corinthians
4:3, 4, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In
whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, Who is the image of
God, should shine unto them." Satan's rulers are called "rulers of
darkness." Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
God's people are called "children of light," and those who are not God's
people are called "children of darkness." Since God divided the light from
the darkness at creation, God always wants light divided from darkness.
The Christian is commanded not to walk in darkness.
John 8:12, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of
the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have
the light of life." John 12:35, "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little
while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness
come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he
goeth."
The Christian is commanded not to abide in darkness.
John 12:46, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on
Me should not abide in darkness."
The Christian is reminded that he is not in darkness
I Thessalonians 5:4, "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day
should overtake you as a thief."
We are reminded that hating our brother is a work of
darkness. I John 2:9, 11, "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth
his brother, is in darkness even until now. But he that hateth his brother
is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth,
because that darkness hath blinded his eyes."
We are commanded to have no fellowship with the
works of darkness. Ephesians 5:11, "And have no fellowship with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them."
Evil deeds are associated with darkness. John 3:19,
"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men
loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
We are told to put off the works of darkness and put
on light. Romans 13:12, "The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let
us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour
of light."
We are reminded that in God is no darkness. I John
1:5, "This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare
unto you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all."
All of this is simply to remind us that God has from
the beginning separated light from darkness. Since He uses darkness as a
figure of speech for so many forms of evil, and since He uses light as a
figure of speech for Jesus, for the Christian and for the Christian life,
the basis for separation is the very fact that God has, does and will
continue to divide light from darkness. Matthew 5:14, "Ye are the light of
the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid." John 8:12, "Then
spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that
followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of
life." Ephesians 5:11, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works
of darkness, but rather reprove them."
In Genesis 4, when the first man in darkness who
rejected the light killed his brother, God separated that darkness (Cain)
from light. When in the process of time the children of darkness from Cain
intermarried the children of light from Seth, the entire world was ruined
and destroyed by flood. Later when these children of light and darkness
tried to get together again, God confounded their languages. Genesis
11:6-9, "And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all
one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be
restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let Us go
down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one
another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the
face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is
the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the
language of all the earth: and from thence did the Lord scatter them
abroad upon the face of all the earth."
Why is God so careful to remind His people to have
no fellowship with darkness? There are several reasons:
1. God wanted a people for Himself, and He made us
to be that people. When we walk in darkness to any degree, it takes us
just that much away from the purpose of our existence, and that is to
fellowship and walk with God. Amos 3:3, "Can two walk together, except
they be agreed?" Since God is light, we do not agree with Him when we yoke
up with darkness. This takes us away from fulfilling the main purpose of
our redemption.
2. The Christian who walks with darkness forfeits
his right to sweet fellowship with God's people. I John 1:7, "But if we
walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."
Whatever degree we walk with darkness, we sever not only that degree of
fellowship with God but we also sever that degree of sweet fellowship with
the children of light.
3. The Christian who walks with darkness lessens the
chance of the unsaved coming to Christ. When we walk with the unsaved,
they begin to feel as one of us, making it more difficult to get them
lost. This is the reason that the churches who preach or practice
separation can get more people saved than the churches who compromise The
unsaved man knows something is missing. Isaiah 48:22, "There is no peace,
saith the Lord, unto the wicked." Isaiah 57:21, "There is no peace, saith
my God, to the wicked." The unsaved man knows that he has no peace. If he
can see a distance between him and the saved, he can see some hope for
himself if he gets saved, but if the saved man is yoked up with the
unsaved, sings his music, goes to his theaters, drinks his beer, uses his
language and even goes to his churches, the unsaved man can see no
difference! He needs a change and he knows it. If he can see changed
people, there is hope for him, but if the saved man appears to have what
the unsaved man has, why is there the need of salvation?
4. When light yokes with darkness, the testimony of
light is hurt. The Bible seems to say that Lot was saved. The Bible speaks
about him having a righteous soul. II Peter 2:7, 8, "And delivered just
Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. (For that righteous
man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul
from day to day with their unlawful deeds.)" However, Lot showed no
evidence of being saved. He went to Sodom, interacted with them and
brought light into fellowship with darkness. When the destruction of Sodom
was imminent and that destruction was revealed to Lot, he went to his
sons-in-law, told them of the destruction and warned them to flee, but
they had no confidence in him! Lot's light had been yoked with darkness
and he seemed to them as one that mocked Genesis 19:14, "And Lot went out,
and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up,
get you out of this place: for the Lord will destroy this city. But he
seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law." Here is another perfect
example of compromise hindering soul winning. Lot's sons-in-law perished
without God because Lot had yoked up with darkness.
The only thing the unsaved like about the saved is
their light The unsaved man wants a saved girl. Why? He likes her light.
The unsaved employer likes the light of a saved employee. When the First
Baptist Church of Hammond decided to go into the Christian school
business, we were besieged by people begging us not to do so because of
the good influence that our students had had on the public schools.
Darkness liked our light. Hence, when the Christian compromises and yokes
up with darkness, he takes away the thing about himself and about his
faith that darkness likes, and this hurts the testimony of the cause of
Christ.
5. When light yokes up with darkness, their children
marry. This is one of the main reasons why God teaches us the doctrine of
separation. Children of the children of light intermarry with the children
of the children of darkness, which weakens the chances of their children
being saved. Usually when a saved person marries an unsaved person, their
children do not become Christians. There is a reason for this. The very
act of disobedience that is committed by the saved person when he or she
marries an unsaved person brings the saved parent closer to the position
of darkness, and it is usually indicative of other acts of disobedience
which will follow. For that matter, it almost always follows other acts of
disobedience which have gone before No Christian can be spiritual when he
marries an unsaved person, for he is going in direct disobedience to the
Word of God. It is always a carnal Christian marrying an unsaved person,
and a carnal Christian plus an unsaved person usually equals unsaved
children.
If, for example, a saved woman marries an unsaved
man, the unsaved man will not want to go to a separated, fundamental
church. In an effort to get him to go to church, the wife will continue to
compromise and choose to go with him to a liberal church where there is no
Gospel preached and which inoculates or vaccinates their children with
religion and prevents them from ever becoming a new creature in Christ by
regeneration.
This not only has taken the saved spouse from his or
her purpose of life, that of fellow-shipping with our Creator, but it also
has lessened greatly the chances of their offspring ever fulfilling the
purpose for which God made them- fellowship with God through Christ.
In summary, God made us for fellowship with Himself.
He is opposed to anything that would hinder, mar or break that fellowship.
Since our fellowship with Him is severed to whatever degree we fellowship
with darkness, God gives us the great Bible doctrine of separation in
order that we may fulfill the purpose of our creation and redemption and
in order that our children and their children may fulfill the purpose of
their creation and redemption.
Chapter
13.
Separation and Our Relationship with God
Matthew 27:46, "And about the ninth hour Jesus cried
with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My
God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"
The first recorded words of our Lord while He was on
earth were these: "How is it that ye sought Me? wist ye not that I must be
about My Father's business?" (Luke 2:49) Notice especially the words, "My
Father's. " The last recorded words of our Lord before He gave up the
ghost on Calvary were these: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."
(Luke 23:46) Again, notice the use of the word "Father." Between the first
recorded words and the last recorded words are such terms as these: "the
will of My Father," "ye blessed of My Father," "their angels do behold the
face of My Father," "all that the Father giveth Me," "I honour My Father,"
and "My Father is greater than them all."
The first words of Calvary were, "Father, forgive
them; for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) The last words of
Calvary were, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit. " Notice again
the emphasizing of the word "Father." Hear our Lord in John 17 in the
great prayer of intercession: In verse 1, "Father, the hour is come." In
verse 5, "And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self." Verse
11, "Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given
Me." Verse 21, "That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and
I in Thee." Verse 24, "Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given
Me, be with Me where I am." Verse 25, "O righteous Father, the world hath
not known Thee: but I have known Thee." Notice in each of these verses the
use of the words, "Father," "My Father," "Holy Father" or "the Father."
I am stunned then at the middle cry of Calvary when
the Lord Jesus said, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" (Matthew
27:46) Why was it always "Father" and now suddenly it is "My God, My God?"
Our sins were placed on Jesus. The Father turned His back upon His Son,
and Jesus cried, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" The word
"forsaken" is a large word. It includes, "My God, My God, why hast thou
indicted Me? Why hast Thou convicted Me? Why hast Thou sentenced Me? Why
hast Thou disowned Me?" Though Jesus was still the Son of God on the
cross, He could not call God His Father because He was bearing our sins.
He was identifying Himself with sinners, and the Father, Who is holy and
just, cannot look upon sin. Hence, He turned His back upon His Son and in
that moment disowned Him that His justice might be satisfied and that a
way of reconciliation for sinners like you and me could be made.
This leads to four relationships that mankind can
have with his God.
1. Creator-creature. This takes place at birth.
2. God-people. This takes place at salvation.
3. Father-child. This takes place at separation.
4. Friend-friend. This takes place at service.
When the creature accepts Christ as his Saviour and
by faith appropriates God's gift of eternal life, he then enters into a
new relationship with his God. It is the relationship of God-people.
However, notice II Corinthians 6:14-18, "Be ye not unequally yoked
together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with
unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? and what
concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with
an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye
are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them,
and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord,
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a
Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty." Notice especially the words in verse 18, "and will be a Father
unto you, and ye shall be My sons and daughters." Now this does not mean
that the Christian was not already a child of God; it does mean that one
can be a child and not enjoy the intimate relationship that he should with
his Father. Here in II Corinthians 6:14-18 we have the requirement that
God gives for those of us who are His children to enter into a sweet
Father-child relationship. It is the great doctrine of separation. In
verse 14 we are told not to be yoked together with unbelievers. We are
told that righteousness should not fellowship with unrighteousness. We are
told that light should not commune with darkness. We are told in verse 15
that Christ hath no concord with Belial and that believers should have no
part with infidels. We are told in verse 16 that the temple of God hath no
agreement with idols. We have the reminder in the last part of verse 16
that the believer is one of God's people and that he has a God-people
relationship with the Father. Then in verse 17 God speaks to the believer
and says that if he will come out from among them, that is, the
unbelievers, unrighteousness, darkness, Belial, infidels and idols, and be
separate and touch not the unclean thing, then God will receive him and
will be a Father unto him, and the believer shall be as a son or daughter.
(Verse 18.) This is a wonderful, blessed truth.
One night our son, Dave, got in the wrong crowd. He
came home. When I realized with what crowd he had been, I said, "Go to
your room."
He said, "But, Dad...."
I said, "Don't `Dad' me. `Doctor Hyles' me."
He said, "Well, Dad...."
I said, "Don't say, `Dad,' to me. You `Doctor Hyles'
me." I went upstairs and made him say, "Doctor Hyles, Doctor Hyles, Doctor
Hyles," over and over again. Now he was my son, but we were not close at
that particular time because he had been in the wrong crowd. The believer
in Christ is still God's child, but he has forfeited his Father-child
intimacy if he runs with the wrong crowd.
Notice Romans 8:14, 15, "For as many as are led by
the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of
adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Here we have another passage that
teaches the same truth. We are told that the sons of God are those who are
led by the Spirit of God. Romans 8 deals with the Spirit of God leading
the child of God to live the spiritual life, not the carnal life. If the
child of God follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit into a spiritual
life, he then becomes the son of God. This does not mean that he was not
already God's child. It means that he now has a relationship as a father
and son should have. This same teaching is implied in Matthew 5:9,
"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of
God."
A little boy was bad. His dad sent him to his room
and then spanked him. He then told the boy to stay in his room and think
what a bad boy he had been. After awhile dinner was ready The dad very
curtly said, "Son, come on to the table and eat!" The boy came to the
table. His parents were still his parents, but he had lost the sweet
relationship with them that a child should have with his parents. His dad
then looked over to him and in a very stern voice said, "Son, you ask the
blessing! You need to pray!" Whereupon the boy said, "Heavenly Father, I
thank Thee that Thou preparest a table before me (sob, sob, sob) in the
presence of my enemies!"
When our girls were small, I had dates with them.
For many years I had dates with Becky, who is our oldest daughter. I used
to say, "Becky, do you want to have a date with Daddy?"
Her little three or four or five-year-old voice
would say, "Goodie, goodie, goodie! I'm going to have a date with Daddy!"
I would escort her to the car and ask her where she wanted to go. She
would always say she wanted to go to the ice cream store. We would drive
to the ice cream store. A waitress would come up and ask to take our
order. Becky would always order a chocolate milk shake. I would likewise
order a chocolate milk shake. When the waitress brought the milk shakes,
she put Becky's in front of her and mine in front of me and a straw in
each, whereupon Becky would say, "Daddy, let's drink out of the same milk
shake together." I put my milk shake to the side and put my straw in
Becky's and we would share the same milk shake. People would walk by and
say, "Look at that mean old man drinking that little girl's milk shake!"
(I did get more than Becky got because I had a better sucker than Becky
had!)
After we would have our milk shakes we would go to
the Jack and Jill Shop and I would buy Becky a dress or something else
that she might have needed. Then we would get in the car and go to
Riverside Park and swing. Becky would get in the swing, and I would push
her. Then I would get in the swing, and she would try to push me. We did
this every week. It was a ritual with us. This continued while Becky was
three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve and
thirteen; but when she became fourteen, one day I said, "Becky, do you
want to have a date with Daddy?"
She said, "No, sir."
I said, "What do you mean?"
"No, sir. I mean I don't want to have a date."
I said, "Why?"
She said, "Because Tim is going to call."
Who was Tim? Tim was a boy she had learned to like
better than she liked her dad, and she would rather wait for a phone call
from Tim than to have a date with her dad. (Every parent who has ever
reared a child knows how I felt!) I went to my prayer closet and asked,
"What's wrong? I've lost my daughter!"
(The Heavenly Father is asking "What's wrong?"
between Him and many of us because we have lost our sweet relationship
that we once had. )
I decided to add to the incentive. I was going to
preach in the Los Angeles area and so I said, "Becky, would you like to go
to Los Angeles with Daddy? We will go to Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland
! We will fly in a big airplane, have a few days in a hotel, enjoy room
service and breakfast in bed!"
She asked, "Can Tim go?"
I said, "No, Tim cannot go!"
She said, "Then I don't want to go."
Finally one day I was taking a trip to the Holy
Land. I said, "Becky, would you like to go to London, Paris, Rome, Athens,
Cairo, Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Bethany, Nazareth, Cana of Galilee, the
Jordan River, the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum and Jericho with
Daddy?"
"Is Tim going?" Becky said.
"No," I said, "Tim is not going!"
"Then I don't want to go," Becky said.
She would rather talk with Tim on the telephone than
go around the world with me! (I did not know at the time that this was the
natural thing. I know it now; I did not know it then!)
After a few years, Becky and Tim got married. God
has given them three lovely children. When the first child was just a
baby, they came home for a visit. I had to go to the store, and I
announced that I was going to the store. Becky said, "Daddy, can I go, and
can we have a date?"
My eyes filled with tears and my heart leaped with
joy as my grown daughter wanted to have a date again with me. It had been
years ! I put out my arm and escorted her to the car. I said, "Puddin',
where would you like to go?"
She said, "To the ice cream store."
To the ice cream store we went! A waitress came to
take our order. (It was not the same waitress.) Becky said, "I would like
to order a chocolate milk shake."
Through tears I said, "Make that two chocolate milk
shakes!"
The waitress brought the milk shakes, put Becky's in
front of Becky and mine in front of me and a straw in each. Becky said,
"Daddy, could we drink out of the same milk shake together?"
I said, "Why sure, Puddin'." I put my milk shake on
the side, put my straw in Becky's and we drank out of the same milk shake.
(I still got more than she did because my sucker was still better than
hers!)
After we shared her milk shake, we shared mine. Then
I said, "Puddin', you wouldn't like to buy a new dress, would you?" (Don't
ever ask an adult lady that question!)
She said, " Yes, I would. " We didn't go to the Jack
and Jill Shop, we went to Rosalee's, a women's store, and Becky picked out
a dress just like we used to do.
I said, "Puddin', we had better go home."
She said, "Daddy, aren't we going to go to the park
and swing?"
I said, "You want to go to the park and swing?"
She said, "We always do on our dates, don't we?" So
we went to Riverside Park! Becky sat in the swing and I pushed her; then I
sat in the swing and she tried to push me.
Then we went home, and I went to my prayer closet,
got on my knees and said, "Lord, does it make You as happy when I love to
be with You as it makes me when my children love to be with me?"
Yes, it does, except ten thousand times more! The
great heart of God wants to have a sweet relationship with His children,
and He wants not only positionally to be our Father but practically He
wants to treat us as father would treat a child.
When a famous ball player was first born again, he
was interviewed by an adult magazine which is filled with nudity and
pornography. Someone asked him why he did that since he claimed to be born
again. He said that Jesus would have been interviewed by that magazine.
Now this football player might be born again, but when he comes to his
prayer closet, he will have to say, "Dear God," and not, "Dear Father."
A famous Hollywood singer sings in nightclubs using
his charisma to attract people to the liquor and other sins of nightclub
life. Then on Sunday he goes to a church and tells how much Jesus means to
him. He may be saved, but when he comes to pray, he has forfeited the
right to say, "Dear Father."
There is a wonderful relationship that God wants to
have with us and to offer to us, but that relationship must be based on
our being separated. Do you have God's money in your pocket? Is there rock
music on your record player? Are you watching soap operas on your
television? Is there a critical nature in your heart? Do you have liquor
in your icebox? Are you yoking up in organizations with unbelievers? Then
though He is your Heavenly Father, you may not treat Him as such, and
though you are His child, the treatment will not be as intimate as He
would like it to be, and it will not be so until you are separated!
We have noticed that the Creator-creature
relationship comes at birth, the God-people relationship comes at
salvation, and the Father child relationship comes with separation, but
there is yet a fourth relationship, and that is Friend-friend. John 15:14,
"Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." This comes at
service when we obey our Heavenly Father's commands. Of course, His great
command is to go and teach all nations. In other words, the great command
is to be a soul winner. God spoke of Abraham as being His friend. Moses
spoke to God face to face as a friend. God wants to have that sweet
Friend-to-friend relationship with His people, but He will enter into that
sacred relationship only when we become soul winners and faithful servants
of our Lord.
Many years ago I was invited by Dr. John R. Rice to
preach at a Sword of the Lord Conference in Lake Louise, Georgia. The
speakers were to be Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., Dr. R. G. Lee, Dr. John Rice, Dr.
Bill Rice and others. I was still in my twenties, and I could not believe
Dr. Rice meant that he wanted me to come! I thought the letter was sent to
me by mistake, so I had my secretary call Dr. Rice's office to confirm the
invitation. Not long after that, I sat on the same platform with Dr. R. G.
Lee when he preached his famous sermon, "Payday Someday," and then I was
introduced to speak. I looked at my outline and was almost ashamed to
preach. How could a kid preacher like me follow the most famous sermon of
our generation? After I had preached, I sat at the same table with Dr.
John R. Rice, Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., Dr. R. G. Lee and others. I could not
believe that it was true. Then for 22 years I shared the platform with Dr.
Rice, and at over 2200 occasions he and I preached on the same program!
A few years after I had begun preaching with Dr.
Rice, I asked him very privately if he would unofficially adopt me as a
son. I said, "Dr. Rice, you have six daughters; you have no sons, and my
father has been dead for a long time. If I don't tell anybody about this
while you are alive, and if I do not presume upon our relationship, could
we have an understanding that I am sort of your adopted son?"
He put his right hand in mine and his left hand on
my shoulder and said, "You've got yourself a deal, son."
For 22 years I never missed sending him a Father's
Day gift nor did I fail to call him on Father's Day. (I never told anyone
this- not even my family or closest friends.) When he was well up in
years, Dr. Rice suffered a serious heart attack and a stroke and was
unable to travel, and in 1980 he went to Heaven. I miss Dr. Rice very
much.
Chapter
14.
The Hardest Thing About Separation
Hebrews 13:10-14, "We have an altar, whereof they
have no right to eat which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those
beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for
sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He might
sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us
go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach. For
here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Deuteronomy
23:9, "When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee
from every wicked thing." Leviticus 16:27, "And the bullock for the
sin-offering, and the goat for the sin-offering, whose blood was brought
in to make atonement in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the
camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and
their dung."
The Israelites could eat the flesh of many
sacrifices. Such was the case of the passover lamb. Then there was a
special offering that could be eaten only by the priests. There was one,
however, of which no one could eat. This was that which was offered on the
day of atonement, which was the tenth day of the seventh month of the
year. This offering was a special one It's skin, flesh, hair and dung were
taken outside the camp and burned. Can you imagine the odor of such a
burning?
As the Israelites traveled, some had to stay outside
the camp. They could not enter into the camp. Among these were the
eunuchs. Deuteronomy 23:1, "He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his
privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord."
An illegitimate child also had to stay outside the camp. Deuteronomy 23:2,
"A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his
tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord."
The Ammonites and the Moabites who were descendants of the illegitimate
sons of Lot and his daughters were also outside the camp. Deuteronomy
23:3, "An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the
Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the
congregation of the Lord for ever." A sodomite, such as homosexuals and
lesbians, was outside the camp. Deuteronomy 23:17, "There shall be no
whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel." A
dog could not be in the camp. This was the term probably used for male
prostitutes. Deuteronomy 23:18, "Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore,
or the price of a dog, into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for
even both these are abomination unto the Lord thy God." Prostitutes, or
whores, could not come in the camp. Deuteronomy 23:17, "There shall be no
whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel."
The leper was outside the camp. Leviticus 13:45, 46, "And the leper in
whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he
shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.
All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is
unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be."
Now the offering on the day of atonement being
outside the camp and the motley crowd that could not be inside the camp
with the Israelites represent God's people. When the Lord Jesus was
crucified outside the walls of the city of Jerusalem, He went outside the
camp to identify Himself with sinners, and now He calls us outside the
camp to Himself Hebrews 13:13, "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without
the camp, bearing His reproach." Can you imagine how obnoxious the odor of
the skin, the flesh, the dung and the hair burning must have been? Imagine
how obnoxious it was to those who traveled inside the camp as they looked
out and saw those without the camp- the homosexual, the lesbian,
prostitute, male prostitute, the whore, those with venereal disease, the
eunuchs etc.
God is teaching us that when we come outside the
camp of this world unto Jesus and are separated, we will be looked upon
with the same disdain and disfavor with which the Jew looked upon those
who were cast out of the camp and we will be just as much an odor to those
in the camp of this world as were the skin, the flesh, the dung and the
hair of the sacrifice burned outside the camp! This is the hardest thing
about separation! When Jesus was put outside the camp, this old wicked
world was saying to Him "You affect us like the outcasts and the odor of
the burning flesh affected Israel." When we go outside the camp to Him,
then we become equally as obnoxious to the world that crucified Him.
This is not easy. Everybody wants to be accepted. It
is not easy to love and then be considered by the world as unloving. It is
not easy for the scholar to be considered unscholarly by his peers It is
not easy for depth to be considered shallow by those who are shallow and
think they are deep. It is not easy to be called the off-scouring the
remnant the leftovers, the dung, the hair, the flesh, the skin the hide.
It is not easy to be looked upon with the same disdain and disfavor with
which the Jews looked upon those that were not allowed to travel inside
the camp. The temptation is to come inside the camp and justify our
entrance in many ways.
A quarter of a century ago I became Pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Hammond Indiana I had always pastored churches
that were outside the camp- churches of good, dedicated Christian people,
but churches with standards and convictions. We were looked upon by the
apostates with disdain. They called us unloving, uncooperative,
unscholarly and shallow Suddenly I was Pastor of the First Baptist Church
in the downtown section of a large metropolis. The elite began to shower
me with attention. I enjoyed it. It was a great temptation for me to come
inside the camp There were many ways I sought to justify such a course of
action-until one day one of the wealthiest of our members told me that he
was tired of the little dirty bus kids! He told me that he had met with
some of the affluent people and they had decided that I had to choose
between them and the bus kids! If we kept the buses, they would leave with
their money. If we stopped the bus ministry, they would stay. They
threatened me by withholding their offerings, assured me that we could not
make it financially without their wealth, and gave me a few days to make
up my mind. God revealed to me that I should not forsake the poor and the
needy, and on my face after a night of prayer, I chose the bus kids over
the wealth of those who threatened me. Suddenly, I was outside the camp
again, and to those who considered themselves to be the elite, affluent
and scholarly, I was as obnoxious as the motley crowd that was expelled
from the camp of Israel and as disdained as the burning flesh outside the
camp.
Invitations to speak at civic clubs ceased. Dinner
engagements with the elite were stopped, and suddenly I found myself
outside the gate, rejected by the self-styled elite, affluent and
scholarly of the area. There I was with the bus kids, the poor, the halt,
the maimed and the blind. I was lonely I did not want to love and be
considered unloving. I did not want to be considered unscholarly and
uncouth. It was dark. It was lonely. Then suddenly I heard a Voice say,
"Welcome." I looked up to see Whose voice was speaking. I saw nail prints
in His hands and feet. I heard Him say, "Welcome. I am glad you have come
outside the camp to Me." Suddenly I realized that Jesus was already
outside the camp and that He was just as unpopular with that elite crowd
as I was. Ah, how sweet the fellowship! How wonderful was His presence! I
was outside the camp WITH HIM! What a bargain! What a deal! What a
Saviour!
Chapter
15.
What Is a Fundamentalist?
The term "fundamentalist" is a relative one, like
"conservative" or "liberal." As it applies to organizations and
denominations, "fundamentalists" would define those who hold to original
doctrines and convictions and standards of a movement. This means that at
the beginning of a movement all of its adherents would be fundamentalists.
However, movements change. Denominations change. As they do, those who
hold to the original doctrines and convictions fight for their
preservation and for the return of the movement to its fundamentals.
History tells us that these attempts have failed. Finally realizing that
their hopes are futile, a group will pull out of the original movement or
denomination and organize another according to the original dogma,
standards and convictions of the apostate group. When this happens, the
new group can be labeled "fundamentalists." Hence, to be a fundamental
Methodist would not be the same thing as to be a fundamental Presbyterian.
To be a fundamental Baptist would not be the same thing as to be a
fundamental Episcopalian. The important thing to note here is that the
term "fundamentalist" is one that has been given to those who pull out and
return to the original intents, purposes and doctrine of the group that
they feel has gone liberal.
There are some Methodists who feel that the mainline
Methodist denomination have departed from the position of its founding
fathers. These may be called fundamental Methodists. The same thing is
true with the Presbyterian denomination. The American Baptist Convention,
Southern Baptist Convention and other groups such as the General
Association of Regular Baptists, the Baptist Bible Fellowship, World Bible
Fellowship, the Conservative Baptist Fellowship, Bible Presbyterians,
Wesleyan Methodists and the Southwide Baptist Fellowship might be included
in this category. If and when any of these organizations or movements
shows signs of decay, there will be those who will withdraw and go back to
what they believe are the original doctrines, purposes and convictions of
the mother group. Then they will become fundamentalists also. This means
that the term "fundamentalist" usually defines a movement rather than a
position.
It is rather popular to define the term
"fundamentalist" as one who believes the fundamentals; for example, one
who believes the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, the
virgin birth, the vicarious death, the bodily resurrection and the second
coming. Now, to be sure, such a one believes the fundamentals, but the
term "fundamentalist" probably should not be ascribed to him if he is
still a member of an apostate denomination. The term "fundamentalist" is
given not to those who simply believe the aforementioned fundamentals but
to those who have separated themselves from those who do not. This brings
the doctrine of separation into focus as a vital and necessary part of
being a fundamentalist. This author, for example, could not call a member
of the American Baptist Convention who believes the verbal inspiration,
the deity of Christ, virgin birth, the vicarious death, the bodily
resurrection and the second coming of Christ a fundamentalist, nor could
he call a Southern Baptist who believes the fundamental doctrines a
fundamentalist. I certainly feel kindly toward men who believe these
doctrines who are still in their denominations. I admire their stand and
appreciate their fight for the Bible. I am pleased with their evangelistic
zeal, and I gladly call them Christian brothers, but in no way could I
associate the term "fundamentalist" with them, and I could not do so until
they severed their yoke with the movement which is departing from the
faith. If just believing the verbal inspiration of the Bible, the deity of
Christ, the virgin birth, the vicarious death, the bodily resurrection and
the second coming of Christ makes one a fundamentalist, then many who are
yoked up with apostate denominations would be classified as
fundamentalists.
There are several interesting things about the Old
Testament law of separation for Israel.
1. They were not allowed to sow different seeds
together. Deuteronomy 22:9, "Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers
seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of
thy vineyard, be defiled."
2. They were not allowed to plow with an ox and an
ass in the same yoke. Deuteronomy 22:10, "Thou shalt not plow with an ox
and an ass together."
3. They were not allowed to wear a garment with
different materials such as wool and linen in the same garment.
Deuteronomy 22:11, "Thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts, as of
woollen and linen together."
In the Bible, seed is a type of the Word of God.
Psalm 126:6, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
Luke 8:11, "Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God." The
spiritual teaching is that we should not mix the Bible with other seed.
The Bible is not one of God's books, it is THE Word of God! There is a
special judgment on those who add to the seed. Revelation 22:18, "For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the
plagues that are written in this book."
A garment in the Bible is a type of salvation. Adam
and Eve, as soon as they had sinned, tried to cover their nakedness.
Genesis 3:7, "And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that
they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves
aprons." Their own efforts failed, and God covered their nakedness with
the skins taken from a slain animal. Genesis 3:21, "Unto Adam also and to
his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them." The
Apostle John reminds us that the linen garments worn by the redeemed are
symbolic of righteousness. Revelation 19:8, "And to her was granted that
she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen
is the righteousness of saints." This means that it is an abomination when
anyone adds anything to salvation apart from faith in the finished work of
Calvary. It is not salvation by faith plus baptism, it is not salvation by
faith plus communion, it is not salvation by faith plus confirmation, it
is not salvation by faith plus the sacraments, it is not salvation by
faith plus good works. This is mixing material in the garment of
salvation. The song writer put it well when he said, "I gave Him my old
tattered garments; He gave me a robe of pure white." The robe of salvation
is made by God Himself and is given to all who realize their sinful
condition, who realize they are under the condemnation of God, who believe
that Jesus has paid the penalty for their sins and by faith receive Christ
as Saviour and His payment on the cross as full payment for sin.
Now we come to the yoking of an ox and an ass
together. An ox in the Bible is symbolic of the man of God. Deuteronomy
25:4, "Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn." I
Timothy 5:17, 18, "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of
double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For
the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the
corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward." In I Timothy 5:17, the
word "elder" is a synonym for "pastor" or "man of God," which means that
the man of God should not be muzzled. Hence, the ox is symbolic of God's
man. I Corinthians 9:9, "For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt
not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take
care for oxen?"
Just as the ox is symbolic of God's man, the ass is
symbolic of false prophets and apostates. God is saying to us that just as
He does not want His Word diluted, and just as He does not want His plan
of salvation diluted, He does not want the testimony of His servants
diluted by their being in a yoke with unbelievers. II Corinthians 6:14-18,
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light
with darkness? and what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath
he that believeth with an infidel? and what agreement hath the temple of
God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said,
I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they
shall be My people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty." You will notice in verse 14 that a
believer is not to be yoked up with an unbeliever. Righteousness is not to
be yoked with unrighteousness, and light is not to be yoked with darkness.
In verse 15 you will notice that we are not to yoke a believer with an
infidel. In verse 16 we are forbidden to yoke the temple of God with
idols. In verse 17 we are admonished to come out from among them. (This
takes us back to the origin of the term "fundamentalist.") God does not
want His people yoked up with unbelievers. II Chronicles 19:2, "And Jehu
the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king
Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the
Lord? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord." Notice God's
attitude toward His man being in the same yoke with those who are not
God's people. When we do such a thing, we ourselves become enemies of God.
James 4:4, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the
friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a
friend of the world is the enemy of God." The Apostle Paul admonishes us
that we are not to fellowship with darkness. Ephesians 5:11, "And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them." We are taught in Psalm 1 that we should not walk in the counsel of
the ungodly nor stand in the way of sinners nor sit in the seat of the
scornful. Psalm 1:1-3, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel
of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the
seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in
His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper." God teaches us very plainly that we are not to intermarry with
unbelievers. Marriage is a yoke. When a Christian marries an unsaved
person, he disobeys the command of God; he yokes a believer with an
unbeliever; he yokes righteousness with unrighteousness; he yokes light
with darkness.
In the day of Nehemiah when Jewish men married
unsaved women, Nehemiah rebuked them. Nehemiah 13:23-27, "In those days
also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:
And their children spake half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak
in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. And I
contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and
plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not
give your daughters unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your
sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these
things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved
of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him
did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken unto you to do
all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange
wives?"
The downfall of Solomon was in marrying heathen
women. I Kings 11:4-8, "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that
his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not
perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For
Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after
Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight
of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab,
in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of
the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives,
which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods." Not only does this
passage show Solomon's downfall, but it shows how it happened. He married
wives who worshipped heathen gods. Because of this, his heart was turned
away from his own God, and he even built heathen places of worship. How
tragic for a man who was so wise to be so foolish!
In Genesis 4:25, 26, we are told of the birth of
Seth. "And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his
name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of
Abel, whom Cain slew. And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and
he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the
Lord." Seth was a Christian man whom God gave to Eve and whose seed would
replace the seed of Abel, who was killed by Cain. Seth had a son whose
name was Enos, who also called upon the name of the Lord. However, Seth's
descendants began to intermarry with unsaved people. This led to wicked
practices and finally to the judgment upon the earth by the flood.
Basically this tragic judgment came because of God's people intermarrying
with those who were not God's people. Genesis 6:1-7, "And it came to pass,
when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were
born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they
were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord
said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is
flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were
giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of
God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the
same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that
the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented
the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his
heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the
face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the
fowls of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them."
Lest some believer become carried away with a
misguided zeal, God plainly instructs the Christian who is ALREADY married
to one not a Christian not to break his vows and not to leave the
unbelieving mate. I Corinthians 7:10-16, "And unto the married I command,
yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and
if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband:
and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not
the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be
pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman which
hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with
her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by
the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were
your children unclean; but now are they holy. But if the unbelieving
depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such
cases: but God hath called us to peace. For what knowest thou, O wife,
whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether
thou shalt save thy wife?" After the marriage is made, it is too late to
prevent tragedy. The best thing to do is stay with the unsaved mate and
live the kind of life that perhaps can atone for the sin of the marriage.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that widows may marry,
but they can marry only Christian men. I Corinthians 7:39, "The wife is
bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be
dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord."
Notice the words, "ONLY IN THE LORD." In other words, when a woman's
husband is dead, she has a right to marry, but only in the Lord.
This yoke, however, pertains to more than marriage.
A man of God should not yoke up with unbelievers in a ministerial
association. He should not yoke up with unbelievers in a united
evangelistic crusade. He should not yoke up with unbelievers in an Easter
sunrise service, a Thanksgiving service or a Good Friday service. A man of
God should not preach under the sponsorship of unbelievers. Immediately
critics would say, "Well, I have heard that you have preached in taverns."
Yes, you heard correctly. I have preached in taverns, and there are
conditions under which this is acceptable. Suppose, for example, that I
get a letter from the local tavern keeper and he says, "Reverend, I would
like for you to come and bring a Bible message to my customers at 3:00 on
Good Friday." So, at 3:00, I enter the tavern. The tavern keeper calls the
people to attention and introduces me. He says, "Ladies and gentlemen, I
have Reverend Hyles to speak for us today. He is Pastor of First Baptist
Church, and I have asked him to come and bring a Good Friday message. I am
happy to present to you Reverend Hyles." If under those conditions I
speak, I am appearing in a yoke with the tavern keeper. He and I are
sponsoring the service. We are working together in the same yoke.
Now suppose I go to the same tavern some day and
walk in and start preaching. I am not invited, and I warn the people
against the sins of liquor and strong drink. The tavern keeper does not
stop me, and I continue to preach. Everybody there knows I was not invited
by the bartender or the owner. Everyone knows I came on my own. I was not
sponsored by the wicked liquor traffic. I am there to oppose his business;
I am there on my own; he did not know I was coming, and he did not invite
me.
The Bible has more bad things to say about false
teachers than about tavern keepers and bartenders. For that matter, the
Bible has more to say about false teachers than it does about strong
drink. If an unbelieving pastor invites me to speak for him and I accept,
I am being sponsored by him, and he and I are in the same yoke in holding
a service. This is unscriptural and something that is an abomination to
God.
The argument is advanced, "But think how much good
you could do if you preached in liberal churches." It is best to let God
decide how much good can be done. He has already decided this and on the
basis of how much good can be done He has given us His commandments. Wise
Christians will obey and trust the eternal judgment of an omniscient God
rather then the reasoning of finite human minds.
Satan has always wanted to dilute the message of God
through the unequal yoke. He asked his liberal prophets to extend a hand
to the fundamental prophet so that they might work under the same yoke.
The fundamentalists in general refused his offers, but the Devil was not
through. If he could not get the fundamentalists to join hands with the
liberals, he called in another to join hands with the liberal and to offer
his hand to the fundamentalist. This other was the neo-orthodox which
means, "new orthodoxy." This is the one who believes wrong but talks
right. He talks about an inspired Bible, but he does not mean a verbally
inspired Bible. He talks about a Heaven but not the one of the Bible. He
talks about a hell that has no fire. He is liberal in his heart but is
deceitful with his mouth. He joins hands with the liberal and then extends
his hand to the fundamentalist. All the time Satan is trying to get the
fundamentalist in the same camp with the liberal.
For the most part, however, this failed. The
fundamentalist refused to join hands with the neo-orthodox, but Satan was
not through. He then brought someone else into view. We call him the
neo-evangelical. He is the one who believes right but talks wrong. He is
probably saved, believes the verbal inspiration and other fundamentals of
the faith, but he is not willing to bear the reproach of Christ and the
stigma of separation, so he joins hands with the neo-orthodox who has
already joined hands with the liberal. He then offers his hand to the
fundamentalist. Satan knows that if the fundamentalist can join hands with
the neo-evangelical who has joined hands with the neo-orthodox who had
joined hands with the liberal, then he will have the fundamentalist and
the liberal in the same camp. How shrewd he is!
However, in most instances, he failed again. The
fundamentalist refused the enticement of the neo-evangelical, but Satan is
not finished yet. He must find a link that will join the fundamentalist
with the liberal. Sad to say, he found that link. He placed a politician
between those who joined hands with the neo-evangelical. He then offered
his hand to the fundamentalist and gullibly the fundamentalist accepted!
Now the fundamentalist joins hands with the politician who joins hands
with the neo-evangelical who has joined hands with the neo-orthodox who
has joined hands with the liberal, and we find fundamentalists, liberals,
new-evangelicals and neo-orthodox joining together in the same yoke in
order to get better men in office. Now we have Baptist preachers, Catholic
preachers, liberal preachers and even cultists joining together in a
common cause.
"But," cries someone, "this is not a religious
endeavor. This is a secular endeavor." The truth is, however, that
everything is sacred to the man of God. It is also true that the more we
are around evil and evildoers, the less sinful sin becomes. These false
teachers are usually likable people, and once we learn to like them, their
doctrine will not be quite so bad.
Another tragedy is what this yoke does to the
following generations. When Balaam was asked to come to Moab, he refused
to go. Later on he went and with him he carried the purity of the faith.
He had broken down the wall between the heathen and God's people. It
wasn't long until their children intermarried and God's people were
poluted through and through.
When Ahab was king of Israel (the northern kingdom),
he had a wicked wife named Jezebel with whom he led the nation astray. The
southern kingdom, however, was ruled by a good, godly man named
Jehoshaphat. One day Ahab invited Jehoshaphat to enter into a nonreligious
yoke with him. There was a parcel of land that was a very coveted
possession that once belonged to Israel. Ahab suggested to Jehoshaphat
that the two of them join together to take Ramoth in Gilead back from the
heathen. Now this was a secular endeavor. When they got together,
Jehoshaphat's son, Jehoram, happened to meet Ahab's daughter, Athaliah.
They fell in love and were married. So he took the daughter of Jezebel,
who was a "little Jezebel," back to the southern kingdom. Soon she
polluted the southern kingdom just like her wicked mother, Jezebel, had
polluted the northern kingdom. This would not have happened if Ahab and
Jehoshaphat had not entered into the same yoke. The problem here is that
our children should not be exposed to heathen young people less they meet
them, court them, love them and marry them. The Christian young man will
just as likely want to date an unchristian young lady whom he meets at a
political meeting as much as he would one whom he meets at a united
Thanksgiving service.
When God's people returned from Babylonian captivity
to rebuild the wall and the temple at Jerusalem, enemies tried to thwart
and hinder their work. They used many methods such as hatred, slander,
ridicule, etc. Included in those methods was an offer to unite in the
work. "Let us build with you," they said, but God's people refused to yoke
up with them in this secular endeavor. Rebuilding the wall around the city
was not a spiritual work but a secular one.
One never catches good health. If someone has
hepatitis, he is not asked to get near someone who doesn't have hepatitis
in order that the healthy person may cure the diseased. You don't cure
mononucleosis by having someone with good health breathe on him. One
hepatitis plus one non-hepatitis equals two hepatitis. One mononucleosis
plus one non-mononucleosis equals two mononucleosis. You don't fall
upward. No one falls and stumbles on the ceiling. The law of gravity is a
downward pull. God's people cannot associate with the unbelieving,
Christ-rejecting world without being adversely influenced and finally
contaminated. This is why people who are in denominations which have gone
liberal should withdraw and become fundamentalists. It is not believing
right within the movement that makes one a fundamentalist; it is the
withdrawal FROM the movement and returning to the original dogma,
practices and convictions of the apostate group that gives one the title
of fundamentalist. The basic difference is the degree of importance that
one places on the doctrine of separation.
When I was a high school student, I attended the W.
H. Adamson High School in Dallas, Texas. I once had a date with a girl who
attended Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. Everything was fine until
there was a football game between our two schools! We agreed that during
the first half of the game we would sit on the side of the field where the
Adamson High School student body and fans sat; then for the last half, we
would go across the field and sit with the student body and fans from
Woodrow Wilson. For the first half all was well. I cheered loudly and
courageously However, the last half posed a problem. The first time one of
the players from my school made a good gain, I stood and screamed at the
top of my voice. Then suddenly I realized I was the only one cheering !
The next time Adamson made a good play I remained seated and cheered
softly. The next time I simply waved my hand in the air. The next time I
silently said, "Rah, Rah!" I still believed in Adamson High School; I was
still a student at Adamson High School, but my voice became silent, my
testimony became nullified, and I would have not been classed as a loyal
adherent to W. H. Adamson High School.
When the believer for any purpose sits side by side
with the unbeliever, he will find his cheering for Jesus gets a bit
quieter, his zeal is lessened, and soon his testimony will be silenced!