CONSPICUOUS BY
THEIR ABSENCE
Have you ever
heard the expression, "conspicuous by their absence?" There are times
and occasions when certain people are supposed to be present for some kind of
celebration. But because they did not want to attend or because they were
hindered in some way, it is not unusual for someone to comment: "They are
conspicuous by their absence." My use of the term has absolutely nothing
to do with someone's absence from a celebration of some sort. I am applying the
term to the writings of certain preachers or teachers. For example, if a
preacher writes a book on the terms of salvation and leaves out certain
passages that have a bearing on that topic, the passages he ignores are
conspicuous by their absence.
An example will
help you to understand what I have in mind in our lesson today. Dr. John F.
MacArthur, Jr. is without question one of the most prolific evangelical writers
in the world. I have in my study around
thirty of Dr. MacArthur's books. In 1998 he wrote a
book with the title, Forgiveness: The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness (
Dr. MacArthur
quotes the Jews' question on the day of Pentecost: "Men and brethren, what
shall we do" (Acts 2:37)? The Jews were asking what to do to be forgiven
for their sin of rejecting and crucifying their own Messiah. According to Dr.
MacArthur, the apostle Peter answered their question: "Repent and trust
Christ" (p. 50). Is that what Peter told the Jews to do so they could have
the remission of sins? That may be what
he meant, but that is not what he said. Peter commanded the Jews: "Repent,
and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy
Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Dr. MacArthur could not have examined the Greek New
Testament and confused the two words "baptize" and "trust."
The Greek word transliterated "baptize" is baptizo, as I have already
mentioned. The Greek word translated "trust" is peitho. Dr.
MacArthur did not confuse the two Greek words. He did not want to admit that alien
sinners have to be baptized to enjoy the remission of sins.
Some backwoods,
uneducated preacher might be excused for ignoring what the Bible teaches on the
relationship between forgiveness and baptism. Dr. MacArthur cannot be excused for
such a blunder. He has access to the best biblical helps available. He has
concordances, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, CD ROMS and encyclopedias. In
his writings, the Bible's teaching on baptism is conspicuous by its absence.
From the viewpoint of Holy Scripture, that is absolutely inexcusable.
There are many
words and ideas that are conspicuous by their absence in modern books on
salvation. I want to dwell on just one of those words: obedience. I shall refer
to several books by Calvinist preachers. I do so without any rancor or ill
will, but I must expose error wherever it appears. So please give attention to
our examination of the Bible's teaching on obedience.
Calvinists and
others teach that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. That they
teach that doctrine is not even debatable. For example, one preacher in
Forty years ago,
David Steele, Curtis C. Thomas and S. Lance Quinn wrote a book with the title,
The Five Points of Calvinism: Defined, Defended, and Documented (Phillipsburg,
NJ: R & R Publishing). David Steele died 1991, but the other two other
authors decided to republish the book. The book has the enthusiastic
endorsement of some of the world's most prominent evangelical authors: R. C. Spoul, J. I. Packer, Philip Ryken
and Jay Adams, among others. Dr. Sproul calls the
book "a classic." He says the book is "clear, concise and warm
in its presentation of historic Reformed theology." Dr. Ryken describes the book as "a classic exposition and
defense of Reformed theology." So the book sets forth the views that are
almost universally accepted among Calvinists.
Did you know that
the authors of the book, The Five Points of Calvinism, overlook the passages
that require obedience? Is that accidental or were the authors of the book
trying to prove their theological views while ignoring those passages that
contradict their position? Several times in the book of Romans, the great
apostle Paul mentions obedience. Will you please listen to these verses? Christ
was "declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: by whom we have received grace and
apostleship, for the obedience of the faith among all nations" (Rom.
1:4-5). The expression, "for the obedience of the faith," also
appears in Romans 16:26. It is conspicuous by its absence in the book I have
mentioned and in most other books by Calvinist writers. Do the authors of this
book and the distinguished scholars who endorsed it know about the term,
"the obedience of faith?"
Romans 2 affirms
that God "will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by
patience in well doing seek for glory and immortality, he will give eternal
life: but unto them who are contentious, and do not obey the truth, and
obey unrighteousness, he will give
indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man who does
evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile: but glory, honor, and peace,
to every man who works good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile"
(Rom. 2:6-10). Did you take note of the expression, "works good?" Surely Paul did not mean that those who would be
pleasing to God must work good. Does not the
expression, "works good," involve obedience to the will of God?
The authors of
the book, The Five Points of Calvinism, almost completely ignore Romans 6. Do
you remember these words from that great chapter? "Do you not know that to
whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you
obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be
thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine that was delivered to you. Being then made free from sin,
you became the servants of righteousness" (Rom. 6:16-18). Is Paul teaching
that we must obey the Lord to be his children? Can we be free from sin if we
have not obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine that was delivered through
the apostles? If we can, why does Paul lay such stress
on obedience?
Paul asks the
Roman Christians, "How shall they preach, except they be
sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of
them who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good
things." Now please listen. "But they have not all obeyed the gospel.
For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our report"
(Rom. 10:15-16)? The book, The Five Points of Calvinism, never one time
mentions these verses. Why did they choose not to mention them? If they had
carefully examined Romans 1:5; 6:16-18; 10:16; 16:26), the battle would be
over. They would have no ground on which to stand. They know they cannot defend
their position if they speak of obedience to the gospel.
Paul told the
Thessalonians that God would punish with flaming fire those "who do not
know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2
Thess. 1:8-9). Was
there some reason why the authors of the book, The Five Points of Calvinism,
ignored these verses? Does it matter if men and women do not obey the gospel of
Christ? One of the few Calvinist books I have that mentions these verses is Ron
Rhodes' book, The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2001). Dr. Rhodes lists 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (pp. 187, 311, 317), but says
nothing about obedience. His emphasis is on the punishment some will receive in
the day of judgment. But why will they be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of God and from the glory of his
power? They will be punished because they did not obey the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Hebrews 5 speaks
at length of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ. The author of this book says
concerning our Lord, "Thou art a priest forever after the order of
Melchizedek. Who (that is, Christ) in the days of his flesh, when he had
offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him who
was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; though he were
a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things that he suffered; and being made
perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them who obey
him" (Heb. 5:6-9). I have a question for you to consider: "Is Christ
the author of eternal salvation to those who do not obey him?" If we must
obey him, is salvation by grace alone through faith alone? Is this verse in the
Bibles of Calvinists?
The books of
Romans, of James and of Hebrews use Abraham as an example of faith. We know
Abraham could not have done enough good works in a thousand lifetimes to earn
salvation. But does that mean his faith did not require obedience? In the
Bible's greatest chapter on faith, the author of Hebrews says concerning
Abraham: "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place that
he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not
knowing where he was going" ((Heb. 11:8). The main clause in that verse
reads very simply: "By faith Abraham...obeyed." If he had not obeyed,
would he be listed in the Hall of Faith? The truth is: All of the heroes
of faith listed in Hebrews 11 were obedient to the will of God. They would not
have been listed in that great chapter had they not been obedient to God. The
word "obey" does not appear in the verse about Noah, but judge for yourselves if Noah were obedient. "By faith Noah, being
warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to
the saving of his house; by which he condemned the world, and became heir of
the righteousness which is by faith" (Heb. 11:7). What is the significance
of the expressions, "moved with fear" and "prepared an
ark?" The book of Genesis says very simply: "Thus did Noah: according
to all that God commanded him, do did he" (Gen. 6:22). Did the authors of
the book, The Five Points of Calvinism, know about Hebrews 5:8-9 and 11:7-8? I
know how impossible it is to include in a sermon or in a book all the Bible
says on any topic, regardless of the length of a sermon or the size of a book.
But is it accidental that the authors overlooked every passage dealing with
obedience?
The apostle Peter's first letter lays great stress on obedience.
Please listen carefully. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be
sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves
according to the former lusts in your ignorance" (1 Pet. 1:13-14). In that
same chapter, Peter wrote about Christ's being "foreordained before the
foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, who by
him do believe in God, who raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory;
that your faith and hope might be in God. Seeing you have purified your souls
in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren,
see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently: being born again,
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives
and abides forever" (1 Pet. 1:20-23).
How did the
recipients of Peter's letter become Christians? They purified their souls in
obeying the truth. Although Peter does not provide the details of their
obedience, we know what happened because of Paul's letter to the Roman
Christians. The Romans were baptized into Christ (Rom. 6:3). Later in that
chapter, as I have already read to you, Paul said, "But God be thanked,
that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form
of doctrine that was delivered to you. Being then made from sin, you became the
servants of righteousness" (Rom. 6:17-18). In view of this passage and of
many others, how can anyone deny the absolute need to obey the gospel?
In his
second letter to the Corinthians, Paul emphasizes obedience. Paul mentions Titus
and then says concerning him: "And his inward affection is more abundant
toward you, while he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and
trembling you received him" (2 Cor. 7:15). In that same epistle, the
apostle Paul
wrote: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through
God to the pulling down of
strongholds; casting down imaginations, and everything that
exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ; and having a readiness to revenge all
disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled" (2 Cor. 10:4-6).
Do you get the
impression from these verses that obedience is just one option among many? Must
we bring "every thought to the obedience of Christ?" James Montgomery
Boice and Philip G. Ryken
wrote a book with the title, The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the
Evangelical Gospel (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2002). These very scholarly
Calvinists almost totally ignore any verse requiring obedience, but they do
mention the passage from 2 Corinthians. They write: "God is also the
center of the true Calvinist's thinking. His goal is to 'take captive every
thought to make it obedient to Christ'" (p. 183). Whose goal is to take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ? Is it God's goal or the
goal of Christians? The passage makes it very plain that it is the goal of
Christians to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. Would
God force obedience to Christ on anyone? We are free moral agents who can
choose to obey Christ or to disobey him.
Although the word
"obey" does not appear in either of John's epistles, can there be any
doubt he absolutely required obedience of those who would please God? Please
listen to these verses from 1 John. "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, cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). The tenses of the verbs
in this verse are very important. Please listen to Charles Williams'
translation of this verse. "But if we continue to live in the light, just
as He is in the light, we have unbroken fellowship with one another, and the
blood of his Son continues to cleanse us from sin." What if we do not walk
in the light, will the blood of Christ continue to cleanse us from sin? If it
will, this verse is meaningless.
The apostle John
also wrote: "And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his
commandments. He who says, I know him, and does not
keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keeps
his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby we know that we
are in him. He who says he abides in him ought himself also so to walk, even as
he walked" (1 John 2:3-6). Did you take note of the little word
"ought" in verse 6? The word involves obligation. If we say we are
abiding in Christ, we have a
sacred obligation to live as he lived.
I shall read four
other verses from 1 John. "And the world passes away, and the lust
thereof: but he who does the will of God abides forever....If you know that he
is righteous, you know that everyone who does righteousness is born of
him" (1 John 2:17, 29). "Little children, let no man deceive you: he
who does righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous....In this the
children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever does not
do righteousness is not of God, neither he who does not love his brother"
(1 John 3:7, 10). While John does not use the word "obey," what do
you suppose he means by the word "do" in all of these verses? Is not
the word "do" equivalent in application to the word "obey?"
We must obey the will of God.
Winford Claiborne
The
International Gospel Hour
P.O.
Box 118
Fayetteville,
TN 37334
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