HATE SINS AGAINST SCRIPTURE
(The Cancer Destroying our Nations, Churches and Homes)
Presented at The 27th Annual Meeting of
The Dean Burgon Society
On July 14-15, 2004
At
Toronto Baptist Church
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Hosted by
Dr. Gary LaMore & Pastor Huge Schonhaar
Presented by
Dr. Robert J. Barnett, Pastor
Calvary Baptist Church and Academy
6504 West M-72
Grayling, Michigan 49738
It is a privilege to be back once again with our friends of the faith
in Canada for our Dean Burgon Society’s 27th Anniversary. We
thank our hosts Dr. Gary La More and Pastor Huge Schonhaar and their
families for your gracious invitation to be with you here at Toronto
Baptist Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
It is also a privilege to be on the platform with our faithful DBS
Founder and President, Dr. D. A. Waite. Dr. Waite as our resident scholar
in Bible Defense, we would be inconsistent if we did not ask you this
time-honored question: Dr. Waite, over your many years of studying each
book, chapter, verse and word in the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek scriptures
underlying the translation of the Authorized 1611 King James Bible, have
you ever found any translation errors or mistakes in our 1769 Cambridge
edition of the King James Bible?
The title of this message came to mind during an evaluation and
summation of John Shelby Spong’s latest book entitled, "The Sins of
Scripture – Exposing the Bible’s texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love."
Since he had already written a book titled, Rescuing the Bible from
Fundamentalism" his apparent reason for wanted to rescue the Bible
from Fundamentalism becomes clear, to destroy Bible Christianity. You
remember a few years ago I planned to speak on Lloyd Geering’s book
entitled, "Christianity without God," and Bishop John Shelby Spong’s book
"A New Christianity for a New World." But the Lord changed my directions.
So also again, after summarizing Spong’s new book, The Sins of
Scripture – Exposing the Bible’s texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love,"
the Lord gave a new direction for this message.
God warned us about the coming of Antichrist at the end of this age in
2 Thessalonians chapter 2. He warned us against deception by his person :
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son
of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God." (2 Thess 2:3,4).
God warned us against deception by the work of Antichrist in 2
Thessalonians 2:9, 10a: "9Even him, whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10aAnd with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish…."
God warned us against deception by the word or lie of Antichrist in 2
Thessalonians 2:10b-12: 10a"….because they received not the love of the
truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." .
The context in which we quote the above scriptures is in light of the
warning of 1 John 2:18: "18Little children, it is the last time: and as ye
have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many
antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." The growing hatred
of God and His Word in this generation was best foretold and explained by
our Lord in John 7:7: "7The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth,
because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil." God and His
Word are being hated and attacked as never before today because the world
hates a Holy God and His righteous truth. The world hates God’s Holy Truth
for exposing the growing evil nature of their sins. Our position and
practice as Christians in this 21st Century must be to love,
believe and enjoy the person, work, and word of our Lord Jesus Christ in a
world filled with growing hatred against God, the Bible, and Christians.
Since the joy and blessing of our 4th of July celebration,
God has led me to concentrate upon some of God’s great blessings upon both
the United States of America and Canada. The Preamble to the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms in Canada’s Constitution begins with these words, "Whereas
Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and
the rule of law:" Under Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms, and under
Fundamental Freedoms we read "2. Everyone has the following fundamental
freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion. (b) freedom of thought,
belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other
media of communication. (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom
of association." We share the truth that God has given us our freedoms.
Under "Equality before and under law and equal protection and benefit
of law" we read, "15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the
law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law
without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on
race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or
physical disability." We share the truth that God has created us equal
under law. This Scriptural truth was forcefully expressed in Lex, Rex,
or The Law and the Prince written by Samuel
Rutherford, Professor of Divinity in the University of St. Andrews,
October 7, 1644. The divine right of law under God replaced the divine
right of kings declaring all equal under law.
The meaning of the founding of Canada ‘upon principles that recognize
the supremacy of God and the rule of law," may be better understood by
reading the ceremonies at the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
on June 2, 1953. The question of the archbishop: "Will you solemnly
promise and swear to govern the Peoples of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand,
the Union of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon, and of your Possessions
and other Territories to any of them belonging or pertaining, according to
their respective laws and customs? The Queen replied: "I solemnly promise
so to do."
Again the archbishop asked: "Will you to the utmost of your power
maintain the Laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel? Will
you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the
Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?" The Queen responded:
"The things which I have here promised, I will perform, and keep. So
help me God. "
At the presenting of the Bible to the Queen the Archbishop said, "Our
gracious Queen: to keep your Majesty ever mindful of the law and the
Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of
Christian Princes, we present you with this Book, the most
valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the
royal Law; These are the lively Oracles of God." We credit David
Cloud’s quote of Denis Gibson identifying this Bible as the Authorized
King James Bible.. " At her coronation, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
received a copy of the Authorized Version of the Bible (K.J.V. 1611) which
was presented to her with these words, 'Here is Wisdom; here is the Royal
Law; here are the Lively Oracles of God.' This is our firm belief and
confidence: Here is the Word of God."
It is no wonder that in the official lyrics of Canada’s national anthem
"O Canada" are the words, "God keep our land glorious and free!"
Now let us read again these words: "Whereas Canada is founded upon
principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:"
How can anyone claim to hold to the supremacy of God while denying the
sovereign rule of His law or will revealed in His Holy Scriptures?
But today, there are hate sins being committed against the sovereign
God and His law upon which both Canada and the United States of America
were founded. There are hate sins being committed against the authorized
King James Bible which should still be considered "…the law and the
Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government…" This
Bible should still be honored in Canada as, "…the most valuable thing
that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law;
These are the lively Oracles of God."
On these shores of North America another British colony was formed into
a nation on July 4, 1776 influenced by the same God and the same Bible. As
President Coolidge once said, "America was born in a revival of
religion." Thomas Jefferson of Virginia was singled out by a committee
of 5 to draft the original Declaration of Independence. He was known as a
walking library of freedom documents. He was strongly influenced by the
Virginia Declaration of Rights, John Locke's Second Treatise of
Government and Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws
of England. The writings of both Locke and Blackstone were based upon and
filled with Bible quotes to establish their authority.
Two years earlier in summarizing the Rights of British America, in
August 1774 Jefferson had written, "The God who gave us life, gave us
liberty at the same time; the hand of force may destroy, but cannot
disjoin them." Thomas Jefferson shared the universal nature of
this document in a letter to Samuel Adams Wells on May 12, 1821: "The
Declaration of Independence... [is the] declaratory charter of our rights,
and the rights of man."
Thomas Jefferson gave us insight into the object of the Declaration in
a letter to Henry Lee dated May 8, 1825: "This was the object of
the Declaration of Independence. Not to find out new principles, or new
arguments, never before thought of, not merely to say things which had
never been said before; but to place before mankind the common sense of
the subject, in terms so plain and firm as to command their assent,
and to justify ourselves in the independent stand we are compelled to
take. Neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet
copied from any particular and previous writing, it was intended to be
an expression of the American mind, and to give to that expression
the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion."
Thomas Jefferson warned us to guard our documents: "It is the duty of
every good citizen to use all the opportunities which occur to him, for
preserving documents relating to the history of our country." The most
valuable of our historical documents in England, Canada, the United States
of America and all other English speaking countries remains the authorized
King James Bible.
Thomas Jefferson also reminded us of the intent of how
government documents should be interpreted: "Laws are made for men of
ordinary understanding and should, therefore, be construed by the ordinary
rules of common sense. Their meaning is not to be sought for in
metaphysical subtleties which may make anything mean everything or nothing
at pleasure." The same sense applies to the Bible. God gave us the words
he meant to give, and God’s words still express the truth God intended us
to know.
The U.S. Declaration of Independence honors our creator God:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men,
deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever
any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right
of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such
form, as to them shall most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
President Woodrow Wilson once said, "A nation which does not
remember what it was yesterday, does not know what it is today, nor what
it is trying to do. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know
where we came from or what we have been about." Every coin in
these United States bears a bust of one of our heroes and these famous
words: "LIBERTY - IN GOD WE TRUST." Our national roots rest upon
the Bible. The national roots of Canada rest upon a sovereign God and His
word: "Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the
supremacy of God and the rule of law:"
Faith in our Creator God insures us that our Right-to-Life is based
squarely upon the divine image of God in every human being. All human
beings know the deity and power of their creator-God from creation.
(Romans 1:19, 20). "Because that which may be known of God is manifest in
them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are
without excuse." God sets all humans apart from animals. (Gen 1:26)
"And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let
them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing
that creepeth upon the earth." Every human being has received
intuitive knowledge of God's laws within, as even our conscience bears
witness. (Romans 2:14, 15). "Which show the work of the law written in
their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts
the mean while accusing or else excusing one another." These are
self-evident truths every human being knows, because God says so
God alone has the right to take human life. He granted
government this authority to punish sins against His image in man. "Whoso
sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of
God made he man." (Genesis 9:6). God limited the taking of human life
to capital punishment, just wars, and self-defense. This is God’s
authority for establishing human government from the very beginning. As we
are told of God in Acts 17:26: "26And hath made of one blood all nations
of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the
times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation." This verse
reminds us we are all descendants of Adam and Eve, and God is still
sovereign over the affairs of every nation on earth. God always gives us
the government we deserve. That is a good reason to pray for God’s mercy
at every election.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
"
All life comes from the living God not naturalistic evolution. Plant
life, animal life, human life, eternal life – all life come from our
creator God. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the
earth." (Genesis 1:1). "26And God said, Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth,
and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them." (Genesis 1:26,27).
Frederic Bastiat, French statesmen over a 100 years ago, gave a
brilliant summary of these human rights from God in his book, The
Law: "Life, faculties, production in other words,
individuality, liberty, property - this is man. And in spite of the
cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede
all human legislation, and are superior to it. Life, liberty, and property
do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact
that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to
make laws in the first place." Bastiat went on to say: "What, then, is
law? It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful
defense. Each of us has a natural right - from God - to defend his person,
his liberty, and his property." We concur 100% with Bastiat that life,
liberty, property, and self-defense are gifts from God, but we also
believe God’s law is first and superior to all other law including human
legislation. No civil law ever written is superior to the Ten Commandments
written by the finger of God. (Exodus 31:18)
As James Madison, known as the father of the U.S. Constitution said, "We
have staked the whole future of American civilization, not upon the power
of government, far from it. We have staked the future of all of our
political institutions upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern
ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten
Commandments of God." Today, the authority of the Ten Commandments is
under vicious attack in the United States, Canada and every other English
speaking country. I believe the primary reason for these vicious attacks
is a growing disrespect for the accuracy and authority of God’s words in
the authorized King James Bible.
From the Jefferson Memorial on the south banks of Washington's
Tidal Basin, Thomas Jefferson still speaks: "God who gave us life gave
us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a
conviction that these liberties are a gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my
country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep
forever." Lord Devlin, famous British jurist once said, "A
sense of right and wrong is necessary for the life of a community. Without
it the society will destroy itself. History shows that the loosening of
moral bonds is the first stage of disintegration."
"Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants
thereof. " These words of Holy Scripture from Leviticus 25:10 were
inscribed upon the liberty bell as it rang out on July 4, 1776. It
proclaimed to all the world that our liberty came from God alone, and not
from government. We dare not surrender one word of our Bible, the book of
liberty. As Benjamin Franklin said in 1759: "They that can give up
essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither
liberty nor safety."
Private ownership of property is an unalienable right from God
because He is the creator of all property, and we are merely His
stewards. (Genesis 1, 2 & I John 1:3).
Private ownership of
property- is inherent in the creation mandate of Genesis 1:28: "And God
blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth
upon the earth." God's gift and division of the land of Israel to
the Jews by family teaches private ownership of property. (Joshua).
The teaching of the parable of the talents by Jesus in Matthew
25:14-30 endorses and promotes private ownership of property and economic
capitalism.
Property came from God, not government, and socialist legislation to
redistribute wealth is legal plunder of private property. Once this
stealing begins we start with socialism where the few plunder the many.
Then it moves to Communism where everybody plunders everybody. Or else we
return to the unalienable right of private ownership of property where
nobody plunders anybody. This leaves us all free to pursue, happiness with
our life and liberty. "The moment the idea is admitted into society that
property is not as sacred as the laws of God, and that there is not a
force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny
commence." --John Adams
As James Madison warned us: "A just security to property is not
afforded by that government, under which unequal taxes oppress one species
of property and reward another species." The Holy Scriptures remind us: "Righteousness
exalteth a nation: but sin [is] a reproach to any people." (PRO 14:34
) "Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD; [and] the people
[whom] he hath chosen for his own inheritance." (PSA 33:12)
Edmund Burke once said "The only thing necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good men to do nothing." We desperately need a spiritual
revival exalting the person, work, and word of our God. Our Lord Jesus
Christ gives us the key to the pursuit of Happiness: "But seek ye first
the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be
added unto you." (Matthew 6:33).
Our forefathers put God first, and
God blessed them with material abundance. "Happy is that people whose
God is the Lord." (Psalm144:15).
Brothers and sisters in Christ may we defend, exalt, and proclaim
this authorized King James Bible to still be: …the most valuable thing
that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; This is the royal Law;
These are the lively Oracles of God." The past, present and future
foundations for our nations, churches and families rest firmly upon the
accuracy and authority of God’s Holy Scripture.
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