December 28, 2004 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is by Pastor Buddy Smith, Grace Baptist Church, Malanda, Queensland, Australia <smiles@tpg.com.au>

I read the other day that there is a new piano on the market. It is manufactured by Stuart and Sons in Newcastle. It is an excellent example of Aussie innovation. Wayne Stuart has invented a revolutionary new way of attaching piano strings so that they vibrate in a vertical plane. The improvement in tonal quality is such that the manufacturer has been able to add several keys to each end of the keyboard. Musicians, recording technicians, and critics are outspoken in their praise of Wayne Stuart's new pianos. Needless to say, Steinway and Yamaha are not impressed.

Extra keys, clearer notes, better music? Who is to say it can't be done?

At the other end of the scale, we all remember those toy pianos we loved in our childhood. They had, I think, an octave of white keys, with the black keys painted on. For many of us they were our introduction to musical instruments. Very simple, very basic, and very enjoyable.

So we have additional notes on one piano, and we have fewer notes on another. It is all a matter of personal taste. A piano for lovers of classical music and a piano for little children. To each his own.

We offer no objection to this when it is a piano, but what about when it is the preaching of the Word of God that is in view?

There is a glorious breadth of music to be found in the Bible! In Job 38 the morning stars sing together and the sons of God shout for joy. In Isaiah 6 the seraphim chant the Holiness of God. In Exodus 15 Moses leads Israel in singing the first psalm recorded in the Bible. And the Spirit exhorts us to "teach and admonish one another in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs" in Col. 3:16. Almost everywhere we turn in our Bibles we hear the symphony of Truth, our hearts ascend to the heavenlies, and we join in the song of souls set free.

In the Bible we hear the deep bass notes of Judgment and the Fear of God. There are the recurrent themes of Grace and Mercy. There are the sweet melodies of Joy and Peace. And we need them all.

Have you also heard the bold chords that warn against adding any notes or taking any away? Oh, yes, most people have read the verses in Revelation 22 that prohibit "innovations" or "improvements". But have you also read Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32? And have you read Proverbs 30:6 and Jeremiah 26:2?

This simple truth, that we must not add to nor take away from God's Words, has been for all time a safeguard from error. There is a set number of notes, so to speak, there is a body of divinity, a definite set of doctrines in God's Word, and we are to preach them every one. Wayne Stuart can add as many notes as he likes to his pianos, and the makers of toy pianos can leave off as many as they like. But Christians do not have that option. Our preachers must preach the whole counsel of God!

We must play all the notes!

Say, have you noticed how small the keyboard has gotten? The preaching in many churches consists of a handful of carefully selected verses, preached again and again, almost a Baptist Chopsticks. And Heaven help the pastor or the visiting evangelist or missionary who would dare to play any but the approved doctrinal chords! This very simple act of faithfulness to God's Word on their part is the major reason for the persecution of God's children. They "made the mistake" of playing all the notes on the keyboard and the hearers whose musical tastes to Do-Re-Fa found it to be discordant. Our dear Lord struck chords of truth that had lain silent for four hundred years and was hated for it.

This is the great tragedy of the missing notes.

Let me give an example.

The doctrines of fundamentalists are not new doctrines. They are the orthodox teachings of the Old Testament and the New. They are the apostles' doctrines. They are the teachings of Christ. They are the whole counsel of God. They are the whole keyboard for the preacher to play in his preaching.

I hesitate to quote Kirsopp Lake on any subject, but his words on Fundamentalism give an insight into our doctrinal heritage. He said,

"It is a mistake often made by educated persons who happen to have but little knowledge of historical theology to suppose that Fundamentalism is a new and strange form of thought. It is nothing of the kind; it is the partial and uneducated survival of a theology which was once universally held by all Christians. How many were there, for instance, in Christian churches in the 18th century who doubted the inspiration of all Scripture? A few, perhaps, but very few. No, the fundamentalist may be wrong; I think that he is. But it is we who have departed from the tradition, not he, and I am sorry for the fate of anyone who tries to argue with a fundamentalist on the basis of authority. The Bible and the corpus theologicum of the Church is on the fundamentalist side."

We fundamentalists hold that our piano has all the old notes yet and no new ones added. (We may often feel that we are "clumsy pianists" and "poor musicians", but our piano has all the notes.) This is the heritage of doctrinal orthodoxy, the whole counsel of God.

Half a century has passed since Harold Ockenga spoke at Fuller Seminary, promoting a new religious movement called "New Evangelicalism". It was to be a replacement for Old Evangelicalism, (which is just another name for Fundamentalism.) New Evangelicalism's key doctrinal deviation was the repudiation of separation from error. No longer would evangelicals feel that they should "mark and avoid" modernists (Romans 16:17.) They had grown weary of the din of battle. Armour could now be exchanged for pajamas, and no one had to feel guilty about it. The stern visage of the prophet was to be transformed into the gentle countenance of the negotiator. Dialogue would be entered into with the modernists. And it was. The New Evangelicals soon proved that it was possible to compose entire sermonic symphonies without striking that particular note. Pulpit vocalists could be (and have been) trained to "sing" with passion and never strike that one note, the note of separation from error. Whole denominational choirs and theological conservatoriums have learned to sing a seven note octave, and their audiences have applauded, whistled and stamped their feet, never knowing that middle C was now an empty space on the keyboard

So, what difference did it make for Ockenga (and his peers) to remove that one note from the keyboard of Scripture? What difference did it make for them to reject the biblical doctrine of separation from error? In fifty years has it made any difference?

It has made a tragic difference. The very seminaries that embraced the seven note octave have gone on to discard many of the cardinal doctrines of the faith once for all delivered to the saints. In some, Open Theism is taught, in others, evolution is propagated, in others, Mormon professors hold forth, helping to train the pastors for the twenty-first century churches. Promise Keepers holds rallies to help syncretise truth and error into a one world church. In Australia, we hear of Uniting churches that are inviting Muslims onto their church boards. New Evangelical Anglicans around the world man the pumps in desperation while homosexuals, greenies, feminists, and Druids drill holes in the bottom of the ship.

You may ask how the omission of one simple Bible truth could have such a dreadful effect?

To find the answer, we only have to consider one of the passages that speaks of separation from error, 2 Cor.6:14--7:1.

6:14. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15. And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16. 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.
17. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,
18. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

A simple overview of this passage reveals the following:

A. There are four commands in the text:

1. Avoid unequal yokes with unbelievers -- 6:14
2. Come out from among unbelievers -- 6:17
3. Be separate from unbelievers -- 6:17
4. Touch not the unclean thing -- 6:17

B. There is one overwhelming reason for separation from error, and that is that godliness is totally incompatible with ungodliness:

1. Righteousness has no fellowship with unrighteousness -- v. 14
2. Light has no communion with darkness -- v. 14
3. Christ has no concord with Belial -- v. 15
4. The believer has no part with an infidel -- v. 15
5. The temple of God has no agreement with idols -- v. 16

C. There are seven promises in the text for those who separate from error:

1. God will dwell in us -- 6:16
2. God will walk in us -- 6:16
3. He will be our God -- 6:16
4. We shall be His people -- 6:16
5. He will receive us -- 6:17
6. He will be a Father to us -- 6:18
7. We will be His sons and daughters -- 6:18

D. There is one exhortation in the text: “Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (7:1).

1. We do this by separating from doctrinal error (breaking off any yoke with unbelievers)
2. We do this by separating from moral error (cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh)
3. We do this by separating from ecclesiastical error (Christ has no concord with Belial)

E. Obedience to God in separation is described as the "perfecting of holiness" (7:1).

1. Holiness is a present tense, progressive work done by the Holy Spirit in us. (7:1).

2. This work of sanctification results in separation from doctrinal, moral, and ecclesiastical error (6:14-17; 7:1).

3. The work of sanctification involves action on our part. We must refuse unequal yokes (6:14), we must come out, separate ourselves, and touch not the unclean thing (6:17), and we must cleanse ourselves from all defilement (7:1).

4. These actions on our part are the outworkings, the fruit of practical holiness ("Be ye holy…"), and are mature responses to the holiness of God ("for I am holy" 1 Peter 1:16.)

5. To repudiate separation from error, as New Evangelicalism has done, is to reject the "perfecting of holiness." Further, it is to resist the working of the Holy Spirit in sanctification. It is the pruning of the fruit of holiness before it can mature into separation from error. It is a hardhearted disdain for the holiness of God. Worst of all, it brings into question the very nature of God. Theologians often say that the Holiness of God is His first attribute. He is the thrice Holy One. He is self affirmingly pure. He is without blemish and without spot. He is separate from sinners. He is "altogether other" than we are. In the perfections of His nature He is unique! So how serious is it to repudiate separation from error? How serious is it to remove this one key from the keyboard of truth? How serious is it for men to take away the "middle C" from God's Word?

It is as serious an assault on the Bible as ever was conceived in the counsels of Hell. It is a devious, subtle, flanking manoeuvre of the Enemy to attack the Unity of Theology. New Evangelicals have made the mistake of thinking that they could proudly disobey one of the commands of God without affecting any other truths. They should have known that all of the truths of the Scripture are interrelated. Noel Smith used to say, "God has the only perfectly integrated personality in the universe. Every attribute of God is in perfect agreement with every other attribute. He never contradicts Himself." And the same is true with the Word of God. Every truth in Scripture is interrelated and integrated with every other truth. No matter how sophisticated and erudite and scholarly a man may be, if he tampers with one of the doctrines of the Bible, he ultimately does injury to all the rest.

Fundamentalists should be grieved by the harm being done by New Evangelicals. But we need not be discouraged. We need only to preach the Word. We have apostolic authority for our preaching of the whole Bible. We must preach as Paul did to the Ephesians. He said, " I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God."

New Evangelicals have stripped the Scriptures of many precious truths, but we know what we must do.

We must simply continue playing all the notes.