Dr Greg Bahnsen - Law and Grace: Law and Wisdom (Part 3)

Chapter of Deuteronomy. We begin the reading at Deuteronomy, chapter 4 in the fifth verse. Hear this as God's word to you. Behold, I have taught you statutes and ordinances even as Jehovah my God commanded me that you should do so in the midst of the land whither you go in to possess it. Keep therefore, and do them. For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples that shall hear all these statutes and say, surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what great nation is there that hath a God so nigh unto them as Jehovah our God is whensoever we call upon him? And what great nation is there that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as all this law which I set before you this day? And thus far the reading of God's word. I'd like to begin this morning again thanking you for the invitation to be in this pulpit and to address you. I count it a great privilege. It's a great privilege to be called to the ministry of the Gospel. All the more when you recognize your unworthiness for it. This morning I feel perhaps as much as I ever have in my life, the unworthiness to be in a position to address these words to the people of God. I would ask you to pray for me in that, but I thank you for the invitation and again I commend you, Chalcedon Presbyterian Church on 20 years your life as a congregation. May God continue to bless you. I said yesterday morning that this occasion of your anniversary provides for us as Reconstructionists an opportunity to stand back and to look over these years that Reconstructionism has been in the 20th century anyway, recognized as something of a distinctive school of thought. It gives us opportunity to reflect on how things are going, to look outside, at how people have responded to us and what the arguments may be, the negativity that's there, and how we should look upon that negativity also. It gives us opportunity to stop and look at ourselves. Now, that's not the fun part. It'd be much easier to come in here and say, let's continue to look at how bad things are in the world, how really ridiculous, irrational, and unbiblical the arguments of our opponents are. And I know that there is plenty of material there. I don't deny that we could keep going and what we would be saying would be legitimate. But as you know, the Bible tells us that as we look into the law of God, it is first and foremost a mirror, and the very first Thing you should be applying the law of God to, and I should be applying the law of God to is not the world and not the church in general and not those schools of theology we disagree with, but the very first person you see in the mirror, and that's you and me. And so this morning I'm going to be asking the question that I asked yesterday about how things are going in the neighborhood. But I'm going to be asking it about our neighborhood now and not the neighborhood of that worldview and that outlook on life, that theology and those kinds of churches that stand over against us and disagree with us. We've looked outside and now we want to look inside. If yesterday my question had to do with law and gospel, how are things going when the gospel is proclaimed without the law? Perhaps the question for us is not so much law and grace or law and gospel, but perhaps law and graciousness. Over 20 years ago, Bob Dylan, Peter, Paul and Mary Joan Baez sang the song Blowing in the wind. Actually blowing in the wind. Got to get this right. The last stanza says, how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn't see? That's a good rhetorical question for those who want to have a gospel without the grace of God. Excuse me, without the law of God there, so that God's grace doesn't turn into disgrace. But now we have to ask that question of ourselves. When we look in the mirror of God's law as those who promote it, its validity, its importance, its beauty. When we look into the mirror of God's law and see ourselves first and foremost and see the communities that we are building, when we ask how is it going in our neighborhood? Do we perhaps need to hear this rhetorical question? How many times can a man turn his head and pretend that. That he just doesn't see because things are not right among us. Things are not right in your life, they're not right in mine, they are not right in our churches, and they are not right in our general community of reformed Christianity with a Reconstructionist point and application. I think that anti theonomists, those who don't hold to the validity of God's law, are turning their heads away from the ugly truth about the world and. And the unrighteousness that they create by preaching a gospel that doesn't have the law of God at its heart. But theonomists are turning their heads from the ugly truth that's in our own midst. And sadly, everybody else sees it, and we know everybody else sees it. Because we have to write about it and we have to explain why it is they have these things that they can bring up against us and say about us. And we've been going not just for 20 years, a bit longer than that. And is it time perhaps now for us to ask if we aren't turning our heads from some things that need to be addressed? God indicted the prophets of old for healing his people lightly. I know that I don't have long on the face of this earth. That gives me a sense of urgency in my ministry. And strange as it may seem, that's a blessing. And I feel urgent this morning. Not that this is the last time I will be here. I pray that isn't true. But we are gathered together, a fairly large group of reconstructionists, and I believe it's time for somebody to say what has to be said. But the problem is I'm not worthy to say it. And I know that we may leave here this morning not singing. What kind of fool am I? But what kind of fool is he to stand up there and to say these things? Many of us in the Reconstructionist world have spent a lot of time writing, studying, and I trust that our work in that academic, scholarly sense is pleasing to the Lord. We hope that it's beneficial to you. I certainly appreciate the many words of encouragement that I've received at the conference this weekend. The Bible tells us a man is tried by his praise. That's a proverb. And I know how difficult it is to hear nice things said because then, you see, you've got to live up to them, don't you? And I know that I don't. But thank you for your encouragement. Those of us who have worked in reconstruction of scholarship are often by people who are in the pew, by people like yourselves, looked upon as, may I put it this way? The graduate students among us, we're all students of the word of God, and that's good. But some people go beyond, and they're even postgraduate in their application of God's law, they seem to know so much. Well, it's not just that the scholars in our midst are looked upon as the post graduates of the Bible, postgraduate students of the Bible in our midst. But you in general, in the Reformed world and in the evangelical world more broadly, are looked upon as being doctrinally strong. You pay attention to the Bible. It's important to you that we stick to our confession that we have biblical foundations for what we say. We're the real scholars in the midst of the general evangelical world, in our Scripture passage this morning, Deuteronomy, the fourth chapter. We begin to see that the Word of God teaches us that the law of God is closely allied with. With wisdom. And so the real question for us as graduate students in our study of the Scripture is whether we have seen the application of God's law in a wise and beneficial way. Deuteronomy 4. This is your wisdom in the sight of the nations. When the nations come over into your neighborhood and want to know how it's going, when they look at you, God says, I've given you a law that's going to make you beautiful in the sight of the nations. And in fact, they're going to be overwhelmed. They're going to say, what nation is there that has a law that's so righteous, so good as all this? They're going to wonder about the nearness of God to a people like this. God must surely love you if he's created a community like this. We need to be like you. And so those who have the privilege of possessing the law of God need to realize that that possession is to make them wise people, wise and attractive people, so that the unbelieving nations roundabout might look at us and say, we need that. We want that. We respect that. Well, God's given us a book of wisdom. It's called Proverbs. Now, there's wisdom throughout the Scriptures, as we'll see this morning. But God has highly concentrated his wisdom for us in the Book of Proverbs. The Book of Proverbs is given according to chapter one, verse two, that we might know wisdom and instruction to discern the words of understanding, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice and equity. So if you'd be a wise person, you should study the Book of Proverbs. When I preached through the Book of Proverbs in my congregation a few years ago, it took me four years to get through the Book of Proverbs. And when I finished the very last sermon, I said, without any sense of dramatic effect, in all honesty and humility, I felt I'd only scratched the surface. When we look to the Book of Proverbs, we're supposed to learn to be wise people. I'd recommend, therefore, that you read the Book of Proverbs and study it. I told my congregation, it's interesting. There are 31 chapters in the Book of Proverbs. That's not the way God inspired it, but that's the way we have divided it up. And there are 30 or 31 days in most months. Wouldn't it Be a good idea for you to read a chapter a day so that every month you get through the Book of Proverbs. It'd make quite a difference in your life. When you read the Book of Proverbs, you see that its approach to wisdom drives us to the commandments of God. Proverbs 10:8 the wise in heart will receive commandments. Proverbs 13:13. He who fears the commandment will be rewarded. Proverbs 19:16 he who keeps the commandment keeps his soul. Proverbs 28:4 those who forsake the law, praise the wicked. Proverbs 28:7 Whoever keeps the law is a wise son. Proverbs 29:18 he who keeps the law, happy is he. And so you see, the Bible shows us that wisdom and law are closely allied. When Deuteronomy presents the law, it says, this is wisdom. When the Book of Proverbs presents wisdom, it drives us to the Commandments and to the law of God. Wisdom is a mark of indeed in the Bible, is a supreme value for the Christian. The life of the Christian is rooted in the work of God's spirit. We wouldn't be alive apart from the regenerating and gracious work of God's spirit. And thus it's not simply submission to the law that characterizes the Christian. We preach that a lot. We've written a lot about that. But you see, it's submission to the law in a spirit of wisdom. This is what characterizes us. Now, we're going to be really laying down some tire tracks in the Bible this morning, so I hope you'll have them open and turn with me as many of these passages as you can. Ephesians 5:15 look therefore carefully how you walk. Not as unwise, but as wise. This should characterize your life, that you're not an unwise person. Walk carefully, watch how you're walking, that you might be a wise person. James 3:13. Who is wise and understanding among you, let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. Wisdom is a mark of the Christian, and wisdom has a supreme value. It's not as though we should say, well, wisdom, what a great additive to my life. What a great frosting on the cake. Now, wisdom is the supreme value for us as we live our lives in this world. Proverbs 3 at the 13th verse. Happy is the man that finds wisdom, and the man that gets understanding, for the gaining of it is better than the gaining of silver, and the profit thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies and none of the things that you can desire are to be compared unto her length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are the ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her, and happy is every one that retaineth her time. Won't allow us to go through Proverbs looking at all the parallel passages, but you get the point. There's nothing you can desire that's better than wisdom. And thus the Bible shows us that when Solomon had the opportunity to ask one thing of the Lord, the one thing he asked better than riches, better than gold, better than reputation, better than power, better than a great military might, better than anything you could possibly desire is wisdom. In all honesty, brothers and sisters, we could really stop preaching now and just chasing our souls before God, couldn't we? Because when you daydream, you don't daydream for wisdom. You daydream for a better car and for more comfortable conditions at work, or maybe a raise or a nicer house or more friends. None of these things in and of themselves are wicked. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you're lusting in a way that God is displeased with, but your priorities are so botched and so are mine, that we don't desire wisdom above all. I have days. I honestly, I'm so sad in my heart when I think about this, after how good God has been. I have days that if I were to be given one thing, I'd say, God, give me my health back. But he knows better. He knows what I need. I should be saying, God, in the midst of this affliction, make me wise. For, you see, the law is not enough for Christian morality. Indeed, the law in the hands of fools is a terrible and an ugly thing. Could you imagine a theonomist ever having to say that the law could be an ugly thing? Of course, it's not ugly in itself. In itself, it reflects the beauty of God himself. The law is a reflection of his holiness, which is unchanging without flaw. He is light in which there is no darkness at all. But the law in the hands of fools is an ugly thing. I don't know if you've ever seen this happen. It's not the sort of thing that should happen, but it does take place. Occasionally. Children can get into the scissors, into the clippers and so forth, and decide to give themselves a haircut. You know how it comes out when kids give themselves haircut hair clumped over here. And the bangs are lying, going down at an angle. And there may be hair missing and so forth. They may have jabbed themselves a few times, got scabs on their foreheads and so forth. It's really kind of an ugly sight, you know. And I think when people come into our neighborhood to see how things are going, those of us who want to proclaim the law of God, what they see is people like children that have been giving themselves haircuts. And they say, poor boy, you're looking bad. Where'd you get all those scars, all those scabs? Comb your hair. Oh, never mind. And that's because we are the blessed possessors of the law of God who have used it like children. Now, what's the problem with the scissors? Is the problem the clippers? No. In fact, the instrument may be very powerful, very sharp, made of the strongest steel. It's not the instrument that's wrong. It's the person who's wielding the instrument. And that's why the law in the hands of fools is a very ugly thing. The law is not enough for Christian morality. You know, I've spent a number of years writing and preaching, and many of you in the audience as well have against the idea that Christian morality can get by just fine without the law. I don't believe that for a minute. Haven't changed my mind. But, you know, those of us who have come to the place by God's grace to see the necessity of his law must go beyond the necessity of God's law to see the necessity of using it with wisdom. The inadequacy of the law should be evident enough to us in that nothing that can be written down in and of itself can change the heart of man. The law can be written on a piece of paper, and it's glorious. What it says is valid and true. No problem with that. But the law written on a piece of paper cannot change your heart. Only the Holy Spirit can change your heart. The law is inadequate. It must be infused with wisdom from the Spirit of God. Look at Proverbs 2:1, 11. My son, if thou wilt receive my words and lay up my commandments with thee, so as to incline thine ear unto wisdom and apply thy heart to understanding. Yes, if thou cry after discernment, lift up thy voice for understanding. If thou seek her as silver and search for her as for hidden treasures, then shalt thou understand the fear of Jehovah and find the knowledge of God. For Jehovah gives wisdom out of his Mouth comes knowledge and understanding. He lays up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to them that walk in integrity, that he may guard the paths and of justice and preserve the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness and justice and equity. Yes, every good path for wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul. Discretion shall watch over thee. Understanding shall keep thee. You see, even though you have God's commandments. Verse 1 Lay up my commandments with thee. Even though you have God's commandments. If you would walk in justice. Verses 8 and 9. If you would walk in justice. That will depend upon an earnest seeking of wisdom. You see, the Bible itself tells us you can be given the clippers, you can be given the scissors, but if you don't have the skill and ability to use them, you will not turn out to find righteousness and justice. Those who do not have wisdom do not have the skill to apply God's law. We live in an atomic age, don't we? With highly sophisticated aircraft and electronics, computers all about us, we have an overwhelming number of specialized and scholarly studies and doctoral dissertations to be found on the library shelves. About Us we obviously, in the late 20th century, place a very high premium on knowledge. We're the most learned people to have ever dwelt on the face of planet Earth. Through all of human history, there has never been a culture as learned as this culture in which you live in scientific matters, mathematical matters, literary matters, historical matters. Ancient scholars think of Plato could not pass a college entrance exam. Today, our modern libraries face a crisis. You know what for? Inadequate shelf space for all the new books published every single year that goes by. We have brilliant works of art, medical advances that just make your head spin, engineering feats of wonder, computer wizardry. These are no longer grand accomplishments that we have celebrated every few years or every few decades. The sorts of things I've been mentioning are now celebrated on a weekly basis. I'm on a computer network, CompuServe. I'm not trying to advertise today, but when I log on to CompuServe, I have the opportunity every day to see all this updated stuff, not only in the computer world, but in the news and so forth. And it's just amazing. The world we live in is accelerating at such a pace. All these great, powerful intellectual accomplishments all around me. Us. We have high educational ideals, great expectations for our school systems, compulsory education laws, an overwhelming percentage of high school graduates and college graduates more than in any other generation in America. In a word, Knowledge stuffs our society. We are a knowledgeable society. We have more than we can handle. And yet the daily newspaper and our own observations of the people around us tell us just as emphatically that our world is an overwhelming mess. Morally a mess, emotionally a mess, socially a mess, spiritually a mess. How can we be so smart and yet so stupid at the same time? We've mastered the universe and we don't know how to live. We can extend human life incredibly. We can make ourselves have heart transplants. We can change body organs. We can have all kinds of wonders and medications so that our lives can be extended and extended and extended, but we can't enjoy the life that's been extended to be very simple. We are a society of intelligent, educated, brilliant fools. Haddon Robinson put it this way. Men and women educated to earn a living often don't know anything about handling life itself. Alumni from noted universities have mastered information about a narrow slice of life, but couldn't make it out of first grade when it comes to living successfully with family and friends. Let's face it, knowledge is not enough to meet life's problems. We need wisdom, the ability to handle life with skill. That's right. The Book of Proverbs takes us beyond intelligence and instills in us wisdom, the skill for morally applying our intelligence in a godly and successful fashion. We may possess an objective code of behavior. We may have all the proper rules of conduct and still fall miserably short of pleasing God. I'd like to give you three reasons for that before we look at the Book of Proverbs and ask about all those scars on our faces and that terrible haircut that we're showing to the world. One, we need more than an objective code because, as the Bible shows us, you can have a very precise knowledge of what God requires and still not comply with it. No one can doubt that David, the man after God's heart, knew that murder and adultery were wrong. It's not as though when Nathan the prophet was sent by God to David, Nathan said, david, did you forget? God said you're not supposed to kill other men and take their wives. David goes, oh, yeah, that's right. I'm supposed to pick up bread at the market and don't kill other men and take their wives. Of course not. David had a knowledge of God's law. It was not vague. It was not at a distance. He knew very well. He knew very precisely what God required. It wasn't enough. That's why the prophet of God came to David and said, David, let me tell you a story. And when David got indignant because he didn't think what was taking place in this story was at all righteous or just, Nathan simply had to point his finger and say, David, you're the man. Secondly, we may have mounds and mounds of information about what the law of God says from point to point and still not be able to discern how to combine its principles into an adequate application to troubling circumstances in our lives. Let me ask you some questions. Should you be a business partner with an unbeliever? Should you. What does the Bible say? Does the Bible say, is what I am feeling sinful anger or righteous indignation? Sometimes you get into a situation and you say, boy, I just feel so angry. And then you say, oh, I shouldn't be angry. But then the Bible says, no, be angry. Say, oh, I'm angry. And then you go back and forth. You say, well, no, this was really unrighteous, but then again, I'm not responding in a very good way. And it's back and forth. You can have all the details and still not know how to combine them, how to apply them. Should the church incorporate with the state or horrors, no, don't incorporate with the state. Why is it the graduate students in God's law can't settle this issue? You see, you can have the law and still not be able to combine it and apply it properly. Is it ever right for a Christian to disobey civil law in order to stop an abortion? Boy, we got people who say, of course, you've got to save innocent human life whatever the cost. Other people say, no, we aren't anarchists. And on and on and back and forth we argue. Now I've got opinions on these points and I'm not preaching any particular view of them. I'm just saying the fact that there are questions like that. Whether in your personal life, am I angry in a sinful way, Am I indignant? In your church life, should we incorporate in the civil sphere, should we try and go block an abortion clinic door? You can have the law. You need more than the law, don't you? You need wisdom. Wisdom involves the spiritual comprehension of events and knowing how to respond in a God pleasing way. Now I'll say it again because I don't want to be misconstrued. People who don't have the law of God can't do that. They're trying to give a haircut without any shears. Okay, but you can still have the shears and mess up badly. You need more you need wisdom. Ephesians 5:17. Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is? What's God's will for you when you get angry? What's God's will for your church when it comes to incorporation? What's God's will for you when it comes to fighting abortion? Notice what the Bible says. You're to understand what the will of the Lord is. What's it said over against? It doesn't say, don't be lawless, but understand what the will of the Lord is. It says, don't be fooled, foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. In the third place, we may have an intellectual mastery of the detailed laws of Scripture. We may even know how they are combined to be applied in particular cases. But thirdly, we can miss the weightier points of the law. This is a very heavy passage. Matthew 23:23. Jesus spoke to the law experts of his own day, and he said, woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. For you tithe mint and annas and cummin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. But these you ought to have done without leaving the other undone. Jesus doesn't say, get rid of the detailed applications of the law of God. He says they should be done. But he says, you should first have understood what it's all about. You should have caught the weightier matters of the law. You should have put things in perspective. You should have been seeking justice, mercy and faith. And so in our day, Pull back your toes, here it comes. In our day we have reconstructionists who have specialized in an intellectual study of the law, but for the life of them cannot learn how to treat each other. They cannot resolve conflicts. They can't gain reconciliation. They do not promote peace and do not display humility. And I can't preach without asking God's forgiveness for how I have failed in these areas. But I have to tell you the truth, brothers and sisters, we may have all of the details and have justice, mercy and faith. You see, what we need is wisdom to take our knowledge of God's requirements and put them appropriately into practice throughout our lives. We need a moral and a spiritual skill to handle God's laws correctly and let them truly remold our lives, discipline our lives. I don't mind visiting the other neighborhood and trying to offer some help if God by his grace has given it to us. But boy, before I go driving over there to criticize them, I better get My own house in order. And that's the message, very simply, that God's laid on my heart to share with you this morning. And I hope that you'll receive it by his grace and faithfully respond to it. If we don't first apply that word to us that we might have wisdom, we have no right to continue criticizing the other neighborhood. And so that's why, as I told you in the canon of Scripture, it's not at all surprising that God's given us an entire book of wisdom. Timeless guidance for wise behavior, timeless guidance for wise relationships. It's a gift of God's grace that we might learn in the practical details of life how to use the law of God. To put it very simply, the book of Proverbs is spiritual common sense. And we haven't been showing a lot of spiritual common sense in the mundane affairs of life. And that that is why Satan can use our opponents so effectively when they look at us and, and how we don't get along, how we are not humble, how we are not peaceful, and say, why should we listen to them? Look at that. And then we have to write books explaining that these are ad hominem arguments and that the validity of the case doesn't rest upon our carrying out. All of which is true. But wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to promote the worldview that we're promoting if our opponents didn't have this against us? Do we not offer them many times the very reason not to listen to the good things God has given us by his grace? Do you think God is pleased that he has graciously provided an insight? He's opened our hearts, he's given us the law of God and a commitment to it. And then we go and botch it by the way we live so people won't listen to the message that we could carry to them and say, hey, you guys are so ugly, I don't want to listen to you. Then we say, oh, well, see, you're violating the law of God. You should be looking in the mirror and saying, boy, I must be violating the law of God. People don't even want to hear me. By the way, you should notice it in the book of Proverbs that even if you have proverbs, you don't necessarily gain wisdom. And that's because the Bible very wisely recognizes that no, nothing that can be written down in and of itself provides wisdom to you. Even the Proverbs require wisdom in order to be understood and used properly. We don't have time to reflect long on this, but let me just illustrate it to you. Proverbs 26, 7, 9. The legs of the lame hang loose, so is a parable, and the mouth of fools. As a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable and the mouth of fools. And so God can give you his proverbs, he can give you a parable. But you see, if you're drunk, that thorn goes into your hand and you go, huh? What's the problem? Oh, I'm bleeding. Like legs that are lame and hang loose. So God's given you that whereby you can run with strength, but because you're a fool, your legs are just loose. It isn't enough to have the Proverbs either. Don't think if you go home and read through the proverbs every day as I've recommended, or get my tape series and study that and then study more commentaries and so forth, that that means you're going to be wise. Because you need wisdom to use the Bible. You need wisdom to use the proverbs. But you read them properly, they will help you to apply the law of God. And I'm afraid that our graduate students in the Bible, today's law experts, have stumbled badly for a lack of wisdom. And I have probably more than I can really share with you this morning, but I'd like to illustrate that to you in at least four different ways. First of all, the Bible tells us that true wisdom is peaceable. It's gentle, and it's easy to be entreated. Keep your finger in Proverbs, but turn over to James 3, James 3, 1318. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and faction in your heart, glory not, don't lie against the truth. This wisdom is not a wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where jealousy and faction are, there is confusion in every vile deed. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them who make peace. Reconstructionists do not have a reputation for making peace. They don't have a reputation for making peace with each other. We might understand it if we wouldn't make peace with the world, or maybe compromising theologies. But what do we say when we look at our own neighborhood, at our own house and we see that there's no peace. One leader, well known as a Reconstructionist, was heard on a number of occasions to be backbiting another Reconstructionist leader or teacher. The second, who was being criticized, wrote to the first approached with a desire to know what was wrong, to be helped if needed, to correct information, if that's what was called for, but above all to find a way that they would not be pulling against each other in the kingdom of God. The Reconstructionist leader who was doing the backbiting wrote back and said, you're not worth talking to. God help us. The wisdom that's from above is first pure, then peaceable. It's easy to be entreated when we've done wrong. Are we easy to be entreated? Or have we learned so skillfully how to rationalize, how to debate, how to put ourselves in the best light and our opponents in the worst? Or do we say, I'm not going to worry about how badly you've expressed it. I want to hear what you have for me, that my life will be better in the sight of God. And all I can tell you is that over the last 20 years or more, that's not something. I think that's characteristic of us as Christians, especially those concerned for the reconstruction of all areas of life by the law word of God. I think we can readily see the damnable character of an autonomous behavior in politics, an autonomous behavior and economics in public morality, in art, the sciences, what have you. But I'm afraid we're somewhat less prone to see autonomy rear its ugly head close to home, closer to our own waywardness. So when the Bible gives us directions for life within the body of Christ, how we're to be committed to our congregations, how we're to be submissive to the shepherding of those who are obviously imperfect, fallen men, as we're to love one another and be subject in the Lord to everyone who names the name of Christ. I'm afraid we don't see the autonomy as it comes to expression ourselves, the common thread in all sin, from politics to the congregation to your interpersonal relationship, the common thread is the same throughout. Being a law to yourself and not subjecting yourself to the word of God. God says, you listen when people criticize you, and when you're criticizing others and they want to hear about it, you talk to them. Jesus says that you are to work things out. How many times do we have to have this preach before we start practicing it? Jesus said, don't even come to church if you haven't Worked it out. There may be some of you here. And I'm not just speaking to our friends at Chalcedon, but to visitors and to all of us and beyond this community, to those who couldn't be here today, and certainly to Dr. Bonds. And I say this to all, all of us. Have we not been going to church when we had no business being there? Not if we're wise people. And so we haven't been peaceable and easy to be entreated. Secondly, this persistent problem of autonomy, I think is most clearly seen in the way that we have used our mouths. Man's self willed nature, his rebellious heart, his unloving character, man's determination to be his own authority, to be his own law is nowhere more evident, nowhere more evident than in the way he speaks. That's what James 3 tells us. The tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue which defiles the whole body and is set on fire by hell. The tongue can no man tame. It's a restless evil full of deadly poison. Indeed, James tells us that if we could tame our tongues, we could tame our entire bodies. I have a sermon once that I preached on the strongest muscle in the body, it's the tongue. So that if your sanctification could be applied to your tongue, you would find it easier to be sanctified in all the other areas of your life. All of man's autonomy is focused right there in the way that he speaks and uses his tongue. And so if we would have God honoring and wise lives, we must learn to control our mouths. James says, if anyone stumbles not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well. And so in the book of James 1:19, he says, but let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak. James 1:26. If any man thinks himself to be religious while he bridles not his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is only worth 50%. You know the verse, you know how it corrupted it. It's hard to take. James says if we don't bridle our tongues, our religion is vain. It's empty. Now, you've already heard at the conference this weekend how important it is to true religion that we help the poor. There's no question about it comes from James as well. James also says, if you don't bridle your tongue, your religion is without value. The word futile means empty, vain, hypocritical, not a zip, it's gone Forget it. Don't pretend to be a Christian if you don't bridle your tongue. That's a hard message for us Reconstructionists. For all of the good there is in affirming and applying the law of God. If we ourselves don't bridle our tongues, our religion is futile. It's empty. Because the Bible says the use of your tongue is an indication of your inner character. Proverbs, the tenth chapter, verses 31 and 32. Proverbs 10:31. The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue shall be cut off. The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked speaks perverseness. And so how do we use our tongues? How do you use your tongue? Do you speak harshly of people uncharitably? Do you speak with sarcasm, with reviling? Is the literature that we have produced characteristically humble, kind and charitable toward those who disagree? Or do we enjoy putting people down, being harsh to our critics, and not just displaying their stupidity by refuting their arguments, but taking the time to label them as stupid as. Well, you know. The first is quite adequate in itself. The second isn't needed, but there's a whole lot of that second stuff going on. I know a reconstructionist, a real leader of sorts, who walked out on another Reconstructionist lecture, making a scene of not wanting to hear his brother. His brother was speaking on piety that day. By the way, How can this be if we have the law of God, how can we behave this way toward each other? Proverbs 12:18. There is that that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword. But the tongue of the wise is health. Oh, there's a way of speaking. Just like the cutting of a sword pierces you, makes you bleed. But that isn't what wise people do. When wise people correct, they correct to bring health and healing, reconciliation and peace. Proverbs 16:27. A worthless man devises mischief, and in his lips there's a scorching fire. You can't be proud to be advancing the law of God if your mouth is reputed to be a scorching fire. How can we miss this? See, this is what hurts me when I have to confess my sins before God. And if I'm hurting you this morning, I don't apologize. You need to hurt and turn from this. But this is what hurts me so badly when I think about our sins, my sins. I don't find it difficult to write a book on homosexuality. The law is there. It says it very clearly. Here's the facts. You bring these two together. Bottom line, God finds abomination abominable. I've got the verses in the Bible. I can turn to them right now and show you. And yet here's a verse right here, just as clear that says, if you speak like a fool, your mouth is a scorching fire. Why is it so easy to see abomination in the perverts of this world and not see my own Proverbs, the sixth chapter, Verse 16. There are six things which Jehovah hates. Abortion, homosexuality. Oh, wait a minute. Wrong verse. There are six things which Jehovah hates. Yes, seven, which are an abomination unto him. Haughty eyes, pride, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked purposes, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among the brothers. God doesn't say, I hate homosexuals for their abominable, ugly behavior. And by the way, I don't particularly like the way you sow discord either. He says, that's an abomination, and sowing discord is an abomination. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees of his day who knew the law, and he said, you've missed the weightier points. How about you, brother sister? You know the law of God? Have you missed the weight of your points? Do you sow discord among the brothers? Is your tongue held back? Do you lie about people? It's not easy to share specific illustrations. I have tried this morning to share some that are close enough to me that I'm not passing on gossip. Some that hurt me badly. I'd rather be the victim of these things if it could help you. Within the last six months, I've had two people. Well, probably a whole lot more, but at least two people who have openly and publicly torn down my character. Because my wife, who was unfaithful to me, left the church, excommunicated her, and we're divorced. And my heart breaks not just for my wife's unfaithfulness, but for mine, she didn't do me the favor of telling me what I had done wrong. And so when I went to my session and said, I think I need to resign as a pastor, I've obviously been a failure as a husband and thought of everything that I could, what I'd done, I sent a copy of that letter to my wife and said, please supplement this. What have I missed? And she called me and said, this letter is not fair. It's not true. I Said, what have I missed? She says, you don't need to say these things. I'm only telling you that. Not because I want you to feel badly from me, although I feel badly, obviously about it. But in the last six months, I've had two people publicly and viciously tear into me about that one. A Reconstructionist leader who said behind my back it was all Greg's fault. This is a Reconstructionist leader who has not spoken to me in 10 years, has not spoken to me about my marriage, did not even bother to call me and say, I hurt for you. I wouldn't have cared if he would have called and said, whatever your sins are, I hope God heals you and helps you nothing. But he had the audacity to tell someone else, trying to tear down my ministry, you know, that was all his fault. The other one may surprise you. He's the author of a book who wrote something very strong in condemnation of theonomy and Christian ethics. An entire book. One of my friends intercepted a copy of a letter that he was circulating that was really dumping on all of us Reconstructionists. There was a lot of garbage in there, but one of the little tidbits of garbage was my marriage and how it broke up. And so trying to be the person that I'm preaching about to you, trying to be wise and peaceable, gentle and without God forgive me, without any hope that it was going to really be worked out, I wrote to him and I said, you don't know how much you've hurt me. I do not so much mind that we have a theological disagreement, but, you know, the two of us will spend eternity in heaven and we better learn to get along on Earth. If you don't think the Old Testament law applies, let me read to you the New Testament law. And so I wrote and I said, I don't think it's right that you have said this about me. I said, if you know something I don't know, bring it to me. But I think I probably know my session, knows my presbytery, knows my friends who begged me not to leave the ministry know that what you've said is not true. He wrote back at first and rationalized what he had done. And you know what he did, by the way? He paid attention to how we Reconstructionists have publicly put people down. He said, you guys do it all the time. What's the big deal? So I wrote back and I said, you cannot excuse your own sins for the sins of others. I'm willing to tell you that we have sinned terribly but this is between you and me. I didn't think I'd hear from him again. And the next letter I got was a short three paragraph letter, abject repentance, saying, I have no excuse, I should live like Christ would have me to live. I have hurt a brother. Will you forgive me? Now you choose. Would you like to follow a reconstructionist who says it's all his fault, I won't even talk to him about it? Or a person who's got it all messed up about the Old Testament, but has a heart to say I was wrong? Gossip Proverbs 18:13 says, he who gives an answer before he hears it is folly and shame to Him. Proverbs 18:7. A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. Jesus said, and I say unto you every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. I'm sorry for stepping on the toes. We have not been peaceable, we have not guarded our mouths. The Bible says wisdom thirdly demonstrates a teachable attitude. It's the scoffer who doesn't want to hear what others have to say. Wisdom tells us that we are not to engender contentious, not to sow discord. And yet the scandalous situation is that you can't even keep track of the player card anymore in reconstruction of circles because of the number of contentions and unresolved problems and personal offenses and whatever it may be. So how's it going in our neighborhood? Those of us who are the proud possessors of God's good righteous law, well, how can we get wisdom? I dare not wound you in this way and leave you bleeding. How can you get wisdom? Well, it begins obviously with humility before God. And that means you need to repent. Means I need to repent. We do need to say, God, what kind of fool am I? We need to get right with God and to recognize that it's not in us to have wisdom. Proverbs 3, 5, 6. One of the first passages I ever memorized as a child. Trust in Jehovah with all thy heart and lean not upon thine own understanding in all thy ways. Acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes. Fear Jehovah and depart from evil. We need to stop trusting in ourselves, brothers and sisters, and recognize that our only hope in life and death is as a faithful Savior who the Bible tells us came into this world and stood before the most lawless, godless of men and kept his mouth shut and stood before his shearers. Dumb Jesus could have called legions of angels to rectify the situation. Your only hope is that Savior who has made unto us. Paul says, wisdom and righteousness and sanctification from God. Jesus needs to take away our impurity and by his blood wash our lives clean. Jesus needs to infuse us with His Spirit and life from above. Jesus needs to guide us. We need His Word. We need the work of His Spirit, graciously guiding us by means of it that we would become more like Him. Trust in Jehovah with all thine heart. Don't lean upon your own understanding in all of your ways. Acknowledge him and he will direct thy paths. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that this begins with the fear of the Lord. The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Do you fear God? All men should be afraid of God. All men should stand in terror before God because of their sins. But that fear of God, which is the soul of godliness, John Murray taught us, is not the terror that you feel before the judgment of God. It is rather that reverential awe in standing in the presence of one who is incomprehensibly great, surpassingly holy, who has been good to you beyond measure. And you stand before him and say, what can I possibly do to be worthy of you, God? Just tell me what you want. I want to do it. I want to be so much like you. I want to please you because you are so beautiful. You are so great, great. You are so awesome. That should be infused in the spirit of Reconstructionism. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the Bible will teach you to meditate on his character. Psalm 107:43. The entire psalm needs to be studied here, but for the sake of time, notice the conclusion. Whoso is wise will give heed to these things, and they will consider the loving kindness of Jehovah. That's what wise people do. Read the psalm this afternoon. Take the nap that you want to take. But read this first. Read this psalm and remember that it says, those who are wise, they'll think about these things and they'll consider the loving kindness Jehovah. You know, I think if we ourselves had the loving kindness of God before our minds every day when we get up every day, thank him for the life that is ours. Praise his name. Remember how worthless we are apart from Jesus taking our place. If we knew the loving kindness of God, we wouldn't be able to walk out the door and slice up our neighbors and those who oppose us. We'd learn graciousness in the treatment of others. And then finally, James, the first chapter, tells you what to do if you think that you lack wisdom. James 1. And the fifth verse. But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, doubting nothing. It breaks my heart to read that James says that when fools go to God and simply with open hands say, God, help me, me, I'm so stupid, I'm so dense, I'm so sinful, would you make me wise? The Bible not only says that he gives the wisdom that we ask, but he does it without upbraiding us. That's grace. When people come to me finally to see that I've had the better argument and that they should have been doing what I told them. This happens sometimes with my children, not always, but sometimes. And they come, you know, it's so tempting to not only finally give what is asked for, but to say, I told you so, you know what I'm talking about. Or to say, well, you never should have gotten this trouble in the first place. Praise God. We have a God who hears these prayers and he says, says, I won't upbraid you, just ask me. Let's do that. God, forgive us, Forgive us for possessing so many wonders, so many blessed and gracious things. Above all, life from the dead. Thank youk for your spirit. Lord Jesus, who has made us new people, has given us the hope of Heaven, has provided that we might walk with you and know who youo are, has enlightened our eyes to understand the Gospel, has given us hearts that are willing to commit to the Lord Jesus Christ. And thank youk, Lord Jesus, for being with us, for not only coming into this world and saving us, but staying with us day by day and caring for us, incredibly knowing even the hairs of our head being so concerned that our lives would be good and healthy and happy. We thank you for the good gifts that you've given us in your word. We thank you that you've given us your law and that you've given us a commitment to it, because we wouldn't in our own strength or intelligence come to those conclusions. We thank you that you've graced us with an understanding of the validity of your law. But in the face of all of this goodness, God, our hearts are broken today because we've really botched things up. And when people look at us, they don't see a very nice haircut. They don't see the beauty that could be ours if we would use these good instruments with wisdom. And each and every one of us have hearts today that are weighed down with guilt. We are such fools, so self centered, so lacking in humility, so without charity, so willing to sow discord without any control of our tongues. If it were left to us, God, we wouldn't pray this because we're ashamed. And we expect you'll be ashamed of us too. So we thank you for the encouragement of your word that yout will not hold it against us. We are forgiven by youy Son. You will not upbraid us, but liberally give us what we ask of youf, God, make us wise in Jesus name. Amen. It.