Voddie Baucham on the Conservative Evangelical Compromise

Also check out these links:

Sarah Palin and the Complementarian Compromise: A Response to Our Brothers Al Mohler and David Kotter at Doug Phillips' Blog

Voddie Baucham's Blog

Just Be Christian

There are two unbiblical and unbalanced "forms of godliness although its power has been denied" that are deeply infecting the body of Christ. One is "picketing, boycotting, and lobbying" - which is nothing short of isolation (unbiblical separation) through the attempt to create a Christian sub-culture based on the power of carnal weapons and not the divinely powerful Word of God. This has the "appearance" or "form" of godliness - but it is not!

The other is on the opposite end of the spectrum - "engaging the culture" - which is nothing short of contamination (unbiblical participation) through the attempt to create a Christian culture based on the power of carnal methods of being like the world to win the world rather than the divinely powerful gospel. This also has an appearance or form of godliness - but it is not.

What the world needs is an authentic witness who has been genuinely changed by the gospel which is the power of God unto salvation.We are to have contact without contamination - a biblical separation without isolation - and as Vance Havner once said, "The world is not going to be changed by conferences on it or complaining about it or conformity to it but by being Christian within it!"

Listen to this three minute excerpt from Havner's sermon The Unfinished Work of Christ:

The Ecumenical Movement

Imagine the apostle Paul or any apostle, prophet, evangelist, or preacher and teacher with an ecumenical agenda to unite the world religions to "solve the world's problems"! Can you really fathom the apostle Paul going to Athens seeking to unite Judaism, Christianity, and all of the various religions of Athens for the purpose of developing a global partnership for development, eradicating poverty and hunger, curing diseases, and offering primary education? Can you imagine the apostle Paul going to Ephesus and seeking to unite Judaism, Christianity, and the Temple of Artemis for those same reasons?
Can an ecumenical movement truly accomplish God's will and purpose for His Church? Can righteousness and lawlessness partnership? Can light and darkness fellowship? Can God be in agreement with idolatry? No!
This is why a moral majority is an exercise in futility and also hostility towards God. Religious pluralism is anti-Christ and is spiritual harlotry! This ecumenical harlotry has the appearance of righteousness because of its foundation of philosophical humanism. Do not be deceived, the ecumenical movement is a doctrine of demons!
You might be surprised and horrified to discover who are some of the major proponents of this ungodly alliance. For a primer listen to this!

Moral Majority?

Is the Church to influence society by wielding collective political clout as a moral majority that legislates morality? Is society transformed by the power of the government or the power of the gospel? Phil Johnson said, "Practically the worst kind of spiritual treason any pastor or church body could ever commit would be to supplant the gospel message with a different message, or to allow a merely moral agenda to crowd out our spiritual duties. That is exactly the risk we take when we pour money and resources into political and legislative remedies for our society's spiritual problems."

As a pastor, here are some problems as I see them with wielding our collective political clout:

(1) Morality is not obtained by legislation or demonstration but wherever the Gospel is preached in power and disciples are made who in turn witness to the lost in society. In Ephesus, people didn't stop purchasing idols because Paul picketed the temple of Diana or staged anti-idolatry rallies or lobbied Rome for legislation against it - many stopped purchasing idols because Paul taught the truth, people got saved, they in turn shared the Gospel, more and more people got converted, and fewer and fewer customers were available (see Acts 19:23-27).

(2)Today's church seems to be more interested in imposing God's standards in the courthouse than they are in the church-house. When churches will not operate by the guidelines that God has given in His Word for their government (biblically qualified leaders), for their discipline (biblically maintained purity), and for their exemplary conduct in society (biblically adorned doctrine), then they have no right to impose God's standards on others - or else it is hypocrisy and the world takes note of it!

I believe that being the salt of the earth and the light of the world has more to do with moral character based on sanctification flowing from justification in the Lord than moral principles based on legislation. Are we the salt of the earth and the light of the world because we legislate morality or because we live it?

I propose that living morally has a far greater impact than legislating morality. It is the State's God-given responsibility to legislate morality. It is the Church's God-given responsibility to live morally. Therefore even the Church is called to be subject to the State (Romans 13:1-7) and is not to usurp the God-given authority of the State. Likewise God has called the Church to live morally (Romans 13:8-14) and the State is not to undermine the responsibility of the Church by legislating immoral laws.