Come Out, Come Out Whoever You Are! | Dr. Bob Payne

I recently heard an interview with a radio talk show host who asserted that political liberals love to hide behind conservative principles. His viewpoint was that if the liberals were to come out and demonstrate to this country who they really were, that they would be rejected by the majority of voters in a heartbeat. The parallels between modern political liberals and some institutions that claim to be fundamental, dispensational, separatist, and Baptist are uncanny!

There are times when I read what some of these institutions are writing, what they are doing, and what their representatives are saying, and I say to myself, “Stop playing games and just come out and tell people who you really are!” The problem is that if they were to come out and admit who they really were, they, in a similar way to the political liberals, would lose support.

HIDING BEHIND THE TERM “DISPENSATIONALIST”

I have observed some fundamentalist institutions hiding behind the word “dispensationalist,” when, at the same time, they hold to Reformed positions on doctrines such as soteriology and pneumatology, thereby blurring the distinction between Israel and the church. Behind these Reformed positions is a Reformed hermeneutic which encourages a “cerebral” approach to Theology, placing man’s logic at the forefront of biblical interpretation. In order to prove their Reformed doctrine, teachers and representatives of these institutions skillfully and cleverly utilize a contrived exegesis of certain passages. This shrewd exegesis takes the place of the entire hermeneutical process.

Moreover, in their logic-centered approach to the Bible, historical theology becomes eminently important. Suddenly, it becomes far more important what some Reformer or theologian of the past taught than what a consistently literal hermeneutic uncovers. Furthermore, this elevation of human reasoning seems to render these men unable to comfortably admit that there are unfathomable mysteries in the Word of God that cannot be sufficiently explained by linguistics and logic. Those who disagree with these theologians are not as “mentally gifted” as they; and certainly, they must have had a woefully inadequate education from an “unapproved” institution.

HIDING BEHIND THE TERM “SEPARATIST”

There are other institutions that hide behind the word “separatist,” when their practice tells another story. Like the proverbial chameleon they change their theological colors to resemble whatever group in which they find themselves.

When the representatives or teachers from these institutions find themselves in a group of separatists, they will boast how earnestly they are “contending for the faith.” I have observed through the years that these “pseudoseparatists” always seem to feel the need to promote in a loud voice “how separated they are.” It is rather like a married man loudly proclaiming everywhere he goes how separated he is from other women, and how dedicated he is to his own wife. Neither moral men nor genuine separatists have a need to convince others of a fact that should be patently obvious by their demeanor and practice. Some time ago I attended a fundamental Baptist conference, and asked a representative from one of these institutions if the organization that he represented believed in ecclesiastical separation. He paused and thought a few seconds before reluctantly answering “yes.” My observation of this organization since this incident has led me to a different conclusion.

At other times the representatives or teachers from these institutions find themselves in a group of compromising individuals where they feel comfortably “at home.” How easy it is at those times for them to exuberantly express with great freedom a “sloppy agape” of “love and toleration.” Genuine biblical love is never tolerant of sin and compromise.

Would to God we had more separatists like Spurgeon who preached in a sermon, Sunday, October 7, 1888 at the Metropolitan Tabernacle: “I have preached God’s truth, so far as I know it, and I have not been ashamed of its peculiarities. That I might not stultify my testimony I have cut myself clear of those who err from the faith, and even from those who associate with them.”

CONCLUSIONS

As a Baptist who believes in soul liberty I strongly believe that it is the right of any and all institutions to adhere to whatever doctrine and practice that they may choose. I only wish that some of the institutions would be honest enough to cease mislabeling themselves, and be willing to clearly identify themselves with the crowd to whom they belong. If your institution holds to a Reformed position then be honest enough to tell me. Stop trying to deceive me and others that your college, seminary, or missions agency is dispensational. If the institution that you represent believes that ecclesiastical separation is a doctrine that is too harsh and unpalatable for your sensitive theological taste, then be forthright and tell me. The confusing game of theological hide-and-go-seek needs to stop.