2019 Summer Update

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth. Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth and I�m here with Pastor Steve Escuchar. To listen.

Welcome to Steve to Listen Radio.

Unity in the Church and Marriage

I was reading some chapter in a book yesterday, I think edited by Joel Beakey on the Reformation, and Carl Truman was telling stories about Augustine, and he said he has a knack for just laughing when he�s by himself.

Something will strike him funny and then later in the day he�ll just laugh, and it reminded me kind of of No Compromise Radio. Don�t people do that? I mean, isn�t that normal? Maybe not for Oxford educated Englishmen.

I do it. I hear my son, you know, doing it when we�re around one another and I�m like, well, you know, I�ve always told my wife I�m one of the funniest people I know.

I see. I know. And everyone laughed in their own eyes. Would you like more volume? What would you like? That would be lovely. I�m just talking to the engineer. Yeah. Me. As I�ve said for years, there�s a host button here, a guest button, mute buttons, caller, phones, line in, gains, EQs, aux.

I�m still looking for the theological acumen button. How many calls are on hold right now? In the old days we did take calls, but Steve, it never worked out because when the call was kind of like an agitated call or a call that differed with me, disagreed or something like that, if I just said, that�s dumb, you know, next, then it made me look bad.

But if I let them ramble on and on and on about, you know, they�ve got a question, but really it�s a preach question and they want to kind of lecture me, then if I interrupt them then I look bad. So I look bad either way.

Is this Mr. Starbucks? No, it�s not. Oh, because your question is dope-io. All right, so this is the first show after the summer little hiatus, this little break, this little Shabbat, and you�ve been preaching through John, the Gospel of Jesus, according to John.

Anything come up of particular noteworthiness? Well, I mean, there�s always stuff that comes up. Oh, I know. But I mean, anything just pop in your head that, you know, we might spiral away from the Bible, so I thought at least we�d start with it.

I was just really impressed in John 17 when he says, you know, when he�s praying for unity and he says, you know, basically here�s the standard. The standard is the same unity that the Father and the Son have.

That�s the standard for the unity of the body. And it just really hit me hard because I wonder how hard we work at that, you know, as a body of Christ, how hard we work at that unity if we think, okay, there�s the standard.

What am I doing to uphold that standard?

Well, and as I just think out loud, you know, when they say the buck stops here or, you know, something similar to that, what about even in my own marriage, right? If, you know, since Christians, since Kim and I are Christians and then I want unity in our marriage, that�d probably be a good place to start if I�m looking for unity at the church.

It�s hard to have one without the other. It�d be pretty good. I know. I know. I know. Well, I�m essentially saying that because I realize how far I often fall short of that and I want to have my home unified, you know, on the same page.

So then off we go.

Yeah. Well, I�m just thinking, you know, Jan and I actually had a disagreement the other day and it was really kind of a silly thing. I mean, it�s noteworthy because we hardly ever have disagreements.

So when we have one, it kind of sticks with me for a while. Yeah.

Well, I feel your pain. I know. It�s interesting. Kim is in California now and we�re trying to make all kinds of decisions for the house and all that stuff. And, you know, sometimes if you�re not around each other, it�s easy to agree, right?

But now with electronic stuff and Facebook and all that and decisions we have to make, you still have to work on, all right, we�re in this together. How do we make these decisions? I want to defer. I want to love.

I want to lead. This is a hard thing to do.

See, and that�s kind of what our thing was about. It was just like decisions were going on that I wasn�t involved in and I thought, okay, I guess I don�t need to know, you know? And then I was just like, well, do I get to find out how much this is going to cost or.

Josh Harris, Church Membership, and Sexual Purity

Oh, well, let�s see. What do we have? Let�s see. Let�s just kind of have a summer of review. I think that�s what we should do. We could just kind of review things that happened. Let�s talk about the Josh Harris deal.

Josh Harris wrote several books, �Stop Dating the Church. Did he write �Stop Dating the Church I think he did. I think out of everything that he had written. That was pretty good. At least as I look back on it, I mean, it�s kind of like when you think, oh, I really loved that movie when it was out, but then you rewatch it, you go, oops.

So I might do the same thing with that book, but at least I liked it at the time where he was saying, you shouldn�t just be an adherent. You shouldn�t date the church. You should be committed. It was very good.

I talked to somebody just recently in the last week, and they said, well, you know what? It wasn�t for our particular church fellowship here, but they said, well, my church in California, I receive all the benefits.

I receive the preaching, the fellowship, emails, prayer from the pastoral staff. I receive all that, so I don�t really know what I would gain by becoming a member.

And I said to this person, my eyes are spinning.

I said to this person, are you hearing yourself talk?

Are you listening to what you�re saying? Anyway, so what�s in it for me? I know. Totally wrong.

I know. But they finally admitted that there were some things they couldn�t do, like teach, because they�d have to say that they were a member.

Well, I think that�s right, right? And I mean, you know, to take it a step further, what else shouldn�t you be doing? Oh, I don�t know. How about counting money? How about, you know, I mean, there are a lot of things that you shouldn�t be involved in.

If you�re not willing to commit to the church, the church ought not to commit certain things to you, right?

Well, I said to this particular person, I said, are there theological differences that would stop you from this? Because if the answers were going to be, yes, I�m at a Presbyterian church, but I�m a Credo Baptist, then I�d say, well, okay, well, work with your pastor on what you can do and how you want to be a member, except you just can�t get around this.

You know, something like that. But it was basically, nah, I don�t really want to, I�m a commitment-o-phobe, and I�m a millennial, and I don�t want to, you know, commit myself. I�m afraid of commitments.

Hmm. Was he married? No, she was not. She was not. She was not married. Well, you know. Hmm. I know. So anyway, Josh Harris has announced via social media that he and his wife, the first step was that they�re splitting up.

I think the second picture, and it showed him kind of looking at a lake, you know, pondering things. He was by himself. The second picture was of he and his wife standing apart with a caption, an Instagram caption about they�re getting divorced, privacy for the kids, da-da-da-da-da, something like that.

I mean, I don�t know how much privacy you get when you talk about it on social media. And then the next one that I remember was he was talking about rainbow donuts and some kind of gay pride, and I�m afraid, I�m ashamed of how I treated the LGBTQ people.

And then he was hanging out with a couple guys with some rainbow stuff. I think that�s been the progression.

Is that how you recall it? Yes. And, you know, it�s just, it�s sad to watch, and it seems like, you know, especially with social media, things just kind of snowball. You know, I mean, the first announcement comes up, and it�s not like we wait six months for the next one.

It�s like we wait six hours for the next one, and then the next one, and the next one, and the next thing you know, the guy�s renouncing the faith and sounding like, you know, he�s running for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party.

Steve, I don�t know anybody�s motives, but it sure looks from my perspective, in my opinion, that this is just, it�s strategically planned, how to put these pictures out, in what order, in what sequence.

And I think there�s more to come, but, you know, I think this is what happens when we have somebody, you know, essentially C .J. Mahaney sees a young guy who�s got a lot of talents and gifts, and he�s a good speaker, an excellent writer, and he�s propelled into things.

I didn�t like it that he went to Regent Seminary. Is that what it�s called, Regent? I think so. Yeah. Because, you know, and he needs more training. I mean, that part I liked, but then the spiral goes down.

So anyway, it�s just, it�s sad when you watch these folks. Celebrity Christianity and what happens to people, and so I think there�s a reason why we�re just stuck out here in a town of 6 ,000 people in central Massachusetts.

Nobody really knows us. But I feel pretty celebritous here, don�t you? I mean, you look at the glorious view that we have out the window, and you just think,.

How did we get this? Yeah, glorious things of we are spoken.

You look at the office here, and you just think, everything is just so splendiferous.

So anyway, I think early on, I was a little miffed when he was talking in his book, sex, something about lust, or sex isn�t the problem. Sex in the city, or something. And I�ve seen a recurring theme with several authors, and here was the reoccurring theme, that they wish their spouses were virgins when they got married, because they in fact kept themselves, but their spouses didn�t.

And I just thought to myself, you don�t write that. No. You might think that. You might wish that. And it�s like when I do premarital counseling, and if a couple says, you know what, we�ve saved ourselves, and both of us are virgins, and you know, matter of fact, we just decided not to kiss or anything else, and so we�re really looking forward to the honeymoon night.

You know, I just say, praise the Lord, it�s sweet, it�s tender, it could bring a tear to my eye, and just think about purity and holiness and God�s design. But if they don�t bring that up, you know, I don�t ask in premarital counseling a bunch of questions.

You don�t bust out the Klieg lights and go, what do I do? I would tell, if it was my daughter, not to ask her fiancé, have you ever, how many, with whom, et cetera. And I�d say to my son, if your fiancé doesn�t say to you, you know, I�ve kept myself for you, then don�t ask any questions, because if the Lord can see you and all your lusts and me and all my sin and them with all their temptations and fallings as righteous because of the work of Christ, then you ought to see them the way God sees them.

And it just would be pride saying, you know, this is what I deserve or expect in this fallen world. Does that make sense?

Well, yeah. I mean, on a number of levels, I mean, what are you really going to gain by finding out? And the answer is nothing. You know, you�re going to lose respect for the other person because you just will.

And then eventually you�re going to be thinking, well, maybe I don�t measure up or maybe I don�t, you know, whatever. Whatever you�re going to think. It�s not going to be good. What possible God-honoring thing can come out of that?

And the answer is probably not much.

I know. I think it�s a glory to cover transgression, Steve. And that�s why I think when it comes, not just to that area, but any area when it comes to a marriage life, Kim knows more of my false than anybody else.

And she rarely, I don�t know if she�s ever said anything about my false to other people, because why would she, right? And why would I say things about Kim to other people where she falls short? So anyway, that whole debacle, I don�t think we�ve seen the end of the Josh Harris deal.

And I have predictions what�s going to be said next, but we�ll just see if it happens or not. Are you a prophet?

Like an Old Testament prophet or New Testament prophet?

Well, there�s two different schools of prophets to foretell or to forth tell, but that�s not my view of that one, to foretell or to forth tell. I get it, but that�s not my view. So then what else happened?

Tullian Tchividjian, Justification, and Sanctification

We�ve got Tullian�s back, right? He�s back and he�s in, of all places, I think he lives in Jupiter, Florida. And he�s starting a new church, I think, in another town adjacent to Jupiter with his new wife, and he just started up.

Here we go again. My problem is, Tullian�s right in some of his theology. That is to say, standing before God stuff, justification, I think what he�s written in the past is right. And therefore, when we talk in our circle, Steve, about let�s make sure we talk about the Lord Jesus and Sola Fide and legal standing versus evidences and fruit, he talks the right way.

Let�s not preach a lot of moralistic sermons. Problem with him, disqualification aside and the rejection of the Presbytery aside, adultery aside and all these other things, he had the wrong view of sanctification.

His view of sanctification was only look to your justification. And while I think it�s right in sanctification to look to your federal head, the Lord Jesus, the one to whom you are united and live in light of the gospel, there�s more to sanctification than just look to your justification.

So I do get kind of a little sensitive when people say, well, see, what you say and Tullian says, it�s the same thing, which isn�t true.

And I mean, if we look, obviously the idea of sanctification as something that was a once for all, you know, done deal, it didn�t work out too well.

Jeff. Well, I know, unless he�s talking about Hebrews 2, which he�s not, or Hebrews 10, 1 Corinthians chapter 1, where sanctified is a positional sanctification. I think people do have certain views of sanctification because they want to live in light of those crooked views, and so they construct something that will allow them to have affairs and carry on and all those things.

But still, I think at the very, at the core of all this, we have to preach the gospel that�s in the Bible, and if that means people take advantage of it, then they take advantage of it.

Pete It just reminds me of, you know, I was reading something I�ve never watched, obviously The Bachelor, or The Bachelorette. I was reading something about it the other day, though, the big controversy about the supposed Christian woman who was on the show, and a Christian man who was on the show.

And when he finds out that she�s been unfaithful, he basically quits the show, you know, that he�s been, or that she�s been having. And her response was, well, yes, I did, but Jesus still loves me. And, and so, you know, it�s like the bar of sanctification, the bar for Christian living is so low that we can do whatever we want, and Jesus still loves us.

Pete I know.

It�s interesting. You have Romans 3, 4, and 5, and we�re talking about God justifying ungodly people and the free grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ, abounding for many in chapter 5.

And then he says, �What shall we say then Chapter 6, verse 1. Are we? Because he�s knowing the implications of what he said. Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? And then several times in this book, he said, �By no means.

And he says it here again. I think King James is God forbid, Meganoita, I think is the Greek. By no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? But what I have to continue to say to myself is, even though the guys on this radical free grace kind of Tulian side may say certain things, I still don�t want to preach a gospel in such a way that people would never ask that question.

In other words, Roman Catholic justification, their schema would never result in people saying, �Well, you know what? Would it be okay if I did sleep with my girlfriend? Would God still love me anyway?

Would he still forgive me anyway The Roman Catholic would never say that because when you�ve got sanctification jammed into justification, you wouldn�t say it. So Paul knows what people are going to say, and I still think when we preach, Steve, people should be saying, �You know what?

That grace is free. Pete. Right. And the problem with that is you can do whatever you want.

Charles I know. And to that girl, if she�s trying to use Jesus� grace as a presumption to sin more recklessly, then she�s got a real problem. If she�d say, and I didn�t see the interview, if she said it in a different context, like, �You know what?

I�m a Christian, and one thing led to another. I got myself in a situation where I shouldn�t have been, and sadly, yes, I slept with this guy. Does God still love me? Did Jesus pay for those sins? Did I lose my salvation

That�s a different conversation. Pete. Yeah. That wasn�t the conversation.

I mean, there was no shame or anything, you know, it�s just like, shrug. Charles Yeah.

Well, there is a faith that doesn�t save, right? I�ve learned that. If there�s one thing I�ve learned in the last 25 years, I have in fact learned that, and there�s a demon faith, and there�s a faith that, you know, John chapter 2, people might have been believing in Jesus, but he wasn�t believing in them.

And you have to be careful. So anyway, that�s happened. What else has happened? There�s a big controversy within the Founders Movement. The Founders Movement is kind of the Calvinist of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Pete The good guys. Charles Yeah. Pete Yeah. Charles I remember going to Southern Seminary, and they had a Founders Cafe, and you think, �Okay, these are the Calvinists in the Southern Baptist Convention, and if I was a Southern Baptist, I�d want to be a founder.

They released a two to three-minute video clip, and it caused quite a hubbub, didn�t it? Quite a ruckus. Pete Quite a stir. Charles Yeah.

Pete Yeah. What�s your take on that? Charles I, well, we were talking about it briefly, and I just think the unfortunate thing to me was the image of Rachel Denhollander. Is that her name? I just, you know, for various reasons, I wouldn�t want to use her image in anything where I was saying that these are the problems with evangelicalism today, because I don�t think she is the problem.

I think she started talking about things that maybe she shouldn�t have been talking about, but she�s also the victim.

And so, you know. Pete My gut reaction, my Twitter reaction, which I didn�t post, was, �I wish they would have put that promo out, but they would have had my face there instead, just to get it away from her, because there�s too many connections of, you know.

Charles Sexual abuse. Pete Yeah. What happened in her past and everything else, and, you know, I know it�s a bigger issue than what it�s made out to be, but I just wish they would have put my face there.

Charles. And especially, it was like, what, two seconds? I mean, I didn�t even know she was�somebody mentioned it later, and I had to re-watch the promo to see her face in it. Pete. Right. I know. I know.

And stop it and everything else.

Well, I heard lots of big shots. Watched the promo, signed off on it, and then once it had been slowed down and frames had to been frozen�I was trying to figure out how to say �then

And then the founders board, I think, has now resigned.

Charles. Is it wrong to say that something like, �The biggest flowers wilt fastest.

Pete. Maybe. Maybe that�s a new slogan we have.

Charles Yeah, it was distressing to see how quickly people caved, really.

Pete Do you think it�s money? Do you think it�s power? Do you think it�s certain positions that people want to keep? And if you disobey the 11th commandment in the Southern Baptist Convention, you�re smoked?

Charles I think it�s that. Pete Is that why I haven�t been asked to do certain things lately? Charles Eh, it could be. Pete What do you think is going to be the outcome? What�s the end for all the, do you think Southern Baptists are going to make it?

Charles I�ve been waiting for, like, you know, for as long as I knew anything about theology for the Southern Baptists to split, because there�s a very serious, I mean, the Southern Baptists are reflective of American evangelicalism in general.

There�s a huge liberal wing, and there�s, you know, a fairly decent moderate force, and then there�s the ultra-conservatives. And the conservatives are really the minority, and yet they have kind of outsized sway inside the convention.

And I think that�s going to come to a screeching halt.

Pete. Not only that, you�ve got the PCA, you�ve got the whole revoice thing, and, uh Charles. It�s going to divide the PCA.

I mean, the Presbyterians have divided every 30 or 40 years anyway, so.

Pete I think it was Joey Piper. He was saying, you know what, they�re going to, they�re going to hold the line. Some conservatives will leave, start a new denomination. Some liberals will leave and start a new denomination, but they�re going to kind of hold the line.

And I don�t, I don�t know what to do, but I just think out of all these people, and I know she isn�t PCA, I don�t think she is, Rosaria Butterfield is kind of like the man, the courageous person of the hour, man of the hour, and I mean like humankind of the hour.

Because she said if people don�t file charges against these people in the Missouri Presbytery for all this revoice stuff, something�s wrong. So where are the people that are going to file these charges?

And she�s saying, you know, gay Christian, gay Christianity or celibate gay Christianity is a different religion. I�m thinking, finally there�s somebody out there who doesn�t really care if her platform is frozen because she said something.

I got these emails the other day, you know, from Christianity Today, what we can learn from gay celibate Christians, and I�m like, nothing.

Well, what we can learn is that there�s always people who are going to try to mess with the definition of Christianity and Christian and the gospel, and I don�t want to learn from them. I want them to not only read 1 Corinthians 6, but also 7, and I don�t know what�s going to happen with all that.

The Gospel Coalition and Ed Shaw thing the other day, can you imagine?

We�ve said this many times, but if there�s something new, it�s not good. Nuevo.

Unless it�s kind of like, what if there�s like new refried beans, what would that be?

Double fried beans. Yeah, but when it comes to theology, if it�s new, it�s false. Yeah, yeah.

New, no. How do you say new in German? I have no idea off the top of my head. Okay, good. No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God�s Word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We�re right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.