The Beza Briefing: More on Law and Gospel (Part 1)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio Ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth, and you are listening to a show that hopefully is always biblical, always provocative, and always in that order.

At least we didn't have Pastor Steve interrupt. You have to wait until 12 or 13 seconds with this song, and then you say, welcome to No Compromise Radio.

My brother at the Pactum, I think they only have a few seconds of intro guitar by Mike Grimes, and then off and running they go.

I do it a little longer because at 1 .5 speed, you need some time to get ready, to be really in the no -co mood.

No Compromise Radio, formerly known as No Content Radio, or No Compost Radio.

Well, what are we going to talk about today? That's what I said to myself as I was driving in to the studios on Buena Vista Street in beautiful downtown

Burbank. No, I'm in West Boylston. West Boylston, Massachusetts. If you go to Google Maps, you'll see there's a large reservoir, and that's the water for Boston.

That's the Boston water, waterquatic, a lot of Indian names around here.

Today, after some time, we are back into the Beza briefing,

Teddy Beza, Theodore Beza, the Christian faith. I picked this book up, oh, years ago when

I looked at R. Scott Clarke's list of books that everybody needs to read, and I thought,

I'm going to look at that, see the books that I have read, won't re -read them, at least not for a while, and then buy the ones that I haven't read and then read them.

So this was on the list, The Christian Faith by Theodore Beza, first published in, any guesses, 1558.

In Geneva, and what Beza wanted to do during the

Reformation, Protestant Reformation, was to have a concise declaration of the

Christian faith. That's according to James Clarke, who translated this version that I have.

I think I got this for less than $20. It's a blue cover published in England, and it has the four reformers that are carved out of stone that are in,

I don't remember where I saw that. That was someplace in, well, it was either in France, Switzerland, I think it must be in Geneva, outside Geneva.

I'll remember in about five minutes. In 1559, Beza goes to Geneva, and he becomes a colleague and successor to John Calvin, who died in 1564.

And then in 1565, Beza published his Greek New Testament with notes.

It's interesting, James Clarke also says in the preface, this work was greatly esteemed and used by authors, translators rather, of the authorized version.

Beza also aided in the French translation of the Bible published at Geneva in 1588.

He maintained close contact with Knox, Melville, and other Scottish worthies.

Remember that book by Banner of Truth, the Scots Worthies, preachers,

Scottish preachers, scotophilia. I mean, I think the church that I pastor would be double the size if I had a

Scottish accent, but that's another sermon. And it says he was taken home

October 13th, 1605. So today, the

Beza briefing. And when you look at this concise, systematic theology of the

Christian faith, I mean, if you want to get Birkhoff and start with Birkhoff, great. I wouldn't read

Frame. I wouldn't read Grudem. But I would read Birkhoff. You could read the new and wonderful Joel Beakey.

And Paul Smalley, is he the Baptist that co -writes that four -volume systematic theology? That would be a good one.

I enjoyed Dabney's systematic theology when I read that. What else do

I have for systematic theologies? They're all at home. So I have a whole list of them. But anyway, this is smaller.

And you know what it's almost like? It's like in between a confession and a bigger systematic theology like Birkhoff.

So this is kind of the middle thing. This is like the concise version of Birkhoff's systematic theology that you can buy.

You can buy a summary of it. You can buy a concise version of it, or you can buy the bigger one. So this is Beza.

And Beza, in his book called The Christian Faith, has sections like most books do.

Trinity, God the Father. Any guesses on the second? God the Son. And then the Holy Spirit.

Number five, the church. Number six, last judgment. Number seven, conclusion.

And we are in the Holy Spirit chapter, chapter four. And we are in the section called 425, the other part of the word of God called gospel.

It's authority, why, how, and for what end it was written.

So today on No Compromise Radio, I will read from this book and make comments as I please.

Of course, you know, we make comments as we please. You want answers? I think I'm entitled to them. You want answers.

I want the truth. You can't handle the truth. But that's not true for the No Compromise Radio listeners.

You can handle the truth. That's certainly true. So we pick it up in 425, number three.

We draw then two conclusions from this discourse, which are very useful to what we are discussing.

Now, he's been talking about the gospel, one savior, good news that's been announced, that's been declared to the world by Jesus Christ and the apostles, faithful recorded by the evangelists.

That's what he's been talking about, the gospel. And he has two conclusions. The first is that it is not necessary to recognize gospel, anything men have added to the word of God written.

That is to say, the doctrine contained in the books of the Old and New Testament, but that all additions are merely superstitions and a corruption of the only true gospel of our

Lord, Matthew 15. St. Paul has also spoken of this, Galatians 1, 2

Timothy 3. And St. Jerome wrote on this subject, what is said without the authority of the

Holy Scripture is also easily set aside as has been said, quoting

Jerome. The second conclusion, Beza says, is that those who say that it only belongs to certain persons to read scripture and who, for this reason, do not want it to be translated into the common language for fear that simple women and other people may read it.

Romans 1, Galatians 3, Matthew 11. Are the true, ready for this? Antichrists and instruments of Satan, Matthew 23.

If you're going to add to the gospels, Old and New Testament, the only thing that you would add would be superstitious, corruptions.

And another conclusion is that if you don't want this book,

Old and New Testament, to be in the hands of people, and here he says of women, fear that simple women and other people may read it.

If you don't want it in the common language, if you want to guard it and keep it in the Roman Catholic, Latin type of thing, then you're an antichrist and an instrument of Satan.

They are afraid that their abuses be discovered by the coming of the light.

Isn't that interesting? Maybe more comments today than actually reading. When you realize what the

Bible teaches, and you can read it in your own language, and you can understand it, you read it with your very own eyes or hear it with your very own ears.

When you hear this great gospel contained in the Old and New Testament, you're going to say to yourself, you know what?

I see the light, and now I see your corruptions so easily. And whether that is the assumption of Mary, whether that's the sinless nature of Mary, and she's a mediatrix, whether that's what happens in purgatory, if there was such a thing, ah,

I see the light because I have the Bible. It's easy. It's not that hard. There's some things that are scripturally difficult to understand or difficult to understand in scripture, but now we have the light.

Beza 426, title of this section, the manner in which the gospel includes in substance the books of the

Old Testament. This is really good. Moreover, by this word gospel, we are far from meaning what is commonly called such, i .e.

certain extracts which are disconnected without reason, neither discourses from the books of the four evangelists or from the epistles of St.

Paul. On the contrary, we understand under this word gospel, not only all of the

New Testament, but also all that has been promised or predicted in the Old Testament on the subject of Jesus Christ, Acts 26,

Acts 28, John 5, and Romans 1. Now, of course, dear listener, you know this to be true.

If you've listened to No Compromise Radio, theological words have narrow meanings and strict meanings.

They also have more general meanings. So, if I say strictly speaking, what is the gospel?

There are no commands in the gospel. There are no demands in the gospel. It is summarized by the good news of the

Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, taking on flesh, living, dying, being raised from the dead, ascends, his session, etc.

It's about Jesus. It's a declaration of what Jesus did and who he is, of course, sent by the Father and assisted by the

Holy Spirit, etc. That's the strict definition of gospel. But it can be a little more general as well.

And it could be general in the sense that we have four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and there are laws in those gospels, right?

There's just good news with this special genre called gospel. And also, sometimes in the history of the

Reformation, you have people saying, like here, Beza and Calvin, of course, the

Old Testament's law, the New Testament's gospel, you could talk that way. So, similarly with the word law, law can have a general meaning, that is instruction,

Torah, and it can have a specific meaning, do this and live. And therefore, you just have to make sure if he says all the

New Testaments under the word gospel and then everything that points to Jesus, we have our categories.

And as Pat Avendroth says in his excellent podcast on the Pactum, categories matter.

For as we have already said, the gospel is the only means by which from the beginning of the world, God has always saved his elect,

Hebrews 13, Acts 4. That is why, as Moses declares in Genesis 3 .15,

God began to announce it to the world from the sin of Adam, although it was manifested and preached clearly a long time afterwards by Jesus Christ himself in person and by his apostles,

Romans 1, Romans 16, those bookends of the gospel. Paul could not wait to preach to Christians at Rome, the gospel.

Christians need the gospel too, they need to be reminded that you're standing before God is not based on your holy living or your sanctified life.

No, it's based on Jesus's life. And then also Jesus paying for your sins confirmed by the resurrection.

Thus, to summarize, we call the gospel, the good news, which from the beginning and by his grace and mercy alone,

God has announced to his church, those who by faith embrace Jesus Christ shall partake of eternal life in him,

Romans 3 and John 6. Beza, Holy Spirit chapter four, section 27 entitled, how what we say about the authority of the written word must be understood.

Why it is necessary that it be translated into all languages. And I've asked you that question on No Compromise Radio, you could give me a good reason why it should be translated into all languages.

And there are ministries that translate of the Bible. I think of the one with my friend,

Steve Meister at Emmanuel Church up in Sacramento, there's a Bible translation ministry that they support.

And I think it stems from that church. I don't know how Wycliffe is doing these days as Bible translators, but it is important to get the

Bible translated because faith comes by hearing, right? And let's see what Beza says.

When we say that the gospel written and recorded in the manner which God has given us is the sole ordinary means which

God uses to save men, that is why this word is called the word of life and of reconciliation,

John 6, Acts 5, Philippians 2. We do not stop at the syllables, nor at the paper and ink, nor at a gospel hung by the neck, or pronounced only as the charmers pronounce their charms, nor at a well -patterned book or worshiped with incense or other fineries.

Let us never displease God by approving such sorceries and sacrileges. But in the first place, we close the door to all these fantastic notions, which the devil has made use of in all times to corrupt men.

And then we hear the gospel well and duly preached and expounded so as to better understand the substance of it,

Romans 10, 1 Peter 1. To put it in the heart where by faith it can produce the fruits of true repentance,

Matthew 13, Acts 16. The apostles show this clearly.

When Jesus sent them out, he did not say to them, go read the gospel in an unknown tongue and worship the book in which it is written.

But he said to them, go and preach the gospel to every creature, Matthew 28. I leave aside the remonstrances that Saint Paul makes to the

Corinthians when he speaks of the abuse of those committed in taking pleasure in hearing foreign languages ring out in the church of God without any profit to explain what was said, 1

Corinthians 14. But how shall anyone believe without having heard, seeing that faith comes from what is heard as Saint Paul says,

Romans 10, 17. And how shall anyone hear it when far from being duly expounded, it is chanted in an unknown language, 1

Corinthians 14. How also shall anyone be established in the holy and true doctrine, comforted amid so many and various temptations, warned to resist false doctrines,

Romans 15, 2 Timothy 3, 16, without meditating night and day in the word of God, Psalm 1, and examining carefully the passages of holy scripture,

Acts 17, like the Bereans or John 5. Thus has it always been done in the church under the devil through the just punishment of God, remove this light to bring in his darkness without anyone perceiving it.

St. Peter is a witness for this. When writing to all believers, he commends the diligence with which they should take heed to hear the word of the prophets, 2

Peter 1. For he knew that the word, which the Lord has said to him, feed my sheep,

John 21, must be heard from the preaching of the word of life. St. Paul also expounded the same thing and practice it,

Acts 20. So Beza is on track for what we said, for what I said.

And that is, you need the Bible translated so people can hear in their own language to understand because yes, there's more to saving faith than an intellectual grasping.

There's more than an assent or an agreement. Yes, there is a trust, but you still have to know the facts, right?

As Machen, I believe, said, Jesus died, that's history.

Jesus died for my sins, you know, that's theology or that's wonderful theology or something like that.

Oh yeah, it was, Jesus died as history. Jesus died for sins is theology. Jesus died for my sins is wonderful.

I think that's right. If it's not right, then I guess you get what you pay for, right?

On No Compromise Radio Ministry. Don't forget, you can always write me info at nocompromiseradio .com.

I've got some wonderful emails lately, encouragement. I appreciate that. I also have thought over the years, do

I spin this off into duplexgratia .com? I own that site. Do I change the name? Kind of gone from a discernment ministry to a

Christ -centered ministry. So you can always give me your thoughts. Gospel Assurance, both the larger book, a 31 -day guide and Gospel Assurance, the 31 -day devotional are on Amazon and you can order those.

If you want to order 10 or more, let me know and I'll give you a discount and just drop ship you those books.

Also, if you order Sexual Fidelity online at the nocompromiseradio .com site, which we're updating, by the way, hopefully this summer, if you order one of those, you get one extra and the things that go up in the church extra as well.

So if you order one book, you get three, $13 .99 total. Not too bad. Not too shabby.

I think it cost me $4 .80 to ship. So that gives us down to like $9 .50

and each book is three bucks to print or something like that.

And so that gets me down to 50 cents. So then I drive to the post office, but I have a lot of them sitting around the house and I need to get rid of them, right?

That's what makes Amazon so nice, click and go. Although Amazon just sent me an email the other day and said printing prices are going up.

So basically you get less. To summarize what we've been talking about so far, we need to have the good news in a way that people could understand the news.

It's just that simple. It's not news if you can't understand it. I mean, it is, but if you can't understand it, you don't receive it as news, right?

Baza concludes this 427 chapter. However, we do not say that it is permitted to everyone to be a teacher in the church and to expound the

Holy Scriptures for this office belongs, as we shall say more fully to those who are called and lawfully ordained to do it,

Romans 10. But we say that everyone must read the scriptures and have the knowledge of them to confirm what has been expounded well in the church and to reject the false doctrine of false pastors.

We say that the reading of the Holy Scriptures, adding what is necessary, i .e. the pure preaching and exposition of them.

It is for this that teachers and pastors are ordained in the church, 1 Corinthians 4, 2

Corinthians 5, and not to re -sacrifice Jesus Christ, Hebrews 10, 18, or to howl in a language unknown to the people, 1

Corinthians 14. Boy, that's amazing to howl. It's far from committing heresy.

On the contrary, there is no other means of extirpating heresies. 2

Timothy 3, and whoever presents the reading of scriptures takes away at the same time from the poor people the only means of consolation,

Romans 15, and salvation, Luke 1, Acts 13, Ephesians 1. Section 428, base and titles, how the

Holy Spirit uses external preaching of the gospel to create faith in the heart of the elect and to harden the reprobate.

Oh, here we go. This is going to be very, very interesting, don't you say?

I wonder if I have a special effect for that. Who knows? It's going to be interesting.

I used to play that line when I was in performance band, and I had the tuba, and I played that.

Da -dun. Da -dun. And then off we'd go.

But I know there was like those two kind of pauses at the very beginning. So far,

I've got these buttons, and I've used quite a few of them, but I haven't used the censor. I haven't used...

What in the world is going on here?

I'm just pushing. It's like SOS. In the same way as the external preaching of the gospel is an odor of death for the rebels who harden themselves, so it is an odor of life for the children of God, 2

Corinthians 2. Not that this force and power to save resides in the sound of the word or that it comes from the energy of him who preaches, 1

Corinthians 3, but the Holy Spirit whose office we are describing, that's chapter 4, uses the external preaching as a pipe or channel.

He comes then to pierce to the depth of the soul, as the Apostle says, Hebrews 4, 1

Peter 1, so as to give by his grace and goodness alone, understanding to the children of God that they may be able to perceive and comprehend this high mystery of their salvation through Jesus Christ, Acts 16,

Ephesians 1. Then he also corrects their judgment so that they approve with wisdom from God what sense and reason you used to think was folly, 1

Corinthians 2. Moreover, he corrects and changes their will so that with ardent affection, they embrace and receive the sole remedy which is offered in Jesus Christ, Philippians 1,

Acts 13. Against the despair into which, without this, the preaching of the law would necessarily bring them,

Ephesians 2. So you hear the law, first use, you see your sin, it's a mirror, it shows you where you fall short and haven't loved

God and haven't loved neighbor, and it convicts, and then you run to the

Savior. And so it does its work as the law uncovers, it says, and made worse.

This I say is how the Holy Spirit by the preaching of the gospel creates in us the gift of faith, which comes at the same time to take hold of all that is necessary for salvation in Jesus Christ.

This is what we have shown above. Mike Abendroth, No Compromise Radio Ministry.

This is the Beza, or the Beza Briefing, and I am reading through The Christian Faith by Theodore Beza.

Sometimes I think I read better than other times. You know, we just take this with one take, and we just do this with one take, and I just read it and off we go.

I heard that Conrad Mbewe has read all of the ESV, and it will be one of the

ESV audible options. I think that would probably be wonderful. I think right now it's the regular guy. It's Mrs.

Getty. I think she's the other one that narrates. And Conrad, I like his accent, so that would be wonderful.

I get up in the morning, typical morning, unless I'm traveling or sick or something. I get up,

I have a couple glasses of water and my whatever kind of vitamin thing I have, my GI stuff, and probiotics.

That's what I'm after. Then I have a cup of coffee. I sit down. I read my Greek New Testament of the passage that I'm preaching from Luke now, and then

I read it in English, and then I make some notes, some Proverbs, some

Psalms, some other things, have another cup of coffee, keep reading, get up, get ready for the day.

And as I get ready for the day, I turn on my ESV audible Bible, usually John 5 to 9 or something like that.

I'll have it in there. And if I'm going to go to the airport, I think, you know what, I can go to the airport and listen to almost all of Mark, Mark 1 to 16, on the way there and the way back, that type of thing.

So I will be glad to have Conrad Mbewe if he's going to read the ESV. That'll be my go -to right there.

I'm talking about Beza, the Christian faith, the Holy Spirit. And now this is chapter 4, section 29, the other fruit of preaching the law.

Once the preaching of the gospel has effectually done its work. So what do you bet he's going to do?

After the gospel has done its work, the people respond with faith.

And now what? The law's done. Don't have to obey. Don't have to live holy lives.

I mean, if I've been criticized for things in life and some of them stick,

I've been criticized for other things in my theological life and they don't stick. Someone I just heard the other day said that I was not personable.

Of course, my knee jerk is, yes, I am. And I don't think I'm impersonable.

Maybe sometimes I am, but that one I don't really think stuck. But I thought, you know what, all right,

I'll just try to make sure I'm personable. That type of thing. And I'm also accused of being an antinomian.

And I don't think that sticks either because by the way, the reformed definition of antinomian, if you look back at Luther is denying the third use of the law, the moral law, the 10 commandments.

And I know a lot of dispensationalists who don't think the 10 commandments are valid for today for the church.

And they're the ones that make the comment that say, I'm antinomian. I'm not against the law.

I just don't confuse the first use and the third use. The first use is to show unbelievers their sin.

God doesn't change. Therefore, his law doesn't change, but our relationship to God changes. And now, instead of a creator judge, first use of the law, we have a father because of the work of the

Holy Spirit, applying the life, death, burial, resurrection of Jesus, right?

The merits of Christ and taking away our sin. And in light of that, God's unchanging holy law guides me because I'm a son.

So, I'm not against the law. I'm against the wrong use of the law. I'm antinomian in the sense

I'm against wrong use of the law. Antinomian or something like that, however it is in Latin, I don't really know.

Well, before I read 429, the show is over. It's already over. Can you believe that we here at No Compromise Radio went over the show that fast?

That went by fast. Talk about a brief briefing. We're all 27 minutes, and so who knows?