“And I, brethren, when I came
to you, came not with excellency of speech
or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony
of God.
“For I determined not to know anything
among you,
save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
“And my speech and my preaching was
not with enticing words of man’s wisdom,
but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power:
“That your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men,
but in the power of God.”
I Cor.2:1-2,4-5
Imagine yourself, a professing Christian, sitting
in an audience of thousands to hear the most popular preacher of the
day. You have your Bible and your note pad and you are ready for everything
that comes from his mouth. It’s that important to you.
He begins, and oh, the words seem to drop like
rich honey from his mouth with ease and such persuasiveness. You can
hardly contain yourself. People throughout are nodding with affirmation
and saying, Amen. Some are shouting. He touches on the importance of
the truth of God’s
Word and adherence to it. He cites scripture references and you are writing
feverishly. It seems that everyone is taking it in. You know that you
are. He begins to touch on issues of the day in which you live. Everyone
is in agreement as he proceeds to tell you to take Biblical positions.
Along the way he shifts gears and starts to inject
sarcasm toward people who take the Bible literally - as going too far.
Pharisees, he calls them. Legalists - Some of the most dangerous people
on the planet. And then come some fairly scandalous descriptions. He
now proceeds to dissect a series of issues, in depth - one at a time-
saying after each one, how you are not to make such a big deal over
each item. How non-important each one was, he said. Nothing is off
limits - not even the Gospel of Christ and salvation He talks about
your liberty and your freedom and how these people infringe on your
rights. He speaks about the message being more important than how that
message is delivered or the method involved. You are a bit uncomfortable,
a little confused, but hey, he is the man of the day. He leads the
most powerful movement in your country. He has a large following. People
of all denominations and religions are reading his books and teachings
his materials in their churches. Who are you to question or doubt anything
that he said? And so, as the message winds down you come to the conclusion
that your church, your pastor, and your teachers are wrong, and that
you will seek to align yourself with a group far more tolerant, like
those with what ‘Dr. Dynamic’ had
to say. You changed during the course of one meeting, held in a large
setting, and based on the charisma of the speaker and the temperature
of the multitudes there.
The method employed in that meeting has been
one of the most successful over the course of time. It has various
names that it goes by, but the one that gets to its true character
is, the ‘Bologna Technique’.
In this thinking of man, one takes a slab of bologna and cuts off a small
piece, relating a specific issue in question to that piece. Then follows
the sly phrase, “You don’t want to make a big deal over such
a small thing like this. Look at all that is left.” The logic is
overwhelming. Why then quibble over anything? Who are you to judge? The
problem is that he does this through the rest of the meeting with such
ease until, you guessed it, the slab of bologna is all gone. There’s
nothing left. It all was thought to not be worth taking a stand over.
In truth, this doesn’t happen in just one message of any kind,
spoken or written. It occurs over a period of time, which makes it more
deceptive and effective. The result: someone who will stand with a man
or with men, but for little to nothing that God does or thinks important
enough to stand with Him in.
Fundamental Christianity has historically stood
where God stands from His Word. Even the largest detractors and critics
of fundamentalism agree there. When God speaks it means something to
Him. He didn’t waste
space in His Word to fill up the pages: He gave us His very Word to reveal
His mind and will concerning our - salvation, holiness, separation, sin,
behavior, dress, thought life, working for employers, treating employees,
witnessing, eternity(heaven and hell), judgment, those who were to preach
and teach, relationship to governments, associations, prophecy, spiritual
gifts, music, movements, Christian life, marriage, parenting, prayer,
church life, and so much more. A fundamental Christian seeks to obey
all of these. He seeks to “rightly divide the word of truth.” He
doesn’t do this with the flesh, but as he yields himself to the
indwelling Holy Spirit and allows Him to work through each believer.
He is a good citizen of his country, prays for its leadership, and he
is good for the blessing of that country, as well as in every endeavor
he is involved in. He is a good neighbor and seeks their best interest
and spiritual blessing. He sees the future only as God reveals what is
going to happen in His Word. He has no corner on the truth - he merely
believes that it is the truth and seeks to put it into practice. Over
the course of this nation’s history, God’s blessing has been
dependent on an acknowledgement of the fear of God, as well as living
righteously as a nation. The church has been effective only has its leadership
and schools were obedient to His Word in all of the above.
And now, in the days prior to the Lord’s return, fundamental
Christianity has been maligned, dragged through the mud, associated with
radical terrorism or fundamental cultism. It has been the subject of
derision in seminaries, pulpits, youth groups, magazines, authors of
fiction books, conferences, television shows and Hollywood movies, the
secular and religious media, and internet web sites. Still, God’s
truth is marching on, and there are believers that are not shunning the
label of being fundamental, for they know its rich and lasting history,
and what the born again before them stood for – whatever the cost.
Paul said in II Cor.13:8:
“For we can do nothing against
the truth, but for the truth.”
There is nothing inherently wrong with being
closely aligned to all the truth of God’s Word and with people of like mind. There is
everything wrong with being loosely aligned to that body of truth, picking
and choosing what men say about it as to whether or not you will adhere
to it. I would love to be aligned with many of you of like mind and encourage
you to be aligned with me, together under the authority of God’s
Holy Word.
Don’t let yourself fall prey to the ‘bologna
technique:’ but
rather, submit to the Word of God in all things. You will never regret
it in eternity. 
