Gilbert Sanchez
March 26, 2002
A
harmonious unity through
tolerance is the message
of "peace" proclaimed
in our world today. In
a time when cultural relativism
and subjectivism reign,
all the lines are blurred
and the black and white
have become shades of
gray. Where once blood
was shed for the sake
of principle, today's "martyrs" are
those that are unyielding
to those who would deny
mankind the freedom to
slaughter their own offspring
or to openly practice
sodomy. Genuine scholarship
has been forsaken in pursuit
of tolerance and unity.
In the midst of the darkness,
the light of Christian
scholarship must again
be rekindled. For too
long the church of Jesus
Christ has followed the
ways of the world down
the slippery slope that
leads only to destruction.
The believer should be
committed to opposition
instead of a harmony built
on the false hope of tolerance.
True unity and peace will
not come as a result of
cultural relativism, subjectivism,
and tolerance, but as
a result of the advance
of the Kingdom of Christ
throughout the earth.
The Christian's declaration
of opposition can be expressed
with the following: 1.)
The biblical teaching
of opposition, 2.) The
Kingdom's destruction
of opposition, and 3.)
The sword of Christian
scholarship.
The Biblical Teaching
of Opposition
The Christian must acknowledge
that the reason that
there is an unresolveable
conflict between the believer and the unbeliever is due to the fact that the
Lord Himself has sovereignly imposed it. In Genesis 3:15 the Lord says, "I
will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed;
He shall crush you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." The
attempt to remove, diminish, or downplay this antithesis assails the God who
has imposed it. The obligation to uphold this opposition was always, and continues
to be the believer's responsibility. In 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 (see also Deuteronomy
22:10, Exodus 29:45, Leviticus 27:12, Jeremiah 31:1, Ezekial 37:27, Exodus
25:8, and Isaiah 42:11) says,
Do not be bound
together with unbelievers;
for what partnership have
righteousness and lawlessness,
or what fellowship has
light with darkness? Or
what harmony has Christ
with Belial, or what has
a believer in common with
an unbeliever? Or what
agreement has the temple
of God with idols? For
we are the temple of the
living God; just as God
said, I will dwell in
them and walk among them;
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Therefore, come out from
their midst and be separate,
says the Lord. And do
not touch what is unclean.
The believer is obligated
to view his position in
Christ as separate from
those that are in the
darkness. His relation
to unbelievers should
always include the consideration
of this opposition. Moreover,
the opposition that God
imposed in the garden
and exists to the present
day will be confirmed
eternally on the Day of
Judgment. On that Day
the wicked will be utterly
cast aside into darkness
and will experience the
opposition of a Holy God
for all eternity.
The Kingdom's Destruction
of Opposition
The Lord, seated upon
His throne at the right
hand of God, after His
triumph over the over
sin is, "Waiting
from that time onward
until His enemies be
made a footstool for
His feet."1 In
Genesis the Lord spoke
of the opposition, and with the coming of the Christ that opposition is more
fully realized as He now has crushed the head of the serpent. As it is written, "The
Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil."2 The
victory of the Kingdom of Christ is certain. Consequently, just as certain
is the destruction of the opposition. In Daniel 2:35, 44 it says,
Then
the iron, the clay,
the bronze, the silver
and the gold were crushed
all at the same time
and became like chaff
from the summer threshing
floors; and the wind
carried them away so
that not a trace of
them was found. But
the stone that struck
the statue became a great
mountain and filled the
whole earth…In the
days of those kings the
God of heaven will set
up a kingdom which will
never be destroyed, and
that kingdom will not
be left for another people;
it will crush and put
an end to all these kingdoms,
but it will itself endure
forever.
The
vision displayed the
kingdoms of this world
and how the Lord would
set up a Kingdom which
would victoriously overcome
all opposition. The Kingdom
of Christ is one that
will not be destroyed,
but will endure forever
bringing under subjection
and crushing all the kingdoms
of this world. The Lord
has determined that the
Kingdom will not be instantly
established on a global
scale, but rather, according
to His good pleasure,
it shall be a process
of growth. This growth
is not limited in scope,
but instead it is described
as starting as a small
stone and gradually grows
into an enormous mountain
that engulfs the entire
earth. The growth of the
kingdom to fully encompass
the globe will come to
pass ensuring the defeat
of all opposition.
The Sword of Christian
Scholarship
The destruction of all opposition will not be accomplished by physical force
or military might but rather with the word of the Lord. In Revelation 19:14-15
it is said of Christ and His church,
And the armies
which are in heaven, clothed
in fine linen, white and
clean, were following
Him on white horses. From
His (Christ's) mouth comes
a sharp sword, so that
with it He may strike
down the nations, and
He will rule them with
a rod of iron.
The
King of kings and the
Lord of lords will subdue
all of His enemies with
words sharper than any
two edged sword. He
who has been given all
power in heaven and on
earth rides out upon a
white horse not only to
battle but also to certain
victory as all those that
oppose His advance are
abased. The saints follow
their King into the battle
armed with the sword of
the word of God. Christian
scholarship is the sharpening
of the blade for war,
always ready to engage
in the battle for the
glory of God and the progression
of the Dominion. The Christian
should excel in scholarship
above unbelievers not
only because he possess
the coherent system in
which all the particular
facts of his experience
can be rendered intelligible
making success in every
field of study attainable,
but also because he has
the covenantal responsibility
to be a scholar. The believer
should strive for excellence
in every area of study,
disciplining his mind
to pattern his thinking
after the mind of God,
and labor in the study
of the scriptures and
the world in order to
correctly interpret and
apply the words of the
covenant to his life.
The church must come
to reckon with the fact
that to be a friend of
the world is to make oneself
an enemy of God. Jesus
said that those who are
not with Him are against
Him.3 If the
scriptural promises regarding
the victorious advance
of God's Kingdom is taken
seriously then it must
be concluded that those
that stand in the way
must be subdued. Everything
and everyone that opposes
Christ is at heart the
enemy of the Christian.
The believer is to be
committed to the overthrow
of the enemy realizing
its necessity. Van Til
wrote,
Our
program, we have seen,
is an absolute one and
an absolute program
can never be reached
by compromise of any
sort. An absolute program
can only be realized
if the enemy is destroyed.
We have found that we
would be able to maintain
the faith in our program
in no other way than
by the destruction of
the enemy. We cannot
believe in our program
and we do not believe
in our program if we
look at it merely as
something that is somewhat
better than the program
of our enemies…Our
hope for the future lies
in the conviction that
our enemies will be destroyed.4
No compromise, capitulation,
or concession. Instead,
the committed believer
should voice his agreement
with the biblical position
in a declaration of opposition
against: 1.) Any ideology
of harmony built upon
subjectivism and tolerance,
2.) Any individual or
assemblage that defiantly
resists the advance of
God's Kingdom, 3.) Any
falsehood, error, or doctrines
of demons that is contrary
to the nature of God and
the truth of the scriptures,
and 4.) Any poor scholarship
which dulls the blade
of the Christian's sword,
weakening the army of
God and impeding the advance
of the Kingdom.
Notes
1. Hebrews 10:12-13
2.
1 John 3:8.
3. Luke 11:23.
4. Cornelius Van Til, Essays on Christian Education,
(Phillipsburg, P&R, 1971),
p. 165
Gilbert Sanchez is happily married and is the father of two children. He is working
on a masters of divinity through Bahnsen Theological Seminary and serves as Ruling
Elder at Providence Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque NM. He can be contacted
a gillinsan@msn.com.
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