042 - The Tyranny Of The Weaker Brother

Summary

Podcast Summary: Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast

Episode 042 – The Tyranny Of The Weaker Brother
Date: December 23, 2020
Hosts: Brian Edwards, Nathan Cravats, J.C. Groves
Special Feature: Sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul

---

Overview of the Episode’s Main Theme

This episode explores the concept of the “tyranny of the weaker brother” within Christian communities, especially as it relates to legalism, Christian liberty, and the potential for personal scruples to be elevated into groupwide mandates. The hosts, three pastors recovering from fundamentalist backgrounds, engage in candid, heartfelt conversation about the impact of legalistic culture—personally and communally—before featuring a robust sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul. Sproul’s message provides a deep dive into the biblical and theological roots behind Christian freedom and warns against both legalism and antinomianism.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Reflections on 2020, Listeners, and Community

• Hosts express gratitude for their listeners and the sense of community that has grown around the podcast, especially during the trials of 2020.
• Personal stories of friendship among hosts and encouragement from listeners are shared, highlighting the show's role in bringing people together during a challenging year.
  • “You two have become some of my best friends ... and we’re getting sappy on here. But I’ve absolutely enjoyed 2020 because of this podcast and just getting to know you guys a lot better.” – Brian Edwards (06:38)
  • “We love you guys. You are the real hero.” – Nathan Cravats (07:15)

2. Preview of the Main Sermon

• Introduction of Dr. R.C. Sproul’s Sermon:
  The hosts reveal that the main segment is a classic message from Dr. Sproul on legalism—a topic central to their mission of “recovering from fundamentalism.”
  • “He goes deep in scripture. I cannot wait for you guys to hear this. Please ... get your pen and your journal and your Bible out, this will be a lot better experience for you, I promise you.” – Nathan Cravats (14:01)
  • “This sermon is definitely fire. From minute one to minute 55, every minute of this message is just filled with incredible goodness.” – Brian Edwards (15:25)
• Personal Reflections:
  Hosts credit Sproul’s wisdom and articulate how his message resonates with believers from diverse denominational backgrounds.

---

Main Sermon by Dr. R.C. Sproul

Begins at 16:25

3. Biblical Foundation: Romans 14

• Dr. Sproul reads and exegizes Romans 14:1–23, focusing on Paul’s teaching about personal convictions, matters of conscience, and how believers should relate to each other regarding “doubtful things.”
  • “For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat...” – Dr. R.C. Sproul (16:35)

4. Dangers of Antinomianism and Legalism

• Defining the Extremes:
  • Antinomianism: Dismissing God’s law completely after experiencing grace.
  • Legalism: Adding to God’s commands, turning personal or community traditions into universal law.
  • “Antinomianism means, of course, anti-lawism ... one of the most destructive doctrines that has been embraced widely ... is the concept of the ‘carnal Christian,’ which from one perspective is an oxymoron.” – Sproul (24:15)
  • “The worst meaning of legalism has reference to the idea that by your works you can satisfy the demands of God’s law and can gain salvation through your own works.” – Sproul (27:58)
• Historical Perspective:
  • Illustrates how the Reformation sought to maintain a balance between law and liberty.
• Modern Application:
  • Critiques contemporary evangelicalism for both extremes.

5. Christian Liberty and Matters of Indifference (“Adiaphora”)

• Explanation of Adiaphora:
  • Issues where the Bible neither commands nor forbids specific behaviors—e.g., diet, attendance at movies, wearing lipstick, drinking alcohol.
  • “Christian liberty never gives anybody the liberty to disobey God ... but in those zones where God has left us free, Christians have liberty.” – Sproul (32:15)
• Examples from Evangelical Culture:
  • Recounts how taboos regarding drinking, dancing, playing cards, or going to movies became benchmarks for faithfulness, often without biblical basis.
  • “Is that what the gospel is? Is the gospel in eating and drinking? Not what the Apostle Paul is saying here in this text.” – Sproul (46:00)

6. The Weaker Brother and the Problem of Conscience

• Caring for the Weaker Brother:
  • Mature believers should not flaunt freedoms that might scandalize or stumble those with sensitive consciences.
  • “If a person has a scruple that I don’t share ... I am to bend over backwards to be caring, loving, sensitive to that person and not flaunt my liberty in their face.” – Sproul (48:20)
• Tyranny of the Weaker Brother:
  • The real danger arises when the “weaker brother” seeks to impose their scruples as binding rules for all, thus undermining Christian liberty and even threatening the heart of the Gospel.
  • “Now the weaker brother becomes the legislating brother ... and uses it to bind the consciences of the people and destroy Christian liberty. What do you do now?” – Sproul (51:30)
  • Sproul draws from Galatians 2:11–21 (Paul versus Peter over legalistic food laws) as a case where defending liberty is vital to protecting the Gospel itself.

7. Practical Wisdom for Churches and Leaders

• Avoid Elevating Traditions to Law:
  • Highlighting examples where requiring teetotalism or other extra-biblical standards for leadership would even disqualify Jesus or Paul.
  • “Ministers should not be weaker brothers. Ministers should be able to handle the Scriptures in a way as to not be caught up in issues of whether you eat meat or vegetarians; you should know better than that.” – Sproul (55:25)
• Historical Examples and the Judaizer Heresy:
  • Paul’s response to demands for circumcision for Gentiles—he resisted and refused to submit when an extra-biblical standard threatened the Gospel. (Galatians 5:7–12)
  • “As soon as the weaker brother tried to enforce his weakness as the law of the Church, the Gospel was threatened. ... They must be resisted. They must not be allowed to establish laws where God has left us free.” – Sproul (59:30)

8. Call to Discernment and Charity

• Balancing Liberty and Love:
  • Urges discernment in distinguishing God’s commandments from human regulations.
  • “We apply the word of God and the love of Christ that is shed abroad in our hearts, not simply to tenaciously hold on to our own liberty, but to protect the Gospel while being patient and gentle with those who are young in the faith...” – Sproul (65:00)

---

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On Legalism in Evangelicalism:
  “There are many Christians who have been born and raised in the churches and in their homes to believe it’s a sin to go to a movie, it’s a sin to wear lipstick, it’s a sin to drink, it’s a sin to do this, it’s a sin to do that. They’ve been taught that it is a sin to do things that God does not declare to be sinful.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul (45:25)

• On Imposing Personal Standards:
  “If I would say to you, what is legalism? ... One of the most destructive forms of legalism ... was to add to the law of God, to bind men’s consciences where God had left them free, substituting the human traditions for the law of God.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul (29:20)

• On Protecting the Gospel:
  “As soon as somebody has that scruple by which their conscience, bound to themselves, tries to go beyond themselves and make it the rule of the Church, they must be resisted.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul (59:40)

---

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:00–16:13: Host banter, 2020 reflections, gratitude to listeners, Christmas plans, and episode preview.
• 16:25: Introduction of Dr. R.C. Sproul’s sermon on "The Tyranny of the Weaker Brother."
• 16:35–24:15: Exegesis of Romans 14 and context for the tyranny of the weaker brother.
• 24:15–27:58: Discussion of antinomianism and legalism, definitions, and historic context.
• 31:00–38:00: The concept of Christian liberty, adiaphora, and church culture anecdotes.
• 45:00–51:00: How legalistic taboos replace true biblical standards.
• 51:30–59:40: The critical moment when personal scruples threaten to become communal law.
• 59:40–65:00: Galatians, the protection of the Gospel, and the right response to legalistic “tyranny.”
• 70:00: Concluding prayer and exhortation for discernment and charity.

---

Conclusion

This episode serves as a timely, challenging reminder for Christians (especially those with fundamentalist backgrounds) to distinguish between biblical conviction and cultural tradition, and to exercise both liberty and love. Dr. R.C. Sproul’s sermon equips listeners with practical wisdom, robust theology, and scriptural depth on how to resist both the tyranny of legalism and the perils of lawlessness.

Final Blessing:
“Give us the wisdom to discern between your commandments and the commandments of men, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.” — Dr. R.C. Sproul (65:25)

---

For listeners wanting a deep, thought-provoking exploration of Christian liberty—centered in Scripture and relevant to church life today—this episode is essential.

Transcript

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

The Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast starts in three. You know what makes women stupid is.

[Brian Edwards]

Calling Jesus was not a bartender.

[Nathan Cravats]

High back.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

2. You have lost your mind. Long tongue.

[Brian Edwards]

Heifers have given me a lot more.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Trouble than heifers wearing breeches. And you know that. Say amen right there.

[Nathan Cravats]

1.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Let me tell you something, bozo.

[Brian Edwards]

They'll be selling Frosties in hell for this. Boy puts on a pair of pink underwear.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Amen. I sucked my thumb till I was.

[Brian Edwards]

14 years of age. Hey, everybody, thanks for tuning in to the Recovering Fundamentalist Podcast. We're your hosts, Brian, Nathan and JC and it is good to be here with you every Wednesday, right here, wherever you're listening to podcast. Hey, we want to thank our sponsors and Free Life Soap. Thank you, Ms. McCriben, for being an incredible sponsor this year. In the year 2020.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Man.

[Brian Edwards]

Guys, she has given us some great smelling soap and beard oil in the year 2020.

[Nathan Cravats]

I'm loving it. Ready to bring in 2021. Smelling good.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah. You know, 2020 stunk in a lot of ways. But buddy, thanks to Free Life Soap, it wasn't us.

[Brian Edwards]

That's exactly right. Go to recovering fundamentalists.org check out free life Soap. Click on the tab, use the promo code RFP and get 20% brand. That was good. 2020 did stink, but Free Life Soap made it smell a lot better, man.

[J.C. Groves]

You better believe it. Especially that pumpkin spice that you guys never would man up and use.

[Nathan Cravats]

That will be edited out.

[Brian Edwards]

Guys, I tell you what. We are just a few days away from Vegas. We have purchased our plane tickets. We're staying at the Flamingo Hotel. Wait till that gets out. The trendies are staying at the Flamingo. Wait, Vegas isn't going to know what hit him when the RFP guys show up.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah, it's going to be great to be there, be there with our families, meet so many of the family of the rfp and then get a chance to record the live podcast, to interact with people, to answer some questions. I just think the whole deal is going to be just super cool.

[Brian Edwards]

And this week it's almost like the idea Summit has just gotten a little bit better. Carrie Newhoff is going to be there, but they have now added in another keynote speaker in Kerry Schmidt. He's going to be there. I've actually never heard of Carrie Schmidt. Nathan, you. You know who he is, right?

[Nathan Cravats]

Oh, yeah. Yep. I'm looking forward to that. It's going to be incredible.

[Brian Edwards]

I love the fact that we're going to have some surprises. I think of folks showing up at this RFP meetup that we're going to even be surprised by. I know if everybody shows up, that said they're thinking about it. I know Dr. Phil Kid said he may even show up. That's going to be interesting.

[Nathan Cravats]

Yeah. And if you are on the fence about coming to Vegas, make it happen. We want to see you in Vegas.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah. We're going to be introducing some of our friends that we know are going to be there, some who have been amazing podcast guests. And I think people are going to be blown away by how cool that meetup is going to be. And I'm just going to be honest, man. I think we're going to lay down some truth in that meetup that people are going to love.

[Brian Edwards]

So this is Christmas Eve Eve and there is still time to get that last minute Christmas present. You can go to the Recovering Fundamentals, click on the Idea Summit tab, use the promo code rfpmeetup, and get a percentage off of your ticket and come hang out with us in Vegas. I can think of no better Christmas gift than to getting a airplane ticket for super cheap, a hotel ticket for super cheap, and a ticket to the Idea Summit for super cheap. That's a great Christmas present, guys.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah, it's making a memory. It's not just a present that you're going to unwrap and then put over in the corner somewhere. This is going to be an experience that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. I mean, people are going to get to see JC Groves in person.

[Brian Edwards]

They're going to get to see Brian Edwards beard in person.

[J.C. Groves]

They're going to get to see Nathan Cravats, cool hair and cool beard in person.

[Brian Edwards]

They're going to get to realize how uncool we actually are in person. It's going to be great. They're going to get to see how really, we don't have a clue what we're doing. We're literally just talking into microphones and it's taken off. I can't wait. It's going to be great. I don't think we edit anything out. We just go full blown raw right into it.

[Nathan Cravats]

Absolutely.

[J.C. Groves]

That sounds terrifying to me. J.C. groves and a microphone. And the word raw scares me.

[Brian Edwards]

Hey, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right, Brian?

[J.C. Groves]

No, that's not right. Because we know how many haters we have. Anything and everything we do and say in Vegas will be on Twitter, on other podcasts. There probably even be some spies there. Hey, by the way, I told somebody recently, you call the person who steals my identity? The most bored human being on the face of the planet.

[Brian Edwards]

That is true. That is absolutely true. I can't wait. It's going to be fun. What are y' all hoping to get for Christmas? Do y' all get big gifts? Does your wife go shopping for you and try to surprise you?

[Nathan Cravats]

Carrie does an incredible job with shopping. My kids are getting involved in it. I have adult children who are buying gifts. Yeah, I make out very well. We buy good presents too, for our kids and our family. So it's. I'm just like a big kid at Christmas time. I love it.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah, I love Christmas. I'm a total Christmas SAP. Like, our house is over decorated. There's decorations in the front yard. I love this time of year. However, you know, I never ask for anything because I'm the guy. I feel like I really don't need anything and I typically go get anything that I'm really interested in. And yet they always find great things to buy me and then I love to buy them gifts. It's just, man, Christmas is amazing. By the way, J.C. think about this. A year ago we were sitting on the podcast newbies talking about the coffee bar that you were putting in for Kim. Coffee bar would be there forever. And now you're in a totally different house in a totally different city. It's crazy.

[Brian Edwards]

It was actually a year ago. Tonight we're recording on a Monday night that y' all gave me the Garth Brooks album on the records that Mike Poindexter and all them called me a horrible human for listening to Garth Brooks. Thanks, guys. Little did we know that would come back to get us in just a few months.

[Nathan Cravats]

Oh, little did we know that any of this was going to happen.

[Brian Edwards]

I don't know what this year would be like if we didn't have this podcast to know that we're going to be recording one night every week. We're going to be talking on the phone this group chat. I didn't know how much I needed a group chat with YouTube. Well, mostly with Nathan because Brian never answers or talks back to us. But I literally. You two have become some of my best friends and just being able to know that we can text at 2:30 in the morning and you're the only two human beings that would actually respond back to me. And we're getting sappy on here. But I've actually, I've absolutely enjoyed 2020 because of this podcast and just getting to know you guys a lot better.

[Nathan Cravats]

While we're getting sappy, I think we owe A big thank you to our listeners too, because we are where we are because of our listeners. And this has been fun. The interactions, the messages, everybody that's let us know how much has changed their life and brighten up their quarantine and made their 2020 bearable. We love you guys. You are the real hero.

[J.C. Groves]

You know, this week, J.C. i've been thinking about the very thing you just said. 2020 has been a difficult year. You know, last, last December for Christmas services we had about 1600 people. This year we had 427 thanks to Covid. There's been a lot of, you know, just discouraging things. But man, I love you guys. I love you more and more every single week. You've made it bearable. And then yesterday, check this out, guys. I had the chance to meet the IFB Sasquatch.

[Brian Edwards]

Yeah, you did.

[J.C. Groves]

Yes, I did.

[Brian Edwards]

Yeah, you did.

[J.C. Groves]

He showed up in Danville to celebrate Christmas with the Hope Church family. Super great guy. His wife, his, his family was with him and man, we just, just had a great time talking and, and he said this. You will never know what the RFP podcast has meant to me. And he just started to open that, that story up and share what this podcast has meant to him. And when you have those face to face interactions where people share that, it makes all of this real.

[Brian Edwards]

Yeah, I agree. Moving down here to Statesboro, I have run into quite a few folks who have been listeners of the podcast and just getting to sit down at lunch with them and hear their story. People that I would have never known existed on this earth if it wouldn't have been for the podcast and how we've come into their living room or wherever they're at, on their phone, in their ears, listening to our stories and the struggles and the way that we're working through this and how we've been able to come alongside and be a help for them. Man, they've been a help to us just to encourage us to hear some of the stories that we've been hearing and the life change that's come from this. I mean, there are friends that we have made that we would have never known if it weren't been for the podcast. And I'm just blessed. That's a good word. Blessed to be part of it.

[Nathan Cravats]

Hashtag blessed. And hey, we're just getting started. More is coming in 2021.

[Brian Edwards]

So we revealed this week, 2021 is going to be an incredible year. We've got the RFP network coming along. Somebody saw that pink microphone and started Freaking out, thinking we're bringing a fourth host on. It's going to be better than that. We'll just tease you with that.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Yeah.

[J.C. Groves]

You know, to think that last December, we were just getting started and we were dreaming and talking about what this year could look like. Not one of us ever mentioned 800,000 downloads.

[Brian Edwards]

Not once. It's not one time, I think we were sitting there and I remember having that conversation of, you know, if you get 5,000 downloads in your first year, you're doing pretty good, man. We had that on the very first episode. And it's like, it's. It's not about the numbers. And I'll be honest, my IFB roots were coming up when I was talking about numbers. I was like, man, 5,000 on the first episode. This is pretty good. Who would have thought by December, the next year, 800,000 downloads plus, like, that's unbelievable. So there's been a lot of. A lot of good. A lot of tough times that we've even had to work through this year with people saying things and, you know, calling us out. But, hey, that's par for the course when you're calling things out. And I hope the. I hope that we just continue to pour gas on that fire.

[Nathan Cravats]

Yeah, we've. We've done our fair share of calling out this year as well.

[J.C. Groves]

But. But seriously, this past week, you know, all of us learned that Dr. John Hamblin has Covid. And while we often point out our differences or in the past, we've. We've made jokes, we believe that John Hamblin is a follower of Jesus, and we have compassion for he and his wife and sure pray that he gets better soon. I know I've prayed for him this week, and I'm sure you guys have as well.

[Nathan Cravats]

Yeah. And I also ask you guys to pray for my dad. He has Covid, and it's hit him pretty hard. My mom is feeling badly now. She's waiting on her test to come back, so please lift them up. I got a lot of friends and family members that have it. Also, Clay Maynard has the COVID Wow. Pray for him and his family. He said his. His symptoms are mild right now, but definitely hope he feels better.

[J.C. Groves]

Wow. You think we should just pray for those people even now?

[Nathan Cravats]

Let's do it.

[J.C. Groves]

All right. Heavenly Father, God, when we love people, when we care about people, their hurt is our hurt, and their heaviness is our heaviness, and their burden is our burden. Lord, tonight we think about Dr. John Hamblin, and we. We pray that he feels better soon. We pray that you would protect his wife. I know that he often speaks lovingly about his wife, and I know the last thing he would want to do is to see her catch the COVID virus. And so we pray that you would protect them. Lord, we lift up Nathan's dad tonight. As Nathan said online, his dad is the toughest man he knows, but right now, Covid is. Is just running roughshod over his body. God, I pray that you would protect him and heal him, raise him up, be with Nathan's mom as well as I understand she's not feeling well. For all of those Clay, Maynard, and all of the rest who are being impacted by this virus, Lord, we believe that you're a God of grace. And we look to you and we lean on you. And so we just ask you for strength and comfort. God, minister to people in a way that only you can and give them sufficient grace during difficult times. In Jesus name, Amen.

[Nathan Cravats]

Brian, thank you so much. That means a lot to me personally and I know it means a lot to the other people that you are praying for and many of our listeners that have Covid. We care a lot about you guys. And guys, I'm excited tonight because this is our Christmas episode.

[Brian Edwards]

Yeah, buddy.

[J.C. Groves]

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

[Nathan Cravats]

Yeah, that's good. And we have a killer episode for you guys tonight. We didn't want to give you any spoilers on this, so we waited till right now to let you know that we are going to play a sermon by the late, great Dr. R.C. sproul about legalism.

[Brian Edwards]

I can't believe he agreed to an interview. This is awesome. Like, he's preaching on the rfp. This is incredible.

[Nathan Cravats]

And this is something that is going to basically make all the points that we've been trying to make for the last year in one mic drop sermon. This episode is going to be fire. If you've ever thought about the issue of legalism, experience legalism. If you are still in the IFB and don't think you are a legalist or you're not a legalist, you need to hear this. There are things in this that will convict people in the IFB out of the ifb. It will challenge you. He goes deep in scripture. I cannot wait for you guys to hear this. Please. If you get your pen and your journal and your Bible out, this will be a lot better experience for you, I promise you.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah, it's going to be amazing. R.C. sproul was one of those men. Anytime you heard him speak from God's word, There was just an awareness of your need to study God's word more. Like, when I would hear R.C. sproul preach, I would always leave his sermons thinking, I need to be more in love with the Word of God. I need to be more in tune with the Word of God. And so I know tonight that the RFP listeners are going to be incredibly challenged. He had more wisdom and knowledge in his little fingernail than I have in my whole body. And we're going to be blessed.

[Brian Edwards]

This sermon is definitely fire. From minute one to minute 55, every minute of this message is just filled with incredible goodness. I was texting Nate the other night when I was listening to it, and I was like, my goodness. Minute five, this is fire. Minute 15. Minute 27. Oh, my goodness. This sermon is incredible. Yeah.

[Nathan Cravats]

And the thing I love is that he didn't come from an independent Fundamental Baptist background, but he had experienced legalism in some other denominations. And I believe he was in the Presbyterian denomination. And so to hear him speaking about it saying some of the same things that we've been saying is. Is just very affirming, and it's very convicting because there's many things in here that. That I needed to hear.

[J.C. Groves]

Yeah. Enjoy this message. It's going to be life changing.

[Brian Edwards]

So from all of us here at the rfp, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas. So here's our Christmas present to you. It's RC Sproul. Y' all ready?

[J.C. Groves]

I'm ready.

[Nathan Cravats]

I'm ready.

[Brian Edwards]

Let's go.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

My assignment this afternoon is to speak on the subject of the tyranny of the weaker brethren. And before I look at the Scripture, let me ask you, how many of you have never, ever either preached or heard a message on the tyranny of the weaker brother? Let me see. Okay. Most of you. That's good. So I hope you don't say the same thing at the end of this. I'd like you to look with me to Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 14, beginning at verse one. And again, I'll ask you to stand for the reading of the word of God. Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. You know that has to be true. That's a verse. That's a verse that proves inerrancy. If there is any verse here. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats For God has received him. Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. He who does not observe the day, to the Lord, he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks. And he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat and gives God thanks. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. So why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to me, every tongue shall confess to God. So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let not one judge another anymore. But resolve this not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way. For I know and am convinced by the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean of itself. But to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not in eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Finally, therefore, let us pursue the thing which makes for peace and the things by which one may edify another. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are pure, but it is evil. For a man who eats with offense. It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended, or is made weak. Do you have faith, have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith, faith and from whatever is not from faith, is sin. This, of course, is the passage where Paul speaks about the consideration that we are to have for one another's particular scruples and sensitivities, not unlike at all the treatment that Paul gives in his letter to the Corinthians when he dealt with the particular issue of the question of eating meat at had been offered to idols. This is written to us for edification, carries with it the solemn weight and authority of God himself. Be seated. Let's pray. Our Father and our God Again we ask you to send help to minister to the weakness of our understanding that we may prove correct in our understanding of your word, and that by your spirit you would convict us of sin where we need it, encourage us to faith where we need that, and in all things illumine to us your word, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen. The progress of the Christian life following our justification is that progress in sanctification by which we are called to grow to maturity and into conformity to the image of Christ. In the defense of the gospel of justification by faith alone, Martin Luther said that justification is by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. A true faith that is saving faith immediately, necessarily and inevitably begins to show forth the fruit of that faith. In this progress of sanctification. I don't think it's by accident that the Holy Spirit directed the apostles to teach us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. For God is at work within us both to will and to do that means that we are not to be at ease in Zion. We are not to be quietists who merely let go and let God. But the whole Christian pilgrimage, the whole Christian life, is one that involves serious labor. It is a labor that is performed with a sense of fear and of trembling. That godly fear of reverence and adoration in the hearts of those who tremble in the presence of the living God. And so the progress of sanctification is not one that is undertaken in a casual manner. Now, when we look at this matter of sanctification, we see various pitfalls that undermine that progress along the way. And perhaps the two most frequent and dangerous pitfalls to our progress are the distortions that we call antinomianism and legalism. And just for a brief refresher before we go to this text this afternoon, let me remind you of the basic content or spirit or motivation behind these two distortions. Antinomianism means, of course, anti lawism. And it carries the idea that once I am saved by grace, I no longer have to be concerned about living a life of. Of obedience or give any particular significance to the law of God. The favorite hymn of the Antinomian is the hymn that sings free from the law, O blessed condition, I can sin all I want and still have remission. One of the critical concerns and fears that 16 century Rome had with the advent of the Reformation is that this doctrine of justification by faith alone would lead to a spirit of antinomianism. Because once the law had fulfilled its ellentical purpose of driving us to Christ and driving us to the Gospel, it would have no more impact or influence among us. And there were those at the time of the Reformation who literally moved in that direction. The Reformed wing, of course, of the Reformation, was convinced that though the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, the dietary laws and that sort of thing have been fulfilled in Christ and therefore abrogated, nevertheless those laws that are rooted and grounded in the the very character of God and are revealed in his moral law still have relevance to the Christian not as a means by which we achieve salvation, but rather as a means by which we proceed in sanctification to do that which is pleasing to God. But we live in a time within the evangelical Church where antinomianism, evangelicalism is epidemic, particularly in one brand of evangelicalism that I won't mention that teach in their doctrine that the Old Testament law has no further import to the life of the Christian. And in that antinomian spirit we have seen, I think, one of the most destructive doctrines that has been embraced widely in the evangelical community, which is the concept of the carnal Christian, which from one perspective is an oxymoron. It's a contradiction in terms. On the other sense, it does have some application. In the one sense, all of us who are in Christ Christ remain carnal to a certain degree because the impact of the sarx or of the flesh is not completely eradicated until we enter into heaven and into glory. But that's not usually what is in view when we hear that concept of the carnal Christian. This is the idea that a person can be saved, come to true saving faith in Jesus Christ, receive Christ as Savior, but not as Lord, and may never produce any fruit of a sanctified life, but may remain utterly and totally carnal until death. In this case, Christ is in the person's life, but not reigning on the throne of his life, but rather self remains established in the governing center and core of the person. I don't know where this comes from other than from bad theology and perhaps from a motivation to explain the problem I was speaking of earlier this morning about Those who have been zealously pursued in evangelism, who make a profession of faith and then show absolutely no fruit and no change in order to account for that theologically, we say, well, they're Christians. They've received Jesus as Savior, but they haven't recognized him as Lord yet. And you don't have to have the fruit of any kind of obedience as evidence of saving faith. And you are still a Christian despite that. I had a young man in the church on one occasion who was living with his girlfriend, and the two of them were indulging in and practicing in the sale of drugs and being confronted since he was a church member, he said, don't worry about me. He said, I'm a carnal Christian. I'll be all right. This is antinomianism with a vengeance, and it undermines the true development of a Christian. But on the other side of the equation is the threat that's always there of legalism. And if I would say to you, what is legalism? How do you think you would frame an answer to that question? I don't think it's an easy question to answer because there's not one single monolithic form of. There are varieties, different types of legalism. The worst meaning of legalism has reference to the idea that by your works you can satisfy the demands of God's law and can gain salvation through your own works of the law. That is the view that is so widely held by. People have never heard the Bible say that by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Because, in fact, the vast majority of people out there really believe in a legalistic manner and means of being redeemed, which is false not only with respect to the way of salvation set forth in Scripture, but it is a way of salvation that if it were in indeed the biblical way of salvation, would cause these people who believed it nothing but everlasting doom. Because none of us do the works of the law that are required to satisfy the legal demands of God. Other forms of legalism which were those were perfected by the Pharisees that drew the rebuke and at times the wrath of our Lord himself. For example, the Pharisees were fond of majoring in minors. That's a form of legalism where you give great zeal and great attention to minor matters of the law at the expense of, and at the same time ignoring the weightier matters of the law. And so, incidentally, Jesus spoke of the Pharisees who tithed their mint and so on, and omitted the weightier Matters of the law, justice and mercy. And he said, with respect to the tithe, this you should have done. But even the tithe, which is something we shouldn't do, is a minor matter compared to the more important matters that are found in scriptures. You know, people like that, they're scrupulous in their church attendance. They wouldn't think of shorting God in the collection plate. They are regular tithers. But as far as the rest of the fruit of the Spirit is concerned, they could care less. They have majored in minors. The other thing that the Pharisees were experts at were a kind of ethical loopholeism. If they could obey the letter of the law, never mind the spirit of the law, if they could find a way around it. If they wanted to go on a trip that was more than a Sabbath day's journey, they would simply during the week had merchants along the way leave one of their toothbrushes under a rock at various intervals. Because legally the presence of one's toothbrush established legal residence. And so even though they made the trip of 15 miles, they only went so far between these rocks containing their toothbrushes, so never went more than a Sabbath day journey. These were Philadelphia lawyers before there was a Philadelphia in America. But one of the most destructive forms of legalism, then and now, the one that was most seriously practiced by the Pharisees was to add to the law of God, to bind men's consciences where God had left them free, substituting the human traditions for the law of God. And we wag our fingers at the Pharisees for doing that. But that problem has plagued the church in every day generation. So do you see the problem we have between Scylla and Charybdis? Between antinomianism on the one hand and legalism on the other? You might ask yourself where you tend to fall off which side of the horse and what kind of an atmosphere you have in your church. Now, connection connected closely to these poles of legalism and antinomianism are the questions of matters odiaphorous and Christian liberty. Now what are we talking about here? The relationship between Christian liberty and that which is autiophorous or the so called the autorophia, are those things which the apostle calls things that are indifferent. That is, in matters that are indifferent refers to those areas where God has not commanded to do or to abstain from. One has Christian liberty in that particular zone. Christian liberty never gives anybody the liberty to disobey God. And that's another form of antinomianism where Christian liberty becomes the disguise or the license for licentiousness, where people saying, I'm free. I've been liberated by the Spirit, and so I can disobey God. I can remember with horrific memories doing a teaching mission in a wealthy community in outside of New York City where I was invited to speak on the holiness of God. And I was housed in a splendid mansion that was decorated by all kinds of original art. It was almost looking like a subdivision of the Metropolitan Museum. I'd never been in a home where there was so much wealth obviously displayed. And the host of this conference where they asked me to speak on the holiness of God, after I gave my messages, invited me back to this house with the members of the steering committee for this mission, some 15 people, to have a time of prayer, and invited me to do that. And I said, well, of course I'll be happy to do that. So we retired after the church meetings, came back to this marvelous mansion, and we gathered for prayer. And all of a sudden, the people turned the lights out and stop me if I'm lying, they started praying to their deceased relatives. I was in the middle of a seance, and I said, whoo. I said, wait a minute. Time out. And they said, what's the matter? I said, do you realize that you're not allowed to do this sort of thing, that we're not allowed to pray to the dead? And I said, and I started giving them passages from the Old Testament how that this was a capital offense in Israel and that God considered it an abomination and that he would punish the whole country if they tolerated this sort of behavior. And you know what their response was? Quite glibly. That was the Old Testament. I said, well, tell me what has happened in the course of redemptive history that has made a practice that at one time was utterly repugnant to God now something that would be pleasing to them. And they, of course, tried to play the trump card of Christian liberty to justify this sort of thing. We're not under the law. Don't lay a guilt trip on us, Dr. Sproul, and impose some kind of foreign standards here. These are the problems that we have and the matters of consulting sorcerers and necromancers and wizards and that sort of thing. Those are not considered in the Bible to be audiophorous matters that are indifferent. They are matters that profoundly are profoundly important. And so then we have connected that, as I said, to the matters that are indifferent. The real concept of Christian liberty. Liberty and how we as Christians can coexist when we don't always have the same understanding of what it is that fits into the category of adiaphora and where our Christian liberty begins and where it ends. That was a problem in the Corinthian Church. It was a problem now among the Romans Christians, and it has been a problem in the church ever since. So it's that question that Paul is addressing here in chapter 14 of Romans and let's spend a few minutes there. Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Now remember that you have that passage to use as a club the next time your vegetarian friend tries to impose vegetarianism on you. And you can remind them that they are the weaker brothers and sisters because they see something wrong with meat. Well, Paul's saying in the body of Christ, you have people that eat meat and you have people that are vegetarians and you don't agree on what is the best way to live your life. Paul does identify here that the weaker Christian is the one who has this particular sensitivity and scruple about a matter of which God has not legislated. And so how are you to respond to the weaker brother who has such a scruple? Paul, using this example here of eating food and vegetables, Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat. And let him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. Look, the person who is a vegetarian and a Christian belongs to Christ. The person who is not a vegetarian and is a Christian belongs to Christ. We both belong to Christ. How dare we judge one who is Christ's servant? If we are to judge, we are to judge according to the explicit standards set forth in Sacred Scripture, not by scruples invented by human traditions. Now, I don't think it's as bad today as it was 50 years ago. But 50 years ago, evangelicalism was plagued by a kind of spirit of, of legalism that said that if you're a Christian, you don't drink, you don't smoke, you don't dance, you don't play cards, you don't go to movies. Now, I'm sure those virtues still prevail in certain places. But this became such a matter that one's entire spirituality and even Christian profession was to be judged by conformity to these specific no no's or taboos within the Christian community. And you got to go through your Bible and you can't find anywhere in the Bible where it says you're not allowed to wear lipstick, or you're not allowed to dance, or you're not allowed to go to movies. There's nothing explicit about that in scripture. But these became so important that they became the tests of one's Christianity. And I'll never forget the first time I had the existential experience of that. I didn't grow up in that kind of environment. I grew up in an extremely liberal church. And when I became a Christian and went to seminary and graduate school and began my teaching career, I was always the arch conservative of any Christian gathering. But one of the things my wife and I liked to do for relaxation during those days was to play bridge. In fact, we played in bridge tournaments. And nobody ever raised any spiritual questions about that until I had an appointment to teach at a Christian college. And my first day on the campus, I saw some students gathered there playing cards. And the cards looked different. And I said, what are you playing? And they said, rook. I said, oh, I remember that we did that when we were eight years old. We used to play rook. And I said, well, what really is rook? And they said, it's the Christian card game. And then I discovered that it was a sin to play bridge because the deck of cards had the joker and the joker was a portrait of the devil and all that. And I listened to that and I said, what's going to happen to me? I'm the Bible teacher here, and my wife and I play bridge. You know, where am I, Lord? I had never encountered that. I had freshly come from the university campus during the period of the sds, the Students for a Democratic Society Society, where they provoked the revolution of the decade of the 60s beginning out there at Sproul Hall. My relatives at the University of California didn't know how to pronounce their own name. With the free speech movement that began there and then every college campus in the nation was besieged by sit ins and protests in the dean's office and that sort of thing. And I had been in one college campus where the students, they sit in and they declared that they had the right to determine what courses they had to take to fulfill the requirements for their major. I was teaching philosophy, and these students came in, they were freshmen telling me what the curriculum should be to major in that field. And I said, what do you know about this field? And they knew nothing, but they demanded the right to prescribe the curriculum. When I went to this Christian college, while I was there they had a sit in, they had a big student protest demanding the right to have a jukebox in the student center. I said, I've never seen this. They weren't allowed to go to movies, they weren't allowed do this and do that. And I said, these people are judging what Christianity is on the basis of this. I remember once a church meeting, we went out to the this lady had a Bible study and she took us out for dinner to treat about 20 people. And the poor waitress in the restaurant came up with her pad and pencil and she said, may I take your drink? Water. And the lady said, oh no, nobody here drinks, we're Christians. I came so close, so close. I didn't. But I wanted to order something like a double scotch on the rocks. And I wouldn't even know what that tasted like, to tell you the truth. But I was so embarrassed for this waitress and I was offended because she had just been rebuked by a well meaning Christian. And her idea now of what a Christian was, was somebody who would never have anything to drink with their dinner. Is that what the gospel is? Is the gospel in eating and drinking, not what the Apostle Paul is saying here in this text? And yet there are many Christians who have been born and raised in the churches and in their homes to believe. It's a sin to go to a movie, it's a sin to wear lipstick, it's a sin to drink, it's a sin to do this, it's a sin to do that. They've been taught that it is a sin to do things that God does not declare to be sinful. They are taught that the indulgence of certain things that the scripture describes as adiaphora are in fact violation of the law of God. Now here's the dilemma. If I'm born and raised in an environment that tells me that it is a sin for a Christian to go to a movie or to have a glass of wine or whatever, and I believe it's a sin to do that. And then I do it. Is it a sin? Yes. Not because the thing itself is sinful, but what is sinful is doing something you believe to be sinful. That takes sin to do it. And that's why, as we're all struggling together with our backgrounds and our traditions and our love lines and all of this, that we have to be exceedingly sensitive and careful for each other. Going back to the Corinthian problem of meat offered to idols, what happened in the pagan worship services, meat, where meat was used to satisfy the demands of the gods and the goddesses. And after the religious ceremony was over, that meat was then taken into the marketplace and was sold as meat. And Christians, being sensitive to not wanting any hint of scandal, no association with pagan religion, said, I'm not going to buy that stuff. That stuff's been used and tainted by its involvement in a pagan worship service. What's Paul's view of it? Hey, it's meat. Nothing wrong with the meat. It's the difference between what we call primary and secondary separation. Primary separation is where you separate yourself from doing something sinful. You separate yourself from offering meat to idols. That's a sin. But if I decide I have to separate myself from anybody else who's ever offered meat to idols or from the meat itself, that's what we call secondary separation. And to be consistent in the application of the principle of secondary separation, you're going to have to leave the planet. Because no matter where you are and what you do and from whom you buy, you're going to be dealing at some level with people who are involved in sin. But again, the question that the apostle is addressing is how does the stronger brother, who knows that this is a matter that's odiophorous and isn't not something that's prescribed by God, deal with the brother or sister that has this scruple? You can make fun of them, You can laugh at them, you can be all over them with criticism, or you can respect their conscience and you can say, okay, I know that you have this scruple, and I don't want to make you stumble by trying to entice you to indulge in something that you are convinced is a violation of the law of God. Paul says, and I don't think he's just being using hyperbole, I will give up meat altogether for the sake of my weaker brother. That is his attitude. If a person has a scruple that I don't share, and they have that scruple unto the Lord, and because their conscience is held captive by, by their understanding of the things of God, I am to bend over backwards to be caring, loving, sensitive to that person and not flaunt my liberty in their face. Paul says, that person has their scruple, and they have it to the Lord. And if you have your freedom and you enjoy your freedom, you do it unto the Lord, but you sometimes do it in private so as not to scandalize the weaker brother. So do you see that our liberty, the freedom that has been given to us by God in the way in which we carry out our lives, is not an autonomy whereby we're allowed to do anything we feel like doing. But it is a freedom that must always be accompanied by a charitable sensitivity to those who have scruples that are different from ours. That's simple. But here's where it gets complicated. And that's what the major subject I've been given to discuss. And that is what happens when the weaker brother wants to elevate the scruple that he or she has to the level of a moral standard for Christianity or a standard that must be obeyed to be a member in good standing, or a standard that becomes necessary to be obeyed in order to be an officer in the church. Now what? Now the weaker brother becomes the legislating brother and now begins to take the scruple that he or she has and uses it to bind the consciences of the people and destroy Christian liberty. What do you do? Now, That's one question. Another question that's close on its heels is the question, who really is the weaker brother? How do you discern it? We have to be very sure that the standards we impose upon people in the church are biblical standards and not our own traditional scruples. What. I've known ministers who have required of their elders that they must sign a pledge not to have any kind of alcoholic beverage, including wine, ever, in order to be qualified to be an officer in the church. Making a standard in the church that would preclude the membership of the apostle Paul and, yes, of Jesus himself. And of course, that same pastor will turn around and tell you that, oh, this is a certain important matter, because clearly the wine that was used in the Bible was not fermented. It was nonfermented wine. Well, it's not so clear. Jesus was not called a wine bibber because he drank Welch's grape juice. Nobody worried about exploding old wineskins by putting grape juice in them. It's not grape juice that maketh the wine or that maketh the heart glad. It's not grape juice that you. You take for your stomach's sake and so on. The attempts to interpret the biblical meaning of the term oinos as grape juice are attempts at despair where they have an example of a cultural thing like we have in America, forced upon the scripture. You go to Palestine and you say to those people over there that the grape, the vineyards and so on that were used in antiquity were used simply to make rich raisins and grape juice. They will laugh you to scorn, and rightly so. No doubt a strong, vehement prohibition against drunkenness. But we add to the standards of God. Now, here's My problem, when the pastor imposes that standard that I've just used as an example or any other such extra biblical standard on the church, on the elders, can that minister claim to be a weaker brother? Ministers should not be weaker brothers. Ministers should be able to handle the Scriptures in a way as to not be caught up in issues of whether you eat meat or vegetarians. You should know better than that. Nevertheless, we do have weaker brothers who are in positions of leadership and authority within the church. And we are not the first generation to experience it. Let me take you for a moment back. To the Galatians, which we've heard so much about today. Let's look at Galatians, chapter 2, verse 11. Now, when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face. Why? Because he was to be blamed. Here we have a controversy between the two titans of the apostolic community, between Peter and Paul. And not only that, but they have this confrontation. And it's not like Paul says to Peter, hey, Pete, can I have a word with you privately about something? He withstood Peter to his face. And not only that, under the impetus of the Holy Spirit, incorporates it in sacred Scripture for the whole world to know that these two apostles had this confrontation. Well, what was it about? I withstood him to the face because he was to be blamed. Peter was blameworthy. For before certain men came from James, that is, from Jerusalem, he would eat with the Gentiles. You remember the whole thing at Cornelius household, and the vision and the making of the unclean foods clean. And Peter was the one who receives this revelation. But not all the rest of the Jewish community had been in on that abrogation of the dietary laws. And so Peter, now when he's with the Gentiles, he's eating freely, not suffering the Jewish dilemma of free ham. Boy, it is too close to lunchtime. But when they came, that is, the ones from Jerusalem, he withdrew, separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, if you are a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not of the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature are not sinners of the Gentiles. Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, by Faith in Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ, not by the works of the law. For the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. See, now this question was not a simple matter of scruples between believers overeating vegetables or eating meat or drinking wine or not drinking wine. This whole matter had escalated into the Judaizer heresy by which the Judaizers, claiming to be Christians, were reinstituting the requirements of the dietary laws and that sort of thing. Thing, the ceremonial laws of Old Testament Israel upon Christian believers. Now, that Judaizing heresy was an error that we could call a serious error of the weaker brethren. These Judaizers couldn't live with the liberty that Christ had given them from these Old Testament practices. And Jesus gave that liberty not simply out of kindness and saying, I don't want you to be bound by difficult things to obey. But there were profound theological concerns there. The way of salvation itself. Paul is saying, don't you see that if you enforce circumcision again once, the significance of circumcision has been fulfilled once and for all in the death of Jesus Christ, who was circumcised in our place, being cursed by God, that you are now placing yourself symbolically under all of the terms of the old covenant that have already been fulfilled by Jesus, and you're crucifying Christ afresh. So now it's not just a matter of little scruples, It's the matter of the gospel. Later on in Galatians he writes, in chapter five, verse seven, you ran well, past tense. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion did not come from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. And if I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then? The offense of the cross has ceased. And I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off. Listen, do you hear how harsh the apostles being here? Those of you who are troubling you with the doctrine of circumcision, I wish they would be circumcised, literally cut off from the presence of God. But you, brethren, have been called to liberty only. Do not use your liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love, serve one another for all the laws fulfilled in one word. Even in this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. If you bite and devour One another. Beware, lest you be consumed by one another. Back again to sensitivity to the weaker brother and the prohibition against biting and devouring one another over these insignificant matters. But you see what happened. The Judaizers were coming to Paul and insisting that he circumcised Titus. And what did Paul do? Well, if you fellows there in Jerusalem have a scruple about this, I'll accommodate you and I'll circumcise Titus in a religious manner. No. As soon as the weaker brother tried to enforce his weakness as the law of the Church, the Gospel was threatened. And now, rather than deny his own Christian liberty, the Apostle Paul fought tooth and nail against the tyranny of the weaker brother. As soon as somebody has that scruple by which their conscience, bound to themselves, tries to go beyond themselves and make it the rule of the Church, they must be resisted. They must not be allowed to establish laws where God has left us free. You know, the understanding of these principles I don't think are difficult intellectually. The application of them in real life situations takes the wisdom of Solomon and then some. We apply the word of God and the love of Christ that is shed abroad in our hearts, not simply to tenaciously hold on to our own liberty, but to protect the Gospel while being patient and gentle with those who. Who are young in the faith, young in their understanding, but at the same time not allow people to tell waitresses and the things, oh, we're Christians. Christians don't do that. That's not true. I didn't say anything and I was embarrassed that I didn't say anything. But do you understand what I'm saying? And ask yourself, do you impose rules and regulations in your church where God has left people free? We need to be very careful about that for the sake of Christ and for the sake of his little ones. Let's pray. Father, thank youk for the grace by which we have been saved and for the liberty that has been given to us by the Holy Spirit. O God, give us hearts that seek not so much to be free of youf law, but to love youe Law and to serve you in obedience. For we understand that if we love you, we are to obey your commandments. Give us the wisdom to discern between your commandments and the commandments of men, for we ask it in Jesus name. Amen.

[Brian Edwards]

Thanks for listening to the Recovering Fundamentalist podcast. Be sure to stop by our social media, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Give us a follow. Also go to our website, recovering fundamentalist.org that's recoveringfundamentalist.org there you can find Recovering Fundamentals. You can get your T shirts and hats. You can join our Ex Fundy community, see where we're going to be having some meetups. It's the recovering fundamentalist.org be sure to join us next time for the Recovering Fundamentalist podcast.

[Dr. R.C. Sproul]

Sa.