JackHammer

Mark Dever pastors the Capital Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, one of the most well known Southern Baptist churches in the United States.  Dever is well respected by a great number of young, professing fundamentalists, especially for his 9 Marks organization.   What I read at 9 Marks is better than most of what I read in fundamentalism, at least for what fundamentalism writes.  I also admit that I believe the 9 Marks.  Our church has the 9 Marks.  Here is what 9 Marks says is its mission:

We believe the local church is the focal point of God’s plan for displaying his glory to the nations.  Our vision is simple: Churches that reflect the character of God.  Our mission is to cultivate and encourage churches characterized by these nine marks.

9 Marks then says that these are the nine marks:

1. Expositional Preaching
2. Biblical Theology
3. Biblical Understanding of the Good News
4. Biblical Understanding of Conversion
5. Biblical Understanding of Evangelism
6. Biblical Understanding of Membership
7. Biblical Church Discipline
8. Promotion of Christian Discipleship and Growth
9. Biblical Understanding of Leadership

Have you ever been attempting to describe to someone the type of church he should be looking for?  Haven’t you used certain characteristics as the means of that description?   Like 9 Marks, I too want churches to dedicate themselves to certain traits, fleshing out what Scripture says about the church and imitating the distinctives that we see from there, instead of being fad oriented.  I desire for men to trust the sufficiency of God’s Word as it relates to their churches, instead of running to conferences to hear what the latest growth or management guru says a church ought to be.

The Baptist Distinctives

I still think that the Baptist Distinctives are nice marks for a church.  I wouldn’t recommend a church that did not have them.  They are Scriptural and do act as a certain benchmark for obedience to God.  They are obviously not everything, but if you look at the Baptist Distinctives, you will see some basics that have historically characterized God’s churches.  For those who don’t know them, they are:

• Bible Sole Authority for Faith and Practice
• Regenerate Immersed Church Membership
• Autonomy of Each Church
• Pastor and Deacons:  Two Church Offices
• Soul Liberty, the Priesthood of the Believer
• Immersion and Lord’s Table:  Two Church Ordinances
• Separation of Church and State
• Separation Both Personally and Ecclesiastically

Those distinctives should characterize a church and they are a bottom line for what I see as a New Testament Church.  I don’t really know if 9 Marks would see the Baptist Distinctives as important as their nine marks.  I do.

What’s Missing?

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Crucifixion is one of the most cruel forms of execution mankind has conceived.  It is a punishment reserved for only the most vile criminals.  No self-respecting citizen would want anything to do with someone who is punished in this way.  Crucifixion means shame, reproach, mockery, and ostracism for everyone who aligns themselves with the one that is executed in this way.  That the philosophy of someone who was crucified would be helpful in any way is pure foolishness and it’s true that anyone who’s hanged on a tree is cursed.

Crucifixion not only executes; it stigmatizes.  So when the Apostle Paul writes,

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross or our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

there is significance to a Christian and culture that cannot be ignored.  Galatians 6:14 teaches us that the world and its culture deserves from Christians all the shame, reproach, mockery and ostracism that a crucified criminal deserves.  It also teaches us that Christians should live in a way that receives all the shame, reproach, mockery and ostracism from the world and its culture that a crucified criminal receives.

Christian, the cross of Christ should change the way you view the world.  It should change your worldview. Can you despise the world? Can you mock the world? Can you heap shame and reproach on its culture?  Alternatively, does the world approve your lifestyle or reproach you for it?  Are your worldly friends ashamed to be around you or do you fit right in?  Does your Christianity make you do anything that is a mockery to our culture? You see, the cross of Christ changes a man so that the world views him differently also…

…the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

I don’t know Clarence Sexton. I heard him preach one time. I’ve received his paper for many years. I hope the best for him. However, I’m judging this based upon Scripture. I think it is an appropriate situation for us to consider, analyze, and explore. This is very public, so it doesn’t stand as a whispering campaign and innuendo. We don’t want whispering and innuendo here. Let’s rely on Scripture for our evaluation.

Is the FBF consistent with its historic belief on separation by having Sexton? Is Sexton consistent with his position on separation by fellowshiping with the FBF guys (I realize it is a fellowship of men, not churches)? What does the Bible say about either? I’d like us to discuss this. To do so, let me bring in some thoughts.

• Is inerrancy a separating issue?
• Is the Bible only inerrant in the original manuscripts?
• In the statements of the Lord in the NT, do we have the very words of Christ (ipsissima verba) or merely the voice of Christ (ipsissima vox)? Is that a separating issue?
• Is Scripture clear on the nature of the church? Is that worth separating over? Is mixed swimming actually mixed nudity? Is mixed nudity a separating issue?
• Has Clarence Sexton ever taken a stand against Jack Hyles? Did he ever separate from Hyles?
• Tom Messer and Clarence Sexton are both on the BIMI board of trustees. Tom Messer fellowships with Southern Baptists (Jerry Vines). Evidence (more than three witnesses) says that Tom Messer knew about Bob Gray (child molestation) and covered it up. Does that matter?

Are these two groups really being true to what they believe? I think this is enough to consider with regards to a real-life situation and the teaching of Scripture on the doctrine of separation. If we are not going to apply what we believe here, do we really believe any of what we say we believe about ecclesiastical separation?