Pastor-teacher Don Hargrove
Faith Bible Church
Sunday, Jan 10, 2009
Salvation
(Romans 1-4; 3:25); SL (Rom 7:18; Gal 5:16-18), SM (Rom 12-16; Rev 3:21)
GOD’S COVENANTS – Part 30: The Mosaic Covenant, Part 22:
Bible Doctrine, Economics and Biblical self-interest
(Messiah & A.C. #276)
A. Epistemology, Scripturalism,
Bible doctrine, Bible Study and the SL.
1. Only the Bible is the Word of God and only
through BD do we have the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary
for God’s own glory, man’s salvation, the spiritual life, spiritual growth, and
the axioms necessary for a veridical worldview for all the issues of life, Jn 10:35; 2 Tim 3:16-18; 2 Pet 1:20-21; Acts 20:27, 32.
2. Epistemology. Bible doctrine is far superior to all forms
autonomous human “knowledge” which is rife with the errors of empiricism,
rationalism, and intuition.
3. Bible
doctrine is the systematic and logical arranging, connecting, and developing of
the axioms and theorems of God’s infallible Word from the original languages
into a complete rational non-contradictory systematic veridical system.
4. Bible doctrine edifies the believer in both his
priesthood as well as ambassadorship, Rom 12:1-2; Mt 5:13.
5. Without Bible doctrine there cannot be any
true development of maturity of the priesthood with all of its blessedness and
blessings, 2 Pet 1:2-11.
6. Without Bible doctrine there can be no
veridical development with regard to the maturity of the believer in his
ambassadorship to the world, Mt 5:13; 2 Cor 5:18.
7. Due to lack of Bible doctrine in
contemporary Christianity, believers have moved into existentialism, devotionalism, and anti-intellectualism.
8. The believer who uses the Word of God
primarily for emotionalism, self-centeredness, spiritual narcissism, personal blessings, will fail to integrate BD
into all areas of life and end up with a syncretistic sensate life that is not
only incapable of moving into personal love for God, or the abundant promised
life with all of its escrow blessings, but what is worse: will cause God’s name
to be blasphemed cf.
Rm 2:24.
9. Bible doctrine is the only hope for the
crisis of our age of irrationality with its skepticism regarding man knowing
Truth – knowling anything with certainty.
10. Christianity/BD claims exclusivity to Truth, Jn 14:6; 8:32; 17:17.
11. Without BD, the church is defenseless,
impotent, and paganistic as it blabs on about
mysteries, contradictions, and celebrates its sensate and existential “worship”
and becomes irrelevant as far as addressing such things as economics, politics,
ethics, philosophy or anything that addresses and preserves society, Mt 5:13.
12. Without BD, there is no full knowledge
regarding salvation, eternal security, the mechanics
of the spiritual life or anything else about the POG.
13. The rejection of BD is always accompanied by
man exchanging Truth for the lie: this
lie is found in man’s creation of his own standards by which he judges what is
right and just before God, self, and others.
B.
Bible doctrine and government.
1. BD reveals that the government is a necessary
evil designed only to punish the evil and reward the good, Rom 13:1-7.
2. The Word of God reveals and history
universally confirms the fact that Big Government has always been the greatest
enemy of mankind (1 Sam 8)
3. Our Founding Fathers understood the basic
depraved nature of man and the need to curb man’s power in government through
republicanism and federalism.
C.
Bible doctrine and history of economics.
1. Due to passive and active rejection of Bible
doctrine regarding economics, Aristotelian economics supremely the world until
about 1870 A.D. 5 principles:
2. In our modern period Kark
Marx’s economics rules
the East while John Maynard Keynes’ economics rules the West.
3. Karl Marx and socialism.
4. John Maynard Keynes’ (anti-Christian-virtue)
economics.
D. The Bible
promotes laissez-faire capitalism and yes: TRUE self-interest.
1. Man looks out for his own true self-interest
not because he is sinful but because he is a rational being.
2. It is sin that causes man to thinkincorrectly
about histrueself-interest.
3. The Word of God appeals to man’s
self-interests with threats as well as rewards, Gen 25:32; 1 Sam 12:19-21; Prov 10:2; 11:4; Jer 2:11; Mt
5:29-30; 6:19-21; Mark 8:36; Gal 6:6-9; Rom 9:13; 1 Cor 9:24-27;
13:3; Col 3:23-25; 2 Tim 2:11-13; 4:8; Heb 12:2; 1 Jn 2:28; Rev 2:17; 3:21; 22:12
E.
Bible doctrine, government and true justice, Rom 13:1-7.
1. Definition: rendering impartially to everyone his due in proper proportion according
to the norm of God’s moral law.
2. There is absolutely nothing “just” about equal distribution of property.
3. The Bible clearly teaches the divine right
of private property and therefore supports capitalism, Ex 20:15, 17; Mt 20:15;
Acts 5:1-5.
4. Laissez-faire capitalism is the economic
system that is most compatible with axioms of divine revelation set down in
God’s Word.
5. It was the rise of Laissez-faire capitalism
through BD of the protestant work/life ethic that brought the world the most
fantastic temporal freedom and blessings.
6. In spite of the fantastic success of true
capitalism, attacks on capitalism continue at a fever pitch.
7. Socialism is not only a reversionistic
economic policy, it is an impossibility.
8.
Only in true capitalism is there the recognition of the sacredness of
privacy, property, freedom, and life under the rule of law.
9.
Only in true capitalism is there a separation of business and the
state.
10. Capitalism & free enterprise are consistent
with the biblical view of man.
11. Capitalism & free enterprise work best
in a society which is influenced by the biblical ethic.
F. Government, Statolatry,
and the loss of temporal freedom.
1. True personal freedom is incompatible with
government security.
2. Statolatry is one
of the most difficult evils for modern man to overcome.
3. In Statolatry man
looks to government as his god and is willing to give up freedom for temporal
security.
4. The 8 Biblical building blocks for temporal
freedom:
a) #1, Primacy of the
individual.
b) #2, Private property.
c) #3, The Protestant work ethic.
d) #4, Individual
responsibility.
e) #5, Generosity.
f) #6, Rule of law.
g) #7, Federalism.
h) #8, Republicanism.
5. When man, believer or unbeliever, fails to
orient to Truth, he will necessarily default to relativism and reversionism,
with his twin “gods” of personal peace and affluence.
6. In personal & national reversionism
there is always a willingness to give up freedom for personal peace & affluence - as well as
excuse evil for price of expediency.
7. The reversionist
with his twin gods of personal peace and prosperity is always more than happy to
accept any kind of authoritative government for security – just as long as it
means security for his personal peace and prosperity.
8.
The Biblical truths with all their virtues, values, and absolutes demand
absolute commitment, 2 Tim 4:1-18.
9. Lack of absolute commitment always results
in reversionism, 2 Tim 4:10.
a. The
Lord, the POG, & Bible doctrine are relativized,
Mt 26:70-75.
b.
Priorities are reversed, 2 Tim 4:10.
c.
Life dominated by the OSN , Eph 4:17-19.
d. Life of reaction and distraction, Mt 6:31-33;
1 Jn 2:15.
e.
Life of FSH, 2 Tim 3:4; Ecc – contra 1 Tim
6:6-7; Philip 4:11.
G. Massive
reversionism in the last days of the Church Age: lawlessness and rejection of Truth, 2 Thess 2:3, 7.
1.
Lawlessness, 2 Thess 2:3, 7.
2.
Religious ascetic reversionism, 1 Tim 4:1-3.
3.
Rejection of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, 2 Pet 2:1-3
4.
Religious hucksterism, 2 Pet 2:15.
5.
Denial of the Return of Jesus Christ, 2 Pet 3:3-4.
6.
Hedonistic, narcissistic, emotional, “religious” Christianity, 2 Tim
3:1-5
7.
Rejection of sound doctrine, 2 Tim 4:3-4.
8.
Self-confident in self-improvements and attainments, Rev 3:15-16.