This article was
written by Pastor Roger Bixler. Pastor Bixler served as
pastor of Westerville Bible Church (Columbus, Ohio) for
over thirty years. Having retired from that service, he is
now working with Gospel Fellowship Association in filling
the places of missionaries on furlough. The Bixlers have
served in Scotland, England, South Africa, Canada, and
Korea.]
In
January, 1968, I was one of a group of men who left the
Independent Fundamental Churches of America and helped to
form the Ohio Bible Fellowship. The OBF was formed to take
a militant (militant here means non-compromising with
unbelief -editor) stand for the faith which was once
delivered unto the saints. In order to accomplish this
goal the Preamble to our Constitution sets forth the
purposes of our fellowship:
-
Whereas, our
obedience to our Lord requires clear-cut biblical
preaching to meet the needs of human hearts; and,
forthright warning to the church about the danger of the
hour; and the maintenance of means to express the unity
of the body with fervent love and fellowship among
brethren of like mind;
Purpose
involves intention as well as resolution. We set forth an
object or goal to be attained and then we determined to
accomplish it. Let us consider the purposes which are
mentioned.
WE PURPOSE TO PROCLAIM CLEAR-CUT
BIBLICAL PREACHING
We
live in a day of "instant things" when success is measured
by numbers. Churches have turned to a methodology that
produces results often at the price of biblical
principles. Seminars, coffee clubs, and rock bands have
replaced the preaching of the Gospel. We must refuse the
fads and "isms" of our day. Many have turned to the use of
psychological terms or adopt the termsof the charismatics,
such as "celebrations" and "hapenings." We need to retain
the old paths which the Lord spoke of in Jeremiah 6:16:
-
Thus saith the
Lord, stand in the old ways, and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the good way, and walk in it, and ye
shall find rest for your souls.
Rather
than yield to the temptation of experimenting with new
paths, we must follow God's way. Paul tells us in II
Timothy 4:2 God's way to meet the needs of human hearts:
Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and
doctrine. We are to announce as heralds the message
of the Lord with the authority of His command. To be true
to His Word we cannot interject out opinions or ideas but
simply proclaim His message. We are to do it anywhere,
everywhere, at all times and for every occasion. In so
doing we will reprove sin and rebuke sinners and exhort
men and women to do right. It is to be done with
long-suffering and teaching. Paul tells us why we must do
it: men will refuse what they need and receive what they
want. It is God's Word which meets the needs of men's
hearts - not man's speculation or human reasoning. We
believe the best way to preach the Word is by expository
preaching. Our men in the OBF are known for their biblical
unfolding of God's Truth. Clear-cut biblical preaching
causes sinners to see their need through the conviction of
the Holy Spirit as well as to ground the saints in their
faith and cause them to grow in grace and knowledge of the
Lord. Strong preaching from the preacher in the pulpit is
God's means to develop strong believers in the pews.
WE PURPOSE TO PURSUE FORTHRIGHT WARNING
TO THE CHURCH
In
so doing we must warn the church of the dangers of
apostasy and compromise. I was not raised in
fundamentalism. The denomination in which I was raised is
perhaps the most apostate church in America today. I am so
grateful that the Lord directed me to receive my training
in fundamental schools. There I learned the principles of
biblical separation. During my seminary days, I had the
privilege of serving in a church in New York City. Those
were the days of Billy Graham's first New York Crusade.
Although the church would not cooperate with the Crusade,
I saw first-hand the real need for the practice of
biblical seperation. That set the course for my ministry.
Today the challenge facing the church is Promise Keepers.
New Evangelicalism continues its drift toward apostasy. We
must continue to warn our churches of the issues and
dangers of our day.
How
can we do this? By preaching on the great separation
passages like II Corinthians 6:24 - 7:1, II John, II
Thessalonians 3:6, Romans 16:17 and various Old Testament
chapters. We need to keep good materials like
Christian View of the News and Calvary Contender
before our people. The scheduling of OBF Conferences
in our churches is another important way of helping to
warn our people.
We
must also warn our people of the dangers of worldiness.
Many talk about holiness but few seem to practice it. The
old spiritual said, "Everybody talkin' about heaven ain't
a-goin' there." There is much talk and little walk in the
lives of too many. We have allowed Hollywood, TV and
videos to set our standards, dictate our entertainment and
determine our fellowship. How long has it been since we
have heard of the filth in movies and the evils of dancing
and drinking? What we would not go to see at the theater
we will rent in our own homes. We are to be holy as He is
holy and we must ...cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God (II Corinthians 7:1). A pastor friend
admitted that he is not as strong as he once was in some
of these areas. The Ohio Bible Fellowship is known around
the world for its stand on ecclesiastical separation, but
are we known for our stand on personal separation? We need
to regain and maintain our moral fiber, for apure church
is a powerful one.
WE PURPOSE TO PROMOTE THE MEANS TO
EXPRESS THE UNITY OF THE BODY
Paul
enjoins us to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in
the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3). In order to have unity
in the body there must be a scriptural agreement. Amos
asked the question, Can two walk together, except they
be agreed? (Amos 3:3). When the OBF was founded in
1968 there was a general agreement on doctrine and
practice. Our doctrine hasn't changed in 29 years but some
of us share mutual concern for our practice. Allow me to
share several concerns which I have:
1) A GROWING TREND TOWARDS
INTELLECTUALISM
There
is nothing that kills orthodoxy quicker than an undue
emphasis on man's mind. Preaching that only reaches the
mind and not the heart is of little value;
2) AN ANTI-BIBLE INSTITUTE MENTALITY
It
is a sad day when we exalt a man's degrees rather than his
understanding of the Word and call to the ministry. I have
been privileged to enjoy seven and one-half years of post
high school education but God forbid that I would look
down upon a man with a Bible Institute diploma. We may
question the continuance of the Bible Institute of Ohio
for a lack of students, but never for a lack of course
content;
3) A LOWERING OF DRESS STANDARDS
I
have been involved in our camping program for all of our
years. We are always combatting the intrusion of the
world's styles with the direction being steadily downward.
4) ACCEPTING SOCIETAL LEVELS OF BEHAVIOR
We
have allowed the world, the flesh, and the devil to color
our thinking in regard to divorce and remarriage,
entertainment, movies and videos in our homes, and
attitudes towards drinking.
These
concerns need to be maintained in an atmosphere of
spiritual love where we seek the other's best rather than
our own conceived selfish interest. In order to do so, we
can promote our fellowship through the OBF Visitor,
conferences and camping programs.
My
wife and I had the opportunity of visiting the services of
our former church in Wisconsin some thirty years after we
left. We slipped in unannounced and found the pastor
teaching separation in the Sunday School hour. What a
blessing it was to my heart to know that they were still
standing fast. We will be away more than we will be here
over the next few years due to our missionary ministry. I
trust that we will never return to find the OBF slipping
in its declared purposes.
We,
as the Ohio Bible Fellowship, have declared our intentions
- the goals we wish to achieve. I trust that we will also
determine to accomplish them. Paul states in II
Corinthians 9:7, Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart, so let him give. This is the real key -
we must purpose in the heart and then do it for the glory
of the Lord.
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