PART TWO
The Quality of Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism
What Justifies Separation?
The recent Alistair Begg story provides a teaching moment for comparison between American Fundamentalism and British Evangelicalism. It also gives pause for judging the credibility or quality of these movements. Were the participants believing and practicing scripture?
Many evangelicals consequently gave their take on attending a same-sex or transgender wedding ceremony. The circumstance gave rise to some right teaching on the scriptural and true nature of marriage. Some usually weaker men offered strong reasons for not attending the wedding, grandma or not. They exposed Begg with their words.
Begg justified his bad counsel with the context of British evangelicalism. British evangelicalism does “nuance.” Actually, American evangelicalism and fundamentalism also both do and have done nuance in the same spirit. However, something is happening or changing in American evangelicalism for these evangelical men to turn against Begg in the manner they are. Perhaps they foresee the demise of evangelicalism without their putting a stake in the ground on more of these issues. I don’t see the dust as having settled yet either on further strong stands on cultural issues.
Fundamentals of the Faith
Earliest fundamentalism, what some call paleo-fundamentalism, did not separate over cultural issues. It did separate over gospel-oriented ones, especially what became the five fundamentals of the faith:
(1) the literal inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, (2) the virgin birth and full deity of Christ, (3) the physical Resurrection of Christ, (4) the atoning sacrifice of His death for the sins of the world, and (5) His second coming in bodily form to preside at the Last Judgment.
The fundamentals really are an arbitrary list of beliefs. Nothing in scripture says these are fundamental. Yet, fundamentalists believed they should not fellowship, that is, separate from institutions that deny one of the fundamentals.
On the other hand, evangelicals might believe the five fundamentals, but they would not separate over them. Fundamentalists separated over five more issues than evangelicals would. With greater degradation of doctrine and practice across the United States, a greater gap grew between evangelicalism and fundamentalism. Even though fundamentalism started with separation over just the fundamentals, the list of reasons for separation grew. Fundamentalists chose to grow that list and also began to separate over cultural issues. They didn’t separate over everything, but they separated over much more than five fundamentals.
New Separation
Not Biblical
Evangelicals who never practiced separation now will do that. They do not teach biblical separation. However, they now separate. You can see that with the cancellation of Alistair Begg from the 2024 Shepherds Conference in Southern California. This separation does not follow the various formulas of separation of the New Testament. Scripture explains why and how to separate (2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, ! Corinthians 5, 2 Thessalonians 3, 2 Timothy 2, Titus 3).
Scripture explains that a church can keep or preserve biblical doctrine and practice through separation. Without separation, false teaching and practice will profane or corrupt the true. True doctrine and practice goes by the wayside. The false teaching and practice destroys institutions. This is a strong reason why God says not to allow false doctrine into your house nor to bid it Godspeed (2 John). Those who will not separate are not standing with God.
No Mention of Doctrine of Separation
Right now conservative evangelicals will separate, but they will not mention the doctrine of separation. Begg preached at the Shepherd’s Conference in 2015 and 2023. He was slated again this year, 2024. Christian Headlines reports the following:
A spokesperson for Grace To You, the ministry led by Pastor John MacArthur of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, told Religion News Service that Begg has been dropped from this year’s Shepherds Conference, which is slated to take place in March.
“After Begg’s comments became public, he and MacArthur talked and decided the controversy would be “an unnecessary distraction,” the spokesman said.
“Pastor MacArthur’s counsel on that issue would be completely different from the counsel Alistair Begg said he gave an inquiring grandmother,” Phil Johnson, executive director of Grace to You, told Religion News Service in an email. “So both agreed that it was necessary for Pastor Begg to withdraw.”
This is not the biblical method of separation. Separation is right, but adherents should practice it according to scripture. Grace Community Church does not treat it as separation. It’s a “distraction.” That’s it. This continues to show a reticence for evangelicals to separate. It actually fits more with a model of what people today call, the cancel culture. Shepherd’s Conference cancelled Begg.
Separation and Cultural Issues
Same sex marriage rises to the level of a fundamental, worthy of separation. Furthermore, it’s not just participation in a same sex marriage, but attending the wedding and even encouraging someone else to go to one. As a kind of thought experiment, what about a cultural issue like nudity? Is it permissible for Christians to get naked in public? At what point is someone practicing nudity?
As another example of a cultural issue, for a long time, evangelical churches accept nudity to some degree. They would deny it They show little to no inclination to define the boundaries of nudity. They will not separate over it. It’s a non-essential. You can lay in public on the sand wearing something less than underwear without any repercussions. Evangelicals won’t cancel pastors of churches that allow for nudity.
The determining factor for an evangelical church on cultural issues is not scripture. Evangelicals now latch on to the definition of marriage and practice a crude, non-biblical form of separation over it. They cherry pick this one issue. Many others they give almost complete liberty to practice however people want.
Confusion Over Separation
In the last few years, John MacArthur did a Q and A with seminary students of his seminary. Someone asked about this very subject, trying to figure out when and when not to cooperate with someone else in ministry for God. MacArthur was very ambiguous in that he pointed to one qualification of true faith in Christ, yet also someone shouldn’t accept woman preachers. On the other hand, baby baptism is not a deal breaker. Someone, like R. C. Sproul, can sprinkle infants — no line drawn there.
God is not a God of confusion (1 Cor 14:33). No. Does scripture give the guidelines necessary for biblical separation? It does. American evangelicals and even fundamentalists offer confusion. Begg defers to British evangelicalism, which brings even greater confusion. He references John Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who separated from each other.
Stott continued in the Church of England his whole life. The Church of England helps explain the difference between American and British evangelicalism. Stott saw leaving the Church of England as an institutional loss. Separation meant losing all of the infrastructure and resources to the large majority liberal faction. It is sheer, unscriptural pragmatism, also explained as compassion.
More to Come
Hello Ken,
“They show little to no inclination to define the boundaries of nudity. They will not separate over it. It’s a non-essential. You can lay in public on the sand wearing something less than underwear without any repercussions. Evangelicals won’t cancel pastors of churches that allow for nudity.”
So true.
On a different note, I would not separate over Christmas and Easter, but I will let the brethren know that these are pagan days that the church should not take part in. This would also include wrong application of OT doctrine that “faith and works” is what saved the OT saints, woman speaking during teaching and preaching during the church assembly (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)
Not sure where you stand on these. Would you separate?
Tom
Hi Tom,
I consider fellowship to be what I see in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1, that is, being yoked together in work together for the Lord. Getting together for pie and coffee, for instance, I don’t see as fellowship. Yes, certain times, I won’t even do pie and coffee with someone (see 2 John). The two issues you bring up, these two days, and then a different gospel in the OT, it’s unlikely I would yoke together with the latter. I say unlikely, because I give people an opportunity to be persuaded.
KB
Hello Kent,
The scriptures you provided are based on the context of “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers:…” (v14)
Are you suggesting that you will not “work together” with a brother who believes in Christmas?
For example, you know my stance on the King James Bible. I will “work together” with any brother that preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ even though they do not have the King James Bible as their final authority.
You do not agree with my stance on the King James Bible, but I would work with you “whenever possible” and fellowship with you as a brother in Christ.
As you know, God’s scriptural stance on brotherly love is very strong. I would rather err on the side of brotherly love than to possibly hurt, cause another brother to love God less or to stumble.
Tom
Hi Tom,
I don’t separate over someone observing Easter and Christmas. I see it as a liberty issue, like I wrote in my series recently. However, the doctrinal issue of the gospel, that there was a different one in the OT, I said that I think that would become a separating issue.
I agree brotherly love is important (1 Jn 3:14). The question, what is love? It isn’t passion, a feeling, or sentimentalism. 1 John 5 says it relates to keeping God’s commandments. The way to love is by obeying God’s Word. The first and second tables of the law are called, loving God and loving your neighbor. Love separated from the truth is not love. Love is of God.
Even the most wild-eyed ecumenist practices separation. He might not admit it. He will not teach it as a doctrine.
However, he will not preach, promote, or recommend me, what I do, say, or write. He will separate from me. Now if I am willing to compromise what I believe, then he might change his mind…
Hi Robert,
I think you’re absolutely right that evangelicals or evangelical ecumenists still separate. They don’t practice biblical separation, more something like giving you the cold shoulder. This is very similar to the so-called ‘cancel-culture’ today. You’re right that you’ve got to be willing to compromise to get along with them. Where I’m working right now, the small town has a ministerial association, that head of which believes a false gospel. Several of the association preach a false gospel. They hold a couple of ecumenical services each year with all the groups getting together for something for Easter and Christmas. I explained to him why I would not participate. Most don’t even understand biblical separation.