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Pastor Wade Burleson
Living by Principles and Integrity
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"Principles and Integrity in the Face of
Persecution"
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to
please men?
If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."
(Galatians 1:10 NIV)
On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of Wittenburg Castle
and The Reformation began. Martin Luther was excommunicated for his beliefs and was in
constant danger of being burned at the stake. In 1521, when brought before the Diet of the church
officials at the city of Worms and called upon to renounce his beliefs, Martin Luther humbly
replied, "My conscience is held captive by the Word of God. Therefore, I cannot, and I will
not recant. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise.
God help me."
Luther stood on Sola Scripturea (Only Scripture), Sola Gratia (Only Grace),
Sola Fide (Only Faith) and Solus Christus) (Only Christ). These are the
foundational evangelical doctrines of Scripture. The Apostle Paul faced similar persecution tot
hat of Luther's. Some Jews accused Paul of forsaking his heritage as a Jew, and began to attack
his character. Paul says, "Look, if you think I will change my conduct because of your attacks
on me, you are mistaken. I desire to please God."
Three things to remember when you are faced with a difficult decision:
- Your conscience will either be bound by the principles of God's Word or the opinions
of man.
Why do you do what you do? Do you live by principles, or do you seek to please men?
- If your conscience is bound by the principles, then the opinion of man will be
irrelevant.
You are energized by that which you know is right. Man's opinion will not deter you.
- When you live by the principles of God's Word, your soul is at rest in spite of
persecution.
Approval in this text is not the approval of a person, but of practice. It is the smile of God.
Many of you have been made aware this week of an attempt to remove me as a trustee from
the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. The Southern Baptist
Convention will vote on my removal at the annual Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro,
North Carolina in June 13-14 of this year.
The press release said: "In taking this action, trustees addressed issues involving broken
trust and resistance to accountability, not Burleson's opposition to policies recently enacted by
the board."
- I am bound by conscience to resist the new policies of the International Mission Board
(IMB) related to baptism and a private prayer language for missionary candidates. The new
policies violate Scripture and go past the Baptist Faith and Message. My conscience is bound to
God's Word.
- Because the trustees passed the new policies, I took them to the Southern Baptist
Convention (SBC) at large (the people to whom I am accountable) by beginning a blog. This
really upset some of the trustees. Many of them had never even heard of a blog. They thought I
was opposing them, and not the policies.
- The allegations against me seem to be an attack against my character, but my soul is at rest,
because I am living by a principle. The principle for which I am fighting is as follows:
Conservative Baptists should cooperate in missions and evangelism even
though
we may disagree with each other over minor doctrines.
The future of the SBC is at stake. For more information, read my blog at www.wadeburleson.com.
To order a CD recording of this sermon for $5.00, contact the Pastor's Office
Questions? Comments?
Pastor Wade
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