8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - The Teaching Ministry of Dr. Greg Bahnsen - Counsel of Chalcedon

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Over the past three years, Ihad the privilege of studyingunder Dr. Oreg Bahnsen atthe Southern CaliforniaCenter for Christian Studies.Though his passing weighsheavily upon me, a sense ofgreat rejoicing floods my soul;for Dr. Bahnsen s teachingminishy was Christ s gift oflove to his Church. Throughhim, our Lord wooed us tothe truth that sets us free fromsin and death into the

form the foundation ofbiblical Christianity . Apartfrom them, we have nocertain hope in Christ,standard for Christian living,or anchor for our soul.Whether in ethics,evangelism, or textualcriticism, Ood s Word washis only rule of faith andpractice. will never forgethis closing remarks at ChristCollege in 1994 as heconcluded his survey of

complicated truths of theologyto their simplest elements, Dr.Bahnsen was able to make hispoint with clarity and power.His love for Ood's holyWord motivated him toplumb its depths so that hemight bring forth from itstreasure house things old andnew. He had no greater joythan to see our hearts beatingwith the same passion forScripture that filled his own.

glorious liberty of thesons of Ood . Hewarned us against

Christ s Gift of Love tothe Church:

This love for truthmade him ademanding teacher.

Though alwayswarm andapproachable, canattest to Dr.Bahnsen s rigorousapproach totheological

ethical relativism,cultural irrelevance,and doctrinal laxity.Dr. Bahnsen s voicewas nothing less than

The Teaching Ministryof Dr. Greg Bahnsen

Chris Strevela clarion call fronHheLord of glory to remember ourfirst love by returning to the

faith of our fathers. As Dr.Bahnsen has now joined theranks of the Churchtriumphant, we mustexamine the lessons he taughtus and take them to heart.This is the only response thatwe can make to such awonderful gift from ourSavior.

Dr. Bahnsen s minishy waspermeated by a wholeheartedcommitment to theinspiration, infallibility, andall-sufficiency ofthe Scriptures'of the Old and NewTestaments. These doctrines

western philosophy. Havingdiscussed all the major

philosophers from Thales toQuine , he noted that hisentire presentation had beenbut an application of 1Corinthians 1 :20-21. Thewisdom of this world isfoolishness, but those whoknow Christ possess all thetreasures ofwisdom andknowledge.

Dr. Bahnsen's ability tocommunicate divine truthwill always stand out in mymind as one of his greatestgifts. Whether shOWing usthe importance of one wordin a Scripture text or reducing

education. When thoughthad mastered a particularpoint, a conversation withhim always revealed morework to be done. Throughthe Socratic method, hedrew out what knew, andchallenged mdo take thatknowledge to new levels ofunderstanding andapplication. Some may havecriticized. him for being sodemanding. He believedhowever that the need of thehour was for dear thinkingand teaching Reformedpastors. This goal can beattained only if potentialpastors are carefully trained inthe great truths of our

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8/12/2019 1996 Issue 1 - The Teaching Ministry of Dr. Greg Bahnsen - Counsel of Chalcedon

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religion. One of Dr. 'Bahnsen s abiding legacies tothe Church ofJesus Christ isprecise biblical scholarshipand training.

Dr. Bahnsen, like many ofhis like-minded pastors, wasfrequentlYaccused of beingoverly non-experiential.Critics urged that theonomyandreconstructionist thinkingundertnine Christian piety bye x ~ l f i n g the intellect over theheart, law over ,grace. To thisday, whenever r

the details of Scripture. Wemust love him with our livesas we apply those truths toour daily experience.

Dr. Bahnsen enjoyed littlerespect from the Christianacademic community duringhis lifetime. His Theonomyin Christian Ethics madehim an outcast early in histheological career. That hispeers would treat such a giftwith contempt is one of thetheological tragedies of the

Refonned Christianity. LikeCalvin, h e ~ n d u r e dmany 'physical ailments, h ~ t \ . v l ~ l dhave weakened the optimismof many, but even 'this didnotdiminish his victory '

orientation; He n s t i l t ~ dinhis students confidence in the, , l

inevitable triumph of thekingdom of qod ory, a ~ h

The Christian Church willmiss Dr. Bahnsen:s ~ c h i n gminisby. Many faithfulpastors and teachers, are

needed tpsarry onhear this criticisni; I - - = = = = = = = = = = = = = ~ = Ihis work. ,Butshake my head iTIdisbelief. Dr.Bahnsen'srecumng ,theme was theinterrelationshipbetween Christianthinking and living.If divine truth' doesnot stir our hearts tolove qod more, our headknowledge is worthless. Dr.Bahnsen s p stor l heart wasparticularly evidenfwhen helectured through Calvin s ,Institutes. How he rejoicedto study a systematic theologywhose express purpose was toinstruct the stUdent in therudiments of Christian '

theology so that he could loveqod more intensely and livemore obediently. This is thekind of balance the Churchoften lacks but must recover ifwe are to be Christ 's spotlessBride. We must love Oodwith our minds as westudy

20th cenfury. As hewitnessed these eventsunfolding in his life, herealized that he wasexperiencing a microcosm ofthe state of the ChristianChurch. Instead of a city seton a hill, the RefonnedChurch was tom by politics,comfortably withdrawn into

its own circles, afraid to issuethe life-wide challenge ofbiblical Christianity to a lostand dying world. Butthroughout his life, and this isthe point I wish to make, Dr.Bahnsen remained optimisticabout the future of historic

20 ~ THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon January February, 1996

~ o n the man, itis h r i s t ~ h ogavehim to us at this , ,critical time inhistory. We mJ,lstmeekly respolld tohis faithful teashinga t l ~solemn :,warnings as: rom

Christ h i m s ~ l fThr9ughpr. ,Bahnsen and others like him,Christ is c a l l i ~ ghis Churchback to himself. He Wishes,for his b l o o d ~ b o ~ g h tBride, oexperience Spirit\JC\fuilness, ,maturity; ang preservationfrom doctrimilerror. But theRefonnedchurchesmay dothis only as Christ gives its'

grace to get beyond personalprejudices'and 'misrepresentations 'surrounding Dr. Bahnsen s lifeand teaching and embrace hislabor of love among us. Q

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