In this chapter we draw aside to the burning bush truth of biblical separation . . .if a professing Christian does not believe in Scriptural separation, a great blindness will clearly be evident in his or her life. Biblical separation is not to be viewed as a blight or a so-called necessary evil that hinders the Christian from having “fun,” but instead it must be viewed as the guardian principle of the Christian life. We must never think of God’s Word and His commands as being unjust or unfair. Perhaps, when we were growing up (in our carnal, immature soul) we thought that certain sermons and strong passages of Scripture indicated that God was unjust or unfair in certain areas of life or that He was partial in His dealings. God may be candid, but He is not unjust or unfair. In fact, the word candid comes from the Latin word candidus which means “to be white or bleached.” This very word indicates that God, in being candid, is fair and open. Because a candid statement is an impartial statement, He is disposed to think and judge according to truth and justice. …

There is much religious breeding going on in America; and now, through its influence, American Christian breeding is taking place throughout the world. But the result is defilement of fruit. The Bible tells us we will know people by their fruits. “Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18). This is a principle of fruit! A corrupt tree cannot bring forth good fruit. This is the biblical commentary of men such as Billy Graham. The species will always produce another like itself. And yet mixing the seeds within the species or genus will defile the fruit and offspring. You cannot mix Jesus and a gospel “of another kind” (allos) similar to Jesus. The horse and the mule are like one another, but the chromosomes and the seed are not the same. Preachers have become so desirous of the evangelistic statistics that they tend to mix a little of another seed in the vineyard. …

The light of the Gospel—what power it has to transform a sinner into a child of God! What ability it possesses to draw a man out of error and show him the truth! Yes, we would have never known the ways of God if His light had not come upon us! And now, His Word is “a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path.” That light will never lead us astray, for it, like its Author, has “no darkness at all.” Yet, is there a possibility that Satan could use light as a deceptive weapon to draw a Christian away from the true light? Could his deceptive light be so skillfully presented that if it were possible, “the very elect” would be deceived? …

There is a musical mutation evident in the conservative, Fundamental churches today, and prayerful concern must be given to it. For we are now hearing, as we heard from Bill Gaither in the early 1970s as well as from the powerful innovator, Ralph Carmichael, that there is too much emphasis being placed upon the form of the music; and that we should not be concerned with it, but with the message. In five years, what will be the spiritual state of the church if this presupposition is followed? …

One of the evidences apostasy continues to permeate the world is found in the changes that have now taken control of man's thinking and understanding. The logic of absolutes is being exchanged for the "crazy," the "bizarre," and the "insane." In decades past such insanity was abhorred by society. For example, the killing spree of the Charles Manson clan was a rare incident that rocked our nation's conscience for weeks. Now the violence depicted in such criminally bizarre cases seems so common an event that only one- or two-days' news coverage is the norm before another notorious crime takes its place. …

In my heavy schedule of travel on preaching missions, I am amazed at a certain common attitude which I find among preachers. I am hearing more pastors tell me that they wish they did not have to go to their pulpits to deal with their church people. They wish they could perform their ministry in their study on a one-to-one basis of instruction from the Word of God. …

Church history continues to become the most embarrassing of all the movements of history. In our twentieth century we are coming to a time of new definitions to the old words of the Christian Faith. We are still shocked by the Neo (New) concepts being promulgated by the electronic church and other contemporary popular presentations of so-called Christianity. We are urgently reminded of the words of the Lord Jesus: "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8b). There will still be another new Bible to come out in 1981, and multitudes will continue to neglect humility and obedience before the old one. The true is never new! Men are in love with the new as they ever forsake the old landmarks that God has set up before us. …

In the scheme of creation, God's final work of natural creation was that of the woman. This unique creature of God was taken from within the man, his tender part, the bone and flesh of his body. When Adam saw this created entity, he immediately acknowledged that it was part of himself (Genesis 2:23). The Hebrew word for woman is ishshah; it is identified with the deeper word ish (the man). In contrast to "man," meaning "to be strong," ishshah means "to be soft," denoting that part of man's anatomy from whence she came. She was to give her life and existence to the man as a counterpart, to serve in helping the man. …

As the public view of the historic Christian Fundamentalist movement continues to deteriorate in our generation, we have observed in the previous articles several contributing factors to this decline. So many Fundamentalist ministers and their churches today cannot discern that they are caught in the powerful web of Neo-Evangelicalism partly because they have not discerned what historic Fundamentalism once was. …

In our final article concerning the rise and fall of Christian Fundamentalism, we are drawn to a sobering work of God that will strongly affect the Christian world in the end time—yea, it will profoundly affect the future of Christian Fundamentalism. This work of God's great shaking of the earth is addressed in Hebrews 12:25-29:…

As the decades unfolded in the Fundamentalist movement, there was a subtle, growing concern among a number who were born in this emerging fundamentalist camp. They had not personally experienced the agony and necessity of the battles fought within fallen denominational systems. Such individuals had no personal knowledge of the intensity of the enemies of the Truth. They reasoned that perhaps a less offensive stand against error would be the better position to take. …

History has proved that the historic Christian Fundamentalist movement was divinely appointed by God for the end time of the Last Days to combat the final onslaught of the enemies within the institutional church against God's Word and against the true remnant, the Elect. But as is the potential danger of any movement and its mutation in every generation, we may be witnessing the institution of Christian Fundamentalism coming to the gates of hell. The true remnant within Fundamentalism will not be destroyed, but it seems that the public view of the movement, as it is being redirected, will experience its historical demise. …

In the next four articles of Straightway, this editor desires to present the imminent dilemma and inevitable extinction of Christian Fundamentalism as a movement of recent Church history. Fundamentalism's extinction will be the result of an internal intelligent and subversive movement that is presently seeking its downfall. Already this historic warship of Fundamentalism is being dismantled and restructured in order to join the prestigious fleet of Neo-Evangelical luxury liners. …

The providence of God has brought us to a unique time in the history of the world. Global powers are ideologically manipulating political forces in order to bring the world to a greater financial and social unanimity. Nations that were once at philosophical odds are now being internationally pressured to be reconciled toward a greater global agenda. Independence of nations and their personal political agendas will soon be a thing of the past; declarations of interdependence will become necessary for survival. …

As we begin another year in the providence of God, it is evident that the powers of darkness are ever increasing and that the global apostasy is escalating in its influences. Religions are flourishing in the earth, and Neo-Christianity has become the norm of belief in the United States of America. Amidst these religions, more and more sects and cults are appearing even within Neo-Christianity. How is a Christian to view these many religious identities that now are proliferating in number throughout the world? …

The more we observe the apostasy in politics and religion, the more we realize the need of a balanced biblical separation. Once again, we need to recognize that separation has two sides: the horizontal, which separates us by the grace of God from sin, error, and compromise; and the vertical, which separates us in the grace of God unto purity, unity, and Christ. …

In this contemporary time when the sacred is being rejected in our country, Christians need to acknowledge two precious days that we have opportunity to biblically identify our testimony with God. The first is Thanksgiving Day and the second is Christmas. In this issue we want to present both of these days. …

It is that time of the year when the controversy over the celebration of Christmas arises from the ashes of history and tradition, often leaving a not-so-christmasy spirit in its wake. Sometimes the controversy is so pressed by a few individuals that it is made to be a fundamental doctrine of the Christian Faith, causing a breakage of fellowship among the brethren and engendering bitterness within the Body of Christ. It reminds us of the 1700s, when a variety of strong theological voices, which at times produced adamant and boisterous debates over theological matters, brought great animosity, hatred, and strife. …

For six thousand years Satan has tried to destroy the seed of the godly. Concerning the first two children born, we are told in First John 3:12 that Cain was "of that wicked one." The Devil through Cain tried to stop the godly seed of his brother Abel. Nevertheless, God raised up another seed through Seth continuing and preserving the godly line. Following Abel's murder, the ungodly line moved away to the land of Nod to birth its progeny (Genesis 4:16). …

This was Hannah's response before Eli concerning the Lord's gift of a son, Samuel (I Samuel 1:27). Her posture of heart should be the common consciousness of any parent for each child God grants to them. Equally, perhaps, this should also be our prayer for those who have been spiritually born into the family of God. Likewise, it easily may be our response to spiritual desires born in the heart that the Lord has granted for our Christian life. No matter the application, we should remember that just as the Devil is trying to destroy our children through the enticements of the world and the flesh, he is also desiring to destroy the spiritual babes in Christ after their spiritual birth into the kingdom. …