A Response to Dr. Clinton Branine

Dr. Clinton Branine, of Indiana Baptist College, spoke at a meeting on March 19, 2009. The theme was, “Remaining Faithful to the Old Paths.” His talk was titled, “Present Day Theological Winds Impacting Fundamentalism.”

I must say that God’s Spirit certainly needs to blow on it, and impact it! Once something departs, in certain foundational areas, it needs to be blown back! Once so-called “fundamentalism” loses the foundation of the family, what can the righteous do? Once it loses the foundation of the fear of God, what can the righteous do? In fact, without the fear of God, it is no wonder it has let the family slip in so many areas.

What a wonderful theme-title they chose for their meeting. I wish indeed we would all be faithful to the “old paths.” But the Bible says that when God raises up “watchmen” to call His people back to these “old paths,” the people will not listen:

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

Not much has changed. God awakes men to warn His people of His warnings to them (clearly written in the Bible for anyone to read). And what happens? They start talking about how privileged they are, and how such things could never be; they loudly proclaim that God would never punish His “chosen” people in such a manner (Jeremiah 7:4). You know the story.

These modern “fundamentalists” who water down the Judgment Seat of Christ are a strange bunch. They are the only ones left who supposedly believe in the fear of God. They say that Jesus can certainly KILL an erring Christian while He is seated on the right hand of God in the third heaven (see 1 Corinthians 10:9-12, 11:30, etc.). They hardly ever preach it; but they say they believe it. If we then asked them if Jesus could kill a believer if He stood up on His throne (like He did when Stephen was martyred), they would certainly affirm it.

But notice what a strange bunch of  “God fearing, fire-and-brimstone fundamentalists” we have in this day and age. If we ask them whether Jesus could kill an erring Christian if He not only stood up, but came down to where the moon is, in the second heaven, they would begin to act very strange. You will see them start to change their tune. Now ask them if Jesus then came down to the first heaven, and actually instituted the Judgment Seat of Christ in the clouds, could He slay an erring believer, caught red-handed in his sins?

You will then find that these men hold one of the strangest doctrines you will ever hear. They teach that in this very day of the Lord’s longsuffering and mercy (Romans 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9), He can kill erring Christians – as long as He is far away in the third heaven. But if He ever comes near, and proclaims that the day of His patience has ended, and that judgment will BEGIN at the house of God, suddenly we are supposed to believe that on such a day, everything is “peaches and cream.” He may whip the daylights out of our bad works (whatever that means), but He will not touch the unfaithful Christian at all (Of course, you are to believe that all the good promises to the faithful are literal.)

But what saith the Scriptures Dr. Branine? It is a nice dream, but what does the Bible teach? Let us hear the conclusion of the matter.

Matthew 24:42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. 43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. 44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh. 45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. 47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Well there it is, right at the start of the New Testament. Notice again:

James 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. 9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.

Now do any of these Scriptures even come close to teaching that the Lord cannot, and will not, slay erring believers when He returns in judgment? They say the exact opposite.

Dr. Branine is contending for “new paths,” not “old paths” (at least when it comes to the Judgment Seat of Christ). He is sold on Scofield. He wants his students and preachers to believe that this “terror of the Lord” at the Judgment Seat (see 2 Corinthians 5:9-11) is some new wind of doctrine that has come to disrupt fundamentalism. He does not tell a single student or preacher that the “old fighting fundamentalists” that he claims to be holding with, taught what I teach! Did he show them that I.M. Haldeman (the great Baptist fundamentalist who opposed feminism, and every wind of doctrine) believed that the evil servant in Matthew 24 was a true, but unfaithful Christian, and that he was excluded from the Millennium at the Lord’s return?

Did he tell them that the Baptist Bible Union was started by R.E. Neighbour (launching the modern Independent Baptist movement), who believed that the evil servant in Matthew 24 was an unfaithful Christian who misses the kingdom? Did he tell them that R.T. Ketcham, who also helped found the Baptist Bible Union (as well as the GARBC), also believed the same? Did he mention George Dollar (who wrote the actual book on Fundamentalism he probably learned his history from) believes the same? Of course, these detractors don’t mention any of this.

Therefore, if he is honest, he should teach that this doctrine of a severe Judgment Seat of Christ, is not some “present day wind impacting Fundamentalism.” It has been at the forefront of Premillennial Futurism wherever it is found.

As to specifics, Dr. Branine begins by teaching against Preterism and Dominion Theology. He goes over some fine writings against these views by Thomas Ice and provides a good summary of these heresies. At the end of this teaching against Dominion Theology, he then begins to read from my book. I am very thankful he gave it such a fine reading in his message. He says that there is this “Fundamental Baptist preacher” in Texas who is causing some “trouble.” He warns that you may have to confront this. (If he only knew how right he is! You will indeed confront it. We must ALL appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Dr. Branine likes the word “all.” I wonder if he likes it in 2 Corinthians 5:9-11?).

Dr. Branine then either proves that he is somewhat mad, or that he is a liar. He claims to have read my book two times. Yet, he states, “This movement is rather new.” A person would have to be either dishonest or insane to read my book twice and then state before a crowd of preachers that this teaching is “new.” I think if he was ever challenged on this issue, he would likely say that he did not mean “read” in the literal sense. He also only gives two real objections that were already foreseen and answered in a chapter called, “Objections Answered.”

After quoting a good part of the book, he then states that he does not have time to read the proof-texts I provide for the position to his audience. He says:

“He gives a whole list of Scriptures…I may be blind, but I don’t think I am spiritually blind.”

Not in every issue, Dr. Branine. But you are blind to the warnings about the Judgment Seat of Christ. He spends a lot of time simply affirming that he doesn’t believe what I affirm. That doesn’t get us anywhere. Finally, he gets to his first real objection. He states, “he never tells you what that level is.” In other words, he is arguing that if we will be punished for unfaithfulness, how unfaithful can we be and still get away with it? Isn’t that a nice question? He doesn’t tell his audience that this question is answered repeatedly in the book, and especially in the “Objections Answered” chapter. He doesn’t remind his audience that he believes sinful Christians should be excluded from churches. How sinful do they have to be to get disfellowshipped? Why doesn’t he preach against the doctrine of excluding some Christians from churches on the basis that we do not know how sinful a person has to be to get excluded? Let him tell us where the line is in this, and we will answer him the same way in regard to exclusion at the Judgment Seat of Christ:

Matthew 16:19 …and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Dr. Branine also believes Christians may be slain in this life for sin. How much sin do we have to commit to be in danger of being killed by Jesus?

Certainly, he believes that some Christians may at least appear in shame at the Judgment Seat? He surely believes that some will lose crowns. Why is it that he is not bent out of shape over where the line is for losing a crown or a jewel? It must be because the idea of losing a crown, when taught in his manner, matters little to most Christians. Few ever really ask how bad they have to be to lose a crown or a jewel when they hear they will be walking on streets of gold.

The plain answer is that reigning with Christ is a hope; and the more righteous we live, the more confidence we will have in obtaining it. The more we sin, the more we will be tormented with that, “certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation” (Hebrews 10) – that is, as long as we have not been deceived by this modern, “flower child fundamentalism.” The Bible warns us:

Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 

Ephesians 5:5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.  7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

Dr. Branine then accuses me of “spiritualizing.” This is amazing since I, and all the other writers who advocate a severe Judgment Seat of Christ for some, do so on the basis of literal interpretation. For example, it would be interesting to ask Dr. Branine what he believes the “kingdom of God” is in 1 Corinthians 6, Galatians 5, and Ephesians 5. I guess that he will say “heaven.” Let him read 1 Corinthians 15:24, and then read the three giant volumes by George Peters called “The Theocratic Kingdom” (the most exhaustive work ever penned against Covenant Theology and its spiritualizing), and then let us see who is guilty of allegorizing. The chief literalists in the 19th century, according to Spurgeon, were Govett and Pember. And both taught exactly what I teach on this subject.

Dr. Branine’s real point is that he thinks that when the Bible teaches that the body is one, it really means it. He quotes 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians, etc., to show that there is only one body. This is interesting since he rightly believes in the local church. He believes this “one body” is the local church. What then is his point? Well, he goes on to argue repeatedly (and this is his main objection, where he uses the most passion), that it would be impossible for any believer to be punished at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and excluded from the Millennial reign, since that would mean that the body is divided!

Now remember that Dr. Branine believes the body today is the local church. I wonder what he believes happens when a believer is excluded from the local church BODY? Is not a hand cut off? An eye plucked out? What then happens to the “one body,” Dr. Branine? Is not part of it excluded? Now if it can be so divided when on earth, what makes you think it cannot be divided when the Lord comes and ratifies that which was ratified on earth? But let us go further. What happens when a dear old saint dies? Is the body divided? Of course the local church is divided. If his body is in the grave and his spirit with the Lord, the one body is divided. It is plain that the body on earth can be divided in this physical sense. The church body is also often divided by sin.

But Dr. Branine rightly believes that there will come a time when the one body will be gathered together at the Lord’s coming. For the sake of argument, if this was conceded, why are they then gathered? They are gathered for judgment – real judgment. And by the time the Lord descends to defeat the Antichrist, many believers will have been excluded from this “one body”:

Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

Are all Christians faithful? Only the faithful return with Him to rule and reign:

2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

Dr. Branine hangs everything on the word “all” in 1 Corinthians 15:

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 

1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

He does not deal with the answers already provided for this verse in my book. He misses all of the warnings in the same chapter, not to mention the Epistle. What will happen if they are not stedfast and unmoveable? If they do not abound in the work of the Lord? Let us see:

Colossians 1:22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: 23 If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel…

1 Corinthians 15:51 is a comforting promise to those who obey “all” of the exhortations of the Apostle. The same type of language was used in the OT, to describe Israel inheriting the Promised Land. They were given many encouraging promises. Yet, they were excluded. Paul, in Corinthians 10:11, teaches us to use these examples for our own admonition.

If we want to discuss the word “all,” does Dr. Branine believe that “all” liars will have a part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8)? What does “all” mean there?

Or better yet, Dr. Branine, what does “all” mean in this following verse?:

1 Thessalonians 4:6 That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of ALL such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

What does “all” mean in Colossians 1:20? 2 Corinthians 5:10? 1 Corinthians 15:22?

What does “all” mean in the following verse (v.41)?:

Luke 12:39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. 40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not. 41 Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to ALL?

Mark 13:36 Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say unto you I say unto ALL, Watch.

Please pray that Dr. Branine will have his eyes opened to the plain warnings of Scripture. He will have to let go of some of his Scofield tradition, and admit that he has been wrong on this issue. May the Lord help us all to open our eyes in every area of our responsibility, before we die, or meet the Lord at His coming. Let us fear the Lord more than men.

Kingdom Baptist Church
700 Cordes Dr.
Venus, TX 76084
469-658-6046
pastor@kingdombaptist.org