On January 10, 2007, FBC Radio commenced its programming on the Internet as the campus station of Foundations Bible College. Our station sends forth across the world the sacred sounds of traditional hymnody and the sound preaching of God’s Word. A better understanding of our philosophy of ministry is set forth below.
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments; the creation of man by God; the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ; His redemption for the sins of mankind through His blood on the Cross of Calvary; the resurrection of His body from the tomb; His ability to save men from personal sins, to sanctify men from the power of sin, to separate men from the reputation of sin, to announce the distinction between being born of the Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit; the hope of the pre-millennial coming of Christ back to the earth; and, the gift of eternal life by the free grace of God.
The mutation of Contemporary Christian Music is widening with such force and velocity that its aggressive intimidation for acceptance has pressed itself into the sacred precincts of Fundamental and Evangelical churches. CCM is not just rock music; its elastic, existential nature reflects the multicolored facets of contemporary styles. We are witnessing today in such churches an enticement toward the perimeter of these contemporary facets. This attraction is evidenced by the surrealistic, ethereal, easy listening sound of piano and orchestral accompaniments as well as by the soft, meandering melodies rewritten for our stately traditional hymns.
Martin Luther strongly believed that theologians should write the music of the church. This belief is not held by many today. Eclecticism dominates the theory classes of many Christian institutions, while informality characterizes the look and sound of most performing groups. Often what is being offered today as Fundamentalist music is simply repackaged Neo-Evangelical music.
In these days when Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism are desiring for their music to be on the “cutting edge” (which is simply another word for “contemporary,” or “worldly,”), FBC Radio desires to “Forward the Faith” in its music providing an honorable balance of lofty sacred music along with the Gospel hymns that are not tainted by the contemporary sound. The Liberals took the blood out of their hymnals; we are now witnessing the destruction of honorable militancy from our hymnody. The book of Psalms, the divinely inspired hymnbook of the Bible, gives not only praise to God but also a militant call for the battle. May God help us to preserve this paradoxical legacy.
It is our earnest desire that FBC radio ministry of sacred song will Forward the Faith toward another generation. May God the Holy Ghost anoint this tangible offering not only to edify the Body of Christ around the world, but also to encourage the needed warfare against compromise and the falling away.
A fuller presentation of FBC Radio’s position on music in the church may be found in the book Confronting Contemporary Christian Music.
The Lord’s infallibly-ordained method for presenting the Gospel to the world has always been anointed biblical preaching. While churches and schools are leaning into the winds of compromise, there is the great need for a remnant of men to rise and preach this Truth with uncompromising clarity, restraining evil in proclaiming the standards of Scripture, and leading souls to the Savior.
The old Puritan writer Thomas Watson declared, “it was by the ear, by our first parents listening to the serpent, that we lost paradise; and it is by the ear, by hearing of the Word, that we get to heaven. ‘Hear, and your souls shall live.’ (Isaiah 55:3).” The Apostle Paul declared, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things” (Romans 10:13-15).
The Apostle Paul also declared, “Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (II Timothy 4:2-4). This scarcity of the Word of God in the last days, while men are heaping unto themselves empty teachers, sharpens our understanding of the prophet Amos’ burden: “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12). Paul’s warning of a time of refusing sound doctrine has come; Amos’ prophecy of a famine of hearing is upon us. More and more the words of First Samuel 3:1 are becoming a commentary for our day: “And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.”
The strong, anointed preaching of former days is fast leaving our society. The powers of human personality are dominating pulpits with an emphasis upon prosperity and health. The mega churches are now the contemporary product promoting Neo-Christianity. Preaching has become a glorified generic, psychological message void of true biblical principles and the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The proclivity of pulpits today is an accommodating of the Word to the world, the making palatable a new Gospel to the itching ears of Neo-Christianity.
It is the desire and hope that FBC Radio will present the preaching of the Word of God without compromise, striking the needed target of our contemporary. May the Lord richly bless His Word to your heart through the appointed preaching and teaching sessions scheduled throughout the week.