Many people say they love Bro. Hyles and follow Bro. Hyles, but when it
comes down to it, many people just didn’t really understand what he meant,
or just didn’t “catch it.” Bro. Hyles taught us over and over to be loyal to
principles and not institutions. That sounded good when it was another
institution, but he wasn’t teaching that to us about another institution, he
was teaching that because he knew one day that “our” institution would
change. I don’t think he or any of us thought it would be so soon.
The more I read from Bro. Hyles, the more I am amazed at his wisdom and understanding. The words you are about to read are from an interview book put together by Attorney David Gibbs. The book is titled, “Attorney David C. Gibbs, Jr. Interviews Dr. Jack Hyles.” Most of the guys I have talked to don’t have this book and many of them never heard about it. I bought a copy, years ago, and by accident was reminded of some great words of wisdom. I believe they are very applicable for us today.
These excerpts comes from a section titled, “Dr. Hyles Answering Questions on Standing for the Faith” pages 153-158.
Dr. Hyles: “Our big battle is over the Bible. For the next ten years it will be an increasingly big battle – I mean over the preservation of the King James text. I think there will be no difference in the next ten years than in the last ten years. Every generation is a part of the same performance – same play, just different actors. Every generation has to rediscover the truth for itself. Every generation has to rediscover the Bible for itself. Every generation has to become fundamental. You are not born a fundamentalist. You become a fundamentalist. Every generation has to come out of its previous generation.
It is just like the physical birth. There must be born from the dying fundamentalism a new generation – a baby fundamentalism – for the next generation. Just as the old generation does not want to pass off the scene physically, the old generation does not want to pass off the scene spiritually either. Those who came from the Southern Baptist, are now playing the part that the Southern Baptist Convention played when I was a young man. The Jack Hyleses are not coming out of the Southern Baptist Convention these days. They are coming out of the conventions that came out of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Attorney Gibbs: That is interesting.
Dr. Hyles: Any generation that does not come out of its mother will die, because the mother is going to die. Consequently, the next generation is the same as the last generation. I see the same signs of decay in our fundamental, independent Baptist movement. I have no desire to sit in judgment against any movement, but a movement is like a car. You are going to trade it in after a while. It is a vehicle. It is not the church – it is a vehicle, and the vehicle is going to wear out.
Attorney Gibbs: We have forgotten that the movements are not the church sometimes.
Dr. Hyles: I see the same stagnation in the groups that came out of the Southern Baptist Convention forty years ago. I also see the same argument by the movement for staying in it that I saw forty years ago. For example, we all differ they say. Let us disagree, but let us by all means not divide. The same people that are saying let us not divide are the ones that divided in the past generation, and the ones from which they divided said in the past generation let us not divide.
Attorney Gibbs: That is the very counsel they rejected in the past, or they would not be where they are?
Dr. Hyles: We have come out of Egypt into the wilderness only to build our own little Egypt in the wilderness. We have found we are not opposed to bondage. We are opposed to our bondage. If we can be Pharaoh, we do not mind having bondage.
Attorney Gibbs: I have not heard you say that before. That is good.
Dr. Hyles: Consequently, every generation must rediscover herself. Every generation of fundamentalism must give birth to the next generation of fundamentalism, and you give birth to something that comes out of your body. The tragic part of it is, a mother who gives birth to a baby is not upset about it.
We have become so enamored with the tool that we forget the project. Before you know it, the tool becomes more important than the project. I think there has to be another Baptist Bible Fellowship someday. There has to be another Southside Baptist Fellowship someday. There must be new babies being born that come from the mothers. Some of these groups are just as exclusive in their acceptance of others as were the Southern Baptists. It is hard for younger preachers to understand this.
I can take the same sermons I preached at the Southern Baptist Convention forty years ago and find as much difficulty and as much opposition preaching that same sermon in our independent Baptist Fellowships today. We have the same roots of decay and the same signs of decay that we had then. I hesitate to use the word fundamentalist, because in many cases they are not fundamentalist anymore – they are independent Baptists. They do not realize what we pulled out of because they have seen Southern Baptist continue to decay. They know a Southern Baptist Convention as it is today.
Attorney Gibbs: They are thinking that is what you pulled out of?
Dr. Hyles: I have a sermon that I have preached a time or two. I do not think you have heard it. It is called, “A Purpose.” It was said unto Job that he left his purpose. I have tried to live for purpose. My purpose has been twofold – to get everybody I can saved and to try to save my country. Within that purpose there have been some dreams. Some of those dreams have been shattered, but the purpose remains the same. I do not live for dreams – I live for purpose. I have had some plans that have gone awry. I do not live for plans – I live for purpose. I have had some hopes that have faded. I do not live for hopes – I live for the purpose.
As you get older it is easier for that purpose to get fuzzy. For many reasons it is harder to stand. I have nothing but sympathy and compassion for these men who are not standing as they once stood. On a scale of one to ten, it took a “two” to stand forty years ago, and it takes a “ten” to stand now.
I was at a board meeting a few months ago. I was as much out of place at that board meeting of independent Baptists a few months ago as I was forty years ago in a board meeting with Southern Baptists. Those men with whom I was sitting were men that sat with me and felt out of place with me years ago. So, now you can feel out of place with those who felt out of place with you years ago. Because of knowing it is more difficult, I certainly have a sense of patience with them. I certainly do not feel any animosity toward them, because I know how difficult it is.
One of the hardest promises I ever made was to be loyal to principle and not to institutions. [See page 5] It is one of the five promises I made to God many years ago. It is easy to make that, but you find out that institutions are composed of individuals. It is easy to say that I am not going to stand for that institution until – all of the sudden – you realize that an institution is composed of people with whom you serve and love deeply.
I have churches that I went to for thirty years that will not have me anymore. I have one church I went to for thirty years in a row. They will not have me anymore. Do you know what the issue is? The King James Bible.
Thirty-one years ago we stood together on the King James Bible. So, when men with whom you fought, you now have to fight, it is pretty easy to stack arms.
