A
very dangerous attitude entering into our general me today, and one
affecting the whole structure of society, is that of doing just enough
to "get by." The efforts of men are too often half hearted, with no
spirit and fervor in the work, Such an attitude is serious enough and
bad enough in secular affairs, but when it invades the sacred realm of
religious life it becomes disastrous. Here one must deal with God, for
it is He who is insulted and robbed by half hearted efforts, and the
"get by" spirit.
In the
history of Moab, the time finally came, when, because of her idolatry
and corruption, she was ripe for destruction. The word of Jehovah came
unto the prophet Jeremiah pronouncing her doom, and commanding that she
be destroyed; adding a curse upon those who should enter the work of
destruction negligently, or refuse to act at all, Hear the prophet:
"Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah negligently; and cursed be
he that keepeth back his sword from blood."
(Jer. 48:10)
Two
words here need defining, namely "curse" and "negligently." The word
"curse" is defined, "to invoke evil upon, anathematize, excommunicate,
execrate." One needn't get over-excited when the pope curses or "damns"
him as he did the Russians recently; but when God pronounces a curse, to
disregard it is tragic. "Negligently:" "apt to omit what ought to be
done." This is about the greatest problem facing the church today, the
tendency to "omit what ought to be done."
In
Deut. 11:13
God demanded service with "all the heart." Jesus said the greatest
command is that men should love God "with all the heart."
(Matt. 22:37-39)
God commanded that "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy
might."
(Eccl. 9:10)
And also
that Christians should be "in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit;
serving the Lord."
(Rom. 12:11)
But what if someone should not take seriously the Lord in this matter,
going about the work negligently today? The nausea of the Lord is
declared against the insipid, indifferent, lukewarm attitude in no
uncertain terms, when to the church, Laodicea, He said "I will spew thee
out of my mouth."
(Rev. 3: 16)
That exactly expresses God's attitude still toward such a disposition.
The
general attitude of many congregations today, entirely too many, is that
of doing "the work of the Lord negligently;" in worship, in work, and in
warfare of a spiritual and doctrinal nature.
But
note more carefully the next curse of Jehovah through the prophet, "And
cursed is he that keepeth back his sword from blood." Moab must perish,
must be destroyed; God commanded it, and whosoever would hold back, or
shrink from the task, must perish under His anathema. The Lord's people
are still His army, although not now engaged in carnal warfare, yet
engaged in a warfare none the less terrific and deadly. The Christian
fights "against the principalities, against the powers, against the
world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places." The exhortation to "contend earnestly for the
faith once for all delivered unto the saints" was not given to preachers
exclusively, but to all Christians. No man, preacher or otherwise, can
"contend earnestly for the faith" and at the same time "hold back his
sword," To "contend" is to wield the sword, to smite "hip and thigh," as
did Samson of old.
The
armor of the Christian is of a spiritual nature, perfectly adapted to
the warfare; and as said the apostle, "mighty before God to the casting
down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing
that is exalted against the knowledge of God."
(2 Cor. 10:4, 5)
But for the sword to be felt among those whom God has said destroy, the
work cannot be done negligently, nor the sword kept back "from blood."
Is it
true that in the army of the Lord there are too many "camp-followers"
and not enough actual fighters? Xerxes said, "I wish I had as many
soldiers as men;" maybe that is what the Lord wishes, too. Gideon's army
lost nothing of strength when of the thirty-two thousand men, twenty-two
thousand of them went back; and then later when, through lack of
diligence, nine thousand seven hundred more of them were rejected. "A
few with God are mightier than a multitude without Him," someone has
said; and certainly the negligent and the "holders back" do not have
Him, for He has said, "My righteous one shall live by faith: and if he
shrink back, my soul hath no pleasure in him."
And now,
along with all the other "isms" the army of the Lord has to fight, such
as denominationalism, pre-millennialism, "straddle-the-fence-ism," etc.,
Catholicism looms more formidable than ever before. For a long time the
blood stained harlot that rules from the seven hilled city on the Tiber,
has been casting her lustful eyes toward the United States; and it seems
that at last our President is about to embrace her. I am not appointing
myself a critic of the President of the United States; neither did God
appoint me such, but rather said that I should pray for him. But every
student of History knows that this gesture will ultimately mean to the
religious life of this country if carried to the full maturity of the
Pope's desires. Without speculating on what might be the outcome, for
only God knows that, the vital point is this: Every Christian must
tighten the belt a few notches tighter, whet the sword a few degrees
sharper, exercise himself to greater ability, and shaking off the spirit
of doing the work of the Lord "negligently," strike with all his might
this monster of iniquity upon every occasion, Who dares hold back his
sword when God says "Strike!" --
Bible Banner - March 1940
Other Articles by Homer Hailey
The Question of the Ages