Militant Evangelism! (31 page)

I find that I am forever approached by young men, and occasionally young women, who hang their heads in shame, and confess that they have a "lust" problem. The reaction is interesting when I say, "So do I." They are relieved to find that they are not alone in the battle against the "lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life." If you don't have any "problem" with lust, then you've got problems. You have more than likely surrendered to it.

Sex-drive is God given, but lust is a flame that will try and generate the heat of unlawful passion as long as we are in this fallen body. In almost every case where scripture specifies distinctive sins, sexual sin is at the top of the list. Sin, especially sexual sin, draws us as a moth to a flame. Scripture speaks of being "hardened through the
deceitfulness
of sin." The Amplified Bible puts the same verse this way, "hardened through the trickery which the delusive glamour of his sin may play on him." Sin has a delusive glamour to it. The old saying, "as miserable as sin," just isn't true. The person who said it probably also said, "Crime doesn't pay." Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than
enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season. Sin is enjoyable. I have walked the streets of New York and have noticed that porn stores don't have to do too much advertising. Sin holds a deep-rooted charm for our sinful nature, but carries the sting of death with it.

We were once "deceived, serving different lusts and pleasures," but now, if we are truly converted, our eyes have been opened. We see sin for the sugar-coated venom that it is.

The Backslider
In
Heart

I find that most "backsliders" begin to reveal their true state, by failing to read the Word. To open the Bible when there is sin in the heart is too convicting. Often they will still fellowship, worship and pray, but that two-edged sword cuts too close to the flesh. Stephen gives us an interesting insight into the workings of a "backslider in heart," in Acts Chapter 8. As this soldier of Christ gives his farewell speech to those who are about to promote him to Headquarters, he spoke of Israel's backsliding in the wilderness, saying,

"But our fathers refused to obey Him. Instead, they rejected him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt. They told Aaron, 'Make some gods who will lead the way for us. As for this fellow Moses who led us out of Egypt—we don't know that has happened to him.' That was the time they made an idol in the form of a calf. They brought sacrifices to it and held a celebration in
honor
of what their hands had made."

Here we not only have three stages of Israel's backsliding, but we also have three signs of a "backslider in heart," the false convert. According to Bible typology, Egypt is a type of the world, and Moses is a type of Christ.

The first sign of a backslider in heart is "in their hearts" they turn back to Egypt. No one else may know—but they know, and God knows that deep within the heart is a longing to go back to the world. Like Lot's wife, they are longingly looking back. Scriptures warn that "fellowship with the world is enmity with God." It teaches that whoever "wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." Therefore those who profess to be in the army of God, but have a desire to go back to the world, are not on our side. How can they be if God's Word says they are the enemy of God?

Second, they said, "As for this Moses fellow who led us out of Egypt—we don't know what has become of him!" The backslider in heart loses the reality of his walk with Jesus—"As for this Jesus who led us out of the world—we don't know what has become of Him." They leave what they said was their first love. To say, "I love you Jesus" sounds trite to them, yet the Bible warns, "If any man loves not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed."

Third, they make for themselves an idol. They create a god in their own image. They shape a deity to suit their own sins,
then
worship the work of their own hands. Their god becomes one who is void of reference to sin, righteousness and judgment. There is no need to flee from sin, because their god condones sin. Then it is only a matter of time until they slip down the slippery and sinful path they have chosen—he who longs for the world may not be in the world, but the world is still in him. Of them, the proverbs are true: "A dog returns to its vomit," and "A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud."

The Distinguishing Mark

What can be done to ensure that we are not part of the great company who fall away, or of the great mass who will cry "Lord, Lord," who will be lined up as deserters and shot from Heaven into Hell? The answer is in Galatians 6:14:

"But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world."

Revelation of Christ on the cross is the key. This truth is graphically illustrated in the following story:

A father and son once went on a camping trip. When they arrived at the site, the father pitched the tent and said, "Son, see that river; it's full of
crocodiles. If you want to do any fishing, fish off the wharf." The son reluctantly agreed that he would stay on the wharf.

After three days of fishing, the son began to think about the excitement of fishing amidst the crocodiles in the safety of a boat. So, that is what he did. He obtained a boat, and in a sense of bravado, rowed out into the river.

He had only been fishing for a short time when a crocodile came alongside the small boat, hit it with its tail, and the terrified boy was thrown into the water. The father beard him scream, saw what had happened, and without hesitation dived into the crocodile-infested waters. He grabbed his beloved son and pulled him to the safety of the shore.

When the boy opened his eyes, he saw a grisly sight. A crocodile had draped its massive jaws around the father's legs, leaving him in bleeding shreds.

The following thought is unthinkable: Imagine if the son looked at his father lying there in agony, bleeding to death, and said, "Dad, I really appreciate what you just did for me, but I found it exciting out mere with the crocodiles
—you wouldn't mind if I got another boat, would you?”

If the son could
think,
let alone
say
such a thing, the blind fool hasn't seen the sacrifice his father has just made for him!

Dear professing Christian, if you have any,
even hidden desire,
to go back into the sinful excitement of the world, you haven't seen the sacrifice of the Father!

If that son has seen what his father has just done for him, a sense of horror will consume him at the cost, the extreme, the length, the expense his father has just gone to, to save him. He would pour contempt upon the very drops of water that still cling to his flesh!

The true Christian has seen that God in the person of Jesus Christ, without hesitation, dived into the very jaws of Hell to save him from the folly of sin. A sense of horror consumes him at the cost, the extreme, the length, the expense his Father went to, to save him. He cries,

"And when I think,

that
God His Son not sparing,

sent
Him to die,

I scarce can take it in; that on that cross, my burdens gladly bearing,

He bled and died to take away my sin."

He pours contempt upon the sinful desires that still cling to his flesh. The true convert is crushed by a sense of his own foolishness and yet at the same time, he has inexpressible gratitude for the "unspeakable gift" of the cross. He has seen Jesus

Christ evidently set forth and crucified. He says with Paul, "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world." After seeing the sacrifice of the Father, how could he ever go back to the exciting pleasures of sin! To do so, he would have to trample
under foot
the blood of Jesus Christ. He would have to count the sacrifice of Calvary as nothing.

Instead, he
willfully
crucifies himself to the world, and the world to himself.

He whispers with the hymnist:

"When I survey the wondrous cross, on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride."

The world can attract him no longer. They that are
Christ's,
have crucified their affections and lusts.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN VICTORY AMIDST DEFEAT

"He teaches my hand to war, so that a bow of bronze is broken by my arms" (2 Samuel 22:35).

T
he army that does not train well will not fight well. Soldiers are not only trained in the use of their weapons, but they are trained that they might become strong. Deliberate resistance is put in front of every soldier. He finds himself facing obstacle courses. He weaves his way through all types of difficulties, bunkers, hazards, hindrances, snags, tripwires, hurdles, hedges and barriers. He is made to run with great weights upon his shoulders, march for miles, arise at the crack of dawn, and stand for long periods of time. He is forced to go against the grain. The objective is to create a strong, disciplined, finely-tuned, well-regulated, organized force of soldiers who will stop at nothing to achieve the
objective.

Muscle comes through resistance. The strong, muscular, conquering hero didn't get that way through easy living. To attain such a physical state, he had to train hard. Through many years of running, weight training and self-discipline, he brought himself to the peak of condition. The more resistance he put against his muscles, the more they developed.

God is seeking to bring you and
I
to the peak of condition. He is refining us through resistance. He desires to build in us the muscle of a strong and good character, not being caught up in the vanities of this futile life. He wants to teach us good judgment, self-discipline, perseverance, godliness and love. These are the muscles that impress God. These are the virtues of His Divine Nature, the qualities that will cause the army of God to be strong, delicately-tuned, and well-regulated to a point where we will obtain our objectives.

The
soldier
who truly understands the object of his superiors, will gladly submit himself to the discipline of the army. The true soldier of Christ, who sees the objective of his Superior, will joyfully submit himself to the discipline and trials of the Christian walk. In the light of the objective, the yoke of Jesus is easy and the burden is light. He has not been
drafted
into the army of God, but he has
willingly submitted himself to the
yoke of Christ. He knows that whatever affliction, trial, or weight of resistance comes his
way,
comes only by the will of his Superior. God has allowed a particular trial, no matter how bad it may seem, for his good. He can fall into the great safety net of Romans 8:28 when everything else fails. Paul says, "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

Look at John Wesley's understanding of the disciplines of God:

"Receive every inward and outward trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness and desolation with both hands, as to a true opportunity and blessed occasion of dying to self and entering into a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying suffering Savior."