____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ December 26, 1999 ____________________________________________________ The Gospel and Militance by Richard J. Boone Edward Gibbon, in his classic work The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, discussed several reasons why the Roman Empire fell. One of them was the increased laxity in the discipline and training of the army: ``It is the just and important observation of Vegetius that the infantry was invariably covered with defensive armor, from the foundation of the city to the reign of the emperor Gratian. The relaxation of discipline and the disuse of the exercise rendered the soldiers less able, and less willing, to support the fatigues of service; they complained of the weight of the armor, which they seldom wore: and they successively obtained the permission of laying aside both their cuirasses and their helmets. The heavy weapons of their ancestors, the short sword and the formidable pilum, which had subdued the world, insensibly dropped from their feeble hands. The loss of armies, the destruction of cities, and the dishonor of the Roman name, ineffectually solicited the successors of Gratian to restore the helmets and cuirasses of the infantry. The enervated soldiers abandoned their own, and the public defense; and the pusillanimous indolence may be considered as the immediate downfall of the empire'' (III:271-272). In short, the military lost its militance! Several applications could be made of this principle of relaxation of efforts. Among them would be national, local, family and personal lessons. However, I want to focus solely on spiritual applications, especially in light of our times. The Christian -- A Soldier In Battle Of all passages which so speak of the Christian, Ephesians 6:10-20 is the most familiar and complete. Ours is not a physical battle, but it is a battle nonetheless. In this battle we wrestle ``against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places'' (v. 12). Therefore we must stand, arrayed in ``the whole armor of God'' (v. 13). This armor, though powerful, is not carnal (2 Cor. 10:3-5). It is, by nature, two-fold: (1) defensive -- breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and prayer and supplications (requests to God for one's own needs); and (2) offensive -- feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, sword of the Spirit, boldness in making known the mystery of God. Is this just equipment to have just for the sake of having it, or is there some greater purpose and use for it? The purpose for this armor is to proclaim with boldness the gospel, speaking it as we ought to speak (vv. 19-20). God has not provided the armor and the charge for vanity's sake; it is a responsibility of every member to take on the challenge and don the armor (Acts 8:4)! Militance: Key To Growth Before proceeding, it is helpful to define this term as I am using it. One definition suggests fighting and being combative. This leaves an impression of contentiousness; this is not what we seek. Another aspect of militance includes aggressive action, especially for a cause in which one believes. This is what I speak of here -- being aggressive in our work in preaching and teaching the gospel. This has been a factor in every era in which God's cause among men has grown, whether we refer to defending God's cause among those who are His people, or in persuading those who are not God's children to become so. Some of the greatest, most admired characters of the Old Testament evidenced great militance in their lives. Who could deny that about Elijah in his challenge and chastisement of the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs. 18:17-40)? This began with his plain-spoken rebuke of and challenge to Ahab (1 Kgs. 18:17-18). Similarly, Ezra the priest met the challenges of his day, regardless of the source from whence they came -- from the heathens (Ezra 4:1-6) or among God's people (Ezra 4:24; Ezra 5:1-2; Ezra 6:14-15). As we turn attention to the New Testament, John the Baptist captures our attention as he proclaimed the coming kingdom and repentance to all classes of the people (Lk. 3:1-20). Jesus was militant, especially as He recognized the need of the spiritually sick to be healed (Mt. 9:12). That was the driving force of His life. The apostles militantly followed his lead, which is why the kingdom spread so far, so fast in the first century (Acts 2:40-41; Acts 4:4; Acts 5:28,42; Acts 6:7; Acts 8:4; Acts 11:19-20; Acts 17:2-3,6,16; Acts 18:9-10; 2 Tim. 4:2; etc.). The greatest periods of expansion in the Restoration Movement have been those times when militance for truth and the lost was great. The early years of this movement in our country -- 1800-1840 -- saw an explosion of those who committed themselves to the Scriptures only. From 1930-1965, religious historians recognized churches of Christ as one of the fastest growing religious bodies in this country. Why? There was a passion for spreading the truth to edify the weak and reach the lost. The question we must answer about ourselves is whether we have that passion now, or are we content just to, as is frequently said, ``keep house for the Lord.'' Recovering Militance The fact that I mention recovering militance implies it has been lost. I don't suggest that every Christian in every place has, but it must be admitted that in many places among many Christians, the fervor for the gospel to have free course (2 Thes. 3:1) has waned from past times. As our society has become more politically correct, we have become more spiritually relaxed. Our society has gotten to the point now, it seems, that the only ones who are religiously militant are those who stand against those who are militantly religious. What can we do to change that? I offer four suggestions. First, we must regain a clear view of the majesty, authority, mercy and severity of God. This key is found in every Bible example of acceptable militance, and has been present in every period of proper growth in post-apostolic times. Second, we must have an unwavering commitment to proclaim and uphold all truth. No one would deny this, but in practice we fail. Many times, it is the truth only on basics or less controversial subjects, or in certain methods, or by certain people. Such approaches have never produced real growth! Only when we spread all of the truth as far and wide as possible will ``the growth that is from God'' (Col. 2:19) occur. Third, we must maintain/recover sincere love for the spiritual well-being of people. It matters little if they are of the same race, social status and background we are. What is important is, ``What about their soul?'' Of equal importance, in light of our responsibilities in spreading the gospel, is ``What about my soul?'' if we are not as active as we should be! Finally, we must disregard any temporal consequences of believing, practicing and preaching truth. We are not the first, nor will we be the last, to face them. We must care less and less about consequences, and more and more about opportunities and souls. It is not until all of these are present that we will be as militant about the gospel and spiritual matters as we ought to be. Without these no sustained efforts or results will occur Conclusion One reason the Roman Empire fell was its laxity in training, discipline and work. It lost its militance. For the same reasons, churches today don't grow as they can/should. As a result, they die on the vine. Such realities bring us face to face with this question: Are we militant about the gospel, the power of God to save all men (Rom. 1:16)? Think about it. -- Via Words of Truth, June 1998 ___________________________________________ Free Bible Courses Are Available Upon Request. ___________________________________________ Ouija Board Preachers by Robert F. Turner During World War II, Gov. Stephenson, of Texas, had something to say about the prophets of old foretelling automobile tire rationing. He, or his ghost writer, should have checked the reference (Isa. 3:18) with greater care; and two or three verses of context would have helped a lot too. The ``round tires like the moon'' of the KJV become ``crescents'' in the ASV, with ``headtires'' in verse 20. The context would have shown Isaiah spake of the women of Jerusalem and the pending captivity which would ``take away'' the golden ornaments of the people. Some current ``radio prophet'' has offered Nah. 2:4 as ``prophecy'' concerning our traffic problems with today's automobile. ``The chariots rage in the streets,'' etc. That's it, surely. Unless you read the context and find that Nahum speaks of the destruction of Nineveh throughout all three chapters. One would have to be a dolt to miss it. This Ouija Board treatment of the prophets shows a gross misunderstanding of the prophet and his work. His primary function was not to tell the future, but to preach the word of God which was given him by inspiration. As someone has put it, he was more of a ``forth-teller'' than a ``foreteller.'' Aaron was Moses' ``prophet'' (Exo. 7:1), his ``spokesman'' -- to set forth what Moses told him to speak (Exo. 4:14-f). What the priest was to the Law (ministering at the alter, etc.) and the ``wise'' were to counsel (as Solomon, and the counsel of Proverbs, etc.), the prophet was to the word (Jer. 18:18) (verses 5-11 give an excellent ``case'' of the function of a prophet). As God's spokesman, the prophet set forth His will. Basically, he differed from a preacher only in that his message was inspired -- ''holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost'' (2 Pet. 1:21). Abraham was a prophet; Moses was a prophet, and the name was applied to many who were ``moved by the Spirit'' (Gen. 20:7; Deu. 34:10). But as the nations of Israel and Judah rebelled more and more against God, the messengers (prophets) of God were moved to devote more time to warning the sinners of their punishment. Great sections of their message called for repentance and foretold (often in detail) the ``burden'' or ``woe'' that would come upon them. And as the horizons darkened with regard to physical Israel, the hope of the Redeemer was set before them. Thus Isaiah promised salvation to the ``remnant'' in the ``shoot out of the stock of Jesse,'' and ``It is too light a thing'' that the preserved of Israel should be restored; ``I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles.'' So the prophets paved the way for the coming of Christ -- the golden apex of their great work. Yet the greatest of prophets (Luk. 7:28) and forerunner of Christ was still a preacher of righteousness, who called for repentance. How shallow then, how puerile, how utterly absurd for so-called ``radio prophets'' to play games with bits of the divine message of prophets of old and propose to find there a sort of crystal ball for today's headlines. ``Automobiles,'' ``moon walks,'' indeed!! Such preaching appeals to the sensation seeker, but has not the value of a nickel's worth of dog food. -- Via Plain Talk, August 1970 ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES I will be preaching the morning and evening services, as well as teach the morning Bible class, this Sunday (12/26) in Lexington, Kentucky, for the University Heights church of Christ. (The Bible class will cover Luke 8.) If you happen to be in the area that day, we would love to have you with us. The Tri-state church of Christ is pleased to have David Hawthorne filling-in for me in my absence. He will be teaching during the class period, as well as preaching in the morning service. Having already contacted a few churches, I am still looking for a place to relocate. I would also appreciate the prayers of the brethren for this. Thank you. ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________