joy and he did. He was given the power to see it through. Here some of us come painfully short. We are poor finishers. We have beheld the sad spectacle of those who have run well through most of the course only to end up sadly on the last lap. Some grow weary in body, mind or spirit. Some strike a truce with the enemy and settle on a compro mise. It is easy to excuse such a procedure by calling it the mel lowness of maturity. It looks broad-minded and is very popu lar in this age when men do not think the truth is worth fighting for. Paul finished his course. He could have sung well: “My soul, be on thy guard, Ten thousand foes arise; The hosts of sin are pressing hard To draw thee from the skies. 0 watch and fight and pray, The battle ne’er give o’e r ; Renew it boldly every day And help Divine implore. Ne’er think the victory won Nor lay thine armor down, The work of faith will not be done Till thou obtain the crown.” f There was a crown for Paul and not for him only but for all who love our Lord’s appearing. God help us to so run that we may obtain while we look unto Jesus who for the joy that was set b e f o r e Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne o f God. Thank God, He finished His course! What if He had stopped before He cried on Calvary, “ It is finished” ! QjsJ
Some are faithful to the faith but not to the fight. While they believe the truth and their doc trine is sound, they smilingly hold that the truth needs no de fense and that it will take care of itself. Such people really play into the hands o f the enemy. While they blissfully refuse to fight, the enemy sneaks into homes and schools and churches and institutions created for the propagation of the faith and turns them into instruments for its denial. It is very easy to take a lofty attitude and consider one self above the battle but the bat tle goes on and we assist the enemy if we do not resist him. Whether we think o f it as the fight o f faith or the fight for the faith, it is a good fight and Paul fought it well. He took the initia tive and carried the battle to the foe. He did not merely hold his own. He warned us against the enemy, perceiving that wolves would creep in and spoil the flock. Such a policy is unpopular today and is often considered unchris tian. Paul condemned false teach ers and error; he did not try to see their good points or empha size how much they1had in com mon with the truth. He was a good soldier of Jesus Christ and did not entangle himself with the affairs of this life that he might please Him who had chosen him to be a soldier. Finally, Paul was FAITHFUL TO THE FINISH. Some are faithful to the faith and for a while they are faithful to the fight but they grow tired or reach a compromise and do not fight to the finish. Paul ran with patience to the end. His desire was that he might finish his course with
a good fight.” Faith is a fight, for the Scriptures speak of the “ good fight of faith.” Dr. Torrey said: “We hear of the rest o f faith but there is a fight o f faith in prayer as well as in effort. Those who would have us believe that they have attained to some sublime height o f faith and trust because they never know any agony of conflict or prayer have surely got ten beyond their Lord and the mightiest victors for God both in effort and prayer that the ages of history have known.” We wrestle not against flesh and blood but against spiritual adversaries in the heavenlies and we fight with spiritual weapons, clad in the whole armor o f God. “Think not the faith by which the just shall live Is a dead creed, a map correct of heaven; Far less, a feeling fond and fu gitive, A thoughtless gift, withdrawn as soon as given. It is an affirmation and an act That bids eternal truth be pres ent fact.” That means a battle with the world, the flesh and the devil. Paul was under no illusions about the enemy. He knew noth ing of the modem notion of sin as mere immaturity, the mistakes we make on our way up. It is high time we learned that the life of faith is no picnic. We are up against a formidable foe and a world set-up under the prince of the power of the air, the god of this age. It is a fight o f faith but it is still a fight. Not only is faith itself a fight; there is a sense in which we are to fight for the faith. Jude ex horts us to contend earnestly for the faith. Paul was set for the de fense of the Gospel. There are those today who boast that they never stoop to controversy and who seem to be above putting up a fight for the faith. Gresham Machen said well that the most important things are not the ones about which men are agreed but the ones for which men will fight.
Dr. Havner's articles are scheduled monthly for the coming year. Why not give your friends a subscription to K.B.? They'll enjoy reading it as much as you do.
THE KING'S BUSINESS
12
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker