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could be that you have stood breathless upon the high crag
of a cliff, resting for a moment and peering out into the
vast openness in front of you. Your eyes find themselves
drawn to the broad, fertile, grassy valley far below. Lush
and pleasant, glowing with the soft light of the warm sun,
nestled comfortably between the majestic mountains, it
seems almost paradise itself. Through the valley, a
meandering stream flows smoothly in lazy peacefulness,
twinkling and gurgling softly. Along the stream, a city,
thriving and prosperous, sits like a king upon his throne.
From where you stand, you can still make out the forms
of people, moving about far below in the city of
the valley. People laughing and playing; young men
and women being married and rearing families; men
and women working, building, and planning for
their futures; homes being constructed; artists and
musicians creating masterpieces of creative work; people,
simply living out their lives in the noble pursuit of
happiness.
Your
gaze shifts from the valley below to the peak of the great
southern mountain towering above the city by the stream.
The mountain trembles and smokes, as hot, molten lava boils
in angry froth from its peak. It is only a matter of time
before the massive structure of rock and dirt can no longer
hold its turbulent contents, and it will burst open,
spewing fiery liquid down into the valley below. All will
be lost. Not one living soul will remain.
You
look once more at the valley below. Men and women are busy
warning others of the danger. They run back and forth,
spreading the news of the great destruction that is coming
upon the valley and upon the city. You watch to see if
others will also leave the valley behind, as you have, and
climb the northern mountain to safety, away from the place
of doom and destruction. No one comes.
As
you ponder why no one is fleeing from the evident danger, a
man appears on the path below you. He makes his way to
where you sit and greets you warmly. You return his
greeting. He says that he has just come from the valley and
has been spreading the news about the coming
destruction.
‘Are
there any who have believed the message?’ you ask. ‘I am
very glad to say’, he replies, ‘that there are many who
have believed the message and who know the path to
salvation’.
‘Why
then have they not left the valley and climbed the northern
mountain to safety?’
‘Oh’,
he answers, ‘It is important that we do not require
people to do anything to be saved from the destruction.
They only need to believe that it is real and to know the
path to salvation’.
‘But,
dear sir, if they truly believe, then they will know that
they must leave the city and the valley and climb the
narrow path to safety. There is no other way. If they
remain where they are, they will certainly perish with the
others. If we tell them anything other than this, then
surely we are ministers of death’.
‘What
doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath
faith, and have not works? can faith save him?’ Jas. 2.
14.
The
reality of one’s faith is measured by the intensity of
his actions. The Scriptures make this fact
undeniably clear. In Luke 6. 46, Jesus says, ‘And why
call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I
say?’ He then explains that it is not those who hear His
words who will be saved, even if the hearers
intellectually assent to the truth. It is those who do the
things He says that will be saved. If there is
not corresponding action, then there is not true
faith. ‘Faith without works is dead’, Jas. 2. 26.
If there is no true faith, then there is no salvation,
Heb. 11. 6.
There
is a dangerous and potentially deadly tendency
in local assemblies today for us to put so much
emphasis on intellectual belief that the true message
of the gospel is lost. We must die to self to live
in Christ, Gal. 2. 20. The way of the cross is hard
and dangerous, Matt. 7. 13, 14. We must forsake the
things of the world and the flesh, Tit. 2. 11-14, and
rather strive for those things which are above, Col.
3. 1-3. Our lives should be characterized by good works,
Eph. 2. 10.
We
do not want to undermine the necessity for one to believe
the basic tenets of the gospel, but we must not shy away
from preaching the full truth of the effect the gospel must
have on one’s life. There are some in local assemblies
who show little or no evidence of true saving faith. This
is especially true among young people who have been brought
up in Christian homes. These have been taught the truth of
sin and the punishment of hell; they have been force-fed
the gospel since birth, and they know the way of salvation.
When children are very young, many of us as parents simply
expect them to believe, and we all want them to be saved.
The result is that we sometimes offer them a false
assurance of salvation. However, how many truly do believe?
Is there evidence that would give us any indication of
the life of the Spirit within them? Or have we
simply convinced them and ourselves that they are truly
saved, when in fact they are still dead in trespasses and
sins?
We
do no favours to anyone when we consistently give assurance
of salvation to those who do not live according to what God
expects, or who show no evidence of the new life. A good
healthy dose of self-doubt may be just the thing to wake
them. Have they truly believed? The First Epistle of John
is a book of tests designed to separate the true from the
false, or to separate the mere intellectual believer from
the one who has truly believed with his heart, mind and
soul. This little book tells us that if we have
believed, then we must leave the world and the
flesh behind and grow in our relationship with God the
Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The reality of
our faith will show in what we do, 1 John 2. 15-17; 3.
16-23.
The
number of individuals in local assemblies who live like the
world, and show no evidence of salvation through faith
in the work of Calvary is increasing. Is it simply that we
have lowered our standards, or is it that we have been
preaching only half of the gospel? The gospel not only must
be believed, it must also be obeyed, 2 Thess. 1. 8. If
we preach anything less, then surely we are ministers
of death!
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