The Wayside Pulpit No.52
29th
December 1999
"Bad Associations corrupt Good Customs"
These words are found in
1st Corinthians 15:33, where Paul was quoting from "Thais" by
Menander, an Athenian poet. It is one of six occasions in the N.T. where a
secular author is quoted. The word translated "customs" is elsewhere
used in the sense of "ethics" or "morals." (Greek = Ethos)
A very valuable object
lesson is found in Biblical history in the life and attitudes of the Judaean
King Jehoshaphat, which exemplifies the above quotation. We are told that the
King started his career very well, and God gave him resounding victories. But
he was very concerned about the rift between his Southern Kingdom and that of
the North, under the leadership of Ahab. "After all", I hear him say,
"they are our brethren. We are all sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. What
better task is there than drawing us all together again?" As a result he
made three profound errors of judgement.
1. He became friendly with
Ahab, whose wife was Jezebel, a very wicked and idolatrous woman from
2. He married one of his
sons to Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel, and Athaliah was as wicked
as her mother.
3. He joined with Ahab in
naval pursuits at Ezion Geber.
These associations wreaked
havoc on the
1. The navy was wrecked by
a freak storm, as predicted by the Lord through His prophet.
2.Athaliah avenged herself
on the house of David, by destroying the entire seed royal, which nearly
prevented God's word from being fulfilled. Were it not for the quick action of
the High Priest in hiding baby Joash in the
3.Joash began his reign
well, under the tutelage of the High Priest, but later became a true son
of his wicked mother. His son, and grandson were equally wicked
kings in the sight of the Lord, and their names were expunged from the
genealogy in Matthew's gospel.
Please excuse the extreme
brevity of this account. It is good to read the whole story, and ponder on each
part of it. Jehoshaphat's thrust at Unity might have been popular and praised
by those of his day, but what a price was paid for this attempt at unity.
How utterly necessary it is
for us to seek the Lord's guidance before striving for a "unity" that
is not of His will, but based on a mistaken concept. In the days of the divided
kingdom, although the Lord forbad warfare between the tribes, the split was of
His own doing. To try to patch it up was fatal. God was not in it. Neither is
He in any of today's efforts to make all Christians "one" in a purely
human sense. No doubt the world would applaud such an action, saying that it is
long overdue, and many Christians are taken in by it, believing it to be an
action that would please the Lord. But a personal walk with God, obeying His
directives, is the only safe course. If certain brethren adopt doctrines or
practices which are offensive to our spirit, then to form an alliance is to
court disaster, whatever other brethren may say.
Forgiveness is not
optional. We are all bound to this principle by the Lord's word. But
today it seems that amongst the brethren, an insidious device from Satan has
crept in to blur the edges of truth and honesty, to blur the antithesis that
should exist to distinguish between right and wrong, black and white. So
Christians mistakenly believe that unity is feeling happy with one another
irrespective of truth and God's word. Jesus' words that He came to bring
a sword seem to be ignored in favour of unity at any cost and the lessons from
the Scriptures ignored in favour of the comfortable feelings of human unity.
Paul said, "Endeavour
to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace." (Ephesians 4:3.)
But what about believers who hold to doctrines or practices which cause us to
withdraw either in silent or vocal complaint? How does one maintain the
"unity of the spirit" in such cases? First of all we need to
appreciate that this UNITY has already been created by God, and not by
ourselves. Our unity is in Christ Himself. The "household of
faith" embraces many different people, of varying social and moral
backgrounds, living under differing forms of teaching, and of varying
degrees of maturity in the faith. Regardless of all these differences, we are
enjoined to "keep" the Unity. And the Greek word for "keep"
means to guard, respect, and honour, because it is of God's creation. All
true believers are part of this Unity.
Our problem seems to be in
how we handle our brethren who are washed in the same precious blood as
ourselves, when we come to a place of severe disagreement? Do we
push it under the carpet and go on with the relationship for the sake of
keeping the peace and unity? We are told to guard that unity in Christ, we are
told to forgive. Are both possible and yet within the context of a
separate walk with the Lord? We believe it is not only possible but part
of the way the Lord takes us at times.
Reconciliation is quite
another thing altogether and must not be confused with forgiveness and God's
unity. This may not be possible in this life, and often the Lord forbids it, as
He did between the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. It is impossible for all to
be of one mind. We can have forgiveness in our hearts, we can recognise that
those we can no longer walk with are part of the Unity in Christ and so keep
the "bond of peace". But to brush important differences
under the mat in an endeavour to create a false "unity", is not
only heading for disaster, but flies in the face of God.
The Lord will have
reconciliation amongst the brethren, in His time and in His way.