The Parable of the Ten Virgins

The parable of the ten virgins found in Matt. 25:1-13 has more to say to us than we often realize. One of the things that troubles a person most, that nags and gnaws at our spirit, is when we mess up, make a bad mistake, and then have to pay for it when we knew from the beginning what it was we needed to do, which would have avoided the whole mess, but simply failed to do it for one reason or another. We blame ourselves for the trouble we get ourselves into, and rightly so. There is much of that in the parable of the ten virgins.

You likely know the parable but I will give a brief summary. In ancient times in the Middle East, when there was a wedding, it was the Jewish custom for the bridegroom to go to the house of his father-in-law to receive his bride and then to return to either his own home or a designated location for the wedding and all that went with it. There would be appointed a company of virgins to meet him and his beloved with lanterns to accompany them upon their return to the place of the festivities and to enter with them and enjoy and take part in the celebration.

In the account found in Matthew, the bridegroom tarried and did not arrive nearly as soon as expected. The ten virgins fell asleep but were awakened by the cry of his imminent appearance and prepared immediately to go out and greet the couple and fulfill their duties to bring them in to commence the wedding. The problem was that five of the ten virgins found they were running out of oil for their lamps, which were going out, and had brought nothing with them to carry them over in such a contingency. The other five had prepared for such a thing but had not enough extra oil to give out lest they too run out. The five who lacked sufficient oil made a hasty trip to purchase from those who sold but upon their return found that “the door was shut” and they were not allowed entrance.

The main lesson of the parable is about the need to be prepared for the Lord’s return--“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Matt. 25:13 NKJV) But, I want to take as in-depth a look at this parable as I am capable of doing and get from it everything I can for there are lessons here that I am persuaded are often overlooked.

(1) Not every person who will be lost, who has the door shut on them, is a bad person by human standards. I do not know a single charge that could be brought against the five virgins who ran short of oil other than that they were negligent in their lack of adequate preparation. Nothing negative is said about their character or conduct whatsoever aside from this one charge. From all we can tell they seemed to be good people with but one fault.

Thus, one lesson we see in this parable is that being a good person by itself is not enough. Not all good people by society’s standards obey the gospel. Good people, by human standards, will be lost. Peter asks, “What will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel?” (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV, see also 2 Thess. 1:7-9) To ask is to answer.

I know families as honest as the day, morally above reproach, kind, generous, do not drink, do not curse, have a great family and family life, yet have no interest in religion, in Christ, the Bible, or God, although they may offer a prayer at the Thanksgiving meal. They may, if pressed, make a claim to believe in God but a Bible would last them a thousand years for it would never be used, nor would there ever be any point in expecting to see them in public worship. In many ways they are good people, good like the five virgins who were lost. They are lost because they have made no preparation.

The rich young ruler was an example of an otherwise good man who was lost. We find his story in Matt. 19:16-30, Mark 10:17-22, and Luke 18:18-30. He comes to Jesus and asks what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus lists a number of commandments and he answers and says, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” (Mark 10:20 NKJV) Did he lie? No! But, he lacked one thing--he loved his wealth and was not yet willing to give it up. The Bible says Jesus loved this man (Mark 10:21) and yet despite the good life of the young man in keeping all the commandments and despite Jesus’ love for him, he was lost. Yes, people you and I might call good can and will be lost. God does not measure by society’s standards.

(2) Not every person who will be lost has a bad heart. The five who fell out of favor wanted the right thing. They had a desire to do well and be with the right people. In the parable, the wedding party and guests represent the saints, with the bridegroom being Jesus, so we could say that even the five unprepared virgins were seeking the company of God’s people.

I sometimes hear people talking about their heart and how their heart tells them they are okay with God. We must have a clear conscience before God, but Paul’s heart was good while he was persecuting Christians for the simple reason that he thought he was doing God’s will. He said after his arrest in Jerusalem, while before the council there, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” (Acts 23:1 NKJV) One cannot have a good conscience while having a bad heart pricking his soul.

To us, the heart seems right, and so we are at peace with God in our minds even though we may well be at war with him unknowingly. One must be very careful about his heart. “The heart is deceitful above all things; and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jer. 17:9 NKJV)

How applicable that is to the hearts of the five virgins who were unprepared. They had no inkling of anything being wrong whatsoever until the very end. The heart (the emotions in their case) felt right, but the mind was not thinking, not considering the possibilities, and thus they were given in the end, each according to their ways.

(The Bible heart consists of the emotions, the will, and the mind of man. Sometimes in speaking of the heart, the Bible will have reference to only one of these constituents, while at other times it takes the comprehensive view; thus, one must take care in reading carefully the text in context. The five foolish virgins had the proper emotions, but evidently that overrode what should have been a proper concern by the mind of contingency plans and the will to provide for such an eventuality. Trusting in emotions is a risky business at best which is why many bad marriages are made--the mind is thrust out of the decision-making process.)

(3) Not every person who is lost is totally negligent. The five unprepared virgins had made preparations up to a point. It is no easy task to prepare for a wedding. They had worked, no doubt, preparing for the occasion, if in nothing else, in getting themselves prepared with proper dress, etc. They were also prompt, on time, in fact, early as it turned out. Early but not adequately prepared.

Being unprepared in one aspect of one’s life is enough to ruin the whole thing. So I have faith. What if I do not have works? James says, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26 NKJV) The Christian life is a balanced life. In what area is one to be unprepared? Is it in faith, in works, in love, in worship, in longsuffering, in self-control? Where are we to be unprepared? This is not to say we can reach perfection, but it is to say we cannot be negligent in developing Christian character and fulfilling Christian responsibilities. Remember, as far as we can tell from the account given, the five foolish virgins were prepared fully in every way but one.

(4) When a door is shut, it is shut. There comes a time, even in this life, when doors are shut never to be opened again. This thought was really the catalyst for this article. There are so many things that need to be done today, but we procrastinate. There are relationships that need to be repaired. It ought to be done today, but we are betting on tomorrow or waiting on the other guy to make the first move. Doors only stay open for a time, and many once closed will always remain so. When you are eighty-five, it is a little hard to say you are going to college, and by doing so, it will open financial doors of opportunity for you.

The lesson is simple enough. Do today what you need to get done, and do not put it off any longer. The Bible never promises a tomorrow. “You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:14 NKJV) “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” (2 Cor. 6:2 NKJV) When Noah built the ark and entered therein, God shut the door. (Gen. 7:16 NKJV) That door, when shut, remained shut. We need to act today before our doors are shut never to open again.

The five foolish virgins had a door of opportunity to prepare, as do we, but time runs out, and when that happens, we can say in all truthfulness the door has been shut.

(5) Presumptions are dangerous. Certainly, all would agree the foolish virgins presumed an early arrival and plenty of oil for their needs. They lived with that presumption and suffered with it as well. The word “presumptuous” as in “presumptuous sins” as found in Psalms 19:13, where David prayed, “keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins,” (NKJV) has reference to sins of pride which proceed from an over-reliance on self-confidence. The five foolish virgins were self-confident in their preparation. They certainly thought they had everything under control. We ought to learn from that.

It is dangerous to rely on oneself and make presumptions. Rather than make presumptions, why not just take God’s word on matters relating to life and godliness? The Bible today has basically been rewritten by many of the major religious bodies in existence. They will live and die with their new interpretations of what God’s word says (means). It is a life of religious presumption. They presume this or that pleases God without any word from God. As we live, so we die. On that day, the door is shut forever.

(6) There is danger in living a foolish life. “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalms 14:1 NKJV) The five virgins who did not prepare adequately were foolish and paid for it. Amos, the prophet, warned Israel, “Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” (Amos 4:12 NKJV) We will all meet God one day. The day of death is, for all practical purposes, that day. That is the day the bridegroom cometh. Will we be found wise and prepared or foolish and unprepared?

We are often foolish out of ignorance, but why are we ignorant? In religious matters, it is often because we refuse to become serious students of God’s word. We live a life of religious emotionalism rather than of serious study of God’s word. We don’t know what God teaches. We only know what we hear on TV or what the preacher says. 

God speaking through Hosea said in days gone by, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6 NKJV) Have things improved among mankind?

The five foolish virgins should have been aware of the possibility of a delay. Surely, this was not the first time a bridegroom had ever been delayed in his coming. But they refused to give the thought any serious consideration. They had the knowledge to know what could happen, but rejected knowledge and refused to give it serious consideration, just as people do with God’s word today.

(7) Finally, there is no such thing as living off the godliness of another. I cannot loan you love for God, or faith, or works, or give you godly character. Those are personal things we each must develop for ourselves. If Christ is to live within me, then I must be the one who cultivates that relationship, seek and desire it. It takes time and effort to develop mature Christian character. I can no more get you a college degree with your name on it and all the knowledge and benefits acquired from the pursuit of it than I can make you a godly Christian. Both require individual effort.

If you want to know the Bible, you must study it. I cannot do it for you. If you want to live a faithful life, you must do it; I cannot do it for you. If you want to serve God and mankind, you are the one who must do it. So, the bottom line is the choice is ours, each one of us. On the last day, we will either be among the wise or the foolish. It is our choice.

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The Need to Preach on Sin

There is a great need to preach on sin today. I am not at all sure that sin is any worse or more prevalent today than in generations past for one can go back in history and find unimaginable sin. Human sacrifice, cannibalism, idol worship, all forms of sexual debauchery, witchcraft, mass murderers (think Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot in more recent history), you name it, and you can find it in the history of the sins of mankind. History has taught us how depraved man can be.

However, if you and I are not as bad as some other person, as regards sin, so what? Does that make a person righteous just because he can find others worse than himself? Does that make me angelic? No! "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Rom. 3:23 NKJV) "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8 NKJV) "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23 NKJV)

We all live condemned before God based on the sin in our life unless it is forgiven. Men need to be convicted of sin to motivate them to turn from it and turn to God.

What is sin and what makes it so bad? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4 KJV) or, as the New King James Version puts it, "sin is lawlessness." It is disobedience to the law of God, whether willful or otherwise. What makes it so bad? It displaces God as the rightful ruler of the world and puts man in God's place. It mocks God as if to say who is God that I (man) should obey him.

Why must sin be punished? Because, if it is not, God cannot be God. Law that is not enforced is, in reality, no law at all. God, the lawmaker, is not glorified but mocked if his law is not upheld. Disrespect or disobedience to the law is really an affront to the lawgiver. Sin must be punished; otherwise, the lawmaker must step down and lose all authority to rule, for if he will not enforce his law, how can he rule at all? And, besides that, sin is evil. Should not evil be punished?

Remove punishment for sin and righteousness ceases to exist; what is right then becomes what the strongest man says is right. Hitler was, in such a scenario, only wrong because he failed to win the war. In a world without God, there is no such thing as an absolute standard of right and wrong. You can only have God if God is God and rules as God by putting teeth into his commandments, enforcing obedience by punishing disobedience.

God gives to the world security. We know sin will be punished and will not ultimately win out. We know evil and wickedness will not last forever. To paraphrase a preacher I once heard, if there is no hell or punishment for sin then Hitler got off scot-free for what happened to him happens to all men--he died. He died, but so will you and I. He got away with mass murder if there is no punishment for sin.

The truth is the rational man wants sin punished. To have God you must have sin (the transgression of the law) punished for God must rule. If sin is punished, then God is, and hope exists. Without God there is no hope for we know we will grow old and die and if God does not exist there is no hope of any afterlife.

What then--was man created simply so God could rule and punish men for their sin? Not at all! Man was created to live with God eternally. "God is not willing that any should perish." (2 Peter 3:9 NKJV) "'As I live,' says the Lord God, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.'" (Ezek. 33:11 NKJV) Man was created to give God glory throughout eternity. "Everyone who is called by my name, whom I have created for my glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." (Isa. 43:7 NKJV)

God knew man would sin and that he had to punish sin but made provision to do that through his son Jesus, Jesus suffering for us, even before the world began. "Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world." (1 Peter 1:18-20 NKJV) Note the phrase "foreordained before the foundation of the world."

Another like passage is found in Eph. 1:4, "Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." (NKJV) Note again, "before the foundation of the world." Jesus is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Rev. 13:8 NKJV) John the Baptist, when he saw Jesus coming toward him, said of him, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29 NKJV)

No, God did not create man without knowing man would sin. It was never his plan that man be doomed without hope. God is love (1 John 4:8). He had a plan from the very beginning to both punish sin and save man while upholding his law and authority. That plan involved Christ.

"Now, once at the end of the ages, he has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." (Heb. 9:26 NKJV) "Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many." (Heb. 9:28 NKJV) He "bore our sins in his own body on the tree." (1 Peter 2:24 NKJV) Jesus was born to die with the purpose of that death being to pay the penalty for the sin of man. Jesus died so we do not have to die eternally, which is to say we can be saved from the punishment for our sins against God if we are willing to accept the sacrifice Jesus made by obeying the gospel. God punished our sins through Jesus' willing sacrifice on the cross. Make no mistake about it, God did uphold the honor of his law and did punish sin on the cross of Jesus at Calvary.

For the man or woman who is not willing to accept Jesus (in gospel obedience), who desires to serve himself and do as he pleases, the sacrifice of Jesus is of no benefit to such a person. Such a man or woman is at war with God; they are unthankful and unholy. He will show God who is boss. He will show God who runs his life. He will show God who is God, namely himself. What a fool such a person is. He is going to take on the creator of all that exists in the heavens and on earth, going to take on the one who has lived eternally. He is willing to take on God when he would run from a mean dog. That is irrational thinking--can't take on a mean dog but thinks he will take on God. How foolish man can be.

God is our only hope. We need to submit to his will. I have never known a man who thought the teachings of Christ as found in the New Testament were evil. All agree that if all men would live by those teachings we would have a much happier and safer world than we do today. Those teachings bring only good to man, no evil, and give good hope of a wonderful life to come.

How sad it is then that men today will not preach against sin, showing men their sins, confronting them with them, so that they might be made aware of sin and its consequences and be led to repentance, gospel obedience, and forgiveness.

If we preach the Bible, we must preach about sin. Have you ever given it thought that if there were no sin, there would be no need for the Bible, no need for Jesus the Savior, no need for the cross? Every man and woman has sinned and needs to have it forgiven if they are to obtain heaven. When we fail to preach on sin we leave sinners in sin thinking all is well with their souls and thus help them along the road to hell. If I help a man get to hell, I am going to have to pay for my sin in doing so.

No man will repent unless and until he knows he needs to.  Men must be made to feel the guilt of sin if they are to be converted. "Godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted." (2 Cor. 7:10 NKJV) It is the job of the church and every member to help bring godly sorrow into the lives of men and women who are involved in sin. They need to know what the Bible says about sin and need to know there is a way out through Jesus.

People living in adultery are a good example of the kind of thing I am talking about. The Bible only gives one reason for a second marriage aside from the death of one's spouse. "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery." (Matt. 19:9 NKJV) Unless there has been fornication on the part of one's spouse, it is adultery to divorce and remarry and yet it is rare to hear preaching against this sin. Why not? Because many religious bodies that call themselves Christian have come to accept this sin and accept those involved in it as members in good standing. What does God say about it?

"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6:9-10 NKJV) John the Baptist lost his head over this matter telling Herod it was not lawful for him (Herod) to have his brother Philip's wife (Matt. 14:3-4). This woman, although married to Herod, was always referred to in scripture as "Philip's wife" and not Herod's.

The same sin abounds today in America but rather than having men like John the Baptist preaching against it many religious bodies just welcome in the adulterous couple as full-fledged members in good standing. They welcome them on their way to hell with not a word to warn them. John the Baptist lost his head in preaching against the sin, but who is to say the modern-day preacher will not lose his soul for holding his silence, refusing to preach against it and other sins?

When we fail to preach against sin we "have strengthened the hands of the wicked, so that he does not turn from his wicked way to save his life." (Ezek. 13:22 NKJV) Shall we be found innocent on the Day of Judgment when we remained silent in the face of sin lest we hurt feelings and be found to be disagreeable? What is needed is preaching and teaching against sin and not acceptance of it as though all is well.

I am glad I was raised in a time (50's and 60's) where I was able to hear fire and brimstone sermons about sin and hell. There was little to no hesitancy to preach against sin in those days. Such sermons were needed then and are needed now, whether they are preached or not. Jesus did not go to the cross and die just so we can continue to be sinners. What has happened to the gospel of Christ? I fear it has been replaced by a social gospel and by benevolent societies calling themselves churches.

You can feed and clothe a man or woman until old age and death but that will not get them to heaven without repentance and obedience to the gospel of Christ. They will still have the problem of sin, and you will have your own sin problem if you fail to teach them the truth about sin when you could have.

We can either preach on sin or we can let people die in sin thinking all is well. The trouble is not only will they reap what they sow but so will we. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Gal. 6:7 NKJV) Why not encourage your preacher to preach on sin? To preach on sin is to save souls.

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The Army of the Lord

“The army of the Lord” is a phrase found only once in the NKJV of the Bible, and that in the Old Testament in Joshua 5:14, where Joshua, in the vicinity of Jericho, meets up with one who says of himself that he is the “Commander of the army of the Lord.” (NKJV) However, having said that, it is clear from many different New Testament passages that while the church is never called an army, it is clearly described as an army in that each Christian is considered a soldier, outfitted with battle gear, a weapon, and engaged in warfare. Since the church is composed of its individual members, each member a soldier, it follows that the church is the army of the Lord here on earth.

In the book of Philippians, Paul refers to Epaphroditus as his “fellow soldier.” (Phil. 2:25 NKJV) He does the same with Archippus in Philemon verse 2, and almost every Bible student is familiar with Paul’s admonition to Timothy where he tells him, “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” (2 Tim. 2:3 NKJV) If we are honest, we realize that is an admonition to us as well if we desire to be a faithful Christian.

We ought to put emphasis on the phrase “must endure hardship” for it is easy to think in our day and age and in our country there is no hardship to be endured as a Christian. Wrong! Paul made it clear it is not a matter of whether or not we will be persecuted, but more a matter of when or where or to what degree, for he says, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2 Tim. 3:12 NKJV)

There is, I think, a greater implication in Paul’s statement than we generally are willing to accept. We think if someone on the national scene has spoken against Christianity, and we hear about it, that we have been personally persecuted because we are a Christian. Yet, in the first century, when Paul was writing, there was no national news that you were going to get instantly, unlike today. The persecution Paul spoke about was far more direct and personal.

Paul was speaking to a single individual in his letter to Timothy and saying to him, paraphrasing, if you are a Christian and are living like it and talking about it--the command is to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15 NKJV)--then you are going to suffer for it. If we do not suffer for it (sooner or later), then maybe that says a lot about our failure to live the life as God intended it to be lived. That is the implied teaching of the passage; if there is no suffering personally, then there is likely no actual living of the life as Christ intended one to live it.

The Christian life is referred to as warfare. Paul says, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God … ." (2 Cor. 10:4-5 NKJV) Timothy was encouraged to “wage the good warfare.” (1 Tim. 1:18 NKJV) To Timothy, Paul says in the second letter to him, “No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.” (2 Tim. 2:4 NKJV) This was in the very next verse after Paul told him he must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3).

A lot of people enter into the Christian life sort of unaware. They are thinking love, peace, mercy, grace, and hope. They are not expecting combat and are ill-prepared and often unready and unwilling to engage in it. Yes, there is love, peace, mercy, grace, and hope in Christ, but one has to remember these are mostly things that are found within one’s inner being because of what he has become in Christ and what Christ has done for him. As far as the outside world goes, it is an entirely different matter.

You have to a large degree become the enemy to the world unless you are going to try and be a secret disciple and never speak of Jesus and just go on living like the world. If you decide on that course you will get along fine in this world but there is always the Day of Judgment to look ahead to. That will be a looking forward to “a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” (Heb. 10:27 NKJV)

But, as I said, many are not ready for the combat. In the parable of the soils the one unprepared for combat is the one represented by the stony places soil (describing the heart of man) where when the seed was sown (the word of God) it was received and sprouted and came up but “when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he (the person with this kind of heart--DS) stumbles.” (Matt. 13:21 NKJV) He is neither prepared for nor willing to engage in the fight. The heart’s desire is only for the smooth things of Christianity, the blessings.

At the end of his life, Paul said he had “fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7 NKJV) It had been a fight indeed. Remember when Paul was being converted? Do you remember the words of Jesus when speaking with Ananias about Paul? He said, “I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” (Acts 9:16 NKJV)

One can read about the life of Paul and his sufferings in summary in 2 Cor. 11:23-33. He talks about his beatings, imprisonments, being stoned, and many other things that came his way in his life as a Christian. It had been a fight, a lifelong fight after his conversion. And here is the lesson we need to learn from this, those of us who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus, the battle Paul fought was a religious fight, the very kind many feel is too unchristian, or unchristlike, to fight.

It was a fight over doctrine, over who was right and who was wrong, over who would be saved and who would not, over the way to heaven. Too many people today see this as an exceedingly nasty type of fighting that drives people away from Christ, they say. Don’t talk to me about it. Your fight would be with Jesus, Paul, Jude, and others. Jesus and Paul were in religious debates nearly all of the time.

Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.’ And ‘a man’s foes will be those of his own household.’” (Matt. 10:34-36 NKJV) Paul got in trouble because he was unwilling to remain quiet about his religion and insisted on evangelizing and debating. Come to think about it, that was pretty much the same reason Jesus was crucified, was it not?

But, most of the talk today by the Christian community, as the world would define it, seems to be about getting along, how we are all going to the same place no matter what we believe or practice, and how it is so un-Christian to fight with one another. Some are willing to go so far with this approach as to say one does not even have to be a Christian to go to heaven.

Jude says he wrote “exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith.” (Jude 3 NKJV) One cannot do that and not debate religion. “We do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3-5 NKJV) Christian debating (casting down arguments) is a part of the Christian warfare.

Debating is as far as it goes. No Christian, living as a Christian, would ever do harm to another. “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” (Matt. 5:44 NKJV) Christian wars are a misnomer. The Crusades and other European religious wars were not Christian. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.

When one looks at the armor a Christian is to put on to fight the Christian warfare,“put on the whole armor of God” (Eph. 6:11 NKJV), that he might stand and not fall one finds that he is given “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17 NKJV) This is the word which is described in the Hebrew letter as being, “living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12 NKJV)

There are those today who would remake the sword of the Spirit into a butter knife. Just sharp enough to cut soft butter and that’s it. They do not want a sharp two-edged sword, one that pierces in the way described in Hebrews 4:12. The fear is that someone might get hurt, that is, get their feelings hurt. They are not going to wield any such sword, and so you can forget them as an active soldier in the Lord’s army. They will not debate the truth; they will not contend earnestly for the faith; they will not wield a two-edged sword.

One of the great failings of Christian understanding is to understand that until the heart is pricked with the sword of the Spirit (and someone has to wield it) there can be no repentance, no seeking of salvation, and no turning from error or sin to the truth. You may hurt a man’s feelings for a day, yet save his soul for eternity. Until a man is convicted of the truth in his heart, the truth of his own sin, of his own error, the truth of what God requires of him, there will be no movement on that man’s part and thus no salvation.

I will never forget the wisdom of an old, long-gone preacher of my youth, one I never met, who has now been gone for a few decades. He was talking to a man who had been convicted of the truth but who was nevertheless unhappy with the preaching, as this man felt the preacher had not spoken as softly and kindly as perhaps he could have, and this offended the young man. The old wise preacher made a comment along these lines--that preacher is the best friend you will ever have. He taught you the truth and convicted you of it. Obviously, this is a paraphrase, but that is pretty much the exact thought expressed and how true it was and is yet to this day. Many is the man who will speak softly to us and who will allow us to go to hell before they will offend us, but how many a man is there who will tell us the truth? Which of the two is really our friend?

I told my children when they were growing up that one of the worst things that happens with adulthood is that when you reach that point, there are few who are willing to tell you the truth, even when you are dead wrong. When we are growing up, we have parents, teachers, and other adults who do not hesitate to jump in and let us know we are in the wrong but once a man or woman reaches adulthood suddenly no one is friend enough to any longer tell us the truth about ourselves. They nod and say yes to whatever we say. The days of being rebuked for a bad attitude and wrong doing whether toward God or man have come to an end. We are thus always right and never wrong, and how dangerous that is.

I close with this. God has an army. A man is either going to be in it and be a faithful soldier and take the sword of the Spirit and use it properly, which means for something other than buttering his bread, or else he is not. Either way, there are consequences that follow. For the one who picks up the sword of the Spirit and then drops it and turns tail and runs the Bible says, “The cowardly…shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8 NKJV) Since that is the case, the only real choice a man or woman has, accept it or not, is fight or die.

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The Fragrance of Christ

The apostle Paul made the following statement in 2 Cor. 2:15-16, “For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death to death, and to the other the aroma of life to life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (NKJV)

I like the phrase “the fragrance of Christ.” When I think of the word fragrance, I think of that which has a pleasant smell--a flower out of the garden. But there are many wonderful fragrances when you live out in the country as I do. The smell of new mown hay, the smell of a cornfield in August on a late summer evening about dusk, the smell of the farm field after having just been turned over (plowed) in the spring. All evoke pleasant thoughts; arouse an inner peace and contentment, a satisfaction with God’s creation, and a comfort in knowing he is out there, Lord over all his creation. It is strange how smells can direct one to thoughts of God, but then God created them that way.

If we are a Christian, when we think of Christ, the thought of him should have the same kind of effect on us as the aromas we have been talking about. It is pleasant to think about Christ. Like the pleasant smells of a country evening in late summer, thoughts of Christ should bring peace and contentment to our souls and they do, that is, if Christ is in us and we are in him. When Paul preached Christ, those who accepted Christ found the tree of life, for Christ was and is that tree, a tree figuratively speaking, with pleasant blooms, a sweet fragrance of life, bearing as its fruit life itself.

But as there are pleasant smells, there are also unpleasant ones--the trash can, the hog pen, skunks, decaying animals killed in the road, etc. From those we flee. Christ and his gospel are like the unpleasant, offensive smell of death in those who are rejecting him. Ever wonder why some just do not want to hear it, the gospel? I am persuaded that deep down they know their guilt and their need but the desire is to live their life as they please (the Bible in the newer translations sometimes uses the phrase “selfish ambition,” or the word “selfishness,” or “self-seeking” with regards to a certain state of mind) and they thus harden their heart as they do not want to hear what they will not accept and that which condemns them.

To the one who hears the gospel and accepts it there is a sense of freedom, the conscience is made clean, and burdens are lifted as the song goes “at Calvary.” To the one who will not hear, does not want to hear, his view of Christ and his gospel is a message of enslavement, of the loss of personal freedom. Thus, the fragrance of Christ is to the one party pleasantness while to the other offensive. One man’s heart is hardened by the gospel of Christ, while the other man’s is softened and made tender, but it is always a personal choice as to which it will be; either way, we allow it.

In Eph. 5:2, the New King James Version of the Bible speaks of Christ’s sacrifice of himself for us as “an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” I think the International Standard Version states it best as far as the meaning of the passage goes when it says Christ “gave himself for us as an offering and sacrifice, a fragrant aroma to God.” That is to say God was pleased. He was satisfied. Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient.

The fragrance of Christ is the fragrance of life, of pleasantness. Each of us must choose either the fragrance of life or the fragrance of death. We get to choose which it will be. Moses, in speaking to the children of Israel in Deut. 30:19, spoke words that are applicable to us today as well. “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” (NKJV) Why not choose Christ?

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