No Neutrality
As a retired soldier and a bit of a history buff I know a little about warfare. I also know that in every war there are people who do not want to get involved for various reasons. They may be theological or political pacifists or just folks too young or too old to participate. Despite this desire more often than not they become involved in some way or they become victims. They cannot stay neutral.
During the War Between The States/War of Northern Aggression, Generals Sherman and Butler perpetrated acts against civilians that had they been committed in WWII they would have been considered war crimes and the generals would have been hung as war criminals rather than decorated as heroes. Civilian men and women should have been considered neutral but instead they found themselves deeply involved in the battle. Men were killed and women were ravished at the consent of these men and the whim of their subordinates.
Indeed, Sherman felt that total genocide of Southern people should have been the order of the day. No one was neutral in his eyes. Black men were conscripted by the Union forces and placed into battle first to bear the brunt of the attack while other soldiers ravished the Black women left behind. Not even the people they said they were concerned about were allowed to be neutral.
During the later Indian wars, Federal soldiers killed women and children in various raids. These victims should have been considered neutral and yet they died like combatants.
During WWI and every other war since the advent of aircraft many neutral people died from the results of bombing raids. Many people in Germany were just farm workers and shopkeepers but they lost goods and their lives just like Nazi SA or SS troops that were fully engaged in the battle. Many old men sat on the porch and children played on their way to school the day the first atomic bomb fell. They were neutral but they died like Kamikaze pilots just the same. War knows no neutral parties. Collateral damage happens no matter how hard one or both sides of a war try to prevent it.
Our enemies in various wars have booby-trapped children and tortured and raped civilians. Governments under men like Saddam and the Taliban have had innocent people killed on a whim. In essence, they have waged war in their own countries and no one was allowed to be neutral.
The world has been fully engaged in a spiritual war since the Fall of man and there are no neutral parties. We are all born into enemy territory and are citizens of a doomed kingdom. We are participants in the battle even if we act like we are citizens of the victorious kingdom or believe that there is no war or combatants. Sin has placed us on the losing side. We shall die on that side and spend eternity in Hell unless we accept the unconditional surrender terms of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. (KJV)
Nicodemus came to ask about Jesus and instead was presented with the condition of mankind and their need. Many think today that because they are born into a certain group, caste or creed that they are automatically on the road to Heaven. Jesus repudiates that concept by saying that all men must be born again or else they miss the Kingdom. That includes the Jews despite what the Pope, John Hagee or anyone else says. We are all condemned men unless we accept the King’s pardon.
Eccl 12:7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. (KJV)
Some like to use this verse to show that we all end up in the same place and that all paths lead to God. We all end up before Him but what will He do with us when we get there? We need to hear Jesus.
Matt 12:30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. (KJV) Luke 11:23 echoes this verse.
Jesus is very clear that it is Him or nothing. Either we are with Him in His program or we are out completely. In John 10:9 Jesus says that He is the door and in 14:6 He says that He is way and no man comes unto the Father but by Him. You can’t say that you are neither for or against Him you’re just neutral for He will not allow it.
Mark 9:38-41
38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. (KJV)
There are only two sides in this war, but many regiments in both armies. While we must be careful to not lob friendly fire on another regiment we must also be able to tell whether a person is an infiltrator, collaborator or deserter. Many have the form of godliness but deny the power thereof and show that their true colors are those of the enemy though they may wave the flag and wear the uniform of the true army.
For those who balk at such limited and narrow enlistment criteria and think them harsh or unkind the following verse should drive it home.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (KJV)
The bumper sticker could say, “Know Christ, Know Salvation. No Christ, No Salvation” and it would be theologically accurate. Nothing else will achieve it for you. It is Christ and Him alone. No membership, no deed or creed will get you into the gates of Heaven. It is His sacrifice and His terms alone.
Once in the true army of God as a citizen of Heaven it is a joy that even the simplest of tasks is noted by the Commander-In-Chief and rewarded.
Matt 10:41-42
41 He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.
42 And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. (KJV)
These verses beat any multi-level program ever designed. When I receive or welcome a prophet or righteous man into my home or church I receive their reward because I have helped them in their ministry so for everything they do I get a "residual" benefit. Even a cup of cold water, the least thing I can do, nets me a wonderful return on that small investment. There is a medal and oak leaf clusters for honorable cold water service.
No soldier in God’s army is without opportunity to assist in the battle and receive rewards. It is not only the Generals that are given accolades. You may feel like a new recruit or a buck private but you are valuable in the fight against evil and God wants you to know that thus He rewards what seems like simple or even menial tasks to men but are important in His eyes.
However, we must be careful not to aid and abet the enemy. Failure to seize the opportunity given to us costs us the reward we would have received and may have negative ramifications on the field of battle as well. Even worse, we need to be careful that we do not actively commit treason or hurt our fellow soldiers by our acts of omission or commission.
It is reasonable to assume that if I welcome a false prophet or an unrighteous man then I also receive a "residual" judgment for all the evil I help them do. John says I am not even supposed to say Godspeed to them because by that I become a partaker of his evil deeds. If I partake of the deeds, I partake of the judgment because I have given aid and comfort to God’s enemy.
Unfortunately, some soldiers think that they are being neutral or harmless by going AWOL or failing to present themselves for duty.
Obad 1:10-11
10 For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.
11 In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them. (KJV)
The Edomites did not actively attack their relatives the Jews, but they sat back and did nothing to help them when the enemy attacked them and God says that was the same as doing violence to them. They were as much the enemy as those who attacked them. Later, they added insult to injury and took plunder of their brethren as well as not helping them in the battle.
Today, we are fully engaged in a great cultural war and many Christians are AWOL and even sitting with the enemy trying to be neutral. They may not be actively committing murder by aborting a child but they are sitting by and doing nothing or even voting for candidates that support this murder to get some material gain. Like the Edomites, their laziness, apathy or greed makes them as guilty as if they held the knife.
Others make it sound spiritual to do nothing or to not vote at all, but by staying out of the battle they allow men without morals and integrity to be elected aiding the enemy and doing harm to their brethren yet they want the benefits of Christ and a free country. They do not attack the truth but they want the rewards without the sacrifice. In the end, they are putting the enemy’s knife to their own throat as well as their comrades.
James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (KJV)
We are to be salt and light in all aspects of life and if we neglect to use the opportunities given us then we are aiding and abetting the enemy and betraying our fellow soldiers. It is a sin against God, His Church, our nation and us. Inaction is not neutrality it is active treason.
If you are not saved today, you need to get saved. You are already lost and on the way to Hell with the losing army. It is time to come to Christ and accept His terms of surrender and be made a new creature by being adopted into His family and made a soldier in His glorious and victorious army. You don’t want to share in the judgment of the vanquished foe. You want the mercy and cup of cold water rewards. Take the oath of enlistment today.
Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and that Your Son, Jesus
Christ, died and rose again to pay for my sins. I want Him to be my King and
Saviour. Please forgive me for my sins. I want to turn from my sin and, with your help, to obey You. Save me now, for Jesus’ sake. Thank You for saving me, Amen.
Fellow soldier, are you in the fight or AWOL? Are you helping or hindering your comrades? The battle is raging and you were called to serve. Don’t be an Edomite. Stand with the right and stand against evil. Behold He cometh quickly and His reward is with Him. You don’t want to be like the Christians in 1 Cor 3:15 that are saved by the skin of their teeth. Also, check your papers. If you have no concern for battle and are drinking at the enemy’s table you may not be in the right army. (II Cor 13:5; 2 Peter 1:10) You will be discovered and sent to Hell with the losing army at the last muster. (Matt 7:21-23)
Finally, gird on your armor and fight until death or until Jesus comes. It is our reasonable service for the one who loved us and gave Himself for us. He was not neutral and neither can we neutral. Maranatha!
1 Cor 16:13 Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (KJV)
