by Harper Hunter, reprinted from the February 4, 1967, White Wing Messenger
It is Time Now for Every Minister to Raise a Voice Against Sin
Silence is golden—that all depends!
Silence gives consent! How true!
Silence. At times it is exactly what is needed. AT OTHER TIMES IT IS DEADLY! For instance, when some spirit of hell makes its appearance—and is unopposed—it will then take hold of the Church, fasten its tentacles around the hearts and lives of our members, and remain in there until ousted!
Grave responsibilities rest upon those of us who are leaders in the Church of God. Take the matter of TRENDS. They make their appearance. They are looking for an opening in the body. They want to come inside. Finally, an opening is found. Here is a heart not fully consecrated (and, may I say, religion is dangerous unless we go all the way!), yearning for the recognition of the world; desiring acceptance—not so much being “…accepted in the beloved” (Eph. 1:6) as in being recognized by the world. That person yields, lets down, and walks in a spirit that is contrary to sound doctrine, Christian living, and principles, and, unless there is change, “THE LAST STATE OF THAT MAN IS WORSE THAN THE FIRST” (Matt. 12:45).
We will not be satisfied until the devil takes his hand off the Church of God. These ungodly influences must be sent on their way, rather than permitting them entrance or even giving them encouragement to enter the body of Christ! “…be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD” (Isa. 52:11).
“Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation” (Psa. 24:3-5). The Church of God is against wickedness in any form—liquid, solid, or flesh! Every sin must be hunted down, tracked down—every devil must be exposed and, as Amos said, “BUT LET JUDGMENT RUN DOWN AS WATERS, AND RIGHTEOUSNESS AS A MIGHTY STREAM” (Amos 5:24).
Notice is hereby served on all demons and devils that we are after them. We will not rest until every one of them is moved out of the way. “Neither give place to the devil” (Eph. 4:27). We must give the devil no quarter, for if we give him an inch, he will “take a mile,” so to speak. I hate him. I hate his work. Don’t you? A declaration of war is hereby made against sin and the devil. Devil, WE ARE AFTER YOU! We must cry out against these things so that “…they shall proceed no further” (2 Tim. 3:9).
Too long have “ruckuses” been raised in the Church. Too long have some local churches been victims, or I should rather say, HARBORERS of “old sores” so that one could truthfully state, “There’s an old sore in that church.” These old sores must be healed! TOO LONG HAS SIN HELD SWAY IN INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH. This must stop. God said, “I WILL CLEANSE THEIR BLOOD THAT I HAVE NOT CLEANSED” (Joel 3:21).
You say, “Preacher, I don’t like that kind of preaching.” I wouldn’t either if I were all tangled up in worldliness or sin.
THE VERY FIRST CLEANSING MUST BE IN THE MINISTRY. A clean ministry, a clean church. A praying ministry, a praying church. A crooked ministry, a crooked church. A cold, indifferent ministry, a cold, indifferent church!
Imagine, if you can, one who should be clean through and through handling the precious Word of God, and so unclean and filthy as to be a robber. And, worse than being a robber of man, this person would be a ROBBER OF GOD! How? In failing to tithe and give offerings. That person has no right to minister the things of God in the Church!
Imagine a robber serving others the communion—following such exhortations as: “But let a man examine himself… For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body” (1 Cor. 11:28, 29). If a member unworthy to partake brings damnation upon himself, how much more the leader who stands there filthy—yes, unclean—in God’s sight? Again, hear the Word of the Lord: “be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD” (Isa. 52:11).
God forbid that these things should continue. “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil” (Joel 2:13).
“…those that were clean escaped” (2 Peter 2:18). “…having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:4).
MINISTERS, WE MUST BE CLEAN. Live clean. Live holy. Live above reproach. Live in such a way that no one could justly speak or think of us as being hypocrites. Live HIGHER than the sinful lustful parade of demon-possessed men and women who seek to satisfy those demons by illicit lovemaking, or by indulging in sinful practices of any nature.
We are living in a world where sin is thrown into
the eye by television—thrown into the ear by radio—splashed on billboards—a boulevard of pictures seeking to seduce us. Perhaps, in a way, we all get accustomed to indecent dress, but WE MUST NOT BE PARTAKERS OF EVIL THINGS. “Be ye clean,” says the Lord. We would not eat rotten food! In the same light, things that are “tainted” by the world of sin must be rejected! They should never be accepted as palatable by God’s people.
No, God isn’t going to remove sin from the world to make it what one might think would be easier for them to live right. No, but His “grace is sufficient.” God will save a drunkard, but He will not destroy drink in order to keep that person from the bottle. God will save from lusting after sinful things, but He will not destroy those persons or things to keep one from returning to them. He says, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Cor. 12:9).
IT IS TIME NOW FOR EVERY PASTOR, YES, EVERY MINISTER, TO RAISE A VOICE AGAINST SIN. And, in raising a voice against sin, a voice is raised for righteousness. “RIGHTEOUSNESS EXALTETH A NATION: BUT SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE” (Prov. 14:34).
O the pity of it when God’s people reach into the garbage pails of this world’s junk for their reading materials—their records to play on the stereo—their off-colored jokes about which to laugh—spending evening after evening before the “big bulb” in order to be entertained! God help us here! MINISTERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST SIN. “CRY ALOUD, SPARE NOT, LIFT UP THY VOICE LIKE A TRUMPET, AND SHEW MY PEOPLE THEIR TRANSGRESSION, AND THE HOUSE OF JACOB THEIR SINS” (Isa. 58:1).
Would you really want to be watching “Peyton Place” or “Shindig” on TV if you were dying? You say, “But I’m not dying.” Well, remember this: Anything that won’t do to “die by” isn’t fit to “live by.” Let’s suppose that you are on your death bed. IT IS YOUR DYING HOUR. Would you call for the nurse and ask her to roll the color television set in by your bed, or would you want the saints of God gathered round, calling upon God that Christ might truly be there holding your hand as you cross over the river?
No, God isn’t going to remove the filthy literature, the suggestive recordings, the programs on TV of a sinful and worldly nature, or anything else, BUT HE CAN REMOVE OUT OF OUR LIVES A TASTE FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT IS SENSUAL AND DEVILISH.
We are headed for a city where “the Lamb is the light” (Rev. 21:23). Not where sinful, lustful man is the light! Heaven is not a sinful city. Heaven is not a worldly city. It is not a city given to idolatry or adultery. Let us check every thought, action, or deed in the LIGHT OF ETERNITY.
Speaking out. Speaking out against sin. Ministers speaking out against every known sin and wicked device of Satan (2 Cor. 2:11). Ministers, are you afraid to speak out against sin? Are you afraid that if you obeyed God your salary would be cut in half? It would be better for our salaries to be cut in half than for us to lose half of the souls for which we are responsible.
It is an awful hour when we don’t know what is “of the Spirit” and what is “not of the Spirit.” When we don’t know what to condone and what to condemn. When we don’t know what to oppose and what to promote. God help us here.
“TRY THE SPIRITS,” says the Word of God (1 John 4:1).