restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations

                

Marching with the Wrong Crowd

 David Alan Black

When David and his men were fugitives from Saul, they temporarily joined the Philistines. It was a foolish arrangement born of fear that they might perish at the hand of Saul. When the Philistines went forth to do battle against the Israelites, David’s band of men tagged along. But the Philistines, suspecting a plot, asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” (1 Samuel 29:3).

When God’s people march with the wrong crowd, they lose the respect of both sides. The church member who claims to be in the army of the Lord but marches under the flag of His enemies is an enemy himself. The church today is disgraced by its members that march along all week in lockstep with the world, cooperating with false religions to work out a program of “peace and brotherhood,” and then show up on Sunday to pay God a vain token of respect. In the last days the peace program of politicians will be attractive and popular but it will be promoted, not by Christ, but by Antichrist. Christians will be made to look like fools if they reject it but the Scriptures do not foresee a converted world, and true peace must await our Lord’s return.

Vermont Governor Howard Dean recently said that complaints by members of Congress that they were misled by Bush amount to a lack of leadership. Dean was right. “That is not leadership,” he said. “Leadership is standing up to an administration despite the polls. Leadership is asking the right questions at the right time. Leadership is sticking to your guns and standing on principle.”

The same Congressmen who gave Bush authority to attack Iraq now criticize him. Why have they waited until now to question the intelligence reports and the costs of this war? They should have done this months ago.

No word has been more overworked these days than “tolerance.” We think it a crowning virtue that we say a good word for everything and get along with even the devil. But we are judged not only for what we practice but what we allow. No doubt some in Congress think it a mark of piety to overlook these evils and go along with the crowd rather than cause any trouble, but the Christ of the Candlesticks (Revelation 2-3) does not think so. Thank God for men like Congressman Ron Paul of Texas who refuse to compromise their biblical and constitutional convictions!

Even the world is suspicious of Hebrews marching in lockstep with Philistines. They have every right to be. You may not be a Philistine yourself but do you tolerate them? Remember: when we appease what we should oppose, when we march with the wrong crowd, the consequences are usually tragic.

July 23, 2003

David Alan Black is the editor of www.daveblackonline.com.

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