"Only ye shall not go very far away."
Exodus 8:28
Exodus 8:28
This
is a crafty word from the lip of the arch-tyrant Pharaoh. If the poor bandaged Israelites
needed to go out of Egypt, then he bargains with them that it shall not be very
far away; not too far for them to escape the terror of his arms, and the
observation of his spies. After the same fashion, the world loves not the
non-conformity of nonconformity, or the dissidence of dissent, it would have us
be more charitable and not carry matters with too severe a hand. Death to the
world, and burial with Christ, are experiences which carnal minds treat with
ridicule, and hence the ordinance which sets them forth is almost universally
neglected, and even contemned.
Worldly
wisdom recommends the path of compromise, and talks of "moderation."
According to this carnal policy, purity is admitted to be very desirable, but
we are warned against being too precise; truth is of course to be followed, but
error is not to be severely denounced. "Yes," says the world,
"be spiritually minded by all means, but do not deny yourself a little gay
society, an occasional ball, and a Christmas visit to a theatre. What's the
good of crying down a thing when it is so fashionable, and everybody does
it?"
Multitudes
of professors yield to this cunning advice, to their own eternal ruin. If we
would follow the Lord wholly, we must go right away into the wilderness of
separation, and leave the Egypt of the carnal world behind us. We must leave
its maxims, its pleasures, and its religion too, and go far away to the place
where the Lord calls His sanctified ones. When the town is on fire, our house
cannot be too far from the flames. When the plague is abroad, a man cannot be
too far from its haunts. The further from a viper the better, and the further
from worldly conformity the better. To all true believers let the trumpet-call
be sounded, "Come ye out from among them, be ye separate."
God
bless,
David
L. Wynn, Pastor
Pauline
B. Grant CME Church
“This
is the Potter’s House”
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