| The Christian Life | August 1941 |
In Season and Out of Season
“Preach the Word; be instant in season, out of season.”—II Timothy 4:2
GOD’S will for all footstep followers of the Master is that they lay down their lives in His service and in the service of the truth. Such sacrificial service will also be on behalf of the “brethren” because in our service of the truth we are building up one another in our most holy faith. This phase of the divine will for the Christian should not be considered incidental. It is something which is directly commanded through the Word, and whatever comes to us as a direct command from God should not be considered as of secondary importance. This divine commission is binding upon us at all times, “in season, out of season.” We should be willing and ready to preach the Word irrespective of whether or not the time, place and circumstances may be convenient to us.
In order to impress upon our minds the importance of His will in this connection, the Heavenly Father has used various expressions and illustrations. Christians are said to be “the light of the world.” They are also referred to as “the salt of the earth.” The apostle, in speaking of the relationship of Christians to their God calls them ambassadors. They are also called ministers and servants. All of these expressions suggest to our minds the thought of activity in making known the truth of God’s Word in passing on to others that with which the Lord has so richly blessed us.
However, we would make a great mistake if we took for granted that these commands and exhortations to be faithful as witnesses of Jesus and the Word of God constitute all of the divine will for us. God wants us not only to lay down our lives in His service, but also to make that sacrifice in harmony with the rules and regulations which He has given us in His Word. If we fail to properly heed these, we will be like those of whom the Master speaks when He says that some would come to Him claiming that they had done many wonderful works in His name, but that He would not recognize them nor their work. Jesus, in this connection, makes it plain that because these did not serve in harmony with the divine will they were in reality workers of iniquity.
PROPERLY EQUIPPED FOR SERVICE
In order to be an acceptable ambassador of the Lord, there are certain qualifications which the Christian must meet. He must, for example, have repented of his sin, and have accepted Jesus as his Redeemer and Savior. Then he must present himself in full consecration to the Lord, to do His will. This means that he has renounced his own will, and in thus doing, has become a member of the body of Christ, accepting Jesus as his Head. After taking these steps, and being reconciled to God through Christ, the follower of the Master must then make every effort to bring his daily thoughts and words and deeds into harmony with the high standards of righteousness set forth in the divine Word. This standard of righteousness is so high that it includes even the love of our enemies and a desire and effort to do them good.
The Apostle Paul, in 2nd Corinthians 6:4-18, outlines many of the important points of Christian practice essential to our being approved ambassadors of the Lord. He says that we should endeavor in all things to approve ourselves as the ministers of God, which means according to the Greek, to constitute or establish ourselves as His servants. (See Diaglott and Dr. Strong.) Then he proceeds to outline some of these “all things.” Among them are patience, pureness, knowledge, long-suffering, kindness, being filled with the Holy Spirit, having on the armor of righteousness, humility, which will enable us to serve faithfully even though unknown, and which will keep us balanced even though well-known.
He also speaks of the importance of love, which as we know, is the sum of all the Christian graces. He warns us against being unequally yoked together with unbelievers. He stresses the importance of being kept free from the worship of false gods. All of these points the Apostle shows to be important in order that our ministry be not blamed. In other words, these high standards of righteousness, these fruits and graces of the Spirit which constitute our armor of righteousness, love unfeigned for the brethren, for the world, and even for our enemies, are the qualifications for our service. These alone, however do not constitute a complete service of God.
PREACH THE WORD
Among the qualifications for service mentioned by the apostle is that of “knowledge.” This, of course, means a knowledge of the truth, and through the truth, a knowledge of God. This emphasizes that if our ministry of the truth is to be pleasing to the Lord it must be in harmony with knowledge. Knowledge in connection with our ministry is fundamentally important because if our knowledge of the Word is incorrect, what we preach will be out of harmony with God and out of harmony with His plans. This would mean that while we might be laying down our lives in a ministry, performing a service, it would not be a ministry of the divine Word. It would not be preaching the Word of truth, but would be preaching the theories and guesses of men.
The Apostle Paul in Philippians 2:16, speaks of holding forth the Word of Life. This suggests that if we are truly preaching the Word, we are holding forth a hope of life to those who hear. To properly present a message of this kind implies the necessity of explaining all the great fundamentals of the divine plan—the creation; the fall of man into sin and death; the redemptive work that is accomplished through the death and resurrection of Jesus; the hope of the high calling of this age, and the hope of restitution in the next age. All of these features of the divine plan are involved in the hope of life set forth in the Gospel. These are the great truths which it is the privilege of the consecrated to proclaim, and as they hold forth this Word of Life, they are doing that which is clearly the divine will for them as expressed in the Word.
The dispensational features of the Gospel also have a bearing upon an acceptable ministry. It is our privilege now, not only to proclaim a hope of future life through the “times of restitution of all things,” but also to assure the listeners that this hope is soon to be realized. The people today are realizing more and more that human wisdom is utterly unable to find a solution for the world’s problems, hence there is a growing desire to know if there is a God who is interested in human affairs, and who proposes to help the human race out of its dilemma. It is at this time, therefore, that we have the privilege to obey the commission of Isaiah 61:1-3, by comforting those who mourn.
Proclaiming the “day of vengeance” now, and comforting “all who mourn,” is very much “in season.” It may be, and is, a difficult time for us to “preach the Word,” but this does not mean that we should not make the effort. It means simply that we should make a greater effort in order to overcome the difficulties that stand in the way. The divine will in connection with bearing witness to the truth should never be determined upon the basis of how difficult or costly it may be for us, the Lord’s ambassadors. If we let our light shine only when it is convenient or easy for us to do so the probabilities are that we will not let it shine at all.
The apostle says that we should hold forth the Word of life “amidst a crooked and perverse nation.” (Phil. 2:15) Here is an important point which we should not overlook. Human wisdom would be inclined to reason that today the people have become so perverse and wicked that it is no use to let our light shine. But this is not the way the apostle reasoned. It is perverseness and wickedness on the part of the people generally that make the witness work important. In this respect, the conditions are much the same now as they were in Noah’s day, yet he continued to be a “preacher of righteousness.” When sin no longer exists in the world, the witness work will be unnecessary. Then no one will need to say to his neighbor, “Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them saith the Lord.”—Jer. 31:34
It is true that we should not expect to convert the world at the present time; this is to be accomplished through a future work of service. But, our advance knowledge of the apparently meager results of present witness work should not deter us from an “all-out” effort to let our light shine. Our experience has shown that one here and there has been blessed by the rays of light which have shone out as a result of our sacrifices, and which process we have every reason to believe, will continue unto the very end of the church’s experiences this side the veil. We may not learn about them, and we may not know the extent to which the truth which we have proclaimed, or helped to proclaim, has reached down into the hearts and lives of the one here and there, but this should not matter to us. Our sacrifices should not be made with the object of seeing great results, or of receiving present rewards there from. They should be made upon the basis of faith, and because we know it is the Lord’s will.
Our fallen flesh, which shrinks from sacrifice, is constantly seeking excuses for not letting our light shine. Just as Satan quoted Scriptures to Jesus in an effort to tempt Him to leave the pathway of sacrifice, so Scriptures are quoted to us now, and for the same purpose. One is that we should not “cast our pearls before swine, lest they … turn again and rend us.” (Matt. 7:6) This Scripture is sometimes used to prove that because the world is so wicked, so swine-like, we should not preach the truth, as it will not be appreciated, and will probably lead to persecution.
On the face of it this seems like a Scriptural argument, but actually it is not. It is very subtle. Jesus never held back from preaching the truth in order to avoid persecution. The darkness hateth the light, and will persecute the light-bearers. We should ever remember this, and expect it. Indeed, it is upon the basis of faithfulness in bearing witness to the truth, that we have the privilege of suffering with Christ: This is our partnership in the sacrificial work of the Master. “In the world ye shall have tribulation,” Jesus said, “but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) If we are not faithful ambassadors, we will not have tribulation in the world, because the worldly will be unable to recognize that we are any different from them.
To cast our pearls before swine is evidently quite a different matter from simply letting our light shine out in a darkened world. We should not attempt to force the truth upon those who do not care to hear it, nor spend time and effort trying to interest individuals who are in violent opposition to the message. We are simply to “sow beside all waters,” and when we note a response on the part of one here and one there, are to make further sacrifices in order to help them to know the way of the Lord more perfectly.
HOW WE MAY SERVE
It is a matter of concern to many of the consecrated as to just how they may serve the interests of the truth. Ways and means of letting the light shine are much more numerous and varied now than they were in the days of the early church. Back in those apostolic times most of the friends were limited to whatever personal contacts they could make. This, after all, is a very important means of letting our light shine. We should not, of course, make ourselves a nuisance to those with whom we mingle in connection with the routine affairs of life, yet we should be on the alert to speak a word about the truth on every suitable occasion. We should not hold back from letting our light shine among friends and relatives for fear they may misunderstand us, or because, as a consequence, they might think less of us. Our reputation is one of the things involved in our sacrifice.
It is interesting to note how the apostles and others in the early church, sought out suitable opportunities to preach the truth. In this connection the experiences of Paul and Silas at Philippi are encouraging. They were in Philippi because they had responded to a call to “come over to Macedonia and help us.” They responded to this providence of the Lord, and spent the first weekend in Macedonia, at Philippi. They didn’t wait around for some one to come to them, but rather, sought out the most likely place for the message to receive a sympathetic hearing, which was outside the city, by a river, “where prayer was wont to be made.”
Here they preached the Gospel, and here those who became the nucleus of the Church at Philippi, including Lydia, of Thyatira, the seller of purple, responded, and were baptized. Years afterward the apostle looked back to this “first day,” and thanked God for the fellowship of the brethren who heard the message gladly at that time, and continued faithful in the narrow way. (Phil. 1:3) There was no fanfare nor demonstrations of great works in connection with what happened on this “first day” at Philippi. It was simply that Paul and Silas sought out an opportunity of service and used it, and the Lord richly blessed their efforts.
Another apostolic illustration of how an opportunity for witnessing may be recognized and used is that of Paul’s experience at Mars’ Hill. The apostle was in Athens, waiting for Silas and Timotheus to catch up with him, but, nevertheless, was on the alert for an opportunity to let his light shine. He noted the idolatry of the city, and his “spirit was stirred in him.” Here we see that it was the need of the people for the Gospel that stirred the apostle to action. He didn’t expect to convert the Athenians, but he was filled with the desire to help them, if he could.
This is the true Christian spirit. Jesus did not expect to convert the Jewish nation, yet He said, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37) The “would not” attitude of the world today should not discourage us from making a supreme sacrifice of all that we have and are in order to help them to whatever extent we can. It was this spirit of helpfulness on the part of Paul that prompted him to “dispute … in the synagogues with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.”—Acts 17:17
This led to an invitation from “certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics,” and others, for the apostle to speak on Mars’ Hill, where a greater number and especially the philosophers, might have an opportunity to hear what he had to say. Did Paul make any converts as a result of the faithful use of this opportunity? The record is that “some mocked, and others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. … Howbeit certain men cleave unto him, and believed.” (Acts 17:32-34) But in spite of the fact that he was mocked and there were but meager results from his efforts, Paul doubtless would have gladly done the same thing over again. It is the same today. There are times and places where some will respond to the message, while at other times and in other places, there may be little or no response. But in any case, we should continue on with our work of sacrifice.
MODERN METHODS OF SERVICE
Personal witness work is still important and effective, probably more so than almost any other means at our disposal. It is, however, limited in the number of people it reaches. Today, this personal method of letting our light shine can be greatly augmented by the use of the printed message. There are many times in our daily comings and goings that a card or tract can be left behind for others to read, when we might not have an opportunity of giving an oral witness. The printed page also can be used to good effect to supplement the spoken word.
For those who have time and strength, the printed message in card or tract form can be distributed from house to house. Many of the brethren keep a few pieces of literature in their pockets or handbags, and leave one here, one there, on the car seat, in the station waiting room, etc., or give one to each of the, various retail merchants with whom they deal. Most of the brethren could make good use of this form of service. Many today are rejoicing in the truth because some consecrated saint of God left a card or a tract in a conspicuous place where it was found and read by them.
Then there are the more general and cooperative efforts to make known the glad tidings, such as public meetings, radio work, etc. These, too, are efforts in which all may have a share in one way or another. Those who are members of an ecclesia have the opportunity of faithfully co-operating in the efforts sponsored by the ecclesia. And what blessings result to each individual who faithfully does his part in these cooperative efforts. It is a human weakness to let others shoulder responsibility which we should assume ourselves. But this should not be so among the consecrated people of God.
One of the Scriptural illustrations of light-bearing is that of Gideon’s little company of three hundred, who broke their earthen vessels to let the light shine out. It was an ancient custom that only the captains of an army carried a light at night. This is why the Midianites, seeing three hundred lights flickering over the hillside, believed them to be the lights of the captains over so numerically superior an army that they became terror-stricken at the thought of engaging them in conflict, and in the terror of that night mistook their own for the enemy and slaughtered one another indiscriminately.
There is a good lesson here for us. It is that each one of the consecrated should, in a sense, be a leader. That is to say, we should all sense our responsibility, and be on the alert to use whatever opportunities may be at hand, without necessarily waiting for some one to urge or coax us. It sometimes happens that the responsibilities of an entire ecclesia are carried by just a few brethren, possibly only one or two. If these are not present many necessary things are not properly taken care of.
Sometimes, even the financial needs of an ecclesia are made up by one or two brethren. It is not because others can’t help, nor because they don’t want to help. It is simply that, by nature, some are not on the alert to see and assume responsibility. We go to meetings, week by week, we attend conventions, we rejoice in the public witnesses arranged by the class, we are happy that our ecclesia is putting on a weekly radio witness, but it is easy to forget that all these things cost money and, of necessity, require general and specific cooperation.
The fact that these various ecclesia activities are carried on even though we may not realize our own individual responsibility in connection therewith, does not release us from such responsibility. If all of us do what we can, even though it be but very little, it will surely mean that more can be done; and above all, it will increase our blessings. The Lord commended the widow for the “mite” she, put into the treasury of the temple, not because the gift was specially valuable, but because she had done all she could. No matter how small our all may be, it is just as important in the Lord’s sight as though it were a thousand times larger. Whether small or large, the Lord doesn’t need our gifts. He has given us the privilege of sacrifice, because it is thereby that we prove our faithfulness to Him.
FREEDOM IN SACRIFICE
As Christians we are under a law of liberty. We are not told that we have to do this much, or that much, or anything at all. We are at liberty to put out tracts or not to put them out. We are at liberty to help with ecclesia expenses, or not to help with them; as we please. The Jews were not under such a law of liberty. Under their law they were obligated to give a tenth of all their income to the Lord. If they didn’t do it, divine blessings were withheld from them.
Christians, however, are not commanded to give a tenth, but they are invited to give all. The extent to which, and manner in which, we respond to this invitation, is left with us. In our consecration we agreed to do God’s will, as that will is outlined for us in the Word. If our consecration was not sincere and whole-hearted, we will interpret the Word in a manner to justify our holding back that which belongs to the Lord. If we meant it when we said to the Lord, “I give to Thee mine all,” then we will be on the alert to see, and zealous to use, every opportunity that comes our way for using our time, talents, and means in His service.
In nominal church circles, where the truth and the spirit of the truth is not known, all sorts of methods are devised in order to get the people to support the church. No doubt systematic arrangements for giving are efficient. But the zeal of the fully consecrated, truth-enlightened saints of God, should accomplish much more, and at the same time leave the brethren free. If our consecration is deep enough, and real enough to give us a proper sense of our responsibility, we will do all we can, along every line, all the time. The spirit of the truly consecrated is not that of letting the other brother bear the burden alone. Each one should be a Gideonite, and let his own light shine, in every way possible.
FREEDOM IN COOPERATION
In saying that each of the consecrated should be a leader, like the Gideonites of old, it is not with the thought that each of us should go a different way, or not cooperate with others. The Gideonites were not free to do this. They were under the strict command of Gideon, and had no liberty outside of his commands. So today, we are under the direct command of the Lord, and have no liberty of action outside of His commands. Those who did not wish to go all the way with Gideon were given the opportunity to turn back. That is the freedom we have now—the freedom to turn back from completing our sacrifice. “But we are not of them who draw back,” says the apostle.—Heb. 10:38,39
We are to be individualists only in the sense of realizing our own responsibilities, and of being zealously on the alert to faithfully use every opportunity we can find to sacrifice our all in the service of God. However we are all brethren in Christ, members of His body, hence our activities must be governed by that which is for the best interests of the body as a whole. For this reason, there is a Scripturally outlined order for the church, and, as individuals, we should find our liberty within the framework of this arrangement. This often means the subordination of our personal preferences to the expressed wishes of the ecclesia. Blessed are we if we can learn thus to cooperate with God’s people, even though, at times, it may mean the humbling of ourselves before them.
Thus, though it may be that the time and manner of service offered may be “out of season” for us if it is “in season” for the ecclesia, we should gladly, and humbly cooperate along whatever line we may have an opportunity so to do. If the opportunity be that of tract distribution, we will use it. If it be in follow-up work, we will gladly do that, too. If it be to serve as elder or deacon, we’ll accept that service in humility before God. If it should be a financial service we can render, then we should do what we can no matter how small, or large, the amount may be. We will enter enthusiastically into all these privileges, knowing that we are doing so as members of a world-wide church upon which rests the divine commission to preach the word, and thus to be the “light of the world.”
Perhaps we are isolated, hence not members of an ecclesia. In which case there is all the greater need to sense our individual responsibility before God. Where a few can meet and work together they help to keep each other encouraged. Several coals of fire, when together, will continue to burn, but if separated, will die out the more quickly. So, as individual “coals,” isolated from others, we will need, through faith and prayer, to keep alive spiritually in spite of the handicap of isolation. There is no better help along this line than to keep actively interested in bearing witness to the truth.
Even though we may spend a lifetime trying, and fail to interest any of our friends or neighbors in the truth, the fact that we keep on trying, means that the glorious message is kept alive in our own hearts, which is the really important thing. Every time we tell the “old, old story” it becomes “more wonderfully sweet.”
The divine commission to preach the Word is given to all the consecrated. What is accomplished by our preaching is under the direction of the Lord. The Scriptures show that the Gospel-preaching work of the entire age, finally results in the bride making herself ready to be united in marriage with the Lamb. All our sacrifices along this line, therefore, are really on behalf of the brethren, and not for the converting of the world. The world receives a witness, yes, but the brethren are reached and built up in our most holy faith. It was through the self-sacrificing efforts of others that we were reached, and now, we too, should lay down our lives for the brethren—some of whom are already with us, while there are others yet to be reached. Let us then be faithful, even unto death.