"What is said in 2 Kings 17:33 of the heathen colonists brought in from Assyria is remarkably descriptive of many professing Christians: 'They worshipped the Lord, but they also served their own gods.' " - Encyclopedia of Sermon Illustrations
What causes a people who profess to be Christians to be controlled by passion, be influenced by popular opinions rather than the Truth of God's Word, to endeavor to worship and serve the creature as well as the Creator, and to desire to secure both worlds - the earthly and the heavenly?
What causes them to be so wishy-washy in their beliefs and standards of holiness? How is it that out of one side of their mouths they are praising Jesus, and, out of the other, they are constantly discussing and revelling in the things of this world?
On Mount Carmel, the Prophet Elijah inquired of the people:
1 Kings 18:21 "And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered not a word."
This same problem, and question, needs to be addressed once again in the Churches that are in the world today.
We find that many people in Christianity today want to fear the Lord and yet serve the idols of their own imaginations and hearts or even graven images. Many want to give God lip service - make a show of their Christianity before all for whatever reasons - yet their hearts are removed far from Him.
Isaiah 29:13 "Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouths, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me..."
There are those who do not separate themselves from the "unclean thing" after their salvation experience. They do as Ephraim did - "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people..." Resultantly, they become good-for-nothing just like Ephraim - "...Ephraim is a cake not turned."
Hosea 7:8 "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned. Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not."
Their hearts are divided. They want to be Christians, yet still be respected and loved by the world. They find themselves attempting to serve two masters - the Lord Jesus Christ and Self or the Lord Jesus Christ and the world. In most cases, Jesus gets to play "second fiddle."
Matthew 6:24 "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
They still have not totally left the devil's table where they once used to eat. At one moment, you find them drinking from the devil's cup of pleasure and entertainment, and then on Sunday and Wednesday they are drinking from the Lord's cup. On Saturday night or throughout the week, they are eating at the devil's table, and then on Sunday, they go to church and eat from the Lord's table.
Instead of their eyes being single (having affections only for Christ), they are "full of adultery," coveting everything and anything that others have or being enamored by the razzle-dazzle of this world.
2 Peter 2:14 "Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children."
The Apostle James called this state of the soul - double mindedness:
James 1:8 "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."
James 4:8 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
For those who were in this place spiritually, he implied that they were defiled and impure and needed cleansing and purification all over again - "...Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
To be "double minded" - constantly wavering between Christ and something or someone else - causes a people to become "unstable" in all of their ways.
Could this be why there is so much Sin in the Church today? Is this why there is so much divorce, abortion, fornication, adultery, and even homosexuality in our midst?
People are simply lacking in stability and firmness in their faith. They are irresolute and undetermined in their standards. They are continually distracted by the things of this world.
The Lord Jesus Christ admonished every Christian with these powerful words:
Luke 9:62 "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
When we accept salvation through Jesus Christ, we are likened to the farmer who is plowing his field. He has a task to perform. He is to keep his eyes focused on the work ahead of him, not looking to the right hand or to the left. The direction in which he sets his gaze will be the direction in which he plows.
We cannot accomplish God's Will for our lives if we are constantly looking back with regret at all that we gave up for the Lord - whether it be pleasures, wealth, or worldly honor and fame.
Lot's wife tried looking back to Sodom and turned into a pillar of salt (Luke 17:32). Demas loved this present world insomuch that he left the Apostle Paul and the ministry to go back to it (II Timothy 4:10 ).
Many, having "escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ," go back to their old sinful habits and become entangled again and "overcome." Their last state becomes worse than their first. They are like the dog which returns to its own vomit, and "the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
II Peter 2:20,22 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
- The Apostle James called it double mindedness.
- The Lord Jesus likened it to a man undertaking a task but always looking back.
- The Apostle Paul described this state as being like little children who are weak, ignorant, changeable, unsteady, and easily yielding to every temptation that comes along.
Ephesians 4:14 "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive."
"tossed to and fro" - This imagery is taken from the motion of waves or billows constantly moving back and forth. It depicts a people who are very unstable in character and purpose.
"carried about with every wind of doctrine" - These are a people who are not settled or firmly grounded in the doctrines of the Bible. They do not know the Scriptures neither do they adhere to them. They place all their faith and trust in what or who the majority accepts.
"by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness" - Any false teacher or prophet could come along and use subtlety, skill, and trickery to draw them away from the truth, and they would never know it for they are like little children - easily swayed and influenced by others. (see our article titled "What About TV Evangelists" for more on this subject.)
What is the solution for this problem of wavering and inconstancy found among some of the people of God?
The Scriptures give us three possible answers:
- Get Rid Of Any Idols
- weakness in holy living;
- wavering in standards;
- instability of conviction;
- hesitancy to surrender all to the Lord;
- no settled course or direction for the life;
- deceit;
- and inordinate affections or lusts - all in order to accommodate the rival in one's heart.
- Live A Life Of Dependency On God
John 15:4 "Abide in Me..."
Someone once said - "The life rooted in God cannot be uprooted."
E.M. Bounds said - "Our ability to stay with God in our closet, measures our ability to stay with God out of the closet."
Matthew Henry said - "We must live a life of communion with God, even while our conversation is with the world."
A.W. Tozer said - "The Christian is strong or weak depending upon how closely he has cultivated the knowledge of God."
And finally, William Wilberforce added - "How much better I might serve God if I had a closer communion with Him!"
Communion with the Lord Jesus through prayer and the study of His Word is an "absolute must" for every Christian. Satan will use every distraction, diversion, sidetrack, and hindrance to keep God's people from the place of fellowship with the Living Son of God.
Each will find it to be totally and absolutely certain as John Blanchard stated:
"Nothing promotes the activity of the devil more than the Christian's proximity to God."
The devil wants nothing more than for every believer to be weak and wavering as well as distracted in mind and affections. "Constant communion with God adds stability and strength to one's walk".
The Prophet Isaiah said it this way:
Isaiah 40:29-31 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
While we "wait upon the LORD," He exchanges His strength for our weakness. He endues us with supernatural power to stand boldly and uprightly in this sinful and adulterous generation.
Proverbs 28:1 "...the righteous are bold as a lion."
The Christian who meditates in the Word of God day and night becomes "wise" and full of "strength". He is firm and settled in his beliefs. He adheres to fixed Biblical views and principles.
Proverbs 24:5 "A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength."
- Do The Work Of The Lord
I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."
Many are not standing their ground in this unsettling world or are not firm in their hopes and Faith because they are not doing the Will of God for their lives. They are not fulfilling the Call of God that has been placed on them from their mother's womb. They are not promoting God's glory.
They are not "seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." They are not walking in obedience to His Holy Word.
Matthew 6:33 "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
Simply said, they are "standing idle in the marketplace." God may have given them an assignment at one time which they set out to do; but trials, temptations, adversity, and persecution hit and caused them to lose the vision, become discouraged, and stop the work of the Lord. Now they find themselves "depressed", "idle," and constantly distracted and unstable in all their ways.
Matthew 20:3 "And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace."
There may be others who have never taken the time to seriously seek God for His will for their lives. Hence, they are "tossed to and fro" like waves of the sea - constantly jumping at every opportunity that comes their way - finding out in the end that it was never God's Will to venture out in that particular direction.
I Corinthians 10:14 "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry."
Friedrich H. Jacobi once said - "Where idolatry ends, there Christianity begins; and where idolatry begins, there Christianity ends."
William Ullathorne added - "Whatever a man seeks, honours, or exalts more than God, this is the god of idolatry."
And Arthur Wallis sums it all up by saying - "An idol may be defined as any person or thing that has usurped in the heart the place of preeminence that belongs to the Lord."
When there is a constant war going on in the soul between two loves - the Lord Jesus and a rival - there will also be found:
You started out in your Christian walk but then offences came and now you find yourself constantly looking back at those times when you were hurt and offended. You cannot seem to grow spiritually or advance in the ways of the Lord because you are bound to your past. Like a little child, you are easily swayed and influenced by others, feeling so insecure and unsure of yourself.
Perhaps today you are like the double minded man - unstable in all your ways. You are trying to serve two masters, and you are totally frustrated as a result. Your heart is divided between Jesus and the world. You are giving God only lip service and even though you have everyone fooled, you and God know it is true.
Get alone with God today. Ask Him to reveal any idols in your life. Repent, and get rid of them. Then determine to serve the Lord Jesus wholeheartedly from this day forward.
Live your day in continuous dependency upon the Lord. Pray and meditate on the Word day and night. Stay in constant communion with God, allowing Him to be your strength and power.
Do the will of God for your life. Don't look to the right hand or to the left to see what others are doing. Seek God for the plan and purpose for your life and then do it diligently and vigorously.
Take heed to the wisdom of the Prophet Daniel:
Daniel 11:32 "...the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."
Determine like never before to know your God, be strong, and do mighty exploits in His Name. You will find that you will never waver or be shaken in your affections and love for Jesus Christ ever again.
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