Strength and Courage -

In the book of Joshua, the Lord speaks to Joshua in the first chapter and says, "be strong and very courageous that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you." Then in the last chapter, as Joshua is dying, he is speaking to the people of Israel and says, "be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses."

We do well to keep the goal in view as we take up strength and courage. We need not stiffen our necks and become bold in tone if our goal is not to do according to God's will. But where we have His glorification in view according to His Word, we ought to stand strong and courageous. Our obedience is not tempered by a pragmatic determination of the result. Our faithfulness to God is unchecked, not at all concerned with whether or not our result will meet our worldly expectation.

"Through God we will do valiantly, for it is He who shall tread down our enemies." (found in Psalm 60 and 108)

Some brethren argue for incrementalism in faithfulness to God, saying "Our compromise in this area or that area is for the ultimate glorification of God...or...Our disobedience to God's will in this circumstance is only because it is necessary in order to accomplish the greater good." This mindset among Christian brothers and sisters is just plain baffling to me. Making bad choices to avoid what we see as eminently worse circumstances reveals a failure to grasp the principle of no-matter-the-cost Biblical conformity.

Here are some examples I recently composed in an effort to expose the folly of incrementalism:
-Many martyrs might have avoided death, and had more years of ministry, if they had only held their tongue at the "right" moments.
-Paul might have escaped imprisonment if he had only had the "wisdom" of slow, compromising reformation instead of being so "black and white."
-Stonewall Jackson might have avoided an untimely death if he had taken his family into a storm shelter during the North's invasion of his homeland, but he chose to defend his family and his home against the invasion.
-Robert E Lee could have accepted the position of Union General and reformed the North from within.
-Alabama Chief Justice Moore could have retained his position, and further fought for the faith from within the system, by refraining from acknowledging God at work.
-J. Gresham Machen could have stayed with the PCUSA and yoked himself with their corporate sin instead of starting the OPC. Same with the founders of other reformed denominations.
-Martin Luther could have retained his high position in the Roman Catholic church if he had only recanted from his Biblical assertions. Luther stood firm for God's Word and lost his place at the Catholic table.

Be strong and very courageous. Believe God.