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“QUIT YOU LIKE MEN”
QUIT YOU LIKE MEN
Jerry C. Brewer
If it does not stir you as a member of the church to an earnest contention for the faith, your love for the truth has waxed cold.
One can almost hear the muffled roll of drums, the grimly measured tread of marching boots, the “thump” of distant cannon belching fire, and what General Douglas MacArthur called the “mournful mutter of the battlefield,” when Paul says, “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13).
“Here is the imagery of battle. The associations of war and the issues of battle vibrate in every word of this exhortation. It is an appeal to the heart as stirring as the call of a commander to comrades in a critical period of battle.” (Foy E. Wallace, Jr., “The Faith Once Delivered Demands Conflict,” In Word And Doctrine, Vol. 3, No. 4, May-July, 1996, Joseph D. Meador, Ed.).
Christ calls men to battle and that task requires courage. When Paul said, “Quit you like men,” he meant for us to perform our front line duties with courage worthy of the title, “Soldier of the Cross.” It isn’t enough to know the truth and preach it. One must have the courage to stand for truth (Jude 3). One who won’t earnestly contend for the faith certainly does not love the truth.
The young prophet who came out of Judah and cried against Jereboam’s altar at Bethel manifested courage. Contrasted with his boldness was the evident lack of it in the old prophet who invited him to his house. Saying an angel had commanded him to summon the young prophet to his house, the old prophet lied to him. Believing that lie led to the young man’s death (1 Kings 13). That narrative has been used, and rightly so, to teach the danger of believing a lie. But it also reveals a trait in the old prophet that afflicts men today -- cowardice. He greatly admired the young man for his courage to speak out against Jereboam’s sin, but there’s no record that the old prophet ever raised his voice against the king’s iniquitous acts. Holy Writ calls him a prophet. He knew what God had commanded regarding worship, but he refused to speak out. He was a coward.
Many years ago, I sat on a murder trial jury in Cleveland County, Oklahoma. Seeking the death penalty, the prosecution asked each prospective juror if he believed in capital punishment. Each of those chosen for the jury answered in the affirmative. Yet, when it came time to assess the punishment for the murder, of which the defendant was found guilty, about one-third of the jury refused to vote for the death penalty. There’s a vast difference in believing something is right and doing what is right.The devils also believe and tremble. Those jurors didn’t have the courage of their convictions and that is the curse of the church today. Multitudes of Gospel preachers believe the truth, preach it at every opportunity, and would not preach error. But when they are tried in conflict’s crucible, they seek comfort and safety in silence while jack-booted enemies of Christ decimate the church. They may know and preach the truth, but they love neither it nor the Lord who revealed it.
About six years ago, Joe Beam was engaged by the apostate Weatherford, Oklahoma, church to preach a meeting. Marking Beam as a false teacher, another preacher and I wrote and mailed a letter to area churches, including the entire membership of the Weatherford church. Prior to mailing the letter, we presented it to western Oklahoma preachers at an area-wide study and offered them the opportunity to sign their names to it and help with postage costs. Only one located preacher was willing to affix his name to the letter. Another signed it, but called the next morning and asked that his name be removed because members where he preached “had children in the Weatherford church.” Another gave money for postage, but didn’t want his name on the letter, saying, “You’ll need someone to defend you when this comes out.” He was willing to “defend” me -- which I didn’t need -- but refused to defend the faith. Like the old prophet at Bethel, they admired what we were doing, but feared to jeopardize their pay checks in defense of the truth. That kind of hireling cowardice is high treason to Christ’s cause (Matt. 12:30).
“Error is couched in countless forms concealed. Christ calls for vigilance -- ‘watch ye.’But when error has been flushed out of the hiding and forms into advanced columns against the church, Christ calls for courage -- ‘stand fast in the faith.’ Then, when the lines are drawn tight, surging issues of truth and error are locked in the grim struggle for mastery -- Christ calls for valor -- ‘quit you like men.’ Perform like a soldier of Christ worthy of the name... The imagery thrills me. If it does not stir you as a member of the church to an earnest contention for the faith, your love for the truth has waxed cold” (Wallace).
Many years ago, an old preacher whose name has long been forgotten said, “The walls of hell will be papered with the hides of Baptists.” If he were alive today, he might amend that to say, “The walls of hell will be papered with the hides of Baptists, glued there with paste from the jellied backbones of hirelings in churches of Christ.”
