"Peace, Peace; When There Is No Peace"
Some have said, "I'd rather be red than dead," which is just another way of saying, "Peace, at any price, peace." So, compromise follows compromise, each one leading one step nearer to the brink of abject surrender. How about you, friend, would you rather be red than dead?
But, in the church, just as in our great nation, the cry is "Peace! Peace! At any cost, let us have peace." So-o-o-o, the stalwart soldiers of the cross who were once held in respect for their unceasing warfare against every foe, are now looked upon with contempt in the place of hard-hitting, power-packed, scripture filled sermons, brethren now desire "smooth and fair speeches," lest someone be offended. A preacher dares not to designate some particular sin, or to name specific names; after all, such would be un-Christian! All of which reminds me of what one elder said after listening to a preacher speak on the subject of sin. The elder said, "From his sermon, about all I know about sin is that it is terrible, and that he's agin it; but I still don't know what sin is!" Recently, in the Reader's Digest, even Mr. Norman Vincent Peale waxed bold enough to say, "Ministers are afraid to rock the boat." Possibly our Lord had such soft-soaping brethren (including preachers) in mind when he declared, "Think not that I came to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
True peace (spiritual rest) can come only by walking in "the old paths," without compromise; there Is no other way. Of those who are seeking peace in some other fashion, it might well be said, "The way of peace they know not." (Isa. 59:8)
"Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before;
Christ, the royal master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle, see His banners go!
Onward, Christian soldiers! Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus going on before."
— Box 381, Forest, Mississippi