#144: Proclaim, Promote, Protect!
So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
II Kings 6:16-17
For my sons’ birthdays I have developed a habit of waking them early in the morning while it is still dark and reading a portion of Scripture with them with application to the year completed and the year ahead. It is always an enjoyable time before the sun rises and the day of celebration and thanksgiving begins. On Elisha’s 5th birthday, it was a logical decision to read from II Kings 6. While talking with my son about the text and how the Lord wants us to live in faith and die to fear, we were struck by the apologetic nature of the account of Elisha and Dothan. It seems that much of the Bible’s system of apologetics is summarized in these few short verses finding their culmination in verses 16-17.
How is the Christian individually and the Church collectively supposed to contend earnestly for the faith as Jude exhorts us to do? How are we to live for Christ whom we have come to know through His Word?
When Elisha’s servant was filled with fear, Elisha proclaimed the truth to Him, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them!” As his servant was falling into the sin of fear, Elisha protected the faith by calling his servant away from the broad path that leads to destruction and back to the straight road that leads to life by warning him, “do not fear.” As his servant heard his words of proclamation, Elisha than prayed to God for the illumination of his servant’s eyes and mind to see the reality all around him. As Elisha promoted the truth of God, God saw fit to reveal a measure of His glory, “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire.”
Like Elisha, the Christian and the Church contend earnestly for the faith they have come to know by the work of the Holy Spirit in these three ways: by proclaiming the truth; promoting the truth; and protecting the truth.
Jesus went all around Judaea proclaiming the kingdom of God and calling all men to repent and believe in Him for their salvation. He read the Scripture in the synagogues, taught the Word to His disciples, preached to thousands at a time, all with great authority. We ought to proclaim the truth with our words and lives. This simply means to tell it, speak of it, incorporate it in our lives and with our families and of course preach it in the church according to measure of our calling. Lest we think only the minister or elder proclaims the Word, please bare in mind that every time the Word is read to others it is proclaimed and I Corinthians 11:26 says of the Lord’s Supper, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.” Christian, proclaim the truth!
Jesus did not merely call for the Word of God to be proclaimed in the church but to be promoted to all the world. “Go ye therefore into all nations…” As the church carries out its evangelistic calling it promotes the truth to all nations. Sometimes the promotion of the truth is met with resistance or, interestingly based on the present text, fear. What can be better than promoting the greatest gift that one could ever receive? Christ is the treasure beyond all measure or comparison. He is freely offered to all and none who call upon the name of the Lord in faith will be rejected. Who would not promote Him? Elisha promotes the Lord to his servant by reminding him of the power, might, and glory of God, “those who are with us are more…” Christian, promote the truth!
When Jesus was questioned by the Sadducees concerning the resurrection he rebuked them sharply for not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. It can seem with every minute a new error, heresy, fallacy, or foolish teaching is born. If the truth of God is not protected in its fullness and purity, we will lose the truth. This is likely the focus of Jude’s exhortation. Do not forget the many who have gone before us and are going with us in the present who have strayed from the pure word of truth and given in to fables, lies, deceits, greed, etc. The Word of God must be known and it must be protected.
Anything that is worth something is protected. What protection must we give to that which is worth everything? Let us be those given over to studying the Word, searching the Scriptures to see if what we hear is true. Let us be given to prayer for wisdom and discernment as we study the Scriptures and hear it preached. And let us not give in to lies, even if very popular lies, but contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Contend wisely, contend with love, contend without malice, but contend earnestly with zeal, truth, and boldness that the weak might not be deceived and the deceivers might not be wise in their own conceit. The tried and true way to protect the faith is to know the faith. You will quickly stumble if you are contending for what you do not know. Elisha protected his servant from the deceit and hopelessness of fear with the urgent exhortation, “do not fear,” followed by the revelation of the truth of God. Christian, at all cost and against all opposition, protect the truth!
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