TOPIC:“When Sides Must Be Taken”
by Rev. Dr. Reg Dunlap
TEXT:I Kings 18:1-25
“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.” (v. 21)
A. W. Tozer, distinguished minister and writer of past years, once wrote a stimulating editorial entitled, Divisions Are Not Always Bad. He opened the article by stating: “When to unite and when to divide, that is the question, and a right answer requires the wisdom of a Solomon.” He goes on to write: “In a fallen world like ours unity is no treasure to be purchased at the price of compromise. Loyalty to God, faithfulness to truth and the preservation of a good conscience are jewels more precious than gold from Ophir or diamonds from the mine.” He concludes his article by writing these words: “Maybe what we need in religious circles today is not more unity, but some wise and courageous divisions.” I agree with that!
It is true that there are certain divisions which are helpful. We must separate ourselves from all that is sinful and evil. But on the other hand, there are other divisions which are harmful. Life will always be unhappy and unbearable when the heart is divided. Divided allegiance is never a good thing. The people to whom Elijah preached, found as you and I must find, that this matter of living a divided life, partly for God and partly for self, isn't worth much.
And yet, it has become amazingly popular for many people to live such a life. They like being divided on critical issues. It gives them a feeling of recognition. They have the faulty notion that living a divided life, having a double standard, is the only way to exist. But such is not the case!
Into the midst of such a situation comes the commanding voice of God through his prophet Elijah as he summons us to Mount Carmel to settle the question: Who are we going to follow? Who are we going to serve? Who is going to get our allegiance - the God of Heaven or the god of the flesh? The God Elijah or the god of Ahab? He is asking us to take sides, to draw lines, to stop compromising, and once and for all decide under whose banner we're going to march. That's the decision we must make today.
I.
Let's begin with this: Sides must be taken because of the CONDITIONS which exist. The evil conditions of Elijah's day are summed up for us in his words to Ahab in verse 18: “But thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” Baal was the most popular of the heathen Canaanite gods and usually appeared in the shape of a bull signifying strength and fertility. It . . .