No Defensive Faith

Contemporary Christians tend to act as though they are on the defensive, rather than appreciating the true nature of the battle.  In the panoply of armour in Ephesians, Chapter 6, there is no armour for the back, and Jesus did not say that hell would storm the gates of the Church, but that we would storm the gates of hell. Ever since the Vietnam War years the Church has been unrealistically pacifistic, even to the point of not singing Onward Christian Soldiers.

In all of this we have been looking too much at ourselves, and not enough at Christ.  “For every look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ” (Robert Murray M’Cheyne).  Our fears come in part from looking at the stormy waters of our own experience, rather than looking at the One who calms the waters.

When looking at the Sovereignty of God, consider the function of the ancient monarch.  The word monarch refers to the singular, sovereign rule of the One who is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent.  This God of ours cannot be surpassed or denied, all power, all majesty, all dominion is His.

The 17th Century French Bishop, Jacques Bousset unfolds the absolute power of the monarch, “The royal power is absolute. The prince need render account of his acts to no one. "I counsel thee to keep the king's commandment, and that in regard of the oath of God. Be not hasty to go out of his sight: stand not on an evil thing for he does whatsoever pleases him. Where the word of a king is, there is power: and who may say unto him, What do you do?  Whoever keeps the royal commandment shall feel no evil thing." … I do not call majesty that pomp which surrounds kings or that exterior magnificence which dazzles the vulgar. That is but the reflection of majesty and not majesty itself. Majesty is the image of the grandeur of God in the prince. The power of God makes itself felt in a moment from one extremity of the earth to another. Royal power works at the same time throughout all the realm. It holds all the realm in position, as God holds the earth. Should God withdraw his hand, the earth would fall to pieces; should the king's authority cease in the realm, all would be in confusion” (J.H. Robinson, ed. Readings in European History 2 vols. (Boston: Ginn, 1906), 2:273-277).

This sovereignty is bestowed on Jesus the Son of God, by God the Father.  It is Jesus who is the Commander of the armies of the Lord!  In biblical terms, according to Revelation 19:11-16, He is the Lord of Hosts, and “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, ‘King of kings and Lord of lords.”

There are times in battle when each of His warriors are exposed to danger, and sometimes wounded, but not beyond redemption, healing, and restoration.  It is a real battle, and it calls for a steadfast faith that keeps its gaze steadfastly on the Commander.

In The Coming of Arthur, Tennyson points the way to a heroic faith:

Strike for the King and live! his knights have heard 
That God hath told the King a secret word.
Fall battle-axe, and flash brand!  Let the King reign….

The King will follow Christ, and we the King
In whom high God hath breathed a secret thing.
Fall battle-axe, and flash brand!  Let the King reign.
(Tennyson, The Idylls of the King, “The Coming of Arthur,” line 481-500)

It is not enough to sit passively, hoping that the battle will pass us by.  That way lies infinite danger and ultimate defeat.  Rather take up the bright weapons of your faith, pray the Daily Office, meditate on the richness of Holy Scripture, particularly on the Psalms, be ready in praise, and constant in worship.  Equip yourself for the battle, for the surely the battle will come, it always comes; but to the faithful warrior comes also the victor’s crown as he follows his liege Lord and Master.