Calvary Road Baptist Church

“INDECISION IN RELIGION”

First Kings 18.21 

My text, for this message I have adapted from a sermon delivered some two centuries ago by Asahel Nettleton, is First Kings 18.21: 

“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. And the people answered him not a word.” 

These words were addressed to a large gathering of people who had assembled with Elijah and a group of more than 850 false prophets on Mount Carmel.

Unwilling to worship the true and living God, the people had generally departed from Him. But since everyone has religious tendencies expressed to quiet their consciences, the Israelites set up and worshiped false gods.

A person’s conscience, however, is not always easily pacified. At times, even a hardened conscience will tell someone that all is not well. It’s your conscience that asks, “Where am I going and what will be my ultimate end?” So, their consciences led them to hesitate and halt between two opinions.

Now, on Mount Carmel, the contest was to be decided. Elijah came before 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. And the people answered him not a word.” 

This question is addressed to you here who are as yet undecided about Christ and your eternal destiny. Not one of you here intends to die without eventually coming to Christ. And yet, a number of you don’t want to come to Christ now. You hesitate. You halt between two opinions, unable to decide whether to begin a life of faith in Christ now or to wait a little longer.

Of course, James refers to you in James 1.8: 

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” 

Our text calls upon you who are in this quandary to come to a decided choice, to go one way or the other without delay. “If the LORD be God, follow him, if Baal, then follow him.” The question that is now put to you who are lost is, “How long halt ye?” How long will you wait before you decide one way or the other?

Really, there are two considerations to put to you: 

First, WHY HAVE YOU WAITED SO LONG WITHOUT MAKING UP YOUR MIND? 

It’s not for lack of power to change your attitude or to make you willing to repent. You have all the faculties that any Christian has. This is because the genuine Christian has no more natural power to do right than any unsaved person. The natural power of the Christian before and after conversion is unchanged. Romans 5.6: 

“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” 

Romans 6.19: 

“I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh.” 

Let me point out that the same Greek word is translated “without strength” in Romans 5.6 and “infirmity” in Romans 6.19. So, it is obvious. God does not condemn sinners for being unable but for being unwilling to repent. Let me appeal to the facts here. Some sinners are now in the prison of Hell. Were they able to repent? Able or not able, the Lord punishes and will punish them for all eternity for not doing it. Is it for the lack of power or for the lack of will that He punishes sinners? It is correct to observe that it is for the lack of will, the lack of inclination, and the lack of an attitude to obey His commands. It was not for the lack of power that they did not repent. It is not for lack of power that you have not yet repented toward God and trusted Jesus Christ. You have at this moment in time all the power that you ever will have. You have all that is necessary. And if you had ten thousand times more than what you now have, it would not help you obey God, nor make you willing to obey God. An increase of power would not help since the issue is not a matter of power.

Nor is it because God requires anything unreasonable. To repent, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and obey God is most reasonable. What can be more reasonable than that you should be required to love God? If you were required to love a hideous perversion of God, that would be hard. But that’s not what’s required of you. You are required to love a God with perfect character. There is not a single spot or stain in all God’s character. This is the One you are required to love with all your heart. Again, God requires you to repent of sin. What can be more reasonable than this? Is it hard that you should be required to feel sorrow for sin, for that which is nasty and disgusting? If you were required to feel sorrow for some good conduct of yours, that would be hard. But that is not what’s required of you. You are required only to feel sorrow that you have done wrong. So then, why do you not love God? Why do you not feel sorrow for sin? Why do you not love to pray and praise and discharge all the duties of the life of service to God? Why do you not come out from the world and be separate? Why do you not stand up for the cause of Christ? Why have you not done it already? Not because God requires anything hard or unreasonable. It is easier and more pleasant to do right than to sin. It is far more pleasant and delightful to obey the commands of God than to disobey them. Why, then, have you not done it? Surely, not because God requires anything unreasonable. It is the way of transgressors that’s hard, the Bible declares to us.[1]

Nor is it because you have not been instructed in your duty. I trust none here today can plead ignorance on this subject. You cannot say that you did not know that there is a heaven and a Hell, that you did not know it is your duty to turn from sins and come to Christ, that you did not know that God requires you to love Him and to pray to Him. You cannot say that you have not been warned to flee from the wrath to come, that you have not been called upon again and again to begin a life of service to God. You cannot say that the Spirit of God has not been striving with you, that you have never been warned of the awful danger of resisting the strivings of His Spirit. You cannot say that you have not been warned of the uncertainty of life. You cannot say that you did not know that your life here is to prepare for eternity, that you must die and go to the Great White Throne Judgment of God, that unless you repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you must be cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. You can’t plead ignorance. You’ve heard the Gospel. Why then have you not complied with the terms of salvation? Why then have you not come to a decided choice? Surely it cannot be because you have not been warned.

Nor is it because you have not had time. For what purpose does God give you time but to prepare for eternity? Life and death have been set before you week after week. And at home, Sunday after Sunday and year after year, you have been called upon to make your choice. You have found time to sin. But why is it that you have found no time to repent and become a Christian? Suppose you had died yesterday or last year. You still could not have said that you had not had time to prepare for death. The reason, then, why you have not yet come to a decided choice is not because you have not had time. So, what can the reason be?

Nor is it because the subject is not important. Everyone acknowledges the importance of the subject of salvation. You may feel as though you had some important business to transact, some critical classes to take. But after all is said and done, it amounts to nothing. All is vanity. The fashion of this world passes away. After all their labor and sorrow, high and low, rich and poor, everyone meets together and lies down in the grave at last. If you’ve not been laying up treasure in heaven, you’ve been laboring in vain. Compared with the subject of salvation, all other subjects are insignificant. The world itself will shortly come to an end. The end of all things is at hand. The earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. But your soul is immortal. Of all that you possess, your soul alone will survive the ruins of time. 

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”[2] 

Eternal life and eternal death are before you, and you act as though the subject of salvation is not important enough to command your attention? After suffering in Hell, if you could then be delivered, this issue would not be so important. Were you condemned to burn in flames for only a thousand years, how would you feel? What horror would seize you? Wouldn’t that be awful? Wouldn’t you be alarmed? But a thousand years is nothing. After suffering in Hell thousands and thousands of years, if you could then be pardoned, it would not be so alarming. We would not be so concerned for you. We would not press you so hard to deal with the subject. We would leave you alone because it would all turn out right in the end. Amen? You’d eventually make it. But this is not the case. When your soul is gone, it’s gone forever. There is no coming back to try getting it right a second time. That’s why you need to get this right while God is patient with you. Then, why you have not come to a decided choice is not because you do not feel the subject to be important.

Nor is it because salvation is not freely offered. Salvation is freely offered to you. Listen to these invitations: 

“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”[3] 

“And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”[4] 

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give thee rest.”[5] 

Everything is now ready. And you are invited, encouraged, even commanded to respond. And this always has been the case. Salvation has always been freely offered to you. The reason, then, why you have not yet come to a decided choice is not because salvation has not been freely offered. It is now freely offered. It has always been freely offered. And, mark this down; it will never be more freely offered than it is right now.

Nor is it because you intend to die without being somehow saved. Though you may work to distract yourself to silence your fears and soothe your conscience, you don’t always succeed, do you? Though you cast off most of your fears, at times, you still cannot but admit that a day of reckoning is coming. At times you cannot but consider the shortness of human life, that its pleasures, at longest, are quickly over and gone forever. Even in laughter, your heart is sad. The things of time are fast fading and will soon forever pass from your sight. You know that you must die and go to judgment. Yes, your body must fade and die. And I am positively convinced that you intend to die a Christian. So did wicked Balaam. So did all who are now in Hell. Could you now go to Hell and interview every damned soul there? Not one person could be found who had planned to end up in the fire of God’s jealousy. And you are now following in their footsteps.

I know that you don’t intend to die without somehow being saved. I am convinced that if you were told that within a few days you would die, you would quickly be overcome with despair, and you’d start wailing the wail of the damned. You’d ask yourself, “How can I stand the flames? How can I endure everlasting burning?” It is evident, then, that the reason you’ve not come to a decided choice is not because you intend to die without being somehow saved. Then what’s the problem? You have all the power that you will ever have. God’s requirements are most reasonable. The terms of salvation will never be altered. You’ve had enough time. The subject is of overwhelming importance. Salvation is freely offered; it will never be more freely offered. What’s the problem? I’ll tell you. Like Queen Esther said of evil Haman, the adversary and enemy is your wicked heart.

You just don’t like genuine Christianity. Your heart is so wicked that you will not come to Christ. That is the real reason. The reason why I call on you to repent and believe is not because you cannot, but because you will not. The reason why God will punish you for not obeying is not because you cannot, but because you will not. The reason why the Almighty power of God is necessary to draw you is not because you cannot, but because you will not come to Christ. The real difficulty is to be explained by correcting your view of your depravity. On the doctrines related to the grace of God, all the difficulties meet at the same point; a wrong view of human depravity. Only admit that you never have done and never will do what you can, and you will see why I call you, you will see why God commands you, you will know why He will punish you, and you will see why His power is necessary to subdue your heart.

Man’s heart is so wicked that it needs almighty power to make you do what you can do, not what you cannot do. Many other approaches to explaining the difficulty of folks being saved have been attempted, but all have failed to do justice to what the Bible teaches. These attempts to explain why so many folks are not saved have never been able to bring the monster to light. Indeed, nothing else can hinder your loving God. Nothing else can hinder your sorrow for sin, your praying and obeying all the commands of God. This is the reason which conscience assigns. This is the reason God will assign when you stand before Him for judgment: You will not come to Christ. 

WE’VE SEEN THE REASON WHY YOU’VE NEGLECTED TO COME TO A DECIDED CHOICE. LET’S NOW ASK HOW LONG YOU PROPOSE TO STAY UNDECIDED. 

To use Elijah’s words, How long do you propose to halt? How long halt ye? Kids, this is a question of infinite importance. How long have you put this off? How many years have you lived without God in the world? How many warnings have you neglected? How long has the Spirit of God been striving with you? How many years of the time given to you by God to prepare for eternity have you wasted?

For that same amount of time, God has been waiting to be gracious. Incredible! And you still have not yet repented? You still have not yet begun to live a life of service to God? That many years, then, have gone out of your allotted time on earth, and nothing is done? So many precious opportunities have you wasted. All this while you’ve only been hardening your heart to no good end.

Once more, I ask you to pause and reconsider. All warnings to this point in time have proved ineffectual. Sometimes, like Felix, you have begun to tremble and look around you while the awful realities of eternity are sounding in your ears. For a moment, you’ve been brought to the point of deciding, but you then go away and all is forgotten. Like Felix, you say, 

“Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”[6] 

But it turns out to be a vain and empty resolution, and the entire episode serves only to harden you more to the truth.

No decision is yet made. How long do you purpose to live like this? I urge you to decide this business today. When will you take up the subject of your salvation in serious fashion? How long halt ye? Our text demands an answer from you! A question has been put to you. What’s the answer? What are you going to do?

To help your decision, I will remind you that God sees you, and He is watching you right now. Another thought: God’s Spirit will not always strive with you. Yet another thought: death is certain, and you have no security of life for a single moment.

If there’s nothing to this matter of conversion, then say so right now. If the Bible is a farce, then throw it away and walk out of this room right now. But if it is true, why hesitate to obey its commands? Being true and tremendously true, we know that someday the world will be in the flames of God’s judgment. So, how long halt ye?

Our text speaks well to you who are still quite young. This present time in your life is a particularly suitable period. Many young people of your age have become alarmed and anxious for their souls. We can read the accounts of those your age who have already come to a decided choice. They no longer halt between two opinions. They chose the good part which shall not be taken away. They were ready to leave all. No longer did they stand halting between two opinions, whether to pursue the vanities of the world or to engage in all the duties of serving God. At a young age, they were ready to say goodbye to their friends forever.

At a time like this, many concerns should arise in your mind. While you consider those who left others behind to go on in the Christian life, you can’t help but reflect that you, too, have a soul to be saved or lost. But you are halting between two opinions. On the one hand, you are unwilling to leave your sinful pleasures and companions. You are afraid of the anticipated remarks and digs you expect to hear from God’s enemies. You are ashamed to admit to having any concern for your soul. You are ashamed to come out from the world and openly stand up for the cause of Christ. You are ashamed of Christ, the Savior of sinners. You are even ashamed of the God that made you.

On the other hand, you know that the friendship of the world is enmity with God and that the companion of fools shall be destroyed. You know that your life will someday be over and gone forever and that you must die and go to judgment. You know that the Spirit of God will not always strive with people, that your day of grace is limited, that soon you will have passed the limits of God’s mercy, and for you, it will be too late.

At times these thoughts scare you. Isn’t that right? Perhaps you’re now on the verge of deciding, as you have been before. How long will you play with your eternal soul? How long will you goof around with eternal realities? This indecision is what renders your situation so alarming. This is the highway to Hell. It’s the path which all the wicked have walked down who have gone to Hell before you. The doomed and the damned went halting between two opinions, flattering themselves that they would somehow escape the torments of Hell. And you are now following in their footsteps.

Young people, God will not be mocked. The business of salvation, above all other matters, requires a decision. God requires the whole heart. He will have this from you, or He will have nothing. You are required to break off all your sins, come out from the world and be separate. You are required to leave all, to take up every cross, and to follow Christ now. If you hesitate here, it does no good for you to think on the subject. You are required to endure shame and reproach for Christ’s sake. If you hesitate at this, Christ will have nothing to do with you. If you are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of you.

You may think to obtain the favor of Christ by giving Him only a part of you, by compromising with God. This is sometimes the case with those who feel some concern for their souls. Being ashamed of Christ, they have resolved to be religious in secret and openly to serve the world. But you’ll not succeed in this attempt. No one can serve two masters. You may, in this way, obtain a false hope, but you will not be truly converted. God will abhor all that you do. If you are not willing to give yourselves wholly to God through faith in Jesus Christ, you might stop where you are. The path to heaven is too narrow. The righteous will scarcely be saved, so how do you think you will be saved?

Do you fear what your friends will say or think? Are you that weak and that timid? Think. If you fear the frown of a friend, how will you stand in judgment with an angry God? Let me encourage you to hesitate no longer. Go one way or the other, with all your heart. Life and death are now set before you, and God is witness to the choice you make. 

In view of all that God and the Christian life requires, how long halt ye? In view of all the scorn and contempt of wicked men, how long halt ye?

Finally, if the joys of heaven do not entice you, if a risen Savior is not attractive to you, if the thunder of His vengeance does not strike terror through your guilty soul, then hesitate no longer. Go on. Rejoice. Get out of here and party hardy.

Have fun for your whole life. Forget fear and forget about praying. Trample under foot the Son of God. Resist the strivings of the Holy Spirit. Play around with eternal vengeance and defy the thunderings of Almighty God.

But remember that your bright morning will soon be turned into darkness. When your course is run, your body will fall into the grave, and your soul will fall into the hands of the living God. And it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

__________

[1] Proverbs 13.15

[2] Mark 8.36

[3] Isaiah 55.1

[4] Revelation 22.17

[5] Matthew 11.28

[6] Acts 24.25

Would you like to contact Dr. Waldrip about this sermon? Please contact him by clicking on the link below. Please do not change the subject within your email message. Thank you.

Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church