Decision–Illustrated by the Case of Joshua

A SERMON DELIVERED OF LORD'S-DAY MORNING, APRIL 18, 1875,

BY C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15.

JOSHUA knew that the people who surrounded him, while ostensibly
serving Jehovah, were, many of them, secretly worshipping the ancient
idols of their Mesopotamian fathers–those seraphim which were once
hidden in Rachel's tent and were never quite purged from Jacob's
family. Some of them, also, harbored the Egyptian emblems. And some had
even fallen into the worship of the gods of the people whom they had
displaced and were setting up the images of Baalim in their homes. The
people were nominally worshippers of Jehovah, but in reality, many of
them had turned aside unto strange gods. Never in their best days had
the children of Israel been quite divorced from idols, for, as Stephen
said of them, even in the wilderness they took up the tabernacle of
Moloch and the star of their god Remphan, figures which they made, to
worship.

Now, being a thorough-going, decided, down-right man, Joshua could not
endure double-mindedness and, therefore, he pushed the people to
decision, urging them to serve the Lord with sincerity and, if they did
so, to put away, altogether, all their graven images. He demanded from
them a determination for one thing or the other, and cried, "If it
seems evil unto you to serve Jehovah, choose you this day whom you will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the
other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites among whom you
dwell." He shut them up to a present choice between the true God and
the idols and gave them no rest in their half-heartedness. Anticipating
the cry of Elijah upon Carmel, he demanded, in effect, "How long halt
you between two opinions? If God is God, serve Him, but if Baal is God,
serve him." He demanded a decision and rightly so.

Can either earth or Heaven be quiet while such a matter is in suspense?
To compel them to assert their decision, he declared his own. A man's
own personal example is eloquent beyond the power of words. Hear the
grand old man! He cries, "You may hesitate, but my mind is made up once
and for all. Judge you as you will, my verdict is already given and my
children agree with me–as for me and my house we will serve Jehovah.
We have no reverence for the demons of Canaan or the myths of Egypt who
could not preserve their own worshippers–our hearts are loyal to the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who brought us up out of Egypt and gave
us this land for an heritage. So far as myself and my sons and my
daughters are concerned, the die is cast and Jehovah, alone, will we
serve."

This clear avowal on the part of Joshua was not a trick of eloquence or
a resolve made, for the first time, in order to influence his
audience–he had so lived that his declaration carried weight with all
who heard it, else it had been idle to have uttered it. He had always
been a man of firm steps and determined mind. Probably this was one
reason why Moses chose him to be his servant and kept him in personal
attendance upon himself. His firmness comes out very clearly in his
conduct as one of the 12 spies. The others brought up an evil report of
the land, but not so Joshua and Caleb! Though they were only two
against 10, yet they boldly maintained their testimony! And when the
people spoke of stoning them, they did not falter for an instant, but
remained faithful to their consciences.

These two men, alone, survived the graves of the wilderness, because
they, alone, were untainted with the wilderness sins. Take Joshua as a
warrior, too, for he was called to fight the Lord's battles and you
find him always a good soldier of the Lord. What a soldier he was!
Saul, in later times, might spare the condemned seed of Amalek, but not
so Joshua! As long as Moses held up his hands to pray, the sword of
Joshua stayed not in the work of execution. When Israel had crossed the
Jordan to attack the Canaanites, he had a commission from the Lord to
destroy these outlawed nations and he made thorough work of it! So
zealous was he in this war that the day was not long enough for him–he
bade the sun and moon stand still till the Lord's battle was fought to
the end!

Joshua, like his friend, Caleb, "followed the Lord fully." He might
have taken for his motto the word, "thorough.''" He belonged to
Jehovah, heart and soul, and mind and strength. As the successor of
Moses and the type of the Lord Jesus, he put on zeal as a cloak and
girded himself with fidelity as a garment. His appointed duty was
fulfilled with martial strictness and unswerving steadiness. He had a
single eye and a firm hand. He was strong and of good courage–and the
Lord was with him. It was no idle boast when the old warrior and prince
in Israel said, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

We admire fidelity in Joshua and we confess that he needed it. But we
may, perhaps, forget that there was never an age in which a decision
for God was not equally required. It is well to admire this in another,
but it is far better to possess it ourselves! In all times it is
imperative upon men to take their stand for God and His Truth. In the
first household outside of Eden, Abel protested against his elder
brother's example and died in consequence. Enoch, when all around
walked according to the course of this world, dared to be singular and
walked with God. Noah believed God amid universal wickedness and
persevered for long years in preparing the Ark, though all men mocked
his warnings. Abraham forsook country and home, at the command of God,
and became a pilgrim and a stranger, dwelling alone and not numbered
among the peoples. His was a grand life, for decided faith made him not
only a mighty man, but a king among Patriarchs.

Each age had its man whose heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord to
serve as a landmark for weaker saints to steer by, and a rock against
which the tumult of the people raged in vain. Look at Moses, counting
the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt,
exciting a sluggish race to action, facing the tyrant king and leading
Israel into the wilderness! What a princely soul Divine Grace made him!
How firmly did he adhere to right and the Truth of God so that he was
faithful to God in all his years. Pass along through the Judges and you
find that they were men decided for the Lord, their God, or they would
never have delivered Israel. Remember Samuel and David, and Nathan and
Elijah! What grandeur surrounded the head of the Tishbite because he
was exceedingly zealous for the Lord God of Israel! He was no
timeserver, as Jezebel and Ahab knew full well.

In later years Daniel is the grand type of decision as we see him
opening his window and praying, as before, though he knows that the
threat of death hangs over him. The three holy children, also, are
before us defying the devouring flames of the furnace sooner than bow
before Nebuchadnezzar's golden image. In New Testament times John the
Baptist rises to the front rank by his resolute fidelity and Pilate
sinks to eternal shame by reason of his vacillation. Paul is covered
with renown, while Agrippa, who is "almost persuaded," is lost in
oblivion! In each age decision has been the one thing needed–to bend,
bow and cringe has been fatal–but to stand like iron columns and
bronze walls has been safety and honor.

The same firmness is needed today! We, too, must take our stand, and,
taking it, must hold it as though we were rooted to the ground! O
blessed Spirit, give us Grace for this! Faithful Redeemer, set Your
image upon us that we, too, may resist even to blood, striving against
sin! My discourse shall run thus–Decision for the Lord–let me
describe it, extol it and demand it.

I. First, let me DESCRIBE IT. It means many things, all of which must
be worked in us by Divine Grace, or we shall never possess them, though
we may have their counterfeits. Decision implies, first, that all
hesitation is gone. There is a period when the thoughtful mind hangs in
equilibrium and it is a question which way the scale will turn. We have
a time of testing and proving when the crucibles are brought out and
the firing pots are placed among the coals. To come wisely and speedily
through this period is a great mercy. This was all over in the case of
Joshua–he had finished the proving of all things and reached the
holding fast of that which is good! The balance was no longer in
suspense. The scale had gone down for God and His cause. It rested in
its place never to be moved. Joshua had a mind of his own and he knew
his own mind. Doubt had long ago vanished, debate was finally closed,
resolve was taken and taken without a grain of reserve. And
consequently action was forcible and ardent.

And now, dear Friends, it is surely time with some of us, especially
with those of us who have reached the prime of life, that we, too, had
done with the fickleness of irresolution! Have we not had enough of
hesitation, deliberating, trifling and delaying? The time past may
suffice for these–has it not been already far too long? You will make
no journey, O traveler, if, now that the sun is in its zenith, you do
not soon decide which way to walk! Mariner, your voyages will be scant
if you lie much longer at anchor! The season of favorable winds is
passing away and yet your sail

remains unfilled–will you never have solved the problem–"to what port
shall I steer? With what cargo shall I load my boat?" Is our life to
end in a constant repetition of the question, "What shall I be?"

If we could change places with the weathercock and become the toy of
circumstances, irresolution might be alright. But for a man, decision
is indispensable–he must know where he is and where he is going! And
it will be an evidence of salvation to him if he has cancelled doubt by
a firm faith in Jesus and ended hesitancy by full consecration to the
service of the Lord. O that every man and woman among us had, through
Divine Grace, come to this point, "As for me and my house, we will
serve the Lord"!

This state of heart indicates superiority to the evil influence of
others. While we are children, we are plastic to every hand. We believe
what is told us by the last informant, our judgment is swayed by our
parents, schoolmasters and elders. But, when we come to be men and
women, we put away the childish things which controlled us. We ought to
put away this propensity to lean upon other men's judgments. Our own
understanding should now be exercised, or else why is it given to us?
God waits to guide us, but He would have us cry to Him and not follow
the trail of our fellows. We should endeavor to have a mind enlightened
by Grace, decided for God and established in the Truth. And then we
should strike out our own path for God and His Truth–and count it no
very great hardship if in that path we should have to walk alone.

A man should not be like a house which is one of a row, which would
come down with a crash if those on the right and left were removed–he
should be altogether detached so that all four walls will stand without
another house to buttress them. Alas, I fear that few have reached this
point! The most of men are a feeble herd and follow their leaders,
having no minds of their own. Woe to them when blind leaders lead them
into the ditch! The great guide of the world is fashion and its god is
respectability–two phantoms at which brave men laugh! How many of you
look around on society to know what to do? You watch the general
current and then float upon it! You study the popular breeze and shift
your sails to suit it. True men do not so!

You ask–"Is it fashionable? If it is fashionable, it must be done."
Fashion is the law of multitudes, but it is nothing more than the
common consent of fools! The world has its fashions in religion as well
as in dress and many of you feel the influence of it. If you had fallen
in among Christ's people some of you would have made a profession of
religion before now, but having, on the contrary, been cast among the
ungodly, even though you have some desires towards Christ, you are held
back by the evil influence. What are you but babes, fit for the nursery
and the sucking bottle? If you were men, you would stand on your own
feet and not need to be carried in someone's arms–

"Dare to be a Daniel!

Dare to stand alone!

Dare to ha ve a purpose true,

And dare to make it known!"

Little will it decrease our eternal misery if all the rest of the world
should be lost with us! Company in Hell will be the reverse of
consolation! If we lose Heaven for fashion's sake, it will be no solace
to us that others lost it, too. We are born alone and shall have to die
alone and to be judged alone–it is time that we began to look into our
souls' affairs with our best judgment and no longer be as the sere leaf
in the wind, or the log in the rapids. God has given to each man a
conscience, to each man a heart–and He will not allow men to quench
their personal consciences and yield up their hearts to be molded by
others–He will hold them personally responsible for the right use of
judgment, reason and heart! Oh Sirs, may every one of us know the Lord
for ourselves and, forsaking the broad road with its many travelers may
we be bold to walk in the narrow way which leads unto life.

Right decision for God is deep, calm, clear, fixed, well grounded and
solemnly made. Joshua does not speak his determination lightly. Gaze
upon the stern warrior's face scarred in many battles, bronzed with
exposure, wrinkled with more than 100 years of varied experience! He
looks not like a trifler. He speaks not as one who sings a love song
and trills it from his lips! His utterances rise from that broad breast
of his with the rugged honesty and brave sincerity of a soldier prince.
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord," as much as if he had
said, "I have known my God too many years to forsake Him, now. I have
not bared my breast to the battle so many scores of times to now be a
coward!

"I have not dwelt under the shadow of the Almighty 40 years in the
wilderness and all these years in Canaan that I might seek idols! The
golden calf is not for me–I saw it ground to powder long ago! The
idols of the Amorites are not for me–I have dashed thousands of them
to the ground." He speaks as one who has weighed the matter, counted
the cost

and come to a decision which he can defend against all comers. It would
be idle to try and shake his resolve–it is as stable as Lebanon! You
do not hear in him a timeserver, who, to please men, falls in with the
general affirmation! Nor is he a mere scholar, repeating what he has
learned by rote–nor a ceremonialist, muttering his creed for form's
sake!

You hear an honest man revealing his heart and uttering his inmost soul
with awful earnestness, even in that utterance careless of being heard
of men except so far as their hearing may be of use to themselves. He
speaks with immoveable resolve. His soul is anchored and defies all
storms–"As for me and my house we will, despite crowds and customs. We
will, despite temptations and trials. We will, despite idols or devils,
to the end of the chapter, serve Jehovah." Such ought the decision of
every one of us be, and I earnestly wish that it were so.

That resolve on the part of Joshua was openly declared. I want to come
straight home to some of you here who have said in your hearts, "Yes,
we will serve the Lord," but you have never yet declared your
allegiance, for you have thought it quite enough to promise in secret.
Does not Joshua's outspoken vow make you blush? You are espoused to
Christ, you say, but will there never be an open marriage? Will you
never take Him publicly before the eyes of men to be your Lord and
Husband forever and ever? Does Jesus agree to secret nuptials? Can such
a thing be done in a corner? Of old the candle was put on a
candlestick–is it now to be put under a bushel? You say you are His
soldier–will you never put on your Prince's uniform? Shall your
Captain's colors never adorn you? Will you never come forward and take
your Commander's weapon in your hand and march at His bidding to the
fight?

That is sorry courage which skulks behind the bushes! That is poor
loyalty which never utters the King's name! That is a questionable
decision which dares not declare itself to be on the Lord's side!
Remember how the Lord Jesus said. "He that denies Me before men, him
will I deny before My Father who is in Heaven." I like this in Joshua,
that he would have no one be in doubt as to where he was. He gives them
his whereabouts plainly enough. Where Jehovah's altar smokes with the
sacrifice of bullocks–where the paschal lamb is slain and the blood is
sprinkled, where the High Priest offers incense to the one invisible
and ever glorious God–there will you find Joshua! And there his sons
and daughters, too, for, "As for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord."

Why are you not equally openhearted, O you who love the Lord? What
excuse have you for your silence? I am not able to see what is the good
of a decision, however firm and deep, if it is never asserted! It may
be good for the man who has made it, but as far as society is
concerned, what can be the influence of a decision which is altogether
secret? Why, my Brothers and Sisters, should there be concealment? Our
God has not loved us with reserve and kept His mercy in the dark! Our
Savior has not gone sneaking down the ages, ashamed to confess the
mortals whom He loves! And if He has never been ashamed of us, we ought
never to be ashamed of Him! O, my Brethren, can you hesitate? Are you
not ashamed of being ashamed, and afraid to be, any longer, afraid? Out
with it! There! Run up the colors to the masthead, where every eye may
see them and there let them be nailed! And if any man is at war with
Jesus he is at war with us! Let earth and Hell know this once and for
all!

In Joshua's case his resolve was not only openly acknowledged, but
earnestly carried out. Some have declared themselves on the Lord's side
and yet they do not serve the Lord. Their names are down in the Church
book and they attend to the outward ordinances, but as for any serving
of the Lord, you will have to search for it and search in vain! Joshua
went in for serving God in truth. He was a soldier and if anyone had
asked him, "Whose soldier are you, Joshua?" he would have answered, "I
am God's soldier." "Whose battles do you fight?" "I fight the battles
of Jehovah." "And what is your object in fighting?" "To glorify
Jehovah!" He was committed to the Lord's cause from head to foot!

Many professors do not understand what this means. They view religion
as a kind of weekend farm. They have another estate which is their home
and main care–and the kingdom God is a weekend farm–to be mainly
managed by the minister as a bailiff. Their religion gets their spare
time and odd thoughts. Jesus comes in for the cold meat that is left
over, while the world has the hot steaks. Religion is by no means the
great channel along which the strength of their life runs–it is a sort
of backwater–they let the waste water run there when they have more
than enough to turn the mill-wheel of business.

They are seen at Prayer Meetings when there are no accounts to settle
and no new books to read. They do something for the Church of God when
they have nothing to do, no friend coming to spend the evening with
them and no amusement available. They treat the Lord Jesus Christ very
indifferently. They hope they will be saved by Him–I hope they will,
too! They say they will be wonders of Grace if they are and I think
they will, too! Such conduct to the bleeding

Lamb is dastardly and I hate it! As for me, I will be bold enough to
say with Joshua, "I will serve the Lord"–that is to say, if I am His
servant I will be His servant and lay myself out for Him. I will not
bear His name, eat His bread and wear His clothes and yet do Him no
service! Better die than live so dishonestly!

Certain servants of great men are kept merely for show. You shall go
into My Lord's house and see a fine fellow who is paid a considerable
income. What does he do? He is not kept to do anything–he is the
ornament of the establishment–the display of those magnificent legs
and that beautiful form which looks so well in uniform is all his
master gets! Surely, some Christians suppose that they are engaged on
the same terms and that the Lord Jesus Christ, having the distinguished
honor of having their names in His Church book, is perfectly satisfied
though they do nothing! These are the fellows who are everlastingly
grumbling at those who do serve–and become the pests of the Church. Be
not like them! Better far to die outright! Serve the Lord with real
labor, to whose free Grace and dying love you owe your all!

Once more. Joshua's decision was adhered to throughout the whole of his
life. He had begun early in the service of God and he never left it. A
hundred years rolled over his head, but we never discover in him any
desire to take up with the service of Baal, or the service of the
seraphs! He continued to the last, true to the resolve, "We will serve
Jehovah." Happy are we, Brothers and Sisters, if Grace enlisted us in
the service of Christ while we were yet young! Happier, still, if Grace
has kept us, to middle age, still firm in our young resolve. And
happiest of all shall we be if, when our hair is gray, we shall be able
to say, "O God, You have been my God from my youth, and until this time
I have declared Your wondrous works. Now, also, when I am old and
gray-headed, O God, forsake me not!"

He who decides aright for God decides for eternity. Beloved, you never
will quit serving God! There never was such a one yet! My Lord and
Master never fires His old servants, nor do His old servants ever run
away from Him! The more they serve Him, the more they wish to serve
Him. Their physical strength may fail them, but never their love to His
work! They still bring forth fruit in old age to show that the Lord is
upright. Blessed are they who have this abiding thoroughness in the
cause of the Lord their God!

II. Let me now PRAISE DECISION. In religion nothing is more desirable
than to be out and out in it. With some little variation I might say of
it as of knowledge–

"A little piety's a dangerous thing, Drink deepest draughts at that
refreshing spring." To enjoy religion you must plunge into it! To wade
into it up to the ankles may make you shiver with anxieties, doubts and
questions till you resemble a trembling boy unwillingly entering a bath
on a cold morning! But to plunge into its depths is to secure a glow of
holy joy. Some of you are ill at ease at sea, but my friend in the blue
jacket over yonder likes it well enough, for he is always there! His
home is on the rolling waves and there is no seasickness for him. Those
of you who make short trips upon the sea of piety and do a little
coasting religion now and then, are sick with doubts and fears. But if
you sailed always on that sea you would get your sea legs! You would
gain full assurance and see the glories of the Lord and His wonders in
the deep!

It is with true religion as with the American's orchards. A gentleman
was invited into a garden to taste the apples. "No," he said, "I would
rather not," and being often asked to come and partake, yet refusing,
the other said, "I guess you've a prejudice against my apples." "Yes,"
said the man, "I have tasted a few of them and they are very sour."
"But which," said he, "did you taste?" "Why, those apples which fall
into the road over the hedge." "Ah, yes," said the owner, "they are as
sour as crabs! I planted them for the good of the boys, but if you come
into the middle of the lot you will find a different flavor"–and it
was so.

Now, just round the border of religion, along the outer hedge, there
are some very sour apples of conviction, self-denial, humiliation and
self-despair! They are planted on purpose to keep hypocrites and mere
professors out. But in the midst of the garden are luscious fruits,
mellow to the taste and sweet as nectar! The central position in
religion is the sweetest. The nearer to God, the sweeter the joy! If I
were a German, which I am not, the last sort of German I should like to
be would be an Alsatian or a Lorrainer, because I would have to be a
German by nationality, but might be even more a Frenchman in manners!
And if ever the war should be renewed between the two nations, the
fighting would be sure to come very near my farm and home. I should not
like to be a German-Frenchman, or a French-German in time of war! I
would prefer to be of pure breed. As to sacred things I would not be a
neutral. No, no! Let me be out and out, thorough

and decided! If you are a Christian, be a Christian! If you serve the
devil, serve him out and out! And if you serve the Lord, serve Him with
your whole heart and soul and strength.

A decision for God enables a man to direct his ways. A man who resolves
that he will serve the Lord knows his way about the world. Something
will happen to you in business tomorrow. You will have a fine
opportunity–you will be able to make a great deal of money. But it
will be by sailing very near the wind and you would rather not have the
transaction published in The Times. When that temptation comes before
you, how will you act? I do not know, but if you have made up your mind
that you will serve the Lord, you will not need to consult your
partner–your course will be clear! Nine out of every 10 questions
which can possibly come before you in your business are already
answered when the grand question is settled!

Is such an action dishonest? Then it matters nothing how profitable it
might be–it is dismissed as quite beyond consideration. Is such a
course necessitated by honesty? Then let it be followed whatever the
loss may be! David prayed "lead me in a plain path because of my
enemies." And the man who has made up his mind, by Divine Grace, that
he will serve the Lord, has that prayer fulfilled! This saves many men
from temptation. Satan tempts those who can be tempted, but when he
finds men sufficiently resolved, there is a certain order of temptation
with which he never assails them again. He adapts his devices to our
standing and does not use, for lion-hearted minds, those petty nets
with which he takes small birds. As a giant walks along unconscious of
the cobwebs across his path, so does a thoroughly consecrated man break
through a thousand temptations which, indeed, to him are no longer
temptations at all!

Thorough-going men wield a mighty influence. Joshua was able to speak
for his house as well as for himself. Many fathers cannot speak for
themselves and, therefore, you may guess the reason why they cannot
speak for their families! Joshua's religion was so intense that it, by
the Divine blessing, set his sons burning with the same flame. I have
known a Christian woman to be so low in Grace that she never influenced
one of her children to desire to be like she was. And I have heard of
fathers who we hope were Christian men, whose force to repel from piety
was greater than their power to attract to it!

God give us more vitality in our own religion and we shall influence
our children and servants–and from them the savor will spread all
around! For this reason and a thousand more it is desirable beyond
measure to be decided and resolute for the Lord's cause! Hesitation and
wavering can answer no purpose, but a prompt decision is, in every way,
commendable.

III. I find I shall not be able to say one half of what I intended to
have said this morning and, therefore, I shall come

to a close by DEMANDING THIS DECISION FOR CHRIST which I have described
and praised. May the Holy Spirit

enable you to answer to the demand! A decision is required because the
Lord deserves to have it. He who made us ought not to be served
hesitatingly. He who gave His Son to die for us ought not to be trifled
with. By the splendor of Deity and the Glory of the Cross, I claim your
whole hearts for my Lord! If the Christian religion is a lie, it is a
most detestable one and it ought to be abhorred heartily! But if the
service of God is, indeed, right. And if religion is a matter of fact,
it demands our whole heart, soul and strength–nor should it have less.

The service of the Lord is not a matter to be loosely touched with the
tips of one's fingers, but it should excite all the powers and passions
of our entire nature to obedient action. My dear Hearer, look at
yourself for a moment. Is there much in you–taking the largest
estimate you can of yourself? Are your dimensions so very vast? Compare
yourself with the thrice holy God! Those tall archangels who bow before
Him are as nothing in His sight! What must you be? And if you, as a
whole, are so little, do you dream of dividing yourself and giving God
a part? The Heaven, even the Heaven of heavens and the realms of space
are not enough for Him!

And all things that He has made are but as a drop in a bucket compared
with His infinite Majesty! As for this little dominion of your body and
soul, will you carve it out among rival monarchs and insult the Lord by
offering Him a corner while you save spaces for the world, the flesh
and the devil? Mock not the Majesty of Heaven! If a gnat that dances in
the summer sunbeam above the Rhine should talk of dividing its
allegiance between the German Emperor and the French Marshal, you would
smile. Shall you, you insignificant creature, talk of dividing yourself
between God and Mammon? Let me demand of you, dear Friends, that you
give to God your whole mind and soul, because to attempt a middle
position is mean and dishonorable!

Who claims to be indifferent to the claims of virtue? Who dares to be
neutral in the battle between truth and a lie? Brand him as a coward!
To refuse to take our place upon great questions is disgraceful! And
when the issue is one which divides the unwise–a question between
holiness and sin, between God and the devil–why it is a mean thing for
a man to insinuate that he really is not called upon to decide and that
he may take up a position midway between the two! God save you from
such dishonor! If, after all, the world and the things thereof are
best, say so and take your side! And this morning, if not another
person should do it, say in your heart, "As for me and my house, we
will serve ourselves and the world." If you mean it, say it out
straight and do not hide it!

For a man to say, "I cannot determine what I shall serve, but I rather
think I shall serve myself till I get pretty nearly worn out. And then
I shall turn about and try what is to be done with religion," is
detestable! Such beings are hardly as respectable as oxen and asses,
which at least know their owners! Not to decide for the Lord is
dangerous in the last degree. There is Lot in Sodom–perilous is his
position, but the angels come to him and they say, "This city is to be
burned with fire, you must escape." Lot is on the road at once and
before long he reaches the mountain and is safe.

His wife is willing to go, too, and yet unwilling–she wavers and
delays. She has not quite made up her mind. She does not like leaving
that house full of new furniture and that wardrobe of fine linen!
Moreover, her neighbors, though they did not go to Chapel every Sunday
and were rather loose in their morals, were very cheerful, chatty
people–she did not quite like leaving them. See, she looks back! She
may look back forever, for there she stands, transformed into a pillar
of salt.

Oh, you who think the world has many attractions! You who would like to
serve God but still feel that there is a great deal to be said on the
other side of the question, come and taste this salt! Its acrid flavor
may be healthy to you if it makes you, from now on, dread dallying and
hesitating! Remember there are no curses in the Bible more terrible
than those which are directed against those who stand hesitating
between two opinions. Listen to this Old Testament curse, you who make
no profession, you who contradict your profession by ill lives. "Curse
you Meroz, says the Lord, curse you bitterly the inhabitants thereof,
because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord
against the mighty." Did they fight against the Lord? Not they! Why are
they cursed? Because they did not fight for Him! What if this curse is
hovering over this house to fall upon the head of those men who go not
forth to the help of the Lord! Will it fall upon you?

Now, listen to the New Testament word which comes from those lips which
never spoke too roughly–lips like lilies dropping sweet smelling
myrrh! Here they are–"I would you were cold or hot. So then because
you are neither cold nor hot I will spit you out of My mouth." Who is
this offensive one? Did he burn the Savior's lips by hot persecutions?
No. Did he freeze them with utter coldness of heart? No. He was a
harmless, good sort of person–moderate, sober, easy-going–in fact, a
lukewarm man. He was a little warm–only a little more and he would
have been hot. He was a little cool–only a little cooler and he would
have been as refreshing as the snows of Lebanon.

He was neither cold nor hot. Yes, and Christ said He loathed him! I do
not read of His spitting anything out of His mouth except this. And
this He cannot bear. Some of you, if you judged yourselves, would say
you are not good enough for Heaven, but rather too good for Hell. Alas,
Hell is your portion and an inner dungeon therein! Repent of your
double-mindedness and turn unto the Lord with purpose of heart! I can
see where you are, you betweenites! There is the army of God, a vast
and mighty host on yonder hill. I see the glittering warriors ready for
the fray. Yonder encamps the host of Satan on the opposite hill. Black
and grim is the Prince of Darkness–and fierce are they that follow
him.

Where are we this morning? Some of us can say we are with the Prince
Emanuel. We are poor warriors, yet we serve under His standard.
Possibly there are some here who are on the wrong side and are so
honest that they will not deny that they are enlisted on the opposite
side. But my Hearers, where are you? Where are you? "We are thinking
about it." But where are you while you are thinking? "We are
considering and judging." But where are you now? Mark this! When the
fight comes and our Lord's artillery shall come into play–and when the
adversaries on the other hand reply to us– you will receive the shot
from both sides!

And when the armies come to deadly hand-to-hand fight, you will be
trampled down by both! Do we not read of some who will wake up "to
shame and everlasting contempt"? The saints will be ashamed of you,
because you did not join with Christ in the day of battle. And the
adversary, himself, will despise you because you shrunk away, even from
him! Be one thing or the other!

In closing, remember that to be between the two is, after all, utterly
impossible. Though I have thus pictured some as hovering between the
two armies, it is not actually the case, for every man is on one side
or the other. You are either dead or alive! You are either justified or
condemned! You are either in the gall of bitterness or enjoying the
sweets of liberty! No man can serve two masters and no man can be
without a master. God will not have half the soul–and the world will
not have half the soul. Both God and sin are imperious and
monopolizing–they will have the whole or none–

"God and Mammon! O be wise,

Serve them both? It cannot be!

Ease in warfare, saint and miser?

These will never well agree.

Give the fawning foe no credit,

So the bloody flag's unfurled.

That base heart, the Word has said it,

Loves not God that loves the world." Put Christ into the heart and He
will chase sin out, or keep sin in the soul and sin will put down every
better thought till the man is altogether vile. When you get home write
this down if you will, "is for me, I will serve the Lord." Put your
name to it in earnest. Or, if this is not to your mind, write, "is for
me, I will serve the world," and put your name to it. I long to drive
you to a decision! If God is God, serve Him! If Baal is God, serve him!
O, may the Spirit of God lead you to decide for God and His Christ this
very moment and He shall have the praise forever! Amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–Joshua24:11-27; Psalm 101
HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN HYMN BOOK"–63 (SONG III), 671, 645.