Onward, Christian Soldiers

The Tucson tragedy of last Saturday fills the news. A loner who apparently lost touch with reality shot 20 people, 6 of whom died, including a sweet child. As happens with all of these tragedies, the blame game is being played out in the public square. Some point at the guy’s parents who failed. The Dems tried to make it about over-heated political rhetoric from the Repubs that drove the murderer to his desperation. Others have decried the lack of strict gun laws that let him buy a deadly weapon. What I know is that God weeps along with us. At the root of this tragedy is the same evil that causes a billion people to lie down in sorrow each night!

Evil is real, friend. We ignore it to our peril. When we fail to name sin and evil for what it is, when we think it can be defeated with more laws, more spending on government programs, more education or economic opportunity, we are only kidding ourselves. It is the Gospel of Christ that changes individual people from sinners to saints, and it is those saints who bring the rule of Christ to this world, pushing back the borders of evil with the power of the Spirit who fills us with love. If we turn the Church of Jesus Christ into a “bless-me” holy huddle, a kind of religious country club where we can be isolated from the ugly realities of the world, we are failing and are saying to our world, though perhaps unknowingly and unconsciously, “Go to Hell!”

In recent years, many have rejected the old militant songs like “Onward, Christian Soldiers.” Too war-like, they say. Perhaps we need a refresher course in Jesus’ words that are quite clear about the true nature of our mission – the defeat of evil by the establishment of His reign. His kingdom is one of love; but it is not a ‘soft lights, violin music’ kind of love! It’s a bold love that advances against evil. We don’t attack people. That’s wrong. We bring Light to dark places, we love the unlovely, we sacrifice Self to serve the least, the lost, and the lonely that they might come to know the One who cares for their soul. We teach a Biblical world view that runs directly counter to the materialism that shapes the thoughts of most. By telling The Story that we learn in the Scripture, we defeat the sensuality that is the spirit of the age. Where Christians do the work of Christ, evil is curbed.

Take time to re-read these familiar words. I pray that they will create a sense of mission in us, that the Church of Jesus Christ will renew her commitment to the true work of building His Kingdom, defeating the powers of evil.

“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matthew 7:15-20, NLT)

“Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” (Matthew 7:24-27, NLT)

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NLT)

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Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before!
Christ, the royal Master,
Leads against the foe;
Forward into battle,
See His banners go!

At the sign of triumph,
Satan's host doth flee;
On, then, Christian soldiers,
On to victory!
Hell's foundations quiver
At the shouts of praise;
Brothers, lift your voices,
Loud your anthems raise!

Like a mighty army
Moves the Church of God:
Brothers, we are treading
Where the Saints have trod.
We are not divided,
All one body we:
One in hope and doctrine,
One in charity.

Crowns and thrones may perish,
Kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus
Constant will remain.
Gates of Hell can never
'Gainst the church prevail;
We have Christ's own promise,
And that cannot fail.

Onward, Christian soldiers,
Marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus
Going on before!

Onward Christian Soldiers
Baring-Gould, Sabine / Sullivan, Arthur Seymour

© Public Domain