The
Motor Is Running, But Brethren Are In Neutral
Just about my first memories of the
term “neutral” was that it had to do with placing the gear shift on the Model
“A” Ford in a position where you could release the clutch when the motor was
running (we called them motors – not
engines, as in “Ford Motor Company”).
When you were in “neutral”, there was no movement of the car – it was
just a “do nothing” position. You also
had to remember, when parking your car on an incline, that it would surely roll
backward or forward if you left the gear shift in “neutral”. Neutral simply meant that you were not in
gear – you had no influence whatever on the motion of the car!
I am seriously afraid that a lot of
our brethren today are determined to operate in “neutral”! They don’t want to make any distinction
between a false teacher and a sound teacher.
They don’t want to take a position on fellowship which would make a
distinction between darkness and light, between truth and error, or between
sinfulness and righteousness – they simply want to smile and stay
“neutral”. For years we have been
trying to tell them that neutral (no position) is an open stand for the Devil –
but they simply smile and go about their merry way being perfectly satisfied
with staying in “neutral” – not really standing FOR anything and not really
standing AGAINST anything! These brethren are about as useless to the cause of
Christ as a Model “A” crank is to a new Ford automobile!
These brethren want to be identified
with the “it just doesn’t really matter” philosophy which is being openly
advocated by so many brethren today!
With the neutral position, they never have to open their Bibles to give
an answer to anyone (I Peter 3:15), and with their “accept and respect the
diverse beliefs” of all brethren (Isaiah 30: 8-14), they never have to get any
deeper than “y’all be good now” in spiritual matters. They sometimes venture to say that they just want to be “middle
of the road” brethren! But most of us
were able to figure out a long time ago that there is nothing in the middle of
the road except a yellow stripe and dead armadillos! And if you lie down on that yellow stripe in the middle of the
road, it may just come off on your
back! Where I was reared, out in West
Texas, it was said that a fellow who
wouldn’t stand up for anything was nothing more than a coward who had a yellow
stripe down his back! You ask these
brethren to openly discuss scriptural matters, my friend you just as well save
your breath to cool your coffee! You
ask them to openly debate these issues, surely you have heard the sound of
“silence” before! Possibly we just
don’t seem to get the picture - “NEUTRAL” means that you don’t have a position,
you don’t have any real convictions, you don’t really have any serious
conscience development – you just don’t stand for anything and you ultimately
fall for just about everything! Your
motor is running but you are not in gear.
The lights are on, but nobody is at home! What a sad picture this is for God fearing, Bible respecting, and
righteous living brethren, who have the courage to stand up and be counted –
and who have the courage to be seen as lights in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation.
But the “neutral” folks seem to be the
ones that so many of our brethren are considering as being the leaders of the
church in the future! Wow! Here are folks in “neutral”, just sitting
there with their motor running, who won’t really take a stand for or against
anything – and they are going to be the future of the Lord’s church! Talk about a frightening thought! But as difficult as that is to comprehend,
this is undoubtedly the direction in which the majority of our brethren are
being blindly led. Great numbers of
brethren are sitting like baby birds in a nest – their eyes closed and their
mouths wide open – just waiting for the next “neutral” thought that someone is
going to feed them.
We now have a Bible publishing company
advertising a “gender neutral” Bible (?), we are living in the age of so-called
“gender neutral” marriages (?), we are more and more expected by the world to
be “neutral” when it comes to morality, and now we are even faced with brethren
among us who want to proclaim a “neutral gospel”! They want to talk about Christ – not doctrine. They want to be positive in their preaching
– not negative. They want to use less
scripture in their preaching – more emotional tales and humorous stories. They don’t want to point out error and false
teaching – and, according to them, only a dishonest person can be a false
teacher anyway. They expect you to
declare that you absolutely believe exactly what the scriptures say – but you
must also be willing to fellowship all the brethren who could care less about
what the Lord has said. On and on and
on they go, the motor is running, but they are happy and content to just be in
“neutral”!
Do you see the point that I am trying
to make? Do you truly realize the
seriousness of this apathy and indifference toward truth and error, and this
absolute unconcern about whether things are right or wrong? Do you understand the danger we face with
this lack of respect and lack of concern for the authority of the
scriptures? We have people “among us”
whom we cannot even recognize as being “of us”? Their conversation and teaching has become so sectarian and
denominational that they don’t even sound like Christians! They are among us, but they don’t have a
clue as to what the Word of God demands of us!
They tolerate false doctrines, they fellowship iniquity, they ridicule
those who would oppose them, and they are being more and more successful in
leading the multitudes of brethren down the destructive path of sin and
digression.
Brethren, we had better get in
gear! We must preach the Word –
reprove, rebuke, and exhort (II Timothy 4:1-4). We must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness
(Ephesians 5: 6-17). We must do everything that is possible to rescue brethren
who are overtaken with sin and error (Galatians 6: 1-2). And we must determine to not receive or give
encouragement to anyone who doesn’t bring the doctrine of Christ (II John
9-11). And having done all to stand, we
must STAND therefore (Ephesians 6: 10-18).
We must have the determination that we
will not be a part of this so-called “neutral” generation (Matthew 12:30)! The
night is far spent and the day is at hand – it is now time to wake up, stand
up, and speak up for Truth (Romans 13: 11-14) (I Thessalonians 5: 4-11)! You and I are the Lord’s messengers and
servants – is He able to count on us?
Dennis
L. Reed
13311
Lake George Place
Tampa,
Florida 33618
pawpawreed@prodigy.net