Why Did You Leave?

Galatians 1:6
I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.

When you enlist in the army you are expected to finish your tour of duty. Paul says, “A good soldier does not have time to get entangled in worldly affairs.” As a soldier you are expected to stand on your post until you are relieved of your duty. When a soldier leaves his or her post too early they are said to be “Deserters.” When you leave your post you put the rest of the army and even the nation in danger because you deserted your post. The enemy can come in and destroy everybody else because you decided become a deserter.

We’ve seen many examples of young soldiers deserting their posts for the following reasons:

1. Going to party. How many movies have shown young soldiers leaving their posts to go party in a nearby town leaving their home base exposed because they wanted to go kick it?

2. Love interests. Some soldiers leave their posts because their nose is wide open for some lover that they are willing to risk court marshal or prison for some fleeting lust.

3. Drugs or alcohol. Some soldiers are drunk or high and can’t make good decisions because their thinking is impaired.

4. Fear. Some young soldiers are spooked away from their posts because they listen to the lies of the enemy. Saigon Sally use to come on the loud speakers in Vietnam and tell the soldiers that their country had abandoned them and that they were all going to die. This psychological warfare causes some of them to desert their posts. It causes some of them to run when nobody was chasing them.

5. Rebellious to Authority. Some soldiers just can’t submit to leadership. They have authority issues, nobody can tell them anything. They would rather end up in the stockade than have anybody tell them what to do.

As Christians, there is another reason why we become deserters. We desert God for another gospel. Someone comes along with another version of religion that better suits your tastes and you abandon Jesus for a lighter cross. There is one Gospel. The Gospel or “Good News” of Jesus Christ is that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to God unless they come through Him. The Gospel of Jesus is that He was born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. On the third day, he rose again and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come to judge the living and the dead. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that we are saved by grace.

Paul is astonished that there are so many deserters leaving Jesus so quickly. How soon we forget! Religious people came in and started getting in the ear of the new Christians and making them think they had to be circumcised in order to be saved. Many of them left the Gospel they had been saved by for another gospel. We’ve exchanged a Gospel with a cross for a gospel of convenience. We’ve exchanged a Gospel with spiritual restraint for a gospel of sensual indulgence. We’ve exchanged a Gospel of commitment for a gospel of fickleness.

It’s time for us to get back on our posts. It’s time to return to our assigned positions. Don’t let him catch you with your work undone. Be faithful over a few things so he can make you ruler over many.

Dear God,

Help us to be good soldiers. Give us the courage to stand on our posts and not desert you no matter what distractions come our way. We come here not to play, dream, or drift for we have hard work to do, loads to lift, we shall not struggle for it is God’s gift, and we will be strong. We answer the call of Jesus who says, “come unto me all of you who labor and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burdens are light.” We hear Jesus saying, “if you are going to be my disciple or my soldier, take up your cross, deny yourselves daily, and follow me.” I’m on the battlefield for my Lord, and I promised Him that I would serve Him till I die, I’m on the battlefield for my Lord!

In Jesus Name,
Amen.