The Day Of Option

Freedom Of Choice

"In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25

NOTICE THE SETTING OF THIS STRANGE SCRIPTURE.  Suddenly there was no longer a threat of "thou shalt" or "thou shalt not" hanging over them.  No longer did the people of God have a Judge, a Moses, or a Joshua to instruct them in the ways of righteousness. There was no longer any restraint on whether they followed after the Lord or turned to evil.

The word "option" means power to choose any given course, to reject or accept.  Only at a time such as found here can God actually tell what kind of individuals or people will follow him.  Then and only then may God actually find out what kind of metal, if any, your character is made of.  Ecclesiastes 8:11 verifies this with these words:  "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."

No wonder men like Job, Joseph and Jephthae, to mention only a few, are set up as memorials in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews when God started calling off the honor roll.  No wonder in this Grace Dispensation, which is a day of option, that the majority of every nation's population seek after pleasure rather than after God.  No wonder they seek after everything to satisfy the lusts of the flesh and not after spiritual things.  No wonder the Apostle Paul states that in the last days men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.

The Day of No Restraint

Today there is no penalty hanging over you; there is no restraint as to whether you live for God or not.  Men curse God today and no judgment of God falls upon them at once.  The sun continuously shines on the just and the unjust alike.  I have often sat and marveled at Christians who went through great trials and came out victorious and yet  when it was over, did I ever hear of God coming down and patting them on the back and saying. "I am proud of you"?  No wonder the Prophet Habakkuk raised the question to God as to why He did not place a restraint on the wicked.  The prophet wanted to know why the Lord allowed the unrighteous to devour the righteous, why the Lord did not punish the wicked and reward the righteous.  Then the prophet said he would stand and watch what the Lord would answer him, and the answer from God was this: "The just shall live by faith and there is an appointed time for judgment."  No wonder the writer says: "Be not weary in well doing for ye shall reap in due season if you faint not."

On one occasion in the past I witnesses a large plantation owner in Arkansas who had cotton stalks six feet high and I guess at least one hundred bolls to the stalk.  This man raised two bales of cotton to the acre and had the finest of crops, although he was one of the wickedest men I have ever known.  He would lie, cheat poor sharecroppers, fight and even kill.  On very few occasions did I ever see him sober; yet the rains always seemed to come at the right time for his crops and the insects never seemed to bother his cotton.  On the other hand, just across the fence lived a poor man who loved righteousness and loved God, and yet it looked like the boll weevils would destroy his crop.  It never seemed to grow more than two feet tall and sometimes the rain, desperately needed in the hot summertime, would stop just short of his acreage.  At harvest time he reaped only about one-half a bale to the acre, but this man would stand up in church and testify that there would be a golden harvest of harvests on the other side some day.

How right this poor farmer was is testified to by the Prophet Malachi in these words: "Now ye call the proud happy and those that do wickedness are set up; but in that day when I make up my jewels ye shall discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."

Many today are tempting God and seemingly are getting away with it, but that does not nullify the fact that God is making record of it, and he will bring every secret thing into judgment and you shall give account for every idle word.  Man forgets when there is no restraint, but this statement was made by a God that cannot lie.  In this day of grace in which we live it is entirely up to you; you have freedom of choice as to whether you live for the Lord or live for Satan.  There positively are no teeth in the enforcement granted to any of God's ministers; they cannot force salvation on any individual or any group of people.  It is definitely optional and all God ever offers mortal man today is the chance.

The Apostle Paul makes it unmistakably clear in these words: "Therefore knowing the terror of the Lord we can only persuade men."  God gave King Agrippa the chance to have eternal life, but when Paul told the king of his trials, his faith, and told of the glory of Christ, he only said, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.:  Whether you are ever persuaded or not, you have to decide the option.

The Unconscious Process

In all business transactions where options must be exercised there is a definite termination date, and God wants you to know that whether the time element is thirty days or thirty years, you just decide what you will do for your soul's salvation.  Jesus said, "I open the door of Salvation to you and no man can shut it and I close the door to Salvation and no man can open it."  The prophets of old longed to see our day, the Day of Grace, and it is the greatest blessing that ever came to mankind to be saved by the blood of Christ.  But let me also warn you who are undecided, that over him who is the most blessed also hangs the greatest curse if he neglects this.  How shall you escape if you neglect so great a salvation and make the wrong choice?

Please note at this particular time in the Old Testament Israel was a great nation which all the heathen world feared, but after they had no more kings over them and every man could do that which was right in his own eyes they, as all people have done since their time who were put on an option, took the line of least resistance.

For this reason many in this land of the free never darken a church door.  Many saints lean towards the line of least resistance and miss prayer meetings and Bible studies.  Friend, this is an unconscious process.  Just quit rowing and you drift.  Quit sowing to the spirit, quit taking up your cross and following after Jesus and the unconscious process of growing lukewarm sets in.  We should take note of the fact that when the restraint of God's hand was taken off of His people, they drifted into captivity.  Again, let me say when you quit rowing the boat you start drifting.  Quite frequently you read where some fisherman let his boat drift too near the falls or shoals and he unconsciously drifted past the point of no return.  How true this is of salvation or working for God; you get busy here and busy there with the cares of life until you reach the golden years, and it seems the point of no return has been crossed and the option runs out.  I know of only a few, in the great number of Christians I know, who gave their heart to Christ after reaching the age of fifty.

Oh the unconscious process that is working on men and women when I ask them to give their heart to the Lord and they answer me, "Not tonight; some other time."  Friend, that is your surest ticket to hell--"some other time."  Unconsciously you are drifting away from golden opportunity.  To this dispensation I am sure the story of the foolish virgins belongs.  They unconsciously let the oil get out of their vessels and the bridegroom came and their day of option was closed forever.

Reckless Freedom

Let us look at our scriptural text again, "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes," which calls to our attention the seriousness of the aftermath when everyone does that which is right in his own eyes.  Proverbs 14:12 states:  "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man but the end thereof are the ways of death."

How pathetic an implication for a man or woman, a boy or girl, to go in a way that seems right when they have an option to search the scriptures wherein they think they have eternal life and come to the end of life and find out their ways were not God's ways.  The Pharisees and the Sadducees, who were the religious people in their day, prided themselves on calling Abraham their father and they the children of Abraham.  However, Jesus rebuked them for not believing and obeying what Abraham taught.  You could be near the kingdom of God and not in it.  You could almost be saved and not be saved.

Like Abner found in the book of Second Samuel, you could be one step from the city of refuge and safety, and then die as a fool dies.  Joab had pursued after Abner to slay him but Abner had beaten him to the city of refuge which was established for men to run into under certain conditions and find safety from the slayer.  But just as he was about to step inside, Joab persuaded him to step outside so that he could just speak to him and as he did so, Joab slew him with a dagger.  How true this is; many times when it is up to the individual to decide for himself, he chooses the wrong way away from safety.  The scripture further states that Abner was not bound nor his feet in fetters, which further proves he decided and had the option in deciding his fate.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man will open I will come in."  Friend, you make the choice of either letting God in your life completely or leaving him out completely.  How long should you halt between two opinions when your time may be running out on one.  Today is the day of salvation; harden not your heart as it was in the day of provocation.  Let me say to you today who feel the Spirit of the Lord beckoning to you to align yourself with the saints of God and at the same time also feel a longing to return to the beggarly elements of the world to be sure to make the right choice.  Just remember, it is all up to you; it is optional.  It takes only a few steps toward God to have fellowship with him, or only a few steps out of the door from the presence of God and from his church.  No wonder the Psalmist David, when he got a bird's-eye view of the human soul in its struggle with the forces of life, said: "Oh that men would praise the Lord for his wonderful works and his deeds to men.  For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness."

Thyself Will Decide It

Sooner or later you must face the facts.  Daily, you are hurrying swiftly to the grave where there is nothing and no questions will ever be decided by you.  There all power of exercising right or wrong is completely and forever taken out of your hands.  As a tree falleth, so shall it lie.  The human race has suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hathinaction.  Once a year at the Pool of Bethesda the Angel of God troubled the waters and the first ones in while the waters were churning were healed.  Suddenly, there was a "must" in the air; the afflicted "must" move quickly or wait and take a chance on next year or never.  Oh, the tragedy of afflicted souls when under conviction delaying another year or perhaps forever.  If you reckon with the right to reject Christ, you must also reckon with the right of God to reject you.

"Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;  But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I will also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.

Then shall they call me but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;
For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord.
Proverbs 1:23-29

The foregoing scriptures make it very clear that man's day of option will run out.

Moses left the children of Israel on their own honor for only forty days' time while on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments from the Lord.  Upon his return he found them dancing and worshipping around a golden calf.  Because of the absence of restraint, is there a "golden calf" in your life?

The golden calf was formed and made from trinkets and glittering jewelry brought from Egypt.  These acts, done by the children of God in the absence of Moses, caused his wrath to be stirred up.  To think after all God had done for them, delivering them from Egypt after four hundred years of slavery, that they could not love the Lord their God for at least forty days and nights with all their souls, minds and strength is incomprehensible.

Because you can do whatever is right in your own eyes today, is it possible there is a "golden calf" in your life that gets most of your attention?  It may only be some hobby or sport but yet its glittering attraction may keep you from the true worship of the House of God.  There is no substitute for all your soul, mind, and strength.  You must put God first.  "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and other things shall be added unto you."

Because Moses delayed his coming, Aaron and the people decided to exercise their right of choice and chose a golden calf  to lead them.  They had the option of waiting and obeying the Lord, or choosing their own way.  The golden calf represents rebellion from the ways of God.  It represents the ways of Egypt for there, at the start of their trip, they gathered from the Egyptians all the metal that went into the golden calf.  Possibly the mixed multitude from Egypt were the instigators of this statue for they were not Israelites but were Egyptians.  The "mixed multitude" represents "any way will do."  Whether the Lord is worshipped in spirit and truth or whether in spirit and error it makes no difference as long as you are worshipping.  Neither God's Law or the prophets recommended any such ignorance and folly.  A mixed multitude could be defined as a confused multitude, and sooner or later confusion leads to error.  To this crowd there is no right and wrong in worship.  There is no difference between the ways of Egypt or the ways of Canaan. If there are no ways a sinner has to forsake to stop reveling in sin, then most certainly there is nothing a sinner could say he was saved from.  You cannot walk in the ways of holiness and still be a sinner.  If you feel that you can, you belong to the mixed multitude.

The Lord testifies to the error of this thinking in these words: "Bitter and sweet cannot come from the same fountain" and "Ye cannot serve two Masters."  You yourself will decide it.  Sooner or later you alone must decide whether to stay in error with your crowd and live it up or go the ways acceptable to God.  Exodus 32:6 says: "The people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play."  You can be in error and be at ease in what you think is worshipping God in truth.  After a pagan worship of dancing around a golden calf, they ate, drank, and rose up to play with contented souls.  Though in error, they continued in their everyday living joyously.  Though their actions, ceremonies and rituals grieved the spirit of God, they could not discern this.  To think that carnal men, who are not subject  to the Law of God nor indeed could be, but who have the right to live any way that seems right unto themselves, could walk and instruct others in the ways of righteousness is absurd.

Sowing to the spirit and sowing to the flesh are poles apart.  The two extremes never meet or mix on common ground.  Any time you sow there is set in motion and inevitable law of the harvest - whatsoever is sown shall be reaped.  That is the principle of the harvest you must reckon with.  You positively cannot sow to the ways of the sinner world and reap a spiritual life.  Not only are you the seeder of your chosen life but also the reaper.  When the Master says "Depart," that life was sowed in one direction, and when He says, "Well done," that life was sowed in the  opposite direction.  You decide the option; it is all up to you.

A Choice: Give Us Barabbas!

No, you wouldn't have been caught in that riotous, murderous, milling crowd that day of the crucification of our Lord.  If so, you would have joined your voice with that small and despised few who said, "Give us Jesus."  Strange, wasn't it, how wrong the majority were?  A day of choice for right or wrong and the majority screamed louder, "Give us Barabbas."  The majority was wrong that day.  The majority will be wrong at the Judgment.  The Bible stated that hell had to be enlarged but nowhere is a statement to be found that says Heaven has to be enlarged.  Broad is the way to hell; narrow is the Gate to Heaven.

"Give us Barabbas" means give us that sermon which doesn't send conviction on our souls, give us that sermon which doesn't disturb our traditions, give us that sermon which makes us feel righteously about past and future sinning.  Give us Barabbas in a hurry for the other one will jerk the cover off of us and our wickedness will be exposed.  "Give us Barabbas" means give us freedom to live as near to sin as we please and to feel good in doing so.  Give us church membership but with the reservation of satisfying the lusts of the flesh.

To be with the few who cried, "Give us Jesus" and to have gotten Him would have meant a denial of yourself by presenting your body as a living sacrifice which is your reasonable service.  To have gotten Jesus would have meant the forsaking of your sinful and unrighteous ways.  It would have meant giving up some worldly pleasures that possess you.  It would have meant a complete change of heart and the experience of being reborn.  It would have meant the Prince of Life coming into your life.  To get Jesus meant to have a place of refuge in the time of trouble, for in truth only in Him is found life, liberty and happiness.  To get him meant you could laugh at death.

But oh the choice, the cry, "Give us Barabbas". . . forever to be scattered among the heathen and without peace, to be haunted by the memory of all that was lost forever.  A choice but the wrong choice.  An option to decide, right or wrong, but yet a decision only you can make.