Sentinels on the Walls

By John R. Lee

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     "Who shall separate us from Christ's love? Affliction? Or Distress? Or Persecution? Or Famine? Or Destitution? Or Danger? Or Sword? Just as it is written, 'On thy account we are being killed all the day long; we are considered as sheep for the slaughter.' But in all this we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor mighty ones, neither present nor future affairs..." (Romans 8:35-38. Berkeley).

     "But, Brother Paul, do you really believe that nothing will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, not even the sentinels on the walls?" I have a question to ask us, "Why won't the sentinels come down from the walls?"

     "What walls?" you ask. The walls we have spent centuries in building. What fools we be! We, the people of the restoration movement who gave motion to the unity movement for the body of Christ. Today we are a people to be pitied. We have built walls between us, creating our own special little enclaves; and walls around us to protect us from the great fearsome world "out there." Then we placed sentinels on top of these walls to guard against any attack upon them.

     Who can separate us? Nothing except that separation of ourselves from our brothers in Christ. This has separated us from the love of Christ, and finally we are now separated from the work of Christ.

     What are our walls? In our beloved restoration movement we have built two

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dozen or more walls of our graven images and stumblingblocks. These have been the material from which our walls or creeds have been built -- walls we have built to separate us from the enemy. But we were so taken by our ability to build walls that we have become expert wall builders. We have developed a full craft of master builders, journeymen and apprentices.

     Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ? Paul did not know our capacities, our skills, and our determination. We have built the walls to be safely away from the battle. A soldier in a foxhole or behind a wall is in a defensive position. We have distorted Jude 3. We now defend the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. The text tells us to contend for that faith, not to build walls around it to defend it. But we have found that there is a certain safety in defending our "faith" against a brother in Christ. There will not really be a great conflict! We just keep sniping away at our brothers, but nothing much ever happens. Neither is very well armed and neither really wants to kill the other. You see, destroying the real enemy is not as important to us as maintaining the sentinels on the walls!

     Why will not the sentinels come down? I suppose there are many reasons. I have found some. Perhaps you know some more. First, as good soldiers, they have received, obeyed, and passed on the orders from one to another. This would be reason enough for not coming down. No one has changed the order. It has been passed along faithfully. "Defend the walls!" And again, "Do not let anyone touch or tamper with the walls!"

     There is the fear of invasion. We are afraid the enemy might suddenly overwhelm us, those who cannot see as clearly as can the sentinels. Perhaps we are afraid of possible weakness on our part, or afraid of erosion of our walls by time and weather. I think that one of the great fears of the sentinels is of the officers who come by periodically to inspect. And there is the fear of what the other troops will say if we come down from the walls. We only know how to fight in this manner, protected by the walls of our separation. Perhaps some stay on the walls because we pay them to be sentinels. How we pride ourselves in our walls and in our sentinels. We do not really know whether they can see anything or not. They do not tell us that they do not see anything. They just keep relaying reports of "the enemy out there."

     The walls hold us aloof from each other and the walls hold us in to ourselves. In our county the oldest congregation of "the true church" was divided in the late nineteenth century over the use of the instrument in public worship. Some wanted the instrument and some others did not. They were democratic and took a vote. A mere majority favored the instrument. Others in conscience could not use the instrument and could not stay where it was used. The instrument was brought in and several families left to start a new congregation of "the true church."

     Why were we in such a hurry to have the organ? Why could we not defer in love and out of love? We hurry so to build our walls. The protection of our beloved walls has distracted our sentinels from the real enemy. Now it is brother against brother, father against son, family against family, Christian against Christian! Where has our love fled? Love of walls has replaced love for Christ.

     When you get back to your barracks tonight read 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. Apollos! Cephas! Paul! These parties! And worst of all, the Jesus party! We continue to argue over those things not in the scriptures. Why can we not proclaim the things of the grace of God that are in the scriptures? God is the God of agape and we as his children must become the people of agape. Then the insignificant barriers which presently divide his children, which are unloving attitudes rather than doctrines, will be seen in the true light of their comparative insignificance. Then we will be able to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

     We are a people prepared for battle. But it has been so long since we contacted

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the real enemy that we do not remember who the enemy is. We are fortified, but our battleground is strangely quiet. All that breaks the eerie quiet is our shouts about the superiority of the saber to the musket. But off in the distance is the steady roar of a real battle. The enemy has marched past us. We were not even reason enough for him to stop. We were not about to cause the enemy any trouble. We were too busy building walls. And our sentinels on the walls are strange looking in their quaint old factional uniforms.

     Let's get the sentinels down from the walls. I will start it, but it is really up to your generation. No more walls, just some fences. Just high enough to sit on and low enough to climb over. They shall separate our gardens and define our personal convictions but they will not separate us.

     What is the real battle? It is in the arena of real life where men are separated from Christ's love. The lonely hearts out there who are crying out, "If that's all there is to life, my friend, then let's keep dancing. Let's break out the booze and have a ball, if that's all there is," are in a real battle with a real enemy. Hearts are crying out for help and love. We must be about our Father's business. Let us abandon our walls. Let us leave them behind and seek out the arena of real battle. I do not think we can blame my generation too much. We have at least become aware of the problem. We leave it to you and to your generation to call down the sentinels from the walls and then to march off to battle the real enemy.

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