Unrighteousness in the Camp

God’s kind of righteousness is not passive. It has a
positive effect on society. “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13) and “you
are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Righteousness is not to be ineffective. Salt that is not
salty is good for nothing. Light that is hidden is not light. Men do not praise
God for bad deeds in the lives of Christians.

These are principles which I would like to amplify further
in a more radical way. There are two events in biblical history which take
these truths to two opposite extremes. One is the destruction of Sodom, and the
other is the minor defeat of Israel at Ai. The stories are found in Genesis 18-19
and Joshua 6-7. In the first case, God had promised the safety of a very wicked
city if there were found in the city ten righteous people. In the other case,
God allowed the defeat of a righteous nation by a wicked city because there was
one unrighteous man in the camp. Thirty-six other men were killed because of
this man’s unrighteousness.

I think that these are not opposite principles, but only
opposite effects of the same principle. God will spare a wicked city if there
is an adequate righteous witness in the city. However, God will not give victory
unless there are all righteous people in the camp. We as Christians have
settled for the first option. We are content with minimum light, just enough to
keep the Sodoms of the world from being destroyed. We are not willing to purge
the unrighteousness in ourselves and in the church in order to take the Ais of
this world with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One is a defensive view, and the other is an offensive view.
We (the church today) who, like Joshua, have an offensive view, have endeavored
to take the Gospel with unrighteous men in the army. The Lord is not with us
for victory.

We here at CCM are seeking to increase our methods of war.
It is not enough that we increase our methods if the Lord is not with us for
victory. We need all of our men and women walking in the light as He is in the
light. Would you ask God to show you if there is any unconfessed, unforsaken sin
in your life? Then confess and forsake it. And then pray for us.