11. Old Time Religion

SERMON 11 OLD TIME RELIGION

(Deuteronomy 27:17)

Wicked—Noah—Flood—Righteousness.

Captives—Moses—Red Sea—Freedom Unclean—Aaron—Laver—Cleansed.

Leper—Elisha—Jordan—Healed.

Jericho—Joshua—7 Times—Captured.

Firstborn—Death angel-—Blood—Saved.

Snake bite—Moses— Brazen serpent—Healed.

Blind man—Jesus—Siloam—Sight.

Sinner—Apostles—Faith and Baptism—Salvation.

Mortals— Spirit—Grave—Immortality.

In the days of Paul, when he preached the gospel at Athens, as told us in the seventeenth chapter of Acts, the people said he brought strange things to them because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection.

Not only was this doctrine new and strange to the people of Paul's day, but it is just as strange to the denominations in our time. Often, in my teaching, people will file objections to the Bible doctrine—call it new and strange and tell me they want nothing but old-time religion.

As there is much said and sung about old time religion perhaps it will do good to go back and examine the religion of man at different times and under different environments and see if the people of today really want old time religion.

Under Moses, one item of religion was to be strictly honest —not steal nor defraud. So Moses tells them in Deuteronomy 27 th chapter, “Cursed be he that removeth his neighbor's land-mark.” These land-marks not only established the boundary line between man and man, but it was God's law that they should not by fraud be removed.

As religion means any system of faith and practice, and as God has marked out the boundaries of religion, and located the guiding stones which can not be moved, it is well to examine them, and see the kind of religion God accepted at different times By this rule we can determine if we have old time religion, and will God accept it?

We all agree that Noah had old-time religion. But what was the result?

First, we notice the wicked people, and on account of this wickedness God decided to destroy the world. But Noah had opportunity of saving himself by old time religion. Then we find Noah building the ark in which he must be saved. After the ark, the flood, and after the flood salvation. Peter says eight souls were saved by water. Does your kind of old time religion save Noah and his family before or after the flood? God's kind says they were saved by water.

God's children were in Egyptian bondage and nothing short of old-time religion would get them out. So we see God calls Moses to go and bring them out. After Moses we find the Red Sea. After crossing the Red Sea, the Bible says that day God saved them out of Egypt. Exodus 14:30. They had old-time religion which resulted in their salvation after crossing the waters of the sea. But modern religion has them saved from Egyptian bondage, and crossing the sea because they were saved.

Another example: Sometimes God's children would disobey his law and become unclean. When they did so, nothing short of old-time religion would cleanse them. So we find Aaron was Cod's minister, putting himself and the laver as well between God and their cleansing. When they heard and accepted the teaching of Aaron, and had their bodies washed in the laver, they had old-time religion and were cleansed. But denominational religion would say they were first cleansed and then washed because they were cleansed.

There was Naaman, the leper. He had that terrible disease that nothing but the power of God, or old-time religion, would heal him. We note between him and the healing was the prophet Elisha, and on the other side of Elisha was Jordan, and on the other side of Jordan was salvation from leprosy. The prophet said go and wash seven times in the Jordan and you shall be clean.. Naaman went and did as God commanded. Result: Salvation from his disease, or old-time religion. Had Naaman along the road met some denominational preacher he would have said, “Where are you going, Naaman?” “Going to Jordan to wash seven times, and get free from disease and have old-time religion.” ``Who told you to do that, Naaman?” “God's prophet.” “Why, Brother Naaman, that will be water salvation. That will make Jordan instead of God your Savior. Now let me tell you what to do, Brother Naaman. You get down here and let's pray for God to save you, and if he does, then go and wash because you are saved.”

Another preacher would have said, Brother Naaman, that may not do, but let me tell you. God says dip seven times and you shall be saved, but you make this agreement with God: You dip yourself four times, and then if you are healed dip three more times because you are healed.” Would Naaman have been healed, or had old-time religion? If you believe the Bible you must say, “No.” Then I ask, is it reasonable when Jesus says, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16) for the preacher to argue, such will not do, but let me tell you how, make an agreement with the Lord, that you will believe, and if he saves you, and the brethren will vote on you that you will then be baptized? Yet such is the general teaching among most churches today. How can they with open Bible before them make any claim of having old-time religion.

We notice the great walls of Jericho. No power of man was able to pull them down. Nothing less than old-time religion would give Israel the victory. So God placed Joshua between them and victory, and Joshua said for them to go around the walls seven times on the seventh day and the walls would fall. Joshua believed God, obeyed his commands and went around the walls seven times, and as a result the walls fell and they took the city.

Modern religion would have said, Joshua, go around the walls four times, then all of you stop and pray till God knocks down the walls. When he does you go 'round the walls three more times because the wall is down.

Another case of old-time religion comes to us out of Egypt. There was the first born in all homes threatened with death, unless they would accept old-time religion and escape. We then notice the death angel, and after him the blood sprinkled on the door facings. We then notice the death angel passing over all these blood sprinkled doors, giving those on the inside old-time religion, or salvation from death. Some preachers would have objected, and claimed, this is blood salvation, and no use to apply the blood as God must do the saving, and we can do nothing.

We notice during the sojourn of God's people in the wilderness, they violated God's law, and to correct them God sent fiery serpents to bite them, and no remedy short of old-time religion could save them, so Moses went to God for a remedy and God told him to erect a brazen serpent on a pole, and it would come to pass that all who were bitten by fiery serpents would get well if they looked at the serpent that Moses hung on the pole. In no instance do we read of a failure. All who obeyed the Lord got old-time religion, or salvation from the snake bite after looking at the snake on the pole. It would have taken our modern preachers only a few weeks to have had fifteen or twenty snakes, hanging up all over the camp, declaring that Moses was too narrow in his teaching, that it would be just as safe to look at one snake as another. Anyway a man should look at the snake of his choice. Another would have argued that it was too much snake salvation for them. Let a man pray until he gets well, and then look at the snake, because he was well. He must give God all the glory and he could not do that by looking at a snake.

When Jesus was here he found a poor blind man wanting his sight. So Jesus commanded him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam and he should see. This man obeyed the Lord, and could give him the praise for getting his sight.

With all the past examples before us, which were given for our instruction, we now come to the sinner, who, above all others, should desire salvation. His salvation from sin entitles him to a home in heaven. Jesus knowing the condition of sinners, and also knowing that nothing but old-time religion would save them, gave this system of religion into the hands of the apostles, and told them to preach it to all the world, affirming, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.” (Mark 16:16). But in this case like all former cases salvation comes after doing God's commands, and for fear these apostles might forget the plan, Christ told them that when he went to his Father he would send them the Holy Ghost which would guide them into all truth, and when it came on Pentecost, and Peter began to preach old-time religion, and the people cried out to know what they must do, Peter told them (Acts 2:37-38) to repent and be baptized in the name of Christ for the remission of their sins. Those who obeyed were saved, or had old-time religion. This was God's system then, it is the same today.

Yet such a system is repudiated on all side. Men declare this law of God is water salvation, and they want it some other way.

But man in the flesh is mortal, and there is a spiritual life that never ends.

Yet the grave is on this side, and the man who has old-time religion, who lives up to God's spiritual law during life, will finally lay down in death, and on the other side of the river he will put on the robe of immortality. Soul, body, and spirit will then be reunited. Man will enter into that eternal home God has prepared for him. This is the home of homes. This is the home of day that is never darkened by night, the home of life that is not closed by death.

Sinner, do you want this home? If you do, obey the gospel, believe the Son of God obey him in baptism, arise to lead a new life, and he will lead you to that city whose builder and maker is God.