In this world there is something that is called diligence, and by way of contrast there is something that is called indolence, or laziness and indifference. There is also something that is called diligence and laziness when it concerns God’s kingdom. “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord lazily, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.” Jer. 48:10. “Moreover I will be diligent . . . .” 2 Pet. 1:15. “You wicked and lazy servant . . . .” Matt. 25:26. It is commonly known that people are diligent in order to make a good impression and to gain honor and money; but to be diligent to please God, to gather treasures in heaven, to benefit your fellow men, to edify your brother—that is extremely uncommon and largely unknown. All in all, it is not fashionable to be diligent in one way or another. It doesn’t fit into the spirit of the times. Converted people are also to a greater or lesser degree influenced by this spirit of the times so that they also—like the others— shirk their earthly work. Not only that, there is also a sad amount of shirking in the church. Almost all the assemblies are partly ruined by pure indolence! The sum total of what is being preached and sung all year long is this: “We shall do nothing” Satan, our adversary, works just to destroy. Solomon says that “he who is slothful in his work is a brother to him who is a great destroyer.” That is a bad relationship. We see that Satan used scriptures when he wanted to destroy Christ. He does the same in these days. In these days, he has snuck his ruinous abomination in among God’s people by using this true word in a false way: “Without Me, you can do nothing.” At first this has become, “We can do nothing” (not with Him either). Then it has become, “We must not do anything.” This is how far this murderous abomination has developed, mocking God-fearing souls who are diligent to do every good work heartily! And people do this in spite of all the urgent exhortations of the prophets and the apostles! For example, the many exhortations to do your utmost, to strive, or to be diligent, to work out your soul’s salvation, to run, to fight, to lay hold of, to press into, to pursue, to give all diligence!!! This is exactly the same spirit and mindset with which Satan rules the masses of this world in these days. They mock and persecute trustworthy, reliable people who are willing to work. They mock, hate, and persecute every soul who is diligent. This is a poison from hell, pure and unadulterated. It has its spokesmen and followers in the midst of the assemblies of God’s people. And who is there who hasn’t tasted some of it? Blessed words of God that have been given to us as a guideline until the end! They do not lie! “Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord lazily.” I want to say to everyone in particular who loves the good from their heart: Drive this cursed poison out of your heart, out of your house, and out of the church: all this false liberty, all this false speaking that we shall do nothing— but give attention to and be diligent (as the apostles did) to fill town and land with the doctrine of Christ, with the words of faith and with the sound and true words of the good doctrine!!! Do not keep your sword from blood; on the contrary, let it be abundantly sated with it, for there is enough flesh! Use the sword of the Spirit which is God’s Word; be ready in season and out of season. Thrust to the right and thrust to the left—wherever your edge is ordered! If there is one word in the Scriptures in the right spirit and in the right sense about what we cannot do, then there are just as surely thousands of words in the right spirit and in the right sense about what we both can and ought to do! Now this one word among the thousands has been preached almost exclusively and continuously for many years. It is high time to preach the 999 other words in order to save everything that can be saved, from destruction! “And purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Tit. 2:14-15. “I know your works, love, service, faith, and your patience; and as for your works, the last are more than the first.” Rev. 2:19. He keeps exact accounts with us—with both the kind and value of the works as well as their number. Have you believed this, dear brother? Do you believe that God seriously means what He has said, or do you think it is a joke or empty words? Are you diligent? To do what? To pray? To meditate on God’s Word and laws? To testify? To visit hungry souls? To write letters? To care for the poor and sick, widows and orphans in their need? To be hospitable, to deny yourself everything superfluous so that there is more for the others? To offer a helping hand and service of all kinds to your brothers? To show love, also to those who are outside? To sing, give thanks, and offer up praise? To perform all your earthly work as unto the Lord, with joy and thankfulness? Can this commendation be used in your case, that your last works are more than the first? Are you resisting the spirit of the times in this way? Then I will tell you without knowing your name, who you are, and what kind of a person you are—for the Bible is both a lesson book and an answer book—you are blessed, chief among ten thousand, in harmony with the Song of Songs! Sirach says that the fear of the Lord is like a pleasure garden, with pleasant, fragrant flowers, tasty fruits, warm sunshine, cooling shades, and bubbling brooks. Those who love walk in them. Love is not bubbly, for those who love Him keep His commandments. It is a joy and a delight for them to keep them, to do all His works, and to observe all that He has commanded. It is a joy for the righteous to do what is right, but it is a terror to the ungodly. Those who do not like to hear about works—who do not like exhortations as to what they should observe—they are children of the bondwoman. The Scriptures say that they are to be driven out. They are driven out by constantly hearing words about works and diligence, about righteousness, moderation, and judgment, about the cross and about death to all self-life. All these things are a terror to a slave. However, just as truly as it is a terror and a disgust for such foolish (James 2:20) people, so it is a liberation and redemption, eternal comfort and joy, as well as balsam and healing for all those who are poor in spirit—all the children of the freewoman. Dear brothers, let us be diligent! Let us always abound—be abundantly active—in the Lord’s many different works. Let us work and be diligent while it is still day! The night is coming when no one can work. Soon our time of training and our time of testing will be over! Soon we will rest eternally and enjoy our reward! Let us perform the works of the Lord with diligence so that showers of blessings can flow to us and from us instead of a curse being over our heads. Jer. 48:10. Let us follow the exhortations in 1 Corinthians 15:58, so that Psalm 112 and then 2 Corinthians 9:8-10 can be fulfilled in our lives!!! Down with false liberty! Down with liberty for the flesh! Down with laziness! Down with all superficiality! Down with lying and hypocrisy! Down with flattery and sordid gain! Long live godly fear in word and deed! Preach the cross and death to all flesh at all times! Long live diligence! Long live zeal for all good works, for all virtues and for everything that is praiseworthy! Long live moderation! Long live judgment over everything that does not endure God’s fire! Long live truth and righteousness in word and deed! Long live sincere brotherly love—such brotherly love that endures and continues beyond the day of trial! Long live the cloudbursts over all the whitewashers’ whitewashed walls! Long live Christ’s triumphant liberty that sets our spirit and our mind free from all this corruptible wretchedness!!! Long live work in the sweat of our face, in a double sense of the word according to God’s will and command! Not dead works, but sparkling and living, sparklingly righteous and indescribably merciful works—done in God!!! Long live everything that is exact and thorough and genuine to the core! Long live the lamp and the light that examines everyone with a fine-toothed comb! We all have to give account one day anyway. It is to our advantage to get there as quickly as possible! Indeed, we have already come to the Judge! Heb. 12:22-23. Long live contentment in all earthly things! The less I use, the more there will be for the others! Long live simplicity in our own lives and abundant provision for our neighbor! This is fitting for holy and God-fearing people. It is suitable for citizens of heaven whose home is not in this world, for those who have something better in which to delight! Avoid doing it, avoid saying it, avoid going, avoid fighting, avoid being tempted, avoid working, avoid sufferings, avoid difficulties—avoid, avoid, avoid—that is the natural man’s solution! Our solution is to go victoriously through everything, through (not around) everything that comes our way. See Ephesians 6:13. God is not pleased with the person who draws back, who wants to avoid, and go around things, but He is fully pleased with every one who devotedly and faithfully and patiently—with hope and faith—takes up the immediate tasks and goes through them victoriously—straight ahead according to the truths of the gospel. For example, just take this horrible, rebellious, murderous practice that the spirit of the times has produced, which is to avoid childbirth, thus not having to suffer, avoiding the financial expenses so that one can more easily live after one’s lusts and enjoy life!!! However reasonable this may sound, it is one of the most heartrending, ungodly things one can imagine. In this context the apostle’s words are especially pertinent: “But she [he] who lives in pleasure is dead while she [he] lives.” 1 Tim. 5:6. The curse will sooner or later come upon such married couples, as truly as God lives. You cannot evade all the laws and dictates of nature and not expect to be punished for it! The Scriptures do not promise salvation and help for the wife outside of or apart from childbirth, but she will be saved in childbearing. 1 Tim. 2:15. This also applies to everything else. Not by evading, but by going through! Not by avoiding, but by having grace to accomplish it! “Finally, having overcome all things, to stand.” Not after having avoided all things! Thus in the end it can also be said about our life’s work and tasks, “It is finished!” Not, “I have avoided.” Or did Christ go the way so that we should avoid having to walk on it? Not at all! He went ahead so that it should be possible for us to follow Him on the way, in His steps. Did He drink the bitter cup so that we should avoid drinking it? Not at all! Jesus said, “You will indeed drink the cup that I drink . . . .” Did He suffer so that we should avoid suffering? “To the extent that we partake of Christ’s sufferings . . . that we may also be glorified together.” “Arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” Did He fight so that we should avoid fighting? On the contrary! “You have not yet resisted sin to bloodshed, striving against sin. . . . Run with patience the race that is set before us.” Were the requirements of the law fulfilled in Him so that we should avoid fulfilling them? Not at all! God condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Rom. 8:3-4. Did He love instead of us? Was He truthful instead of us? Was He righteous instead of us? Was He patient, meek, and wise instead of us? So that we might avoid it?? Did He die according to the flesh so that we might avoid it, so that we could live for ourselves? Did He bear everything and everyone so that we might avoid bearing burdens?? Did He do that? Do you believe that? On the contrary! He did all that in order to give us grace to do likewise. He did all this in order to make it possible, to give us a reasonable opportunity to become like Him, so that we could have all things in common, so that we could be His bride in truth and not just in name. But of course, everything is voluntary! If you want to, you can avoid suffering with Him, but then you also avoid becoming like Him.Elias Aslaksen