WHO IS ON THE LORD'S SIDE? 

This is the title of a well known hymn written in 1877 by Frances Ridley Havergal, an English poet and hymn writer. Another of her most well known and loved hymns is "Take My Life And Let It Be."

Below are the verses and chorus to the hymn "Who Is On The Lord's Side.":

            Who is on the Lord's side

                    Who will serve the King?

                        Who will be His helpers,

                    Other lives to bring?

                Who will leave the world's side?

                                Who will face the foe? 

                            Who is on the Lord's side?

                                                    Who for Him will go? 

                        By Thy grand redemption,

                    By thy grace divine, 

                    We are on the Lord's side,

                         Saviour, we are thine.   

Not for weight of glory, 

Not for crown or palm,

Enter we the army,

Raise the warrior psalm;

But for love that claimeth

Lives for whom He died;

He whom Jesus nameth

Must be on His side.

Jesus, thou hast bought us,

Not with gold or gem, 

But with thine own life-blood, 

For thy diadem;

With Thy blessing filling

Each who comes to Thee,

Thou hast made us willing,

Thou hast made us free.

Fierce may be the conflict,

Strong may be the foe, 

But the King's own army

None can overthrow.

Round His standard ranging

Victory is secure,

For His truth unchanging

Makes the triumph sure.

Chosen to be soldiers

In an alien land;

Chosen, called and faithful,

For our Captain's band;

In the service royal

Let us not grow cold;

Let us be right royal, 

Noble, true and bold.

    "Who is on the Lord's side?"  This was a crucial question asked by Moses to the children of Israel, as recorded in Exodus 32:26. Moses had been on Mount Sinai for forty days in the presence of the Lord, receiving instructions from Him concerning various laws and detailed instructions on building and furnishing the Tabernacle. The children of Israel became impatient and restless because of their perceived delay of Moses' return to the camp, so they foolishly pleaded with Aaron to make them an idol to represent God to them.

    After instructing the people to bring anything they had, made of gold - earrings, ornaments etc., Aaron fashioned the molten metal into a golden calf.

    When Moses challenged Aaron about the idol worship, he sought to justify himself by saying: "Do not let the anger of the people become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil.

    "For they said to me, 'Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.'

    "And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let him break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out."

    No wonder Moses was angry with the people, because of their unrestrained idolatry. He made a proclamation at the entrance of the camp: "Whoever is on the Lord's side - come to me." And the sons of Levi gathered to him. The children of Israel paid a high price for their idol worship that day, as the sons of Levi went through the camp and put to death around 3,000 at the edge of the sword because of their rebellion against the Lord.

    We can look back at the history of Israel as recorded in the Old Testament and perhaps wonder at the apparent harsh judgment of God against a people who often were stiff-necked and rebellious.

    The history of Israel in the Old Testament is filled with periods of obedience to the LORD's injunctions, followed by periods of disobedience to His decrees, outright rebellion against God with much idol worship, resulting in terrible consequences for the people as the hand of God was removed from the nation. The majority of the kings of Israel and Judah were evil, given to blatant rebellion and idol worship, even though the Lord had warned them of terrible consequences of disobedience to His decrees.

    Deuteronomy 28 lists the blessings that would follow obedience to the Lord, followed by a much longer list of the curses which would result from disobedience.

Thankfully today, we live under a different dispensation - that of grace, not of law as was the case with the children of Israel under the old covenant.

     However, that does not mean that we are free to disobey God's Word to us, which has been given for our benefit, that we might fulfil God's purposes for our lives. Through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit, enabling us to become more Christlike as we allow the Word of God to renew us from within, we, as followers of Christ are being changed, as the Bible says, from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18

    When the Lord God made man, He gave him a free will. In 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, Paul reminds the readers that there were serious consequences for the sins and idolatry of the children of Israel. He says in verses 11,12 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

    At the end of the Book of Deuteronomy, a recounting of Moses of God's holy laws, Moses lays before the people a clear choice:

    "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 

     In that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord will bless you in the land you go to possess.

    "I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live." Deuteronomy 30:15,16,19.

    You might be reading this, and thinking that God must be an egomaniac, a control freak, that we have to obey His laws or else suffer undesirable consequences. The reality is that the Creator God is a God of love, whom the Bible says " is not willing that any should perish [in his or her sins], but that they all should come to repentance."2 :Peter 3:9

    The old hymn quoted above "Who Is On The Lord's Side" is a rallying cry for Christians to take a clear stand for the truth of God's Word today. The language of hymn seems rather outdated now, and archaic, but the call to arms for followers of Christ to be fully committed soldiers of the Cross is as relevant today as when it was written 143 years ago.

    Persecution of Christians has long been the price one has had to pay for following Jesus in communist and many Islamic nations, but increasingly today in the twenty first century, to be a wholly committed, uncompromising Christian in the Western world is becoming a very unpopular entity with those caught up with the social distortions of the age.

    Whether it is in relation to marriage, sanctity of life before and even up to birth or approaching death, creation versus evolution, and a number of other social and ethical issues - those holding to a Biblical worldview are having to count the cost of being a true disciple of Jesus Christ in an increasingly hostile world, where they are labelled as homophobes, bigots, and other terms of derision.

    "Who Is On The Lord's Side?" is not only the name of an old hymn, but a question each person, including those who claim to be Christians, must answer today.

THE TIME FOR COMPROMISE IS OVER FOR THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN AND FOR THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 

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