‘But the wicked shall do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand’ the times they are living in, ‘but the wise shall understand.’ Do we have perspective on life, on human history? Is that perspective from God’s point of view? The evolutionary outlook is the reverse of the Biblical outlook. It is built upon an unfounded optimism about man that completely ignores his fallen state. It sees progress in certain areas of knowledge and technology, and thinks that this means that man is genuinely advancing. In doing this, it ignores the matter of man’s mortality and blindly proceeds as if that was of no consequence. It is completely unaware of God’s plan for the world, or of the goal to which all things are moving. It blots out the thought of a Day of Judgment when all must give an account. It gives credit to man for everything that he has, and robs God by denying that it is he who has given man all his capacities and so much that he takes for granted. It hates the church of God and this hatred will come more and more to the surface as the end draws near. It takes no account of Christ and of the cross of Calvary, and so it fails to grasp the only reason why the world is allowed to continue: for God to call out his own from all nations in all ages through the preaching of the gospel. But the wise will understand, and they will cooperate with the purposes of God.
This is about the church militant. There is a tendency to lose sight of that. There are many, many churches all over the world that seek to be faithful to this concept of the church militant, that realise that the church of Jesus Christ is to serve him and to stand for him, to stand clear of the world, to preach the gospel, to proclaim the truth, to purify and advance the saints, to stand against all that is thrown at it, and always to be in service and active. And there are many, many preachers preaching these things. It is the ethos of Daniel 12, the ethos of the church: a serving, working, battling, militant church; a struggling church. But there are equally many – and it is a shame, because often the Lord is loved – and they don't see it that way. The church is almost a social organisation: it just doesn't do anything. It doesn’t run Sunday Schools, doesn't preach the gospel, doesn't reach the community, doesn't promote anything for the service of the people: only social activities and gatherings. Some Christians in difficult days are tempted to say, ‘Too much service! Too much! Why can't we just enjoy fellowship with each other, and the things of the Lord? Why can’t we just enjoy our salvation and relax? This is the church militant. We shall shine one day like stars in the firmament. We shall have such happiness and joy and blessing, and emotional treasure, and views of Christ. But no, this is not the time for peace and tranquillity and happiness. The antichrist is at work. He will leave us be, if that relaxed sort of church is the kind of church we would like to be – it is no threat to his kingdom at all – but the biblical ethos, the New Testament church, is a serving community. Yes, a loving community, a caring community too, but a serving community that sees the spiritual warfare and serves the Lord and reaches after souls no matter what. ‘Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried, but the wicked shall do wickedly’ – in these words we are considering the entire gospel age.