The Straight Way

In a moral sense, that is, where it is a matter of good and evil, we should seek to walk in a straight path (Hebrews 12:13).

God Himself goes straight forward. He does not veer to the right hand or to the left. Consider 1 Samuel 6:12. “The kine went straight forward on the way to Beth-shemesh; they went by the one high way, lowing as they went; and they turned not aside to the right hand or to the left”. If we go to Ezekiel we find the same. “Their feet were straight feet;... they turned not when they went; they went everyone straight forward... whither the Spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went.” (Ezekiel 1:7-12). See also verses 17 and 23.

We should be imitators of God (Ephesians 5:1). There are plenty of passages to support the thought that we should walk straightforwardly. Peter was rebuked for not doing so by Paul (Galatians 2:14). Consider also Joshua 6:5 and 6:20. In Proverbs 4:25-27 we are told: “Look straight before thee...Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil” A concordance will indicate other passages with a similar message.

What is a crooked way. Most of us have some idea of what a crook is, but may have difficulty in defining what a crooked way is. A dictionary will tell us inter alia that it is deviating from rectitude. In the physical realm we do not like crooked things: a crooked table or whatever ! Most of us have read the poem which goes something like this: “There was a crooked man, who went a crooked mile and found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile. Who bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse and they all lived together in a crooked little house”. However much we may dislike distorted things in the physical realm, moral distortion is more serious.

In Scripture we are given the example of Balaam as one who left the straight way. Thus we have: “Children of curse; having left [the] straight way they have gone astray, having followed in the path of Balaam [the son] of Bosor, who loved [the] reward of unrighteousness” (2 Peter 2:15). In Bunyan’s Pilgrims Progress we find that the pilgrims got themselves into trouble when they left the Kings highway and went by a bypath. In the well known passage of Scripture about the way that leads to life Christ tells us that the way is straightened (Matthew 7:14).

I am not pursuing a straight course if I am going this way and that; one day rejecting something as wrong and the next day doing it, or one day doing something, claiming it is right, and the next day saying it was wrong. Yes, we have to judge our errors, but we should seek to go forward without deviation. Crooked paths are a danger to the blind (see Isaiah 42:16); hence paths need to be straight. The Lord himself does not deviate. When on earth Christ never had to correct Himself. It is not without significance that the expression ‘turned a corner’ is not found in Scripture.

As far as the Scriptures are concerned we are told to cut in a straight line the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).To give some examples of practice resulting from not cutting in a straight line the word of truth one would point to the following:

(1) If you make the term unbelievers in 1 Corinthians 7 and 10 mean the heathen, but in 2 Corinthians 6:14 treat it as meaning someone who is not a member of your fellowship, then you are inconsistent.

(2) If you condemn persons for eating with persons who are not believers but at the same time habitually drink alcoholic liquors you are not consistent, for Christ was accused of doing both (Luke 7:34).

(3) Is it consistent not to vote in elections but at the same time to support a political party with leaflets and finance ? What does Scripture say about the leaven of Herod and the Herodians (Mark 8:15;12:13). Should Christ’s assembly support a political party ?

(4) If we spoil the Egyptians should we not be consistent and have them in our houses (see Exodus 3:21/22). We are not to abhor an Egyptian (Deuteronomy 23:7).

The burden of this piece is to promote exercise as to whether our course in this world is straight or, as we may say, all over the place.

July 2009