True faith requires a decisive commitment to God, not a hesitant adherence to popular opinion or religious works. Using the confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, the message highlights how the Israelites' indecision and the prophets' sincere but misguided devotion ultimately led to destruction. The core lesson is that God's people are often in the minority, and following the crowd leads to perdition, while a genuine relationship with Christ demands a clear choice. The sermon concludes by urging listeners to cease their spiritual indecision and make a definitive commitment to Christ, emphasizing that salvation is found in His sacrifice, not in human merit or religious ritual.
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upon them the need of placing everything and all upon the altar. We ever expect the blessing of God with a fire to fall. Christians must pay a price. They must make a sacrifice. But tonight I want to use this same incident and preach the gospel from my subject is the great divine. You'll notice in mostly observing this chapter you have three groups of people. In the first place you have Elijah the prophet, he's standing alone, claiming at this point to be the only true follower of Jehovah. We know he was mistaken there because God had said there are seven thousand others that have not bowed the knee today.
Then opposite Elijah, God's avowed servant, you have four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal. There they stand with all their garb and all their tradition and all their philosophy and all their religion. And here stand Elijah, God's representative. Then standing out in front is the nation of Israel that had apostatized so far that they were halting between two opinions. They had been brought up to know the living and the true God. They had been taught the law of Moses. They knew. what true worship was. And yet they had leaned so far toward this doctrine of Baal that they actually hesitated between the two.
Elijah addresses himself to that nation. Now he says, How long halt ye between two of them? If the Lord be God, if the God that you have forsaken is the true God, then come back to him. If not, if vain is the true God, then call him, but halt no longer. It's more or less what you have in Revelation chapter three. He says you're neither cold nor hot, you're neither one thing or the other. You're walking the fence, and people who walk the fence always live to see the fence burn under their feet. And so the prophet says now, how long, paltry the tree to obey?
Well, to size up the situation from a logical standpoint, you'd say, well, it shouldn't be difficult to see who is right here. One man, four hundred and fifty. And remember these four hundred and fifty prophets of vain, uneducated men, doctors of the law, if you will. Look at their attire, their God. They represent a very popular religion, a religion of works, of self-sacrifice, of human merit. I think a person would certainly be lacking in mentality who would claim this man is right and four hundred and fifty learned gentlemen are wrong, they might have reasoned thus.
I want to say this, the religion of fame has always been a popular religion. What is the religion of fame? It's the religion of works. If you want to bring it down to present day, application, It's doing the best you can. It's avoiding the blood of Christ. It's avoiding the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and pressing in your own merit and the sacrifices that you made to get you to heaven. But I want to say that today if you follow the crowd, you'll certainly be lost. for the crowd then those in the majority as a rule are traveling on the broad way that lead us to destruction so many today are just governed by the majority influenced by the crowd what is popular that suits them But I want to urge you never to follow the crowd when it comes to spiritual things, or let the road the majority is traveling on, govern you in your decision, or you'll end up on the wrong side.
Do you have Bible for that? Absolutely. How many were saved in the day of the flood? Eight, and the rest perished. the antediluvian age wiped off the face of the earth and only eight were saved. When God destroyed the cities of the plain, how many were saved? Three, Lot and his two daughters. And all the rest were destroyed with fire from heaven. Again, when you think of the Lord Jesus, And what he said in Matthew chapter seven, he says, Wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which win their act.
Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, and few there be that findeth. The Lord Jesus Christ makes it plain that the majority of people are lost. The majority of people are on the Broadway that lead to destruction. How dangerous they are to follow the majority or to be influenced by the crowd. God's people have always been in the minority, not the majority. The most you ever find following Jesus Christ was five hundred, while thousands, yea, hundreds of thousands, followed their religion. But Jesus Christ never was the leader of the multitude. It was the few.
Jesus, fear not little flock. It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Those who are right are always in the minority, whereas those who are wrong are always in the majority. That's according to the Bible. So many today follow public opinion. And I'm going to say this, the gospel and the two followers of christ are not popular by any means oh if you want to be popular just go along with the crowd but if you want to be unpopular take your stand upon thus saith the lord and say i'm going to stand for what god says regardless of what men say i'm going to take my stand on jesus christ and him crucified and you'll find yourself persecuted looked at narrowly Because you're running counter to public opinion, and you're running in the wrong direction.
Because this world is going on down the broad road, and if you're turning around and going the other way, you're going to face the crowd, and that's pretty hard to take. And so we find it changes in the fall of the crowd. Remember another incident when Joshua sent his spies? into the land of Canaan. How many went? Or rather Moses did. He sent the spies into the land of Canaan. Twelve of them went. They went to bring back a report of the land. And when they returned, ten of them stood and said this. It's true the land is a land flowing with milk and honey. It's true that all that God has said about it is as he said, a wonderful land.
Oh, we saw the cities built and their walls were to heaven. Their great big chariots and the men were giants. We will have grasshoppers in their sight. Oh, don't let's go in. They'll defeat us. The two men, Joshua and Caleb, took their stand and they said it is a land blowing with milk and honey and the cities are walled to heaven and the inhabitants of giants with great big chariots unweared but grasshoppers in their sight but they said our word God is able to give us the land lest the wind giants and all God will give it to us now who did Israel follow the ten of the two they followed the ten and their carcasses fell in the wilderness They followed the majority in Paris.
Friend, if you followed the majority today, you're going to perish. I'd be willing to stand with you any day on any street corner in Albany, stop every individual, come along and ask that individual, what are you trusting in the safety of heaven? And I'll guarantee nine out of ten would say, well, I do the best I can. I'm a member of the church. I contributed of my money to the good cause. Someone there in dignity and with an indignant attitude would say, well, I'm a thief, I'm a stoop, I'm an elf, I'm souls, and they would think you had a lot of sheep. Well, I spent what they were depending on to take them to heaven. Such would be the answer for us.
Once in a while someone would answer like this. Well, I'll tell you what's taking me to heaven. I discovered one day out of the lost guilty sin on the way to head. God convicted me of that fact that I couldn't save myself. And I trusted the blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, and when I did, I knew I had everlasting life. And I'm trusting the work of Christ in my salvation. That would be about one out of ten, and I would be surprised it would be one out of twenty. That's the language wherever you go. I've been in Canada, I've been in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, all across this country. The language is the same.
People are depending upon their good works, their doings. Now and again you find one which depend only upon the work of Christ who believes in the new work. That's the only way to get to heaven. The majority are wrong. God's people are in the minority. You notice here in this verse, verse twenty, and that's the one I'm emphasizing, verse twenty-one, it says, And the people answered him, not a word. He confronted them with a pretty good argument, and their mouth was shut. You know, every person has got to be brought here before he or she is saved. Your mouth has got to be shut.
There's a way in which you can say that that would be offensive, such as shut your mouth. Some children actually tell their parents to do that. I would have done it once. And that's all. My father would never take language of that kind to any of his children. But there's a point, and I want to say it kindly, not in any harsh way or sarcastic way, but friends, your mouth has got to be shut before you'll ever be saved. What do I mean? You find it in Romans three-nineteen. The law was given that every mouth might be shut, and all the world becomes guilty before God.
The man and the woman who is full of argument will never be saved. And it was when Job, after arguing for thirty-eight chapters, he says, behold, I am tiled. I will hold my hand upon my mouth. I have made my mistake. I have argued with God. I have got nowhere. And when Job shut his mouth, then God says, All right, Job, I've justified. And it's when the criminal standing at the bar ceases to argue and cast himself upon the mercy of the court that is liable to have leniency shown to him. But the sinner who will argue and say, I'm this, I'm that, I'm the other thing, I'm just as good as my neighbor, I don't see why I should be lost, and so on and so on, the person who's arguing like that will never get anywhere with God.
But it's the man or the woman who says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. I haven't an argument in my own defense. If I got what I deserved, I'd be lost forever. That's the person who's near God's salvation. And they answered him not a word. Their mouth was shut. When a person's mouth is shut, then one thing is left. What's that? A decision. Our difficult task has been mine in thirty years evangelistic work. The most difficult thing I find to do is to get people's moussa. Just get their moussa. When they're there and say, I'm guilty, I'm lost, it's not difficult to get them to a decision or to make a decision.
The hard work is to bring them to the point where they stand guilty and condemned before God. They say, what must I do to be saved? Then you can get them to make a decision. But all that didn't, to get people to the point where they admit, I'm lost, I'm guilty, I'm condemned, what must I do to be saved? And so the prophet here, after their mouth is shut, he begins then to proceed as to how to bring them to the right decision where they were halting between two opinions. Now sometimes halting is necessary if there be a similarity in the things to be chosen.
But when there's no similarity, really no comparison, it's an insult. May I illustrate? Supposing I had up here two gems. They were worth in the neighborhood of a hundred thousand dollars. And they were very similar in value. But I asked you to have your choice. I could understand you picking this one up and looking at it and weighing it, putting it down and picking this one up, and possibly for a half an hour you would be undecided because of the similarity and equal practically in value and beauty.
I could understand you halting and hesitating for a considerable length of time before you said I'll take this one. But supposing I took away this beautiful jewel, and I placed instead just a lump of ordinary Georgia clay about the same size. I said, now, Glenn, have your choice. Can you pick this up? You look at it, you weigh it, you put it down, you pick up this chunk of mud and you look at it, you put it down and you begin hesitating, halting, stroking your chin, wondering what to do. Then I'd be getting you transportation to a village, Bill, if you did that.
Hesitating and halting between two things that really have no comparison by way of value. Why a piece of mud, in contrast to this chin, worth a hundred thousand dollars? Only an insane person would hesitate to make a decision there. A child would know the difference. Let me say, men and women today who are hesitating and halting about making a decision for Christ are thus insulting high heaven. Here is Jesus Christ in all his sparkling glory, in all his worth and value, and not equal to him.
Over here is this poor old world, a chunk of mud by comparison. God says now which one do you want? And you hesitate not hours but weeks and months and years. You say, God, I don't know which to have, your son, that all together lovely one, that one came to this world and lived as no one else lived and died upon that cross for a sinner like me, that he might take me to heaven. I don't know whether to have him or have this world, this wicked, godless world. In other words, I don't know which to have righteousness or sin, purity or impurity.
Hesitating, halting between two opinions. That's exactly the case here. Hesitating, halting between God, the living God and male, the false God and I. How long, says the prophet, halting between two opinions? I say again I can understand the person hesitating. Yes, there's a similarity. But if there is no similarity, why do you walk? You have intelligence to know there's no comparison between heaven and hell. Between God and Christ and Satan and his angels. And yet you hesitate. You walk between two of things.
You wonder God doesn't put a time limit on sinners. And certainly dead that they hesitate longer than that time. Because it's such an insult. and tell God, you don't know whether you want his son or you want the devil. You don't know whether you want his heaven or hell. You don't know whether you want righteousness or sin. How long have you been between two of things? Please, when I title my message, The Great Divide is up in Canada. It is a place known as the watershed of North American culture. It means there's a huge spring away up in the mountains and the little river comes down and another spring a little further down contributes to it until finally there's quite a rushing river coming down the mountain.
But it comes to a certain point where it goes over the left of that rock and falls some two hundred feet. And immediately below that fall there's a cone-shaped rock like that. And if the water falls on the east side of that cone-shaped rock, it goes down and joins another river and another and eventually out into the stormy Atlantic. That which falls on the western side goes down and joins a larger river and finally the Fraser and out into the calm Pacific. Low the spot of that water fall in a rustic arch are these words. They're great divine. They're great divine. Because that water travels south for a certain distance when it comes to a spot where it does not go either east or west.
It can no longer proceed in that one direction. And it's a great divine. And the wind, sometimes a wind is strong enough to catch that waterfall in a few hundred feet to influence either one way or the other. A certain amount. Sometimes God begins to deal with sinners about their soul. They get under conviction and they're hesitating. They're halting. They're putting it off day after day, week after week, month after month. Then a time comes if you decide what else. You come to the edge of that rock, you no longer perceive, halting, hesitating between two things.
God says, I demand a decision. You cast your rock, you make your vote tonight. oftentimes when a sinner is here under conviction. He knows he must make a choice. I firmly believe the night I got saved it was that night or never. I believe. And I'll tell you when the soul is here, the devil is using all the power he has and all the genius and all the persuasiveness to try and improve that soul against the decision for Christ. Though the very wind of hell seems to be blowing in all its fury, to influence that sinner away from the state. Then there's the Spirit of God.
And the Spirit of God with all the gracious influence of the Word of God is trying through the preacher to influence the sinner in favor of the Son of God and away from the devil and his kingdom. Right at that point there's an awful battle raging, raging in the sinner's breath. What will be my choice? What is my decision? What will I do with Jesus? You have many cases in your Bible. I think of Lot's wife. There she is. She didn't want to leave town. She became popular in Sodom. Her friends were in Sodom. Her pleasures were in Sodom.
The angels actually had to lay hold her hand and pull her out of the city that God was going to destroy. And the angels said, don't look behind you. If you do, you'll turn to a pillar of salt. But Lot's wife's feet were heavy as the angels pulled her, half dragging her. But finally she reached the point which she couldn't resisted. She had to take one final look at that city, and she glanced back over her shoulder. She became a pillar of salt. And over that pillar of salt, you could inscribe these words. They're great divine. They're great divine. I see two young sisters, Ruth the Morphe, or orphan Ruth.
Here they stand. The O my there mother-in-law says, you go back to your country, to your people, to your God. Ruth says, no, I won't. Thy God will be my God. Thy people will be my people. Where thou dyes will I die, and there will I be buried. Ruth made that wonderful decision, but Orpah kissed her mother-in-law and went back to her gods and were idols and never heard of again. Over that spot where that young lady stood, that great divine. I see another man, Pilate by name, standing before him are two men, Jesus Christ and Barabbas.
He got to the point where he rang his hands, which one will I choose? What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? Oh, the blast of the devil! As the crowd cried out, away with Jesus! And he sent to us Barabbas and Pilate was influenced. by the cry of the people, a way that Jesus crucified, released unto us Barabbas. And Pilate made the choice. He delivered Jesus to their will, and Barabbas was released. Over the seat where Pilate sat, the great divine.
I see Felix trembling under the preaching of the apostle, and his wife was seven. And Felix Tremning said, when I have a convenience, Satan, I will call for thee. Right over where he sat, the knave hat, statement, the great divine. I see King Agrippa. He says to the same preacher, Paul, almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. On the pleading apostle said, I would, through God, but not only thou, but all that will hear me this day, would not only altogether, but almost, but altogether be such as I am a Christian. And although the Apostle pleads, Agrippa makes his choice, the Great Divide.
There are seats in this chapel, and people have occupied them in the last five and a half years. And I wouldn't be surprised the reporting angel of eternity has written over some of the very seats, and maybe the one you're sitting on, the Great Divide where some sinner said no. Take care of us, the one we were sitting on tonight. Leave a spot to the great divine for you. When you reject Jesus Christ and choose the devil and his way. How long have you been between two of them? What was it that brought them to a decision?
The prophet here made a good proposition. He turned to these four hundred and fifty modernists. Well, that was what they were in the prophets of Baal. He turned to these four hundred and fifty modernists and he said, Well, he said, now you take an ox, a bullock, and you build an altar, and you call upon your God. I'll build an altar. I'll put a bullock on it. I'll call upon my God. and the God that answers by fire, let him be the true God. The people say that's well spoken, that's a good argument. All right, says Elijah, there are more of you.
Four hundred and fifty. You go first. I give you that privilege. The four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal build the altar. They put their bullock off, and then they all leave round about that altar, and they begin to appeal to their God, Baal. Baal, hear us. Baal, if you only answer our prayer and consume this sacrifice by fire, look at all the converts you'll get. See all those people out there? Couple of millions. And they'll be your commons. Why, you'll have a host of new members, Bale. If only you'll answer by fire." But Bale didn't answer.
And the prophet gets quite sarcastic about noon as he watches these four hundred and fifty modernists, because Bale didn't answer them the first time, they became fanatical. They began cutting themselves with knives and lancets until their blood ran down their bodies. Phanatical faith, but they have the wrong object. Friend, you can have all kinds of faith. If you've got them the wrong object, you'll perish. There are people today and they've got fanatical faith. They go crazy with faith, but their faith's in the wrong thing. Their faith's not in Jesus Christ, but in something else. Look at these religions out in the bodies all over the world. What people will do? They'll offer their children on the altars of sacrifice to their God.
Fanatical faith. There are feats in the wrong feet, the wrong person. So the prophet begins to use some sarcastic language here. After the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal had prayed till noon, come on, he says, keep it up. Maybe he's on a journey. Maybe he's having a nap. You've got to wake him up. You get quite sarcastic. Going to show, friend, how sincere a person can be and be sincerely alone. Four hundred and fifty men. Oh, how sincere they seem to be. How they cut themselves with those knives and lances, to show their earnestness, their deep faith in vain.
Yes, they were sincere. Far more sincere in a lot of people today. But their sincerity didn't save them, for the prophet took them down to the brook and slew every one of them under the judging hand of God. Their sincerity, their fanatical faith, didn't amount to a thing. Neither were yours, unless you've got in the right person. Now the prophet's time comes. He gets twelve stones, speaking of the twelve tribes of Israel, and he builds his altar. He digs a huge trench round about that altar. He puts wood on top of the stone. He puts his book on top of the wood. He said to his assistants, he says, bring four barrels of water, pour it on.
And they pour four barrels of water upon the sacrifice. He brings four more. They do that. Bring four more. That makes twelve again, twelve times. By this time, the sacrifice is soaked in water. The wood is soaked. The stones are buried almost beneath the water. The trench is full. making it humanly impossible to ignite that wood. A match wouldn't do it. It was just about humanly impossible to ignite that offering, that sacrifice. Or it gets a lot of smoke. Here's where God comes in. And Elijah bows before his God, his old God.
And what you have in verse thirty-six, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, that I am thy servant, that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice in the woods and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trap. Did you have anything more convincing? The consuming of the sacrifice. did it. What did that crowd out in front who had been halting and hesitating so long, what did they say?
After they saw this demonstration of their weakness, of Baal religion, and the strength and power of the true religion, or the true God of Israel, they said, that's our God. That's our God, the one man's right, the four hundred and fifty are all And they made their decision then when the sacrifice was consumed. Why do I mention the consuming of the sacrifice? Certainly this, friend. Do you want to know where the sacrifice, as far as we are concerned, was consumed? I take you back nineteen hundred years, still, from Rafa's Hill. There I see on the cross the man Christ Jesus.
For the three hours of night, from six in the morning or from nine in the morning until noon. There you see the men, the soldiers, mocking, scoffing the Lord Jesus, the crowd around the cross, heaping their insults and revilings, their slanders, their slurs, eventually their very saliva from their mouths. The three hours he suffered the hands of men, but then the sun refused to shine. ceased at midday in twelve to three darkness settled upon the sea now God is dealing with his son Lord Jesus says from above thou hast sent fire into my home just like the fire of God came down and consumed that sacrifice in Elijah's day on the cross fire of God's purity and wrath against your sin and mine, burn in the very heart and soul the Son of God, when Christ became a sacrifice for sin, your sin and mine.
It's not what men did to Jesus Christ as Jesus. They nailed into the cross this truth. They heard their insults and revilings of the Savior. That didn't save us. But it's what happened during those hours of darkness when God laid upon him the iniquity of us all. When Christ became the sacrifice for you and me. When he suffered in the hands of Almighty God. Yes, that's what saved us. What God did to Jesus Christ and God made his soul an offering for sin. Through what God did to Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ endured through those three fierce hours.
there's the consuming of the sacrifice. God accepted it. And that alone was saved. That should bring an end to your hawking and hesitating tonight. And say, Christ for me, that's enough. If God loved me so much to give his son, and if Lord Jesus loved me so much as to lay down his life for me, that's enough. What more can I do than to give him my best? To give him myself tonight, Christ for me, that should bring an end to your hesitancy. And yet some of you will leave this meeting tonight, still halting between two opinions.
In the presence of Almighty God, you'll still hesitate. You know you're not born again. You know you're not saved. You know you're not ready to meet God. Yet you've got in this building tonight being face to face with Jesus Christ on the cross. Still have a day. God says, sinner, how long have you been freed to evict? Is Christ or religion? It's Christ or pleasure? It's Christ or your companions? Maybe it's Christ or wealth. Christ or provision or position in this world. What is it? What is it that's keeping you holding between two opinions? You must make the choice. I trust that tonight you look this matter square in the eye and say, Christ, you mean, this situation serious.
It involves my soul's eternal well there. And I've had demonstrated tonight the emptiness of religion without Christ, the fullness of Christianity with him. Now which do I have, religion or Christianity? I want Christ tonight and present it to you. How much longer do you hesitate? Are you willing to terminate your halting tonight and save Christ for me? This is my decision. I'll trust the Savior right now. Believe that he died on that cruel cross in my stead. He suffered from my sin. He paid my debt. I'm making my choice.
It will be your happiest day. God help you to do it right now. Let his name say the Holy Spirit. Our Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus, be committed to thy presence. Be asked thy blessing upon thy world. O God, may it please thee to speak to any who are hesitating, halting in the matter of salvation. May they see all they need is in Christ, that He is sufficient To meet the revenue he'll save, he'll keep, he'll satisfy. May someone tonight bring to an end in their calling and decide for trying to be saved.