WHO IS ON THE LORD SIDE? (Exodus 32:26)
By: Rev. Erick M. Fajardo
Baptist Church of the Firstborn, Mandaluyong City
“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said Who is on the LORD’S side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.”
WHAT does it mean to be on the
Lord’s side?
1. To be on the Lord’s side means
we understand salvation and we
are saved. Salvation is by grace
thru faith in the finished work of
JESUS CHRIST.
It is not what we can do or anything
good we have done, it is not the
church where we belong. It is not
even because we tried our best to
become righteous.
Many people believe that they
have to be righteous in order to
invite Christ - but JESUS said: “…
I am not come to call the righteous,
but sinners to repentance” (Mat.
9: 13).
2. To be on the Lord’s side means
we believe the Scriptures. We have
to place ourselves under the authority
of the Word of God. We are students
of God’s Word, not critics. We are not
free to pick and choose the verses we
believe and reject some. Believing the
Bible includes obeying it.
3. To be on the Lord’s side means we do not embrace sin. Our world today thinks it is old-fashioned to talk about sin and holiness. The many educated people refer to drunkenness, lying, theft, immorality, sexual perversion as “diseases of the mind” rather than willful acts of rebellion against God and label it as sin.
Abraham Lincoln once asked of
his critics: “If you call a cow’s tail
a leg, how many legs does a cow
have?” His critics answered “Five”.
“No, he replied, just calling a tail a
leg doesn’t make it so.” Why be on
the Lord’s side?
1. Because here is only one alternative: “He that is not with me is against me.” (Mat. 12:30) Jesus makes it clear that there is no neutral ground, no middle ground. In Matthew 7 he speaks of the of the gates, one leads to life everlasting, the other to eternal destruction.
Take Note:
1. There are 2 gates (narrow and
broad).
2. There are 2 ways (life and death).
3. There are 2 kinds of fruit (good
and rotten).
4. There are 2 kinds of people (wise
and foolish).
5. There are 2 foundations (on the
rock and on the sand)
6. There are 2 houses (one will stand,
the other will fall)
2. Because of His command:
“AND THOU SHALT LOVE THE
LORD THY GOD WITH ALL THY
HEART, AND WITH ALL THY
SOUL, AND WITH ALL THY
MIND, AND WITH ALL THY
STRENGTH: this is the first commandment
(Mark 12:30)
Wherefore COME OUT FROM
AMONG THEM, AND BE YE
SEPARATE, saith the Lord, AND
TOUCH NOT THE UNCLEAN
THING; AND I WILL RECEIVE
YOU, AND WILL BE A FATHER
UNTO YOU, AND YE SHALL BE
MY SONS AND DAUGHTERS,
saith the Lord Almighty.
Requirements for being on the Lord’s
side:
1. Confession of sin (Exo.
32: 27, 28).
When Moses asked the question as
to who was on the Lord’s side (Exo.
32: 26), the tribe of Levi responded
positively. They did not argue that
they were innocent, or that they were
forced to do idolatry or gave other
reasons - they were just willing to
confess their sins.
Many times we want to make
excuses for our sins, sometimes we
blame others why we did it. The real
need is for us to humble ourselves and
confess and forsake our
sins.
2. Co n s e c r a t i o n t o
service.
People who are on the Lord’s
side are meant to be servants.
What are you doing for the Lord?
Just attending church? If you are
not serving God, then who are you
serving? In Matthew 6:24 it says,
“No man can serve two masters:
for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve God and
mammon.”
3. Connection with the saints.
When the people of Israel
chose to be on the Lord’s side,
it meant they would join Moses
where he stood. You should stand side by side with your leader
if you are on the Lord’s side. You
can’t remain as an idol worshipper
and be truly on the Lord’s side.
This illustrates the importance
of uniting with a local New
Testament church. You may ask,
“Can’t be a Christian without
becoming a member of a church?
Yes, you can, but it is like being a
student without attending classes.
It is also likened to a soldier
who has gone AWOL (Absence
Without Leave). God established
the local New Testament for
believers to grow in grace and in
knowledge