Sword and Balm

Sword and Balm

The way of salvation goes through death to life. We are corrupt by nature; we cannot improve ourselves. People dream about bringing out the good in the others by loving them, but this cannot be done. This truth is unshakable: in us, that is, in our flesh, dwells nothing good. Rom. 7:18. Therefore, since it cannot be made better, it must be put away, it must be put to death. Life is given to us by faith.

This course of action is relevant from the very beginning and continues until the last moment that we are in this tabernacle.

First the sword. It must pierce through and strike within, at the root. Next comes the balm, the ointment of life, which also needs to pierce through, because the intention is for it to reach the very same place where the sword struck.

Balm is useless where the sword has not struck within. Trying to bring balm where the sword has not done a work is just as foolish and useless as bringing comfort to someone who is not suffering.

Those who hate the cross of Christ, who detest the sword, who barely know anything else except seeking after pleasure—when they hear a serious word, they quite often insist on a word of comfort instead. Such a demand is utter madness, and those who give in to it show thereby that they have been deceived themselves.

It is against all laws of nature to “comfort” a person who is not suffering but who, on the contrary, is mainly concerned with feasting! This is a transgression of the fundamental principles of the gospel of Christ!

The saving ministry through the Word can be expressed and described with the following words: inner sword and inner balm. The sword is intended to pierce within, and balm is applied where the sword has done a work. Everything beyond this is vanity.

The ministry of the word in the church is a very difficult ministry; therefore it is correspondingly precious.

A faulty ministry can be described as 1) lacking a sword; 2) lacking balm; 3) external sword; 4) external balm. Of those, the first and the last are the most common.

The latter is a natural consequence of the first. If the sword has not done a work, there is no place to pour the balm. The lack of a sword is the result of cowardice and softness and a lack of the fear of God, of faith, and of love; in practical terms it is expressed through human talk. Lack of true balm is a result of a lack of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and is made manifest through the fact that the comfort given has nothing to do with salvation. An external sword is the result of either not being born of God or that the person, in his zeal to exercise himself in waging war, has momentarily lost sight of the goal: the salvation of the soul. If the latter is the case, it is known as having a sharp tongue. External balm is the result of cowardice and a (conscious or unconscious) desire to please people. It is made manifest by sweet, entertaining story-telling. All of it has this in common: that by itself it is useless. Nevertheless, all things are God’s servants and must serve for good to those who love God.

Therefore our watchword must be: inner sword and balm! Though they are opposites, they are two valuable means; nevertheless, they are both unprofitable if they penetrate only to a certain point. However, if they go beyond that point to the very root and are combined, they express the perfect ministry of the word.