This is a follow up episode addressing the half-and-half strategy of Nehemiah, in which builders are called to carry a sword while they build. In like manner, believers in the body of Christ should actively engage in ministry but also adopt a defensive posture against their own residual evil. But the struggle against the flesh should never be waged alone. Just as the trumpeter along the wall of Nehemiah alerted other builders to come to "hot spots" on the wall, so every believer should avail himself of the assistance of other Christians in their struggles with sin. The alternative strategy of maverick Christianity, where builders struggle against sin alone, is often based on presumptuous self-confidence and leads to a "sifting." A half-and-half strategy is ultimately more effective in building the kingdom.
Who’s Commenting on the Narrative of Your Life?
Informed by Nehemiah 4:1-5, where unbelievers mocked the progress of Nehemiah's men, this episode exhorts believers struggling with sin to surround themselves with spiritual saints who edify, even in their rebuke. Too often, believers, particularly those young in the faith, take the judgmental narrative of unbelieving critics to heart and become discouraged and despondent over their apparent lack of spiritual progress. "If a fox walked on top of their Christian wall, it would immediately crumble." But this assessment contrasts sharply with that of spiritual believers, who come along to gently restore and would never condemn the halting progress of a struggling believer. The episode calls struggling believers (all of us!) to surround themselves with godly saints who embrace God's narrative and speak it back to us as we all run the Christian race.