#68 Don't pay the fine
From Evidence, by Samuel Froehlich
Precious and in Jesus Christ our Lord beloved Brothers and Sisters!
May the faithful God and Father of mercy bless you with grace and peace, according to your needs out of the riches of His glory, through Christ now and evermore.
We have learned from the letter of our dear sister of your present predicament and trial and as we, as members of the one holy body of Jesus Christ (which is the church of the living God), have joy and sorrow in common with one another, we also feel with you your present suffering and I especially am obligated to you as much as God grants it to me, to stand by you, so that you will not fall and be harmed in your souls, for the devil tries you and God permits it, that your faith may be proved and found precious, to the honor and praise and glory of God in the revelation of His Son.
But your present trial consists in this, whether you wish to keep your faith or your money, your souls or your body, therefore I must advise you as your brother in Christ, that the enemy threatens and frightens you with a fine and corporal punishment, but in reality it is not about your money or about your body that he is concerned, but about your faith and your souls.
What think you, dear children, if you pay the imposed fine, do you not thereby acknowledge your guilt and will not the devil then achieve his purpose? On the other hand, if you do not pay, you will retain your freedom which Christ gave you and you would not violate your conscience; but if you pay, you will sell your freedom which Christ has so dearly won for you, yes you will sell Him as some have done and on that account have lost Christ. Do not permit yourselves to be frightened by their threats, but fear God alone. Behold how the devil fumes in the children of unbelief against Christ!
You should pay by the 4th or else and that frightens you. But I say to you: Look unto God and do not cast away your confidence which has a great reward for the godly. True, the money is a fine lure for the servants of the devil, and he gives it to them gladly as a booty for their services, in order thereby to draw them into hell. But he himself, the devil, does not seek the money, he does not know what to do with it, but he seeks to frighten you by it, to rob you of Christ and to destroy your souls with deceit. (Eph. 6:12)
If your battle were with men only, who are flesh and blood, then I would say to you: "Pay what they ask." But because your battle is with the devil, beware of what he has in mind, for he does not want money and for that reason you should not give him any. I would rather forsake house and home and leave the country emptyhanded, than to pay such sin-money, for then would His promise remain to me. (Luk. 18:29, 30) “'There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.'"
If you have faith in God, then simply take the risk of seeing how far men will go in their unrighteousness, but do not let the devil catch you. If you cannot leave all for the kingdom of God’s sake, you will let yourselves be caught by the devil and cannot be Jesus’ disciples, for you would have desired to follow Him without counting the cost. But now, is the Lord so hard that He will permit us to come into such need and to be tested thus? No, hard He is not, Who already in this time promises us a manifold return for that which was simply taken from us and which we had to offer up innocently, and then in addition life everlasting. You are not even sure that they will dare to take your all, and yet the Lord says, "He who does not deny all that he hath cannot be my disciple."
See if your anxiety is not about what you have, in order to keep it, by your being ready to pay the imposed fine? And is not hidden in that an unbelieving mistrust in God and His word of promise? But I say to you, "Do not pay." But if the unrighteous would make full in you the measure of their sins, then let yourselves be robbed and be followers of them of whom it is written, “Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods." (Heb. 10:34) If you pay it will help no one and you the least, for the devil seeks to scare you away from God. But what does the apostle say: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." (I Cor. 16:13) Take the faith of Joseph as your example. He let himself be led by God through dark ways and yet remained true to Him. He had to leave his father, his brothers, his home, he had to be a servant in a strange country for ten years, then had to sit in prison for three years because he would not sin against his God. And how was it recompensed to him at last? After so many trials and so much tribulation was his faith put to shame? Did he not receive in this time manifold, yes a hundredfold, again? God is faithful!
I see it beforehand, if you pay, the devil will gain an advantage over you; if you do not pay, then he will have no power over you, except perhaps only outwardly, but not inwardly, and that is the main thing, at least it should be the main thing with every believer, and to whom it is not the main thing, but a side issue, he does not live in the faith of the Son of God Who gave Himself for us in order that we also should give ourselves for Him, for we are not our own but the Lord’s. Whether for us it is to live or to die, that does not concern us any more. If we are the Lord’s, He is to be concerned about it, and He will care for us as His own if we let ourselves be drawn by Him and will not withdraw ourselves from His rearing and care. And even if our outer man must perish for Jesus’ sake, we should not grieve ourselves about it, for our outer man is destined for death, for suffering with Christ, for corruption. However, if only in all this the inner man is renewed from day to day, we shall have gain enough, for our short and "light affliction, which but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." (II Cor. 4)
That is the art of faith, otherwise it would not be faith. But faith would be an easy matter if there were no trials of the same, and such a faith in the end the whole world would even have; but faith first here works its divine power and quality, in order that the world can be overcome, in which it is attacked by the world and the devil, like when Joseph left his coat behind so as to save his soul and not to sin against God. And though we, according to our sympathy for your suffering and according to the fellowship of the Spirit, would gladly help and if we according to means also could, yet I would not dare to consent thereto for the Lord’s sake and for your sakes.
What I read in our dear sister’s letter is of great significance to me: "The devil has very boldly set himself against us since our beloved Brother Aeschlemann was with us, just because there again were souls who sought to save their souls and because the devil is such a grudger of salvation, he is not willing to grant them eternal rest and blessedness.”
It now lies with you, beloved, that these souls together with you may be preserved. Therefore, continue daily in the fellowship of the word and in prayer that you may not allow yourselves to be intimidated and scared away, for the devil is powerless if you abide in faith; but if you pay the fine, how will you save yourselves and the others? In short, if you pay you will have the shame and the hurt therefrom in time and in eternity. For that our gospel is true we see by the hatred of the world, but how should it be true only of sufferings and not of the promise of glory?
This is my brotherly advice to you, beloved in the Lord, so that you may not sin, but preserve your most holy faith.
I greet you along with all the other members as your faithful brother in the Lord.
S. H. Froehlich