Simon the Pedlar

I have been reading through The Sword and the Trowel, a compliation of articles edited by C.H. Spurgeon.  I came across a stirring story written of a common man who refused to pay homage before passing idols.  He was willing to pay with his life for his principles.  The article was titled "Simon the Pedlar" and begins as follows:

"About the year 1553, at Bergen op Zoom, in Brabant, there was a pedlar named Simon, standing in the market selling his wares.  The priests with their idol passing by, the said Simon dared not show the counterfeit god any divine honour; but following the testimony of God in the holy Scripture, he worshiped the Lord his God only, and him alone served.  he was therefore seized by the advocates of the Romish Antichrist, and examined as to his faith.  This he boldly confessed.  He rejected infant baptism as a mere human invention, with all the commandments of men, holding fast the testimony of the word of God; he was therefore condemned to death by the enemies of the truth.  They led him outside the town, and for the testimony of Jesus committed him to the flames.  The astonishment of the bystanders was greatly excited when they saw the remarkable boldness and steadfastness of this pious witness of God, who, through grace, thus obtained the crown of everlasting life.

 Spurgeon continued:

 It is well to review the memory of the brave days of old that we may be inspired with the like uncompromising spirit.  Not a nod of the head or a bend of the knee will the solitary champion concede to the idol before which others prostrate themselves.  His life must answer for his daring, but no entreaties or threats can move him; he can burn but he cannot turn; he can yield his body to the tormenters, but not his soul to the tempter.  Things invisible have nerved his heart against all visible terrors, and the fear of the most holy God has banished from him all fear of men.  He sought not the conflict, but he dared not shun it, and now that the hour is come for witness-bearing, pedlar though he be, he bears himself in a right princely manner, and prove himself one of the nobility of heaven...Short and sharp was the action of the persecutor, swift and sure was the transformation of the pedlar into one of the white-robed throng before the throne.  That calm face was lit up for a few moments with the lurid glare of the blazing faggots, and anon that upright frame fell to ashes about the stake.  Think not that he threw himself away for the Lord, and was lost the Church by his decision; far from it; his death was more useful than his life; for through the page of history speaking from the stake he is to this day right eloquent, and being dead yet speaketh.

 This was written many years ago, yet Spurgeon remains a prophet for our day when he concluded:

In many shapes, in our own land, we are tempted to yield up the completeness of our faith, or withhold our testimony against error; but in any form and from any quarter, this temptation is always to be resisted as we would resist Satan himself.  We have no more right to give up truth than to give away our master's property.  Trimming and temporising, amiable silence, and unfaithful compromises are treason to God, and are devices of the devil to obtain space and place for the propagation of falsehood, of which he is the father; but decision for truth sees through the enemy's craft, and disdains to yield him so much as a single inch of vantage ground.  Charity is a virtue, and also is decision; and the one must never override the other, or it ceases to be true charity.  When believers are steadfast in the truth they impress their age with a respect for their faith, but when they vacillate and yield up their principles the world neither respects them nor their religion.  Men look at weathercocks, but never steer by them.  To the sinful pleasure of the world the believer must not yield; to its carnal customs he must not bow, and into its spirit he must not drink, or it will be all over with the power, and probably with the very existence of his testimony." (Spurgeon, C. H. C.H. Spurgeon's Works as Published in His Monthly Magazine The Sword and the Trowel. Vol. Volume 1. Pasadena, Tex.: Pilgrim Publications, 1975. 154-157. Print.)

Attacks upon the truth of God's Word and faithful followers of Christ is nothing new.  The temptation to bow to the views of others instead of standing resolute on the scriptures is very real.  To stand today still comes at a cost, though burning at a physical stake has fallen out of favour.  If one person who professes to follow Christ could be compared to a weathercock - turning wherever the winds of change blow, fearing to take a stand lest he offend others - it is one too many.  We are to continually point to Jesus regardless of the pressing winds.  Let us be steadfast in faith without vacillation, and thus hold fast to the example of our Saviour and His faithful followers like Simon the Pedlar.