Keeping the Old Landmark

Proverbs 23:10

Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless:

Every piece of property has a landmark that defines its boundaries. The landmark is there to protect the owner of the property as well as the neighbor of the property. That landmark allows the owner to define what is theirs so that others cannot slowly take their property from them.

I was in a preaching conference when a preacher said he was told never to allow himself to be put into a camp. Now, this sounds spiritual, but it is the most unscriptural statement. A camp is really another word for landmark. Now, I don't think this preacher realized this, but a camp is the landmark of those who choose to serve God a certain way. Removing the landmark removes the boundaries for what you believe, which only results in compromise.

God says, Remove not the old landmark… Notice the word remove. This word means a couple of things. It first means that someone initially moved that landmark to its position, and I am not to move it again. I am to leave the landmark alone. It secondly means that I am never to take the landmark away. I am to leave the landmark in its place because it is not mine to move it. The landmark was set in place by God, and to move it is to move something that does not belong to me. Let me share what a landmark is to the believer.

First, the landmark is an identity. I own the house I live in. The county records identify the Domelle family as the owner. The landmarks of my property identifies all who live in my house as a Domelle. My landmark I identify with is independent, fundamental Baptist, and I am not ashamed of this identity. When others are running from being an IFB, we ought to embrace it because it identifies us with the King James Bible, soul winning, bus ministry, Sunday school, Holy Spirit power, and men like Jack Hyles, Dallas Billington, and Curtis Hutson.

Second, the landmark is a boundary. I have no right to set up camp on my neighbor’s property because it is not mine. Likewise, God’s landmark gives me boundaries to live within. Those boundaries are for my protection. God’s Word is the landmark for the believer. God’s Word sets the parameters for how we should live and what we should be like. It defines us. This is one reason I believe the King James Bible is God’s inspired and preserved Word. It is the landmark given by God that tells me how to serve God. Instead of trying to move this landmark, we ought to be establishing it with the next generation.

Third, the landmark is a heritage. One day my house will be passed to my daughter, this is my daughter’s heritage given to her by her dad. A heritage is our lineage. We ought to embrace the heritage of the great men in our lineage like Lee Roberson and Jack Hyles. I don't expect those not in my heritage to like mine because they have their own compromising heritage that is different from mine. Mine just happens to be a goodly heritage.

Fourth, the landmark is a way of serving God. Those in my heritage believe in passionate preaching, soul winning, bus ministry, Sunday school, and separation from the world. Let’s leave our landmark alone. Instead of trying to move the landmark, let’s perform the way of serving God that we know works because it was given to us by those before us.