Last time, in our series, Why Christ Had to Die, we saw that God is particular. He is particular because He is God. And because He is God, He is also holy. And because He is holy, He is all-together different. This difference of God is related to all things, because all things are created by Him. Therefore, God must be revered, He must be obeyed, and He must be respected. Otherwise, the consequences from a contrary life to Him must be faced.
Nevertheless, God’s pursuit of and expectations for His people remain the same. He wants their heart. He wants their heart devoted only to Him. And so, God warns them in the following lines from Moses to this new generation of God’s people to be wary of dreamers of dreams and those who perform signs and wonders in front of them.
The reason?
The types of people will draw them from the one true God (whom they know) to false and created gods (whom they do not know).
“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Deuteronomy 13:1-3
The people are about to enter His land promised to them for their flourishing, but it doesn’t come to them at no price. In fact, the price is their complete heart-bent devotion to God. And the reason for this price and expectation placed upon them is because God brought them forth from nothing. He birthed them, as it were, from one man and one woman (Abraham and Sarah) that has now become millions of men and women. Their incubation was through their vocation in the land of Goshen (Egyptians do not associate with Shepherds). And now, as a result of His constant care, God expects constant devotion. There is no wiggle room or license to flirt with the things of this world. None. Zero. Nada.
But they did. They chased the dreamers of dreams, the workers of signs and wonders, and as a result, they were judged, exiled, but not without hope.
Christ came to their rescue. He came to our rescue as well. The bruised reed could not be broken, and the shoot of Jesse was never to be swayed by the winds of this world. And that is another reason why Christ had to die. These people of old were swayed, and so were and are we.
How Does This Apply To Us Today?
“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James 1:27
Not long after Christ died, His brother wrote this pointed statement. True religion is to visit orphans and widows–which means to come alongside and offer care, compassion, and help–as well as to remain unstained by the world. In other words, the Christian, James is instructing, is to not have one foot in the ways of the world and one foot in the ways of God.
The world comprises all things set against God. And so, the Christian–like the Israelites of old–are to remain consistently faithful to the ways of God and not to the ways of the world. The problem, however, is that we all too often find ourselves looking like and wanting the things of the world, and so we must have some way forward. I believe so…
- Guard your heart
- Old King Solomon had it right… “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
- In other words, the seat of emotions, the place where desires are found, and that which moves a person to make decisions is the heart.
- Glory to God, the follower of Christ has a new heart, but he still has his old flesh.
- Thus, the battle of the Christian…guard your heart.
- Confess your worldliness
- The reality is, since we’re not to live isolated from the world, but to be in the world without being stained by the world, we must live in confession of our worldliness.
- That, to me, is the constant temptation to run to the things of the world. It’s the follower of Christ who finds himself running too hard after a position at work. Or one who tries to control through overbearing rules and regulations the outcome of their children. Or those who constantly fights addictions to food, drink, media, other’s affirmation, etc. In essence, those who find their identity outside of Christ.
- To confess means to agree, and to agree that one is broken and in need of God means to be on the path to being whole and healthy in this broken world.
- Run to Jesus
- Finally, run to the cross. The Israelites of old couldn’t keep God’s law and neither can we today.
- But Christ did. He died for us who can’t. And He rose from the grave giving hope that death is now defeated and when we die in Christ we pass from life in the present world to eternal life with Him.
- Thus, we–by grace through faith–daily run to Christ. We awaken with Him, we press on through the day in Him, and we fall asleep thanking Him for His life, death, and gift of resurrection to us.