“And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand.” (Deuteronomy 13:17 KJV)
In Deuteronomy 13, God is instructing his people about how to properly deal with sinful practices that have conquered the whole population of a city. We may not understand the harsh reality of these instructions, but the message is the same. Perhaps that is the issue. Maybe the stark nature of the instructions were intended to emphasize the horror of the sinful practices.
Someone has said, “If you do the crime, you must do the time.” In this North American culture of tolerance, there is a resistance to that statement. On the one hand, we want to do “our own thing” and on the other hand, we do not want to be responsible for the resulting consequences.
In many instances, we Christians take on a harsh, pharisaic attitude in our denunciations of sinful practices. And certainly, sin must be identified for what it is: a destructive transgression and rejection of God’s truth. Sin will damn one’s soul eternally and we must be faithful to warn everyone to flee God’s wrath that is coming on all those who reject God and his Christ.
Yet, God tells his people to be careful of the enticements they will see in the contaminated city of sin. They may expect to see things that they would like to possess, but instead they should be certain that nothing is retained for themselves. While they are correcting the wrongs and cleaning up the results, they must be vigilant against their own actions so that what they are cleaning up doesn’t infect them.
Jesus blood shed on Calvary is sufficient to cover all sin . . . yours, mine, everyone’s, if we will accept it through faith and apply it to our lives. But then, while I am helping others to get free from sin’s bondage, I do not want to be contaminated or enslaved again. Christ will keep us saved, if we will guard our actions.
Dear Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Grant that all who read these words will believe in Christ as Savior and Lord, and that they will reject this world with its enticements. This I pray in the name of Jesus. AMEN
Be encouraged today in your commitment to Christ,