DEUTERONOMY 16:18-17:12
"So you shall put away the evil from among you."
For the people of God, Moses has taught them how to clean house, worship, give, take care of the poor, and now the time has come to know how to handle the law breakers. Just like in chapter 15 when Moses said that there will always be the poor in the land, we see that there will also always be those who break the law of the Lord. In the land of milk and honey, there will still be those who choose not to obey the commands of God. There will still be those who are lavished with blessings from God and choose to worship other gods. There will always be law breakers.
Remember, this is the land of blessings that give us an image of glory, but this is not glory! If you haven't noticed, Moses is dedicated to making sure the people start on the right foot.
Moses knows God well and knows that God will not tolerate sin, especially the worship of other Gods. Remember, Moses has personally walked with God for many years and heard His voice when He has spoken about idol worship and sin. Moses knows how God will act if man does not obey. All throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is doing his absolute best to get through to the people the importance of faithful foundations once entering this new land of blessings.
In this week's text, Moses tells the people that such ungodly behavior cannot be tolerated in hopes that strict punishment will not only honor God but also prevent future sins hurting the people even more. In our scripture, we see a glimpse of church discipline and the heart behind not tolerating the sin of some for the betterment of the whole!
Through Christ and His new covenant, we are not called to stone people like we read in this week's text. Praise Jesus for this!! However, we are still called to confront and discipline sin. Speaking from the stance of looking at God's church, today's church often struggles with calling out sin and discipling destructive behavior. Many pastors and church leaders are more scared of uncomfortable situations than they are the damage of undisciplined sin infecting the people of God. Foolish behavior and conflict are often swept under the rug and kept silent in hopes the situation gets better, while often times seeing everything get worse.
Through undisciplined sin, beautiful blessings quickly become polluted. Pollution spreads. Now beautiful blessings aren't beautiful anymore. We are called to see that discipline comes from the grace and goodness of God for the faith of His people. Even hard discipline that is hard to understand is God's intentional blessings for long-lasting faith.
Discipline corrects and often grows the offender while protecting the faithful.
All the while, maintaining beautiful blessings!
Stay faithful church,
Pastor Hunter
Remember, this is the land of blessings that give us an image of glory, but this is not glory! If you haven't noticed, Moses is dedicated to making sure the people start on the right foot.
Moses knows God well and knows that God will not tolerate sin, especially the worship of other Gods. Remember, Moses has personally walked with God for many years and heard His voice when He has spoken about idol worship and sin. Moses knows how God will act if man does not obey. All throughout the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is doing his absolute best to get through to the people the importance of faithful foundations once entering this new land of blessings.
In this week's text, Moses tells the people that such ungodly behavior cannot be tolerated in hopes that strict punishment will not only honor God but also prevent future sins hurting the people even more. In our scripture, we see a glimpse of church discipline and the heart behind not tolerating the sin of some for the betterment of the whole!
Through Christ and His new covenant, we are not called to stone people like we read in this week's text. Praise Jesus for this!! However, we are still called to confront and discipline sin. Speaking from the stance of looking at God's church, today's church often struggles with calling out sin and discipling destructive behavior. Many pastors and church leaders are more scared of uncomfortable situations than they are the damage of undisciplined sin infecting the people of God. Foolish behavior and conflict are often swept under the rug and kept silent in hopes the situation gets better, while often times seeing everything get worse.
Through undisciplined sin, beautiful blessings quickly become polluted. Pollution spreads. Now beautiful blessings aren't beautiful anymore. We are called to see that discipline comes from the grace and goodness of God for the faith of His people. Even hard discipline that is hard to understand is God's intentional blessings for long-lasting faith.
Discipline corrects and often grows the offender while protecting the faithful.
All the while, maintaining beautiful blessings!
Stay faithful church,
Pastor Hunter
SCRIPTURE TO GO WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Matthew 18:15-17 as Jesus speaks how to address sin with others.
Posted in Deuteronomy