No Place for Sin – The Kingdom Curriculum XIII (6)

No Place for Sin

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20

“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised.” Deuteronomy 6:16-18

Harbor No Enemies!

Israel was given a twofold calling in settling the land of promise. First, they were to take up the Law of God as the way that God planned for them to show love for Him and their neighbors and to enter into the fullness of life as He intended. The people needed to be honest before the Lord and not put on pious airs or try to manipulate Him to do their bidding. Obedience to the Law, soul and body, was the way to blessing. Any attempts to play at obedience would frustrate the divine plan to bless His people.

The second charge was to expel the pagan peoples of the land and not to harbor any of their people or culture in their midst. Their religious artifacts and worship centers were to be destroyed, and the people of Israel were not to intermarry or have other converse with them. God warned His people that if they made a home for their enemies–and all their false gods and disgusting practices–soon enough they would fall into pagan ways as well.

So it is with us today. Being honest with God requires that we work as hard to expunge wickedness from our lives as we do to take up the course of righteousness. We cannot plant the seed of holiness in poisoned soil and expect the flower of righteousness to bloom. Outwardly we may look like good, healthy, growing Christians. But if we are harboring sin in or hearts–or sinful practices in our secret lives–then not only will God, Who loves Truth, not hear our prayers (Ps. 66:18), He’ll come after us to set things right (Heb. 12:3-11).

Being honest with God means confessing our sins and repenting of them. And, by His wondrous grace in Jesus, He makes that safe and easy for us to do (Rom. 8:1; 1 Jn. 1:8, 9).

How can we use the Law of God to make wise ethical choices? Order your copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.