None, Nada, No Way!

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Deuteronomy 18:9-13

“When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the LORD your God…”

Leviticus 19:26-28

“You shall not eat any flesh with the blood in it. You shall not interpret omens or tell fortunes. You shall not round off the hair on your temples or mar the edges of your beard. You shall not make any cuts on your body for the dead or tattoo yourselves: I am the LORD.”

The practices mentioned in these verses were standard pagan fare. How would Israel stand out as a people holy unto the Lord if they simply adopted the ways of their unbelieving neighbors? How would they ever draw people to the knowledge of the holy God and His holy and righteous and good Law if they simply mimicked the ways of their unbelieving neighbors?

Of course, they would not, so God warned them over and over again to keep from all such pagan practices and ways and to cling to Him and His Law.

God solemnly forbids His people from bringing the practices of pagan peoples into their walk with and worship of Him. We are to be holy, set apart from the ways of the world to learn and follow the ways of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

A Contemporary Molech?

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2.4 Reject pagan practices

God’s people must not adopt, for any reason, the harmful, disgusting practices of the pagan practices they are called to displace.

Leviticus 18:21

“You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD.”

Leviticus 20:1-5

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.”

In Molech worship children were burned in fire by their parents in order to appease the false deity. Let’s read that another way: In order to be at ease, with a minimum of inconvenience or want, parents gave their children up to a false god. Is abortion a kind of Molech worship? Are those parents who let their children do whatever they want, have whatever they want, hang with whomever they want, and indulge in pop culture and social networking without any supervision or restraints—are such parents, in order to keep peace at home, simply giving their children over to a new Molech in our day?

It’s hard to see how we can be training our children to delight in the Lord and find in Him the fullness of joy when we allow them to fill their lives with so many other diversions and things designed to make them happy.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

God All Around

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Leviticus 26:1

“You shall not make idols for yourselves or erect an image or pillar, and you shall not set up a figured stone in your land to bow down to it, for I am the LORD your God.”

Pagans in ancient Canaan often used various kinds of standing objects as “connecting points” between heaven and earth—totems, pillars, standing stones, and so forth. These became focal points for worship as they were thought to provide a bridge or avenue from earth to heaven and heaven to earth.

God will have none of this. Earth and heaven are one for those who know the Lord. He is all around us, in everything, sustains and upholds the world, and invites us to consider His glory in the things He has made. This does not forbid making items of culture to the glory of God. It does, however, prohibit creating any items for the worship of God which are considered essential bridges to the Deity.

Celtic Christians, when they could not move the enormous standing stones of the people they led to Christ, carved them into crosses and used them as teaching stations, not facilitators of worship. God will be worshiped in Spirit and in truth, not by the works of our hands.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

God on His Terms, Not Ours

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Exodus 34:17

“You shall not make for yourself any gods of cast metal.”

Leviticus 19:4

“Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the LORD your God.”

The pagan peoples around Israel did not necessarily believe that their gods inhabited the cast metal or wood carvings that bore their names. Their gods lived in trees, on hills and mountains, and in the mysterious places of the skies and earth. The carved images which they kept in their homes or on their persons were meant to be reminders of their gods, so that they might always give their deities appropriate worship and have the assurance of their favor.

But Israel was not to make images, not even of the one true God. God reveals His glory in created things (Ps. 19:1-4). He is present with us and calls us to know, fear, love, serve, and worship Him by faith, without the aid of anything we might make. We must learn to discern the glory of God all around us so that we see His presence in the things He has made, and in the way He wants to be seen (Prov. 25:2).

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

None “with” Him

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2.3 Make no idols

God commands us to find Him and Him alone all-sufficient for our needs, and thus to focus all our worship and devotion on Him, and to give none to idols.

Exodus 20:23

“You shall not make gods of silver to be with me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold.”

During their many dalliances with false gods and pagan forms of worship, the people of Israel never completely abandoned the God of their redemption. They simply added other deities “with” the Lord and created other forms and venues of worship besides those which God had ordained.

Many contemporary Christians are clinging to the gods of this world—work, wealth, pleasure, ease—while, at the same time, faithfully participating in the worship of the one true God. They may not even recognize that these worldly items are as important to them as anything that has to do with their faith. Yet the “god which consists of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4, my translation) can blind an unguarded believer just as surely as it blinds those who do not know the Lord.

Examine yourself: Are you harboring other gods, looking to things other than God Himself for the hope, joy, peace, meaning, and significance you require?

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

Guard Against Temptation (2)

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Deuteronomy 13:12-18

“If you hear in one of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you to dwell there, that certain worthless fellows have gone out among you and have drawn away the inhabitants of their city, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, then you shall inquire and make search and ask diligently. And behold, if it be true and certain that such an abomination has been done among you, you shall surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword, devoting it to destruction, all who are in it and its cattle, with the edge of the sword. You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again. None of the devoted things shall stick to your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God, keeping all his commandments that I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of the LORD your God.”

Notice that we’re not to make snap judgments about those who are reported to be leading the people of God astray. We are to “inquire and make search and ask diligently” concerning what is being said or taught or otherwise done to entice the faithful to turn from the Lord and His ways.

Over the past several years the forms of worship have changed dramatically in many churches. Gone are the traditional hymns, the creeds and confessions, and the long-standing liturgies. In their place are all things contemporary. Is this a turning away from the Lord and succumbing to the allure of pop culture?

Before you decide be sure to check it out thoroughly, measuring new practices of worship against the clear teaching of Scripture concerning the pattern of sound worship. Only thus will you be able to make a sound judgment and to keep from being led astray.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

Guard Against Temptation (1)

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Deuteronomy 13:6-11

“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.”

Our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9); the law of sin that lingers in our souls is powerful as well (Rom. 7:21-23). We are at all times susceptible to temptation which, if we fail to recognize or resist it, can become a trap door to sin.

We may be tempted to turn away from the Lord by those who are dear to us. They may not be as overt in their invitation to sin as is indicated by our text here, but any suggestion, be it ever so subtle, that we should trust in anything other than the Lord, or give anyone or anything the worship due to Him alone must be resisted and the tempter rebuffed. We’re not going to reach for stones to punish our loved ones. We live in the age of the Spirit and of grace, where such penalties are mitigated by the longsuffering of God and the workings of grace. But we must rebuke those who tempt us in this way—or any way—so that they may turn from their sin and remain faithful to the Lord.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

This Is a Test

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Deuteronomy 13:1-5

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which 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 know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

But the people of God need such false prophets to arise from time to time. By them the Lord sharpens our discernment, fortifies obedience, and enables us to prove and improve love for Him.

We pass these tests when we examine all we hear by the whole counsel of God in Scripture (Acts 17:11) and hold fast only to the ways of the Lord. Each act of obedience makes us stronger, but we must maintain constant vigilance, for false prophets can be very persuasive.

Do not expect false prophets to announce themselves as such. They will use the language of the Kingdom and the Gospel to press their visions and schemes; we must be vigilant, discerning, and in touch with the great heritage of Christian belief in order to know which voices to heed and which, because they foment rebellion against God, must be suppressed.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

False Prophets

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2.2 Guard against being drawn away

We must beware of those who would lead us away from the Lord, and we must prove our love for Him by resisting their allurements and clinging in love and fear to the Lord alone.

Deuteronomy 13:1-5

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which 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 know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

Galatians 1:8, 9

In spite of these many warnings, Israel would be tempted to follow other practices in worship than those commanded by the Lord. What kinds of things would lead them to ignore the plain and clear revelation of God and begin to do exactly the opposite of what He commanded?

Charismatic and persuasive prophets would provide temptations to disobey the Lord. Men who can speak well, accomplish impressive works, and cast alluring visions may be just the sort to lead the people of God away from the true worship of the Lord.

It has always been thus, and is today. How many people in our own day have left off caring about true worship and the Gospel of the Kingdom to follow some charismatic individual in pursuit of health, wealth, or other false gospels?

We become vulnerable when we leave off hiding the Word of God in our heart and making the Law of God the touchstone in all our ways.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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

Guard Your Curiosity

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Deuteronomy 12:29-31

“When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? –that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.”

The Lord sternly admonished His people against becoming curious about pagan worship practices, especially as though these might hold some benefit or promise for informing the worship of the living God.

I don’t think these verses prohibit an informed awareness of pagan practices. Rather, I think they are intended to put a hedge around the hearts of God’s people, lest they allow their fancies and imaginations to bring corruption into the worship of God.

God made known to Israel how they were to worship Him. They could learn nothing from the pagans but what would corrupt their community and profane the Name of God.

In this series of In the Gates we present a detailed explanation of the Law of God, beginning with the Ten Commandments, and working through the statutes and rules that accompany each commandment. For a practical guide to the role of God’s Law in the practice of ethics, get The Ground for Christian Ethics by going to www.MyParuchia.com and click on our Book Store.

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