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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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“AS FOR ME AND MY
HOUSE, WE WILL SERVE THE LORD” (2014 GBC THEME) “CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT
- 2” Joshua 24:15-29,
1/19/14 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. THE ELEMENTS OF COMMITMENT A. Immediate Commitment (Jos 24:15) (today,
not neutral) B. Reasons For a Commitment (Jos 24:16-18)
(moral obligation, called, preserved) C. Limitations to Commitment (Jos 24:19)
(propensity, enablement, vs. 23, volition) 1. [19] Then Joshua makes another striking
and relevant statement. He said, “You
will not be able to serve the LORD.” Joshua
understood Israel’s sinful propensity and history toward idols. 2. In addition, Joshua understood that
Israel could not make or keep a commitment without the Lord’s divine
enablement. But Joshua also understood some very pertinent
facts concerning Israel (cf. Jos 24:23). 3. Even the believer has limitations to his
commitment because he still possesses the sinful nature which has a
propensity for idols (Gal 5:19-20). But the believer
also possess the Holy Spirit (Ep 1:13; 1Co 3:16) and a new nature (Ro 6:4;
Col 3:10). These are divine enablements to be able to make a commitment to
serve the Lord (2Pe 1:3). However, along with these, the believer has a
volitional responsibility to make a commitment to serve the Lord (Php 2:12-13;
Php 3:12-14 cf. 1Co 15:10). D. Consequences of Non-commitment (Jos
24:19-20) 1. [19b] The reason that Joshua pressed
Israel to commitment was because there would be consequences for
non-commitment. As stated before, a non-commitment to serve the Lord for
Israel was a commitment to serve idols. But because
God is holy and jealous for His created and chosen people, He would not allow
them to abandon the glory and worship of the true God without consequences.
God is jealous about what belongs to Him, glory, worship, service, and
commitment (Ex 20:4-5). God would not excuse or forgive such abandonment. 2. [20] If Israel
served other gods, He would turn His indignation from the nations and direct
it toward Israel.
God had warned them numerous times about His intentions toward idolatry (Le
26:17; De 28:25, 48; Jdg 2:12-15). This would culminate in three deportations
and exiles in captivity. 3. Though the believer cannot lose his
salvation, if he walks in continued sin without repentance, the Lord will
bring upon him heavenly discipline. The purpose for such discipline is so
that God’s children will grow in holiness (He 12:5-10). It
will be the believer’s faithful commitment to the Lord that keeps him from
severe heavenly discipline and further widespread consequences. E. Accountability with Commitment (Jos
24:21-27) 1. [21-22] With the understanding of the
brevity of commitment, the Israelites affirm their commitment to serve the
Lord. Joshua then holds them accountable to the testimony of their own words.
They are their own witnesses to their own verbal commitment. Israel would be
accountable to their words and themselves. 2. [23-24] Joshua demands that they “put
away their foreign gods.” This demand was not only for reiteration, but also
for any who had been publically or secretly harboring
idols. Hence, Joshua was justified in his earlier accusation, “You will not be able to serve the LORD” (Jos 24:19). Verbal commitment must
be followed by active commitment; otherwise, it is no commitment at
all. Israel confirmed their obedience to the Lord’s voice. 3. [25] Joshua made a covenant with Israel
that very day. The covenant was a renewal of the covenant made at Sinai (Ex
19:8; Ex 24:3-7; Dt 29:1, 12). 4. [26] The renewal was written in the “book
of the Law” (added to the book of Moses, cf. Dt 31:24-27 cf. Josh 1:8; 8:30-32; 22:5; 23:6) and placed a stone under an oak tree that had spiritual
significance (Ge 12: 6-7; 35:4). Now Israel’s commitment became accountable
to a memorial and Scripture. 5. In a similar way, believers are
accountable not only to the Lord but to one another. No greater
accountability should be found then in the church.
Believers come to church not only to grow but to
show that they are walking with the Lord. Could it be possible that some do
not come to church faithfully because they do not desire such accountability?
The accountability from the church is a strong encouragement to stimulate
spiritual growth and accountability. II. OUTCOME OF JOSHUA’S CHALLENGE A. As a testimony to Joshua’s challenge and
example, Judges recorded that this generation remained faithful to the Lord
(Jdg 2:8-10). But as was the typical case, the next
generation did know the Lord or possess the same commitment to serve Him (Jdg
2:10-11). To them, it was disagreeable to serve the Lord and therefore, they
served false gods (cf. Jos 24:15). B. Joshua gives just cause and motivation for
the believer today to possess a strong Christian commitment. It has been shown that Christian commitment needs to be well
understood, immediate, sincere, faithful, accountable to the church, and
dependent on the Lord. But the commitment must not
only be personal, it must be passed on in the home to the next generations.
Only then will we be able to say with Joshua, “as for me and my house, we
will serve the Lord. III. CHRISTIAN COMMITMENT (INDIVIDUAL AND FAMILY) A. To have a Relationship with Christ (Jn
14:6) 1. The Israelites had a national
relationship with God that was also to be personal and spiritual. The
believer’s relationship is emphatically personal and spiritual. It is not based on a mere intellectual commitment to the
ideals of Christianity. Rather it begins with personal trust in the death and
resurrection of the Son of God who died on the cross to provide forgiveness
of sins and eternal life. 2. Jesus, after being confirmed by the
prophets and their prophecies, after being attested by God through miracles,
claimed to not only speak for God, but also claimed to be God (Jn 8:58). As the God/Man, His death on the cross
would be the only mediation between God and man. Therefore, that would make
Him “the way, the truth, and the life.” That would also demand that only way
to God was “through Him” (Jn 14:6). 3. It comes down to the fact that either you
have placed your trust in Christ as Savior or you have not. If you have
placed your trust in Christ as Savior, then you have a relationship with God.
If you have not placed your trust in Christ, then you have no relationship
with God. So, either you will have a relationship
with God through Christ or you have no relationship with God. If you have no
relationship with God through Christ, then you will spend eternity separated
from God. That is a horrid consequence for any individual not to mention
members of our family. 4. Furthermore, having a relationship with
Christ is the only true basis by which one could attempt to raise a family to
serve the Lord. A relationship with Christ is the basis upon which all other
commitments rest. B. To Present Ourselves to God (Ro 12:1-2) 1. Christian commitment can
be understood as “presenting” (aor. inf. - paristāmi)
ourselves unreservedly completely at God’s disposal to live and serve Him. C. To Grow in the Knowledge of God and His
Word (2Pe 3:18; 1Pe 2:2) 1. Christian commitment can
be understood as “growing” (pres. imp. - auxanō)
and building our lives in the knowledge of God through His Word. D. To Walk in Obedience to the Word (Jn
14:15) 1. Christian commitment can be understood as
“keeping” (tāreō - preserve for
the suitable time, hold to, obey) and holding to God’s Word and applying
it to our lives. E. To Be Christlike (Php 1:21) 1. Christian commitment can
be understood as “living” for Christ, “living” like Christ, and
“living” through the power of Christ until we go to live with Christ. F. To Walk by the Spirit (Ga 5:16) 1. Christian commitment can
be understood as “walking” (peripateō
- walk or conduct of life) with the Spirit under His power and influence
from the Word. G. To Refuse Sin and Idols (Ro 6:12; 1Jn
5:21) 1. Christian commitment can
be understood as “refusing” to let sin and idolatry “reign supreme” (pres.
imp. - basileuō - to be king or reign) in
our lives. H. To Evangelize and Edify Others (1Pe 3:15;
Ro 15:2; Ep 4:29) 1. Christian commitment can be understood as
“being prepared” (etoimos - prepared,
readiness) to share and defend the faith as well as build others up. I. To Serve and use our Spiritual gifts (1Co
14:12) 1. Christian commitment can be understood as
“abounding” (perisseuō - overflow,
exceed) in the use of our spiritual gifts for the building up the church. J. To Lead Our Families Spiritually (Dan
1:8; Jos 24:15c; He 10:24-25) 1. Christian commitment is “purposing in our
hearts” (Hb. sum - place, purpose, make a commitment) to serve the
Lord personally, in our family, and in our church. |
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