Death for sin

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it was hidden in his tent with the silver underneath. And they took them out of the tent and brought them to Joshua and to all the people of Israel. And they laid them down before the Lord. And Joshua and all Israel with him took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver and the cloak and the bar of gold, and his sons and daughters and his oxen and donkeys and sheep and his tent and all that he had. And they brought them up to the Valley of Achor. And Joshua said, “Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today.” And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones that remains to this day. Then the Lord turned from his burning anger. Therefore, to this day the name of that place is called the Valley of Achor. (Joshua 7:22–26)

Yesterday I glanced at this passage and spent some time thinking how it points to NT truth. Achan had sinned by taking spoil from a battle and did a forbidden thing; he hid it for himself, angered God, and the price was death.

In the NT, Jesus paid the price for my sin. Sin is simply living for myself and doing whatever I want that is contrary to the will of God. 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)

Honesty must admit the extent of sin and its power to rule a person’s life, even a seemingly good person, if their lives are not motivated by faith. It is easy to take the spoils of our battles and the trinkets of this world for ourselves. According to the Word of God, this deserves death.

However, Jesus’ death set me free from the penalty I deserve. God hates sin and it must be punished, but He sent Jesus to take that punishment, unlike Achan who showed his lack of faith by his actions. There is another NT death though, the death of my old nature. 

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; (2 Corinthians 5:14)

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Colossians 3:3–10)

These passages stress the importance of saying no to sin because it is the way that my identity and relationship with Christ is made visible. Sin is the actions of a dead person, someone separated from God and the life of His Son. God put that nature to sin to death, but if I don’t obey Him, I might as well be under a pile of rocks.

Achan’s sin ruined the power of God’s army against their enemies but also robbed God of His glory by choosing his own way instead of obedience. 

Jesus, when I obey You, You are exalted. People see You in action and marvel. But I must die to my ways and consider the old me dead and useless. This means humility, not pride, and saying no to all my ideas and plans so I can hear and obey You. 

 

A labor of love . . .

Jesus wrote letters to seven churches. John recorded their content. The first one was to the church at Ephesus. Some think this church was symbolic and others argue it was the actual congregation in that place. That seems to miss the point. He is giving direction to His people and since I am one of them, I’m to pay attention and consider it direction to me. Winning the argument over who are the recipients is not as important as listening to what Jesus says and obeying Him. He said He would build His church and these instructions are important to all who are part of the Body of Christ.

For that reason, I’m listening as I read His commendation and His warning to His people in Ephesus and letting Him apply those words to me too. He says:

“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” (Revelation 2:2–4)

When I read this, I could hear the Holy Spirit affirming my hard work and that I withstand evil and false teaching and am patient with many things. I also hear Him warning me not to fall into living the Christian life motivated by routine or a sense of duty. It is about loving Jesus, not being and doing right for the sake of being and doing right. To this He adds:

“Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:5–7)

He tells that church if they do not turn from form, duty, rote, living their lives to be right rather than living their lives because they love Him, He will move them from their place. This says to me that serving Jesus with the wrong motivation means I will lose any power I might have as a witness and a light for Him. I remember His words:

“ . . . . let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

 How easy it is to slide into letting my light shine so people will notice me. If I do that, then the only result is that I am noticed. Instead, I should love Jesus so much that if anyone notices or praises me for whatever He is doing in me, I will not only cringe in response, but gladly give Him the glory.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Lord Jesus, this ‘noise’ from the flesh is part of that old sin nature that does not love anything but itself. Your word declares this old nature is gone and the new has come. Keep my thoughts on that reality so I will continually live for You and Your glory, not for any other reason.

Today’s thankful list . . .

- a great hour at the gym.

- fresh snow that makes our world look like a Christmas card.

- hubby not only drove me to the gym but bought us a lovely lunch.

- my usual nap after gym; those one-legged sit-stands fatigue me every time.

- smell and privilege of fresh laundry.

- that being thankful helps me from complaining about stuff.