A Hard Pill to Swallow!
If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.
A preacher once said there are two types of kingdoms; theres those that thrive and those that die! It occurred to me as I was reading the book of Deuteronomy that Gods people had to adhere to a strict code of laws. Their obedience to these laws was not to insure their salvation for this would be done through the blood of Jesus on the cross 1000 years later, but to preserve their whole hearted dedication and thwart their annihilation that would result from turning to false teachings and disobeying the purification laws of their day. As I was reading this passage I couldn't help but notice just how indignant God felt about people that tried to lead his people astray. God was so indignant that he ordered the people to “purge the evil from among them.” I had to ask myself the question; do I have this same heart when it comes to the false teachings that lead the people around me astray, do I have this heart when people “in our fellowship” are rebellious toward God whether knowingly or unknowingly. Do I get indignant about evil in my own life!
The truth of the matter is that God has given us His kingdom. As a result and we are now faced with the choice. Are we as a people going to hold to the heart of God and confront the world with the truth on a daily basis. Are we going to confront each other on a daily basis. Are we going to confront ourselves and let others confront us on a daily basis or are we just going to sit back and do nothing as Satan wages war on the salvation of everyone of God's created people through the teachings of the world and through allowing our friends to just wander away without a fight. Will we as the people of God take it upon ourselves to call our brothers and sisters out on their sin. Will we as the people of God "purge" sin out of each other. Will we love each other enough to put our relationships on the line and speak the truth to each other even when it hurts.
In reading Deuteronomy 13 and looking at my life I saw that I have held back a lot. I saw that I must be more bold in my evangelism. I saw that I must confront people on what they teach. I saw that I must not hold back until this world is won for God. This is something that God feels strongly about and I must to. You've been given God's kingdom what will you do?
