“When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violate the covenant. For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden. When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death.” Deut. 17:2-5
In our devotion before prayer this morning our senior pastor made an interesting observation. He noted “All addiction at its root is an attempt at substitution”.
Putting that another way we could say idolatry is the root of all sin or sin is our attempt to replace God with something else. I find that a profound thought.
Today’s blog is not about reinstituting the practice of stoning. It is about recognizing that sin is a serious matter. Every sin we commit is at its root an attempt by us to remove God from our lives and replace Him with something else.
That is why God is always ruthless with sin. He loves us and doesn’t want to be displaced by some lesser lover. That’s why Jesus told his followers:
“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” MA. 5:29,30 NIV
God is calling His church to a new level of holiness because we were made for One Lover and He knows anything less just won’t do!
Reinventing the We'll 