relationships (Deuteronomy 12:1-32) Don't Be Vulnerable

(Deuteronomy 12:1-32)  “These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth. 2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place. 4 You shall not act like this toward the Lord your God. 5 But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6 There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11 then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord. 12 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

13 “Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14 but in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer. 16 Only you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17 You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. 18 But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings. 19 Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20 “When the Lord your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire. 21 If the place which the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. 22 Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 Only be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 You shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. 27 And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

28 “Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

29 “When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 beware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31 You shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

As the Bible is the infallible word of God, we can have confidence in understanding what is true and what is false.  If we don't base our beliefs on what is said in the Bible, then we are only basing our beliefs on the opinions and feelings of ourselves and others.  God is holy and perfect... people are not.  And God does care and wants the best for us, therefore He has given us a manual for life.

Knowing God's words and His doctrines are important for several reasons.  First, these are God's own words and they let us know all about Him and how to have a close and solid relationship with Him.  The more we know about Jesus, the more we will know that we can trust Him, which helps us in our daily tasks as well as in our relationships with others.  In the Lord, we will experience His joy, peace, contentment, love, etc.  

Knowing God's words also helps us to figure out which church (or group of people) is truly following the Lord so we won't be led down the wrong path.  If we don't understand His truths, we will be more vulnerable to going astray.  And sadly, I have seen some solid Christians getting caught up in movements that deceptively seemed "Christian" but were really religious cults that were divisive and destructive.

A church with sound doctrines will post them on their websites, and will be very willing to talk about them.  They will encourage you to "NOT just take their word for it - but examine the Bible to see for yourself!"  

If a church's statement of belief doesn't include things like eternal security, or they avoid the truth of God's grace, but enforces do's and don'ts ("works" and "obedience"), they are twisting and adding to what God actually says.  Legalism worships the religious idol of self-righteousness, of being right in mankind's eyes, doing things in their own strength.  And these churches, especially if the pastor claims to have some extra divine revelation, will use guilt, worry and fear to try to control others.  

If a church's statement of belief is wishy-washy or vague, subtracting and twisting what God actually says, their emphasis will be more about loving people, which sounds awesome, but these churches most often have put people ahead of God, saying that sin and/or some sin is okay.  This is guiding people to not fear, respect or trust in God at all, but to trust in themselves.  It also leads people into questioning the validity of the entire Bible and considering other religions as good.  Therefore saying, "Anything is okay, and anything you make up will work."

These are both about mankind having the say and the control, and both try to take God out of the equation, by putting themselves in the place of God.  

Meanwhile, everything should be about putting God first in our lives, and putting on the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  In this we can rest in our freedom from sin and death because of His forgiveness.  We can be confident and know that we cannot lose our salvation because of His grace.  We can find comfort because of His strength, and wisdom because of His guidance.  And we can rest - and REJOICE - in our personal relationship with the Lord because of His peace, joy and blessings!

I've included an example list of sound doctrines that a truly biblical church should believe and teach. This statement of faith is not exhaustive. It simply states what beliefs are absolutely essential for life in Christ (salvation) and for the body of Christ (the church).  And don't just take my word for it, study God's word to see for yourself.

The Essential Doctrines:

We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be verbally inspired by God and inerrant in the original writings, that they are of supreme and final authority in faith and life, and that they will be used to settle all matters not specifically addressed in this statement of faith. | II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21​

We believe in only one living and true God, eternally existing in three distinct and equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. | Deuteronomy 6:4; John 14:16

We believe that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, and is fully God and fully man. | Galatians 4:4; Philippians 2:5-11

We believe that man was created in the image of God; that he sinned, and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also that spiritual death that is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and therefore are sinners in thought, word, and deed. | Romans 5:12; Romans 6:23

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died and paid the penalty for our sins as our substitute to make atonement before God. He rose from the dead on the third day and justifies all who believe in Him by faith alone. | I Corinthians 15:3-5; I John 2:2

We believe water baptism is the public testimony and the first act of obedience of a Christ follower. It declares faith in Jesus to all who are watching and is not a means of salvation. The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of the Lord’s death until He comes.” | Matthew 28:19; I Corinthians 11:23-26

We believe God has given every believer the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of our salvation. The Holy Spirit enables us to live a holy life and uses us to accomplish his purposes in the world by gifting us to serve His church. | Ephesians 4:30; Galatians 5:22-25

We believe in the imminent, visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His Millennial Kingdom. | I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Revelation 22:20

We believe in the bodily resurrection of the just and unjust, the eternal blessedness of the saved in a literal heaven, and the eternal punishment of the lost in a literal hell. | Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:46