Choose Wisely

“And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”—Joshua 24:15

Today, the choices we have before us are dizzying. Some are more of the trivial nature, such as the car we drive, our cell phone package, or the toothpaste we use. Other choices are not as trivial—such as our career or selection of mate. When looking at matters of faith, the choices are even more monumental—Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Animism, Jainism, Confucianism, and a host of others. Which one is right? The possibilities are seemingly endless. And in our pluralistic world where every person’s decision is “what is right for him or her” many put off the right to choose which religion is best, preferring to stay non-committed to any one faith, but open to all. Such thinking, while well at home in the postmodern mindset is antithetical to the word of God.

We must choose which faith to follow because there is no neutrality in the war between God and Satan. Either someone is a follower of Satan or a follower of God. There is no middle ground, no neutral territory, and no Switzerland in this battle. Such language might seem simplistic to some, but I assure you it is the testimony of the Bible. One does not have to be a Satanist to be a follower of Satan. The Bible says that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), who blinds the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4), creating demonic religions in order to lead people astray (1 Timothy 4:1). Satan is very much for religion as opposed to a personal relationship. He doesn’t particularly care which religion a person follows, as long as it keeps its followers blinded from seeing the truth of Christ.

Religion can take many forms and I’m using the term not to communicate a systematic statement of beliefs, but an act of the will within those beliefs to achieve something contrary to God’s word. For example, think about the Garden of Eden for a moment. What was the bait Satan used for Eve? Wasn’t it to get her to try and be like God (cf. Genesis 3:5)? Every religion in the world tempts us to climb the ladder to become like God in a manner different from that which the Scripture has laid out for us. Only Christianity has God coming down to us by His becoming man. Religion exists to get us to become like God by human effort, but in Christianity, God came to us, while we were weak and still His enemies, to ensure a life changing relationship with Him.

Only one faith is true, not all can be right as some try to make us believe. Which is why each of us must choose. Joshua had a front row seat to Moses’ ministry. He had seen the plagues wrought upon the Egyptians and he had seen Moses lead the people out of Egypt through the Red Sea’s parting. He had witnessed God’s miraculous provision day in and day out. And he received the baton of leadership of the nation when they entered the Promised Land. He is the one who led them to conquer the land and disperse the land to the 12 tribes. And at the end of his life, he presents the nation with a challenge: choose. The nation had a tendency to abandon their devotion to the Lord God by continually turning to false gods and idols or combining the truth of the one true God with the detestable practices of the nations they just conquered or were surrounded by. Which is why Joshua presents them with an opportunity in this new land: choose whom they will serve. There was no middle ground. There was no other option but to choose. Even for them not to choose was to choose.

In our time, we must choose. We cannot remain neutral—God will not let us. Jesus presented Himself to be God and He either is or isn’t. If He isn’t then there is no worry. He was simply a lunatic that somehow gained a great following. But, if He is, then everything is coming to a head. He is the Lord of all who will judge every single person on the face of the earth.

For the believer in Christ there has already been a decision to follow Jesus—a life changing decision. However, there is now a daily decision that displays the reality of the first decision—and that is the decision to take up His cross daily and follow Him. Which means we must die to ourselves and follow Christ. We must choose to crucify our flesh daily, renew our minds according to His word and then prepare ourselves to face the onslaught from Satan and his demons working through a fallen world to destroy the very fabric of our faith. To remain neutral is a choice for Satan, there is no middle ground.

What about you? Have you chosen Christ? Or are you trying to remain neutral? Or if you have already chosen Christ, have you chosen to take up His cross and follow Him? Are you prepared to follow His word come what may? I pray that each of us might choose this day to follow Him because it is in following Him that we have true and unchangeable life that comes from His hand. Anything else is false and a lie. May we truly choose to follow Him and say with Joshua, “…as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Amen.