Sermon Transcript

You may be seated. As you’re being seated, grab your Bibles and open your Bibles. Where would you think I would ask you to open your Bibles to? Joshua. Wrong. Open your Bibles to…wait for it…the maps. I’m serious.

Have you ever wondered what those maps are there for? Those are there for this sermon. “You’re going to preach from the maps?” Yes! Once you find the maps, then you can open to Joshua chapter 21. I’ll meet you there in just a moment.

The title of the message today is How to Prevent Civil War. Do you remember back to your tenth grade high school history class, when you studied the Civil War? Now, if you were raised and educated in the South, you were not taught about the “Civil War”—you were taught about the “War of Northern Aggression.” Even today, civil war is about to break out—even in here—as we talk about North and South and loyalties to different things.

Well, this is what we want to see from the message today. As we’ve been tracking through Joshua, one over-arching theme that we’ve learned is that God has some territory that He wants us to take. He’s promised a place for us, but we have to fight for it. And so, the direction of the Christian life is – ONWARD!

If you’re not moving onward, there’s a problem. The lesson of Joshua is, there’s always more ground to take, there’s a place of rest in which God wants you to abide, but you’ve got to fight for it. We’re going to see that. Here’s the over-arching truth of the message today:

 

Big Idea:  Victorious people lose everything when we fight among ourselves.

 

Think about all the ground that we have seen taken by Joshua and Israel: they crossed over Jordan, they’ve been involved in all these different battles. Their battle record is like 37-1. They had that one little defeat with Ai, but other than that they’ve been taking ground, they’ve been conquering enemies. We come to Joshua chapter 22 and we’re going to find out that there was a temptation, when every other enemy had been defeated, to turn on themselves. And when victorious people turn on themselves, they lose everything that they have previously fought for.

So, did you find the maps? Did anybody find a map that looks like this? That is ancient Israel in the time of Joshua. You remember, God wanted them to cross over the Jordan River. On this map, the most prominent feature is the Jordan River. You can see it—it’s kind of the line that runs vertically. It flows from the Sea of Galilee in the north; the water flows to the south and ends up in the Dead Sea. That Jordan River was a very important geographical feature in the book of Joshua. We’ve referred to it many times here. What we’re going to find out today is that that actually posed a danger.

As we set this up, let me explain to you: there were twelve tribes of Israel. See all the different tribes on the map. The reason I had you turn to your maps is because, for some of you, if you’ve been tracking along, this is the thirteenth message in the book of Joshua. The last message we looked at was actually in Joshua chapter 14—that was the last time we were together. I’ve asked you to open your Bibles to chapter 21.

You should be asking, “What happened in the seven chapters that we skipped?” That happened. That’s all that happened. If you read those seven chapters, it’s just land distribution. It looks like the title deed at the county courthouse. It’s “this tribe went there and they took that, and this tribe went over there” and it gives us a bunch of lists of names. It’s easier just to show you a map. That’s what happened in those seven chapters.

Now, it’s important to understand, there were twelve tribes of Israel. How many tribes were there in Israel? Twelve. Very good. Nine-and-a-half of those tribes took possession of land on the western side of the Jordan River. Two-and-a-half tribes took possession of the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. I don’t know what the deal was with Manasseh – they kind of had the attitude of Texas. They just they got it all. They got land on both sides. They just thought, “We’re kind of entitled.”

You see the map here. As we begin to read, we’re going to find out that Joshua was concerned about that particular division of land. We’re going to walk through this. Now you can turn back to Joshua 21. Here’s the first thing we’re going to see, in Joshua 21:43-45:

 

1. Peace is precious. Enjoy it! (v. 21:43-45)

 

Let’s read. “Thus the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the Lord gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the Lord had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” (ESV)

If you were paying attention, we read the word “all” five times. Do you know what we learn from this? God keeps all of His promises. All in favor of God keeping all the promises He’s made? Yeah. But, there’s the truth of Scripture: God keeps all of His promises, but I must take possession of all that God has promised. Do you get it? There’s a promise, and there’s a fight to take possession of what God has promised. It’s this divine/human cooperative that we see in Scripture.

And notice, there is no rest, there is no peace, without a fight. The lesson of the book of Joshua is that there is a war for peace. And, even in our own hearts, we have to fight to believe the good promises that God has made to us. But it’s okay to enjoy it.

We finally come to the end of chapter 21. After all the war, after all the fighting, after all the bloodshed, there were no more enemies to fight. The tribes took possession of that which God had promised.

You say, “Okay, enough about ancient Israel. What does this have to do with me?” Good question. Do you know, there are certain tribes in this room right now, and there are tribes that occupy one land? Let me just kind of illustrate this.

I’m looking down here on the front row, and I just cannot get over the fact that Bryce and Jordyn are sitting here on the front row. Now, Bryce and Jordan have been sitting here on the front row, in the nine o’clock service, for about a year, and I’ve watched them. Bryce used to sit over there, and Jordyn used to sit over there. Now they’re sitting down here. When were you two married? Three weeks. All in favor of Bryce and Jordyn being married for another three weeks, raise your hand. Okay, good. Are you going to make it? Great!

What has happened is, two tribes have come together—from the Chapman tribe and the Helmuth tribe—to form one marriage. But how of many of you who have been married longer than three weeks have at times found that the two tribes can actually start fighting against one another when they should be locking arms and setting their crosshairs on a common enemy who opposes them—and fight for each other, rather than against each other? You see, the tribes of the husbands sometimes declares war on the tribes of the wives—and victorious people lose everything, when we begin to fight with one another.

We’re here, we’re all Americans…some of you may be illegal, but welcome to America…and yet what happens? “One nation under God” can at times become polarized. And those that would be that of the tribe of the Republicans declare war on the tribe of the Democrats; sometimes Republicans declare war on other Republicans. Have you noticed that we begin to fight with one another?

Churches are made up of all kinds of different tribes: people who come from very conservative backgrounds, or very progressive backgrounds. Some of you are of the older tribe, and sometimes you declare war on those of the younger tribe. The greatest threat to God’s people is often God’s people. We begin to fight among ourselves rather than fighting together to defeat a common enemy. All kinds of tribes declaring war on one another. The tribe of Captain America declaring war on the tribe of Ironman. You get civil war. It’s just everywhere! If we’re not careful, we will not identify the true enemy.

But, when a people understands that there is a promised peace for us to enjoy, we’ve got to protect it! That’s really the second thing we’re going to learn here:

 

2. The heart is vulnerable. We must protect it! (v. 22:1-9)

 

Look here in chapter 22; we’re going to work through this chapter as well. You would expect, after all the nice, wonderful verses we just read at the end of chapter 21—you would just kind of expect the book of Joshua to end there. That would be a nice way to end the book, right? They took possession of all that God promised. That’s just wonderful, let’s just stop right there!

But, there’s a chapter 22. Look at verse 1. “At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh…” Now, those three tribes were the tribes that had taken possession on the eastern side of the Jordan. Watch what happened. “…And [he] said to them, ‘You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God.” Underline those two words in verse 3, “been careful.” Let me tell you what Joshua was identifying.

Joshua was honoring these two-and-a-half tribes. Seven years prior to this event, all twelve tribes were commanded to cross over Jordan to the western side and to defeat all the enemies that dwelt on the other side of the Jordan. But the two-and-a-half tribes who had land on the eastern side had to cross over and fight for land that they actually would never possess. They went over and fought for their neighboring tribes. It was an incredible act of love and sacrifice and loyalty and unity. And Joshua is acknowledging it: “You have been careful. You have been so faithful!”

And then he says this, in verse 4: “And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.” And so, he’s honoring them.

Do you know what? In a church, in a marriage, in a family, in a nation; there are times when you must fight for your neighbors, often at great risk. If you’re a mother here today, you know that there are times you have to fight for your children when they’re not even willing to fight. If you’re a wife, you have to fight for your marriage. If you are a citizen of America, you have to fight for your country—often when others in the country are trying to tear it down.

But, most importantly to us, we must fight for the unity in this church. We must fight for the glory of God—and I see it happen all the time. Those of you that occasionally throw in to the offering, do you know what that’s signifying? “I’m in this fight. I’m going to fund the ministries around here, even for some of the people that don’t ever throw in.” You’re fighting for territory, spiritual territory, in the lives of other people.

Those of you who pray for other people in this church—to take their next step onward, in faith, toward the Lord—you’re fighting a battle in prayer for people. Those of you who come and hold babies who don’t belong to you, do you know what you’re doing? You’re fighting for the families in this church, who need their children to be discipled by the Lord. Those of you who serve in student ministry. Those of you who park cars and open doors. Everybody comes together to fight for some territory that you might not even actually occupy. That’s what the two-and-a-half tribes that lived on the eastern side of the Jordan did for the nine-and-a-half tribes that would dwell on the western side of the Jordan. It’s a great example to us that we’re to fight for one another.

Then, I want you to notice verse 5 –  this is Joshua. Now, if you have a godly mother…how many of you have a godly mother? You have echoing in your ear the voice of your mother saying something like this: “Only be very careful…” How many of you hear your mother’s voice saying that right now? This is Joshua, speaking to these two-and-a-half tribes who are now going off to possess land.

Do you remember this, when you went off to college? Do you remember this when you got your driver’s license, and your mother recognizes that she’s not going to be there to hold your hand or to pay your bills or to box your ears? That’s what my mom used to say…when you stepped out of line? Right? And so, Joshua is giving them a warning. It goes like this, “Only be very careful!” In verse 3 he said, “You have been very careful.”

Verse 5, looking forward, “Be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Do you hear the voice of a godly mother in all those statements? Right. What is Joshua pleading for?

Joshua is pleading for them to be as passionate about loving God as they were when they were closer to the source of truth. Joshua recognized that with geographical distance there is a propensity for theological drift. And there was going to be this geographical boundary—a water feature, the Jordan River—that was going to, in a sense, divide the two-and-a-half tribes from the nine-and-a-half tribes. And Joshua understands, with geographical distance, there is a propensity for theological drift. And so he gives them these six warnings.

The first thing Joshua says is “Observe the commandment.” Do you know what he’s saying? “Read the Book! God has spoken! He has entered into time and space to tell us what we are to do with these lives. Allow the words, the commandments of God, to define what you believe and to determine how you behave. Get your eyes on the Book! Observe the commandments.”

Then he tells them, don’t just observe them, but he says they are to, “Love the Lord your God.” Some of you are so faithful—you come to church, it’s your exercise, you know you’re supposed to be in church, so you come and you’re so faithful, and you throw in the offering, and you serve, and you go through the motions of religion. Can I ask you a question? Do you love the Lord? It’s not just about packing information in your head. It is to ignite a love for God. Do you love Jesus? Not just give passive approval to Him, but to love Him with all your heart?

Then, Joshua says—not just loving God, but “walk in His ways.” Do you know the difference between the ways of God and the acts of God? Not just what God does, but why He does those things? That your heart is to walk in His ways, and whatever His ways are, those are the ways that I want to walk in.

And then Joshua says, “Keep His commandments.” Again, don’t just know something, but do something. Let the guardrails of His commandments govern the direction of your life.

Then, I love this – Joshua says, “Cling to Him.” Joshua recognizes there are going to be forces on the other side of the Jordan River that are going to attempt to pull the people away from to God. Cling to God, no matter how much force is put upon you to let go. No matter what, never let go of the Lord.

And then, finally, Joshua says, “Serve Him” notice “with all your heart and all your soul.” Do you know what Joshua’s saying? “It’s not about taking possession of the land anymore. It’s no longer about the land. Now the battle is going to be for every square inch of your heart and every square inch of your soul.” Isn’t that the battle that you’re in? Talk about a civil war. Isn’t there sometimes a civil war within your heart, between the spirit that wants to obey God and the flesh that wants to please itself? If you’re like me, there’s a war going on for my heart all the time. So, the heart is vulnerable; you have to protect it. That’s what Joshua is saying here.

Then this:

 

3. Accusations are divisive. Avoid them! (v. 10-20)

Up until now, it’s been a nice story. In verse 10, it’s going to get nasty. Notice Joshua 22:10: “And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh” those were those eastern tribes “built there an altar…” Underline the word “altar” in verse 10, “by the Jordan, [and it was] an altar of imposing size.”

So, here’s the problem. If you understand God’s regulations on worship, there was to be only one place of worship that provided exclusive access to God. That altar was in a place called Shiloh. Now, if I had the map back up, you could actually see that Shiloh was exactly geographically centered among all the tribes. The center of Israel was the place of worship. And, here, the two-and-a-half eastern tribes built their own altar. That was a problem.

And I want you to see, the accusation that was made was one of idolatry. Look at verse 11. “And the people of Israel heard it said, ‘Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.’ And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.”

They declared war on the two-and-a-half tribes that went over on the other side of the Jordan. Listen! Just days earlier, everybody was fighting with one another, for one another. Now they are declaring war against one another. And so, the accusation was made that these eastern tribes had drifted from the theological center, and now they’re making their own altars—which is equivalent to idolatry. That’s how serious this accusation was.

So, we’re going to learn some lessons here about how to prevent a civil war, because what they do next is very, very important. Here’s what we’re going to learn as well, lessons from Joshua 22. The first thing is this: If you’re going to prevent a civil war, you have to:

 

• Keep the main thing the main thing.

 

Albert Mohler is the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has written a book in which he has talked about something called “theological triage.” Do you know about triage?

If you’ve only got one doctor, and into the emergency room walks a man with a gunshot wound, a woman with a broken arm and a boy with a scraped knee. Which one do you treat first? You just did medical triage. Triage is a French word that means “to sort.” What you have to do, you have to decide, “Which one of these is of first-order importance here, and who’s going to get the most urgent care?”

Well, when we talk about issues of doctrine—differences that we might have doctrinally – within a church, within denominations, even within a culture – we have to do some theological triage, or we will always be declaring war on one another. And so you kind of have to do some sorting out of some different issues that, actually, over which we might have significant differences.

These people had significant differences. One group said, “There can only be one altar!” and the other group said, “Yeah, we can build another altar.” How do you do theological triage? Well, in our setting, we have to think about first-order issues in terms of the most important doctrinal truths that we teach and we preach around here all the time: things like the deity of Christ. Is Jesus God or not? If you don’t believe He’s God, that’s a problem. That’s a first-order theological problem. That’s going to divide us.

Things like the inerrancy of Scripture or the resurrection of Christ, or justification by faith alone in Christ alone. Those are first-order theological issues, and that’s the reason we have Protestants and Catholics. Because five-hundred years ago we had some differences about the nature of justification—how a person is declared righteous before God. That is the main thing. That’s something we should fight over, but other things are of less importance.

Second-order issues of theological importance are things like the mode of baptism, or whether women can serve as pastors or elders, or whether spiritual gifts are of a miraculous nature. All those things are important; we hold certain truths about those things—you can read our doctrinal statement. We believe that women can serve in any area of leadership within a church except those that are reserved in Scripture for men. In our understanding, as you read the New Testament, the office of an elder or a pastor is reserved for men. Those are issues that we might have differences over, and that might be the reasons we have all the different denominations—because people tend to go into their various tribes on those positions.

But, third-order theological positions are things that we could even serve in the same church, and maybe we have some differences about worship styles, or church government, or missions strategies, or the timing of the rapture, or what hairstyle Micah’s going to use on a particular Sunday. All those things are things where one could say, “You know, I don’t think I like….” But, you know what, that’s not enough to divide us. We’re not going to declare war on each other over secondary issues, and by God’s grace, we’re not going to allow the enemy to start things in here for us to be fighting with one another.

Because, you know what the reality is? The world is facing a theological crisis. It’s bleeding to death waiting for someone to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with them. And if, somehow, we spend all of our time fighting with one another, we’re not going to get the main thing to the people who need it most. So we have to be careful.

Here’s the second thing:

 

• Don’t share in or listen to gossip.

 

Did you see what we said there? The people heard about this: “O-o-oh, that’s what they’re doing over there on the other side. Oh, tell me more about that.” They heard about it. So often, we can be prone to bend our ear to a piece of information that really is none of our business, and then we can begin to jump to conclusions about what’s happening, and our hearts may even declare war on the person who did that.

Do you know what gossip is? Gossip is sharing information with a person who is not a part of the problem or a part of the solution. If you share information with a person who is not a part of the problem or a part of the solution, you’re a gossip, and you are infiltrating the camp—and could be sparking a civil war.

So, what do you when you hear information somebody shares something with you? Well, now, as soon as you get that information, you are now a part of the problem or a part of the solution. If you want to be part of the solution, this is what you do. When someone begins to gossip with you, you just take your hands like this…let’s all practice together – do this…and you put them over your ears and you scream at the top of your lungs, “I don’t want to hear it!” And in doing so, you will prevent a civil war. Okay?

So, after church today, I’m just assuming I’m going to hear some screams out of the parking lot as somebody tries to share a bit of gossip with you, and you think, “Wait, I am not a part of the problem; I am not a part of the solution.” If the person will not shut up, you grab that person and you say, “We’re now going to go, with one another, to the person that you were talking about and you’re going to share this information with them.” “I’m not going to do that!” “Well, then, I’m going to go to that person, and I’m going to tell them that this person is going to be expecting a phone call from them—and if they get one, we’re going to go together to them. Because we’re not going to allow gossip to start a civil war in our church!” That’s the way you prevent a civil war.

And here’s another thing:

 

• Don’t judge the motive.

 

Maybe you hear information, but don’t judge why a person did that. That’s exactly what the western tribes did—they judged the motive for why the others built the altar. This is a great piece of literature in Joshua 22. We’re reading through this and we still don’t know why they built the altar. We’re going to find that out later. They actually had a good motive. But if you jump to conclusions and you don’t do some theological triage, you can begin to cast judgment and spread rumors around certain situations that have no merit. Don’t judge the motive! Don’t jump to conclusions!

And then this:

 

• Seek to understand and restore.

 

Husbands have to do this with wives. Mothers have to do this with children. We have to do this as pastors and small group leaders. Seek to understand and restore.

I want you to see what happened. Look in verse 13: “Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest…” Underline that name “Phinehas.” And, so, we’re introduced to a new character in the story—Phinehas.

Phinehas was a priest. Do you know what the job of a priest was? A priest was a mediator between God and man. We don’t need priests anymore because we have a Priest. His Name is Jesus. He’s the true and the better priest, the mediator between and God man. “There’s one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,” the New Testament tells us (1Timothy 1:5). Phinehas steps in, and do you know what Phinehas does? Phineas turns his vertical priesthood into a horizontal priesthood, and he becomes the mediator between the western tribes and the eastern tribes.

And I want you to know what Phinehas does: He begins to try to understand what’s going on here, and he offers a way of reconciliation. Look down at Joshua 22:16: “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord?’” And so, Phinehas goes right to the source; he asks them the question, “What is going on?” He was seeking to understand.

Now, Phinehas had received the facts about what had happened: “They’ve built an altar.” Was that true? Was that a fact? Yes, that was accurate information, but it was incomplete information. He had the facts but he still didn’t have the truth. Be careful when you have the facts and not the truth. So, he goes on a search mission for the truth—he seeks to understand.

And then, finally, look down to verse 19: “’But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land where the Lord’s tabernacle stands…’” What he was saying is, “Come back! If it’s too hard for you to follow the Lord on the eastern side of Jordan, then come back with us.” He says, “…and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God…’”

Do you know what Phinehas did? Phinehas became a peacemaker. He said, “Look, we’ll share part of what God has given us with you, if it will help you not rebel against the Lord.” What a picture of a peacemaker! Do you have people in your family, or people in your small group, people in your church who are out there—and you pray for them, and it seems like they’re rebelling, and it’s so hard? Do you know what the heart of a peacemaker is? It’s to say, “Come home; gather in, get closer to us, and as you are closer to us, we trust that you’ll become closer to God, and it will be easier for you to love the Lord here.” What a heart of a peacemaker! And in doing so, he prevented a civil war.

Now, we’ve got to keep going—we’re almost done. Turn – in my Bible, you turn the page – and look at verse 21: “Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel…” They’re going to give them the answer.

Here’s the point:

 

4. Answers are available. Seek them! (v. 21-29)

 

And so, here’s the answer. I love the answer that he gives in verse 22: “‘The Mighty One, God, the Lord!” Is there any question who they’re talking about? And, just in case you were confused, he says it again. “The Mighty One, God, the Lord!” Love this, “He knows!” Implication? “You don’t! You don’t know what you’re talking about! You have incomplete information, but the Lord knows the whole story, and here’s the whole story.” “…And let Israel itself know! “Now that God knows, you should know.” “If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today…” In other words, “If we’re sinning, we deserve to die! But we’re not.”

Look down at verse 24. “No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?’ Verse 26, “Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar” notice, “not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, ‘You have no portion in the Lord.”’

Let me summarize what’s going on. Why did they build the altar? They declared, “This altar is not for shedding blood and offering sacrifices. This altar is a witness.” What is a witness? A witness is a person who tells a story so that the truth can be revealed. This altar is a witness. It’s a big billboard. It’s a signpost to point the next generation back to the true altar in Shiloh.

“We’re thinking about the next generation. We want the young people to be as passionate about the Lord—and as passionate about worship—as we are, and we don’t want there ever to be any division or anything to separate them from the true worship that God wants. So, we’re not shedding blood here, we’re not offering sacrifices. It’s just a copy, it’s a picture of where true worship really happens.”

Pure motive? Pure motive! Do you have a heart for the next generation to know the Lord? What are you building so that the next generation will be pointed to the true place of worship? That’s what they were doing! The answers were available, the answers were right there.

One final thing:

 

5. Alternatives are worthless. Abandon them! (v. 30-34)

 

Look at verse 29: “Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away this day from following the Lord by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle! [verse 33] “And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled.” Last verse, “The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, ‘For,’ they said, ‘it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.’”

Why were the western tribes so concerned that there would be an alternative altar in Israel? Because they know—like we know—the human heart is always searching for an alternative to make peace with God. Do you understand, the story of the Bible goes far beyond this story, and yet this points to the reality that Jesus is the true and the better altar? Jesus is the true and the better priest. Jesus is the true and the better Phinehas.

You and I, we don’t have to go to some place in Israel to worship like they did, because one day Jesus Christ came in the form of man and He was the sacrifice. His blood was shed so that you and I could be at peace with God. He was the Mediator between God and man. And yet, what does my heart so often want to do? It wants to think the cross is not enough—that, somehow, I could build some other altar—that I have to trust in my intelligence or my good works or my religion. The human heart is always trying to build alternative altars.

As we come to the place of worship today, every time we come to worship—before we come to worship the true and the living God, I have to abandon everything else I cling to as a substitute for Jesus Christ. It’s a reminder that there is no other place to meet God than at the cross. Every time my heart is drawn away from the cross, I’ve got to drag it back—and bring it back to the place of worship.

How about you? Are your relationships characterized by peace or by war? Maybe the reason you are so often declaring war on others is because you have never made peace with God, and there’s a war raging in your own heart that has never been settled! Today, why don’t you come to the altar, which is where Jesus Christ meets you. His blood was shed. Forgiveness is available for all those who will forsake alternative forms of religion to come and put yourself in right relationship with Jesus.

And then, do you know what’s going to happen? Because you have peace with God, that’s going to spill over into every other relationship, and you’re going to find it much easier to have peace in relationships with other people.

Would you just—in your own heart—think about those relationships that you have: husbands/wives, brothers/sisters, older/younger, more conservative/more progressive? Would you just commit to yourself, that, “I’m going to keep the main thing the main thing? I’m not going to judge motives. I am certainly not going to declare war on other people.” I don’t know about you, I’m so busy trying to prevent idolatry in my own life, I have very little time left over to declare on someone else’s idolatry.

Father, today we come and thank You that You’ve given access to You through the blood of Jesus. We do come in a fresh new way to an altar of worship and praise. God, I pray for one here today that, maybe their sin has never been settled because they’ve run to alternative places like religion or denial, as a way to try to ease the guilt of sin. God, would you tear those altars down and bring us back to the place of true worship today? We pray in Jesus’ Name, Amen.