Throughout history, God has given humanity a choice. He does not force people to follow Him. However, every decision has a consequence. This concept is called free will. The choices we make in life will affect us for all eternity.
To help us further understand, let’s travel back to a time in which the people of Israel were settling into their new country. They had recently left Egypt, where they had served as slaves for many years. They were now free, and God led them to inherit their promised land. God had selected them to be His chosen people. He proved His dedication and faithfulness through numerous miracles. Now they had an important decision to make. Would they choose God?
A man named Joshua was their leader. He had witnessed God’s hand of protection and power in many tangible ways. He knew there would be a temptation for the people of Israel to stray in their faith. So, he gave them a bold challenge.
“Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Scripture reference: Joshua 24: 14,15
CHOOSE YOU THIS DAY WHOM YE WILL SERVE
A fundamental element of Biblical Christianity is that a person is given the opportunity to choose whether they want to worship God or not. We often refer to this as FREE WILL.
Think about it:
- Adam and Eve were given a choice to eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Sure, God told them not to eat it. Nevertheless, He did nothing to prevent them from eating it. He made His desires known and then left it at that. Disobedience was an option, and they chose their fate.
- The people in Noah‘s day could have boarded the ark to save their lives from the catastrophic flood. Salvation was an option for them. They chose to remain outside and brave the waters without God’s help.
- Abraham was not forced to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. He could have said no. He could have run from God’s will. He could have made any number of excuses. Instead, he chose to follow God and was blessed for it.
- David was not forced to fight Goliath. He wasn’t even asked to fight Goliath. Nevertheless, he fought for the opportunity to serve the Lord and was given a grand victory.
- Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego could have easily bowed to the idol made of gold. They could have given in to the pressure as others had done. God was not threatening them with severe punishment. They chose not to bow to the idol because they wanted to make a statement.
- Peter and the disciples were not commanded to follow Jesus. They were invited to follow Him and chose to say yes.
- Thousands in history have endured suffering deaths by hanging, burning, and beheading all for the name of Jesus Christ. They were not forced. They had a choice to make regarding who they would serve. They chose the LORD.
God is not interested in forcing Himself on you or anyone else. If you want to live your own life under God’s patient grace, you can. If you’re going to enjoy God’s gifts of oxygen, sunlight, food, clothing, shelter, peace, and prosperity while still rejecting Jesus and live just how you want, then He will allow you an entire lifetime.
If you choose to place your faith in a statue made of gold or an ancient fable, then that’s your choice. If you want to indulge in sin and ignore your conscience and ignore God’s Holy Spirit, and ignore the feeling that you will one day answer for your crimes, then you are free to do so.
Yes, God will punish sin because He must, but He does not force anyone to live a certain way. Look around the world, and you will see people living lives that they chose to live. It cannot be argued that God is forcing anyone to do anything. People are doing pretty much whatever they want. Each day you get the opportunity to “Choose you this day whom ye will serve.”
I will encourage you to choose Jesus, I will warn you to choose Jesus, I will even beg you to choose Jesus, but I cannot force you in your heart of hearts to choose Him.
You must do that on your own.
FORCED CHRISTIANITY DOES NOT WORK – A LESSON FROM HISTORY
In 303 AD a man named Diocletian issued a proclamation. In it, he commanded that Christian buildings be pulled down. Christian writings and Bibles were to be burned. Those who practiced Christianity were said to have forfeited their rights. It was a terrible time of persecution in history. Yet, many people were still choosing to become believers in Jesus Christ.
Fast forward to 313 AD. A new ruler named Constantine issues the Edict of Milan. This proclamation gave rights to Christians and even more made Christianity the official state religion.
For the first time in history, this made Christianity a political force. The state paid its pastors. Churches began to fill up with people who were compelled to attend because it was the official religion. On paper, this sounds like a good thing. Except it wasn’t. The result was a weak church full of unsaved people. These unsaved people encouraged the change and corruption of Christianity. They did not choose Christ and were not interested in living for Him.
When we force Christianity, we do not make church better; we make it worse.
*Note to children and teens – your parents are obligated to God to teach you about the Bible and raise you in a Christian home. You have the freedom to believe or not, but your parents have the responsibility to see to it that you have every opportunity and advantage to trust Jesus as your Savior.
JESUS – TAKE HIM OR LEAVE HIM
It can be tempting to do whatever it takes to get people to trust Jesus and follow Him.
But notice this Scripture.
Joshua 24:15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
It can be tempting to want people to be saved so badly that we feel the need to give God a makeover. We can become guilty of changing God in order to make Him more acceptable in light of popular ethics and cultural trends.
We can be tempted to downplay some parts of the Bible that may not be socially acceptable. We can adopt a philosophy of “win them at any cost.” Some churches will use just about any method to get people to attend one of their services or special events. Every church must prayerfully make their own decisions about how they reach the lost, but we must be careful!
It is possible and likely that some people could join a church for their music, their activities, their community, or their feel-good messages and yet not ever become a true Christian. If you are going to attend a church, then come for Jesus, stay for Jesus, and live for Jesus.
Everything else is much less critical.
We must always be diligent in refocusing our lives and our church on Jesus Christ. If ever we lose sight of Him, then we cease to be a true church at all.
JESUS CHOOSES YOU
Jesus left the glory of heaven to live a humble sinless life and to eventually die at the hands of those He came to save. Three days later, He rose from the grave. He proved He had power over life and death. He wants to give you eternal life. He wants you to follow Him and trust Him. He wants to have a real and lasting personal relationship with you. He chooses you. Do you choose Him?
Free to Choose – by Pastor Brett A. Bell
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