Ye Cannot Serve The LORD

And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. holy God: Heb. holy Gods - Joshua 24:19

    God the Spirit here reveals the impossibility of any one, by the mere changing of the mind and determination of the natural will, forsaking their false god and serving the true and living God, or of God forgiving our sin while worshipping a false God. In verse 15 Joshua told the nation of Israel to choose them a god. It made no difference, either the false gods of their fathers before the flood or the false god of the Amorites.

    It makes no difference whether we worship Gautama or John Calvin, Buddhism or Calvinism; we worship a false god and remain in our sin. No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other (Mt 6:24). We cannot worship the Lord God of glory and embrace the false god of freewillism and legalism. We cannot bow to Dagon and receive the blessing of the atonement of God’s blessed sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ. God, by his spokesman Joshua, is telling us here that salvation is by the purpose and power of God alone, and in Christ alone. Apart from God-given faith in Christ it makes little or no difference what we profess to believe or who we profess to worship. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins (Jn 8:24). I am He—that is, God incarnate—God’s only Propitiation for sin. He is all of God’s salvation—None other. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). There is no serving God or assurance of forgiveness of sin apart from spiritual union with Christ in regeneration. Do not expect God to forgive you of your sin while bowing in your self-righteousness to an impotent false Christ. May God cause us to die that we may live!