Recently I was behind a tractor trailer which had a graphic on the back that represents what most evangelicals perceive as the gospel.
It had a road which forked at a crossroads and the road on the left was narrow and said “life”!, “peace”!, “Jesus”! Then the road on the right was wider and said “money”!, “pleasure”!, “death”! Underneath the graphic were the words to part of Joshua 24:15 “choose ye this day whom ye will serve”.
Before I confront the idea of this somehow representing a presentation of the gospel, I want to lay out my purpose in doing so.
We live in quite contentious days and when anyone contradicts someone else’s beliefs, it is usually done with animosity and pride; and it is done with the purpose of humiliating another “side” in order to come out on top. This attitude has infiltrated theological discussions as well.
That I trust is not my purpose here, yet I do believe that this poor understanding of the gospel is a fruit of man-centered, self-righteous, false religion; the enemy behind it is Satan and false teachers who lead simple sheep astray. But I also believe that many of Christ’s sheep are immersed in this pervasive understanding of the gospel and are simply not being helped to more fully rest in the work of Christ. The law and the gospel are mixed together by ignorant or false teachers. These sheep might be warned by Paul: “Who has bewitched you?”
My Purpose then is not to win a debate but that Christ would be lifted up as the one who has spoken in these last days and who as the better Adam, better Noah, better Moses, better Joshua, true Israel, and righteous branch, has fulfilled all righteousness for those who believe. I desire that through this very feeble attempt at addressing the false teaching of “free will”, that Christ’s sheep would be strengthened in their assurance and be more fruitful by the work of the Spirit.
First, I must address the skewed understanding of the Scriptures that allows for the words “choose ye this day whom ye will serve” to be used to proclaim the gospel.
When Adam joined Satan in his rebellion against the Creator, he brought death into the world.
(Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—
— Romans 5:12)
All of their children since have been born with a will that is enslaved to sin and death and none of them seek after God. You could even say, none of them will choose God.
(as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;There is none who understands,There is none who seeks for God;All have turned aside, together they have become useless;There is none who does good,There is not even one.”— Romans 3:10-12)
But God, who is rich in mercy…made a promise to Satan there in the garden as Adam and Eve tried to hide their shame with the works of their hands.
(Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings. They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
— Genesis 3:7-8)
The promise that God made was that He would raise up a “seed” or a son who would be bruised but not crushed by Satan and then would destroy or “crush” Satan, restoring man to his original walk with God in perfect obedience, rest, and harmony.
(And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”— Genesis 3:15)
Beginning here, the rest of the Scriptures are a story of this redemption of the sons and daughters of God.
(“saying, “I will proclaim Your name to My brethren, In the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.” And again, “I will put My trust in Him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.”— Hebrews 2:12-13
Each story that God gives us in His Scriptures (not just in the writing but in His Sovereign decree of the stories themselves) are pointing to that redemption in a “seed” or Son.
(And He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. — Luke 24:25-27)
After God made this promise to Satan to restore all things by the sending of a Son, bruising of the Son, and crushing of the serpent by the Son, He began pointing to that Son through through His prophets, Abel being the first after believing Gods promise demonstrated by Gods provision of a substitute for His parents. God had provided a substitute through an innocent animal for the death by bloodshed that Adam deserved, and killing that animal, he removed the clothing that were the works of Adam and Eve own hands to cover their shame, and clothed them in the skins of the substitute.
The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them
— Genesis 3:21
so that the blood of all the prophets, shed since the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the house of God; yes, I tell you, it shall be charged against this generation.’
— Luke 11:50-51
All of this was a mystery at that moment, but was pointing Adam and Eve and all of the sons of God to a rescue and a redemption that would come through an innocent substitute who was without blemish. This mystery would be revealed throughout the scriptures through the covenant promises of God to save a people for Himself. Ultimately through Christ the true Israel, it would be revealed that Christ was the Savior of all men, not just a fleshly or earthly Israel, but an Israel with circumcised hearts which included men from every tribe, tongue, and nation.
(For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit; to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
— Ephesians 3:1-6)
Every scripture then was a mystery pointing to the lamb of God (Christ Jesus, the perfect and once for all substitute).
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
— John 5:39
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.
— Hebrews 1:1-2
Every scripture then ought to be interpreted through this lense of Christ. Every God ordained moment was Sovereignly orchestrated of God to bring about this promised deliverer - the Lamb of God, Jesus.
Now, the problem with the hermeneutical method (method of interpreting the Scriptures) that would take Joshua 24:15 and present it as part of the gospel is that it forgets the promise of God in Genesis 3:15, and the New Testament which teaches us how to interpret the Old Testament realizing that every bit of it is pointing to the promised Savior. Instead it takes the Old Testament Scriptures and pulls from them individual verses to prove certain narratives. In this case, the verse is pulled from this greater context of the promise in Genesis 3:15 and reduced to a command of God that has something to do with how man can be saved. It does not unless man can keep the law.
Instead, within the framework that I laid out previously, this moment in ethnic Israel’s story should be seen as similar to when Moses first gave the law to Israel. The law is not good news. But unregenerate men (who have yet to see the impossibility of their ability to measure up to the law of a Holy God), dressed in fig leaves of self righteousness, still answer with Israel:
All the people answered together and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD.
— Exodus 19:8
Now that God has spoken in Christ in these last days, we know that the law was given for the purpose of bringing all men guilty before God. There the guilty look to be clothed in the robes of Christ by the mercies of God.
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
— Romans 3:19-20
In Joshua 24:15, Joshua was essentially establishing the law (again we know now that this is to bring all men guilty before God) of God as the standard which still and for eternity must be met. The people again dressed in “fig leaves” answer as they did Moses:
(The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.” The people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD.” Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” “Now therefore, put away the foreign gods which are in your midst, and incline your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.” The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the LORD our God and we will obey His voice.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made for them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.
— Joshua 24:16-25)
How did that go for Israel?
How is that going for you? Obedience to Gods law must be personal, perfect, and perpetual. How is that going for you? Did you choose to “follow Christ”? Have you done so perfectly? Jesus said to those who “decided to follow Jesus”:
And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
— Luke 9:58
But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
— Luke 9:60
But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
— Luke 9:62
Sinful man cannot do it. They need a substitute.
What was John the Baptist’s exhortation to the crowd when Jesus came arrived?
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
— John 1:29
The idea of following Jesus, obeying Jesus, keeping His commands, etc…are all in reference to Him as the Lamb of God. Remember the promise in Genesis 3:15 and the demonstration of how this promise would be fulfilled in the shedding of blood?
To follow Jesus then is to believe in Him as the only personal, perfect, and perpetual righteousness that you can ever have - a righteousness that is not your own.
Joshua 24:15 then should not be used as anything but law and not gospel. It was law to the children of Israel and they could not fulfill it and neither can you.
If Joshua 24:15 could be used rightfully in the presentation of the gospel today it should be to tell the story of how even God's chosen people did not have the ability to keep their promise to serve God. They needed a substitute.
God has sent Him. God has spoken by Him in these last days. How will you escape the wrath of God if you neglect such a great salvation and try to be saved by your choices, even if it is a choice “for Jesus” or to “follow Jesus”? That is not the message of Jesus. The message of Jesus is to believe on Him as the Lamb of God.
After promising to Joshua that they would follow the Lord and not serve other gods, the children of Israel did just the opposite of what they had promised.
Are you any different? As your Hobby Lobby sign hangs in your foyer announcing to visitors “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord”, are you any different than the well meaning children of Israel who promised the same?
Or, is your boast in the fact that you are the workmanship of God Himself?
who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
— John 1:13
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
— Ephesians 2:10
To be born of God is to by the grace of God be raised from death to life, to have your eyes turned away from choices you’ve made to the one who chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. The Pharisee in Luke 18 was proud that he had chosen to serve the Lord and He brought those gifts of obedience and his choice times to serve the Lord to the temple and offered them in prayer. The tax collector had been made to see that he had no sufficient gift to bring and He looked to God for mercy and was clothed in the personal, perfect, and perpetual obedience and righteousness of Christ Himself.
And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
— Luke 18:9-17
Let your boast in this day be in Christ for if you are in Him, it is by His doing:
but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
— 1 Corinthians 1:27-31
You may say, “ I choose to believe on Him”. Why do you?
for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
— Philippians 2:13
Rest my believing friend in the perfect lamb by whom God has spoken in these last days.
Do not let men deceive you into believing in free will choices to be saved by which you will either become self righteous, or discouraged as you will find like Israel - your best choices will not stand. Choosing to follow Jesus will result in failure or self righteous denial of your failure. Instead, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”
— John 3:18-21
