"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."
Joshua 24:14
Part 2
Yesterday: To Serve God, We Must Fear God
“Now, therefore, fear the LORD.”
“Fear the Lord … waving a white flag of surrender before the Lord’s law, of submitting oneself to His commandments”[1] (Waltke).
“And serve Him.”
“One cannot ‘fear Him’ and at the same time serve other gods…”[2] (Waltke).
Today: Serving God “in Sincerity and Truth”
“In sincerity.”
God asks genuineness of His children who serve Him. The ancient word Joshua uses here means “complete, whole, entire, sound,” “…wholesome, unimpaired, innocent.” It carries the idea of “having integrity,” it has to do with things that are “entirely in accord with truth and fact (BDB). There is no trickery or pretense in His servants. Nothing is fake or “put on.” He says we need to serve Him with authenticity.
God responds best to his child when we come to him with a sincere heart, without pretense or showiness. When King Hezekiah spoke to the Lord about more time to serve Him, he prayed sincerely. Hezekiah said,
“I beseech thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore” (2 Kings 20:3).
God responded to Hezekiah by giving him fifteen more years to live and serve Him.
Paul was concerned with his own personal authenticity in his service for God. He said it this way,
“For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world, and more abundantly to you-ward” (2 Corinthians 1:12).
Paul also shows us how God deserves our very best and that in everything we do, we need to remember that we are living for Him.
“That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:10-11).
And Paul said to the Ephesians, as he closed his letter to them,
“Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.” (Ephesians 6:24).
“And in truth.”
Our service for God is based upon the truth. This includes real and not phony things, which are faithful and true and not false things. God expects our complete loyalty to Him.
Joshua reminded the tribes on the other side of the Jordan they needed to pay attention to what God had said in His Word.
“But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Joshua 22:5).
This is why David put such an emphasis on being obedient to the Word of God.
“… Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD” (Psalm 119:1).
“Let my heart be sound in thy statutes; that I be not ashamed” (Psalm 119:80).
Believers, to be obedient to the Word of God, it is vital that we know the Word.
Jesus explained true worship to the woman at the well when He said to her,
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
As we read God’s Word, it becomes very apparent to us that we need to be serving God with a genuine and honest heart, based upon the knowledge of His Word, and that our lives are lived for Him.
Come back tomorrow as we see why we can only serve one God.
Quote: “It is essential that the service of God’s people be performed with a willing mind. For LOVE is the only genuine principle whence all acceptable service of God can spring. The Father seeks only such to worship Him, as worship Him in spirit and in truth. The carnal mind of man is enmity against God, therefore, is not capable of such spiritual worship. Hence the necessity of being born again”[3] (Matthew Henry).
[1] Waltke, B. K. (1994). Joshua. In D. A. Carson, R. T. France, J. A. Motyer, & G. J. Wenham (Eds.), New Bible commentary: 21st-century edition (4th ed., p. 259). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press.
[2] Waltke, ibid.
[3] Henry, M., & Scott, T. (1997). Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary (Jos 24:15). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems.