This past Sunday, November 13 at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Charleston, SC, we looked into God’s Holy Word in Deuteronomy 29:16-18 and heard what Moses told the Israelites about the importance of community. Just as they were poised to enter the Promised Land on the plains of Moab, Moses not only felt it important to instruct about community but also about accountability to each other individually and collectively. Although the concept of community is really quite simple--a group of people coming together with shared interests, attitudes, and goals--this community of people was inherently different from all others around them at the time. They were the community God’s chosen people whom He rescued out of Egypt. They were to be a new nation, serving Him alone, seeking Him first always. Yet, as the Israelites were traveling through other nations, they were seeing gods made of silver and gold, seeing nations that had wealth and abundance as they were wandering in the desert with no land of their own. It is at this point that Moses warns them to keep each other accountable to the one true God and not be swayed away by other gods that may look alluring but are false and detestable, and ultimately lead to disaster. And the same applies today. Do we love each other enough to keep others in the community from serving false gods? Do we, as believers, really hold each other accountable or do we believe that small sins are okay? Or do we allow ourselves to believe the lie that “people in the church will think we are awful if they know the truth of what we really think or feel”? Just as Moses warned the Israelites to not be swayed and to help others keep their heart to God, we need to do the same today. By prayerfully being aware for ourselves and each other, then we are in true community and then we can experience true community in Christ.
