The cost of sin is death! Yes, death to a relationship with our Holy God.  Each sin is equal and each white lie separates us from the Glory of God.  Taking the promise land required taking down the wall of Jericho. Joshua 6:18 “Don’t bring trouble and destruction by stealing.”  Whenever a Christian does what is wrong, they hide, they justify choices.  Each sin builds a wall that affects every relationship. 

Folks can sit in church week after week and never be transformed. A caterpillar must stop eating, then cling to a branch. Transformation takes place inside a cocoon of submission. We can agree with God’s word — but only when we deny our old nature, does transformation occur.  God’s love is strong, but His high holy standard requires judgment of sin. His love is the nuclear power that took down the wall of Jericho, and it will blast through every wall we erect when we confess our sin against a holy God.  Sinning always has a consequence and the Word of God says that our sin reveals that we are an enemy of God. A lie detector works because it detects truth no matter how we shift blame. Solution: We confess, and God forgives.

The promised land was just beyond a little city, but 30 people were killed because there was a sin in the camp. Later, Achan confessed, but his sin affected everyone. Achan made all of  Israel God’s enemy. God picked him out. We can look pure  in the church, but God knows who done what!  The horrible cost of sin is that every sin separates us from the Glory of God. Exodus 27:20-21 “Command the Israelites to bring you CLEAR OIL of PRESSED OLIVES for the LIGHT so that the lamps may be kept burning.”  In our tent of meeting, in our tabernacle, in our body wherein the Holy Spirit abides, are we not commanded as God’s royal priesthood to keep the lamps burning before the Lord? Jesus was pressed like the olive, He was crushed for our sins so that we could burn for Him. We must obey God’s Word, and NOT covet, lie, hide, or deny when we sin. “Confess your sins to one another that you may be forgiven, healed and restored to the Father.”

Joshua 7:21 “I coveted it, and I took it” Achan knew it was a sin. But he wrongly chose  that his tiny sin was not a big a deal. He minimized God’s command, and total disgrace fell on  Israel. The word Ekklesia means that we are the called out ones. The valley of Achan, is the valley of disgrace.Joshua 7:25. One lesson: do NOT be a HYPOCRITE. All Israel stoned Achor, his family, and then burned them. Rocks were piled high atop their ashes. A reminder to all.

JOYFULLY GOD set us apart for His pleasure, plan and purpose. Be set apart with a purified heart and a flaming desire to represent Jesus Christ the King of kings. Be different, carry your Bible. Read it in public and squeal with delight that His love letter to you ❤️ was written by His Spirit.  Be excited by His unconditional love, His favor, grace, provision, protection and mercy! None us us deserve to be loved so radically! BUT GOD does things His Way and His Way is perfect and holy. We do not belong in this world, but we do fit into God’s plan as His confessed, redeemed, and restored holy people.

After 3 firm warnings, give an argumentative person the boot. We are subject to rulers and authorities, so we obey, and do whatever is good. We choose NOT to slander anyone. We are God’s peacemakers, who know that the foolish are also loved by God. A gentle word, delivered out of God’s love is His revelation shared. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We once justified our anger, envy, and hate. But Jesus appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. The washing by the Holy Spirit, whom God poured out on us through Jesus, justified us by His grace. We are His heirs of HOPE. Be CAREFUL to DEVOTE yourself to doing what is GOOD. AVOID FOOLISH controversies over the law and ARGUMENTS about POLITICS, these conversations are USELESS and profit none. Warn a DIVISIVE person once, and then WARN them a 2nd time. If divisive arguing begins a 3rd time, have NOTHING more to do with them. Such people are warped and sinful; they are SELF-CONDEMNED.” Titus 3:11 Be set apart and holy.

Joshua 6:18 “But keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them.” All the gold and all the silver are God’s. The camp of Israel became liable to destruction because of one person’s sin.