Snares, Traps, and Thorns in Your Eyes

Before he died, Joshua exhorted the people of Israel to Holiness and faithfulness and a continued Love of God, he also warned them of what would happened if they forsook God, served idols, and intermarried with the pagan peoples of the land. He said these people and their gods, who seemed so enticing and agreeable would become 'snares and traps and thorns in their eyes' and that cultural and religious compromise would lead to their undoing. Unfortunately the people of Israel forgot Joshua's commands and became submerged in the surrounding cultures. Ultimately, this corruption was to lead to their exile from the land.

But what can we learn from this example? Calvin himself noted that we unlike ancient Israel do not live in a covenanted land and have no right or ability to drive out the ungodly by the sword, so what can we do to avoid the traps and snares of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil?

This sermon is concerned primarily with answering that important question.