"Now then," said Joshua, "throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel." – Joshua 24:23

Today's Scripture Reading (April 15, 2025): Joshua 24

There is a bit of an interesting exchange between the children of God and Joshua. Joshua tells the people they need to choose who they will follow and encourages them to choose God. As a result, the people declare that they will choose God, but Joshua, maybe surprisingly, replies that they can't because God won't forgive them. "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins" (Joshua 24:19). What is Joshua trying to tell the tribes, and by extension, us?

Theologian John Hunter argues, "In many churches, God seems to be merely happy, not holy. If today we lose sight of the holiness of God, we do so at our own loss, both in purity and power." He seems to believe that the church has made the emotional choice (happiness) but not the intellectual choice (holy or moral decision).

I would argue the reverse. The intellectual choice is not enough. The contemporary era has closed its doors to Christ and has depended on the intellectual decision. It has almost become unspiritual in some places in the church to talk about the emotional. We have even made repentance an intellectual activity, including a listing of sins for which we need to make a transaction, part of the process. I have even had good Christians tell me that you can't be forgiven if you can't list it. What we miss is that repentance is not strictly an intellectual activity. It is also an emotional one. We have sinned in making repentance a purely intellectual activity.  

I believe Joshua has got this right. Throw away your idols and yield your heart. Yield what is precious, the things to which you have developed an emotional attachment, to God. Repent of the way you are. By emotional, I don't mean we will always break down and cry, although we might. Emotion is about the things we have come to love; it is about where we have placed our hearts, which means that the emotional part of our being will always threaten to get us into trouble.

A study completed a few years ago found that those who responded to an altar call of repentance, usually by an overwhelming percentage, had decided intellectually that change was needed in their lives long before the meeting. They had agreed with their heads, but lasting change usually comes when we yield our hearts. By the way, this is the biblical meaning of repentance. Repentance means turning and moving in a different direction or following God with your head and your heart. 

Maybe this is the center of what Joshua was trying to tell his people. Intellectual repentance is not enough. God can't forgive you if your emotions are not included in turning over everything to God because just intellectual repentance won't last. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Judges 17