From the garden to today, followers of God have faced opposition to the faith. Sometimes that opposition comes in the form of hatred and persecution. Sometimes it comes in the form of sly temptation. And sometimes it comes in the form of well-intentioned but dangerous godlessness.
Think about the strategies that the devil has used against the people of God which have made the most headway. Often times, persecuting the church with out-and-out aggression has served to strengthen the faith of believers—the blood of the martyrs being the seed of the church. But sometimes the devil’s plots are much more intimate, much more subtle, and honestly much more dangerous than violence. When the enemy of our souls tempts us through people we genuinely care for, the temptation is significant.
God is not surprised that humanity is often swayed by the influence of our loved ones. IN fact, in Deuteronomy, the Lord spoke a dire warning to the people of Israel regarding this very topic.
Deuteronomy 13:6-11
6 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife you embrace or your friend who is as your own soul entices you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 some of the gods of the peoples who are around you, whether near you or far off from you, from the one end of the earth to the other, 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him, nor shall you conceal him. 9 But you shall kill him. Your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.
As a quick explanation for any who are apt to misunderstand this passage, the legal standards for national Israel in the Old Testament were quite strict. This nation was uniquely the people of God in this time period, given the law of God, in the presence of God, under the direct instruction of God, and carrying the promise of God to send Messiah, the only plan God ever had for the salvation of people from all nations. Thus, for these people, offenses against the following of God were often death-penalty offenses. The Lord knew that, should Israel become as corrupt as any other sinful nation on the planet, the Lord would, under the obligations of the covenant, have to destroy them, which would destroy the promise, which would destroy humanity. In order, therefore, to protect the nation and preserve the promise, offenses such as blasphemy against the Lord or leading people to worship other gods met severe penalties.
With that said, what is an appropriate truth for a modern Christian to draw from Deuteronomy 13:6-11? What is, as the Second London Baptist Confession calls it, the “general equity” principle we should find? I believe it is an important one, a very helpful one.
Look back at the text. God knows that, in the lives of faithful believers, we will face the temptation to walk away from the faith. Sure, there will be times when that temptation will come to us from outside of our inner circle. Sometimes the world will try to tempt us to turn away through persecution or greed. But one of the more effective and more dangerous temptations we face is when someone we deeply care about tries to call us away from faithfulness to the Lord. When a friend, when a family member, when a romantic interest is the voice saying to us that we should be more open-minded toward other faiths, this is when temptation can be most risky.
What was King Solomon’s failure? He married many “foreign” wives. This was not a failure based on ethnicity. The wives of Solomon led him to worship their gods. The Lord warned against it, but Solomon was unable to overcome his desire—this in spite of the fact that he was the smartest king in the Old Testament.
The same ploy is in play today. As we watch young men or young women suddenly walk away from the church, what is regularly at the root? So very often, the turning away of a young person is about their romantic interest in someone or their deep friendship with someone. Christianity is an exclusive faith. Jesus is the only way for a person to come to the Father (John 14:6). It is hard, when a young person develops romantic feelings for another, for the Christian to accept the lostness of someone they find so loveable.
What then might we want to carry with us from Deuteronomy 13? No, I do not recommend we put the death penalty in place for those who would challenge our faith. But the warning is strong, and it is not something we can ignore. If someone you care about is calling your heart away from the Lord, you may have to figuratively enact the death penalty on the relationship. At minimum, you have to guard your heart with all your might so as not to allow a lost person to influence your soul. You should most certainly pray that the Lord will protect you and that he will draw your lost friend to himself. No Christian should willingly enter into a romantic relationship with a nonbeliever—Scripture is clear on this time and time again.
Ultimately, we need to grow in wisdom from the law of God. Deuteronomy 13 warns us that we will face temptations from friends and family to turn from the faith. We must be aware, we must be wise, and we must be committed to faithfulness to the Lord above all. Particularly, we should watch out for those relationships with the lost that can dig deeply into our hearts, as this is a temptation that the Lord has warned against. Yes, love your family. Yes, care deeply. Yes, be prepared even to be wounded as they push against the faith or try to draw you away. But learn from the law of God not to allow yourself to be pulled from the faith by one close to you.
Pastor Travis Peterson 