When You’ve Arrived

by Chris Simmons

John the Baptist (Matthew 3:2) and Jesus (Matthew 4:17; Mark 9:1) both spoke during their ministries of the nearness of God’s kingdom. Jesus frequently spoke of what was needed to enter the kingdom (Matthew 7:21; John 3:5). On the day of Pentecost, for the very first time, souls obeyed the gospel and were added to the church (Acts 2:38, 41, 47) and “transferred … to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Through faithful obedience, Christians had arrived in the kingdom. After baptism into Christ and entrance into the kingdom, Jesus sent His apostles into “all the nations … teaching them to observe all that I commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-19). Once in the kingdom there is a “walk” (Ephesians 4:1) to be pursued and a way of life to be continued in a steadfast manner (Acts 2:42; Colossians 1:23; II Timothy 3:14).

In like manner, prior to inheriting the promised land, God’s people were exhorted that, when they arrived in the land, there was a way of life that was also to be pursued. In Joshua chapter 23, after “the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side” (verse 2), Joshua reminded God’s people (and us) of what they needed to do when they had arrived.

First, we need to remember what God has done for us. Joshua said in verse 3, “… you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you.” Have we continued to remember all that God has done for us? After entering the kingdom, do we keep in the forefront of our minds all that God and His Son did for us “while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8). Do we remember that Jesus left the right hand of the throne of God to take the “form of a bond-servant” and “humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death” (Philippians 2:5-8)? I think of the verse in the hymn “I Gave My Life For Thee” which says, “And I have brought to thee, Down from My home above, Salvation full and free, My pardon and My love; I bring, I bring rich gifts to thee, What hast thou brought for Me?”

Second, remember that God’s words and promises have never failed. Joshua said in verses 14-15, “You know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.” Joshua had already stated that in Joshua 21:45 by saying, “Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made … failed; all came to pass.” When we think about the fact that every promise God has made has come to pass, how much confidence should we have in “His precious and magnificent promises” (II Peter 1:4) that He has shared with us?

Third, be committed to continual obedience and faithfulness. Joshua said in verse 6, “Be very firm (courageous, ASV, ESV), then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left.” The Hebrew word for “firm” or “courageous” means “to fasten upon, seize … obstinate” (Strong); “to be resolute” (Thayer). That’s what a Christian is! One who has fastened upon Christ and His kingdom and is resolute in his devotion to them. One of the essential characteristics of those who were “first called Christians” is that, not only were they “disciples,” but they were “disciples” who remained “faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose” (Acts 11:23 ESV).

Fourth, stay away from the snares and the traps. Joshua warned in verses 7 and 12-13, “… you will not associate with these nations, these which remain among you, or mention the name of their gods, or make anyone swear by them, or serve them, or bow down to them … For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 10:2 with a simple message we need to apply today: “Do not learn the way of the nations.” After we have arrived in the kingdom, we’re taught in Romans 12:1-2 that we’re not to be “conformed to this world” but “transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Paul exhorts us to avoid those places and situations that provide for the lusts of the flesh (Romans 13:14).

Fifth, we are to cling to the Lord our God. Joshua said in verse 8, “you are to cling to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day.” We’re to (as the expression goes) “hold on for dear life!” The Hebrew word for “cling” means “figuratively, to catch by pursuit” (Strong), “to keep close …, to follow closely, to join to …” (Thayer); “… the noun form for and also the more abstract ideas of ‘loyalty, devotion’” (Vine). Jeremiah records an interesting mental image of what it means to “cling” in Jeremiah 13:11, “‘For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they did not listen.’”

Sixth, love God diligently. Joshua said in verse 11, “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God.” Our love for God is something that requires diligent heeding. The word for “heed” means “to hedge about … i.e., guard … protect, attend to” (Strong). Our love for God requires that we guard it, protect it, and attend to it. Otherwise our love will grow cold (Matthew 24:12), or we’ll leave it behind (Revelation 2:4), or, even worse, it will become “lukewarm” (Revelation 3:16).

Finally, remember you’re accountable to Him. Joshua in verse16 says, “When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.” When we’ve arrived, we must remember our accountability remains. So much false doctrine is propagated on the foundation of a lack of accountability. Until the day we die, we must remember to “take heed that he does not fall” (I Corinthians 10:12). Those who have arrived in the kingdom are always in danger of coming short of their goal of an eternal home in heaven with God (Hebrews 4:1; 12:15).