Whose Side Are You On?

Joshua 5:13-14, Romans 5:8-10, 2 Corinthians 5:18

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Whose side are you on? There’s a scene in Joshua that I always find so fascinating when Joshua is leading God’s people into the Promised Land. And so they’re going, they’re getting ready for battle and for what’s ahead of them. We’re told that when Joshua’s by Jericho,

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” (Joshua 5:13-14)

Such an intriguing scene, because Joshua is leading the people of God. It would seem like if Joshua is saying, oh, hey, whose side are you on that it would be a pretty clear answer. Well, I’m with you guys, but the answer isn’t that the answer is no. I am the commander of the Army of the Lord. It’s not about being on the people’s side. It’s about being on God’s side. And for us, it’s not about trying to get God onto our side. It’s about being on God’s side. What is God doing? What is God up to? What does God want?

That’s something really worth pondering today in our world where people are so quick to take sides. Are you a Democrat or a Republican? Are you for this or against this? On Facebook, if there’s a post, are you liking it? Are you hating it? Are you commenting this or commenting that? Are you for this thing at church? Or are you anti this thing at church? Or are you a yes vote? Are you a no vote? We’re so quick to take sides, but as a Christian there’s only really one side to take and it’s the Lord’s, the Lord’s side.

When we get off thinking about, okay, my opinion, my side versus their side or what they think versus what what I think, we so quickly go down a wrong path. And perhaps that’s a big part of why there’s just so much hostility and hate in our world today. And social media definitely doesn’t help with that.

So what do we do when we realize we’ve taken the wrong side? Well, first of all, we lay that before the cross and then we remember this in Romans chapter five, verses 8 to 10. It says,

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:8-10)

Let’s think about that. We were enemies of God. We were naturally a sinful people. We didn’t do things God’s way. We did things our own way. And that went against God. And yet God, God is so for us that Jesus came into this world. God the Son became human and then lay down his life and died, absorbing all the justice that your sins and mine deserve. He took the death that we deserve, and he rose again so that God can now see us through him, so that through faith in Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, now we are new people. We are new creations. We are children of God.

We are no longer enemies of God. You are now on God’s side and now, by the Spirit, you are free to live as someone who is on God’s side. How different might we approach things? How different might we look? How much of a light might we be in this world if we approach things and go towards things, not thinking about what side I want to be on. What’s God up to in this? What does God want to do in this? What would the Lord’s army, if you will, what would their mission, God’s mission, be in this situation?

One thing I know that God’s mission would be in second Corinthians 5:18, we’re told that

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; (2 Corinthians 5:18)

So much as we think about the gospel and our role in this world, is to be people who are now sharing the good news, sharing forgiveness and people of reconciliation, where people are brought together around the cross through Christ and united in him. When we were his enemies, he died for us. We are now on the Lord’s side. And what is his side up to today?

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