Are They Hanging Around?

“Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the LORD had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.” Psalm 106:34-36 NLT

The apostle Paul informs us of a sure promise that all Christians have, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2Cor.5:17 niv) If that is true, why do we hang onto certain things that should be gone, not only gone but be destroyed? I guess we could say, ‘we still have a sin nature’, and that is true, but that is not an excuse to let that certain sin hang around. The Bible says, ‘the old has gone.’

Israel was given specific instructions from God to complete when they entered the Promised Land. “You must destroy all the nations the LORD your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you.” (Dt.7:16 nlt) Israel left some of the pagan nations hang around by not destroying them as God had commanded. Eventually they did become trapped into worshiping their gods by intermingling with them. The psalmist writes, “They worshiped their idols which led to their downfall.” (Ps.106:36 nlt)

There is a reference in the sports world when a team fails to put away their opponent, ‘they’re letting them hang around.’ If the defense doesn’t get serious and beef up their attack mode, their downfall is certain as the psalmist says. A team cannot afford to sit back on its heels and let the opponent run all over them. If they had taken take of business in the beginning of the game, they wouldn’t be in danger of succumbing to defeat.

Likewise, Christians need to be taking care of business and not allow any of our besetting sins to hang around, but to destroyed them. We can be certain if we fail to destroy what God commands us, we will become complacent, compromising, and caught up with what we should not have left hang around.

Read: Psalm 106:34-48 NLT – Israel failed to destroy the nations in – Bible Gateway