The "Stoning" Verse

If there is found among you, in any city that ADONAI your God gives you, a man or a woman who does what ADONAI your God sees as wicked, transgressing His covenant by going and serving other gods and worshipping them, the sun,the moon, or anything in the sky- something I have forbidden- and it is told to you, or you hear about it; then you are to investigate the matter diligently. If it is true, if it is confirmed that such detestable things are being done in Israel; then you are to bring the man or woman who has done this wicked thing to your vita gates, and stone that man or woman to death.

-Deuteronomy[D'varim] 17:2-5

Have you had this verse thrown in your face before?

it's a verse that God mockers(Atheists/Agnostics)

love using. it's suppose to make God look cruel and at the same time make His word(The Bible) look like a "Contradiction"(trust me I know, I use to do the same thing they do with certain verses) 

Claiming that The Bible is a "Contradiction" only comes when one is lacking of understanding, and doesn't understand the context of the scripture they claim is a "Contradiction". I'd say 90% of the time "contradiction" comes up when it has to do with Torah(Old testament) and this stoning one is a perfect example, it comes around because most people fail to realize what God was doing with His people. 

BUT, before I get into that, lets just think logically for a second(something the atheist/agnostic throwing this verse in your face claims to do nothing but)

Lets imagine God is exactly who He says He is, crazy I know, but try to stay with me. So, God is one(Echad)

there is NO other, He is creator of all, the potter who can mold and destroy as He wishes. He demands, doesn't just ask for, but demands Holiness and worship of ONLY HIM, remember the 1st and 2nd commandment? they pretty much make that absolutely clear. So does...

Exodus(SH'MOT) 34:14 

because you are not to bow down to any other god; since ADONAI -whose very name is Jealous -is a jealous God.

So, as He is molding His people, there comes one person who decides he/she will ignore all God asks and worship creation rather than creator. Now this ONE Holy perfect God is suppose to do what? tell His jewish people;

"Oh…that man or woman worshipping what I told you NOT TO, just ignore them, it's all good."? 

This man/woman wouldn't just be effecting themselves, they are living in Gods Holy Land which He gave to His people, this person would corrupt others and lead others to do such wickedness. God isn't going to bless you if you completely ignore His mitzvot(Commandments) and He was blessing His people by giving the land He promised them. So God said get rid of the wickedness from you before it corrupts you all, provided there is two or three witness's to attest to the fact that the person is indeed worshipping a false god. (Deuteronomy[D'varim] 17:6)

God was establishing a Holy people & nation, He chose a people who were lesser then others, He showed His grace to the Jewish people by saving them out of Egypt! they did nothing to deserve saving from slavery, and did nothing to deserve Him choosing them as His people.

Now all God asks from them( and us by the way) is to put Him first, and that we don't worship His creation or false gods. What a cruel God to ask for such a thing! what a cruel God to show grace and only ask we acknowledge Him as ONE!(that's called sarcasm kiddies incase you missed it)

Now if you would say this to a person who throws the "stoning verse" in your face, what will they say next?

 well, they will absolutely ignore all the "babble" about God being ONE and Holy and demanding we surrender to Him completely and they'll either go off into some other tangent or say something like;

"Ok…so then your "God" gives you permission today to go and stone people who don't believe like you."

Again they will ignore the fact that God was establishing His people in the Holy Land and thats who the verse was directed too. The fact is..NO that verse isn't for today, and no that doesn't mean God has changed in His Holiness or jealousy or that He still doesn't demand us to worship ONLY HIM nor does it mean that God doesn't still want us to be Holy. NONE of that has changed, the reason killing someone who ignores the truth has changed is because the promised Messiah/Prophet/Lord of Lords and King of Kings has come! Yeshua Ha Mashiach! (Jesus The Messiah/Jesus Christ) Moses talked about Him in 
Deuteronomy [D'varim]18:15

"ADONAI will raise up for you a prophet like me from among yourselves, from your own kinsmen. You are to pay attention to him,just as when you were assembled at Horev and requested ADONAI your God, 'Don't let me hear the voice of ADONAI my God any more, or let me see this great fire ever again; if I do, I will die!' On that occasion ADONAI said to me, 'They are right in what they are saying. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen. I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him. Whoever doesn't listen to my words, which he will speak in my name, will have to account for himself to me.

What Yeshua says is from Abba, and Yeshua paid the price we couldn't, the Prince of Peace our High priest who intercedes for us! Hallelu et ADONAI!(Praise the LORD)

Yeshua's yoke is easy, but His words and following Him isn't. 

Deuteronomy[D'varim] 19:21 says;

Life for life,eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot. 

As human beings wretched and wicked as we are that is probably the easiest thing for us to follow, HOWEVER Yeshua says;

"You have heard that our fathers were told, `Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you not to stand up against someone who does you wrong. On the contrary, if someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you on the left cheek too! If someone wants to sue you for your shirt, let him have your coat as well! And if a soldier forces you to carry his pack for one mile, carry it for two!  When someone asks you for something, give it to him; when someone wants to borrow something from you, lend it to him.- Matthew(Mattityahu) 5:38-42

You see, Yeshua doesn't destroy the law but fulfills it, He doesn't make it ok to worship other gods or to sin, He makes it so we can be forgiven of such wickedness, so those chains can be broken and we can be a new creation, and be Holy as God called us to be! All Glory to HIM! Holy Holy Holy is the one who was and is  and is to come!

Oblivious to Sin

Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD's anger.

Zephaniah 2:3

Sometimes when we are seeking to be righteous we fall into

a place of self righteousness, which can lead to a very selfish

"proud" attitude and a judgmental demeanor.

Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by faith.

Habakkuk 2:4

We (as followers of Christ) are called to be humble,

however this also can lead to a problem, As some mistake

the meaning of humble. Or maybe rather then mistake the meaning,

people let humbleness lead them down a path of a "Woe is me"

attitude. By the way just for the record I struggle with the following at times myself, I in NO way mean to elude that I am perfect.

I just see so many of us that hang on to the fact that we are all sinners,

and yes indeed this is true, but so many of us ignore seeking righteousness,

as if the fact that we are forgiven allows us to be oblivious of our sins,

oblivious to the fact that sin ANGERS GOD...Oblivious to what is right and what is wrong. How many have the attitude that "Yup..I'm a sinner, freely admit it, Christ saved me from them" and then therefore do not even seek to allow Christ to work through them and change their behavior, do not repent when they do sin because they do not think they need too, and don't even seek righteousness that can be found in Christ.

Sin very much so angers God, so much so that Christ suffered

and paid the price for it,as I've quoted before..

DO NOT think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.

I DID NOT come to destroy but to fulfill.

Matthew 5:17

Christ was the only one who actually followed the Law perfectly,

and He came to be the sacrifice for US because we could

not and can not follow the LAW(without him), this everyone indeed agrees with...BUT Christ's forgiveness doesn't give us FREEDOM to sin..

This I feel really needs to be explained. I'm a horrible person, I'm a sinner,

this I recognize with a remorseful disposition "For the things I wish to do, those things I do not do, but the things I wish not to do, those I do"

I HATE my sins, I seek not Self-righteousness... BUT the righteousness that is found in Christ Jesus, I seek to live by his words as there is nothing else to even remotely live for, "Whom have I in heaven but you? and earth has nothing I desire besides you"

However it is in this seeking of righteousness that I must REMAIN humble as not to think I could ever save myself or to think that which I seek to do makes me better then anyone else.

Forgiven for being the failures that we are....yes indeed,

this however doesn't mean we blind ourselves into thinking

sin is ok, or that we do not warn those about the damaging

life of sin. If I do not seek to be humble in dealing justly with others,

you better believe the holy spirit will convict me of my own doings,

it is in this inward self examination of just how corrupt I am,

that without Christ... without His sacrifice, which led to Gods forgiveness, just how unworthy I'd be of any sort of relationship with Him, other then of course His wrath and anger...

If there be ground for you to trust, as you do, in your own righteousness, then all that Christ did to purchase salvation, and all that God did from the fall of man to prepare the way for it, is in vain.

Consider what greater folly could you have devised to charge upon God than this, that all those things were done so needlessly; when, instead of all this, He might only have called you forth, and committed the business to you, which you think you can do so easily.

-Jonathan Edwards

Does forgiveness mean we shouldn't realize what we are forgiven from?

If we should realize this fact, then why don't more of us know the Ten Commandments? many ignore them saying "We don't have to follow them"

indeed we are saved by Grace not works, but the fact is we have broken the law wether we think we have or not, otherwise Christ wouldn't of had to die for us. Shouldn't we know them, not for salvation purposes but to realize how fallen we are? NOT so we can "feel bad" or walk around saying "Woe is me"

but so we can see how amazing His forgiveness really is, So we can see

just how undeserving of His grace we are.

1."You shall have no other gods before Me.

2.You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,

but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

3.You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain,

for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

4.Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5.Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.

6.You shall not murder.

7.You shall not commit adultery.

8.You shall not steal.

9.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

10.You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's.

Some might say; "gods? Idols? i've never done such a thing"

really? anything can be an idol, and anything can become your god,

for anything you put above God hence becomes your god..

I.E Money,Cars,Yourself,Music,Tv,Movies,Video Games ect...ect..

remember the man who came to Jesus in Matthew 19?

He said he has kept all the commandments since he was young(Liar)

and then jesus said;

"If you want to be perfect, go, give all you have to the poor,

and come follow me."

Did the man do it? who knows, all it says is he was very sorrowful,

because he had great wealth, if He wouldn't follow Jesus because he loved

His money more, he essentially broke the first/second commandment.

Even still some might say; "I've never murdered or committed Adultery!"

Really? Jesus said in Matthew;

You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.

But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

Matthew 5:21-22

Hmm..Ever been angry with someone for no reason? had a bad day

and you chew someone out...just because? or whatever the case may be..

guess what? Christ says then you have broken the 6th Commandment.

You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Matthew 5:27-28

Who can say they have never lusted after someone before? If you have,

and YOU HAVE...then you also have broken the 7th commandment...

What is my point? my point is we all have sinned and fall short of Grace,

anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar and the truth is not in him.

There is no justification in sinning, there is no work you can do,

there is no mountain you can climb that will ever make you deserving of anything other then the wrath of GOD...

It's like what Paul Washer said in the video I posted on Facebook, Many people ask why do bad things happen to good people? When the question should be, Why does any good ever happen at all? For we are not "good people" and any good that we receive is more blessing and love that none of us deserve in the first place, for we are wicked.

Therefore humble yourselves under Gods mighty hand, and realize the price

has been paid for YOU, someone had to suffer for what YOU DID...and you will NEVER deserve that kind of love...