The Illusion of Neutrality
You’ve probably made about 50 decisions already today.
What time to wake up. What to wear. Coffee or tea. Which route to work. What to tackle first. Respond to that text or ignore it.
Most choices? Pretty inconsequential. Get it wrong and life goes on.
But some choices? They change everything.
Who you marry. Where you live. What career path you take. Whether you have kids.
And then there’s the one choice that matters more than all the others combined:
Who will you serve?
Not “Will you serve someone?” because you already are. Everyone serves something—money, comfort, success, approval, pleasure, self.
The question is: Will you serve the LORD?
And here’s what you need to understand: There is no neutral ground on this one.
You can’t say “I’m still figuring it out” forever. You can’t say “I’m keeping my options open.” You can’t straddle the fence indefinitely.
Because fence-sitting is actually a choice. And it’s a choice against God.
That’s exactly what Joshua told Israel in his final address. And it’s exactly what Eric McLaren’s sermon on Joshua 24 will challenge you with today.
Why This Joshua 24 Sermon Matters for Your Life
This Eric McLaren sermon from Atlantic Gospel Chapel tackles one of the most decisive moments in Israel’s history—and one of the most important questions in your life.
The setting: Joshua is old. His leadership is coming to an end. Israel has conquered the Promised Land. They’re settled. They’re comfortable.
And Joshua knows what happens to comfortable people: they drift.
So he gathers all Israel at Shechem—all the tribes, all the elders, all the leaders—and he puts them on the spot.
He doesn’t give them a gentle encouragement or a feel-good pep talk.
He demands a choice.
And that choice is still staring you in the face today:
Will you serve the LORD with your whole heart? Or will you keep one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom?
If you’ve been:
- Coasting spiritually
- Going through the motions
- Playing at Christianity without real commitment
- Trying to serve both God and the world
- Hoping nobody notices your divided loyalty
- Wondering if wholehearted faith is really necessary
This message is going to challenge you. It might even make you uncomfortable.
Good.
Because spiritual complacency is dangerous. And God doesn’t do neutrality.
The Context: Israel at a Crossroads (Joshua 24:1-13)
Joshua’s Resume: A Life of Faithfulness
Before Joshua issues his challenge, he reminds Israel of their history. Not to guilt-trip them, but to show them God’s faithfulness.
Joshua 24:2-13 is essentially God’s resume:
- I took Abraham from paganism and gave him descendants
- I delivered you from Egypt through Moses and Aaron
- I defeated your enemies
- I brought you through the Red Sea
- I led you through the wilderness
- I gave you victory over nations stronger than you
- I gave you land you didn’t work for, cities you didn’t build, vineyards you didn’t plant
The point? Everything you have is because of God’s grace, not your greatness.
Israel didn’t deserve the Promised Land. They didn’t earn it. God gave it.
Your Application:
Think about your life. What do you have that you didn’t receive?
- Your next breath? Gift.
- Your salvation? Grace.
- Your family? Blessing.
- Your opportunities? Providence.
You didn’t pull yourself up by your bootstraps. God gave you everything you have.
And the appropriate response to such overwhelming generosity is wholehearted devotion.
The Challenge: Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve (Joshua 24:14-15)
The Call to Decision
After reminding them of God’s faithfulness, Joshua drops the challenge:
Joshua 24:14-15: “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Eric McLaren breaks down several crucial elements here:
1. “Now Therefore” – This Is the Moment
Not someday. Not when you feel like it. Not when it’s convenient.
Today. Now. This moment.
God has been faithful. The evidence is overwhelming. The time for decision is now.
How many people spend their whole lives saying “someday I’ll get serious about God”?
And then someday never comes.
2 Corinthians 6:2: “Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation.'”
Your Application:
Stop waiting for the perfect moment to fully commit to God. This is the moment.
2. “Fear the LORD and Serve Him” – Worship Leads to Obedience
Notice the order: Fear first, serve second.
To “fear the LORD” doesn’t mean to be terrified of Him (though healthy reverence is appropriate). It means to hold Him in highest esteem, to recognize His authority, to respect His character.
When you truly fear God, serving Him naturally follows.
What does it mean to serve the Lord?
It means:
- Obedience – Doing what He says, even when it’s hard
- Worship – Giving Him the honor He deserves
- Surrender – Submitting your will to His
- Devotion – Making Him your first priority
- Loyalty – Refusing to be divided in your allegiance
Serving the Lord isn’t just showing up to church on Sunday. It’s a whole-life commitment.
3. “In Sincerity and Truth” – No Hypocrisy, No Half-Measures
Sincerity = Wholehearted, genuine, not playing games
Truth = According to God’s revealed will, not your own ideas
God doesn’t want:
- Your religious performance while your heart is far from Him
- Your Sunday morning show while Monday through Saturday belongs to the world
- Your words of commitment while your actions betray compromise
He wants reality. Authenticity. The real you, fully surrendered.
Matthew 15:8: “This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.”
Your Application:
Are you serving God sincerely? Or are you just going through religious motions while your heart is divided?
4. “Put Away the Gods” – You Can’t Serve Two Masters
Here’s where it gets uncomfortable.
Joshua tells them to “put away the gods which your fathers served.”
Wait… they were serving other gods? Even after everything God had done?
Yes. They were.
They had physical idols hidden in their tents. They were hedging their bets. Keeping their options open. Just in case the LORD didn’t come through, they had backup gods.
Sound familiar?
Modern Christians do the same thing:
- We say we trust God, but we’re really trusting our bank account
- We say Jesus is Lord, but we’re really serving our career
- We say God is our priority, but we’re really prioritizing comfort
- We say we live for eternity, but we’re really living for right now
You can’t serve two masters.
Matthew 6:24: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Your Application:
What’s your backup god? What are you trusting in addition to (or instead of) the LORD?
- Money?
- Success?
- Relationships?
- Reputation?
- Comfort?
- Control?
Time to put it away. All of it.
5. “Choose for Yourselves Today” – Neutrality Is Not an Option
Here’s the line that probably makes you most uncomfortable:
“Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve.”
Can you be neutral about God?
No. Absolutely not.
Joshua essentially says: “If you don’t want to serve the LORD, fine. But choose something. Serve the gods your ancestors worshiped. Serve the gods of the Amorites. Serve whoever you want. But stop pretending you can avoid the decision.“
Here’s the hard truth: Not choosing IS a choice.
If you haven’t decisively chosen to serve the LORD, you’ve already chosen to serve something else.
There’s no neutral ground. There’s no “I’m still figuring it out” forever. There’s no fence to sit on.
You’re either serving God or you’re not.
Revelation 3:15-16: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.”
God doesn’t do lukewarm. He wants all in or all out.
Your Application:
Stop straddling the fence. Stop trying to have it both ways. Stop playing religious games while keeping one foot in the world.
Choose.
Today.
6. “As for Me and My House, We Will Serve the LORD” – Leadership Requires Decision
This is probably the most famous line in the passage, and it’s often misunderstood.
People put it on wall plaques and throw pillows. They cross-stitch it and hang it in their kitchen.
But this isn’t a cute home decor slogan. It’s a declaration of war.
Joshua is saying: “I don’t care what anyone else does. I don’t care if I’m the only one. I don’t care if it costs me everything. My household is serving the LORD.”
This is decisive leadership.
Eric McLaren emphasizes that spiritual commitment starts with personal decision, but it doesn’t end there.
If you’re a leader in your home—husband, father, parent—you have a responsibility to lead your family in choosing God.
Not to force them. Not to manipulate them. But to set the example and create the environment where serving God is the norm.
Your Application:
For Husbands/Fathers: Are you leading your family spiritually? Or are you abdicating that responsibility?
For Singles: Are you making choices now that set you up to lead a godly household someday?
For Everyone: Are you following someone else’s commitment to God? Or are you making your own?
Joshua didn’t say “As for me, I’ll serve the LORD, and hopefully my family follows along.”
He said “As for me AND MY HOUSE.”
He took responsibility for the spiritual direction of his household.
Are you?
Why God Doesn’t Accept Neutrality: Can You Be Neutral About God?
Let me answer this question directly: Can you be neutral about God?
No. Here’s why:
Reason #1: God’s Nature Demands a Response
God isn’t a concept to be studied. He’s a Person to be worshiped.
He’s not asking for your intellectual assent. He’s demanding your total allegiance.
C.S. Lewis famously said: “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
You can’t be neutral about the God who created you, sustains you, and will judge you.
Reason #2: Not Choosing Is Choosing
If you’re not actively serving God, you’re passively serving something else.
Your life is being spent. Your time is being invested. Your worship is going somewhere.
Where?
If it’s not consciously directed toward God, it’s unconsciously directed toward self, money, pleasure, status, or some other substitute.
Default mode isn’t neutrality. Default mode is self-worship.
Reason #3: The Stakes Are Too High
This isn’t “paper or plastic?” This is eternal life or eternal death.
John 3:36: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
There are only two categories: Those who believe and those who don’t. Those who obey and those who don’t.
There’s no third option called “neutral.”
Reason #4: God Is a Jealous God
Exodus 20:5: “You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God.”
God doesn’t share His glory. He doesn’t split your affections. He doesn’t accept second place.
He’s not interested in being one option among many. He demands exclusive worship.
Your Application:
Stop trying to negotiate with God. Stop trying to give Him 60% while keeping 40% for yourself.
He wants 100%. And He deserves it.
What Does Wholehearted Commitment to God Look Like?
Okay, so neutrality isn’t an option. You have to choose. But what exactly does wholehearted commitment look like in real life?
Eric McLaren gives several practical marks of serving the Lord wholeheartedly:
1. Single-Minded Devotion
James 1:8: “A double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Wholehearted commitment means:
- Your loyalties aren’t divided
- You’re not serving God on Sunday and the world Monday-Saturday
- Your decision-making starts with “What does God want?” not “What do I want?”
- When there’s conflict between God’s will and your will, God wins
Practical Example:
A job opportunity comes up. Great pay. Great benefits. But it would require compromising your integrity or sacrificing your family’s spiritual health.
The double-minded person: “Well, I’ll pray about it, but I’m probably going to take it because the money’s too good.”
The wholehearted person: “If it requires compromise, the answer is no—regardless of the money.”
2. Obedience Even When It Costs
Wholehearted commitment doesn’t mean you only obey when it’s convenient.
It means you obey especially when it’s inconvenient, uncomfortable, or costly.
Luke 14:33: “So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.”
Practical Example:
- Forgiving someone who deeply hurt you (obedience costs your pride)
- Giving generously even when finances are tight (obedience costs your security)
- Speaking truth even when it damages your reputation (obedience costs your image)
- Staying sexually pure in a sex-saturated culture (obedience costs your desires)
Wholehearted commitment says: “God’s way is more important than my comfort.”
3. Consistency Across All Areas of Life
You can’t compartmentalize your faith.
You can’t be “spiritual” at church and worldly everywhere else.
Wholehearted commitment means:
- Your faith affects your work ethic
- Your faith affects your spending habits
- Your faith affects your entertainment choices
- Your faith affects your relationships
- Your faith affects your speech
- Your faith affects your thought life
Colossians 3:17: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
ALL. Not some. Not the religious parts. ALL.
4. Perseverance When It’s Hard
Wholehearted commitment isn’t a moment. It’s a lifetime.
It’s easy to be “on fire for God” at summer camp. It’s harder to stay faithful when:
- You’re exhausted
- Nobody’s watching
- You’re facing opposition
- The feelings have faded
- The journey is long
Hebrews 10:36: “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.”
Wholehearted commitment perseveres.
5. Leading Others to the Same Commitment
“As for me and my house…”
If you’re truly committed to serving God, you’ll want others to experience the same.
This looks like:
- Parents teaching their children about God
- Friends inviting friends to church
- Believers sharing the gospel with unbelievers
- Mentoring younger Christians
- Creating a culture of faithfulness in your home
You don’t keep wholehearted devotion to yourself. You invite others into it.
How Do I Make a Commitment to Serve God? Practical Steps
Alright, so you’re convinced. You don’t want to be lukewarm. You don’t want to sit on the fence. You want to serve God wholeheartedly.
But how? What are the actual steps?
Step 1: Acknowledge Where You Actually Are
Stop pretending you’re more committed than you are.
Be brutally honest with yourself (and God, who already knows):
- Have you been coasting?
- Have you been playing religious games?
- Have you been keeping backup gods?
- Have you been trying to serve two masters?
Confession is the starting point.
1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Step 2: Count the Cost
Jesus was clear: Following Him costs something.
Luke 14:28: “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?”
What might choosing to serve God cost you?
- Relationships with people who pull you away from God?
- Career opportunities that require compromise?
- Approval from people who don’t understand your faith?
- Comfort and convenience?
- Control over your own life?
Count the cost. And then decide it’s worth it.
Because what you gain is infinitely greater than what you lose.
Step 3: Make a Decisive Choice
Stop saying “I’m thinking about it.” Stop saying “Maybe someday.”
Say “Yes, Lord. Today. Now. I choose You.”
This isn’t emotional manipulation. This is biblical decision-making.
Joshua said “Choose THIS DAY.”
Not next week. Not after you get your life together. Not when you feel ready.
Today.
Your Application:
Right now, in this moment, say it:
“As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Out loud. Mean it.
Step 4: Remove the Obstacles
“Put away the gods.”
What’s competing for God’s place in your life?
Identify it. Remove it.
This might mean:
- Deleting apps that feed sinful habits
- Ending relationships that pull you from God
- Quitting activities that consume time meant for spiritual growth
- Canceling subscriptions to things that corrupt your mind
- Giving away possessions you’ve turned into idols
- Changing jobs if your current one requires compromise
Don’t just add God to your existing life. Rearrange your life around God.
Step 5: Build New Patterns
Commitment isn’t just about what you stop. It’s about what you start.
What does making God your priority look like practically?
Daily:
- Morning time in Scripture and prayer
- Constant awareness of God’s presence
- Decision-making that asks “What would God want?”
Weekly:
- Faithful church attendance
- Fellowship with other believers
- Sabbath rest
Ongoing:
- Growing in knowledge of God
- Serving others
- Sharing the gospel
- Investing in relationships that strengthen your faith
Step 6: Find Accountability
You can’t do this alone.
Hebrews 10:24-25: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.”
Find:
- A church that preaches the Word faithfully (like Atlantic Iowa church – Atlantic Gospel Chapel)
- Friends who will challenge you spiritually
- A mentor who’s further along in faith
- A small group for regular encouragement
Wholehearted commitment thrives in community.
Step 7: Persevere Daily
Here’s the key Eric McLaren emphasizes: This isn’t a one-time decision.
It’s a daily recommitment.
Every morning, you wake up and say: “Today, I choose to serve the LORD.”
When temptation comes, you say: “I choose to serve the LORD.”
When it’s hard, you say: “I choose to serve the LORD.”
When nobody else is, you say: “I choose to serve the LORD.”
Luke 9:23: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.”*
Daily. Not once. Daily.
How to Commit Fully to God When Everyone Else Is Lukewarm
Here’s one of the hardest parts of spiritual commitment: You might be the only one.
Joshua said “As for me and my house”—even if everyone else chooses differently.
What do you do when:
- Your friends think you’re extreme?
- Your family thinks you’re overboard?
- Your coworkers think you’re judgmental?
- Your culture thinks you’re intolerant?
- Other Christians think you’re legalistic?
1. Remember: You’re Serving an Audience of One
Galatians 1:10: “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”
You don’t answer to the crowd. You answer to God.
2. Find Like-Minded Believers
You’re not the only one. Even when it feels like it.
1 Kings 19:18: When Elijah thought he was the only faithful one left, God said: “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
Find a church where the Bible is taught faithfully. Find believers who are serious about God.
3. Lead Boldly, Trust God for Results
Your job is to be faithful. God’s job is to bring the results.
You can’t control whether your family, friends, or anyone else chooses God.
But you can:
- Set the example
- Speak the truth
- Pray faithfully
- Trust God’s sovereignty
1 Corinthians 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.”
4. Remember the Eternal Perspective
This life is a vapor. Eternity is forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18: “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
Stand alone now. Stand with the faithful in eternity.
The People’s Response (And Ours): Joshua 24:16-24
Israel’s Commitment
After Joshua’s challenge, the people respond:
Joshua 24:16-18: “The people answered and said, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt… therefore we also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.'”
Sounds great, right?
Joshua’s Warning
But Joshua doesn’t accept their words at face value:
Joshua 24:19-20: “You will not be able to serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgression or your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, then He will turn and do you harm and consume you after He has done good to you.”
Wait… what?
Joshua just challenged them to choose God. Now he’s saying “You can’t do it”?
What’s going on?
Eric McLaren explains: Joshua is testing their sincerity.
He’s essentially saying: “Do you understand what you’re committing to? This isn’t casual. God is holy. God is jealous. He demands exclusive worship. He won’t tolerate compromise. Are you really all in?”
This is serious.
Their Renewed Commitment
Joshua 24:21: “The people said to Joshua, ‘No, but we will serve the LORD.'”
And Joshua responds:
Joshua 24:22: “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the LORD, to serve Him.”
Translation: “You said it. You chose it. You’re accountable for it.”
Your Application:
When you commit to serve God, you’re making yourself accountable.
You’ve declared your choice. God is witness. The church is witness. You’re witness against yourself.
Don’t take it lightly.
The Bottom Line: Choose This Day
Let’s bring this home.
You’ve read this whole post. You’ve heard Joshua’s challenge. You’ve heard Eric McLaren’s sermon in your mind.
Now what?
Here’s the question you have to answer:
Will you serve the LORD? Wholeheartedly? Starting today?
Not someday. Not when it’s convenient. Not when you feel ready.
Today.
Because here’s the reality:
You’re going to serve something. The question is what.
You’re going to worship something. The question is who.
You’re going to give your life to something. The question is what’s worthy.
And only God is worthy of your wholehearted devotion.
Not because He needs it. Because you need to give it.
You were created to worship. To serve. To find your purpose in something greater than yourself.
When you try to serve yourself, you end up empty.
When you try to serve money, success, pleasure—you end up disappointed.
Only when you serve the LORD do you find what your soul was made for.
So choose.
Joshua 24:15: “Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve… but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
What’s your answer?
Experience the Complete Message
This blog post only captures a portion of the challenge and conviction in Eric McLaren’s teaching. To hear the full sermon with all the biblical depth, pastoral wisdom, and Holy Spirit conviction, listen to the complete message here.
Whether you’ve been coasting spiritually, struggling with divided loyalties, or ready to make a decisive commitment to serving the Lord wholeheartedly, this Joshua 24 sermon will challenge you to get off the fence and go all in for God.
About Atlantic Gospel Chapel: We’re a Bible-teaching Atlantic Iowa church committed to calling believers to wholehearted devotion to Christ. We believe that spiritual commitment isn’t optional for Christians—it’s what following Jesus actually means. If you’re tired of lukewarm faith and ready to serve the LORD with your whole heart, we’d love to have you join us in Atlantic, Iowa.
