Cleansed Conscience

I remember the first time I came across Hebrews 10:2. I had been a Christian for just a little while and understood Jesus died my sin penalty because of His love for me so I could live with Him in heaven. I remember how excited I was about being a Christian, to be able to live forever in heaven with the One who loves me. What joy this gives to a child’s heart! What joy it should give to everyone who believes in Jesus. I thought life just couldn’t get any better than that.

And yet, I remembered things I had done wrong. You know what mischief a child can get into–lying, disobeying, swearing. The child thinks these are not big things. I won’t have to go to jail for these so why not do them, everyone else does? Still, after I gave my life to Christ, I felt pangs of conscience. I felt remorse and fear. What, over lying and swearing? Yes, because God instills in us a conscience when He creates us. That conscience is the moral code from God Himself about what is right and wrong. Whether we want to admit it, even these little things are sins. Why? Because they were disobedience and disrespect to God and my parents. Remember those commandments in the Ten Commandments?

So, one day not long after becoming a Christian, I read Hebrews 10:1-2. It says,

“For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?”

Now, two things can happen when one reads this passage. The first response to this reality is, “Hallelujah!” When a person fully repents of all his or her sins, God removes the guilt of those sins from His judgment book because Jesus paid the price. He removed the burden of guilt from the person’s conscience, too. That means it no longer holds a sting from the sin, the sting of guilt. You realize by now the possible other reaction from reading this passage. The second possible reaction to reading this verse is surprise and then repentance. When a person sins before or after becoming a Christian, he or she must repent of each sin to receive forgiveness and cleansing of heart, mind, and soul. That is the cleansing from the stain and guilt of sin. This is of what Hebrews 10:2 speaks. The worshiper, once he or she received God’s forgiveness and cleansing, no longer has consciousness of sin. The guilt of that sin in the conscience does not linger and cause further pain like a sliver Satan might put under your fingernail to remind you constantly of how sinful you are. That power of the sin to cause guilt is gone. Jesus paid it all, and that covers the stain and guilt/consciousness of sin.

Before the writer of Hebrews arrived at this point in his teaching, he spent chapter 9 leading to it. Let me briefly outline for you what he taught before and after Hebrews 10:2 about conscience and consciousness of sin.

With Hebrews 9:9, the writer of Hebrews said the gifts/offerings and sacrifices established as rites of worship by God under the first covenant cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper. That means it cannot make a person perfect, totally clean. This means he or she cannot be in the presence of the Lord eternally.

Later, in verse 14, the writer said the blood of Christ offered to God without blemish through the eternal Spirit purifies our conscience from dead works.  Now, that’s a big jump to make. Why is Jesus’ sacrifice better than those set up by God with the first covenant? The writer explains this in verses 11 and 12. He said, Christ came as a high priest of the good things, those things that originate with God, and He entered the holy places, those not made with human hands, once for all by His own blood, not that of animals. By doing so, He secured eternal redemption from slavery to sin for everyone. That’s a lot to take in, so go read it for yourself. Since Jesus did this, He is the Mediator of a new covenant for those who answer God’s call and receive the promised eternal life. Anyone who answers this call of God gets eternal life because Jesus’ death redeemed them from transgressions committed under the first covenant. The writer of Hebrews spends the next thirteen verses explaining this to us, his readers. He tells of three things Jesus did.

·       He has entered heaven to appear in the presence of God on our behalf    (vs 9:24). This is a past tense action. He never has to do this again    because Jesus died once for all.

·       Jesus appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself (vs. 9:26). This is also a past action with a future assurance.

·       Jesus will appear a second time to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him (vs. 9:28). This is a future action.

The next point the writer of Hebrews made about consciousness of sin comes in the first verses I mentioned above, in 10:1-2. He said, the law, which is just a shadow of the good things that come from God, can never clean consciences of sin. If they could, there would be no need for continual offerings every year as established in the rites of worship God gave the Israelites in the first covenant. The writer went onto say these yearly sacrifices remind the people of their sins, instead of removing them from their consciences. He said Christ came to do the will of God (vs7). Jesus did away with the first covenant to establish the second covenant. Through the offering of the body of Christ, we receive sanctification once for all (vs. 9-10). With Jesus’ single sacrificial offering, He perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (vs. 14). God says, “I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more (vs 17).

Listen carefully to what the writer of Hebrews says in the next six verses. Since we have this confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, what are we to do? Being cleansed isn’t just a receiving transaction. Covenanting is a two-way promise, a bond. The writers said next, with your hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and your bodies washed with pure water (vs. 22), you must do three things.

·       Draw near with a true heart in full assurance of your faith (vs 22). This is for you now and in the future. It is a present action with a future benefit. Note it is not just present tense, but present continuous. Draw near and keep drawing near. This command benefits you.

·       Hold fast the confession of your hope without wavering because He who promised is faithful (vs. 23). Once again this is a present continuous verb that carries on into your future. Hold and keep holding fast. This command benefits you.

·       Consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, but encouraging one another (vs 24). Notice this command benefits you and other believers as you congregate together to worship, pray, and fellowship. It is a command that holds a communal aspect. Recognize this command also is present continuous. Consider and keep on considering how to stir up one another to love and good works.

These commands are not just things on your to-do list you get to cross off once you’ve done them. They are to stay on your daily list. Why? Because God calls you to relationship with Him because of His love. His love showed itself with the ultimate sacrifice of His Only Son, Jesus, for your sin penalty so you could be with Him in an eternal relationship. Your love for God will show in your obedience of His commands and laws. Your obedience to His commands and laws will show itself in love to other people. The three commands at the end of Hebrews 10 are an extension of loving God and people. You will do these because you are growing in relationship with God.

Now, to get back to Hebrews 10:1-2. When I first saw this passage, I received such vast relief. The burden of the guilt of sin I had carried, I realized, was for the first time off my back. Still, I realized I had not repented of all my sins and I had sinned since I became a Christian. I wanted the cleansing from the stain of my sins and the guilt of my sins. Jesus’ is the way to have that. No other way exists to remove the consciousness of sin. Only through Jesus’ death and resurrection can a person gain the removal of the stain and guilt of sins from him- or herself. All the ways people devise to remove the stain of sin reminds them of their guilt. The trying of these other means allows Satan to push that sliver deeper under your fingernail. You experience that guilt continually. Daily come before the Lord repenting of your sins so you will receive forgiveness and cleansing from the stains and guilty conscience of your sins. Hear the words of the writer of Hebrews again.

“Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22 [NASB]

Lord, God Almighty, lead me to recognize Your great love for me and the cost You paid to redeem me from sin. Forgive me of my sins, I pray. Thank You for removing the stain and the guilt of my sin. Thank You for removing the burden of guilt. Help me to love You more and grow closer to You daily. Help me show You how much I love You by my obedience to You. Amen.

Paul's Heart and God's Righteousness

Introduction

In the last Bible study when we studied Romans 1:1-7, we learned the typical way Paul began his letters to churches and Christians he visited or aimed to visit. He began this letter to the Romans similarly. From the beginning verses of the letter to the Romans, Paul stated to the readers and hearers his authority for teaching and preaching. He told of Jesus making him his apostle. Paul made sure his intended hearers and readers recognized his background and authority for teaching and preaching so they would not doubt his earnestness or the authenticity of the gospel of which he spoke. Besides this, he ensured the people knew the basics of the gospel.

From the end of verse six, Paul told us to whom he wrote this letter, the Roman Christians. He called them saints and used the word hagios, which means to be different as in set apart from other things, holy unlike other things that are unholy. Paul said God made them holy by cleansing them from their sins and setting them apart to be His children through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.

After identifying the addressees, Paul greeted the Roman Christians with a prayer of blessing on them. He asked for God’s grace, His favor, to be on them. He asked for God’s peace to be on them, too. This peace for which Paul prayed is greater than the legendary peace of Rome, pax Romana. He understood two types of grace and peace exist-that from God and that found in the world that is not everlasting, but fades.

In this Bible study, we will consider Romans 1:8-17. In these few verses, Paul gave thanks for the Roman Christians, thanks for who they are and what they did, and thanks for what God would do for and to him because of being with them. He told in detail about what he was thankful regarding the Roman Christians. Paul then proclaimed his great desire to be with them and teach them so they would be established and encouraged. Along with his thankfulness for the Romans, he expressed his obligation because of Jesus making him an apostle to preach and teach Greeks and barbarians, and wise and foolish. The Roman Christians would have understood Paul’s heart of care for the salvation of every person no matter their background.

The final element of any Pauline letter was the incorporation of a summary of the main theme of his writing. Paul made sure people understood the purpose of his writing. He more than alluded to it in his opening statements. For the Romans, Paul stated the theme of this letter is the righteousness of God. Let’s now study verses eight through seventeen of Romans chapter one.

Thanksgiving

Another of Paul’s typical inclusions in the opening of his letters to other churches and here in Romans was thanksgiving to God. For what did he thank God regarding the Romans? Let’s consider what he said in verses eight through ten. Paul said,

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you, always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. (NASB)

Paul told the Romans two things for which he prayed to God in these three verses. He said he thanked God for the Romans. Why would Paul thank God for them? He said people around the whole world proclaimed their faith (vs. 8). Paul said he thanked God for the faith of the Roman Christians. Remember the history of Jews and Christians in Rome was one of persecution. (See the Bible study titled Romans, the Background.) The Roman Christians began by worshiping with the Jews, God-worshipers, in their synagogues in Rome. They identified with the Jews because they worshiped Yahweh, too. Since the Christians of Rome were a small group, they worshiped alongside the Jews. The leaders of Rome, therefore, considered the Christians of Rome an offshoot of Jews, not a separate faith. When the Emperors of Rome expelled the Jews, the Jewish-background believers in Jesus also had to leave Rome. That left the Gentile-background believers in Rome with no one else with whom to worship Yahweh and nowhere to worship so they began small house churches. When the Emperors who expelled the Jews died or repealed their expulsion, the Jewish-background believers returned to find established Christian churches in Rome. Through the series of these Emperors, the Christians of Rome kept the faith. Their conviction of the truth about Jesus Christ remained firm, and they continued to worship the Lord despite the upheaval. For this, Paul thanked God for the Roman Christians. These Christians, though faced with loss of worship place, home, leadership, and expulsion from Rome, stood strong in their faith in Jesus Christ.

With verse nine, Paul told these believers how big his heart was for them. He said he prayed unceasingly to God, whom he served, for the Roman Christians. Paul noted he served God. He willingly submitted himself as a bondservant for God’s service as an apostle to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Paul, as God’s servant, claimed in verse nine God was his witness how often he prayed for the Romans. Claiming God as his witness was like taking an oath. God witnessed Paul’s unceasing care and prayer for the Roman Christians. No one higher exists and Paul attested to that with this oath emphatically letting the readers and hearers know if he lied, God would judge him. With this statement, the Roman Christians would realize without doubt Paul’s love for them since he prayed for them unceasingly. Paul loved the Roman Christians enough that he prayed for them ceaselessly and thanked God for them.

·         Do you pray unceasingly for anyone? Why or why not?

·         When you pray for someone regularly, do you find your heart grows closer to that person?

·         Why did Paul pray unceasingly for the Roman Christians? Is this why you pray unceasingly?

·         Do you suppress godly love for others and keep yourself from praying unceasingly for other people?

·         Could it be that you have not willingly submitted to God, and that keeps you from praying ceaselessly for other people?

Paul’s Heart

Strengthening Believers

Paul’s love for the Roman Christians went beyond praying for them when he remembered them. He desired to be with them. In Acts 19:21, Paul said, “I must also see Rome.” This “must” comes from the word dei and means what is imperative. Paul said he must absolutely appear in Rome. “See” comes from the Greek word horao and means to see, look upon, and experience; to see with the mind. Paul prayed for the Roman Christians because of what they experienced and their continued faith. He prayed for them to continue to be a testimony to God through their faith to the world. Paul desired to be with the Roman Christians to see them and experience their life with them because of his love for them. He trusted and prayed to God that he would “succeed” in going to the Romans (vs. 10). “Succeed” comes from the Greek word euodoo and means to grant prosperous and expeditious journey. Paul prayed God would grant him permission to go to Rome to see and be with them, and to be His apostle to them proclaiming the gospel there. He wanted to go at once, but he waited for God to make a way for him and send him. Though Paul’s desire was to be in Rome immediately, God’s timing for his visit there was for later.

The latter was truly Paul’s heart. He said in verses eleven and twelve,

For I long to see you that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established, that is that I may be encouraged together while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. (NASB)

Paul desired with his whole being to be with the Roman Christians and to be in Rome. Why he did it comes in the succeeding verses. He wanted to become acquainted with them by experience, not just by hearing about them. Paul wanted to impart something to them. “Impart” comes from the Greek word metadidomi and means to impart, share, or give over. Paul said he wanted to impart a spiritual gift. If we conclude his thought there instead of going through the end of the verse and going through verse twelve, we will make a mistake in understanding. Paul did not mean he wanted to lay hands on the people so they would receive spiritual gifts. This impartation of gifts is tied to the purpose of Paul’s letter. The purpose of Paul’s letter, he said, was to establish them and make them strong, and to encourage them. Verse eleven is emphasized and given its purpose with verse twelve. Paul did not emphasize his laying on of hands to pass supernatural spiritual gifts to people. His passing on of a gift came through his preaching of the gospel. The Romans probably had not received the preaching before by an apostle of Christ. Paul desired to be there to teach them the full truth of the Gospel so they would have a firm foundation and stand strong in their belief as they faced persecution then and in their future, especially since Jews had faced persecution by Emperors in the recent past already.

The “being established” Paul spoke of at the end of verse eleven means to place firmly, fix, strengthen, and make constant. Paul’s gift of teaching and preaching the gospel in Rome would help the Christians there to hear the whole truth of the gospel so they would stand firm and constantly fixed in their faith with the hope God gives through their salvation by Jesus Christ. He recognized a difference between standing firm through one’s own strength and personal fortitude and that given by God through salvation and the Holy Spirit. Paul loved the Roman Christians because God put His own love for them in his heart. Because Paul loved them, he wanted to make sure they understood well so they could stay strong through their faith in God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Paul continued his thought from verse eleven. The first thought was he longed to be with the Roman Christians so he could impart a gift for their establishment. The second thought is he longed to be with them so he would be encouraged with them by their mutual faith. The word “encouraged” comes from the Greek word sumparakaleo and means to call upon, invite, or exhort at the same time together or to strengthen with others. Paul wanted to be together with other believers to strengthen them and gain strength from them. Remember, the Roman Christians knew about persecution or knew it from firsthand experience. Paul experienced persecution, too, throughout his ministry as an apostle of Jesus. He mentioned it often in his writings and spoke of his “thorn in the flesh.” Paul did not want to go to Rome just to give encouragement. He wanted to receive it, too. Christians who gather together find this happens as they associate, teach, strengthen, and pray for each other. These are some of the reasons God calls His children to worship Him in His temples, synagogues, and churches. Each Christian can bless others through the blessings with which God blessed him or her. They reciprocally and mutually encourage each other by their faith.

·         Do you attend church regularly? Why or why not?

·         What does Paul’s spoken need for encouragement make you feel or think?

·         Consider finding an evangelical Christian church near you, attending, interacting with the people there, and praying for God to bless you and the people there with whom you meet.

Proclaiming the Gospel

Paul’s first love was God. Circumcised on the eighth day, and trained as most Jewish boys in the Talmud, Paul studied under Rabbi Gamaliel strictly according to the law of the fathers of Israel. He was zealous for God and persecuted the Way, Jesus-followers (Acts 22:3-4) (NASB). Even while Paul was a Pharisee, he loved God, though some might say he loved the law more. While on his way to Damascus to persecute and take Jewish Jesus-followers from there to Jerusalem for punishment (Acts 22:5), Jesus met him in a very bright light. From that day, Paul loved Jesus and the God of salvation more than he did the law. At the moment Jesus met him, he became blind. Jesus told Paul to go to Damascus where He would reveal His appointed purpose for him. Paul entered Damascus and the priest, Ananias, told Paul, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” [Acts 22:14-15 (NASB)]. From that moment, his heart for God leaped to its greatest height. Paul’s love for the unsaved grew because of God’s heart within him.

This heart of God within Paul compelled him to preach and teach the gospel. It gave him the desire to go to Rome. In Romans 1:13-15, Paul said,

And I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that often I have planned to come to you, and have been prevented thus far, in order that I might obtain some fruit among you also, even among the rest of the Gentiles. I am under obligation both to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. (NASB)

As he said in Romans 1:13, he “often planned” to go to them and God prevented it so far. Before we sail past this point to understand why Paul said he planned to go to Rome, let’s consider what he meant when he said he “had been prevented” from going earlier. The word “prevented” comes from the Greek word koluo and means to hinder, prevent, or forbid. During Paul’s three first missionary journeys, God forbade him to go to Rome. He gave Paul the task to preach to the unsaved in the east (Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, and Israel) and to encourage and strengthen them. Once churches started and Paul trained and left men behind to help them grow, God opened the door for Paul to go to Rome.

Paul’s going to Rome, he said, was like going to Macedonia, Ephesus, Corinth or any of the other places he visited. He wanted to preach the gospel so people would come to saving faith in Jesus the Christ. Though Paul had learned about Christians living in Rome, he realized there were many other people among the masses who lived or visited the metropolitan trade center who did not believe in Jesus and had not heard of Him.  For these people, Paul desired to preach the gospel so all people would receive salvation (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Paul, having freedom to travel easily within the Roman empire since he was a Roman citizen, used that freedom to take the gospel farther than any other apostle. He desired to go as far as Rome and Spain (Romans 15:24 & 28). He expressed his desire for the people in Rome in Romans 1:13 when he said he planned to go there so he “may obtain some fruit among you also even as among the rest of the Gentile.” Paul heard about the Christians in Rome, but understood there were thousands more who worshiped gods from the pantheon worshiped by Roman citizens and people who visited there.

The love Paul felt for God and for other people compelled him, obliged him, to preach to the people in Rome. He expressed this compelling in verse fourteen when he said he was under obligation to the Greeks and barbarians. This word “obligation” comes from the Greek word opheiletes and means one who owes another or is bound by a duty. Paul, the man who persecuted and ordered the deaths of Jesus-followers in Israel, felt obliged to God for saving him and for calling him as an apostle. He felt compelled to declare God’s gospel so other people, people like himself whom God created and loved, would know Jesus and receive salvation and eternal life. That shows Paul’s love of God and humankind. He did not decide Jesus could only save the Jews and so kept himself within Israel. Likewise, Paul did not decide only wise and socially acceptable people should hear the gospel. He determined each person he met, whether Greek or barbarian, wise or foolish must hear the gospel of salvation and receive the opportunity to accept Jesus as his or her Savior.

After making this point to the Roman Christians, Paul said it was because of this, his love for God and every person, and God’s calling on His life to preach and teach that he was ready to go to Rome. He said he was “eager” to preach the gospel. For Paul and for us, this means he was ready and willing. Often God asks a person do to something for Him, but that person is not willing. He/she knows God made him/her ready to do what He called him/her to do, but he/she is unwilling to do it. Paul stated in verse fifteen, he was ready (prepared by God) and willing (personally accepting and doing) to do what God asked of him. Eagerness implies God preparing you for a task and you being willing, consenting, and then doing what God called you to do. Paul did not preach grudgingly. He preached with a great desire to see all people come to know Jesus, receive salvation from their sins and gain eternal life with Him in heaven. To have this intense desire required him to love the Lord totally and to love his fellow man and woman enough to go anywhere to reach them and preach to them. Paul’s response to Jesus’ love for him, was love for God. God’s love for Paul and each person pierced Paul’s heart so he had the heart of God. Paul was ready. He expressed his willingness. Paul was eager.

·         God trains each of us for His service. He uses accountants, nurses, presidents, teachers, students, etc. to share the gospel and tell of His love.

·         You are trained. If you have accepted the love of God shared through His gospel and are a Christian, He made you ready.

·         Are you willing to do what God tells you to do? Eagerness comes from being ready and willing?

·         What will it take for you to be willing? What stops you from willingly giving up mastery of your life to the Master and Lord of all life?

Main Theme of Romans

Paul received God’s love for all people within himself, recognized it and his love for God, and acted upon his debt to God by willingly doing what God appointed him to do. God appointed him to preach the gospel. Paul recognized this calling and eagerly acted upon it for the rest of his life.

The main message of Paul’s preaching and teaching is what he primarily addressed in the letter to the Romans. He proclaimed his testimony in verses sixteen and seventeen. Paul said,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” (NASB)

The righteousness of God was Paul’s main theme in this letter and in other letters. First, though, Paul attested he was not ashamed of the gospel. He was not embarrassed or afraid of his association with God and His gospel that came through the death of Jesus Christ, His Son. Paul expressed this conviction in 2 Timothy 1:12 when he said, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.” (NASB) His conviction of God’s mercy, love, and provision of salvation drove him to tell as many people as he could about the gospel.

Paul expressed why the gospel was important and essential for all to hear and accept. He said, “It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” People have difficulty trusting in what they cannot see. This regularly gave an excuse for denying this gift God gives. Paul explained the gospel of God is not powerless and is real and vibrant. He said the gospel is the power of God. This “power” comes from the Greek word dunamis. Dunamis is the word from which we get our English words dynamite and dynamo. Dunamis is the power, strength, and ability inherent in God by virtue of His nature. God is the One who created the universe-rocks, land, seas, animals, plants, sun, stars, moon, wind, gravity, oxygen, and humankind-by His will, hands, and breath. He created everything out of nothing-ex nihilo, meaning “creation from nothing.” This powerful and creative God provided a way for people, people who have sinned and are unholy, to return to a right relationship with Him, the holy God. This way is the gospel Paul and all Christians proclaim. It came through the birth of Jesus, His Son, in human form to live as people live, in a sinful world, yet to be without sin. This Son then died though He did not sin, so that by His death, we sinful people could receive salvation from the death penalty of sin we deserve and wipe us clean from the stains of our sins. This cleansing from sins makes a person who believes in Jesus holy so he or she can be in God’s presence and have a relationship with Him. This gospel that proclaims God’s love and mercy toward us came through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the power of God to save people if they repent and trust in Jesus Christ. 

Paul meant this when he wrote verse sixteen. God made His righteousness available to people through His power to save so each person who believes will become righteous-made right with God-and be in His presence from that day and forever. This gospel Paul preached is for the Jews, Greeks and barbarians, as his heart told him. He said in verse sixteen God’s powerful gospel of salvation is for everyone, “to the Jews first and also to the Greeks.” God wants everyone to come to a saving knowledge of Him.

With verse seventeen, Paul explained only by the righteousness of God will His people live. From their first steps in the faith through growth in their faith until the end of time, people will see God’s righteousness and hear His people testify about Him. Righteousness is the virtue of being right without tarnish of sin in thought, feeling, or action. God’s character defines righteousness and rightness. He is the epitome and definition of righteousness.  The salvation He gives people who repent and believe in Jesus makes them righteous by Jesus’ cleansing of their sins. Jesus Christ and the faith of believers reveal God’s righteousness. From the first encounter of salvation through to the end of a believer’s earthly life, God’s righteousness is revealed. From justification through sanctification to glorification, the righteousness of God shows through the person because of what God did through Jesus Christ.

Justification occurs when a person receives Christ as his or her Savior and received the cleansing from sins His sacrificial death made possible. Christ’s righteousness is credited to believers so they are made right with God and can have a relationship with Him. Paul said in Romans 3:21-22, “But now apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.” (NASB)

“Sanctification” and “saint” come from the same root Greek word, hagios. They each relate to holiness. “Saint” means to be holy as set apart from something that is unholy. To sanctify something is to set it apart for special use. So, to sanctify a person, a saint/believer, is to make him or her holy for God’s use. Jesus spoke about sanctifying His disciples in John 17:17. Sanctification is being made separate for God’s use. All believers enter this state of sanctification when they receive new life through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus, believers receive sanctification (1 Corinthians 1:30). God is the One who sanctifies a person. We cannot sanctify ourselves since we are not holy. Only one who is holy, who is clean from sin, can make something clean, holy, that was full of sin and separate it from the unholy. Sanctification is a progressive experience. As a person becomes more obedient to God that person becomes more holy. We set aside ourselves for God’s service, for His holy work, and grow in holiness through our obedience to Him. Peter called this “growing in the Lord” when he said, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 3:18 (NASB)] Paul spoke of it in Philippians 1:6 when he said, “For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (NASB) This progressive sanctification carries the idea that God sets apart to do the His purposes in the world just as Jesus set Himself apart for God’s purposes as John said in John 10:37. Jesus acknowledged God intended His children to go into the world to tell about Him in John 17:18-19. He said, “As Thou did send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.” Sanctification comes through Christ, through a relationship with Him. Peter said believers were to seek holiness. In 1 Peter 1:15, he said, “But like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior.” (NASB) Finally, Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.” (NASB)

Sanctification is a process from the point of justification to the time when God’s kingdom comes on earth and He resurrects believers to live with Him eternally. When Paul said in Romans 1:17, “The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,” he understood and taught that a Christian’s faith grows from its first baby steps at profession of faith through the person’s glorification. Going from faith to faith means following God’s leading and growing closer to Him with daily prayer, Bible study, and meditation. A believer reveals the righteousness of God more and more as his or her faith grows from its first aspiration and spoken words of acceptance throughout his or her life in love and obedience to God. Just as God is revealed through creation, conscience, Christ, and the Bible, so He and His righteousness is revealed through a believer’s life of faith. Paul meant this when he wrote in Romans 1:17, “The righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.” Paul’s faith revealed God’s righteousness so that he declared in verse seventeen he is “not ashamed of the gospel.”

·         Do you recognize the reality of God in His creation, in your conscience, in the lives of your Christian friends, and/or the Bible, but still push His gift of righteousness and salvation away? Why?

·         If you are a Christian, do you take time with God each day so that your faith grows along with your holiness? If not, why not?

·         Do you deny the power of God in your life even though you believed in Jesus Christ and received His salvation? Why do you refuse to grow with God and allow His Holy Spirit to guide and guard you each day?

·         Now is the time to consider each of these and decide if you will recognize God and accept His forgiveness, salvation, and power.

Recap

What is important about these ten verses to our lives today? Why should we pay attention and act upon them? First and foremost, the gospel is important. As Paul and other Bible authors stated, God’s love for humanity is paramount. Because of His love, He provided a way for each person to be in a right relationship with Him. This right relationship requires righteousness on both sides, but we humans do not have it because of the wrong things we have done, said, or considered. Through the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, God wipes away the sins of humankind when a person believes in Him as the Son of God and repents of his or her sins. Because Jesus took the death penalty we each deserve for our wrongdoings, we do not owe for our sins. When Jesus allowed the Romans to crucify Him, He took the judgment for sinners. By His death, He gave us righteousness, God’s righteousness. When we believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who took our sins away, God makes us righteous and able to be in His presence, in a relationship with Him. That is most important for us in these verses.

Because of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul believed in Jesus as his Savior and has a love for God and humanity deeper than he ever had. His desire is to go where God tells him and to preach and teach the gospel. This desire, this love for the souls of other people, comes from the heart of God He put in him when Jesus saved him. Paul’s love for other people allows him to pray with thanks for them and to pray ceaselessly. In praying ceaselessly, Paul gains a greater heart and love for the people, comes to understand them better, and knows better how to pray for them. This back and forth dynamic occurs anytime we pray to God. As we pray, we know God more and we pray better. When we pray, we recognize God’s heart for people more and know the people better so we love deeper and better.

Relevance and Conclusion

What is the “take away” for this lesson? How is this relevant to us now? Paul’s love for God and submission to Him as a bondservant is most important here. He went when God told him to go. Paul went where God opened doors. God gave him a heart for Himself and the people, especially Gentiles. Because of Paul’s love for God, he willingly submitted to God as His Lord and Master. Paul said he was eager to preach the gospel. Using the Greek definition of eager, he was ready and willing. God made Paul ready. He put His heart for Himself and other people in Paul. God trained Paul in the Jewish laws for which he had been fiercely protective. He instilled in him the need for intent of the heart in worship, not mere ritual. God taught him how to preach when He had Paul train with Gamaliel. He prepared him to defend the gospel when he trained to be a Pharisee. God made Paul ready for the task to which He would call him. When Paul received the love of God through his salvation and expressed his love back to Him, it resulted in willingness to do the tasks to which God called/appointed him.

Our love of God shows in our obedience to what He asks of us. Paul’s voluntary submission to the Lord’s appointing him an apostle showed the depth of his love for Him. Our love for God shows in how we relate to other people. Do we love them like God loves them? Paul loved the Roman Christians enough that he prayed for God’s grace and peace on them and gave thanks to God for them though he had never met them or visited their city.

Our challenge, our calling by God, is to love Him and to love the people whom He loves. That would be all people. Both Moses and Jesus taught what loving God means. It means loving Him with your whole being, heart, soul, mind, and strength (Deuteronomy 6:5 and Mark 12:30). To get to this depth of love, we must recognize, realize within ourselves, and choose to live out the love God gives us through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, for our salvation just so we can have a right relationship with Him and live eternally with Him. When we truly understand the magnitude of His gift of love through the death of His Son, our whole being will compel us to express our great gratitude and love to Him. We will reach deep within ourselves and give from the depths of our being from all parts of ourselves to try to express the depths of our gratitude and love back to Him. This means our love will show, will shine out, in gratitude and obedience to Him to do willing whatever He asks of us. We will scratch the depths of our being to find the last ounce of ourselves to express our love to God. This depth of love is most likely from where Paul loved and served God and from where His love of all people came.

If you are already a believer in Jesus Christ, you now must decide if you love God to the very last ounce of your being and are giving Him everything you are to serve Him willingly in the task for which he has made you ready and to which He called you. Are you eager to do what God asks of you? If not, what keeps you from loving God with absolute obedience? What keeps you from loving people with the love God put in your heart for them? God waits for you to love Him willingly and join Him in sharing the gospel of His righteousness so each person will hear and receive salvation.

If you are not a believer, what in yourself keeps you from accepting God’s gift of salvation from your sins, the power of sin, and the power of death? What is keeping you from accepting the full degree of His love? Today you heard the basics of the Gospel from Paul. The gospel of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Right now, as an unbeliever, you live under the weight of your wrongdoings. Those wrongdoings separate you from God. He won’t be in your presence because He is holy and you are not. When you confess and believe in Jesus, He makes you holy so you can be with God now and forever. Without His salvation, you live powerless against temptation and death. The only strength you have is your own fortitude, and that is feeble. Sometimes you fail yourself. We all do. But, with the strength of God’s power, His dunamis, you would no longer have to struggle. God would give you the power of Himself through the indwelling of His Holy Spirit if you claim it, hold onto it, and walk through life with it. As a Christian, you would have power over sin. He gives you power over death. That means your soul would not die, be separated permanently from God, but will be with Him in His presence for eternity.

We each must decide what we will do about and with God’s love given through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus. Will you accept it? Will you stand in the power He offers? Will you show your love and gratitude to God by obeying His calling? Or, will you hold back and not accept His righteousness or not accept His calling?

Are you eager, ready and willing, to answer the call of God’s righteousness?

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in this flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me, and I do not know which to choose.” [Philippians 1:21-22 (NASB)]

Omnipotent, Covenant, One True God - Deuteronomy 4:1-43

          When we finish our reading of Deuteronomy 3, we find the Israelites encamped in the valley of Beth-Peor below Mount Nebo, where Moses overlooked the Promised Land. With the beginning of chapter four, we read God’s commands through Moses to the Israelites before they cross the Jordan River to enter the Promised Land. This chapter leads us to ask two questions – 1) Why did Moses remind the Israelites of who God is and what He did in their earlier years with Him? 2) Why did he remind them of the laws and judgments of God?

            Moses began with an injunction to Israel. He told them to listen to the statues and judgments that he taught them so they may live, go in, and take possession of the Promised Land (vs. 1). Moses told the Israelites God’s statues must have nothing added to it or taken away from it so they could keep the commandments of God (vs. 2). Why were these injunctions so important that Moses began his speech with them? First, we must remember from chapters two and three what God did to the Amorites, the people who did not follow Him. God annihilated the Amorites. Why? The Amorites chose not to worship the one true God, but instead bowed in worship to their manmade gods and idols. God did not want the Israelites tricked or seduced into worshipping the god of the Amorites, Baal-peor. God gave a three-fold promise to the Israelites for performing the statutes (choq – laws and decrees) and judgments. They would live, go in, and take possession of the land God showed them. The Israelites saw firsthand how God dealt with pagan worshippers. He annihilated them. The Israelites wanted to live, so they chose to follow God’s statutes and judgments. The Israelites wanted to enter the Promised Land, too, but not as just residents. They wanted to claim as a possession the land God promised to their ancestor Abraham. So since they wanted to live, go in, and posses the land, God required they obey His statutes and judgments. The other injunction Moses gave the Israelites was they were not to add to the word God commanded nor take away from it. This command continues to today. We are not to add to or take away from God’s Word. Do we believe this or do we misinterpret God’s Word in a way that is usable and agreeable to secular twenty-first century people?

            Moses reminded them what happened to the people who followed Baal-peor, which means “lord of the gap” in Hebrew. The people of Beth Peor followed this god. Moses recalled to the Israelites that God destroyed the Amorites. He added, in verse four, “But you who held fast to the Lord your God are alive today, every one of you.” Moses reminded the Israelites of God’s power in their recent history. How often do we need to recall how God acted within our lives so we can be encouraged, comforted, or strengthened?

            Moses declared to them that he taught the statues and judgments of the Lord just as God commanded him, so they could possess the land. He told them to do them (statutes and judgments) because these were for their wisdom and understanding. Moses said the people of every nation would see the Israelites live by God’s statutes and judgments and call them wise and understanding (vs. 5-6). He told them other people and nations would recognize that their Yahweh God is real, because of His nearness to them – God is close enough to them that He listens to and cares for them – and because their laws and judgments are righteous. Moses taught the Israelites the Ten Commandments and everything God told him. The Hebrew word used for “law” in verse eight is towrah, which means instruction or teachings. This is the Hebrew name for the first five books of the Old Testament, Torah, what we call the Pentateuch. Yahweh God is righteous. He gave righteous laws and judgments. God’s character provides the definition of the word “righteous.” Because God is righteous, He is just, the other side of the coin. His justness requires justice and judgment rendered on people rebelling against His statues and decrees. God’s righteous laws and judgments contain more wisdom than any nation’s laws and judgments because He instituted them. How often do people watch true believers in Jesus Christ and acknowledge they are wise and must follow a wise God? How often does this make the watching person seek Yahweh God? I can think of two people in the Bible who turned to God because of a life testimony of Him – Rahab and Ruth. Both these women observed the power and wisdom of God in the lives of the Israelites and they observed their God, Yahweh, was the one true God. Do people watch us as we live and see us following God’s righteous laws? Do they then wonder about our God?

            From verses nine to twenty, Moses recalled to the Israelites what God did for them, as the seed of Abraham. He began with four commands – 1) Give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently; 2) Do not forget the things which your eyes have seen; 3) Do not let what you have seen depart from your heart; and 4) Make these actions of God known to your children and grandchildren (vs. 9). Let us look at the first command. The English word “keep” in this verse comes from the Hebrew word shamar, which means to guard, preserve, observe, and give heed. This means a person should not just remember a law or actions of God, but he or she should cherish and guard it while acting upon it. Shamar is an active verb. It requires more than head knowledge. Shamar requires interaction with your whole being – mind, heart, and strength. In Deuteronomy 6:5, Moses taught the Israelites to “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” In Deuteronomy 6:7, Moses told them to teach God’s statutes and judgments diligently to their children and talk of them when they sit in their houses, walk, lie asleep, and arise. Shamar or “keep” began this teaching to the Israelites. The Israelites were to guard the statutes and judgments of God to make sure other teachings did not corrupt them. They were to enact them as a way of life because they were the people of God, in a covenant relationship with Him. Moses taught them this command about keeping their souls diligently and explained how to do it. Shamar keeping, then, meant not forgetting the laws (mind), not allowing them to depart from their hearts, and teaching them to their descendents. God wanted the Israelites to remember everything they observed, what Moses taught, and pass them to their descendents. The Lord called them to listen to His words, fear (reverence and awe) Him all their lives, and teach His words to their children (vs. 10). How often do we today guard, cherish, and act upon God’s statutes instead of being enticed away from them?

            Moses recalled for them their middle-distant history (forty years before) with Yahweh God – God’s speaking to them from the fire on Mt. Horeb/Mt. Sinai. Moses reminded them that they viewed no form of God in the fire. The Israelites witnessed no image, but they heard a voice. They heard “the sound of words, but observed no form,” according to verses eleven and twelve. The voice on Mt. Horeb from the heavens declared God’s covenant, which He commanded them to do (13). Covenant is bariyth in Hebrew and means pledge, alliance, and agreement. The part of the covenant that required their participation was following and enacting the Ten Commandments. God’s side of the covenant was to give the Promised Land and to take care of them. The Israelites’ side of the covenant/pledge was to worship Yahweh God and to teach and live out the statutes and judgments of God. God commanded they follow the Ten Commandments. He did not ask it, but as sovereign God, commanded it. As an addition for Moses, the Lord commanded Moses to teach His statutes and judgments to the Israelites at the same time He commanded them to follow His laws. Moses had the added command from God in the covenant to teach God’s statutes and judgments to the Israelites. Moses taught them to live the laws and judgments of God in the Promised Land. He then reiterated who they followed, not an image or idol of something on the earth, in the water, in the air, or in the heavens. The Israelites were not to act corruptly by worshipping and idol. The word “corruptly” comes from the Hebrew shachath, which means to be marred, spoiled, perverted, go to ruin, or decay. God commanded them through Moses not to corrupt or pervert their worship of Him with images made by their hands from their minds. That would lead to the decay of their worship. Moses told them not to worship or serve other gods with the images from on, above, or under earth because God allotted them to everyone under heaven. He created them for everyone. Instead, worship God the Creator because remember God came not to them from an image they saw but as a great voice overheard from the fire on the mountain. Remember, Moses said, the Lord took and “brought you from the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession” (vs. 20). Moses called Egypt the “iron furnace.” The door they opened during the famine four hundred years before to enter Egypt and get food became a heavy iron door of captivity. It became as strong as the door of hell and as hot, but God brought them out of Egypt. Moses told them to remember their long and middle distant history with God – His love, sovereignty, and power. God did not forget his promise to Abraham. He chose Abraham and his seed and brought the seed of Abraham out of their slavery in Egypt because of His promise. The Lord does not forget nor fail to fulfill His promises. Have we ever failed and forgotten God walking in our own way?

            Moses told them God’s anger at and judgment of himself was because of the Israelites (vs. 21). God swore Moses and Aaron would not enter the Promised Land in Numbers 20:12. Moses took the glory due to God when he struck his staff to a rock and produced clean water for the wandering Israelites. God told him to touch the rock. Because Moses recognized firsthand God’s judgment from his personal disobedience, he was a living example of God’s judgment before them. So Moses said, “Watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God which He made with you and make for yourselves a graven image (idol) in the form of any thing against which the Lord your God has commanded you” (vs. 23). Moses told them what to do – keep, guard, and take heed the covenant of God – and do not make an idol to worship and serve. Moses made himself an example before them. He had the example God gave, too. He said, “For the Lord you God is a consuming fire, a jealous God” (vs. 24). The Israelites saw the fire at the time they listened to God’s voice. They understood the connection between God and fire. They realized fire consumes that with which it comes into contact. The Bible book writers used this phrase often when referring to God in both the Old Testament and New Testament (Exodus 24:17, Deuteronomy 9:3, Isaiah 30:27 and 33:14, Hebrews 12:29). Deuteronomy 9:3 speaks of the effects of a consuming fire as subduing and destroying His enemies. So, because God is a jealous God, His consuming fire metes judgment on those who do not follow His Laws - those who rebel against Him and turn away from Him. From this then, Moses taught what judgment God promised to bring on the Israelites if they forgot His covenant. He said,

When you become the father of children and children’s children, have remained long in the land, act corruptly, make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the Lord your God so as to provoke Him to anger, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. [Deuteronomy 4:25-26]

“Heaven and earth are witnesses,” Moses said, “that God and I told you not to do these things against His Laws.” Moses taught the Laws and judgments of God to the Israelites. They recognized what God promised for their disobedience. Moses repeated this judgment to the Israelites a couple times in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 7:4 and 8:19-20. He described what “perishing” meant in verse twenty-six. Perishing means not living long, being utterly destroyed, being scattered among all peoples by the Lord, and being “left few in number among the nations where the Lord drives you” (vs. 27). The word “scatter” comes from the Hebrew word puwts, meaning disperse or spread abroad. As people of the twenty-first century, we look back in history and see God scattered the Israelites when the Assyrians captured the northern kingdom in 732 BC and the Babylonians captured the southern kingdom in 582 BC. Very few Israelites remained in the southern kingdom after their captivity began. While in captivity, the Israelites worshipped gods of their captors as demanded, gods made by human hands. Today, we are part of the dispersed believers of Jesus Christ in the world. Do we steadily and faithfully follow God each day or do we allow the world’s influence to dictate what we worship?

            From captivity of the Israelites, though, God promised they could find if they searched for Him with all their heart and soul. Even in the midst of judgment, God wanted His people to return to Him and made a way for their return. He gave them hope. God’s requiring the heart, soul, and might of His children occurs throughout history. This lesson occurs in Deuteronomy 6:5 and 10:12, Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27, and Matthew 22:37. After their capture, the Israelites, prompted by their judges and prophets, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah (29:11-14), recalled Moses’ teaching and called out to the Lord. One Chronicles 15:4 is an example. God knew His people would call to Him. He knew they would return to Him and listen to His voice (Jeremiah 23:20, Hosea 3:5, Hebrews 1:2). God made a way for them to return to Him. He still makes this same way for people to return to Him now. Have we forgotten God and gone our own ways? God wants us to call to Him and promises He will be found by us.

            Questions come to mind. Why did God listen and allow the Israelites to return to Him? Why will He listen and allow His children to return to Him? Moses told them, “For the Lord your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers that He swore to them” (vs. 31). God’s covenant relationship with the Israelites and His later children does not end. Jesus Christ’s life, death, resurrection, and ascension fulfilled the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenant. It created a new covenant, too, the Messianic covenant, which will never end. God’s character never changes and did not change with the new covenant through Jesus Christ. As Moses said, “God is a compassionate God.” Moses described this compassion of God. He said God does not fail His people. God’s compassion repeats throughout the Bible in Deuteronomy 31:6 and 8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Chronicles 28:20, and Hebrew 13:5. Moses added that God’s compassion means He will not destroy His people, those who choose to follow Him. Jeremiah added that God would destroy the nations where the Israelites were scattered, but He would not destroy them completely. Added to this, God does not forget His covenant with His people (Leviticus 26:45). Have we experienced God’s compassion? Have we walked away from Him and need to turn toward Him? God keeps His covenant with us.

            Moses wanted the Israelites to remember God, His person and His actions, from the past and recognize His power. In verse thirty-two, Moses reminded them God created man on earth. No one and nothing has ever done things like these. God was there in the distant past, at creation – Remember. Moses reminded them God spoke to the Israelites from the fire, they heeded it, and they survived. God was there in their recent past, at the creation of the Ten Commandments – Remember. Moses reminded them God took a people from within a nation and made them a nation for Himself with signs, wonders, and great terrors. God was in their middle distant past, at their exodus – Remember. This God is the One true God, the One who created, spoke from a consuming fire, and took them from captivity within a nation by great wonders. He alone is worthy of worship. God chose the Israelites to show His might as the One true God; there is no other (vs. 35). He let them hear His voice. God let them see His great fire and hear His words from the midst of the fire (vs. 36). He let them because He wanted them to realize Yahweh God in the only true God. No other god exists. God showed Himself to them.

 Why did God speak to them and show them His fire? Moses explained,

Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendents after them. He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power, driving out from before you nations greater and mightier than you to bring you in and to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is today. (Emphasis is mine. [Deut. 4:37-38])

God wanted them to experience life fully, the way He intended when He created it. He showed them how to do that through His Ten Commandments and judgments. God does not intend the Ten Commandments unduly to constrict human experience, but to bring human experience back into right focus – relationship with and love for God and other humans. To acquire the Promised Land, the Israelites defeated greater and mightier nations. God empowered them to defeat and take the land. Israel had no military advantage. Their military men died in the earlier generation except Joshua and Caleb. God gave them the victory. The peoples’ faith in God’s power and purposes was the key to the victory. Moses ensured they recognized that. When last did we give God the glory for an outcome in our lives? Or, did we take the glory for ourselves?

            Near the end of this teaching, Moses commanded them to “know therefore today, and take it to your heart that the Lord, He is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other” (vs. 39). This is the key verse to which Moses aimed when he began his speech to the Israelites. Let us look at this verse closer. The word “know” in Hebrew is yada’, which means to recognize, acknowledge, confess, and act upon this knowledge with your life. It involves your whole being – mind, heart, soul, and strength. If you know something, but do not act on it, you are not a true believer and disciple of that teaching or person. To be a believer and disciple requires enacting the teaching whether the teacher is from a university, is a religious leader, or are your parents. “God is the One true God,” Moses said. To be a true follower of Yahweh, one of His people, the commands/laws and judgments must be evident in the life of the person who claims to be a follower. Yada’/know means just that. In case the Israelites and later believers did not understand, Moses stated later, “Take it to your heart.” Followers, children/people of God, follow these truths with their whole selves. Added to this, Moses explicitly stated the truth, “The Lord, He is God in heaven and on earth; there is no other.” Joshua 2:11 said, “God is sovereign over all creation.” He was not and is not one of many gods. He is the only God. God demonstrated His existence and power in historical acts and in each of the Israelites lives. He did not come from their imaginations. Moses taught, “You shall keep His statues (laws and decrees) and His commandments which I am giving you today, that is may go well with you and with your children after you and that you may live long on the land which the Lord your God is giving you for all time” (vs. 40). God demands total allegiance because He cares for the well-being of people. Moses spoke of that concern in this passage. If God’s people know, acknowledge, and take to heart God’s teaching, then it may go well with them and their children after them. When they are faithful to God, He will bless them. Blessings cannot come when people are far from God in their hearts and lives. Are we true followers of Jesus Christ? Are we in a close daily relationship with Him?

            God chose to love the ancestor of Israel, the man Abraham. He acted to bring the people, the seed of Abraham, out of slavery. Before, God chose Abraham to be a man of God. While in Egypt, Abraham’s seed multiplied and grew to be a people of God. They were the beneficiaries of the promise God made to Abraham and God’s decision to love and call a people to Himself. He demonstrated His love and power to them and through them showed Himself to other people. God demonstrated His love and power to every people by His love and grace through Jesus Christ. God chose to create a covenant with people throughout time. He wanted to do it, but did not have to do it. God wants us to be a part of what He is doing. He wants us to follow Him and become His children. Moses taught the Israelites and teaches us to remember God, what He did in their lives and in our lives. With memories of how God led in the past, His action, we are encouraged, comforted, and strengthened to walk with Him in His purposes in our lives today.

            We come to a point in this study where we ask questions. Does God still work in the world today? Do you recall God’s power and presence in your life in the past so that you gain strengthen to walk with Him now? Sometimes God asks us to step out in faith, believe Him, and do something that makes us fearful. When we remember the past where God intervened in our lives, it gives us courage, boldness, and strength to keep walking with Him in His plans now and in the future. While we step out in God’s strength, we must remember God’s commands and judgments. These keep us from turning our backs on God and walking into trickery and deceit. Moses did this before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River. He reminded them who God is and what His commandments and judgments are. God does not fail. He is always faithful. God’s plans will prevail in the long term. His judgments will occur when His people are disobedient.

Are you following the One true God?

Are you obedient to God’s commands?

Maybe you need to remember how God was active on your behalf in the past to encourage you to take the next step for Him. God honors commitments. He judges the disobedient, too. If you walk closely with Him, He will pour blessings into your life.

As Moses said, “Know today and take it to heart that the Lord He is God in heaven and earth; there is no other.”