Day #50
Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 26 - 28 ...
Does obedience to God really matter? God
knows we aren't perfect and all of us disobey God sometimes. What's the
big deal? I fear that in this age of GRACE we have forgotten that God's
blessing is still tied to obedience! We know that salvation is not
dependent on our works. "It is by grace you have been saved,
through faith (and that not from yourselves - it is the gift of God) not by
works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). But the very
next verse explains that "we (believers) are God's workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to
do" (Ephesians 2:10). Though we are saved by grace, the fact
remains that God's blessing in this life is tied to obedience, and there are
consequences for disobedience.
As the people of Israel are about to enter into the
promised land, Moses instructs them once more in the simplest of God's dealings
with mankind: Obedience brings His blessing; disobedience brings His
discipline. God NEVER takes disobedience lightly. This is why James
writes centuries later, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead" (James 2:17). Faith in God understands that we
do not belong to ourselves, but to the One who created us for His glory.
In His Law God reveals His glory, and obedience to His law is the very
righteousness Jesus tells us to pursue when He says, "Seek first His
kingdom AND His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as
well" (Matthew 6:33). He was saying the same thing Moses says in
our reading for today.
Do not consider these things as a means to earn
your salvation, but as evidence that you ARE saved, that you are one of God's
chosen people. Notice that Moses says, "WHEN you have entered the land
the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance ..." (26:1), and "WHEN
you have crossed the Jordan into the land the LORD your God is giving you
..." (27:2). God keeps His promises and fulfills everything He
has said He will do. Moses tells them, "You have now become the
people of the LORD your God. Obey the LORD your God and follow His
commands and decrees that I give you today" (27:9-10). And here
is God's promise: "If you fully obey the LORD your God ... the
LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these
blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your
God" (28:1-2).
These promises were given specifically to Israel,
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But now, through Christ, the
"Seed of Abraham," we who believe in Jesus receive the
same promises IN Christ Jesus. Obedience brings blessing. Putting
God FIRST and worshiping Him, and not the things of the world, bears fruit in
our lives. God commanded His people to bring the first fruits of their
land to the Levites and to those in need. This would be a sign that they
were His people and that they were different than the nations around them.
We must recognize that to be a disciple of Jesus Christ today means that
WE are "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God, that we may declare the praises of Him who has called us out
of darkness and into His wonderful light" (I Peter 2:9). Putting
God first and bringing Him the first fruits of His blessings acknowledges that
ALL we have belongs to Him.
As certainly as God can bring blessing into your
life and mine, He can remove it just as quickly. Moses warned the people
that the blessings would turn to curses if they turned away from the LORD their
God. There are thousands upon thousands of examples of lives that have
faced untold heartache and trials due to disobedience to the LORD, our God.
This does NOT mean that every time a believer faces trials that it is due
to some disobedience and is thus discipline from Him. God often allows
His children to go through trials so that our faith may be strengthened and we
may testify that His grace and strength are sufficient for our every need.
In fact, it is in the midst of such struggles that the light of faith and
victory in Jesus shine the brightest!
Still, disobedience has its own "reward,"
its own consequences. After pointing out the blessings that obedience
brings, Moses declares, "HOWEVER, if you do NOT obey the LORD your God
and do NOT carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today,
all these curses will come upon you and overtake you" (28:15).
Once again, these words were spoken specifically to Israel, and they
would, indeed, face the just rewards of their idolatry and rebellion in the
centuries to come. All the curses would come upon them because they
turned away from God and brought His judgment on themselves. But there
was a remnant within Israel, as there is today among the nations, who believed
in God, who trusted in Him and who lived to serve Him. At times their
number was small, and it is much smaller today than most may think, but these
understand God's unchanging principle and seek God's blessing in their lives
through their obedience to His Word.
Reading through the Gospels it is impossible to
imagine Jesus telling His disciples that it didn't matter whether they kept His
commands or not. People who do not have a desire to please God quite
simply do not know God, and certainly do not love God with all their heart,
with all their mind and with all their strength - what Jesus calls the "greatest
commandment." In His "Great Commission," Jesus
spoke to His disciples shortly before His ascension into heaven and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go and make
disciples of all nations; baptizing them into the name of the Father and the
Son and the Holy Spirit; teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew
28:18-20). Obedience is not the CAUSE of our salvation, but it IS the
result of the work of God's Spirit within us. Where there is no desire to
obey God, the Spirit is not present and the sinful nature is still in control.
There is no such thing as a "little" disobedience.
God calls you and me to holiness! Pursue it with a greater passion
than those who do not know God pursue their own desires and you will find that
obedience always brings our Father's blessing in one way or another, sooner or
later.
"O LORD, our God, I desire to obey You. Let my life reflect Your glory to those around
me so that they, too, may be drawn to turn away from sin to follow the path of
righteousness for Your name's sake! In Jesus' name, Amen"
Amen.
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