“The Best Life Is Loving, Obeying, and Holding Fast to the Lord God”
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. [Amen.]
“How clear is our vocation, Lord,
When once we heed Your call:
To live according to Your Word
And daily learn, refreshed, restored,
That You are Lord of all And will not let us fall.
“In what You give us, Lord, to do,
Together or alone,
In old routines or ventures new,
May we not cease to look to You,
The cross You hung upon—All You endeavored done.”
(Lutheran Service Book, © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
853:1, 4)
Old Testament...........................................................
Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (esp. 19-20)
19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set
before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that
you and your offspring may live, 20loving the Lord your God, obeying his
voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that
you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Prologue: How do you define or describe “the best life?”
Obviously different people will define or describe it different ways. Here’s
a catalogue list of some things people of our American culture consider to
be “the best life”: monetary wealth and prosperity; an abundance of material
things; fame and popularity; physical strength, appearance, and vitality; a
large amount of friends on Facebook; a life of ease and comfort; spending
unlimited time alone on a peaceful lake fishing; same-sex relationships and
even so-called “marriage;” sexing and/or living together outside of formal
marriage; allowing personal recreational activities to take priority over
attending divine worship; choosing to skip attending divine worship in order
to just sleep in or grab some additional much-needed rest and relaxation;
pushing the primary responsibility of teaching children the Christian faith
and life onto someone else instead of shouldering that primary
responsibility as their parents according to God’s instruction; abusing
alcohol and/or other substances; eating more than is reasonably healthy or
eating the wrong things that aren’t healthily nutritious; murdering an
unborn baby through abortion; and, well, the list could go on indefinitely.
By the way, how many toes did I step on with some items in that list … in
addition to my own?
Deuteronomy (the original title was “Fifth Moses”) literally means
“second law.” “The title refers to the fact that Deuteronomy relates a
renewal of the Law of Moses.” (Edward A. Engelbrecht, Gen. Ed.: The Lutheran
Study Bible. Copyright © 2009 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO.
Page 275.) In fact, “It describes the book as essentially a restatement of
all the commandments and statutes which the Lord had given to His people.”
(Christopher F. Drewes in Introduction to the Books of the Bible. Copyright
© 1929 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 41.) “It is in
reality a summary of the covenant between God and His people [the
Israelites].” (Theodore Huggenvik in Your Key to the Bible: A Presentation
of Your Religious Concern with the Bible. Copyright © 1944 Augsburg
Publishing House, Minneapolis, MN. Page 20.)
A concise summary of this Old Testament book tells us that “In
Deuteronomy, the Lord reminds Israel that they are His treasured possession
(7:6; 14:2; 26:18). Moses begins his address as the Lord’s prophet,
reminding Israel of how the Lord delivered them from the bondage of Egypt
and how they abused their freedom while in the wilderness by worshiping the
golden calf. Deuteronomy delivers the Lord’s rebuke against disobedience,
yet it also affirms God’s surpassing, parental love for His people
(4:32–40).” (The Lutheran Study Bible. Page 274.)
The bottom line message that Moses gave to the Israelites then as
they were about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan as well as us today is
that …
“The Best Life Is Loving, Obeying, and Holding Fast to the Lord God.”
Realize this … and take it as seriously as you possibly can! “The
most important question you and I will ever have to answer is, ‘What do you
think of Jesus Christ?’ Every other question—What school should I attend?
What career should I pursue? Where should I live? Whom should I
marry?—pales by comparison. There are only two alternatives: ‘Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not
see life, for God’s wrath remains on him’ (John 3:36).” (Mark E. Braun in
People’s Bible Commentary: Deuteronomy. Copyright © 1995 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 289.)
Why is that question so critically important? Well, simply
because …
I. Repentant Obedience Receives God’s Blessing. (15-16)
15“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16If you
obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by
loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his
commandments and his statutes and his just decrees, then you shall live and
multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are
entering to take possession of it.”
Hopefully, you’re now asking yourself, “What in the world does the
fact that faithful obedience receives God’s blessing have to do with what I
think about Jesus Christ?” Well, it’s like this. God’s Law places on all
people—that includes you and me—His divine demand that “You shall therefore
be holy, for I am holy.” (Lev 11:45 ESV) Holiness is one of the many
attributes that describe God. It means to not sin and, in fact, to hate
sin. That’s God’s nature as captured by the declaration He made about
Himself very similar to the first statement I quoted, “You shall be holy,
for I the Lord your God am holy.” (Lev 19:2 ESV)
Holiness is perfect flawless obedience to God’s commands—not
simply suggestions—in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. Holiness is the
character or nature with which God created Adam and Eve … in fact, it’s a
significant part of what it means that they were created in the image of
God. That image was not a physical thing; after all, the Bible informs us
that “God is spirit” (St John 4:24 ESV), that is, “a personal being without
a body.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Copyright © 1986,
1991, 2005 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page 105.) Instead,
it means that “A. Adam and Eve truly knew God as He wishes to be known and
were perfectly happy in Him. [And,] B. They were righteous and holy, doing
God’s will.” (Ibid. Page 115.)
The sadly disastrous thing for them … for the Israelites, who were
at the entrance to the Land of Canaan … for us today … for all people of all
generations … and for all of God’s creation that He declared to be good and
very good, that is, flawless is that our first parents chose to forfeit
their holiness in the Garden of Eden to chase after the false temptation to
doubt God’s Word and seek the evil of sinful pride He warned them against.
In so doing, they disobeyed the Creator, who created them holy, fell into
disharmony with their Creator, and originated sin that has been passed down
from generation to generation and still plagues us today. That rebellion
against God’s divine authority brought about His divine sentence of
separation from Him, a lifetime of difficulty, and eventual death. What
they, the Children of Israel after them, and we and all people of all times
experienced is that …
II. Unrepentant Disobedience Receives God’s Curse. (17-18)
17“But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away
to worship other gods and serve them, 18I declare to you today, that you
shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going
over the Jordan to enter and possess.”
Because Satan tempted Adam and Eve to defy God and they chose of
their own free will to do so, He pronounced the following curses against
them that afflicted the Israelites 2,500 years later, and continue to plague
us today: “So [Yahweh Elohim] said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done
this, Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You
will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring
and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.’ To the
woman he said, ‘I will greatly increase your pains in child bearing; with
pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you.’ To Adam he said, ‘Because you listened to your
wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, “You must not eat of
it,” Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat
of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for
you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you
were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.’” (Gen 3:14-19
NIV)
But contained in that curse was God’s gracious promise of rescue,
redemption, and reconciliation for Adam and Eve, the Children of Israel, and
us today. That promise pointed them to the coming Messiah and us to the
same Messiah, who indeed came into this sin-filled world in the person of
Jesus Christ. He faithfully and completely obeyed God’s commands … for us.
He bore God’s ultimate curse of cruel punishment and excruciating
crucifixion death on Calvary’s cross whereby He crushed Satan’s head … for
us. And, He majestically arose from the dead in a powerful resurrection
back to life that “proves that A. Christ is the Son of God; B. His doctrine
is the truth; C. God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice for the
reconciliation of the world; [and] D. all believers in Christ will rise to
eternal life.” (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation. Pages 139f.)
The merciful blessing that’s ours because of what Jesus did for us
is that, even though we still experience the troubles and tribulations,
anguish and misery of this sin-broken life, “He has redeemed [us] ‘from all
sins, from death, and from the power of the devil!” That is, “A. He took
[our] guilt and punishment upon Himself. [And,] B. He freed [us] from the
slavery of sin.” The glorious result is that “Through His suffering, death,
and resurrection, Christ has triumphed over death. Since He now gives [us]
eternal life [we] need not fear death.” The reason for such is that “Christ
completely conquered the devil. Therefore the devil can no longer accuse
[us] of [our] sins, and [we] can resist his temptations.” The summary of
that Good News is that “Christ was [our] substitute. He took [our] place
under God’s judgment against [our] sin. By paying the penalty of [our]
guilt, Christ atoned, or made satisfaction, for [our] sins (vicarious
atonement).” In fact, He has redeemed not only us, but “Christ redeemed
[us] and all people (universal atonement).” (Ibid. Pages 134-137.)
In the light of all that, the words of today’s Collect are so very
meaningful, “O merciful Lord, You did not spare Your only Son but delivered
Him up for us all. Grant us courage and strength to take up the cross and
follow Him … .” It’s Pastor Marks’ and my joy and delight to regularly and
frequently remind and reassure you of the courage and strength God gives us
in His free gifts of forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life.
Those are the wonderful blessings He communicates to all of us through the
reading and hearing of His Holy Word, the thoughtful contemplation of Holy
Baptism, the decisive declaration of Holy Absolution, and the proper
partaking of Holy Communion.
In conclusion, therefore, “Life is full of choices; few carry
eternal consequences. But this choice—do we follow our covenant-God, or do
we go away to follow other god?—was as important as life itself. Trusting
the Lord and living life his way isn’t just the only way to stay alive; it’s
the only way life can be rich, full, and productive—the way he created it to
be. Jesus said, ‘I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full’ (John 10:10). God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from
himself, because apart from him there is no real happiness and peace. To
reject God mercy and to seek greater joy or satisfaction somewhere else is
the surest way to personal and national ruin.” (Mark K. Braun. Page 288.)
Another way of saying that is, “We Christians also have life and
death, everlasting salvation and eternal damnation, laid before us in the
Word of God. He that believes the Gospel and trusts in the mercy of God in
simple [Spirit-given] faith will have eternal life. He will also give
evidence of his faith in his obedience to the Word and command of God.”
(Paul E. Kretzmann in Popular Commentary of the Bible: The Old Testament,
Volume I. Copyright © 1923 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Page
355.) That is, …
“The Best Life Is Loving, Obeying, and Holding Fast to the Lord God.”
In other words, God tells us that His desired absolute allegiance
to Him will result in the truly good life. That’s what Jesus meant when He
said in today’s Gospel Reading, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his
own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes,
and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his
own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. So therefore, any one of
you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (St Luke
14:26-27, 33 ESV) So it is that …
I. Repentant Obedience Receives God’s Blessing. (15-16)
That’s what Saint Paul was pointing to when in today’s
Epistle Reading He told the owner of a runaway slave, “I thank my God always
when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the
faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and all the saints, and I pray
that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge
of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ. For I have
derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts
of the saints have been refreshed through you.” (Philemon 4-7, 20-21 ESV)
At the same time the accompanying reality is that …
II. Unrepentant Disobedience Receives God’s Curse. (17-18)
With that frightening warning in mind we recall today’s
Gradual, “Fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him lack
nothing! Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers
him out of them all.” (Ps 34:9, 19, alt. ESV) In the same breath we
prayerfully recall today’s Introit, “Make me understand the way of your
precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. My soul melts away
for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! Put false ways far from
me and graciously teach me your law! I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your just decrees before me. I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let
me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of your commandments when you
enlarge my heart!” (Ps 119:28-32; antiphon: Ps 119:27 ESV)
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His humble Son, our
holy Savior. [Amen.]
In the name of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit.
[Amen.]
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