“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach…No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” Deut 30:11, 14
Among Moses’ final words were these, from Deuteronomy 31. So far, so good. Let’s recap: these commands are not difficult, nor are they more than you can handle; God’s words are in your heart, ready for you to obey.
Sounds pretty simple.
He gives them a choice: “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.” Seems like an easy choice.
“I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.” Deut 30:15-16
That’s it, Moses? All we have to do is obey, and we get all that? We’ll do that, but what happens if we don’t?
“If you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed.” Deut 30:17-18
Really? Let’s see if I got this straight — Obey and live; disobey and be destroyed. Right? No argument that the Israelites should have obeyed God, and no argument that they didn’t. So we’re not going to throw stones here; we’re just acknowledging the facts.
So what are we to do as Christians?
- Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
- Put to death anything that belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- As God’s chosen people, clothe yourselves with: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
- Put on love, which binds these things together in perfect unity.
- Whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
That’s just a start; read Colossians 3 for the rest. We tend to be comfortable with checklists. Check this one off; mark through that one. Easy. We always know where we stand. Make no mistake about it though — God, through Moses, gave the Israelites no checklist, as much as the Pharisees many years later took great pride in letting people know they could follow one. Paul gave us no checklist in his letter to the Colossians either.
You want a Christian checklist — a real matter of life and death? Here’s the only checklist you need: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. Luke 27 is the only checklist a Christian needs. Jesus Himself promised life by following this checklist.
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