March 24, 2024
From The Series: The Providence of God
Part #02 Providence and The Law
Deuteronomy 4:5-14
Mountain View Evangelical Missionary
Church
Good morning,
once again. This morning, we are going to continue our mini-series on the
Providence of God, and Lord willing, this will lead us right up to Easter
weekend. On the traditional church calendar, this Sunday is known as Palm
Sunday. Palm Sunday is the day that marked the Triumphal entry of Jesus into
Jerusalem. An event that fulfilled many prophecies from the Old Testament that referred
to the arrival of the Messiah.
This fulfillment
of the prophecy should have been enough for all present to accept Jesus as the
Son of God and to receive Him. We know of course that this was not the case and
in less than a week, this same person, Jesus Christ would be condemned by the
same adoring crowd, and Jesus was crucified on a Roman Cross.
We will see on
Good Friday later this week, how the Providence of God was even over that
event. I read on a website this statement: “Palm Sunday is a reminder for Christians
to welcome Jesus into our hearts and to be willing to follow Him.” Let me
repeat, “Palm Sunday is a reminder for Christians to welcome Jesus into our
hearts and to be willing to follow Him.” Now, I have a couple of issues with
that statement. First, if you are a Christian, you had best already have
welcomed Jesus into your heart. If you haven’t, you are not really a Christian,
you are just someone who is claiming the title, of Christian.
Second, if you are
a Christian, you should be following Jesus, not just be willing
to follow Jesus. Being “willing” to follow Jesus is not the same as following
Jesus. Do you see the difference in the levels of commitment there? If you are
on Team Jesus, then you need to be fully committed. Don’t worry, He tells us
that, “His yoke is easy and the load is light” and we are going to be seeing
that very thing this morning.
For this morning,
we are going to be examining the Providence of God and The Law. The Law is
often misunderstood by Christians, and I have even heard some very confusing teachings
on the application of the Law to the Christian life. I have even heard the
misapplication by Christian scholars of the Law on Jewish life.
This morning, I want
to spend some time helping us to grasp a better understanding of the Law that
is presented in the Bible. I will show us how the Law correlates to God’s
character. Then we will discuss whether the Law is a benefit, a blessing, or a blight
on mankind. Finally, we will determine if we can discover what the purpose of
the Law was.
During our time
together this morning, I hope to answer the following questions: What is the
Law? Are Christians truly free from the Law? Who initiated the Law?
Last week I ended
with this question that I asked you to ponder during the week: “Who initiated Creation?” I hope that it
was obvious from the message that God initiated Creation. My sincere wish for
you is that you understand this truth and accept it as fact. Science cannot
explain the Creation of the Universe. All science can offer is man-made
theories that will never be proven until man can create another Universe out of
nothing.
Not by rearranging pre-existing matter, not by smashing atoms into
each other at high rates of speed. That is not how the Bible explains to us how
Creation occurred. God spoke and He created.
Science and the scientific method are described as such:
“The scientific method is the process of objectively establishing
facts through testing and experimentation. The basic process involves making an
observation, forming a hypothesis, making a prediction, conducting an
experiment, and finally analyzing the results.”
Let’s spend a couple of minutes looking at the scientific method using
their own definition. They are to use processes to objectively establish facts
through testing and experimentation. The basic process involves making an
observation. OK, the observation is: that there is a Creation. Good, we can all
agree on that. I can objectively observe that there is a creation because I see
you, this building, the trees, mountains, clouds, lakes etc., etc. I can
observe that there is a Creation.
Next, we are to form a hypothesis and come up with a theory that
explains the facts that we have observed so far. Science determined a theory
that basically says everything was created from nothing through a really big
explosion.
The next step is to make a prediction based on the hypothesis. This
goes something like this: I have an idea. If I do a to b then we should get c,
or if I combine a with b, I will get c.
Next, the scientists conduct the experiment by doing a to
b and they wait for the results. Or they combine a with b hoping to get
c. Finally, if they are honest, if they are honestly objective, if they are
honestly using the scientific method, they will analyze the results of the
experiment and determine if they achieved the expected results. Or, they will
analyze the results of the experiment and adjust their original hypothesis to
coincide with the achieved results.
I’ll just wrap this section up with the explanation that until scientists
can recreate the Big Bang out of nothing, with a replication of a Big Bang,
then I will understand that science has only determined a theory so far.
Since it is still a theory, then I’ll ask you to excuse me if I continue to
believe what God’s Word has to say, and that it is God who initiated Creation.
He is the Creator and He has all authority over His Creation.
That was wrapping up last week’s message, so this week we are going to
move on to the Providence of God and the Law. Turn with me in your bibles to
the Book of Deuteronomy and chapter 4 starting at verse 5. If you did not bring
your Bible this morning, you should find one under one of the seats in the row
in front of you. If you do not have a Bible, please take that Bible home with
you as a gift from Mountain View Church. We believe it is important that you
have access to God’s Word.
If you are using a Pew Bible, you will find today’s passage on page 143
of the Pew Bible
READ
Deuteronomy 4:5-15
PRAY
To get things
started properly, maybe we should define the term “The Law” from a biblical
perspective. From the Lexham Theological Wordbook.
Law
In biblical
contexts, law generally refers to the legal regulations connected to the Mosaic
covenant and recorded in Genesis to Deuteronomy.
You may be
familiar with the Hebrew word for the concept of the Law the word Torah.
The concept behind the word Torah is so much more than just Law. Torah
encompasses a larger meaning of teaching or teachings. The first five books of
the Bible are referred to collectively by the Jewish people as the Torah. Terms
such as Mosaic Law, or Law of Moses also come from the concept of the word
Torah.
The basic meaning
of the word is reflected in Old Testament passages from the Book of Proverbs that
speak of parents or the aged instructing youth. “My son, do not forget
my teaching [tôrâh], but keep my
commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring
you prosperity” (Proverbs 3:1). This does not necessarily refer to a set of
laws, but rather the general instruction one gives to a son or daughter. The
instruction that one gives on how to properly interact with others in our
lives.
Again, from
Proverbs, “The teaching [tôrâh] of
the wise is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death” (Proverbs
13:14). Once more, we are not referring to laws or illegal actions,
although a warning against those things would certainly apply. But rather,
teachings that would be beneficial to one as a fountain of life-giving water
would be to anyone going through life. What we are talking about here is the
use of the Torah first as a general instruction for life.
Look with me at
verse 1 of Deuteronomy chapter four at what Moses says, “Now, Israel, hear the
decrees and laws I am about to teach you.
Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land
the Lord, the God of your
ancestors, is giving you.”
We see in this
verse that Moses is teaching the purpose behind the giving of the Torah, “so
that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land of the LORD”.
The giving of the Promised Land to the Israelites was not a reward for following
the laws of Yahweh. The giving of the Promised Land was a fulfillment of Yahweh
of His covenant that He struck with Abraham. The LORD was honoring the deal
that He struck with Abraham.
Three times in
the Book of Genesis, Yahweh strikes a deal, a covenant with Abraham that his
descendants would be given a land of their own as an inheritance from the LORD.
This land is known as modern-day Israel.
But God was not
simply willing to carve out a geographical niche in the Middle East for His
people to live in. God did not want His people to look like all the surrounding
nations who were warring with each other and worshipping Pagan gods. Yahweh
wanted His people to be set apart from the world. The first part of the
covenant was the physical act of circumcision.
The second part
was a circumcision of the heart. This is where the Torah comes in. What is the
best way to set apart a people from the surrounding cultures? You teach
them a different way to live. In verse five of today’s passage, this is what
Moses is claiming to have done. Moses was teaching what he was given by God to
God’s people: decrees, laws, and commandments.
When we only see the
Ten Commandments as the Law that is given, we fail to see and wonder at the
fact that God stooped to instruct Israel. Once again, we are seeing a personal
interaction between God and His people. We are seeing another example of what
we read (red) about last week when God stooped to breathe the breath of life
into the nostrils of a lump of clay, and in so doing, God animated the first
man to life.
If we have
thought of God’s law as some cold, rigid set of rules brutally applied, we miss
the heart and soul of law. Moses reveals the warm heart of law in the fourth
chapter of Deuteronomy when he says to an expectant new generation about to
enter Palestine: “See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God
commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take
possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom
and understanding to the nations,”.
What nations is
Moses referring to here? He is referring to the surrounding nations. The
nations who were worshipping false gods like Baal, Astarte, and Molech. False
gods that in some cases they were sacrificing their children to in an attempt
to appease these gods.
Moses is
inspiring his people to be aware that the surrounding Nations will be watching
to see if they truly are different. The same occurs today. Your coworkers will
watch to see if you are living differently than they are. Your unsaved family members
will also watch to see if you are truly walking your talk. I think this is part
of what Jesus meant when He said that His yoke is easy, and the load is light.
When we publicly proclaim that Jesus is our Lord, we take on this yoke of being
a Christian. It is like a mantle that we wear. If we are truly following the
teachings of Jesus, the load is light. The yoke is easy to put on, confess with
your mouth and believe in your heart and you can put on the yoke of Jesus. If
you are following Jesus wholeheartedly, then the load is light for all you must
do is say no to worldly things. No to things that the world finds acceptable,
but God finds sinful.
But if you are
trying to walk with one foot on the path of Jesus, and one foot in the world,
then suddenly the load is not so light. The reason for that is not that Jesus
has added anything to the load, but it is because of what the World has added
to your load. The weight of sin is unbearable. This is why the lost are so
unhappy because they are struggling under a terrible load. They are carrying
the full weight of their sins because they are going through life unforgiven.
They can sense
their separation from God but in most cases, they have no idea how to repair
that separation. On Tuesday night as part of our prayer night, we read and
prayed over this verse:
“20 We
are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through
us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” Think about what
that says, “We are Christ’s Ambassadors”. We are all called, not
just pastors, preachers, and evangelists. All who call Jesus Savior and Lord
are called to be Ambassadors of Christ. What does that mean?
“We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
We are called to live as though Christ were making his appeal through us. What appeals
to whom?
The appeal is to
the Lost. We are to speak to those who do not know Jesus, that God wants to
have a reconciled relationship with you. We are to tell them the Good News that
Jesus died for their sins. Jesus paid the sin debt owed to God the Father on
their behalf. The heavy burden of those past sins, and the forgiveness that we
all crave for those mistakes that we have all made, can be had through
confession to God. Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, that
Jesus was who He said that He was. Jesus was God who took on human flesh and
walked this earth two thousand years ago, fully man and fully God. Jesus lived
a sinless life so that He could become the spotless lamb to be sacrificed on
Passover Sunday in the town of Jerusalem on a Roman Cross to pay our sin debt
to a Holy and Just God, so that we may be reconciled back to The Father
in a loving and righteous relationship.
I am Christ’s
ambassador, you are Christ’s ambassador, and you are Christ’s ambassador, as
Christians, as Followers of Jesus, we are called to be His ambassadors to implore
the lost: be reconciled to God. Not, “follow these rules so that you
will be saved”.
Maybe you can’t
share that message because you haven’t been reconciled yourself. Maybe you are
realizing that you haven’t known Jesus in the personal and intimate manner that
the Bible describes. If you have not, that is OK. Don’t be embarrassed. Stop
living in fear and simply step out from under the shadow of sin and into the
light of forgiveness from Jesus Christ. If you do not know Jesus in this
personal way that I have been describing for the past several months, then
reach out to me and I can give you assurance of your Salvation. You can be
assured, you know? The Bible is clear about this and there are markers in your
life that will give you the answer. Reach out to me and we can have a definite
and reassuring conversation.
If you have
someone in your life who doesn’t know Jesus, invite them to church. If you
can’t give them the Good News, then bring them here and I promise you they will
hear the Good News. They will hear, and Jesus will be faithful to His Word and
He will save.
What Moses is
teaching here in Deuteronomy is a foreshadowing of what Jesus would be
teaching. Moses was calling God’s people to live a Holy life. A life set apart
from the world, to God. Look at the second half of verse 6 in chapter 4. We see
that following this life will also have a witnessing effect on the surrounding
nations. Look at what it says, “`Surely this great
nation is a wise and understanding people.’ What other nation is so great as to
have their gods near them the way the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray
to him? And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and
laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?”
Moses’ words
introduce the derived meaning of tôrâh.
It is the specific instruction given to Israel through Moses, and by extension
to us, carrying with it the full force of all that “law” means to us. It is the
Mosaic code, with its Ten Commandments and its instructions covering every
aspect of Israel’s personal and national life. It is the moral, ceremonial, and
civil way of life God ordained for his OT people.
What is clear,
however, is that whatever use of “law” points to… the Old Testament understands
tôrâh as divine instruction. Tôrâh is God’s gift, intended to show
Israel how to live a holy and happy life in this world.
We are to live
holy lives because we worship a Holy God. The word Holy needs to be defined.
This is from the book, “Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch” which
defines the word Holy in the context of the book we are studying from this
morning. “In Scripture, holiness is exclusive
to Yahweh; the holiness of anything else is
derived, either from God’s presence or from
consecration to the sanctuary. Further, because only God
is holy, there is nothing either within humans
or on earth that is inherently holy, and no
Scripture attempts to define “holy.”[1]
Two important facts there: 1. Holiness is exclusive to Yahweh, the
holiness of anything else is only holy because the holiness is derived or given
by God. 2. No Scripture attempts to define “holy”. All of Scripture defines
“holy” by revealing the various attributes and actions of God. What is “holy”?
God is “Holy”. What do we mean when we use the word holy, we mean whatever
attribute of God that applies.
Here is some further explanation from the dictionary, Quote, “Two ideas
commonly associated with holiness need to be
qualified at the outset. First, holiness
is often defined as separation, because
objects and persons consecrated for use at the sanctuary are removed or set
apart from ordinary use.” End Quote. OK? Think of the objects set apart for use
in the Tabernacle and later for use in the Temple. These items were holy not
because they were used in the ceremonies, they became holy because they were set
apart for God. We are holy as adopted children of God, not because of anything
we have done, but rather, we are holy because we have been set apart by
God.
Back to the
definition. Quote, “However, separation does not get at the essential meaning
of holiness—neither in reference to God, the Holy One
nor in reference to the variety of items described as
holy—for it fails to provide any content to
the concept of being holy. Second, the
ethical and the holy are often so equated that
the terms are used synonymously. In biblical faith this is common because
Yahweh, the holy God,
is righteous. Consequently, holy defines the character of biblical ethics.
Nevertheless, we need to be aware that holiness
encompasses far more than ethical behavior.[2]” End Quote.
Does that make sense? We derive, we get the definition of “holy” from
God and His actions. We do not get to define what “holy” is and then try
to apply them to the actions of the Father. There is this terrible teaching
going around that if the Father required the sacrifice of the Son to pay
for the sins of the Fallen, then those actions somehow qualify as Spiritual
child abuse by the Father. First of all, the Son volunteered to make the
Sacrifice, and it was completely conciliatory to the Father. By calling it
child abuse, we are trying to project human definitions onto the character of
God in an attempt to discredit and dismiss the work of Christ.
We can ask questions of God and to God, but when we
start to place ourselves in a position to start to judge God, we would
be wise to keep the words of Romans 9:20-21 in mind, “20 But who
are you, a human being, to talk back to God?
“Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like
this?’” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out
of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common
use?”
This is not an
excuse to shut down debate or to stifle questions that one might have. I
welcome those types of discussions. What I am saying, is that we need to keep
things in perspective and recognize that we do not have the capacity to fully
understand all that God does or why he does it.
This raises the
question, “What is the benefit of the Law?” Biblically speaking, we can think
that there are three uses of the law and each of these uses is a benefit
for us. The three “uses of
the law” refer to the ways in which moral law is used to reveal the character
of God, to convict sinners of sin, and to teach Christians how to live in a way
pleasing to the Lord. All three of these are beneficial to those who obey.
By understanding that the law is much more than the Ten Commandments,
we can see how the Torah reveals the character of God. The true Nature of God
as revealed by Himself and not a false god made in the image of man’s ideas.
Through the conviction of our sin, the law can restrain our natural
sinfulness to our actions. How many of us would think of putting someone else’s
needs ahead of our needs were it not for the example of Jesus? How many of us
would feel the need for a Savior were it not for the mirror of the law being
held up as the measuring rod to compare our lives to? How many of us would be
living a life wholly pleasing to God if it were not for the guardrails that the
Law put in place for our lives that keep us out of the ditches? But the law is
not the only guiding principle in our lives. We have the example of the life
that Jesus led, and we have His love which He so freely shares with us to also
guide our actions.
When we understand and develop the proper appreciation of the
teachings of the Law in the Bible, when we look at them holistically as a way
to apply them to our lives, we recognize them as a benefit and a blessing
rather than a burden to get out from under. Guides for our lives, not
rules to follow to earn our way back to a right relationship with God. We
joyfully obey because we are already reconciled through the work of Jesus.
Again, Tôrâh is God’s gift,
intended to show Israel and us how to live a holy and happy life in this world.
In Jesus’ time, the rabbis and other religious leaders focused their faith
on the law. God had given the tôrâh
to Moses. All other books of the Old Testament Cannon were but commentary on these
core books and teachings. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were sure not
only that these Mosaic books were the key to life and death but also that the
individual could keep the law and please God. The young ruler’s
question, found in Luke 18:18, sums up the understanding of religion held by
most of the religious people in his generation. Do you remember the question the
young ruler asked? “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Because of the teachings of the religious elites in those days, the
young ruler was confident that he had done all that was necessary to be in a
right relationship with God. Are we guilty of this same crime in our lives? Are
there areas where we think that we have done all the work? Areas where in
reality it was a work of God and God alone that provided the results that we
enjoy.
When Jesus
appeared, he did not deny the Law (the books of Moses). But he did directly
challenge the understanding of the Old Testament on which contemporary Jewish
faith was based. The people in the lands had put their faith in the wrong
place. They put their faith in their obeyance of the law rather than in what
the law revealed to them, the character of God and the personification of God
in Jesus.
The purpose of the law was to point forward to
Jesus and the need to place one’s faith in Jesus, not in works.
Proverbs 3:5-7
highlights this thinking, “5 Trust in the Lord with all
your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all
your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 7 Do
not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord
and shun evil.” This is the Torah in a nutshell. This is how we apply the law
to our lives as Christians. We are not to see the Torah as outdated or
irrelevant to our lives today. Granted, there are some specific laws, such as
dietary laws that we are no longer required to observe. The laws regarding
shellfish and pork, (mmmm, bacon), and other foods have had their restrictions over
Christians released by the vision and instruction that Peter received from the
Lord and through the teachings of Paul.
Christians have divided the Torah into three areas, the Moral Law, the
Civil Law, and the Ceremonial Law. Most Christians have put aside the Ceremonial
Laws, and while it is true that we are no longer required to observe
them, we should not ignore them for there are great truths about God
revealed in them. Just because we are Christians, we do not get to wipe away
and ignore the law. Grace has a place in our lives, but Grace is built on the
foundation of the Law.
A final thought and question, I would like you to ponder and meditate on
this week is this: Who initiated the Law? I’m not going to give you the answer
this week, that answer will be part of Good Friday’s Sermon. I think the answer
is self-evident, but it is a good thing that we stop and give thought to
questions like these in our busy lives. Who initiated the Law?
CONCLUSION
The Law is a difficult and critical biblical concept. Tôrâh in the Old Testament is the divine
revelation itself, given to Israel through Moses. The commands
and statutes of tôrâh established the
moral, social, and religious foundations for national and individual life. It was a great and
wonderful gift. Through a study of tôrâh,
true believers found the Lord and understood his way, and they knew that rich
blessings would follow if they walked the way its commands and ordinances
marked out. This was the true purpose of the Law. To point
the way to God through the revealing of His character. Not as
a means of Salvation.
But the warm
breath of the faith relationship that breathes through the Old Testament was
stifled by the way many approached the Old Testament revelation. They missed
the message of forgiveness and took the law’s careful description of life for
God’s Old Testament people as a way to salvation. Jesus directly challenged the
rabbis’ grasp of its meaning. We see this in the way that Jesus confronted the
religious leaders of His day repeatedly. The righteousness that the Jews
of Christ’s day sought to establish by careful keeping of the law’s
detailed instructions is rejected by Jesus. He calls for a
different kind of righteousness—one that flows from an inner transformation. A
transformation that is brought about by the Holy Spirit.
The Gospels also
show us that the Old Testament way is to be replaced and transformed
by Jesus. He is the focus of the Old Testament, the one of whom
it testifies. Now that he has come, that era of the Old Testament is brought to
a close. It is fulfilled, and a new era with new patterns of life will
replace it.
How, then, are
Christians today to regard the moral commandments of the Bible?
With respect.
We are to look at them and sense… the holiness of God. We will find them
standing against us, convicting us, if we wander into sin. But they will
not help us become good enough to be acceptable to God. Only,
acceptance of the completed work of Jesus Christ, only the paying of our
sin-debt to God the Father, and only resting in the ever-loving arms of Jesus
will make us acceptable to God.
To become good…
we rely on Jesus and the Holy Spirit. When we read “Do not” or “Do” in
Scripture, we should praise God, for then we will see the kind of person
that he intends to help us become. And then, without even trying, we
simply give ourselves, reaching out to love and to share.
Wouldn’t you want
to become that person? A loving and giving person. Do you desire to become more
like Jesus and less like the World? How marvelous that in our loving—of
God and others—we suddenly realize the truth. We are
fulfilling the requirements of the law in our lives—not because we are trying
to be good, but because the love of Jesus is working to transform us from
within, and the Holy Spirit is prompting us to acts of love that fulfill
every demand of the law.
PRAY
Father, I once again thank you for this day. I thank you for who you
are and your unchanging Nature. I thank You for your Word and the revealing of
yourself in the pages of Scripture. I thank You for the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit, for it is the Spirit that gives us eyes to see and ears to hear. It is
your Spirit that allows us to understand the meanings contained in your Word.
Guard us against false doctrines and false beliefs. Help us to
recognize that the Law was not meant by you to be a burden on your people. It
was the misinterpretation of man that put that heavy burden on us. The Law is a
guide to help us be more like you. Firstly, by revealing your Holiness to us. To
show us what you detest, and what you desire for us to do and to be. Help us to
be more like you every day and to reach out to those who you are already at
work in, to show your love to.
Father, I ask for safe travel for those with us this morning, and I
ask that you bring home safely those who are not with us this morning.
But, above all these things, we thank you for your Grace and for your
love, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Pastor Paul’s Points:
1) God is Holy and Just.
2) The Law is a benefit and a blessing.
3) The purpose of the Law was to point to their fulfillment in Jesus.
Questions to meditate on this week:
1. What is the Law?
2. Are Christians truly free
from the Law?
3. Who initiated the Law?
[1]
J. E. Hartley, “Holy and Holiness, Clean and Unclean,” ed. T.
Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary
of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2003), 420.
[2]
J. E. Hartley, “Holy and Holiness, Clean and Unclean,” ed. T.
Desmond Alexander and David W. Baker, Dictionary
of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2003), 420.
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