1.
In the name of our crucified and
risen Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen. Our Old Testament Reading from Deuteronomy
30:15-20 for this week presents us with a fundamental choice, one
of life and death. One way walks in the Commandments of the Lord, and another
follows the destructive ways of the world. So also in our Gospel lesson for today, Jesus
tells his followers to hate the things of this world if they are to be his
disciples (Lk 14:25–26). Of course, Jesus alone chose rightly. For our sake,
Jesus chose death on the cross so that His choice of life might be credited &
imputed to us. Through the Word of the cross, God chooses us. We, in turn,
respond to this Gospel in faith by continuing to receive His gifts of
forgiveness, life, and salvation He offers to us through His Word and Sacrament.
Now we flee death and evil. We choose life and all things in support of life
through Christ. The message is taken
from Deuteronomy 30:15-20 and is entitled, “God
Offers Life & Death,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.
We’re
a nation of choosers: paper or plastic? Small, medium, large, or super? Fries
or chips? Organic or conventional? Having a choice has become a staple of the
American dream. Political agendas of all flavors are sold on a platform of
choice—everything from private school vouchers to health-care reform. More
choice is always the preferred value.
But, the choice offered in Deuteronomy does not sit well with a people
inundated by choices. Actually “offered” is too generous—Deuteronomy doesn’t offer a choice so much as require that a particular choice be
made: “If you obey the commandments of
the Lord your God … then you shall
live.… But if your heart turns away … you shall perish” (vv. 16–18).
3.
Most
people don’t like these kinds of statements. God sounds too dictatorial or in
conflict with the free grace we have come to expect from Jesus. Two points must
be made clear as we hear from Deuteronomy 30:15-20. First, the Israelites had
no ability of their own to choose positively to love and obey God, nor can we
or any other mortal, because of the natural enmity of the sinful nature (Ge
6:5). Choosing for God involves faith in Jesus Christ and love for God and his
will, both the fruits of the Spirit (1 Co 2:14; 12:3; Php 2:13; Gal 5:22, 23).
In no way can we as sinful creatures choose God by our own power or strength.
We as sinners need Jesus to choose us through His perfect life, death, and
resurrection for us. On the other hand,
choosing death apart from God isn’t only possible but is natural and
inevitable.
4.
The
second thing that we learn from Deuteronomy 30 is that the Israelites would be
able to choose life with God only when they “listen to his voice” (v. 20), i.e., hear his Word. For it is
through the gospel of our Lord Jesus that the Holy Spirit works saving faith in
the heart that then delights to follow the Lord (Ro 10:17; Jn 10:27). Jesus is
always at the center of every text of Scripture.
5.
Deuteronomy
30:15–18 says, 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. 17But 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.” It’s true. 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 gods?—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 can’t give us happiness and peace apart from himself, because apart
from him there is no real happiness and peace. To reject God’s mercy and to
seek greater joy or satisfaction somewhere else is the surest way to death,
eternal death and damnation in hell. The
theme song of hell is going to be, “I did
it my way,” not following our Lord Jesus Christ, “who is the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6)
6.
Deut.
30:15 says, “See, I have set before you
today life and good, death and evil.” Is the acceptance or rejection of
God’s way such a serious matter? It is! And we who live in the post-New
Testament era know this even more clearly. The gospel is a matter of life and
death. John puts this in unmistakable terms when he says, “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life
is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of
God does not have life” (1 John 5:11, 12).
7.
How
about the words “good” and “evil”? Surely, there are non-Christians who live
good lives from which we can learn much. Can we call them “evil”? It’s true,
some non-Christians may out do us in showing good character—I say this to our
shame as Christians. But the most serious wrong that one could do is to reject
God’s offer of salvation and use other methods to save ourselves. Our Heavenly
Father is the Creator of the universe; to rebel against his way to run this
world is treason—a serious crime. Yes, we can call it evil! That doesn’t mean
that we don’t appreciate the good there is in others. We can affirm all the
good there is in them, learn from them, and express our gratitude to them.
Having been made in the image of God, they are able to develop some innate
characteristics in admirable ways. But these don’t give them salvation. We must
also do all we can to bring them to Jesus.
8.
The
truth, according to Deuteronomy, is that there will be hell to pay for the
choices we make when those choices run against God’s will for our lives. Promises
are violated in marriages. Destructive secrets erupt from the places where
families hide them. Irresponsible financial decisions run their ultimate course.
There are severe consequences for violating God’s Commandments.
9.
Deuteronomy
30:19–20 says, “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.” Typically, a ruling
king and his vassal ratified a covenant between them by submitting lists of
their national gods, whom they called as witnesses to their treaty. By calling
witnesses, each side said, “May the gods
bless me if I keep the stipulations of this agreement. But may the gods bring
the curses of this treaty on me if I break the demands of this covenant.” Since there weren’t any other gods to call
on, Moses summoned all creation—the Lord’s creation—to witness this treaty.
Moses could be the Lord’s covenant mediator with Israel. He could urge them to
do the right thing, but he couldn’t choose for them. They had to choose for
themselves. 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).What we believe will show in how we
live. Paul tells us in Romans 6, “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as
instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who
have been brought from death to life; … You have been set free from sin and
have become slaves to righteousness.” (Romans 6:12, 13, 18).
10.
The Lord, our God, has put a choice before us His
people, "life and good, death and evil." God offers to us life & death. In His
great love us He urges us to "choose life!" But, because of our sin
and separation from God we madly choose death and evil---always. By our fallen
nature, we "cannot by our own reason
or strength believe in Jesus Christ the Lord or come to Him." That's
why God first chose us in Jesus. On your behalf, His Son Jesus chose death, and
by His death sin has been made powerless. Now, because "the Holy Spirit calls [us] by the gospel,
enlightens [us] with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps [us] in the one true
faith," you believe and choose the life already chosen for you. The gift of forgiveness of your sins,
restoration with God, and eternal life, reflect God's abundant love in your
life and in your world. Even as we
painstakingly bear the burden of our own crosses, daily dying to sin and living
the new life Jesus has won for us in our baptism. Amen. Quotations adapted from The Third Article
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