May 27, 2019: Day 30 – Deuteronomy 30

Maybe it is here from where the phrase “choose life” has come.  It is really simply laid out for us.  If you promise to have no other idols in your life, for that is really the singular concern of the Lord, that you only serve Him, then God will give you life.  It is interesting that as we read this chapter it is very simply laid out before us.  Start at vs.15 and I think it becomes very clear what is being said in this chapter.  It seems like we read that you have to follow all of these commandments and decrees, but in reality what is of primary importance is vs. 17.  Do not bow down to other gods.  Vs. 20 gives us the insight into what that looks like: loving God and obeying him.

So whenever I preach an anti-legalistic sermon, you know  one of those where I encourage us to hang out with sinners and all that really matters is loving God, inevitably I will have some folks who are concerned because it seems like it doesn’t matter if we follow God’s commandments or not.  I believe very strongly that we are called to follow God’s commandments.  But what are God’s commandments?  Look at Matthew 22 starting at vs.36 where we see the two commandments are love God and love your neighbor.  There are no greater commandments, and those are all the commandments that we need.  Let’s not complicate things.