A Grave Indictment

“Those who hear the warnings of this curse should not congratulate themselves, thinking, ‘I am safe, even though I am following the desires of my own stubborn heart.’ This would lead to utter ruin! The LORD will never pardon such people. Instead his anger and jealousy will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will come down on them, and the LORD will erase their names from under heaven. [Deuteronomy 29.19-20]

Because the Scriptures all point to Jesus, we must take the verses above with sober consideration. Let me explain...

While we might like to think, "that's Old Testament and therefore does not apply today," we would be gravely mistaken in so doing. Why? Because the Scriptures point to Jesus!

The Old Testament covenant with all its sacrifices and rituals is a direct picture of Jesus, the perfect life and sacrifice. There IS however a great difference in hearing and disobeying the warnings for disobedience to Old Covenant law and hearing and disobeying the warnings for disobeying Christ! You see, just to word it like this makes the contrast clear! As the Apostle Paul compared the Law to a school teacher to train us up to Christ, so we can see that disobeying the teacher is one thing, but disobeying the Lord Himself is quite another!

Jesus was very specific that our lives, if lived in obedience, would look like His - miracles and all.

<<crickets>>

For any modern believer to look at the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and think, "I'm good, I know I don't look like Jesus, but He understands..." is simply ludicrous. Just like the punishment for disobedience to the Law resulted in terrible curses, so the disobey-er of Christ is subject to the same curses, and even worse, eternity in hell.

And still, in the midst of terrible widespread curses and diseases, we, like Israel, say silly things like, "God just doesn't work like that any more" when it comes to deliverance and healing from those curses and diseases. Rather than acknowledging our disobedience (repenting), we make it something of God's randomness. And it sounds all too familiar:

Then my anger will blaze forth against them. I will abandon them, hiding my face from them, and they will be devoured. Terrible trouble will come down on them, and on that day they will say, ‘These disasters have come down on us because God is no longer among us!’ [Deuteronomy 31.17]

See what Israel did? They acknowledged that God was no longer among them without even a hint of a question why!

There is simply no good outcome for those who follow the desires of their own stubborn heart.

The messages of both John the Baptist and Jesus revealed the only solution: "Repent." Jesus' blood indeed replaced OT sacrifices, but it was NEVER intended to relieve mankind of the responsibility to hear and obey God. And Jesus was clear that HE was and is the manifest model and example of hearing and obeying God in New Covenant times.

Once again, <<crickets>>

Father, help us to take seriously the repeated mandates by Jesus that we should take up our crosses and follow Him - to look and act like Him -  to walk by faith - to care not for our own lives - to put the needs of others above our own - to seek Your Kingdom above all. Forgive us for thinking we are safe when we are clearly living in disobedience!