Study

A Matter Of Life Or Death

August 24, 2018 by in Study

Text:

Deuteronomy 30:15-20:

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

 

Theme:

A Matter Of Life Or Death

 

Introduction:

  • The Book of Deuteronomy, as the remainder of the Pentateuch, of which Deuteronomy is the 5th book, is believed by contemporary scholars to have been a writing adopted by Moses, or, simply put, written by someone else other than Moses. However, there are many portions of information that leave the consensus to be that it was written by Moses.
    • The book of Deuteronomy consists chiefly of three discourses delivered to the people of Israel by Moses a short time before his death. They were spoken to all Israel in the plains of Moab, in the eleventh month of the last year of their wanderings.
    • These addresses to the people are followed by what may be called three appendices, namely

(1) a song which God had commanded Moses to write;

(2) the blessings he pronounced on the separate tribes; and

(3) the story of his death and burial, written by some other hand, probably that of Joshua.

  • The text is within the third discourse of Moses on the plains of Moab to the children of Israel.
  • The first implication of the text is the 30th chapter of Deuteronomy is imminence of CHOOSING!
  • The IMMINENCE of a “choosing”
    • We have to choose!!
    • The text says in verse 19, “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you”
      • You can’t hide
        • Psalms 139:7-8, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.”
      • You can’t cover up your past
        • Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”
      • You have to choose between right and wrong AND be accountable for your choices
        • Ultimate judgment à Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”
        • Daily accountability à Philippians 3:15, “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”
  • The POWER of the “choosing”
    • God gives us the power to choose – Free Will!!
    • We are free moral agents created by God
      • Hebrews 2:6-8, “…What is man, that thou art mindful of him?….Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet….”
    • God wants us to us to use own Free Will to glorify Him
      • Leviticus 22:29, “And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the LORD, offer it at your own will.”
      • God’s glory comes from our “choosing” Him out of our own Free Will!

However, one critical characteristic of this CHOOSING is also found in verse 19:

“…that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing….”

  • This is truly A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH
    • Let’s look at the criticality of this matter….

Body:

  • What is the “MATTER”?
    • MATTER is a term that is coined most frequently within the scientific realm – in Science, if you will.
      • MATTER is the generic term for the elements that make up substances
      • All substances are made up of MATTER at their most basic levels
        • If it stimulates one of the five senses, it is of substance and therefore is made up of MATTER!
      • For example,
        • Atoms, cells, molecules, neutrons, protons, electrons è MATTER
        • Wood, metal, water, air, skin, hair, rubber, rock, dirt è Substances
    • MATTER is also a term that can be extrapolated to denote all elements of our lives spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually AS WELL AS physically.
      • MATTER in this context is the core or crux of the issue, situation, or condition.
      • Substances are the issues, situations, or conditions that are made up by MATTER
        • If you are aware of its existence and potentially experience its impact on your life, it is of substance AND
        • There is MATTER that is the true element of power within that substance à What is REALLY going on?
          • We need to figure out what is REALLY the “MATTER”!!
            • Is it REALLY your money?
            • Is it REALLY the other person?
            • Is it REALLY “the man”?
            • Is it REALLY the pastor or the church?
  • It all boils down to A MATTER OF LIFE OR DEATH!
    • Here we find…the SUBSTANTIATION of a “choosing”
      • The choice is serious!!
      • In our text, we have Moses explicating the seriousness of the choice of the children of Israel

“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing”

  • The choice places before us the consequences of LIFE and DEATH…BLESSING and CURSING
    • It is ULTIMATELY a consequence of “life” or “death” à It decides your life!
      • Where will you spend eternity?
    • But, it also places before us TODAY the consequences of “blessings and curses” à It decides your living!
      • Do you want to live in the blessings of God’s Presence or in the curses of the world’s damnation?
  • The choice also places before us the MATTER of “life” and “death”
    • It’s either about LIFE
      • About Jesus à John 1:4, “In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”
      • About His Word à Psalms 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
      • About God à Matthew 19:17, “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”
    • Or about DEATH
      • Romans 7:5, “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”
        • Law è Hebrews 7:16, “Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.”
      • 1Corinthians 15:56, “The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.”
        • Sin è 1John 3:4, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
      • It’s Life or Death here because…
      • Romans 8:3, “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:”
      • Galatians 2:19, “For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.”
  • To break it down even plainer, the writer explains that all MATTER in our lives are either “blessings” or “curses”
    • Everything in your life is either a BLESSING or a CURSE to you! There is no in-between.
      • Mark 9:40, “For he that is not against us is on our part.”
      • BLESSINGS
        • A true friend à That’s a Blessing!
        • A good attitude à That’s a Blessing!
        • A new day à That’s a Blessing!
      • CURSES
        • Bad associations à That’s a Curse!
        • Bad habits à That’s a Curse!
        • Disobedience to God’s Word à That’s a Curse!
      • The some things can go either way!
        • A bad experience is a blessing when you learn from it, but a curse when you wallow in it.
        • A bad habit is a blessing when you overcome it, but a curse when you linger in it.
        • A bad attitude is a blessing when you give it all to God, but a curse when you hold on to it.

So, CHOOSE LIFE!!!

Conclusion:

  • “therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live”
    • “THEREFORE”
      • God has given you choices AND has made it plain as to what your choice needs to be!
    • The right choice has awesome consequences! è“Choose life” (explained by verse 20)
      • “Love the Lord”
        • Deuteronomy 6:5, “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”
      • “Obey His voice”
        • Exodus 19:5, “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:”
      • “Cleave unto Him”
        • Verse 20 explains, “for he is thy life, and the length of thy days”
      • “Dwell in the land”
        • Verse 20 explains again, “which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them”
  • So, CHOOSE LIFE!!!
    • Why????
      • Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”
      • When you Choose Jesus
      • You Choose Life
      • Who gives us Eternal Life!!

 

#393

Recommend
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Plus
Share
Tagged in
logo