Favor, Not Righteousness

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Genesis 3:1–7 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Psalm 32 ESV

A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you. Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Romans 5:12–19 ESV

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Favor, not righteousness

We can be very thankful as Christians that God’s favor rests on those he is merciful to not based on our own righteousness, but on His righteousness and on his faithfulness. And though this message is based on Deuteronomy 9, I want to start out with a great passage from Titus:

Titus 3:3–7 ESV

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Scripture tells us again and again that we can attain nothing by our own good deeds or working, but that only by God’s grace can anyone receive mercy and favor from God. This is true of believers today, and it was true of Israel in ancient times, as well as present times, that the favor God shows is not because anyone earned it, or lived in such an upright way as to deserve it. In fact, the opposite is true. The one saved by grace is not saved because of works done by them in righteousness; They are saved despite their wicked hearts and tendency to sin by a righteous God and Savior who saved them while they were weak, and while they were yet sinners.

Romans 5:6–8 ESV

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

So as we go through our text from Deuteronomy this morning, let us not think this lesson applies only to those ancient Israelites whom Moses is speaking to. There is a reminder to the believer here as well, and a plea to the one who does not yet believe, to put your trust in a God who saves, not in somehow attaining your own salvation. For it is impossible to earn your own salvation, no matter how many good works you do. But God saves those he chooses to save, not based on any merit they have attained, but because of His great mercy that is offered through the Savior, Jesus Christ.

So as we look at Deuteronomy 9 this morning, let us keep in mind that the message Moses was giving to the Israelites is the same Paul gave in the two passages I already read, as well as we find in other scriptures: That God is faithful to save all those to whom he has chosen to give it, not because of anything they did or anything he foresaw they would do, but because He chose. And if you are one of His chosen, then you can rejoice in this lesson as we are reminded of that amazing grace that we know, that Christ died for us, while we were still sinners.

In other words, God gets all the credit, the glory, the honor.

So let’s look at the text from Deuteronomy Chapter 9 and see what we can learn from it.

Deuteronomy 9:1–12 ESV

“Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you. “Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. “Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

Again, this is a part of a longer address of Moses to the people. Throughout his address he has reminded them of God’s faithfulness, charged them to keep God’s commandments, and here he reminds them of what is ahead of them in the days and years to come.

Deuteronomy 9:1–2 ESV

In these two verses we are reminded that before the years of wandering, the people had been promised that through them, God would remove the peoples in the land that was promised to them. However, after the 12 spies went to see the land, 10 spies said the enemies of God were too formidable for God’s people to take out. They were scared of these people, even though God had promised that He would be with them and drive out the people before them. Of course, we remember that this was after God had delivered the people from Egypt, with the plagues and the parting of the red sea, and the pillar of fire by night and the cloud by day, after seeing Moses’ shining face after he had been with God, after seeing God bring water from a rock to quench their thirst, after God providing Manna and quail for the people to eat, and yet, when the spies went over, they could not bring themselves to trust God to do what he had promised.

Now, just as the spies mentioned the giants to put fear into the people, Moses mentions them in order to remind them that their God is able to do what He had promised.

Deuteronomy 9:3 ESV

Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.

To the one who loves God, he is merciful, and gracious, and loving. To the one who is an enemy of God, he is a consuming fire. God’s enemies could not have a more fierce enemy, a more powerful enemy. The God we serve is the God of creation, who by his voice created all. His power cannot be comprehended by any man. I saw a video the other day about the power and might of the US military. The most power air force in the world is the US Air Force, and it is by a long shot. The second most powerful air force is the US Navy, and still in the top five most powerful air forces is the new brach of the US military, Space Force. So, 3 of the top 5 air forces in the world are branches of the US military.

No military in world history has been stronger. Yet the power of God is infinitely more powerful than not only our military, but if all the militaries in the world joined forces to put on a war against God, they would not stand a chance. He could wipe them out with a word from his mouth. Our God is a consuming fire. And His consuming fire is against all of his enemies, who will experience his consuming wrath and judgment. Yet, on the cross, Jesus endured the wrath of God so that all who put faith in Him can escape it.

God would destroy and subdue the Anakim. Why would he do that? There are two parts to the why. First, he would destroy and consumer them because they had been his enemy. They were terrible and wicked sinners. And second, because God had made a covenant with Abraham. He would not abandon His chosen people, even though they had often forgotten him. Now, just as the Christian can become complacent and forget what he was saved from, so the people of Israel were warned not to forget that God was the one who cleared the land for them. There is a danger to all who encounter the grace of God, that we are prone to forget what He has done for us. So Moses warns the people not only to remember that God had delivered them, but that they must not begin to think that they had somehow done this, or even that the might say God did this because we so much deserved it.

Deuteronomy 9:4 ESV

“Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you.

Notice, Moses is not even warning them not to say this out loud, he is warning them not to say in their heart. I have met only one person who called themselves Christian who even came close to saying things like this, but most Christians would never dare say something to the effect that “God saved me because he saw how great I was.” Like any of us are such a great catch that God would be convinced we were well worth saving. No, rather than being worthy of salvation, we were most unworthy. As I said, I can’t imagine any Christian actually saying something like this, but do we sometimes say it in our heart?

So we look at people from different backgrounds, and think we were more worthy of the gospel message than they? I think we could all feel that way at times, especially when we are hurt by evil people, or we see their wicked ways. I think this is the tendency we have, and this is why Paul wrote so many reminders to the church, using language like “such were some of you”.

As Moses addresses Israel, he wants them to avoid this type of thinking, and not think that God drove out the Anakim because Israel was so righteous, but because the Anakim were so unrighteous. They were a wicked people. God is setting an example of them, and showing what his wrath towards wickedness can look like, but he is also establishing a lesson in his faithfulness to his covenant.

Deuteronomy 9:5 ESV

Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

Now for the second time, Moses is telling the people not to put any stock in any pretext they may have that they are righteous, but to attribute God’s action on their behalf to his anger towards the wickedness of the Anakim and also to his steadfast love in keeping his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The message here is that God is reliable. In the end, he will justly deal with all sin, or wickedness. His judgement is sure. And He will do be faithful to keep all his promises to us. So if we can trust him to do what he promised, we can trust that his salvation is sure, we can trust that when we confess our sins, he will be faithful and just to forgive us of those sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

Matthew Henry:

Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume Deuteronomy 9:1–6

He intimates to them the true reasons why God would take this good land out of the hands of the Canaanites, and settle it upon Israel, and they are borrowed from his own honour, not from Israel’s deserts. 1. He will be honoured in the destruction of idolaters; they are justly looked upon as haters of him, and therefore he will visit their iniquity upon them. It is for the wickedness of these nations that God drives them out, v. 4, and again, v. 5. All those whom God rejects are rejected for their own wickedness: but none of those whom he accepts are accepted for their own righteousness. 2. He will be honoured in the performance of his promise to those that are in covenant with him: God swore to the patriarchs, who loved him and left all to follow him, that he would give this land to their seed; and therefore he would keep that promised mercy for thousands of those that loved him and kept his commandments; he would not suffer his promise to fail. It was for their fathers’ sakes that they were beloved,

So there is some very positive news for the one who puts faith in God, and his Son, Jesus. He is reliable and will complete in us what He started.

Deuteronomy 9:6 ESV

“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.

OK, so now Moses has repeated 3 times in a row. Not because you are righteous. He wants to clearly disabuse the notion that the people are favored by God in any way, shape or form that has to do with them being great. When you see anything repeated three times in short order in scripture, it is for emphasis so that special care will be taken to remember that point. Just as your thoughts may fade in and out of listening to this sermon, Moses understood that the people’s minds may wander. But when you say something three times in a row, even those whose minds may be wandering will hopefully remember it. Also, in a society where most information was passed on verbally, repeating this as He did, Moses is helping all the listeners, so that when they discuss later on what was said, they will hopefully remember some of the more important points, and so they are repeated for emphasis.

Anyone listening to Moses’ address, then, ought to remember this part, and take home the big idea from this particular section of the speech Moses is giving. They ought to remember later on, as they recall it, that they are not to think too highly of themselves, but remember that God’s favor, mercy, and grace towards them was not because of how great they were, neither as individuals or as a nation. In fact, Moses points out, they are a stubborn people. And before we shake our heads at their stubbornness, let us remember our own stubbornness and repent of our own sense of entitlement that we often have when it comes to the grace of God.

To further his point about them not being rewarded for righteousness, Moses now starts to remind the people of how much the opposite has been true, that they as a people have often provoked God:

Deuteronomy 9:7–8 ESV

Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you.

From the day they came out of the land of Egypt! The very day! Perhaps you have seen this dramatized in the Ten Commandments movie, where the people complained almost immediately after being freed. Why? Because they saw Pharoah’s army coming. Then, when Moses was receiving the ten commandments, they sinned with the golden calf.

Deuteronomy 9:9–12 ESV

When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’

We will look at this more next Sunday, Lord willing, but here we see Moses reminding the people not only that they were not being blessed by God because of their own righteousness, but if they really thought it over, they would realize how undeserving they really were! So Christians today, who have been saved by the grace of God, are not worthy of the gospel, but have been given the gospel by grace. The gospel is the good news of God:…..

So I want to end where we began:

Titus 3:3–7 ESV

It may be tempting to read the Old Testament and think “Who are these Israelites? Why did God give them so much mercy when they insulted him, distrusted Him, dishonored Him, outright defied Him?”

But who were we, who are now in Christ? Before receiving the gospel with joy, we were foolish. We were disobedient. We were led astray, we were slaves to various passions and pleasures. We were passing our days in malice and envy. We were hated by others and hating one another. That’s who we were. Oh, and in other scriptures, it expounds further on the point. We were wretched. But when…

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

If you are in Christ, then really nothing I have said in this sermon is very new to you. Yet, we needed this reminder. So what will you do with this reminder?

May I make some suggestions? First,

may the reminder make us humble

may the reminder make us grateful

may the reminder make us gracious

may the reminder spur us to share the gospel

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