Committed - Deut. 16-17 & 26

Victories: 1. Roller Skating 2.

Prayer: Mercy Baptist Church Pastor Graham

Missionary Prayer: Carolyn Curtis / SOS

Bible Reading: Read Deut. 16:18-22, 17:13

Justice and Condemnation - Deut 16:18-17:13

We as Christians love to talk about God’s mercy and rightly so. What we just witnessed with these baptisms was meant to symbolize the mercy of God on us sinners. We who are guilty of grievous and terrible sin are to be shown the mercy of God through the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. When we are baptized we are identifying ourselves with that all of the work of Christ on the cross, in the grave, and resurrection by being immersed into the water symbolizing the death to our selves and the symbol of our new life is the reemerging from the water into His mercy. It is a beautiful thing but all of the Mercy and Grace symbolized and given to us from the cross to the resurrection is built upon something we would rather not think about. Justice and Condemnation.

There in 17:13 we read that we should hear the words of God’s justice but hearing is not enough we should fear them. If you look back up through the verses we didn’t read you will find some scary examples of the condemnation that God demands for not hearing and obeying. Look at Deuteronomy 17:5–7.

The reason why God tells his people to not only hear in 17:13 but to fear is because God demands that kind of justice. If He is a Just God then He cannot allow or simply overlook Injustice. Since we are an unjust and evil people, we by necessity fall under the just punishment of God’s Law. Again God cannot allow or simply overlook our injustice.

If you are joining us today and you know you are not a believer in Jesus Christ this may sound really confusing. Sin, death, Justice, Condemnation, Mercy, Grace. All these words might be familiar to you but they may not make sense in how you are hearing them used. My guess is that you probably look at your life on more of a scale of good and bad. Most people think that somehow either our good deeds will cover over their bad ones or that God if He exists couldn’t really be so unkind so as to condemn those who don’t believe to Hell. I encourage you to continue listening because what you are going to hear is about a God who does love you but also the same God who must out of fairness and justice judge your works to death, because you have refused His greatest act of sacrifice.

Maybe you have heard this all before and you just don’t want to believe. The Bible is filled with seeming contradictory statements and therefore your opinion of God is that He didn’t really mean what He said at the beginning of Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death,” However, If the wages of sin is death and you are a sinner then your punishment is death. Are you willing to stake your eternity on your opinion? It is not fun to think about but neither is is something that we should ignore. But it is the end of Romans 6:23 where hope is found, and mercy is given. “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What is that Gift? We who are sinners are given Mercy through Jesus Christ.

We tend to think about the mercy of God as if it is just a forgone conclusion; that God is and always will be merciful. This is not the case. Now don’t let me worry you who are believers, God holds you firmly in His hands and He will not let you go, but that does not give you licence to continue in your sin. If we go back to Romans 6 Paul is trying to get across to his readers that exact problem. Romans 6:1–2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

God is a God of Justice and He demands justice even from us believers. We are to be set aside, sanctified, being made holy, which means that we are to as Ephesians 4:31 says, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” These are sins and all sin is to be done away with. We are to fear the Lord so much that we desperately long for sin to be out of our lives with a deep hatred. And our sin will be judged and condemned.

It all comes back to the one thing; the Law was intended to point out that God has rules that He declares must be followed in order to not be condemned. Hear them and Fear them. The Lord will bring about justice upon all of the evil and wickedness that has been done. Let that cover you. Every evil thought will be condemned to death. Every evil deed will be condemned to death. Every evil word will be condemned to death. None of your sin will go unpunished and the punishment that God demands for all of it is Death. That should strike fear into all of us, that should bring you to your knees begging for mercy. Deuteronomy 17:13 “And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.”

The fear that should wash over all of us because of our sin rightfully should be there, however, the mercy given to us by God is due to the fact that someone else took the punishment for it in our place. Our sin is not just poof, gone. No our sin had to be paid for and this is what Jesus did for us. He was condemned for your sin, He was sentenced to death for your sin. Look up one verse there in Deuteronomy to 17:12. Jesus stepped into that man’s place. Jesus stepped into your place and He died so that you don’t have to die: if you believe.

It is that belief that I want to end on. Skip forward with me to Deut. 26

Committed to God - Deut. 26:16-19

Read Deut. 26:16-19

So there in verse 16 God told the people to be careful to observe the statutes and judgements. This comes at the end of a long list of statues and judgements that God has been giving them since chapter 12. But it is vs, 17-19 that I want you to focus in on. This is a covenant made by the people in agreement to what God has laid out.

He says that today they are proclaiming to the Lord their agreement with the Lord, and just as the Lord promised them to be their God they are promising to keep the Lords commands. They will be the Lords Special People and they will walk in His ways. It is a real and lasting commitment that God is longing for here with His people. He doesn’t want platitudes or trite remarks, God wants true commitment. The people of Israel were asked by God to commit their lives to live under God’s statues and judgements. Are you ready to do the same?

This was a ceremony of committal that tied God to them and them to God. It was not to be entered into lightly nor was it to be held lightly. This is the type of commitment that God still wants from us. The work of Jesus on the cross finalized this commitment from God to His people, but not just to the people of Israel any longer but instead to the whole of humanity past, present, and future. And we are actually made holy through the act of Jesus’ sacrifice as Deuteronomy 26:19 says, “and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.” God has made good on His part of the contract now it is up to us.

Gospel

Jesus died for our sins, and because He did, we can place our belief in that sacrifice. 1 John 1:9 says, “we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We have the promise of God that if we ask for forgiveness and believe in the saving power of Jesus, we will be saved. And from the saving power of Jesus, we become new creations. 2 Cor. 5:17 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” This means that as Christians, we get a fresh start, we aren’t who we used to be, and we have the power of God behind us to change who we are becoming. Glory to God in the highest, for He has saved my soul, and He can save yours too if you will let Him. If you aren’t sure, then you can confess Him as your savior. If that is your desire today, you can say this prayer with me. Bow your heads.

Dear Lord, I know that I’m a sinner. I’m sorry for my sin, and I ask you to forgive me. I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead. I repent of my sins, and I ask you to come into my life and take control. I make a commitment to follow you, and I trust you as my Lord and Savior.

Friend, if you prayed that prayer today, I ask that you come and speak to me after the service.

For those of you who are believers- you have already committed to the Lord but have you been living your Christian life with more hearing the Lord and less fearing the Lord. Take the time today to confess that sin before the Him and turn to follow Him with active, faithful commitment. God has enough lukewarm Christians let’s as a church be the kind of followers who are as Deuteronomy 26:19 says, “and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”” “and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”” Let’s get on fire for the Lord and take our commitment seriously.

Benediction: Kings Treasure