Rev. Don Campbell
Deuteronomy 8-10
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, March 14, 2019
“NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS”
Moses warns the Israelites: “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” (Deuteronomy 9:4-5). Note the two reasons that God gave the land to Israel: The first is mentioned last—the promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The second is mentioned first—the wickedness of the nations they were to drive out.
It is fatally easy for humans to believe that God favors them above all others because of their color, their wealth, their politics, or whatever their self-perceived glory. Perhaps the most danger is to those who believe God favors them because of their goodness. God certainly favors goodness over evil, but Paul tells us that we must never trust anything but Christ. The Message, which is more of a paraphrase than a translation, gives a very clear image of our self-actualized righteousness. We quote, without comment, its rendering of Philippians 3:2-11:
“Steer clear of the barking dogs, those religious busybodies, all bark and no bite. All they’re interested in is appearances—knife-happy circumcisers, I call them. The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.
“The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.
“I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.”
CONNECTIONS James 1:26-27, Deuteronomy 10:18
1. Paul, according to the Message, said that he was a fiery defender of the purity of his religion. He surely isn’t saying that purity of religion does not matter, but what twofold test does James give for a pure religion? (Jam 1:26-27).
2. How does James harmonize with Moses? (Deuteronomy 10:18).
3. Nine other times Moses mentioned widows (14:29; 16:11, 14; 24:19-21; 26:12; 27:19). Would you agree that It is not deference to the mighty that makes a nation great, but how it treats the most powerless?
