Choose Life
God said to Moses This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19.
There never was, since the fall of man, more than one way to heaven. That is what is being said in Deuteronomy 30:19. In both the Old and the New Testaments the message is the same. God has set the parameters. I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. To choose life is to choose to obey God rather than man. Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! Acts 5:29
There is a point of earnestness in what God said to Moses and his people Israel. It is a rather serious tone. Either you do it my way or suffer the consequences. This is much like what the Apostle Paul says in the book of Acts. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20:26
As Paul says in Romans, For all of sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 Paul tells us we either live to the glory of God or we seek our own glory. It is a matter of wanting to be in control or letting God rule our lives.
The problem of wanting to be in control resides in the human heart. If we look at the nature of sin we find it to be a spirit of disobedience. “Did God really say?” These were the words of Satan, and spiritual angel that fell from heaven. God said you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:17
That is why we don’t listen to what God tells us. It is the spirit and power of sin in us. It is this spirit that rebels against God. When we want to be in control, it is more than just a choice; it is a spirit of disobedience. It is this spirit of disobedience that is naturally passed on from one generation to the next. It is for that reason that God told Moses the following. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
It is a serious rebellion that inadvertently turns those God crowned with glory and honor into agents of Satan. The writer of Hebrews said You made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honor. Hebrews 2:7 The rebellious spirit takes the crown of God’s creation and places it on the human being.
The spirit of rebellion must be in control. Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Galatians 6:7-8
The rebellious spirit mocks God because it is an authority onto itself and as it is possessed by this authority, it accuses others as Eve accused the serpent and Adam accused Eve. Knowing that we are prone to do likewise, Paul said the following. Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. Acts 20:26 Paul told them the truth and they inadvertently charged him with the guilt of their your own condemnation. Paul wasn’t perfect, but he had a conscience void of their guilt of condemnation simply because he confronted them with the truth. This ought to be of comfort to those who preach, teach and admonish the Word of God even when it exposes the guilt in others.
Jesus told the woman at the well of Sychar that he knew the kind of life she had been living. It was one in which the spirit of rebellion ruled. Then Jesus tells her the good news that the Father has sent a Spirit into the world enabling worshipers to choose to worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth. These are the worshipers who seek the Father first.
By the miracle of grace the Samaritan woman did not turn away from the truth but was drawn to Him who is the truth. Far too often when we are accused of sin we cover it up and forever hold a grudge against the accuser. Paul speaks of this in the following way. He pronounced himself innocent of the blood of any of those to whom he was preaching the truth. That they should die the second death and be lost forever, he could not be blamed for. He had done his faithful duty, had warned the people and if they were lost, the fault was not on his shoulders. God said to the Israelites “choose this day who you will serve.” Paul offered to his listeners the path of forgiveness.
Paul goes on to say I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. Acts 20:26 Moses was faithful to God. Paul, likewise spoke through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He did not shrink away from informing his listeners of the judgement that followed those who rebelled against the Word of God, but preached the whole will and counsel of God—that which is necessary for salvation, for peace, joy and the assurance of eternal life.
