Key to the Promises – The Kingdom Curriculum XIII (5)

Key to the Promises

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20

“You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes, which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers…” Deuteronomy 6:16-18

Are You Covenanted with the Lord?

Obedience to the Law of God was the way Israel was to be honest with Him. It was also the way they would enjoy the full benefits of His covenant and promises. God had saved Israel entirely by grace; thereafter, He wanted things to go well with them and for them to enjoy all the rich bounty of His precious and magnificent promises. Obedience to the Law was key to that, because the Law defines the pathway of love for God and neighbor along which human beings flourish and know peace.

Christians think of themselves as heirs of the covenant of the Lord. We have come into the age of grace and, through the Lord Jesus Christ, know the forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life. God intends for us to know His precious and magnificent promises in all their fullness (2 Pt. 1:3, 4), and we are very eager to possess them. We say to the Lord, “Lord, we believe and love You. We long to possess Your promises. We would do anything to please You, anything You ask.” We want to lay hold on the promised land of new covenant living in all its fullness.

And well we should. But God has attached keeping His commandments to the bestowal of His promises (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:36, 37). Just as Israel could not enter the land of promise without determining to obey the commandments of the Lord, so we cannot know the promises of God without a commitment to obeying His Law. Honesty before the Lord requires that we admit our failure in this matter and that we renew our devotion not only to seeking God’s promises, but to keeping His Law.

Let’s not claim to be heirs of the one without resolving to be diligent doers of the other.

How can we use the Law of God to make wise ethical choices? Order your copy of The Ground for Christian Ethics today. Go to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.