In my journey through the book of Deuteronomy, I continue to marvel at how salient this book of the Law is for modern-day Christians. Although we are not poised on the edge of the promised land, preparing to go in and conquer the nations, we are called by God to “forcefully advance” His kingdom, and the precepts we learn in Deuteronomy give us a key to doing just that.
Today I want to look at Deuteronomy 10:12-13, which answers the most important question of all: what does God require of us?
And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? (Deut. 10:12-13, NASB)
Moses outlined very succinctly what God required of Israel: to fear the Lord, to walk in His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord with all their heart and soul, and to keep His commandments. As Christians living under the New Covenant, God requires the same of us today. After all, Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, himself said that He did “not come to abolish the Law…but to fulfill it” (Matt. 5:17). Evidence of our same responsibility is found throughout the New Testament:
Fear the Lord: In his epistle, Peter instructs us to “fear God” (1 Pet. 2:17). In his vision in Revelation, an angel told John to “fear God” (Rev. 14:7). Fearing the Lord, as we learned in last week’s Bible Drill, involves obeying His commandments.
Walk in His ways: Jesus mapped out the way for us and called His disciples to walk in it: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24)
Love Him: Our love of God is tied to our obedience to His commands. 1 John 5:13 tells us that “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.” Jesus Himself said that “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15)
Serve Him: In Colossians, Paul indicates that “It is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col 3:14). Jesus Himself quotes Deuteronomy: “You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only” (Matt 4:30, Luke 4:8; see also Deut. 6:13, 10:20).
Keep His Commandment: See the references under “Love Him.”
Pretty powerful, huh? Are we living up to what God requires of us? May I suggest that we commit Deut. 10:12-13 to memory and let it sink into our souls, motivating us to fear the Lord, walk in His ways, love Him, serve Him, and keep His commandments.
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