Deuteronomy 32 & 34

A popular quotation is found in this chapter. We often hear people say something to the effect, "that if God can put to flight a thousand with one and ten thousand with two..." but the text actually uses this imagery for inflicting judgment on His children, not in moments of the righteous overcoming evil. While this may not be the proper textual support for the latter sentiment, the principle still hods true as God continually enabled Israel to overcome their enemies who were both superior in number and technology. My frustration with poor textual usage is that the intended treasure is overlooked. In this instance, that God loves us enough to discipline us, to frustrate us, to cause us to fail when we should have clearly succeeded, if in our failure we are restored to Him.

Chapter 34 and also verses 48-52 in chapter 32 speak to us about never forgetting that there is a vast difference between consequence and condemnation. Moses was not condemned, eternity was not lost to him but there was a heavy consequence he had to suffer. We must not let our beloved doctrine of grace displace the equally important doctrine of judgment. Just because we have the hope of His grace does not mean we are never judged. In fact, I would argue that there is no true grace without judgment. His judgment brings us to repentance and our repentance postures us to receive His grace.

Romans 8 is so often quoted, "There is now therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus..." That is true, that there is no condemnation, meaning that we are not condemned to death, an eternal death even though that is what we deserve. There is however consequence for moments of failure. God allows us to walk through consequences so that we are motivated to walk deeper into maturity. The devoted follower of Christ is not expected to live perfectly but we are clearly called to be continually marching towards perfection, Matthew 5:48, never completely reaching the purity of heart Christ Himself possessed but certainly expected, each of us who call Him Lord, to be ever advancing toward that end!

1 John 5:16-17 speaks to such a differentiation, pointing out the sin that leads to death, condemnation, and those that do not. The sin that leads to condemnation is that of the utter rejection of God. As Hebrews 10:26 points out, that even those who have "received the truth" can ultimately reject God unto their own eternal peril. But we as devoted followers of Christ, when we still succumb to temptation at times, God brings consequence to motivate us forward in our striving for perfection. This is one of the reasons Church discipline is critical, against which is often argued that if we forgive, how can there be consequence? To truly forgive means that we embrace our personal responsibility to help someone overcome their sin, which often involves measured consequences that are Biblically based, intended to restore the one who has sinned relationally to everyone affected and to their own sense of intimacy with God. I would counter then that there can be no real forgiveness without a willingness to bring consequence when appropriate. The former is no forgiveness at all but rather spiritual laziness, choosing to be dismissive of the persons deeper need, transformation.

Pastor Fred