Chose Life and Live! Deut. 30:15-20

In our readings today, God shows his heart for humanity; that He’s always wanted life and an abundance of blessings for us, and has never wanted punishment and death for us.

When God created Adam and Eve and put them in the garden, it wasn’t so that they could die there someday, but that they could live there forever. He wanted life for them and He wants life for us. Echoing that, in our Old Testament today, Moses says, “Choose life.”

We know we don’t have the power to choose and believe, but the Holy Spirit does. And that’s why God gives us the gift of Baptism, and with it “the power to become the children of God”, as we say in the Absolution.

As the children of God, we learn from Him. In our Epistle Paul reminds the Corinthians, who knew very little or nearly nothing about God, how he met them where they were, feeding them with “spiritual milk”, just teaching them the basics of the gospel, until they were ready for deeper doctrine.

This teaches us the importance of knowing and remembering the basics.

Even the great theologian, Martin Luther, said that he went back to the Small Catechism, which he wrote, and reread it often. In fact, he suggested to do it daily, lest you forget.

By reviewing it often, it becomes more engrained in your thinking, and your living; you believe it more and apply it more in your life. Keep a good foundation to your faith, and keep your faith and life in good repair by learning the basics of the Bible well, and reviewing them often.

In our epistle, Paul goes on to tell the Corinthians that they’re not practicing the basics of the Bible, when they fracture and divide over personalities; looking for someone to follow, like the Greeks did, following various philosophers. Paul reminded them that that’s not how the fellowship of the gospel works.

Some were claiming to follow Paul, others were claiming to follow Apollos, Paul challenged them all to follow Christ alone, and not be so needy as to have to claim followership of a certain earthly leader.

Paul said, “I planted” (he got their faith started), and “Apollos watered”, (he taught them so they grew spiritually), but “God gave the growth”; the Holy Spirit was the one who really did it, not the apostles.

This teaches us, that although we have our leaders in the church, our shepherds and other leaders, and we need them, and respect them, and even in a sense, obey them, we don’t follow them as if they were a Savior to us; we follow them as the servants of Christ that they are. Their role as our leaders is to point us to Him.

This means we can resolve all the earthly disputes and differences among us, and remain unified in the gospel, because it’s not about us, or about any of our earthly leaders. When we all faithfully follow Christ above all others, then we can serve him together in love and harmony.

In our Gospel reading today, from Jesus’ sermon on the mount, he teaches us how basic sin can destroy us and our relationships, and harm the people around us.

Jesus goes deeper than just a superficial understanding or application of the commandments, in this case the 5^th commandment. He said that the commandment, “You shall not kill”, or “You shall not murder” also applies to the thoughts and feelings in your heart; that hateful anger is heart-murder; killing them in your heart.

He said, “Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council.” That’s the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin. Jesus wasn’t saying that you would be brought up on changes before the council, but that you’re guilty before God and man.

In the same way he talked about adultery as something that can happen even in your heart.

So we see how deeply sin has a grip on humanity. It’s amazing that anyone could redeem us from sin and its consequences, not just hate and lust, but ultimately judgment and death.  But that’s what Jesus did. Sin is deep, but God’s grace through Christ runs deeper.

Also amazing is that in Baptism, the Holy Spirit can cleanse us of our sin; our sins are forgiven and washed away, and despite the lingering sin that we struggle with every day, we’re given the power to love and do good to others, even our enemies, even those we’re frustrated or angry with, or alienated from.

We’re given the strength to forgive and love our enemies, which is an amazing thing to do, and something that happens first in the heart. God does it first inside of us, then it extends into our relationships.

In our Old Testament, God pleads with us to choose life over death. To put it in New Testament terms, to believe and be saved.

This is from Moses’ farewell address to the people of Israel. Speaking in the place of God, he said them, and to us, See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering.

By following the Word of God, which we can only do by faith, we have life, and we do good in the land we inhabit, wherever we live and wherever we go.

Moses continues, But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them,  I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

 It was by God’s blessing that the Promised Land would be delivered to them, if they trusted Him and obeyed what He told them. But if they would withdraw their obedience, turn their hearts away from God, (like Jesus taught in our Gospel, it’s ultimately a matter of the heart), then they would lose His blessing.

He was telling them, in a sense, you can’t have your cake and eat it. As there are results of your faith, so there are consequences to your disobedience. Now that you believe, continue to believe, and keep my blessing in your life; don’t bring judgment into your life by falling away.

That’s the heart of God for us. In the end, God wants us to live and enjoy the wonderful blessings that go with life in Him.

“So choose life”, Moses pleads with us, “that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days.”

Choose life and live! Hold fast to the gospel, and live.

Moses was speaking to people who had already been given the gift of faith, and he was both warning and encouraging them, so that they would continue believe and walk in the path of life and love.

Not only was Moses speaking of earthly life with God, but also eternal life with Him. God extends the “length of your days” into eternity, because he wants life for you now and forever!

God’s heart for us is that we repent of our sin, and live always in His love. When we believe and obey, then that’s what we want most of all for ourselves, and for others.

Moses stressed in Deuteronomy 7:9 that this was for them and their offspring, their children, and grandchildren, and great grandchildren, unto a thousand generations. On and on and on, all generations until Christ comes again.

So we share the promise, and the warning, with our children. We can’t believe for them, but we can deliver the message, along with an example of faith.

What a waste to reject grace and choose sin and death instead. What a joy to trust Christ and have love and life.

So believe, obey, love, and live, and the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus your Lord. Amen.