Deuteronomy 7:9-10–God is Faithful to Keep Covenant

Deuteronomy 7:9-10–"Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate Him, by destroying them.  He will not be slack with one who hates Him.  He will repay Him to His face."

This passage is so often chopped-up with the second half, the bit about God repaying to the face those who hate Him, so often left out.  But we should not be quick to ignore the heart of this passage: God keeps covenant.  This means that He is bound to bless those who keep His covenant in love and equally-bound to destroy those who hate Him.  God's faithfulness is about His commitment to keep His promises.  We should not be surprised that His faithfulness demands that He do all that He has promised.  So, while this passage may be a difficult pill to swallow, it speaks all the more to God's holiness, His majesty, and His great faithfulness.  Let us not be quick to forget this as we sing songs of His faithfulness.

Justice & Sin

Two men, similar in every conceivable way, are pulled over in their respective cars and immediately arrested.  They are taken to jail and, though they each repeatedly cry out for justice and that they were arrested for seemingly no reason, they are thrown into cells to await going before the judge the next morning.  Just after dawn the next morning, the two men are taken before the judge.

The judge looks boldly at each of the men and, one at a time, explains that they are both being charged for the countless crimes that they've committed and being sentenced to the death penalty.  One of the men immediately falls to his knees before the judge and cries out, "Judge, I am a sinner and I wish to repent.  I see that apart from your mercy I deserve the due penalty for my crimes.  I fall prostrate before your gavel and besiege your mercy upon my wretched state."

The judge steps down from his bench and leans over the kneeling man, lifts the man's chin with his hand, and says gently, "Young man, your slate is wiped clean.  Because of your penitent repentance you have been forgiven."  The man stands up crying and the judge hugs him, throws his robe over the man, and sends him out.

The other man, expecting a similar hearing and verdict, walks haughtily over to the judge and, with pride says, "Now judge, I didn't do anything wrong.  I've committed no crimes and I don't deserve this."  The judge looks plainly at the man and says, "You are guilty of crimes committed, sin both known and unknown, and you must pay the penalty.  Bailiff, take this man away, my verdict is guilty; the sentence is death."  The man is pulled out of the court room violently swearing and going on about his innocence and how unjust the verdict is.

In reality, we all face judgement for the lives we've lived.  And we have a choice: either we can fall prostrate in humility before the Holy Lord and cry out for His forgiveness, or we can stare at God with pride and altogether deny our sin.  The choice truly is ours.  This is a stark truth not to be taken lightly.  But our eternal life is dependent upon our willingness to be humbled before God, the Almighty Judge.

The Holy Standard of God

In 1992, the Rapid City, South Dakota police department arrested Dennis Lee Curtis, a known armed robber.  Curtis had been on a years-long robbery spree and the police were relieved to finally arrest him with relative ease. When the police were filing him at the station, they had Curtis empty his pocket. They were full of the usual stuff: wallet, gum, lint, etc.  But as the officers looked through his wallet they came across a piece of paper with a peculiar list on it:

1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.
2. I will take cash and food stamps--no checks.
3. I will rob only at night.
4. I will not wear a mask.
5. I will not rob mini-marts or 7-Eleven stores.
6. If I get chased by cops on foot, I will get away.  If I get chased by vehicle, I will not put the lives of innocent civilians on the line.
7. I will rob only 7 months out of the year.
8. I will enjoy robbing from the rich to give to the poor.

Although Curtis was an armed robber, his list revealed that had developed and held to an ethic, a sense of morality that he lived by.  At Curtis's trial, the defense presented this list to the court in an attempt to show that, though Curtis had broken the law, he was not as bad as some other seemingly moral-less criminals.  Needless to say, the judge was not swayed and Curtis was sentenced to prison for his crimes.

The point is that no matter the moral code that we may create to make ourselves out to be "good enough," we are held to the higher, perfect law of God.  In reality, no matter what standard we set for ourselves, it is nowhere near the holy standard of God.  Scripture could not be more unified in this regard.  God is a perfect judge, His law is perfect, and man is unable to meet its requirements (Psa. 7:11; Isa. 64:6; Rom 3:10-23; 2 Cor. 15:10).

This reality should prompt us to humility and to faith in Christ, for only through Him may propitiation for our sins be made.  Recognizing our counterfeit-law is a necessary step in destroying it so as to strive for the highest, holy law of God, which is Christ Jesus crucified.  Let us then empty the wallets of our criminal selves and light our false-laws on fire!

The Judgement of Christ

Nobody ever wants to talk about judgement.  The whole concept makes people uncomfortable and fearful, rightly so.  But it cannot be simply ignored because of our fraught for judgement, to come at the end of the age, is a real future that will come for all of creation.  Judgement, plainly, is that moment at the end of history when God will finally and conclusively mete out His divine justice, holding every person accountable for choices made.

The common evangelical misconception is that believers will not face judgement.  To be frank, this is dangerous thinking and blatantly un-Scriptural (Matt. 13:39, 49, 25:32; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10).  The harsh truth is that in the end at Jesus' second coming, the Parousia,  everyone will be held accountable for his/her deeds.  This holds true for Christians as much as it does for non-Christians.  There are two points to be made in this regard:

First off, Christians need not fear judgement for we have an advocate who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God and intercedes on our behalf (Rom. 8:27; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 2:1).  This is a comforting reality.  It is true that Christ Jesus, because of His propitiative work on the cross, has become our true intercessor, having taken in His flesh the judgement due all mankind because of sin.

Thus the judgement every sinner deserves has been paid in full, that at the end of the age when the Father looks upon us in His holiness, Christ will He see standing in our place.  In this sense, judgement for Christians depend on Christ's salvific work and we will be judged righteous not because of any righteousness we have within ourselves, but because of Christ's imputed righteousness by faith.

The secondary sense of judgement is solely a Christian ordeal, and will not befall non-Christians.  Christians will be held accountable for how we live, for whether we persevere in faithfulness and to the measure with which we remain steadfast and secure in our faith through suffering and trial will we be judged (2 Cor. 5:10).  This should not be overlooked: we will be judged for how well and how thoroughly we've received and transferred the gift(s) that God has given us through His Son.

We should take this charge with the sobriety and seriousness that it deserves, acknowledging that how we live our post-conversion lives matter and will be weighed for its worth.  In this sense of judgement, Christians depend on Christ's sanctifying work to compel us to remain steadfast to will and to do for His glory.  Ultimately, God is good and worthy to be praised.  This holds true especially in His final and conclusive hour, when all creation will be brought to their knees before His glory.  Therefore, let us praise Him for His awesome and perfect judgement, and that we will be judged perfectly.  Let us also take heart that we will either be judged as ourselves or as Christ living within us.  Let us pursue the latter!

Pursuit of Righteousness

Much has been made about the pursuit of holiness, that most eager and beneficial quest.  However, the focus on chasing holiness, as it pertains to sanctification, can often neglect another parallel though not synonymous endeavor: the pursuit of righteousness.  Whereas the pursuit of holiness is intent on the purification that is part of sanctification, the pursuit of righteousness is concerned with seeking God's absolute moral good, His justice.

Proverbs says, "Whoever pursues righteousness and kindness will find life, righteousness, and honor (Pro. 21:21)."  Or, as Solomon writes earlier, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied (Pro. 15:9)." It can be easily seen, then, that pursuing righteousness is both encouraged and rewarded.  It should then seem as no surprise that Paul also exhorted Timothy to pursue righteousness (1 Tim. 6:11; 2 Tim. 2:22).

A working definition of righteousness is in order. Righteousness is a character trait possessed by God, referring to His moral perfection.  His righteousness is based on who He is, in that, He is morally perfect and just in His very being.  Thus, the pursuit of righteousness can be summed up as a purposed pursuit of God, particularly of His morality.

The pursuit of righteousness then differs from the pursuit of holiness in that it is based on the specifics of His moral perfection and justice.  Although holiness is intimately tied to this, righteousness is that which is right, and God being ultimately the right, the pursuit of righteousness is the pursuit of God, focused like a lazer on His justice.  Logically, the practical question needs to be asked, "how do you pursue righteousness?"

Because righteousness is defined as the perfect morality and faultless justice of God, the pursuit thereof reflects the fervent study and personal application of God's righteousness.  Luckily, and not surprisingly, the pursuit of righteousness is intricately tied to the study of Christ Jesus.  Think of it, Jesus represents the perfect meting out of God's justice while simultaneously acting as the living example of His absolute moral perfection.

Therefore, the pursuit of righteousness necessitates the study of Jesus as the Christ.  Understanding that Jesus acted out the righteousness of God in that He became the instrument of God's justice, to pursue righteousness is to pursue Christ.  Let us then study, pray, and pursue Christ Jesus so as to seek after the righteousness of God!