"Evening" Tagged Sermons

In Deuteronomy 11:8-32 Moses concludes his exposition of the First Commandment to have no other gods before Him. As is typical for covenant contexts, he concludes with a blessing and a curse for the people depending on their obedience. The obedience required is loving God and the blessing to be received is life with God in the land. Such an exhortation applies to all people today. You must love God in order to receive the blessing of life with God in the new heavens and new earth.

In Deuteronomy 11:1-7 Moses highlights the fact that his audience have not just heard about the grace of God and His awesome works, but their own eyes have seen it. Moses teaches that this knowledge of God’s greatness and His grace actually increases the obligation to obey the law. The same holds true in the Church. The Christian’s obligation to keep the law increases as he increases in the knowledge of God. If you know the love of God, then obedience is the only correct response.

In Deuteronomy 10:12-22 Moses begins the conclusion of his long explication of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. In this passage, which reads like a sermon, Moses shows that God’s command to love Him with all of your heart, soul, and strength is not a burdensome command in light of the love God has shown in the gospel, especially as this love is the gracious love of the almighty, incomprehensibly glorious God, who condescends to love helpless sinners.

In Deuteronomy 9:1-10:11 Moses continues to explain what loving God with all your heart, soul, and strength means. Here he addresses the question concerning why God is bringing the Israelites into the land. What do they contribute to their salvation? Ultimately, they contribute only their sin. They are not brought into the land because of their righteousness but only by the grace of God. Salvation is by grace alone. The gospel according to Moses is the same as the gospel according to Christ. As it was with the people of God in the wilderness, so it is with us. We are saved only through grace and there can be no boasting. Love for God develops as we recognize his grace in salvation apart from works.

It can often feel like our lives are a journey through the wilderness like the Israelites in the desert. In Deuteronomy 8:1-20, Moses shows God’s good purposes in making his people go through such difficulties. Above all he shows that God makes us go through these things that we might learn that “man does not live by bread alone but by everything that comes from the mouth of God.”

In Deuteronomy 7:1-11 Moses exhorted the people of God to be fully separate from the world and even destroy the altars of the people in the land when they enter it. In Deuteronomy 7:12-26 Moses continues this theme but answers the question, “Can the people of God actually defeat these other nations?” God calls us to oppose the world, but he also promises that the world will triumph in the end. God will give his people the kingdom.

In Deuteronomy 7:1-11, Moses gives instructions to the Israelites to destroy the inhabitants of Canaan completely. Such instruction is difficult to receive today. What does it mean? For Christians, it means complete separation from and opposition to the idolatry of the world because of God’s love for them.

In Deuteronomy 6:10-25 Moses exhorts the people of God to remember Him even when they become prosperous in the promised land. It is always a temptation to turn away from God when tempted. It is easy to pray to God to receive something, receive it, and then forget to return thanks to God and think that we have procured the things we have through our own strength.

How is love for God maintained in the world? Deuteronomy 6:4-5 gives an overview of the message of the Bible. God has entered into a saving covenant relationship with his people through Christ, and the duties of those in covenant with God center on loving Him. How are the message of the gospel and the duty to love God perpetuated? In Deuteronomy 6:6-9 Moses teaches that it is primarily in the family that this is accomplished. Love for God is maintained insofar as Christians have godly homes.

There is no way to overstate the importance of Deuteronomy 6:1-5. Verse 4 is the great summary of redemption on which verse 5 develops the most succinct statement of the entire duty God requires of man, but what do these verses mean? Here Pastor Grasso shows that God is calling his people to exclusive fidelity to him because of salvation and that love for God is to pervade every area of life.