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Deuteronomy 4 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
“No other nation, no matter how great, has a god who is so near when they need him as the LORD our God is to us. He answers us whenever we call for help. [8] No other nation, no matter how great, has laws so just as those that I have taught you today.
Deuteronomy 4:7-8 GNB
Consider how blessed the people were. Through God’s mighty power, the people not only had miraculous spiritual protection, but they also had practical wisdom and knowledge. It was imperative for them to remember both of these blessings. If they focused exclusively on God’s miraculous works, it was convenient to minimize their own responsibility to the practical truth God had given them with the law. If they focused exclusively on the law, they could very easily become self-righteous in their thinking and forget that it was God leading them.
God not only wanted them to “follow the rules,” but to change their attitude and heart posture in obedience to Him. His desire was for the people to react to His truth in such a way that it would produce a countercultural lifestyle. His blessings should have caused them to seek Him relentlessly and desire to obey and follow the laws He gave them. Today, we know that the law cannot produce holiness because we are incapable of attaining that standard within our flesh. God’s love produces holiness because by His sacrifice we are free from sin and death and capable of fruit-producing lives by the power of the Holy Spirit, which continually opposes our flesh.
The first question to consider is if we are seeking to follow God by a rules-based Gospel or by a love-centric Gospel? Where is the true power found? This is difficult for those of us who find our identity in working hard and following the rules. But simply consider that following the rules that someone prescribes for you is not a meaningful way to experience a relationship. I would imagine the depth of your marriage or close friendship is far richer than the depth of your relationship with your boss at work. Consider how God instructs us to respond to His act of love…
So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. 2 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 GNB
In light of God’s love, we obtain a true desire to worship Him. Worship is an act of obedience which comes out of our sincere gratitude! Furthermore, we begin to have our minds literally transformed. The path we once journeyed on is no longer satisfying. A new world of purpose and absolute fulfillment unfolds before our eyes. A mind that once only understood its own will is now transformed to see God’s will.
Where have you been too focused on God’s rules instead of His love? The law is important to our journey, but it’s only important if we understand it within the significance of Christ’s sacrifice. The history of God’s people shows us what happens if we focus exclusively on the law and minimize/reject the power of Christ’s victory over the cross.