Deu 4:27-31 | KingComments | STEP | Moses points out the consequences for children and grandchildren if the people fall into idolatry. Then follows a remarkable statement, in which Moses announces as a prophet, that the people will fail by committing idolatry. The result is that they will lose the land. They will die in it or be taken out. They want to serve the gods of other nations? Then so shall they find themselves in the lands of the idols they have brought into their own land ( ). In Christianity it has been the same. By introducing idolatry, connecting to the world and introducing worldly elements into the worship service, the view of heavenly blessings has been lost. Where “the work of man’s hands” takes over the guidance of God’s Spirit in the church, death enters. Things in which there is no life, things “which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell”, are given a place in the service to God. Theological strongholds have taken over. Papers are asked for and not life. When diplomas become the basis for accessing a ministry to God, the blessings in Christ that are part of every born-again person are forgotten.

‏ Deuteronomy 4:27-31

Consequences of Idolatry

Moses points out the consequences for children and grandchildren if the people fall into idolatry. Then follows a remarkable statement, in which Moses announces as a prophet, that the people will fail by committing idolatry. The result is that they will lose the land. They will die in it or be taken out. They want to serve the gods of other nations? Then so shall they find themselves in the lands of the idols they have brought into their own land (Jdg 10:14).

In Christianity it has been the same. By introducing idolatry, connecting to the world and introducing worldly elements into the worship service, the view of heavenly blessings has been lost. Where “the work of man’s hands” takes over the guidance of God’s Spirit in the church, death enters.

Things in which there is no life, things “which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell”, are given a place in the service to God. Theological strongholds have taken over. Papers are asked for and not life. When diplomas become the basis for accessing a ministry to God, the blessings in Christ that are part of every born-again person are forgotten.

Repentance Brings the Promised Blessing

If the absence of spiritual, heavenly blessings is felt, it is the start of the way back to again enjoy the blessings (Lk 15:17). When repentance of this ‘work of man’s hands’, in whatever form it may have gained access to the church, takes place the promised blessing can still or again be enjoyed.

God’s grace brings restoration. This applies to Israel farther along in the future (Gen 49:1). Undeservedly, God works in their hearts to repentance. It also applies to the final phase of Christianity in which we find ourselves. God also wants Christians to work out in their hearts now, those measures necessary for their return to the blessings of the land. This means that they will again have an eye for the heavenly place and vocation of the church. In Christianity, this truth has largely been lost through the church’s involvement in, and even interwovenness with, earthly things. Further still, by considering and presenting these earthly preoccupations as its very calling.

The fundamental truth of the letter to the Romans is that of righteousness based on faith alone. In the history of Christianity this truth was rediscovered, from beneath the dust, in the Reformation. In our personal lives, it may be necessary to rediscover this truth if in our Christian lives works become the basis through which we think we are accepted by God. With the influence of Roman Catholicism, this is indeed a matter worth paying careful attention to.

The truth of the letter to the Ephesians and the contents of the letters of John go beyond what is taught us in the letter to the Romans about justification. In these letters God unfolds to His children truths that have to do with heaven, with eternal life, with Christ in heaven, Who is the eternal life. This does not make for drifting Christians, but steadfast saints who know where and how to live true life, and who bear witness to this in their earthly relations.

The way to that blessing is opened by a compassionate God Who calls us to listen to Him. On His faithfulness we may count and call upon.