4 March 2011

Psalm 16, 17; Deut. 5:1-22; 2 Cor. 12:11-21; Matt. 7:13-21

They have the commandments with them, they have them in context in the book of Exodus, why do they need them here in Deuteronomy? They are the constitution of the nation. They are the things that set them apart from every other people on earth. These were given directly by the Lord to this people. Moses reminds them that they heard His voice and that He wrote them Himself and gave them to the people. Can there be anything more important than that which God communicated directly?

The narrow way is the only path to eternal life. That is a counter-cultural idea that will get you labeled intolerant in a hurry. Our culture is one that is built on an ever-increasing belief in “rights” and no longer understands the responsibilities associated with rights. There is a built-in belief today that everyone has the right to believe whatever they want and in the end still get to heaven. It is an incredibly strange idea when you consider the presumption for even one moment. We have rights vis-à-vis the creator of all even if we deny His existence or that He is creator? Jesus is clear that the way to eternal life is narrow and difficult and we must take it or go to destruction. Those who claim He was a great teacher would absolutely go insane if they heard Him say this. He goes even further in saying that the Christian life should be measurable by the fruit borne and that in the end not all who take His Name will be His own. Taking the name of the Lord in vain, for the sake of vanity, continues to be unacceptable in the new covenant.

Clearly Paul loves the Corinthians like a parent and cannot abide the idea that they have now begun to question him because others have come and are swaying them in their affections. It is not jealousy that is his motive, it is clear that some of these “super-apostles” have also questioned Paul’s credentials and have cast aspersions on him and caused the Corinthians to doubt him. Paul says that he has loved them in a way that proves his genuineness, he has not been a burden to them, he has given them his best and yet they have not returned his affection. His concern is not that they be seduced from him in heart but that this tendency makes them vulnerable to false teachers who seek to win them not to the Lord but to themselves. It is always a subtle danger for us. Vigilance is required to stay on the narrow path, there are many side trails that can lead us astray from our destination.

Lead on, O King eternal,
We follow, not with fears,
For gladness breaks like morning
Where’er Thy face appears.
Thy cross is lifted over us,
We journey in its light;
The crown awaits the conquest;
Lead on, O God of might.