“For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off” (Deut. 30:11 RSV, as are all references).
Here Moses reaches the climax of his great address to the nation. In his thorough review of the law of the LORD, he emphasizes that acceptable obedience is possible and, indeed, essential. Tragically, for most Israelites, the law would be no more than “a dispensation of death,” “a written code” that “kills” (II Cor. 3:6,7). For them, the law would begin and end with a “but:” “…but if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day, that you shall perish…” (Deut. 30:17,18).
Their failure would not follow a valiant, but inadequate, attempt to obey the commandments, statutes and ordinances of the law. It would come after they had chosen to go the wrong way. There would not be any near misses in Israel any more than there will be near misses at the judgment seat. In that day, there will be no “close calls” as there will be sheep and goats, clearly distinct from each other.
Life or death?
Those rejected will have chosen death rather than life; as a consequence, they will receive evil rather than good. That is the issue.
“See, I have set before you this day (1) life and (2) good, (1) death and (2) evil” (30:15). Note the sequence of the words. Moses does not say: “Do good and receive life or do evil and receive death.” That would constitute “justification by works.” Rather, the choice was between life and death, with corresponding outcomes of good or evil. Consequently, he says, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life…” (30:19).
There would be a blessing for those who chose life, a curse for those who chose death. What blessing? “Choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him…” (30:19,20). The ultimate reward is a life of undivided love for the LORD, of flawless obedience, of unblemished union with the Father which will be the lot of those made immortal and incorruptible.
This blessing is assured to those who really want it, who strive now to “obey the commandments… by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his ordinances…” (30:16).
How can we obey?
How is it possible for mere man to “keep his commandments?” John gives the same answer as Moses, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, our faith” (I John 5:3,6).
“For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up for us to heaven, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ (Deut. 30:11-13).
They should not be discouraged. They should not regard the law as an overwhelming burden. They should not conclude that acceptable obedience is possible only for some heavenly being or, perhaps, someone from a far country, one of a nature different from theirs, one for whom sinlessness was achievable. Sinlessness is not the requirement; rather, it is faith and faithfulness, evidence of true love for God. “But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (30:14).
Paul’s clarification
The apostle Paul sets forth this understanding: “But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, ‘who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down) or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead)” (Rom. 10:6,7). Paul applies the general objections specifically to Christ.
We, too, can be discouraged. We are unprofitable servants. Who comes close to meeting the standards of Matt. 5 with its climactic requirement, “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect?” We should not conclude that acceptable obedience is possible only for the Son of God. He was the only man capable of flawless obedience. That is not required of us now. It is the blessing awaiting the faithful in the kingdom.
At this time, what does “the righteousness based on faith” say? “The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach): because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (Rom. 10:6,8-10). The principles of redemption are unchanging. Paul’s message to us is Moses’ message to Israel. We and they are exhorted to have faith, to trust in God’s mercy to cover our sins.
Delusion of “justification by works”
Sadly, most of the Israelites neither perceived nor accepted the grace of God revealed in His law. Self-deceived, they sought self-glorification. They developed an illusion of righteousness. They believed in “justification by works.” God never did.
“…Israel who pursued the righteousness which is based on law did not succeed in fulfilling that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works” (Rom. 9:31,32). They considered themselves capable of achieving righteousness, an impossible task. They were blinded to the truth that righteousness originates with God alone; they were, therefore, incapable of receiving it from Him as a gift. “For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (10:3).
Redemption in Christ
The wise minority in Israel did submit to God’s righteousness. They did succeed in fulfilling His law because they sought the righteousness based on faith, “Man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved” (10:10). In the Messiah, whom they anticipated, Gentiles also can be saved. “For Christ is the end of the law, that everyone who has faith may be justified” (10:4).
Christ is “the end” of the law, its final focus, the object of all its typical elements, the one in whom all the shadows find their substance, all the symbols their realization, all the principles their clearest manifestation. He is the ultimate offering, presented by the steadfast love of the LORD.
In him we see the outworking of that which God has been teaching from the beginning, “For God has consigned all men to disobedience, that he may have mercy upon all,” at which we marvel: “0 the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” (Rom. 11:32,33).
Did Moses contradict himself?
We need now to consider a problem that arises out of what we feel is a careless, superficial reading of Romans 10:4-10. The section is often mistakenly summarized as follows: v.4 — “The work of Christ marks the termination of the Law. The principles of redemption are now changed. Justification will now be on the basis of faith.” Verse 5 -”Moses taught justification by works. Life would only be earned on the basis of an achievement of legal righteousness.” Verses 6-10 “But righteousness is truly based only on faith.”
We have already demonstrated the proper scriptural understanding of Rom. 10:4-10 except verse 5. The “But” at the start of v.6 suggests a contrast between two positions. Yet surely Moses did not contradict Moses! Indeed, there is actually a contrast between the common but erroneous Jewish construction of Moses’ teaching alluded to in v.5 and the message of Deut. 30.
Verse 5 primarily refers to Lev. 18:5 which should be considered in context: “You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt…and…in the land of Canaan…you shall not walk in their statutes. You shall do my ordinances and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. You shall keep my statutes and my ordinances, by doing which a man shall live: lam the LORD.”
The choice is clear. The two ways are presented. Here is the foundation principle developed in Deuteronomy, Romans and all of Scripture.
In Romans 10, Paul confirms that Deut. 30 clarifies and interprets Lev. 18. In both passages, Moses directs Israel to walk by faith in the way of life, rather than in the way of idolatrous self-indulgence. Powerful allusions to Lev. 18:5 are found in Neh. 9 and Ezek. 20. Both chapters are helpful in defining these basic issues.
Moses’ teaching distorted
Why then the “but” in Rom. 10:5? Clearly, verses 6-10 provide a clarification of Moses’ teaching referred to in verse 5. Not only that, it also provides a devastating refutation of the common distortion of Lev. 18:5. “He who does them shall live by them” represents the erroneous view of Moses’ words. This erroneous view conveys the emphasis of those who sought vainly for a scriptural basis for self justification and for self glorification. They did so by twisting the message of Lev. 18:5. In reality, “the righteousness which is based on the law” is “the righteousness based on faith” (Rom. 10:5,6), for “He who through faith is righteous shall live” (Gal. 3:11). Those who extol the virtue of what they do will, inevitably, perish. “For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption…”
With Moses and faithful Israelites, we rejoice that “he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).
(We will return, God willing, to Paul’s epistle to the Galatians.)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One