The Least Of These

Sunday, September 28, 2003
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
Matthew 25:31-40

"31When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' 40 And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'

“If my father dies, I’ll show them some personal stuff!”

It was a passing conversation at the water pick-up spot at Kilmarnock Baptist Church yesterday afternoon.

The woman pulled in behind me as I was loading some water into my car to deliver to the Hispanic workers at the Pride Of Virginia Oyster and Bait Plant outside of White Stone.

There were no attendants, and as she stepped out of her car, she asked if we were supposed to load our own water. I explained that yes, we were, and then helped her load a couple of boxes of water. As I was doing that, she asked if I knew where she might be able to pick up some ice. When I told her I wasn’t sure, but thought there might be a place in town closer to the food lion, we began to talk about everything that has been going on over the last 10 days.

As we began to talk, her frustration was evident. Within a couple of minutes, I knew that she was from Wicomico Church, she still had no power, was one of the ONLY people in the town who didn’t, that she has a 92-year-old father who suffers from congestive heart failure, and a husband who is recovering from heart surgery, if memory serves. I asked if she had stopped to speak to any of the crews that were working on power lines around the area, and she had, and the man with whom she’d spoken had taken her name and address down and added it to a list from which he seemed to be working. She wondered aloud what she needed to say to make it clear to them what constitutes an emergency. I commiserated, commenting that, though it is difficult, it’s not so bad unless you are involved in a critical situation like she was, and that things change a LOT when you start to deal with ‘personal stuff’. Hence, her comment about what would happen if her father died.

I asked her if she had eaten lunch, and she had not. I explained that she could go into the basement, there at the church and either eat there or get the meals to go. She said she wished she had known about the meals earlier, since she’d just come from the tri-star supermarket and had bought things to make lunch. I let her know that dinner would also be served beginning at 5 and going until 6:30. She left no less frustrated, but hopefully a little relieved by having shared her burdens.

I need to tell you all that this whole experience has humbled me – again.

I’ve realized that I really don’t need a lot of what I have. That life is possible without access to the Internet or email, or cable, or air conditioning, that there are still ways around the loss of indoor plumbing.

I’ve learned that to give really IS better than to receive, but that receiving has its upsides.

I’ve learned to appreciate a cup of coffee in the morning, especially when it is made possible by a friend’s lending their generator to power the refrigerator, and freezer, and oh, there’s an extra outlet, let’s plug in the coffee maker, and while we’re at it, why don’t we bring the little TV in and let the kids watch a movie on tape.

To give, to be ABLE to give, really is a blessing.

As a church, we were able to provide shelter to people here, downstairs, and over at the parsonage on the day of the storm. Even without power, or running water, the light of Christ was still shared, and I don’t mean by the candles alone. If you have a minute, read the note in the bulletin about that. To Kayla and Amber, thank you for being examples of Christ-likeness, in watching and mopping and wringing and replacing the towels that kept most of the water out.

On the morning after the storm, I got out and drove around. It really was striking how beautiful a day it was, after the kind of day Thursday had been. I drove down Sharps Road, and was amazed at the way people were working together to clear out the worst of the debris. Some heavy equipment, tractors, and lots and lots of chainsaws were getting the job done. Some of the men and women had on official uniforms or vests, but most of them did not. Most were just … neighbors and friends, taking care of each other.

The passage this morning speaks to that.

'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;’

Think about that for a minute. Those who have done what follows, they will inherit the Kingdom of God –

Here’s another 25-cent word: eschatology. It means the study of the end times. Generally, we hear the term ‘Kingdom of God’ and think ‘Oh, Heaven’.

That’s not how Jesus spoke of it. He spoke of it being immediately present.


Luke 17:20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; 21 nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you."

Some translations have the word ‘among’ as ‘within’.

If we are to be living out this faith, this belief that Jesus really does change lives, then it is evidenced through our actions.

It would be naïve to think that everyone I saw helping everyone else over these last 10 days and say that each and every one of them was doing it out of Christian love. There were probably those who were simply doing it because they were raised right by their parents. There are, I’m sure, others who were doing it out of a sense of duty or obligation. Certainly many of the police, rescue, and emergency crews were doing it because that is part of their job description. I can only hope that the majority of them did not and are not doing it ONLY because of that.

But we are gathered here today not because of hurricane Isabel. We don’t sing the hymns we do because it feels good to do good. We don’t give of our time and finances because we know that it will be for a good cause, or put to good use.

We do this, we gather, pray, sing, and give, because it is one part of our worship. We do that other, out there, reaching out, sharing, caring, giving, feeding, clothing, cooling, powering, sawing, dragging, cleaning, because it is as much a part of our worship as what we do here on Sunday mornings between 11 and noon.

Jesus is saying that in doing these things, to the least of these, who are members of my family, we are doing it to him. I’d like to just touch on a couple of points here: the first is this. In my mind, in remembering this verse, what I remember is ‘if you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it to me.’ But I left out a critical bit: ‘who are members of my family’.

What is Jesus saying about his family, about the family of God? Is he stretching the meaning of who is to be included in that family?

I’m not going to give an answer here today. It’s just a question to ask yourself, reflect on, and decide … who IS my family?

The other point is this, and it is spoken from experience.

When you are on the receiving end of one of these actions, you don’t think of yourself as being in the role of Christ. What becomes obvious to you is that the person who is caring for you – who is bringing that food, or drink, or visiting, or … welcoming you, is the incarnational witness of Jesus Christ.

A week ago Saturday, I received a phone call from Jesus. He was inviting Leslie, the kids and I to come over and take showers. His VOICE sounded like Elwood, but the spirit behind the words was all Christ.

The end result is that, whichever side of this event you are on, you experience Christ.

Driving down Rt 17 on Thursday, I drive by at least a dozen churches. This one happened to be down somewhere between Gloucester and the Coleman Bridge. In the past, it has caught Leslie’s and my attention. It sits an empty lot away from another church building, and we can’t help but compare the messages that appear on their respective marquees.

Thursday was no exception. The first, the larger of the two, had a simple message:

“Clothes and Free Dinner, 5-7PM Tonight”

The next, had a little more involved message:

“Praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people”

Having just spent the previous week dealing with the aftermath of Isabel, my first response was “hands down, I’d rather stop at the first place”. Not that there’s anything wrong with the message on the 2nd marquee … it’s a question of appropriateness to the context.

Which of the two would have drawn you in? I suspect that, had the woman I met yesterday driven by, she would have opted for the first church as well. People in need should rightly tend to those needs first, or be helped with meeting those needs.

My first, judgmental reaction was, ‘that second church is a little disconnected from the situation around it than the first. Let’s take care of people’s physical needs first, THEN we can talk about praising the Lord.’

As I was preparing, I looked up the second marquee’s scripture reference, and found it to be the first verse of Psalm 117.

The first words of the second verse slapped some sense into me:

2 For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth forever. Praise ye the LORD.

There is a place for both messages on the marquees of our lives; I trust that we will never separate them from each other, because ultimately, they both are saying the same thing.

Let’s pray.

Why Bother

Sunday, September 14, 2003
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton VA
I Corinthians 15: 1-4; 12-22

1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand, 2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you--unless you have come to believe in vain.
3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ--whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.

“I never quite understood this … missions thing”

We were sitting in class, and Patrick had just floored me. He is far and above the smartest person in the class, and he is a far better student than I am. He can rattle off quotes or the main ideas of any number of theologians at the drop of a hat, and is not afraid to state his disagreement with any of them, so it was a little intimidating to hear him question what immediately came to my mind as the lifetimes of service given by thousands of missionaries over the last couple of thousand years.

The question is a valid one: Why bother? What is it about the gospel that causes us to be sitting here, 2000 years after it’s beginnings, still talking about it, still acting on it, still caring about it? Why do we still engage in missions? In the sending out and GOING out to share the Gospel?

In 1792, when William Carey, the first British missionary to India, and the man considered to be the father of modern missions, presented this idea of going to India to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, one of the other ministers, a Dr. Ryland, interrupted him and shouted,

"Young man, sit down: when God pleases to convert the heathen, He will do it without your aid or mine."

In spite of the opposition, Carey persisted, and the following year was able to set sail for India under the sponsorship of the Particular Baptist Missionary Society. Over the next 41 years, serving the first 20 undercover, since at the time it was illegal to BE a missionary in India, according to British law, Carey taught at the Fort William College in Calcutta, where the civil servants were trained. He taught Bengali, Sanskrit and Marathi. India is a multicultural nation, with hundreds of different languages, dialects, and subcultures. By the end of his career, Carey had succeeded in translating the Bible into 6 languages and the New Testament and Gospels into 29 other languages.

Our text speaks to the heart of why. Paul was addressing those in the Corinthian church who were, in their own minds, too smart for the Gospel.

Corinth would be the equivalent of a present-day New York, London, or Paris. It was a multicultural crossroads of trade and commerce. There were temples to all the Roman and Greek gods, as well as probably multitudes of other gods. The citizens, and, one would have to believe, the members of the church would have been steeped in the local culture, which included a very Greek understanding of the soul and the body, and how that played out in regards to the belief in a bodily, a physical resurrection.

Here we need to bring in a term that would not rear it’s head for another hundred years, but which had it’s roots in the ideas of the time that Paul was addressing: Gnosticism.

Bear with me; I’d like to quote from the commentary I was reading from:

GNOSTICISM A second-century heresy that was a mixture of Judaism, Christianity, and Greek mystery religions. Some of its major tenets were:

1.The human body is matter, and therefore is evil. It is to be contrasted with God, who is wholly spirit and therefore good. 2. Salvation is the escape from the body,
achieved not by faith in Christ but by special knowledge (the Greek word for "knowledge" is gnosis, from which comes Gnosticism). 3. Christ's true humanity was denied in two ways: (1) Some said that Christ only seemed to have a body, a view called Docetism, and (2) others said that the divine Christ joined the man Jesus at baptism and left him before he died, a view called Cerinthianism, after
its most prominent spokesman, Cerinthus. This view is the background of much of 1 John (see 1Jn 1:1; 2:22; 4:2-3). 4. Since the body was considered evil, it was to be treated harshly. This ascetic form of Gnosticism is the background of part Colossians (Col 2:21-23). 5. Paradoxically, this dualism also led to immorality. Since matter (and not the breaking of God's law) was considered evil, breaking his law was of no moral consequence.

Something to point out: Gnosticism as such was not a full-blown movement at the time that Paul was writing to the Corinthians, but there were … core Gnostic ideas already present, which eventually developed into the belief system we now call Gnosticism.

Basically, it went against the Jewish, and if the truth be told, the pharisaic understanding of bodily resurrection. Odd, isn’t it? That the Pharisees, the people with whom Jesus had the most problems, believed in the bodily resurrection, and actually were critically instrumental in making it a commonly held belief among first century Palestinian Jews.

The Greek understanding of resurrection – and the one with which Paul was contending at the church in Corinth – was a purely spiritual one. The only thing that is eternal is the soul. The body has no place in the resurrection. The Jewish understanding views the body to be as important as the soul in the resurrection, but views the bodily resurrection as taking place for all humanity at the same time at the end of time. They never lost sight of that original blessing bestowed by God after completing creation and pronouncing it ‘good’.

Back to the text: verse 12:

12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.

Paul’s use of the term ‘resurrection’ was in the fully human sense of the word – in the bodily sense of the word. It was what he’d experienced in his meeting with Christ on the road to Damascus. Here he was, persecuting what he considered to be heretics, and he’s confronted with their leader in a way that confirms his own belief as a Pharisee in the bodily resurrection – as radical a transformation as can take place took place in Saul of Tarsus that day. He is speaking to the Corinthians not from theory but from experience.

Earlier in the passage, we find one of the earliest … some would call it a creed, but since we’re Baptists, I suppose we’d call it a ‘statement of faith’  beginning in verse 3:

3 That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures

Paul is again reiterating what he first preached to the Corinthians when he first came to them: the basic Gospel of Christ, that he gave his life for us, and that he rose from the dead, triumphant over death. What he’s found is that some believers were embracing this Greek understanding of the resurrection, this special knowledge was being imparted to them, and, being thus higher beings, they were desensitized to the needs of those around them – they were enlightened, holy, free from the law, and therefore had license to do as they pleased. There are issues that Paul addresses in other chapters; that a man was sleeping with his stepmother, that the Lord’s Supper has turned into a drunken feast, that members of the church are suing each other in court; They’d lost sight of what the primary call of the Gospel was. We find it summarized by Christ in Luke 10:27:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself"

The point is this; we live in a cosmopolitan society, even here on the Northern Neck. Compared to the vast majority of the world’s population, our educational level is high. Simply taking into consideration the amount of information we have available to us through television and radio, to say nothing of the elementary,
intermediate, and high schools in the county, and having Rappahannock Community College just a few miles up the road, and the Internet, and the libraries of all those schools, there is no lack of knowledge.

I am a firm believer in the spread of knowledge, the discovery of knowledge for it’s own sake. There is nothing to fear from gaining knowledge, but we must never lose sight of the fact that no matter how much knowledge we acquire, we will never know all there is to know. As far as we can progress as a society and a civilization, we can never achieve … parity. Chuck Colson said that when humanity loses touch with God, one of two things happens: either humans try to become gods themselves, or they get lost in pursuing sensual pleasures. Does that sound like something that might be going on today?

This month we are collecting the Alma Hunt offering for State Missions. A portion of that offering is going to fund the Kingdom Advance initiatives of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Those are: Empowering Leaders, Emerging Leaders, Glocal Missions and Evangelism, and Courageous Churches.

The way I see it, I think Jerusalem Baptist is moving forward in all those initiatives: Glocal Missions and Evangelism: You’re taking to heart the fact that missions is no longer divided into foreign and domestic, but that we find the world coming to us, so our mission is both global and local – Glocal.

In that Jerusalem decided to take a chance with a couple of nearly forty year old seminary students who had a heart for migrant workers and displaced people, you empowered us in this leadership role, and by virtue of the fact that you took on a first time Pastor, and in faith joined me in stepping into that partnership, you are encouraging an emerging leader and are a courageous church.

Patrick’s question was a valid question, and it deserves an answer. Why Bother?
This afternoon we are going to be hosting an ‘Encuentro’ – a Hispanic Gathering. What we are doing here today, both now and later this afternoon is all because of Christ’s resurrection. We gather, we remember, we study, and we worship. We live in community, love each other, care for each other, and sing together, pray together. And we give – to the ministry of the church, and to the ministry of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board through the Alma Hunt offering for State Missions.

Why bother with any of it? The word ‘bother’ can so easily – and accurately - be replaced by the word that is underneath. When we are asking why bother we are asking why care? Why love? The answer is simple: it is found in 1st John 4:19:

We love because he first loved us.

If you are here today and do not know that first love, that God felt for you so much that he sent his only son to die on the Cross for your sins and 3 days later raised from the dead, your invitation is to lay hold of that love, embrace the one who embraces you, and make Jesus Lord of your life.

If you are here today and are looking for a place to belong, where you can find family, and community, and fellowship, and challenges, and work to be done for the Kingdom, we would welcome you.

If you are here today and are needing to reclaim the simple mystery of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ, your invitation is to rededicate yourself to living out the faith that calls us to proclaim what is foolishness to the gentiles.

Lets pray.

God Requires

Sunday, September 7, 2003
Jerusalem Baptist Church, Emmerton
Micah 6:6-8

6 "With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

The pictures have always been striking, if not disturbing: hundreds, if not thousands of men, chanting in unison, jumping up and down as they parade down a crowded street while beating themselves on the back or head with small whips. They apparently don’t cause any lasting damage, but they do break the skin, but the men don’t seem to notice if there is any pain.

Another sight: men all dressed in black, bearded, ritualistically praying at the wailing wall in Jerusalem, swaying back and forth as they rhythmically recite the prayers that are prescribed for the given occasion.

Another: incense, burning in a temple, before a huge gilded statue.

There is, within every human being, a yearning for communion with God. It can be found across cultures, across races, and across all of human history. From the moment we first turned our eyes to the heavens and wondered how the stars got there, we have sought after that divine spark, the one who created all that is.

Friday and yesterday, I was on retreat with the other Masters students from the Leland Center. It was held at Shenandoah Springs retreat and camp center, north of Charlottesville. Last year, we met at the same place, and our main meeting hall was in a cramped basement under the men’s dorm, called ‘The Well’. There were small windows high up on one wall, but the rest of the room was cinderblock all the way around.

Friday, when we pulled in and registered, we noticed a new roof down the hill from the cabins and dining hall. We were told that our main meetings would be held there.

We walked down, and in a small clearing, surrounded by trees, the owners of the center had put a roof over their basketball court, but left the walls open. It was in many ways like Kirkland Grove, but the roof began much higher up – probably at 20 feet, so the walls were made of the trees that surrounded the clearing.

As the sun fell, the moon rose behind the speakers, David and Mary Carpenter, former missionaries to Albania, as they shared the theme “Matters of the Heart” – and there was very little structure to what they shared. They were intentionally sharing from their hearts what they have been learning over the last several years, from their time in Albania from 1992 through 1996, to their move to London to coordinate north African and middle eastern missionaries, to their resignation from the IMB, to their living in downtown Beirut for the first 6 months of this year, to their enduring and growing love for Muslims and Arabs.

Watching someone speak about something they feel passionately about is energizing. It needed to be. Though the accommodations were adequate, they were also simple. Trying to sleep in a roomful of 12 men, half of whom were champion snorers, made sleep a little more difficult than it might have been had I been across the way here in my own bed. But that is part of retreating. You not only retreat from the cares of the world, you also retreat from the everyday comforts of life. That becomes a part of the experience as well.

In our text this morning, we come in in the middle of what almost sounds like a lover’s quarrel:


Hear what the LORD says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.2 Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for the LORD has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 "O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and redeemed you from the house of slavery; and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the LORD."

The phrase that stands out is In what have I wearied you?

There are hundreds of religions in the world, maybe thousands. All of them are expressions of humanity’s yearning for a relationship with God.

I know of no other faith where we are confronted with a God who desires communion with humanity even more than humanity desires communion with God.

Here we have God listing his miraculous intervention in the history of Israel, and Israel growing weary of him.

The New International Version translates that word as ‘burdened’. The word "burden" signifies to wear down, to cause someone to become impatient, or to become physically tired. The Lord asks how he has caused them to become so weary of him that they have ceased to obey him. Their impatience cannot be due to inactivity on his part, for he has done much for them.

The deliverance from Egypt represents one of the first acts of redemption in which God demonstrated his saving love for the people. Moses was God's great prophet, the prototype of the line of prophets yet to come (Dt 18:15-22). Miriam was a prophetess (Ex 15:20); and Aaron, the progenitor of the Aaronic priesthood, was the representative of the people before God.

Micah cites the failure of Balaam to curse the people (Nu 22-24) as evidence of God's activity among them. Besides the failure of Balak to frustrate the progress of the people, the journey from Shittim to Gilgal witnessed the defeat of Midian, the crossing of the Jordan, and the conquest of Jericho. The recital of events stops abruptly as though the intent is to depict in one great sweep the progress of the nation from slavery in a foreign land to settlement in their own country.

In verse 5 (the saving acts of the Lord), “saving” has the basic sense of "rightness" and can apply to the secular as well as religious spheres of life. Here the word underlines God's faithfulness to his standard, i.e., the covenant obligations. His great acts on behalf of Israel are more than simply coming to the aid of his people. They are manifestations of his righteousness as he maintains his faithfulness to the covenant promise.

The recital of Israel's history suddenly ends, and Micah speaks on behalf of the people, asking God what their responsibility is in the light of his faithfulness to the covenant. There is irony here as the prophet asks how one may come before “God on high." The words "on high" connote just that: "height" and speak of God in his dwelling place in heaven. What is the proper way to worship him? With burnt offerings and calves a year old? Yearling calves were regarded as the choicest sacrifices. "Thousands of rams" suggests the large quantity of animals that one might offer to curry God's favor. But God is interested neither in the choicest animals nor in the number offered. Even great quantities of oil will not bring the worshiper into fellowship with God. The list reaches a shocking climax in the mention of the firstborn. Child sacrifice was carried out by certain Israelites on occasion (2Ki 3:27-16:3; Isa 57:5). The firstborn represents the most precious thing one could give to God. Again, this was not what God wants.

What God wants is a heart response to God demonstrated in the basic elements of true religion. God has told the people what is good. The Mosaic law differentiated between good and bad and reflected God's will in their religious and social lives. They were to act "justly" here in the sense of "true religion," i.e., the ethical response to God that has a manifestation in social concerns as well. "To love mercy" is freely and willingly to show kindness to others. "To walk humbly with your God" means to live in conscious fellowship with him, exercising a spirit of humility before him. The prophet was not indicating that sacrifice was completely ineffectual and that simply a proper heart attitude to God would suffice. Rather, God has no interest in the multiplication of empty religious acts.

These ethical requirements do not comprise the way of salvation. Forgiveness of sin was received through the sacrifices. The standards of this verse are for those who are members of the covenantal community and delineate the areas of ethical response that God wants to see in those who share the covenantal obligations. These standards have not been abrogated for Christians, for the NT affirms their continuing validity. We are still called to the exercise of true religion:

1Co 13:4; Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

2Co 6:4-6; 4 but as servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love

Col 3:12; As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.

Jas 1:27; Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

1Pe 5:5; And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Jer 31:33; 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Heb 10:14-18 includes the same passage:

14For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying, 16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds," 17 he also adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more." 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Christians are in a covenant relationship with God in which the law has been placed within their hearts, not done away with. The indwelling Holy Spirit inspires our obedience, not the letter of the law.

Freely offered obedience is qualitatively different from obedience out of obligation, or worse, out of fear of retribution.

God is saying ‘I have been faithful to you, won’t you be faithful to me?’ It is a plea for a response in kind. God has made each of us capable of carrying on a relationship with God, freely, not by coercion or out of fear. And he spells it out here: to live justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God.

Will we answer his call today?

Let’s pray.