“As the Lord Your God Promised You”

"And the LORD your God will expel them from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the LORD your God promised you. Therefore be very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, lest you turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left, and lest you go among these nations, these who remain among you. You shall not make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause anyone to swear by them; you shall not serve them nor bow down to them, but you shall hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. For the LORD has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. (vs5-9)

Three things are fundamental to God's word. (1) the Promises: God saves by PROMISING us salvation, and performing it by Himself by His power. (2) Commands: God's salvation comes with conditions or commands attached, so that we receive salvation ONLY if we repent and believe the gospel. (3) Warning: if we won't believe, then we'll be damned. We can't have the inheritance of the righteous as unbelievers.

These three things are fundamental to God's word. Let's examine them closely.

First, God saves by promising good to us (vs1-5). He says, “And the Lord your God will expel [your enemies] from before you and drive them out of your sight. So you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God promised you”. He saves us Himself, by His power and Spirit. We read again, “He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength” (Is 40:29). He is the One who died, so that He may justly bless sinners with the blessings of eternal life. He is the reason that we endure, conquer, and enjoy salvation: He does it for us.

Secondly, salvation comes with terms of surrender, even faith (vs6-11). He says, “you shall hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have done to this day... take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God”. We must RECEIVE the salvation that God gives by the means that He has ordained. He justifies by faith, saves by faith, and does all in the human soul by faith only. I can't say, “The promise is mine”, and not have the faith that produces actions and deeds, the faith of God's elect, which is unto godliness. We believe God's goodness in Christ unto DEPENDENING upon Him to make us able to live the life that He commands. Faith isn't believing part of the word (the promises), but it is believing the whole thing (commands and warnings included).

Thirdly, as the gospel is preached, salvation comes with a warning attached (vs12-16). We read, “When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and have gone and served other gods, and bowed down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you shall perish quickly from the good land which He has given you”. Not only can we not have the blessing, but we'll get the curse, if we don't believe God. He hasn't made this optional. There are blessings for faith, and there is misery for everything else. We must believe!

Therefore, what will you do now? You've heard the gospel, and you know that God assuredly saves. It is by His power alone. Will you TRUST Him to save you on His terms, using His power to give you what He's promised, or will you reject mercies and die in unbelief? Salvation's terms are simple. Believe God to do what He has promised. Believe Him and receive the sure mercies, lest you worship something else by unbelief, and receive sure destruction. He says again, “Therefore it shall come to pass, that as all the good things have come upon you which the Lord your God promised you, so the Lord will bring upon you all harmful things, until He has destroyed you from this good land which the Lord your God has given you (vs15).” Choose Christ's grace, instead of wrath. And, choose Him by believing on Him as the only One you serve.