I wish to begin our message this morning by sharing some verses out of Deuteronomy 28. In Deuteronomy 28:66-67, God gives a warning to His people, saying, “Your life shall hang in doubt before you; you shall fear day and night, and have no assurance of life. In the morning you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were evening!’ And at evening you shall say, ‘Oh, that it were morning!’ because of the fear which terrifies your heart, and because of the sight which your eyes see.”
Some of us here today might feel as though our life is hanging in doubt before us. We doubt that we will ever have abundant life, and we waste our days wishing our life away. We say to ourselves, “When will life ever get better? Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.” However, when tomorrow arrives, nothing has changed, and we are still left empty and unsatisfied, with no meaning or purpose, and devoid of true joy and peace. We live in fear, and we’re terrified by the prospect of life never improving.
On down in the passage, Deuteronomy 28:58 tells us that this will be our lot in life, “If you do not carefully observe all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and awesome name, THE LORD YOUR GOD.” If we do not read and observe what is written in the Scripture, then we will be devoid of abundant life. In Philippians 2:16, the Scripture is called “the word of life” that leads us to “rejoice in the day of Christ.” Jesus tells us in Luke 4:4 how, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
This morning we’re going to look at “Life in the Scripture” or “Life in the Word.” Philip P. Bliss declared, “Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life. Words of life and beauty, teach me faith and duty. Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.”(1) It is my hope today that we will come to embrace the truth that there is life in the Word of God.
Matthew 19:16-19
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” 17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
“If you want to enter into life” do what? “Keep the commandments” (v. 17). This person approached Jesus asking how to gain eternal life – and we can also apply this to true, abundant life in the here and now – and Jesus told him to keep the commandments.
Notice that this man asked, “What good thing shall I do?” (v. 16). He thought he could gain eternal life, or salvation, through “good” works. Therefore, Jesus replied and stated that no one is good but God; and this is true, for according to the Bible there is none righteous (Romans 3:10), and no one can work their way into heaven (Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus made sure this man realized that no one is good enough to earn life in the Lord, and only then did He introduce him to the commandments or the law.
No one can work their way to heaven through keeping the law. The commandments can’t save us in and of themselves, but whenever we study them, obey and observe them, they lead us to the source of life. It has been said, “The law is the light that reveals how dirty the room is, not the broom that sweeps it clean.”(2) The law is not life, but it directs us to life. Paul declared in Galatians 3:21 and 24, “For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law . . . [However] the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus announced, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill,” and then in Romans 10:4, we read, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” The law leads us to life in Christ – or rather, it points the way – and when we find Jesus we enter into what Romans 8:2 calls “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” In a moment, we will come back to the idea that the law points us to life in Jesus.
I want to share some more passages from Deuteronomy for us to consider. Deuteronomy 5:33 tells us, “You shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.”
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 says, “Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe – all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, because it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to possess.”
And Deuteronomy 30:16 and 19 states, “I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply . . . I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.”
In the book of Deuteronomy, the people were admonished to keep and obey the law, for in doing so it would lead to life, the prolonging of days, being fruitful, and it would result in blessings for both them and their descendants. The law would lead to health and well-being, physical life, and abundant life. In Psalm 1:1-3 we are told, “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.”
So, keeping the law leads to the equivalent of an abundant life; but the source this abundance comes from a much deeper place than the law itself. So let’s look further at how the law points us to life in Jesus. In John 5:39-40, Jesus declared, “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” There are two things I want to emphasize from Jesus’ words in John chapter 5, and they are 1.) the law is equivalent to the Scripture, and 2.) the law, or Scripture, leads to life in Jesus.
In Jesus’ day and time the Scriptures He quoted was not our New Testament, for it was not yet written. Whenever Jesus referred to the Scriptures, or quoted the Scriptures, it was the Old Testament. Luke 24:44-45 shares with us, “Then He said to them, ‘These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.’ And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.” So, Jesus referred to the Old Testament books, the Law of Moses, and even the Psalms; and these books are called “the Scriptures.”
The Scriptures, or the words of the Bible, lead us to Jesus. Jesus said they testify of Him; and yet, people are not willing to come to Him to have life. How many people today can read the Bible, or hear the Scripture preached, and yet they refuse to come to Jesus and find eternal life and abundant life? Jesus said in John chapter 12, “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness . . . The Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life” (John 12: 46, 49b-50a).
Concerning the gospel of John, we read in John 20:31, of how it was “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” If we will believe that Jesus is the Christ – the Savior of the world, who died for us on a cross and paid the penalty for our sins, and who rose again from the grave victorious over sin and death – then we will gain life. Jesus stated in John 11:25, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” So, the law, or the Scripture, was divinely inspired and written down for us, so that its words might direct us to the true source of life, which is Jesus Christ.
After we receive Jesus as our personal Savior and Lord, we are under a new law; what Romans 8:2 calls “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” – which I mentioned earlier. It’s amazing how the Spirit works. In the law of the Spirit we are not devoid of the law; however, we are not controlled by the law or held captive to the chains of legalism. In the law of the Spirit “there is therefore now no condemnation,” Romans 8:1 declares. When we are under the law of the Spirit, then the law lives in our heart (Romans 10:8). The Word of God is abiding continually in our heart, and the Spirit brings conviction to our heart based on the law.
In Romans 7:7 Paul said, “Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law.” Jesus said in John 16:8, about the Holy Spirit, “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” The Spirit shows us when we are at opposition with the law. How? In John 14:26 Jesus stated, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” Since we already have the Scripture in our heart, all the Holy Spirit has to do is to remind us of what the Scripture says, and then we enter into conviction leading to repentance, salvation (2 Corinthians 7:10), and what Acts 11:18 calls “repentance to life.”
Living in the law of the Spirit is free of legalism and condemnation, for when the law is in our heart, there is no need to worry about keeping every single stipulation or precept, for by the Spirit we already know what to do. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus said, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” You see, life is so much simpler, and so much more free and fulfilling when living in the law of the Spirit of life. Paul said, “For the letter [or the law] kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6).
We find life in the Word because the Word leads to Jesus, and it leads to spiritual freedom in Christ through the Holy Spirit. I also want to point out that the Scriptures are beneficial to every area of our life. An unknown writer once said of the Bible:
This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy.
It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Here, paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject; our good is its design, and the glory of God its end.
It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.(3)
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we read, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Through the Scripture, we are “thoroughly equipped” for this journey called life; and therefore, we have the essential elements for a successful journey, and abundant, and true life!
Time of Reflection
The law, the commandments, the Scripture, or simply the Word of God, leads to true life. In the first chapter of John, we read this: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God . . . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth . . . And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:1-2, 14, 16-17).
The very Word of Life is abiding in our hearts, for the Word is Jesus. What does the Word say? We read in Romans 10:8-10, “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The Word says to believe in Jesus with all your heart (of how He died for your sins and rose victorious over sin and death), and to confess Him as Savior and Lord (before all men; Matthew 10:32), and that when you do, you will gain salvation. Salvation is being saved from the consequences of our sins, which is spiritual death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Listen to what the Word tells us. Come and receive life in the Word, and be filled with life in Jesus today!
NOTES
(1) “Wonderful Words of Life,” Philip P. Bliss, 1874.
(2) Phil Williams, DTS, 1976.
(3) Taken from the Internet in July of 2007 at http://www.higherpraise.com/illustrations/ bible_value_of.htm.
