Sword & Trowel 2016: Issue 2 CHAPTER 30
VERSES 1-2: ‘And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt re- turn unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice… with all thine heart, and with all thy soul…’ Here most fully expressed is the evangelical language of Moses. It speaks of obedience with all the heart and with all the soul so that captivity may be turned. This is not about works, but about heart belief.
VERSE 3: ‘That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee…’ Surely this refers to mercy – the forgiving love of God by grace.
VERSE 6: ‘And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.’ Have we not preached these
words? Moses is not talking about circumcision in the body; he is speaking of something quite distinct, namely circumcision or cleansing of the heart, a new, given love for the Lord, and life in the soul. Can any doubt that he is describing evangelical conversion, not cultish compliance?
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Physicians of Souls by Dr Masters and The New Calvinists by Dr Williams have been published in Spanish. Copies are available from Tabernacle Bookshop.
VERSE 8: ‘And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I com- mand thee this day.’ Of course, Moses would make clear that those who sincerely turn to the Lord would strive to keep his law, but the ‘commandments’ which he refers to here are the ones he mentions in this evangelical cov- enant, namely that people should seek cleansing of their heart, and life. He refers to God’s call to faith and repentance and the seeking of mercy. This is not ‘Do this and live’ (the covenant of works) but convic- tion of sin, repentance and faith (the covenant of grace). It is not Sinai, but Moab. Sinai was not an administra- tion of grace but of works, but grace was strapped alongside, so that Paul would contrast the two, calling one the ‘righteousness which is of the law’ and the other ‘the righteousness which is of faith’ (Romans 10.5-6).
The ‘Evangelical Covenant’ of Moses
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