Will You Choose Life?

Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 30
Lesson Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:11-20

Introduction

“Behold, I have set before you a choice—a decision to make” (paraphrase of Deut. 30:15). Life is full of choices. Some choices are of little consequence, while the result of other choices may last for many years, even into eternity. Some choices bring life; others bring death and eternal damnation.

In the beginning, our first parents were given a choice to obey God or eat of the forbidden fruit that grew in the “midst of the garden.” The tree was placed there so they would have a choice. Satan took his advantage and tempted Eve to disobey God. Adam and Eve each decided to sin, and the result was death.

The purpose of this lesson is to encourage us to hear and know the voice of God and to diligently choose His way, which will lead us to eternal life. The choice is ours. God will not force us to obey Him, but He has set before us an open way. Which way will we take?

Key Verse

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death (Prov. 14:12).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

Approximately five hundred years prior to the setting of today’s lesson, God told Abram to look toward heaven and count the stars, asking if he could number them. Abram was childless, but God made a covenant with him that his descendants would be as the stars of heaven in number. Abram believed God, and it was counted to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). At that time God also promised that the land where he was dwelling would be given to him as his inheritance. However, before that promise would be realized, Abram’s descendants would sojourn in a strange land, where they would toil in servitude for four hundred years. After that time, God would deliver them as a great nation and would give them this Promised Land that flowed with milk and honey.

During this long course of five hundred years, many things happened to Abram and his family, in which God’s plan and human reasoning came into conflict. First, there was the issue of Abram and his wife Sarah not having any children. Human reasoning brought about a son, Ishmael, who was not the promised child. In due time Sarah bore a son, Isaac, the child God had promised, the child from whom a great nation would be born.

The Scriptures tell us that this promised blessing would flow through Jacob, who fathered the sons who headed the twelve tribes of Israel. Because of envy and jealousy, Jacob’s sons made choices that caused Joseph to be sold into Egypt as a slave. There he suffered many things, including false accusation. Several years later God brought Joseph out of prison to become the ruler under Pharaoh. When famine came, Joseph brought his family from Canaan to Egypt to be cared for, and there they stayed for the next four hundred years. During this time, a new pharaoh put them into cruel bondage as slaves.

The cries of the suffering Israelites rose heavenward, and when the years of prophesy were fulfilled, God sent a deliverer. Moses was born a child of the slaves but was adopted into the royal family. When he was of age, he set about to help his people, but Moses’s plan of action was not God’s. Moses fled to the wilderness in fear of his life. There he became a shepherd and lived for the next forty years while God prepared him for the great work that awaited him. In God’s time, He sent Moses to Egypt to demand that Pharaoh release the Israelites. By using a series of plagues, God delivered His people with a strong hand, and Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt toward the Promised Land and freedom.

From the time of God’s promise to Abram until the setting of this lesson, the Israelites made many choices. Some choices were good, and others were not; however, God led them and provided their every need as He had promised. In today’s lesson scripture, Moses is reminding the people that all has been fulfilled and that the time to enter the Promised Land has arrived. He reminds them how God’s presence has not been obscure; rather, He has been visible in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. Moses is also warning them that God will reward obedience and punish disobedience. He begs them to choose rightly so that they will receive blessing and not cursing.

Practical Truths for Today

In our Christian journey, we face many choices with many decisions to make. Just as the children of Israel, we must deny our carnal nature to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. When the right path is not clear to us, we should come to the Lord, asking His direction. He has promised in His Word that He will help those who diligently seek His face.

What are some situations that might cloud our vision in choosing the right way that leads to eternal life? Paul mentions that “giving heed to seducing spirits” (1 Tim. 4:1) is a departure from the faith. Among these many spirits is self-righteousness. This spirit causes us to feel so secure that we are on the right path that we do not hear the gentle promptings of the Holy Spirit or the reproof of our brother. Those with this spirit expect others to meet their standard of Christian living and often stand back, criticizing and judging others because of their failings. Some are trapped in legalism where they diligently keep the rules, trying to do everything right.

Another misleading spirit claims grace without the cross. It says we can live our life guided by our own intellect, making allowances for the flesh, contending that God’s grace covers everything. A proud spirit is another hindrance to choosing rightly. It makes us feel superior, thinking we are better than others. We secretly believe we have better vision, better direction, and perhaps even a better connection with God than others do. Pride causes us to speak as an authority.

Hidden sins will block our ability to choose God’s way. When we are uneasy about something in our life and cannot claim God’s peace, we cannot find direction.

Other common hindrances to making good choices are the love of money or gain, the love of honor and praise, and the love of luxury and fashion. When these spirits seek to affect our decisions, let us deny them by the power of God so that we can choose the godly walk of life. If evil spirits become entrenched in our hearts, we must choose to repent before God and forsake our sins. This opens the way for the Holy Spirit to lead us.

As Moses pled and reasoned with the people, so the Holy Spirit reasons with us and asks us to follow Him. Life is uncertain, and the end of time is near. May we be inspired to do whatever it takes to choose life in Jesus.

Questions

1. How shall we reconcile if our personal spiritual direction differs from our brethren?
2. Good intentions are important, but what gives us the grace to follow through?
3. When a spiritual watchman sounds a warning of danger, what is his responsibility when that warning goes unheeded?
4. Do older Christians with more experience in following the Holy Spirit have better spiritual direction than young Christians who are without experience but may have a more tender heart?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).