Stipulations: Covenantal Life
In the literary order of an ancient treaty, once the identity of the great suzerain is established (preamble) and his major achievements have been described (historical prologue), then the demands upon the vassal are made (i.e. commandments). The rationale for this order is clear: in light of who the suzerain is and what he has accomplished, the vassal is motivated to conform to the treaty demands.
A broad reading of Deuteronomy shows that these stipulations are extensive, nearly twenty-one chapters (from chapters 5-26)! It begins with a repetition of the ten commandments in Deuteronomy 5:1-21. This is followed by the application of each of those ten commandments in various areas in Israel’s religious and cultural life (Deut 5:22-26:19). To comment on each of these commandments would not be the most profitable approach to this analysis. Rather, general comments will be made that hopefully will provide helpful ways to understand covenantal living.
We return to the historical prologue, which provides a shrewd understanding of how we are to begin a life of covenantal fidelity to the Lord. The general lesson of the historical prologue is to display the great achievements of the suzerain. In the case of Deuteronomy, we saw that this described the redemptive work of God to procure the liberation of Israel, their safekeeping through the wilderness, and their victories over powerful foreign kings (Deut 1:5-4:49). When we consider this section more precisely, we realize that it reveals more than the activities of the Lord of the covenant. It also helps us understand the people of the covenant. Since the Lord redeemed the people of Israel, this helps us see that Israel is a redeemed people. The importance of this obvious observation is clear when we realize that Israel’s redemption was clearly not based upon their obedience to the stipulations. They were redeemed purely because of the love of the Lord for His people (Deut 7:6-8). Obedience, therefore, was a fruit of their redemption, a result of the Lord’s mighty work.
The lesson that we learn from this is similar for us who live in the New Covenant. Like Israel in the Old Covenant, so we also have been redeemed by the sovereign grace of God (Eph 2:8-9; 1 Pet 1:3). We do not obey in hopes that this will merit our salvation for indeed there is “none is righteous, no, not one” (Rom 3:10). Rather, we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Eph 4:1). Theologians refer to this as the indicative-imperative. The redemptive work of God has made us a people freed from the bondage of sin. This indicates who we now are in union with Christ. As a freed people, we are now called to live by a set of imperatives that demonstrates the miraculous work of Christ within us. In other words, we are now free so that we can now obey, worship, and grow in our love for the Lord. Before, we were enslaved to the power of sin and could not obey. We were oppressed to live a life of misery in sin. In Christ, however, we are now made a “new creation.” Our old sinful self is now gone, and we have been radically transformed into a new humanity (2 Cor 5:17). All this is a rudimentary understanding of the relationship between the law and grace. This basic New Testament teaching is only borrowing from the indicative-imperative pairing that is found in the Old Testament, specifically the Book of Deuteronomy.
It is common for Asian Americans to be more focused upon the imperatives at the expense of the indicatives. By and large, this is due to our traditional upbringing within our homes and churches where morality is greatly valued. Our attention, therefore, is drawn more to what we do, less on who we are. In other words, we see ourselves as servants of God who must constantly serve, less as children of God who are adored. One emphasizes tasks and duties, the other on communion and fellowship. One stresses what we do for God, the other on what God did for us in Christ. We dare not draw a rigid separation between these two for they are both necessary components to a healthy spirituality. However, the lesson we learn from the biblical covenants is the logical priority of the indicative in order to properly know how to fulfill the imperative. We obey as children who have been loved by the Lord, not as servants who must merit love from the Lord. To put it another way, when contemplating how to live the Christian life, you do not begin by thinking about the life. You begin by thinking about what God has made you in Christ.
Many Asian Americans live the Christian life without a proper appreciation of their identity in Christ. Thus, normal spiritual disciplines (e.g., quiet times, prayer meetings, short-term missions, serving in church, etc.) become burdensome because we subtly believe this obedience is needed in order to merit the love of God in some capacity. We forget that we are already loved by God, and the demonstration of this love was seen when God the Father gave His only begotten Son for sinners like us (Rom 5:8). We didn’t merit this because we are unable to do so. We were given it because of who God is and what He did for us in Christ.
One of the most powerful sermons for me as a young Christian was given by Dr. Tim Keller on the Prodigal Sons in Luke 15:11-32 (he published a book based on this sermon, entitled The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith). Recall that this is a parable of Jesus. In the story, there are two sons who are relationally estranged from their father. The younger of the two is the wild son who leaves home with his father’s inheritance, only to waste it in hedonistic spendings. When he has no where to go, he returns home in shame. To his shock, he is greeted by his father who embraces him in love and acceptance, even throws a costly party to celebrate his return. The older son never left home. He stayed and served his father. He was a good and obedient son. When his wild younger brother returned, he was infuriated with his father that he had expended so much money and resources for him.
In that sermon, Dr. Keller says that the older brother was as lost as the younger prodigal because of his obedience and servitude to the father. He was a dutiful son, not because of his love for the father, but to gain his father’s favor. He felt superior to his defiant younger brother and became frustrated that the father would honor the rebellious son more than the compliant son. The lesson is one that many Asian American Christians need to heed: even if we do everything right yet with the wrong heartfelt motive, we will still be distant from our Heavenly Father. Dr. Keller says it so succinctly and poignantly: “The older brother was lost BECAUSE of his goodness because he used this as a weapon against the Lord, to make it seem like God owes him.”
This lesson still hits me today. For so long, I felt that I earned something because of my obedience. After doing my devotion for the day, I now felt that the Lord needed to do something good for me. For many years, my greatest sin was that of the elder brother: forgetting that I am already His child and insulting the Father by attempting to merit what was graciously given to me by the precious blood of the Son. Obedience is not a way to merit the love of the Father since this is something I already have in Christ. Obedience is an expression of our status as a new creation. A truly good act conforms outwardly to the Word of God (which we can somewhat do) with an inward renewal of the heart (which we are unable to do). Therefore, we can only “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5; Matt 22:38) once we grasp that it was “not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you . . . but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers” (Deut. 7:7-8). In other words, the Lord loves you because the Lord loves you.
What do you think?
Redeeming Chillingworth 