Chosen by God, We Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
The words of our text were spoken by Moses to the children of the Israelites who came out of slavery in Egypt. Their parents refused to believe that God would lead them into the Promised Land and so the older generation died in the wilderness.

But now their children were poised to enter into the Promised Land and there was a choice before them just as there was before their parents. Would they follow in the faithless footsteps of their parents or would they trust God and walk in his ways? Moses said to them: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.

On this date, January 22nd, thirty-nine years ago our nation and its highest court faced much the same kind of choice that the Israelites faced standing on the banks of the Jordan River. Would they believe in the God of creation who gives life- and walk in his ways- or would they deny him and go their own way?

They made their choice. In a 7 to 2 majority vote, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the: "right of privacy...is broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy” thereby legalizing abortion—choosing death and evil over life and good.

So that we understand what that “choice” really entailed, almost a million and a half abortions are performed each year in the United States---about fifty million aborted children since that fateful day thirty-nine years ago today.

From this decision to choose “death and evil” over “life and good” has come a culture of death that embraces more and more people than just the unborn. Those who are ill—those who are disabled—those who are elderly—those whose mere existence is an imposition to the lifestyle of others-- are increasingly looked upon as inconveniences to be gotten rid of by those more powerful than themselves.

Just as the Israelites faced a choice as they entered into the Promised Land- and just as our nation faced a choice in 1973- we too face the same choice between “life and good” and “death and evil.” Moses said:

If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

It is important to remember that the choice before the Israelites was not whether or not to be saved-- or whether or not to be a part of God’s people—they were saved and they were God’s people. God had chosen them to be his own.

So it is with us. We have been saved by Jesus Christ. We are God’s people. God has chosen us in Christ to be his own precious possession. The choice before us then, is the same as it was for the children of Israel: What will our identity as God’s people mean for us in how we live our lives? You see…

There is an inseparable connection between: believing in God—and how we live our lives. Jesus said: If you love me, you will keep my commandments. John said: This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.

The choice that was before the Israelites is exactly the choice that is before us: Will we show that our trust in God is real- by loving him and walking in his ways and keeping his commandments?

To encourage us to make the right decision, Moses promises us that there are blessings that come from obedience.

For the Israelites, these were blessings tied to the covenant that God made with them as a people at Sinai, blessings that were unique to them as a people—but are there are blessings for us too that come from walking in God’s ways.

When we follow God’s counsel about marrying a fellow believer it adds a vital building block for a strong marriage. When we follow God’s counsel and abstain from sexual sins we don’t have to worry about damaging our health. When we follow God’s counsel and dress modestly people won’t get the wrong idea about us.

There are blessings that come from walking in God’s ways. But the opposite is also true, that a life of disobedience leads to curse and death. Moses said:

But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess.

Just as there were specific covenant blessings if the Israelites followed in God’s ways-- so there were specific covenant curses for disobedience.

The same principle applies to our nation too. Having chosen death, there are curses. Can anyone honestly say: that we are a better people for having legalized abortion? That we are more caring for those around us? That life has become more precious? That the moral fabric of our nation is stronger? The fact of the matter is…

Just the opposite has happened! In the last thirty-nine years, the number of broken homes has risen dramatically. Sexually transmitted diseases are epidemic. Pornography is everywhere. And how can it not be so when a nation enshrines death in its laws as a moral right and legitimate good?

The same thing can happen in our life—there are unintended but real consequences to our sinful choices: relationships are broken—opportunities are limited—life with God is undermined—for the truth of the matter is that when we go away from God, we are moving towards a false god.

The Israelites were drawn to worship the Canaanite gods, which involved child sacrifice and sexual immorality as a part of their worship. The idols in our day of autonomy and convenience and self lead to exactly the same sins of sexual immorality and the death of children in abortion.

And because these idols appeal to our flesh too, we have to be on guard against them and walk in God’s ways of service and sacrifice to others, choosing life.

There is a clearly seen division between those who love God and follow him and take upon themselves his values-- and those who worship and serve the false gods of this age—a clear division between life and blessing, death and curse. Moses said:

I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.

The mini-series “Band of Brothers” follows an American army unit as it fights its way across Europe after D-Day. They parachute into Normandy and fight in the Battle of the Bulge. Amazing battle scenes! But the most powerful episode is one towards the end of the series. It is entitled: “Why We Fight.”

The episode follows the army unity as it marches through a prosperous, orderly German town that has already surrendered and begun to rebuild. But just outside this city (where Germans are getting back to normal life) is a concentration camp that has been abandoned by its guards. The scene inside this camp is horrible. What one man can do to another simply because of who he is, is beyond comprehension. But what is even harder to understand are the townspeople who turned a blind eye to it.

So that there can be no denial that it ever happened, the soldiers make every one of the townspeople march out to the camp with shovels in hand to bury the dead so that they can never claim ignorance about what happened just outside their community.

Over the last thirty-nine years, 50 million children in this country have been legally killed by abortion. We dare not, as Christian citizens of the United States, turn a blind eye to the destruction of life that has taken place in our nation over the last thirty-nine years. We are not permitted to ignore it or pretend it is not happening.

Heaven and earth bear witness to this tragedy and so must we. We must make a solemn resolution that we will have no part in this culture of death—that we will choose life—not only for our sake-- but for the sake of those who follow us. Moses said:

I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,

One of the most painful things for us to realize is that there are consequences for the sinful choices we make, not only for ourselves but for the generation that follows us—consequences for our children. That is certainly true when it comes to abortion.

84 percent of women who get abortions are single. In other words, they and their partners have engaged in sexual immorality and a child is conceived and then aborted in the name of convenience and freedom.

Death is always the direction of sin unless there is a return to the Lord. The Good News for us today is that we can return to the Lord—even those who have chosen the way of curse and death for themselves and their children. Moses said:

Love the LORD your God, obey his voice and hold fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”

God made an enduring promise to the children of Israel beginning with the Patriarchs: that he would be their God and they would be his people and he would bring them into the Promised Land. God kept that promise as he always does.

But there was even more to his promise. He promised that he would send a Savior for all people—a deliverer who would change the direction of the world from death back to life --like God intended for all of us in the beginning.

Jesus Christ accomplished by his death and resurrection. His shed blood paid for the sins of the world—all sins—including the sins of sexual immorality and abortion. He took upon himself our broken lives to give us wholeness and peace. And his resurrection from the dead is God’s guarantee that death will not be the last word about us--but life and blessing can come from even the darkest of days—for he himself is our life.

We are called by God to choose life and blessing over death and curse—to walk in his ways and be obedient to his commands. We are called by God to take a stand against evil in this dark and dying world.

But we are also called by God to make his voice heard—to let people around us know that they do not have to choose death and curse—but that there is a God who loves them with an everlasting love-- who holds out to them life and blessing in his Son Jesus Christ if they will only receive it in faith.

When we support Lutherans for Life- and when we are merciful to those who have sinned- and when we are welcoming to those who are struggling with critical life issues and need our support and encouragement—we show, in a powerful way, that we have in the LORD, a God who can be trusted to give life and blessing. Amen.