Approaching God: Duty or Identity

 

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “duty” can be defined as “An act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion,” while “identity” means: 1. The set of characteristics by which a person or thing is definitively recognizable or known, and 2. The awareness that an individual or group has of being a distinct, persisting entity. Judaism and Christianity are identifiable by the inward as well as outward characteristics of their followers. The transformation of both the true Jew and the Christ-follower takes place in the heart. Duty can take the believer only so far; identity represents the transformation of the entire man.

“Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require [saal – ask, beg, inquire] from you, but to fear [yare - not simple fear, but reverence, whereby one recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect] the Lord your God, to walk [halak – basic idea of movement] in all His ways and love Him, and to serve [abad – work, labor] the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? “Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. “Yet on your fathers did the Lord set His affection to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, even you above all peoples, as it is this day. “So, circumcise your heart [mul – remove the hardness of heart to love God], and stiffen your neck no longer. “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. “He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. “So, show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. “You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. “He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. “Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.                Deuteronomy 10:12-22

In the Mosaic law, God has commanded many things, most related to external observances, which can be enforced. Yet love and veneration cannot be enforced, even by God Himself. They must be organic. So, even under the law of ordinances, where so much requires immediate obedience under an almighty God, His ultimate requirements are the internal qualities of reverence and love manifested by loyalty to His character and commandments. These qualities are not the result of divine demands producing an outward conformity but an inward transformation – circumcision of the heart. 

Circumcision of the Heart 

“Circumcise yourselves to the Lord and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else My wrath will go forth like fire and burn with none to quench it because of the evil of your deeds.”              Jeremiah 4:4

The physical circumcision was an outward sign of the old covenant, but the inward life required the believer’s cooperation by a willful personal acceptance of the Lord’s personal love and affection and stiffen your neck no longer.  He is a just God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He loves the orphan and the widow, and He asks the believer to show that same kind of love. The inward transformation is exhibited by the believer’s reverence, service, and deep inward commitment to His purposes. 

“Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). The promise that the LORD your God will circumcise your hearts means that God will graciously grant the nation a new will to obey Him and replace their former spiritual insensitivity and stubbornness. After returning to the promised land with a new heart, they will remain committed to the Lord and, therefore, will experience abundant life. Loving Him wholeheartedly, they would not fall back into apostasy as they had done before. A new heart is an essential feature of the new covenant, which will not be fulfilled for Israel as a nation until the return of Jesus Christ. In Romans 2:29, … he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. When circumcision of the heart is real, “He is your praise, and He is your God. 

A Heart of Flesh 

“For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands, and bring you into your own land. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers, so you will be My people, and I will be your God. “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness, and I will call for the grain and multiply it, and I will not bring a famine on you. “I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the produce of the field so that you will not receive again the disgrace of famine among the nations. “Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. “I am not doing this for your sake,” declares the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel!” 

Ezekiel 36:24-32 

In the above vision, Ezekiel sees Israel in the Kingdom Age, having the Holy Spirit as her guide and a heart of flesh (not stone) to bring her into her own land. These new realities of faith will cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. “Moreover, I will save you from all your uncleanness and not allow famines to affect your fruitfulness. The culmination of Israel’s restoration will not simply be an undoing of Israel's sin to bring her to a state of neutrality but will involve the positive implanting of a new nature in Israel's people that will make them righteous. Jeremiah called this work of God the new covenant. These spiritual benefits apply to the Church Age, also defined by the new covenant. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good, and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart (Luke 6:45). The good man sees the greatness of his God and the power of the new covenant, so he understands that evil comes from the evil treasure.

Walk Humbly with God 

With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, In ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require [darash – continued, simple action] of you but to do justice [render justice faithfully], to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?            Micah 6:6-8 

To access the Lord, the religious man looks for religious activities, including burnt offerings or even my firstborn (the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul), as some means of penance. But the Lord continuously requires rendering justice faithfully, loving to be kind, and walking humbly with the Lord. Jesus referred to this principle when addressing the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:23: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [more important] provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.” According to Jesus, there are matters of the Law of Moses that are more important than others, like tithing. He refers to them as justice – doing justice, mercy – showing kindness, and faithfulness – walking humbly with God.  These three are evidence of a man who approaches God as his identity.

Obey My Voice

“For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. “But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey [shama – hear, listen to] My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’ “Yet they did not obey [shama] or incline [natah – stretch out, extend] their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. “Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.           Jeremiah 7:22-26

The essence of obedience to God is the desire to listen closely, to incline the ear to His voice so as to carry out His desires. This passage represents the fullness of the old covenant, that if the people would pay close attention to what God was saying, He would be their God, and they, His people. In so doing, they would walk in all His ways, that it may be well with you. Since the people walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, they would not be able to obey and went backward and not forward. They would not listen to God or His servants, and the evil of their hearts continuously grew. Jeremiah understood that knowing God is by experience and that the quality of man’s life is directly related to experiencing Him in the details of life: 

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows [yada – know by observing or reflecting, know by experience] Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.              Jeremiah 9:23-24

By His Doing

The work of Christ on the cross changed everything. It took the old covenant to a new level, a new covenant where the ability of God by His Holy Spirit is available to each believer to empower him to fulfill God’s purpose for each one. It means that man’s natural abilities, weaknesses, or strengths are no longer restrictions or limitations to walking with a holy God in this present world. In Christ, God’s wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption belong to each believer by faith in the One who is wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. As a result, his only boast is in the Lord, as Paul comments below: 

For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."                 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Since every believer is "in Christ," and he has all that he needs, why compare oneself with others? It is the Lord who has done it all! The spiritual blessings that we need are not abstractions that elude our grasp; they are all in a Person, Jesus Christ. He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. The emphasis is that God shows His wisdom by means of the righteousness, sanctification, and redemption that we have in Christ. Each of these theological words carries a special meaning for Christians. Righteousness relates to our standing before God. We are justified: God declares us righteous in Jesus Christ. We are also sanctified, set apart from the world to belong to God and to serve Him. Redemption emphasizes the fact that we are set free because Jesus Christ paid the price for us on the cross. This will lead to complete redemption when Christ returns. So, in one sense, we have the three tenses of salvation given here: we have been saved from the penalty of sin (righteousness); we are being saved from the power of sin (sanctification), and we shall be saved from the presence of sin (redemption). In Christ, the believer’s identity, past, present, and future, are complete and resident in each one. 

He is our Peace

For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace. Ephesians 2:14-15 

There is an evident allusion here to Isaiah 57:19 (“Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near”). This "peace" is the union of worship and feelings between the Jews and the Gentiles. Formerly, they were alienated and separated. They had different objects of worship, religious rites, and views and feelings. The Jews regarded the Gentiles with hatred, and the Gentiles viewed the Jews with scorn. Now, says Paul, they are at peace. They worship the same God. They have the same Savior. They depend on the same atonement. They have the same hope. They look forward to the same heaven. They belong to the same redeemed family. Reconciliation has not only taken place with God but with each other." They all share the same identity: Jesus Christ the Lord. 

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.          2 Corinthians 5:21