Grace – Therefore, Holy
Tim Keller | June 10, 2007
Overview
In Deuteronomy 7, we come upon a topic that is a very controversial topic and a difficult one for, I think, everybody actually. This word that comes up a couple of times in the first couple of verses, where it says, “The Lord your God chose you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people …” He chose you. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament say that if you believe, you believe because God has chosen you. He came to you, and he opened your heart, and that’s the reason you believe.
People struggle mightily with this whole idea, and so we’re going to see how this text helps us — it text helps us struggle very smartly and wisely. It’s going to tell us three things. Being chosen by grace produces a deep humility and a radiant community, because it creates, at bottom, an absolute security. Let’s take a look at the first point.
Outline
Deuteronomy 7:6–11
God picked us, not because we’re good or many, but because He loves us and keeps His promises. This is what we see in Deuteronomy 7. The idea of being picked by God’s kindness, although it can be hard to understand and sometimes causes arguments, helps us become really humble, builds a beautiful community, and gives us complete safety. These three things change our lives in a big way.
1. Becoming really humble
Some people think the idea of being chosen by God makes us proud and snobbish, but it actually helps us be humble and challenges the idea that religious people are better than others. It’s important to recognize that we all do wrong things, which helps us stop thinking we’re superior. The teaching that God chose us reminds us that who we are is all because of God’s kindness. This underlines how important faith and God’s grace are and shows us that God often picks those who the world doesn’t want, helping us be humble instead of proud.
2. Building a beautiful community
God chooses us to make a special community that shows peace, fairness, and love, which is very different from the world. This community, which we see in the book of Deuteronomy, is built on amazing grace, self-giving, and caring for those who are weak, and it works differently in every part of life. But, being part of this community means really getting involved and engaging. If it doesn’t show these differences, it isn’t doing what God intended.
3. Having complete safety
When we look at the idea of complete safety, we see it comes from knowing we’re chosen by God’s kindness. God’s love, which isn’t based on anything else, loves us just as we are. God’s blessings, whether they have conditions or not, are shown clearly in Jesus’ sacrifice, and knowing we’re chosen by God’s kindness can change our lives.
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