Deuteronomy 4:1-2 Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to
teach you.  Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take the
possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving
you.  Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but
keep the commands of the Lord your God that I give you.

 I have a sign in my office that I made years ago (that I made it years
ago is seen in the fact that it was printed on a dot matrix printer,
where little dots make up the words.  I haven't had a dot matrix printer
in the office for at least 18 years!)  That little sign sums up the heart
and core of my faith.  It says, God said it.  I believe it.  That settles
it!
 Pretty simple statement isn't it?  But don't underestimate that
statement and what it says, nor do I want you to underestimate the faith
that is required in that statement.  For instance, that statement refers
to what God said.  That means we are talking about the Bible and
everything that is recorded in the Bible.  It is a statement that
confesses that the Bible is God's Word in everything it says and reveals.
 The Bible says that God created the known universe in 6 days and rested
on the 7th, well, then that is the revelation of God!  The Bible says
that His Son Jesus was born into this world to live the perfect life and
then die to pay for the sins of the world, well, that is the revelation
and truth of God!  Whatever the Bible says is God's Word, the absolute
facts and truth of God from cover to cover.
The next statement then says much too.  It says, "I believe it."  Again
that sounds simple but it is much more involved than you might think.
Today you have all sorts of so-called scientific things that tell you
that you shouldn't believe.  Science says the world evolved.  Science
says that our behavior is regulated by our genes.  Sociology says that
religion is just a part of the mental makeup of man and not at all a
fact.  I could go on and on with how the world opposes and wants to lead
me away from believing what God's Word says.  So please note that faith
takes a measure of courage and strength, courage and strength thankfully
provided by the Lord.  I believe that it is tougher today to believe than
it was 25 to 50 years ago.  Christianity is so much more under attack.
To believe God's Word is a tough job.
The last phrase brings it all together.  "That settles it!"  The Bible
and its teachings are not something up for debate.  The Bible is not a
book that I can pick and choose from to determine what my faith will be.
The Bible is the final word.  It is settled by the Bible!  This statement
also says that I recognize that the Bible has only one clear
understanding.  I don't believe the Bible has many different
interpretations, I believe there is only one interpretation and it is so
clear and concise in what it says that all debate is gone.  This is also
a statement that says I am so sure of all of this that I am willing (with
God's help) to place my eternal soul entirely on the foundation and
marvel of the Bible.  Yeah, my sign is a simple one but its meaning is
deep and intense.
Of course, what got me to thinking about all of this the text that is in
front of us.  It is a text that addresses many of the issues that my
little sign can bring up.  It is a text that tells us how God feels about
what he has given us.  It is a text that is thus pretty important.  Our
theme will be: TRUST THE LORD.  1st. Through His Word.  2nd. Don't add or
subtract.  3rd. Keep the faith.
I'll tell you there is so much common sense in what our Lord encourages
us in through this text.  If you would just look closer at what the text
is saying it becomes quite clear that the Lord is encouraging the
Israelite people to trust in Him, to trust in what he has revealed and
said and thus to be his people now and always.  It is quite an
invitation.  It is the same kind of invitation that Jesus gives when he
says, "Follow me."  It is an invitation to trust in God.  An invitation
to put your very soul into his hands and his care.  But how do we know
anything about God?  It is here that his Word comes into play.
In our text his word is called "the decrees and laws I am about to teach
you."  Let's just pause a moment and consider the historical context.
Please note we are in the book of Deuteronomy, a book that bears that
name because it means "the second giving of the Law."  The circumstances
are as follows.  Moses is about to die and Joshua is about to take over
as the leader of God's people.  This is also toward the end of the 40
year period that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, punishment
for not trusting in God.  The new generation is now in charge.  What
Moses is doing is giving the new generation the opportunity to profess
faith in the Lord.  Will you trust God?  Will you follow his Word?  Here
is what God has said and revealed to you.  Hear it and then determine
what you will do?  It is a marvelous challenge of faith.
So our text then says, "Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am
about to teach you.  Follow them so that you may live and may go in and
take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your Fathers, is
giving you."  The question we want to consider for ourselves today is
just what is it the people were to do?  I ask that in sincerity, because
it seems that many people are confused about the issues of law and
Gospel.  Was it the law and only the law spoken of here?  Or is the
gospel and all of its promises here too?
Fact of the matter is that the Israelites were to follow ALL of God's
Word.  Not just the moral law which they had been given and which was
summarized by the Ten Commandments, but also the gospel promises which
were found in the ceremonial laws of God and the promises made clear
through the prophets of God.  They were to carry out the sacrifices
because they pointed to the one great sacrifice to come.  They were to
honor the High Priest because he symbolized the great High Priest to
come, the One who would atone for all of the people completely.  In other
words, all of God's Word was to be heard.  The law with its condemnation
of sin was to be heard.  The gospel with its promise of forgiveness and
the gift of eternal life was to be heard and believed.
This helps us to grasp why there is a solemn warning given in verse 2.
It says this, "Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from
it."  To add or subtract from God's Word diminishes the message,
undermines the majesty of God and clearly betrays a lack of actually
"hearing" the Word.  Let me explain.
We know there is the law of God.  The law was given to reveal our sins
and to show that we desperately need a Savior.  What happens when you
ignore or subtract the law?  You no longer acknowledge the existence of
sin.  You no longer think there is need of a Savior and what he has to
offer namely the forgiveness of sins.  To take away from the law is
devastating.  Or you could talk about adding to the law.  Or Gospel
lesson was a great example of that.  The Pharisees followed the
traditions of men.  They weren't following God, they weren't concerned
about the law but rather about what they thought and wanted.
In our Wednesday Bible Class we are studying the book of Matthew,
specifically chapter 23.  Jesus just hammers the Jewish leaders for their
adding to God's Word, for doing it their way instead of God's way.  He
says things like: "You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces...You
travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes
one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are...You are
whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside
are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean."  All of this
because they added to and subtracted from God's Law.
Then there is the issue of subtracting from the Gospel.  Jesus is no
longer the atoning sacrifice who has won our salvation, he now is nothing
more than a moral force in showing us how to live better.  Be this in
Jesus, be that in Jesus...Jesus shows the way, you can be a child of God
if you do what Jesus did.  Or you can add to the gospel by proclaim Jesus
the Savior and now, if you are really, really a Christian and really,
really love God you will live this way and do this and that and then you
will be saved.  The impact is devastating to the souls affected.
That's why the encouragement is given here to "keeps the commands of the
Lord your God."  His commands, his precepts and ordinances for his people
are such that they reveal the entire wonder and majesty of God.  They
reveal the facts of sin and the devastation that sin has brought.  They
reveal how we can't keep the law and fall far short of the glory of God.
They reveal God's goodness and mercy in promising his Son as the Savior
of the World.  They are words to help us keep the complete and true
faith.
How fortunate we are that we still have that complete and true faith.
Did you know that Moses, Abraham, David, Isaiah and all the peoples of
the Old Testament were saved in the same way we are?  They were not saved
by their works and good deeds but rather saved through the promise of the
Christ.  They were saved and given eternal life because they believed the
Christ would come and win their salvation.  They had the true and
complete faith.
We also still have that true and complete faith.  We aren't going to get
to heaven because we are so good and wonderful, because we obey and keep
the law of Jesus.  We know that the law shows us our sins and shows that
we too have fallen far short of the perfection God's law demands.  We
know heaven is our home because Jesus has come.  Jesus lived the perfect
life we could not.  Jesus perfectly obeyed for us and then Jesus endured
the agony of the Passion so that the punishment demanded by the law was
paid.
The punishment demanded by the law is eternal death and damnation.  Jesus
took that upon himself.  He suffered the complete wrath and anger of God
against sin for us.  Jesus paid the price of his blood and death that
eternal death could be conquered.  Conquered because he rose from the
dead.  Conquered because He lives now and forever, lives and gives us
that gift of eternal life by grace through faith.  He is our Savior.  He
is our God and Lord and his Word and promises are worth hearing and
believing.  His gospel is worth having faith for.
Dear people, as Moses encouraged the people then so be encouraged now.
Hear the wonder and joy of God's Word.  Hear the truth of sin and the joy
of salvation from sin in Jesus.  Hear and know that in Jesus there is
life, eternal life with him in his kingdom.  This was God's revelation in
the Old Testament and this is still God's revelation in the New
Testament.  May we hear and marvel at God's gift.  May we be wise enough
not to add to or subtract from this awesome message of life in Jesus.
May we keep the faith, the faith founded in Jesus' victory.  Then we will
have exactly what this text promises.  We will live, live in the wonder
of Jesus and live eternally through His gracious gift of heaven.  It is
all ours in Jesus.  Amen.