Summary of the Book of Deuteronomy by Pastor Dr Chew Weng Chee on 27 Feb 2022
Go straight to Minute 52 of this video for the Sermon
Pastor Chew, thank you for your message. It is a very good summary that sheds a lot of light, hopefully, to many people who are being confused over the Laws of Moses and the New Covenant.
The relationship between the Old Testament & the New Testament, especially with regards to the Law is very clear: If not for Christ and His atonement work, the Law "condemns (letter kills)", but after Christ came to accomplish all the requirements under the Law, we can now walk by the Spirit of the Law.
Everything is summed up in the Shema, In fact, it goes beyond just verses 4 and 5. Verse 6 is a prelude to the New Covenant, repeated by Jeremiah and Paul (Jer 31:33; Rom 2:15), where we know that the Law of God would be written on the tablet of the heart.
Paul expounds this relationship between grace and law, the Old and the New Covenant very well in the book of Romans and in 2 Corinthians. In 2 Corinthians 3:6, we read:
He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
The book of Hebrews also helps to put things in perspective, because the early Gentile church was troubled by the Judaizers who penetrated the churches to spy on our freedom we have in Christ. (cf Gal 2:4)
We are no longer to follow all the ceremonial, dietary or Levitical laws, which include all the feasts, new moons, strict observance of the Sabbath, etc (refer entire chapter of Colossians 2). For this reason, Christ came so that He could live under all the requirements of the Law, and having been found perfect under the Law, He became the Perfect Sacrifice for our sins. This is why the church no longer follow the Jewish feast of the atonement, but for perpetuity, Christ instituted the Lord's supper to remind us of He being the Passover Lamb for us.
We should understand and know the intents of the Law, as this reveals the character of God, so that by the Spirit, and no longer by the flesh, we can choose to obey the Lord out of love. For the Law condemns, and the letters of the Law killeth, but obedience to God brings about life and a new covenant relationship with our Heavenly Father through Christ Jesus our Lord.
All the feasts in the Old Testament are a foreshadow of Christ to come, and when Christ who is the substance came, the Old Covenant has been replaced with the New Covenant, which is not new but based on the covenant originally made with Abraham. Hence, like Isaac and Jacob, we are co-heirs of this new covenant and enjoy the same blessings promised to us through Abraham. This is all possible because we are in Christ.
We are already set free from the yoke of the Laws, being under grace, but that does not mean we can continue to sin, as though we are now lawless people. While the Law can no longer condemn us, because our justification is based on Christ's atonement, but having understood God's intents behind all the laws, we now, out of love, seek to obey God. This is the law of Christ. Amen.
Your exposition from the book of Deuteronomy is very good.
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