What Does It Mean To Have A Relationship With Christ?

Michael A

3 years ago

This post contains a 27-minute mp3 sermon by Pastor D. Patrick Ramsey of Nashua Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Therein, he provides an explanation to the question above.

The sermon text is Deuteronomy 26:1-19

Sermon highlights are provided for those who would rather read than listen [bracketed statements are mine. Scripture was pasted in the highlight section for those who don’t plan to listen to the sermon. Highlights contain some summary statements in my words; I strove to keep the pastor’s ideas intact.]:

HIGHLIGHTS:

A Christian has a covenantal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ; the nation Israel had the same type of relationship with Yahweh in the Old Testament
3 aspects of this relationship: it is mutual; life-giving; and loving
At Mount Sinai, God committed to be Israel’s God and they committed to obey His commandments [see Exodus 24 to learn of this covenant]; these responses ensured that the covenantal relationship would be maintained, verses 16-19
In Deuteronomy, Moses was talking to the second generation [because the first generation failed to enter into the promised land, that generation was made to wander in the wilderness until they died, see Numbers 13 and 14]
Although this generation were children when the covenant was made on Sinai, they also had to make a choice to commit to it [as the 1st generation did in Ex. 24]; that choice is explicitly stated in Deuteronomy 30
[Deuteronomy 30:15“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. 16If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God^a 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,^b 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. 17But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, 18I 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. 19I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, 20loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding 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.”]
Joshua also called them to commit to the Lord:
[Joshua 24:14“Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”]
Christ declares His love and commitment to us in His word and sacraments; we declare our commitment to Him by confessing Him publicly and coming to the Lord’s table amid the congregation
Young people who were born into Christian families face the same choice and will need to declare their commitment to Christ publicly
Questions asked during baptism were articulated and related to the above
Our relationship with Christ is life-giving (the second aspect from intro)
In verses 1-15, Moses explained how Israel was to live in the Promised Land
Israel would not have entered into the land had God not delivered them from Egypt; and had He not gone before them as they fought to take possession of the land
Israel could not have followed God’s commands about living in the land if He had not blessed them (gifts and blessings elaborated on)
Israel was required to recount and profess God’s mighty deeds of deliverance as they made their offerings; this remembrance enabled them to awaken to God’s goodness and faithfulness; it was intended to incline them towards gratitude
Pastor spent time contrasting the responses of believers and unbelievers to God’s goodness….
Last week’s message, Christ Is Our Passover, was related to believer’s necessary response of gratitude for God’s goodness and faithfulness; Romans 12:1 also tied to the believers gratitude
Various other forms of gratitude identified and elaborated upon: finances; praise; brotherly love via helping and giving
These sorts of responses to Gods goodness and faithfulness demonstrate a life-giving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ
One is not only rescued from sin and death but he is brought into communion with God to experience pleasure evermore at His right hand
Fullness of eternal life will be experienced after glorification
Even though some will experience much trouble in this life, it is important to do good to others [Peter, Paul and James say much about the testing of our faith via afflictions; that would seemingly apply here]
The third aspect: loving
1 John 3:16By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.
1 John 4:11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God remains in us, and His love is perfected in us. 13By this we know that we remain in Him, and He in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. [Bible Hub, ESV]