Cited in sermons
Ralph Klein
2 sermons · All people cited
The Solicitation to Apostasy
Deuteronomy 13 confronts Israel with three escalating scenarios of solicitation to apostasy: the false prophet, the intimate family member or friend, and the corrupt city given over to idolatry. In each case the text demands not tolerance but purging, because defection from the living and true God constitutes treason against the theocratic covenant order. The chapter's severity is inseparable from its mercy: faithful execution of justice removes the cause of divine wrath and secures the covenant blessings sworn to the fathers. The passage presses the hearer to examine whether fidelity to God holds firm against both miraculous signs that lead astray and the subtler pull of intimate relationships.
Not By Israel's Righteousness
Deuteronomy 9:1–10:11 delivers a threefold warning against self-righteousness: Israel is not receiving the promised land because of her own merit, but because of the wickedness of Canaan, the covenant faithfulness of God to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and God's sovereign mercy displayed repeatedly in the face of Israel's rebellion. The historical review — from the golden calf at Horeb to Taberah, Massah, Kibroth Hattaavah, and Kadesh Barnea — demonstrates that Israel had no claim to righteousness whatsoever, and that her survival depended entirely on the mediatorial intercession of Moses, who points forward to Christ. The sermon drives this pattern into the conscience of the hearer: no one enters into the blessing of God on the ground of personal righteousness, wisdom, free will, or any self-generated merit, but solely through God's grace, covenant faithfulness, and the righteousness of Jesus Christ.