So it wasn’t only the Mosaic Covenant law that acted as an accuser and an announcer of the death of people who reject ⁓ it. The gospel did the same thing. Would have been
Better never to have heard the gospel, says Peter and Second Peter. Better for them never to have known the way of righteousness via the gospel, than they have known it and to walk away from it. Yeah. Better not to have heard the gospel and not have it. It means death. So
The point then is before we close that the Mosaic Covenantal Law was this marvelous, wondrous thing, and if you lived in faithfulness to God under it, you got life with him. You got life with him.
That’s what Leviticus eighteen verse five said. Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law. Ten five saying The man, the person, the man who does those things shall live by them. Not talking about earning. Just if you if you show faithfulness and
allegiance to God. You get life. But it’s only for the Jew, Leviticus eighteen five. It’s not speaking to Gentiles.
18:1 and following, he says to these Jews, You are not to live as you lived when you were in Egypt. You are not to live as the Canaanites live when you get to Canaan. You’re to keep my statutes, you’re to keep my law, you’re to be faithful to me. The gods of Egypt and the gods of Canaan, you’re to have nothing to do with them. You are to have to do with me. And whoever does that.
They get life. He’s talking to Jews.
But the righteousness which is of faith speaks in this wise Don’t say in your heart, Who will ascend into heaven?
Like bringing Christ dying, he says. Or who will descend into the abyss? Sort of bring Christ up from the dead. You don’t need to do that. That’s already been done for you. Christ has already come and become incarnate. Christ has already died for you. Christ has already risen. None of that you have to do.
It’s been all done for you.
Word is near you, in your mouth, and in your heart. That is the word of faith that we preach. He just quoted that from Deuteronomy 30. In Deuteronomy 30, Paul is speaking about the Mosaic covenant that God had made with them. He said, This thing isn’t too hard for you.
It isn’t too hard for you. All you have to do is give him happy allegiance for pity’s sake. And he goes on to say in Deuteronomy 30, you must read Deuteronomy 30. Please read Deuteronomy 30. And see for yourself. Mosaic covenant law was a lovely thing. It could be kept. There was a whole sacrificial system that took care of the whole sins business.
All about was the grace of God and the kindness of God.
And he says, there, see, I set before you this day, life and death. Choose life and live, or apostatize and die. This is Paul’s point in these texts.
Here’s the story, he says, in ten nine and ten. If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ⁓ Who’s he writing this to? He’s writing this to people who have already been baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, he didn’t mention baptism here. He mentions it in chapter six.