Verse of the Day (February 1, 2020)

Verse of the Day (February 1, 2020) #BMSeminary – This great declaration of the nature of the redeeming, covenant-keeping God of Israel (“our God,” following the reminders of his faithfulness and intentions in vv. 1–3), provides the motivation for the whole-person engagement with God commanded here and later commended by Jesus (e.g., Matt. 22:37–40). But it must be noted in each case that God covenants, redeems, and rescues before such obedience is possible. One day a lawyer would ask Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25). Implied in the question is the idea that eternal life can be earned by what we do, and it can (Luke 10:28), if we keep the law perfectly. The problem is we cannot keep this law, which requires submission of every aspect of our being in order to earn eternal life (see Luke 18:18–30; James 2:10). But Jesus has kept the law perfectly in our place, and he died on the cross to pay the penalty for our lawbreaking. Loving God with all that we are and all that we have is now the supreme goal of those who have been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And one of the key ways that we love God is by loving our neighbor, as stated here and reiterated in the New Testament (Luke 10:29–37; 1 John 4:20). We do this not to earn eternal life but to show God our gratitude for the gracious gift of life in his Son. (Gospel Transformation Study Bible)