All God’s promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance … Kare ua te Atu I akaroaroa I Tana I tuatua maira, mei ta tetai pae e karanga ra e, e akaroaroa; e akakoromaki maata ra Tona ia tatou, kare rava I anoano e kia mate atu tetai, kia rauka katoatoa ra te tataraara” – 2 Peter 3:9.

Blessings or curses: Our God of the Bible under the Mosaic law in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 clearly and vividly spells out the conditions of His agreement with the Israelites of old and to us who today have chosen to become Christians who through Jesus Christ have become “sons of Abraham”. We are therefore “heirs and joint-heirs in Christ Jesus”, and if we be in Christ Jesus, then are we Abraham’s seed according to the promise.

Throughout the Israelite’s history, if they obeyed His law, keep the commandments and serve only Him, He will send the bountiful blessings. Whenever they stray and disobey, they invite and open up unto themselves diverse kinds and forms of consequential curses.

Highest and greatest in God’s commandments is to worship and bow down to no other God but Jehovah, the self-existent God Yahweh or Elohim in Spirit only but manifested and revealed Himself totally and completely in Jesus Christ. He is the “image of the invisible God” (Col.1:15), “the brightness of his glory, and the expressed image of his person” (Heb.1:3), “in whom dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And we are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col.2:9,10). Paramount in their monotheistic belief is the keeping of the Shema: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind (Mark 12:30), and with all thy might”.

To become a justified believer in Christ Jesus, the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:27-29 declares, “For as many of you as have been baptised into Christ have put on Christ. 28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29, And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”.

In summary:

1) The Mosaic Covenant was given to Israel in three parts: a) the commandments, expressing the righteous will of God (Ex.20:1-26); b) the judgments, governing the social life of Israel (Ex.21:1-24:11); c) ordinances, governing the religious life of Israel (Ex.24:12; 31:18).

2) The commandments and ordinances were one complete and inseparable whole. When an Israelite sinned, he/she was held “blameless’’ if the required offering is produced (Luke.1:6; Phil.3:6).

3) Law, as a method of divine dealing with man, brings to reality the dispensation extending from the giving of the law to the death of Jesus Christ (Gal.3:1314, 23-24).

4) The attempt of legalistic teachers (e.g. Acts 15:1-31; Gal.2:1-5) to mingle law with grace as the divine method for our present dispensation of the Church, brought out the true relation of the law to the Christian.

What Christian Doctrine of the Law shows:

1) Law is in contrast with grace. Under the grace God bestows the righteousness which, under law, He demanded (Ex.19:5; Jn.1:17; Rom.3:21, note also, 10:3-10; 1 Cor.1:30).

2) The law in itself is holy, just, good, and spiritual (Rom.7:12-14).

3) Before the law the whole world is guilty, and the law is therefore of necessity a ministry of condemnation, death and divine curse (Rom. 3:19; 2 Cor.3:7-9; Gal.3:10).

4) Christ bore the curse of the law, and redeemed the believer both from the curse and dominion of the law (Gal.3:13; 4:5-7).

5) Law neither justifies a sinner nor sanctifies a believer (Gal.2:16; 3:2-3, 11-12).

6) The believer is both dead to the law and redeemed from it, so that he is no more “under the law, but under grace in Christ Jesus (Rom.6:14; 7:4; Gal.2:19; 4:4-7; 1 Tim.1:8-9).

7) Under the new covenant of grace, the principle of obedience to the divine will of God (He.10:16).

So far is the life of the believer from the lawlessness of self-will that he is “under the law to Christ” (1 Cor.9:21), and the new “law of Christ” (Gal.6:2; 2: Jn.5) is his delight, whereas, through the indwelling Spirit, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in him (Rom.8:2-4; Gal.5:16-18).

The commandments of the New Testament are used for instruction in righteousness, that “the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim.3:16-17); compare Rom.13:8-10; 1 Cor.9:8-9; Eph.6:1-3). Christian character therefore is not mere moral or legal correctness, is produced by the Holy Spirit, not by self-effort, but possession and manifestation of the grace of (Gal.5:22-23). This character is possible because of the believers’ union with Christ (Jn.15:5; 1 Cor.12:12-13), and is wholly the fruit of the Spirit. “Fruit” (singular) in contrast with “works” (plural v. 19), suggests that the Christian life is unified in purpose and direction in contrast with the life in the flesh, with its inner conflicts and frustrations.

Blessings and curses: The listed blessings and curses here in Deuteronomy 28 though similar to Leviticus 26 gives more specific details here than the former. God’s promised Blessings of Obedience on Israel results: 1) Cities and farms will be successful 28: v.3, 2). Produce many children v.4, 3) Harvest large crops v.4, 4) Livestock produce many young ones v.4, 5). Plenty to eat v.5, 6) Daily work succeed v.6, 7) Overcome their enemies, v.10, 8) God’s special people v.10, 9) Timely rain v.12, 10) Lenders of money to many nations than borrowers v.12, 11) Leader among nations v. 13, and 12) Wealthy and powerful among nations v.13.

Curses of disobedience: 1) Cities and farms fail v.16, 2) Not enough to eat vs.17,53, 3) Produce few offsprings v.18, 4) Harvest small v. 18, 5) Livestock few v.18, 6) Efforts in confusion v.28, 7) Suffer terrible incurable and widespread diseases vs. 21,22,27,35, 8) Drought and storms v.24, 9) Easily downtrodden, defeated and scattered by enemies v.25, 10) Birds and animals will eat people’s dead bodies v.26, 11) Suffers insanity, blindness, and confusion vs.28,34, 12) Normal plans and activities of life will be shattered v.30, 13) Children taken as captives by foreigners vs.32,41, 14) Locusts will destroy crops and trees vs.38,42, 15) Will become a source of gossip, mockery, joke in other lands v.37, 16) Worms will eat and destroy crops v.39, 17) Non fruit bearing trees v.40, 18) Nation will be weak and a follower v.43, and 19) Always a borrowing and begging nation v.44.

Disobedience leads to resisting God’s calling for strong leadership. More often than not, when God called people into His service, blessings and miracles, they doubt, resist, spread negativity and fear by coming up with lots of excuses. This attitude and practise of resistance was true even of the strongest and best leaders in the Bible.

Here are some examples of characters, their resistance and references: 1) Moses, “Who am I?” – Ex.3:11, 2) Moses, “I don’t know who you are”, - Ex.3:13, 3) Moses, “No one will believe me or listen to me”, - Ex.4:1, 4) Moses, “I’m not a good speaker” – Ex. 4:10, 5) Moses, “Send someone else”, - Ex.4:13, 6) Gideon, “I’m a nobody” – Judges 6:15, 7) Saul, “Hid himself in a baggage”, - 1 Sam.10:22, 8) Solomon, “I am a little child” – 1 Kings 3:7, 9) Jeremiah, “I don’t know how to speak” – Jer.1:6, 10) Jeremiah, “I’m only a child”, - Jer.1:6, 11) Jonah, “Said nothing, took off and ran away”, - Jonah 1:2, 12) Jonah, “when he complied, he was angry”, - Jonah 4:1, to just name a few and how many of us can identify and see ourselves like one of the above.

Here’s two contrasting characters and how they responded to their calling from God. 1) Isaiah, when called of God, replied, “Here am I Lord, Send me” – Isaiah 6:8, 2) Mary the mother of Jesus, “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word”, - Luke 1:38.

Finally, here are strong and powerful scriptures to encourage and strengthen us more in addition to all our leadership skills: 1) “A double minded person is unstable in all his/her ways” – James 1:8, 2) “Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving our own selves” – James 1:22, 3) “For God hath not given us the Spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” – 2 Tim.1:7, 4) “If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31, 5) “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him (Jesus Christ) that loved us”- Romans 8:37.

Let us all be Promise Keepers to deliver, declare, pronounce Blessings unto all that Jesus has committed to our charge and keeping – “Believe, that Greater is He (Jesus Christ) that is in us, than he (the adversary satan) that is in the world” – John 4:4.

Have a safe, pleasant, peaceful and Jesus’ blessed weekend – Kia mataora, pereperekavana e te manuia maata I roto I to tatou Atu ko Iesu Mesia, Amene!

• Bishop Tutai Pere of the Apostolic Church