Sermon26-24 Deut4 "Christian Basic" Guide

Deuteronomy 4:1-9 theme verse Deut 4:1

The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.

In this nineteenth Sunday of the year 2026, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life.  Last week, on the fifth Sunday of Easter season, through 1 Thessalonians 1, we mediated on true Christian life. Yet on this sixth Sunday of Easter season, through Deut 4, we would like to think about the Christian Basics together.

1)    The Book of Deuteronomy, which we have read today together, has the name in Hebrew “Davarim(דברים)” meaning "Words”, as a shortened form of the first phrase “Eleh HaDevarim(אֵ֣לֶּהַ הַדְּבָרִ֗ים)” meaning "These are the words".

In English, it is called “Deuteronomy”, derived from the Greek word “Deuteronomion(Δευτερονόμιον)”, which means "the second law." Furthermore, the Korean title “Shinmyeonggi” which originates from Chinese words combining the character for "again" (*shin*) and the character for "commandment" (*myeong*), which means ”the commandments given once again."

Therefore, we can know that in this book, God, through Moses, reiterates and explains anew His commandments, I mean, the Law of God to the new generation of the Israelites.

Yet, here, regarding the Law particularly the Ten Commandments, I think we need to know that it was not given as a means to earn salvation through obedience; rather, after God had delivered the Israelites from their bondage in Egypt, the Law was given them to teach how to live holy in God’s presence.

Anyhow, the Book of Deuteronomy is structured as three sermons delivered by Moses to the new generation. I mean,

in the first sermon, from Chapters 1 through 4, Moses reviews their past journey thus far and exhorts them to obey God's Word.

And then in the second sermon, from Chapters 5 through 28, Moses addresses the Ten Commandments, the Shema, the principles of living in accordance with the Law, as well as various rituals, rewards, and punishments.

And finally in the third sermon, from Chapters 29 through 34, Moses encompasses the Moab Covenant established with the new generation, the appointment of Joshua as the new leader, and his final words of blessing.

2)    Among these sermons, today’s text, Chapter 4 serves as the conclusion to the first sermon to exhort the Israelites to obey God’s Word,

while the verses 1 through 8 constitute the introduction,

and verses 9 through 31 form the main body,

and verses 32 through 40 serve as the conclusion.

Specially in the introduction found in today’s text of verses 1–8, the verb “do” appears three times, and the verb “keep” appears twice, thereby emphasizing the central theme that they have to keep and obey God’s Word.

And then it is said that if they keep God’s laws, they will not only receive the Promised Land and enjoy a long life within it, but we will also become the people of a great nation, distinguished by wisdom and understanding and experience God’s intimate presence in prayer.

3)    Therefore, through today’s text, we would like to think about few points to learn few lessons together.

First, we would like to think about the Christian Basics in today’s text.

As you know very well, the essence of our Christian faith is knowing God as John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”. Here, "knowing" implies not only intellectual knowledge, but also an experiential knowledge gained through the fellowship.

And the means through which we know God is the Word and prayer, as highlighted in verses 6 and 7 of today’s text.

In other words, God reveals Himself to us through His Word, and through prayer, God is with us to have fellowship with us to transform us, as 1 Timothy 4:5 says ”for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”

And indeed, that’s why we call the Word and prayer the Christian Basics. And the reason why the Word and prayer are considered the Christian "basics" is because we can only know God through His Word and also we can have an experiential knowledge of God when God is with us in prayer. And that’s why we always have to diligently read the Bible, God’s Word and continually pray to God.

To elaborate further on this point: John 17:17 says that God’s Word is truth. Here the Greek word “aletheia (ἀλήθεια)” which means the truth, as a compound formed by the negative prefix “a-” and the root “lethe”, which signifies "something hidden,” means that truth is the revelation of that which was previously hidden.

In other words, it signifies that truth is the unveiling through God’s revelation of those things that were previously concealed within God Himself; specifically, the truth of the Gospel. Therefore, when Jesus declared in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He meant precisely that He Himself is the very thing that was hidden—namely, the Truth; that He is the hidden life contained within that Truth; and that He is the Way leading to that very Life.

And since John 5:39 says that the Bible witnesses to Jesus, we have to read the Scriptures that bear witness to Jesus (John 5:39) so that as those who have been united with Christ through the Holy Spirit, we have to know Him more by cultivating a more intimate relationship with the Lord through the Word and prayer as the Word and prayer is the fundamental practices as the Christian basics.

4)    However, there is something more we need to understand here regarding our life of the Word and our life of prayer.

It seems to me that for us who are steeped in the “Seonbi” tradition, I mean, Korean scholar tradition, and in our heart deeply earnest about learning, we sometimes perceive our life of the Word as a static endeavor, I mean, as an image of reading the Scriptures and meditating on them and pursuing spiritual enlightenment deep in the mountains.

Also similarly, being influenced by the tradition of praying for something lucks to the ancient in the “jangdokdae, which is a traditional condiment platform in backyard, we often think our prayer life solely to the supplication which is the prayer for our personal needs to God the Father.

Yet, as we can see in today’s text, the life of the word and the life of prayer has far broader meaning than just that.

I mean, today’s text says that the life of the Word involves not only reading and meditating and knowing the will of God, but also hearing with our ears (v. 1) being teaching (v. 5), actively living out the word and practicing this Word (v. 1, 5, 6). Thus, we can know that the life of the Word is, in reality, profoundly dynamic rather than static.

Because, as faith consists of obeying and acting in accordance with that known Word as James 2:19-20 says "faith without works is dead”, the reason why the life of the Word is dynamic is that the word of God is "imperishable seed” as 1 Peter 1:23 says so that it brings about our spiritual rebirth as it possesses a true, vital power that, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, inevitably bears fruit in actions.

Furthermore, regarding prayer, as God said in this text, it encompasses not only supplication and conversation but also fellowship. Through this fellowship, and with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled not only to discern God’s will but also to personally experience His divine attributes, specifically His love (Eph. 3:19), justice, and peace (Phil. 4:6–7) and to enjoy the joy of true communion with Him (1 John 1:3).

5)    By the way, when we strive to obey God’s Word and maintain a life of prayer, there is few points which we have to keep in mind.

First, we have to remember  that the life of the Word and prayer, the Christian basics, are not meant to add any merit to our salvation. I mean, in Exodus 20, when God gave the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, He first declared in verse 2 that “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage,” and then He gave the Ten Commandments.

In other words, God did not say, “If you faithfully obey to My Word, I will deliver you and become your God.” Rather, having already delivered them from the land of Egypt, the house of bondage, He gave them the Ten Commandments as an instruction of how to live holy before Him. In short, grace came first and then our life of obedience to the Word was followed, in turn, as an expression of gratitude for that grace.

Secondly, in John 14:15, when Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment to love ane another, He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” I mean, He explained “love” as the very reason for obeying His commandments.

As such, God calls us to obey His commandments out of gratitude for the grace of His salvation and also out of our love for God so that when we obey in gratitude and love, then His commandments cease to be a heavy burden, rather become easy and light.

6)    Furthermore, in verse 6, God says that His law becomes the wisdom and knowledge of His people, which refers to the wisdom of knowing God.

And also as Deuteronomy 29:4 says, we can have this wisdom since the LORD God grants us a heart to understand, eyes to see, and ears to hear.

Moreover, as John 14:26 says, our Comforter, the Holy Spirit whom God sent in the name of Jesus Christ, will remind us of God’s words and teach us His will, we can know that this wisdom is also attained through the teaching and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In addition to that, as God said in verse 7, He draws near to us when we pray, I mean, through prayer, we enter into intimate fellowship with God.

Therefore, we can know that the Christian basics, the Word and prayer makes us know God more and enjoy deeper fellowship with God.

7)    In other words, the life of the Word and prayer based on gratitude and love, results in the knowledge of God and intimate fellowship with God.

In this perspective, prayer and the Word of God are inseparable and should always go together in the quiet time of the inner chamber as in His Word, God speaks to us while in prayer, we speak to God.

To elaborate: for true fellowship, both God and we work together. In other words, if we neglect God’s Word, either by failing to engage with it or by refusing to listen to it, we risk merely projecting our own words and thoughts in prayer. Therefore, to imbue our prayers with true power, we have to discern God’s will within His Word and anchor our prayers to that and pray in alignment with God’s word, then our prayer can have power.

Thus, when we pray, we have strive to read and attain a right understanding of God through the Holy Spirit who grants us insights into God’s nature through His Word since the Word reveals who God is, and defines who we are and what we can be through God’s grace. And also when we pray, holding fast to these truths we can be transformed within the fellowship with God. Furthermore, this prayerful communion not only draws us closer to God but also compels us to offer intercessory prayers for our fellow Christians and for a lost world.

8)    And also that’s why in John 15:7, our Lord said, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you,” demonstrating His Word is directly linked to the answering of prayer. As such, the Word and prayer are inseparable so that both gives an integrated faith in which we discern God’s will through His Word and bring it to fruition through prayer. Therefore, I pray that this year, we may all return to the very basics of the Christian, the Word and prayer in gratitude and love so that we may come to know the Lord more deeply and enjoy more profound fellowship with Him.

Key Questions as Small Group Activity

Q1 Through today’s text, we became to know that the Word and prayer is the Christian basics so that in His Word, God speaks to us while in prayer, we speak to God. So after reflecting our life and checking whether we live in this Christian basics, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Q2 And also, we became to know that this Christian basics results in knowing God and fellowship with God, when it is founded on gratitude and love. So after reflecting our life and meditating whether we live the life of the Word and prayer, based on our gratitude to God and love for God, and became to know more Him and enjoy more intimate fellowship with Him. So, after reflecting our life and meditating on whether we are thanking God and live the life of the Word and prayer and become to know Him more and enjoy more joyful fellowship with God, I hope we can share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.

Love you. Thank you. God bless you.

Prayer Note

Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!

Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or  even during the week )

Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!

Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),

please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized   ).

I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon                                    )

Please help me to live in that (  learned way of life                                                )

I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.