100. Possess the Good Land
Deuteronomy 6:18 And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the Lord: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers.
Once again God gives a conditional promise that it will be well with you if you do that which is good and right. The Lord repeats the covenantal promise that if one party (you) keeps the stipulations (commandments) then the other party (God) will definitely keep His part; and therefore, it will be well with you. The principle is always true: keep the Ten Commandments and you will have a good life; break the Commandments and things will go badly for you. Here the condition is put in terms of “doing what is good and right.” It should be a no-brainer that life will go well for you if you do.
All humans by conscience know the principle is true, but we still make excuses and rationalizations, which come from the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh: “one time, it’s not going to hurt anybody,” “no one will know,” “it can’t be so bad, if it feels good,” “what can it hurt?” etc. But, according to God’s Word, each disobedient thought, word, or deed has a bad consequence. We don’t get away with it. We also want to be noticed and we want credit when we do something good, but God rewards “hidden” service, the good things we do and think that no one ever sees.
The further promise is this: if you keep the Law you may go in and possess the good land. Jesus kept the Law for you; you now own His righteous life. The good land is the kingdom of God that lives and rules in the hearts of believers in Christ. Possessing it is believing God and trusting Him for giving the kingdom and its blessings, giving victory over spiritual enemies, and working all things together for good. God grants grace for forgiveness, justification, and salvation, but we must believe it to possess it. Faith makes it our own; we “have” eternal life. However, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel.” And God keeps us in the true faith that possesses the good land, the kingdom in the heart