Deuteronomy 30:14 Explained: Is Salvation Hard or Easy? Faith vs. Law
“… the word is very near you.” Deuteronomy 30:14
Is Christianity difficult? British writer G.K. Chesterton suggested that Christianity has not been tried and found wanting but found difficult and not tried. C.S. Lewis said that Christianity was both hard and easy. It was easy in that what Christ wants is us. It is hard in that no half-measures are sufficient.
When Moses reminded the people of God’s commandments in the book of Deuteronomy, he told them that the commandments were not too hard for them. He reminded them that the commandments were not far away. They were not up in heaven that someone needed to go there to receive them. Nor were they beyond the sea that someone must travel a great distance to obtain them. Where were the commandments of God? Moses replied, “But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it” (Deuteronomy 30:14).
Moses did not want the people to think of God’s commandments as burdensome. The commandments were their life if they would do them. Their success as a people was simple and very near. They had the commandments of God; all that was required was for the people to follow them. That the word of God was in their mouths and in their hearts was an indication of how easy obedience would be if they would only give themselves to God.
The people of Israel would find the commandments of God difficult, however. The laws of God were given to point people’s hearts to God. Instead, the people’s affections wandered toward pagan idols. They missed the beauty and simplicity of love for God and others. Their sinful natures found God’s laws burdensome, oppressive, and hard to obey.
In Romans, the apostle Paul uses Moses’ words to encourage faith (Romans 10:5-13). He notes that the Old Testament promoted righteousness through the law. Now, however, there is a new righteousness; it comes through faith. This righteousness says, “Who will ascend to heaven to bring Christ down? Who will descend into the abyss to bring Christ up?” No, says Paul, the word is near you, in your mouth and heart. What word is Paul talking about? The word of faith. Faith promises that if we confess Jesus Christ with our lips and believe in our hearts that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).
The words of both Moses and Paul remind us of the simplicity of the gospel. The word of God’s grace toward us is not far away. It is very near to us. It is in our minds, hearts, and mouths. In addition, we have a helper, who is the Holy Spirit. Through him, the Word, who is Christ, indwells us. He is indeed very near.
Someone once asked Jesus if there were few who would be saved. Jesus answered that people should strive to enter by the narrow door (Luke 13:24). In another place, Jesus said that the way is broad that leads to destruction, but the gate narrow that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). The door of salvation is Jesus Christ. It is narrow in that he is the one and only way. As Paul says, those who confess him with their lips and believe in their heart that God raised him from the dead will be saved.