Gospel of Jesus Christ was a historical event

Deuteronomy 1:3-5 (ESV)
In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him in commandment to them, [4] after he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. [5] Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying,

In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month. In the first five verses of this chapter God gives us the exact location in the world (Deuteronomy 1:1) and the exact date (1st day of 11th month) and timeframe (after defeat of Sihon and Og) of when Moses spoke the words of Deuteronomy. This is to mainly stress that this was really a historical event. Moses really spoke these words on this specific day and in this specific spot in the land of Moab. This truly happened. And by putting in this location and date stamp as preface, God gives no room for Israel doubting whether these words were really spoken by Moses or not. No one could ever say in the future that these were only some words written by a group of rabbis who decided come up with a religion. For Moses says later:
Deuteronomy 31:24-26 (ESV)
When Moses had finished writing the words of this law in a book to the very end, [25] Moses commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, [26] "Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against you.

Moses commanded that the book that contains words of the Law, the original handwritten copy of it, be placed next to the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle. And the ark of the covenant is in the Holiest of Holies, beyond the second curtain of the temple, to which no one can enter lest they die because of God's holy presence. Only the High Priest can enter there once a year, but not without the blood of atonement, lest he also die. By preserving this book in the Holiest of Holies, it meant that NO ONE could temper with the words that Moses wrote, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, and no one could write off the Law as something that was made by man, or claim that they were never spoken. If they were ever in doubt, they could go in the holiest of holies and read the original text written by Moses, preparing to die as they do it.

These words that Moses spoke was a witness against Israelites, giving them no excuse to disobey them nor think of them as mere empty words. As Moses says later:
Deuteronomy 31:28-29 (ESV)
Assemble to me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears and call heaven and earth to witness against them. [29] For I know that after my death you will surely act corruptly and turn aside from the way that I have commanded you. And in the days to come evil will befall you, because you will do what is evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger through the work of your hands."
Moses clearly swore upon heaven and earth that if Israel disobey God's commandments, they will perish. And they did perish, when they were carried all the Babylon. The future generation took Moses' words lightly, disrearding the warnings therein, perhaps thinking Moses never really wrote these words, or that Law was only the invention of man. Yet all the time while they are doubting the original copy of the Bible and the tablets of stone on which He wrote the Ten Commandments by His own finger was sitting in the Holiest Holies, giving witness against them, bringing accusation against them before God.

Likewise, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is also a historical event that actually happened. We know that Christ was born in Bethlehem Judea (Matthew 2:1) of the Roman Empire, that it was during the reign of Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1), when Quirinius was the governor of Syria (Luke 2:2), during the reign of Herod over Judea (Matthew 2:1), and that becase of Herod He fled to Egypt, and later returned from there to the land of Judea during the reign of Archelaus the son of Herod (Matthew 2:22). And we know where He was raised; in the city of Nazareth, which is in the district of Galilee (Matthew 2:22-23) and that He was there until the beginning of His ministry, which went on for three years after the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas (Luke 3:1-2).

And we know where and when our Lord Jesus Christ was betrayed, tortured and crucified for sinners. It was in Jerusalem, on the night of the Passover, the first day of the feast of the Unleavened Bread, that Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested, in a place called Gethsamane on the Mount of Olives. On the next day, after being condemned by Jewish leaders, he was led to Pilate's headquarters, and mocked, beaten and scourged by a Roman battalion. And after being sentenced to death by Pilate, He was taken to the hill of Golgotha, or Calvary, the 'place of a skull', where He was crucified in the midst of two criminals, carrying the shame and the guilt of our sins, crushed under the wrath and curse of God against our sins. And the Bible even tells us the time of His death, which was about the ninth hour - at 3pm:
Mark 15:33-37 (ESV)
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. [34] And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" [35] And some of the bystanders hearing it said, "Behold, he is calling Elijah." [36] And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down." [37] And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

So it was on Friday 3pm, the day before the Sabbath, that Jesus Christ died. And Christ was buried in a garden that was close by Calvary (John 19:42) on that same day. And it was on Sunday morning, the first day of the week, before the rising of the Sun (Matthew 28:1), that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. He showed Himself to His disciples on that day to His two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-15), on that evening to the apostles that were in Jerusalem apart from Thomas (John 20:24). And eight days later He showed Himself again to the disciples with Thomas (John 20:26). After 40 days of being with the disciples (Acts 1:3) Christ ascended to Heaven on the Mount of Olives, which is at Bethany, to remain there on the right hand of the Father, and to return to Judge every person for their sins.

If then there are so many witnesses in scripture, that testifies of exactly when and where in the world Christ lived, died, rose again, and ascended, where is the room for doubts? The Gospel was a historical event that took place, and Christ's witnesses have wrote this in a book, and have gave their lives proclaiming it. It was not that Christ's disciples had blind faith and false hope that they did this, but they had too much evidence to deny the truth of Christ's life, death and resurrection. As Peter said to the Jewish leaders:
Acts 4:20 (ESV)
for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
This was a real event that took place, some 2000 years ago, and the Scriptures stand as a witness against all of Earth's inhabitants. Just as Moses placed his writing of the law in the Holiest of Holies to be untainted by man, and to stand as witness before God, Jesus Christ, the living Son of Man and Son of God, has also entered into Heaven, to the only holy place where God dwells, to be witness before God against all who do not obey the Gospel, and those who twist the Gospel for their own gain. Jesus Christ the Witness is watching from heaven, keeping record against all who do not believe in His Good News.

God has also proclaimed the Gospel to you, through a cloud of witnesses who shed rivers of blood to preserve and preach this News of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ. If you are reading this, and you have not yet trusted in Jesus Christ's blood and His resurrection as your only hope before God on Judgment Day, please do so now. You have no time, for tommorow you may die and wake up in the flames of Hell. If you have believed, then you and I ought to continue to believe in Him, and be sure again of the certainty of our salvation which Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross. It is Jesus who proclaimed, before His death:
John 19:30 (ESV)
When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Let us trust His words, that it is done, that Christ has done what we could not do, and believe that what He has done for us is enough to take us to Heaven with Him. Let us rest in Him, and everlasting truth of His Gospel. Amen.

Trusting in Christ alone to take us to heaven

Deuteronomy 1:2 (ESV)
It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea.

It is eleven days' journey from Horeb.. to Kadesh-barnea. The reason why this is included is to show clearly that it does not usually take 40 years to get from Horeb to the gates of Canaan. Israel was not lost in the wilderness, nor did God misguide them. But it happened so that the Word of God could be fulfilled that all the first generation would perish in this wilderness and never see the land of Canaan. Israel knew how long it took to go from Horeb to Kadesh-Barnea, because they had gone through the way before:
Deuteronomy 1:19 (ESV)
"Then we set out from Horeb and went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us. And we came to Kadesh-barnea.
They knew that the way normally takes about 11 days on foot. But the fact that it took 40 years to come back near to Canaan shows that God purposely led them in the wilderness and made the first generation to perish, because of their unbelief.

Israel left Mount Sinai in only the second year (Numbers 10:11). Which means, if from there to Kadesh-Barnea only 11 days, Israel could have entered into Canaan only in that year. It could have taken only 1 year from exodus out of Egypt to the promised land. But instead it took them 40 years. Why? Because they did not believe in God's word, and because they did not trust in God.

The penalty for not believing in God is severe. It can turn 11 days journey to 40 years of vanity. Israel wasted 40 years in the wilderness because they did not believe that God could take them to the promised land. See how briefly Moses describes the wasted years in the wilderness:
Deuteronomy 2:1-3 (ESV)
"Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the LORD told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. [2] Then the LORD said to me, [3] ''You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward
"And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir" is all Moses says about those years. Sure, things happened during those 38 years, but anything worthy of repeating, any great achievements? No. They are just wasted years, filled with vanity, chasing after the wind. What can we learn then: unbelief wastes our time. It is true. Unbelief makes us to waste our precious time, doing nothing of significance. And it is God who subjects us to this vanity, when we do not believe in His word and His power. This first generation could have captured the land of Canaan in the second year of exiting Egypt, and their children could have grown up in the land of milk and honey. But because of unbelief, their children had to suffer in the wilderness. Let us be warned: because of our unbelief, our children will suffer vanity and have their lives wasted. The futility that our next generation suffers will be our fault, if we do not believe in the Lord, and prepare the Kingdom of God on earth for our children to live. We must fight unbelief for our next generation. The first generation could have enjoyed those 38 years in the promised land, eating the good produce of the land. However, because of their mockery of God through unbelief, they spent those years eating nothing but Manna and Quail. They so missed the good food from Egypt, but because of their unbelief, they did not get their hearts' desire. Why? Because they through their unbelief said in themselves, 'God is not able, God is not trustworthy'.

And we know what happened to the first generation. Not only did they wander around the desert aimlessly, but they died. Death is the penalty of unbelief. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust in His power alone to take us to heaven, we are taken immediately from death to life. We are saved by believing in the promise of God that says, 'Whosoever believes in Jesus Christ shall not perish but have everlasting life'. There is no wasted time. The moment we believe we are straightaway taken to the promise land to begin fighting the good war for the Kingdom of God. But when we don't believe in God's Good News, nor trust in Christ to take us to heaven, not only shall our lives be wasted on vanity, but we will receive death as the reward for our sins. For everything done apart from faith in Jesus is only sin:
Romans 14:23 (ESV)
But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
And the wages of sin is death, as it says in Romans 6:23. Unbelief in God's promise and His power is the father of all sins, and it is the beginning of death.

Adam heard the promise of death in the command that he received from God in the garden of Eden:
Genesis 2:17 (ESV)
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."
But Adam did not believe in God's promise nor God's power in judgment. For listen to what the devil told Eve:
Genesis 3:4-5 (ESV)
But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
The devil is telling Eve that basically God is afraid, that once she and Adam eats of this fruit they will be like God and God would not know what to do if they become like Him. What weak and pathetic image of God the devil paints for her! And Adam and Eve took up this lie, and ate the fruit of the tree, disbelieving God's promise of death in His commandment, nor His power to do this. And by their unbelief, death entered the world through their sin.

Just as God has pronounced His promise of death through the commandment to Adam, God has pronounced His promise of life through His everlasting Gospel for whoever believes in Jesus. Jesus Christ is the tree of life. His promise is this:
John 6:53-54 (ESV)
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. [54] Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
Whoever believes and trusts in Jesus will have eternal life. This is God's promise to us. But, as he did to Eve, does not the devil come to those have heard this Gospel, and says, 'You will not live. Christ is not able to save you. How can simple faith save you? You must add works! You must do good works. Can Christ's works alone save you? It must be your works with His! You can do it, you can be like God, you can save yourself!' Have we not heard all this rubbish before? These are all lies from the devil, and it is rampant in the world. And Christians are in danger of believing in this lie. Remember when Paul said:
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 (ESV)
But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. [4] For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Sincere and pure devotion to Christ is that which does not go astray from His true Gospel. It is not about working and trying your hardest. It is trusting in Christ alone. It is believing that Christ's works on the cross and the resurrection is enough to save us and give us life everlasting. It is never straying away from this precious truth of faith. Any gospel that entices us to trust in our own works, our own strength, and tempts us to glorify ourselves and not Christ, we can spit on as an unclean thing. Any other gospel that even an angel comes to us and presents to us, we are to reject, and pronounce a curse upon it:
Galatians 1:8 (ESV)
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.

Not as though there is such thing as another 'gospel'. There is no other Good News. There is only bad news outside of Jesus Christ. What good can anything in the world give us? What good can sinful man give to us? What good can any created thing give to us? The only Good that can ever be given to us GOD. God Himself is our good news. Christ Himself is the Gospel. Shall we then go after another Saviour than Christ, our Creator and our Brother? Christ is our only hope. What good hope can we ever find outside Him? There is only death and destruction, futility and sorrow, outside the safe refuge of Christ our Lord.

So then, shall we not learn from the Israel's 40 year chastisement? Let us test ourselves today whether we are trusting in Christ to take us to heaven, or whether we are trusting in our willpower. Good works is only the fruit of our full faith in the Lord, but even they are imperfect, mixed with our sin, and cannot be trusted. Salvation is by trusting in Christ's works alone. Unless we want to perish, and be sent into everlasting burnings, let us believe in God's promise in the Gospel, and trust in Christ's power. He is alive. He is able. He can take us over the Jordan. Praised be to Jesus Christ who alone is able to save sinners!:
Psalm 146:3-4 (ESV)
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. [4] When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Isaiah 12:2 (ESV)
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation."

False christs will rise in the last days

Deuteronomy 1:1 (ESV)
These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah opposite Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

These are the words that Moses spoke. Moses had trouble speaking when he was first called:
Exodus 4:10 (ESV)
But Moses said to the LORD, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue."
Moses was not a good speaker. And therefore he had asked to be excused from speaking to Israel. Though God said that He would help him to speak, his unbelief was consistent. So God had replied to him:
Exodus 4:14-16 (ESV)
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. [15] You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. [16] He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.

Aaron was Moses' spokesperson, and had become the interpreter for Moses. It was not because of God's weakness that He had used Aaron to be Moses spokesperson, but because of Moses' small belief. Moses at that time did not realize that God had made him ineloquent:
Exodus 4:11-12 (ESV)
Then the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? [12] Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak."
God had made Moses to have speech limitations so that he would not rely in himself, but rely in God. God gives us weaknesses so that we may rely upon God, and not on ourselves. It is so that God may get all the glory.

So when Moses delivers this great sermon in Deuteronomy, we are not to marvel at Moses' eloquence, for Moses confessed of having been born with no eloquence. Moses by this time had trusted in God completely, and also had entrusted to God his mouth. Aaron had died in that year a few months back, and there was no more interpreter, no more spokesperson. It was Moses who spoke by his own self, eloquently no doubt, because he had trusted in God, and through the faith God was speaking through him.

Are we born with any weaknesses? Let us believe that it is God who made us weak, that we may trust in God alone. We are all sinners, and sin is our greatest weakness. We have been spiritually born blind and deaf and mute. But because God is powerful, and we are not, God gets all the glory in our salvation. He opened our eyes, made us to hear Christ's voice and made our tongues to sing praise of Christ's work on the Cross. God in His wisdom had subjected all to the weakness of sin, that we may be saved by trusting in God alone, and by no other means:
Galatians 3:22 (ESV)
But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

To all Israel. It is certain this speech was given to the second generation of Israel, after the remnants of the first generation had perished in the wilderness, as the Lord said. Moses cannot have been addressing the first generation, for he says in the second chapter that they all died:
Deuteronomy 2:14-18 (ESV)
And the time from our leaving Kadesh-barnea until we crossed the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the LORD had sworn to them. [15] For indeed the hand of the LORD was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished. [16] "So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, [17] the LORD said to me, [18] ''Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar.

Moses is speaking to those who lived through the Balaam incident (Deuteronomy 4:3-4), after which a new census was taken that confirmed that not one person of the old generation had been remaining who were listed in the census taken 38 years ago in Sinai:
Numbers 26:64-65 (ESV)
But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. [65] For the LORD had said of them, "They shall die in the wilderness." Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Moses was the only remaining survivor from the first generation, apart from Joshua and Caleb. All others had perished during those 38 years, in the rebellion of Korah, in the battle with the Amorites, through the many plagues and punishments, and through other natural means. Miriam had also died in the fortieth year, and a few months later Aaron had died. And Moses would die in that same year too, right after he deliver this final message to the second generation:
Deuteronomy 32:48-50 (ESV)
That very day the LORD spoke to Moses, [49] "Go up this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho, and view the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel for a possession. [50] And die on the mountain which you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people,

Deuteronomy was a message of a dying man. It was his last plea and warning to the people of Israel, that they would love God with all their mind, heart and strength, and keep His commandments. He warned them especially of idolatry:
Deuteronomy 30:15-19 (ESV)
"See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. [16] If you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you today, by loving the LORD your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. [17] But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, [18] I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. [19] I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live

We can see from above passage that idolatry is the opposite of loving God and keeping His commandments. When we love God for who He is as presented in the Bible, we are sure to keep His commandments. But when we hate God and His commandments, we have no choice but to create another god to suit our lower standard of morality. We replace the true God with a figment of our imagination, a god that loves sin, and hates righteousness, a god who is very much like us. We make an unholy god, in our own image, to suit our own unholy desires. Idolatry is inevitable to those who hate one true God and His Law. Idolatry, the breaking of the First Commandment, opens the doors for the breaking of all the other nine Commandments, because if we have our own custom-made God, we can do all that we want, not what He wants. Idolatry is the primary sin, and it was this sin that would bring Israel eventually to ruin, as Moses prophesied in his song before his death:
Deuteronomy 32:16-18 (ESV)
They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. [17] They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. [18] You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Despite Moses warnings and pleas, Israel did not listen, and destruction ultimately came upon them through the works of their hnds. They could not tell the difference between a demon and the Spirit of God, and worshipped devils who clothed themselves in light as though they were God. Why? All because they loved their sin, and needed a god that would sanction sin, unlike the God of the Bible.

The words of Deuteronomy reminds us of the words that Christ spoke before His death when He came to Jerusalem for the last time. He spoke many parables and teachings, especially of the Jews' unbelief of Him, how Jerusalem will be destroyed because of this, and how salvation will be brought to the Gentiles. He pronounced woes to the religious leaders of the time of their self-righteousness and hypocrisy. But the most important was the discourse that Christ gave to His disciples on the Mount of Olives on His second coming. In the discourse, Christ, like Moses, warned of idolatry to come. But His warning was against false Christs, rather than false gods:
Matthew 24:4-5 (ESV)
And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. [5] For many will come in my name, saying, ''I am the Christ,'' and they will lead many astray.
Mark 13:21-23 (ESV)
And then if anyone says to you, ''Look, here is the Christ!'' or ''Look, there he is!'' do not believe it. [22] For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. [23] But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Christ is saying that in last days many will go after other, false images of Jesus. Many will come in Christ's name and present a Jesus that is nothing like the Jesus that is in the Bible. And along with false christs, these wicked men will bring in false gospels, leading many astray and bringing upon themselves curse and condemnation. And is not this what is already happening today? These false prophets present a false Christ who is only "loving", never judging anyone, too sweet to say anything harsh, who doesn't mind when we do anything evil because he is too gracious. Jesus that has been impregnated into our minds is a long-haired, weak Jesus carrying cute lambs over His shoulders. Consider the idol that Catholics love to worship, the Pieta, of the image of the dead Jesus in the arms of Mary, that portrays Him only as a weak, pathetic dead man that needs to be carried by a woman.

But is this really the image of Jesus Christ? Is Christ still dead, like the Pieta wickedly portrays Him? Is not Christ alive, and death no longer has hold of Him? Does He not now have the glory of God that He had with the Father from the beginning? Are these not simply idols of Christ that man has made to worship, so that, while they worship this thing, they can enjoy sin and feel less guilty about it? Sure, Christ came the first time not to condemn but to save, but is He not coming the second time as the Judge, to bring damnation upon the wicked? Is not the Son of Man who will say to the wicked on Judgment Day:
Matthew 25:41-43 (ESV)
"Then he will say to those on his left, ''Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. [42] For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.''
Is not Jesus the one who says to the Churches in Revelation to repent, and turn away from all evil that they have committed, lest He bring judgment upon them?:
Revelation 2:22-23 (ESV)
Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, [23] and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.
Bible says the "loving" Jesus will be the one who will bring in the wrath of God upon mankind for all the evil that they have committed. Read this below description of Jesus:
Revelation 19:15-16 (ESV)
From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

But people, including professing "Christians", are not willing to submit themselves to the true image of Jesus as portrayed in scripture. They only take the bits of Him that make them comfortable with their sin, and says, 'That's my Jesus'. This is pure idolatry. What is different from that from taking a bunch of clay and making your own idol? And Bible says no idolator will have any part in the Kingdom of God. If we want to live, we must take into our minds the whole of Jesus: His hatred for sin, his holiness, his wrath, his justice and righteousness, his truth, his love, his compassion, his grace. Any less complete image of Jesus is not Jesus at all. Any form of Jesus that makes us comfortable in sin, any form of Jesus that makes us to abuse God's grace, any form of Jesus that encourages union world, we can write off as an idol. Real Jesus will only give you discomfort and death to your sinful nature. We must take up our cross, and choose to follow the real Christ who makes us His prisoners, and never gives us freedom in our sins.

Why do people want to go to another Christ? The answer is the same as back in Moses' days. They love darkness rather than the Light, because their deeds are evil. They are in love with their sins, and they would have a Jesus who died for them to give them license to sin. Even genuine believers can fall into this trap, as Christ said, even the elect could be deceived in the last days. And such deception will reach its peak when the biggest idol of Jesus appears in the scene, the Antichrist, the son of perdition:
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (ESV)
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 (ESV)
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. [9] The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, [10] and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [11] Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, [12] in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Read what it says above. Anyone who does not believe and love the true Jesus will all fall into this giant pit called the Antichrist that will be dug in the last days. And see here that God will be the one who dig this pit. HE will be the one who sends this strong delusion in order that those who love lies may be condemned. Hatred of the truth is what sends people to hell. Love of the truth is what saves us. The true Jesus has been written for us in the Bible. Christ has warned that false christs will come. Are we going to choose the narrow gate and the narrow way that leads to life, or make our own way that leads us off the cliff, into the everlasting fire? God hates it the most when we make our versions of Him or His Son. Are we going to hear the last cries of Moses and Jesus, or are we going to water down the true glory of God with our idolatry? God will not be mocked forever. Let us give glory to Him, and think deeply over His words, and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, lest we commit idolatry and fall into a multitude of sins, bringing judgment upon ourselves. Let us pray that God blows a strong wind of the Holy Spirit upon us, that, through His Word, we may understand God for who He really is.

Christ our righteousness apart from the Law

Numbers 36:13 (ESV)
These are the commandments and the rules that the LORD commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

In the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho. The Law was given not in the land of Canaan, but in the wilderness. It was given in enemy territory. This was to show that the Law was not something that would be imposed forever, but it was only a temporary measure to bring peple to Christ:
Romans 7:6 (ESV)
But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Unlike Moses, Christ proclaimed His Law in the Gospel, not in the wilderness, but in the land of Canaan. Christ Himself is the new Law. He is the standard which we are to follow. His Law does not abolish the moral law of the Ten Commandments, but makes the standard of morality higher than the Moses ever taught:
Matthew 5:17,21-22,27-28,38-39 (ESV)
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. [21] "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ''You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.'' [22] But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ''You fool!'' will be liable to the hell of fire. [27] "You have heard that it was said, ''You shall not commit adultery.'' [28] But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [38] "You have heard that it was said, ''An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'' [39] But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Christ is the new standard of righteousness. Christ Himself lived like this, never hating anyone, never lusting, loving His enemies to the point of death. He didn't just keep the bare minimum which was the Law, but He kept the Law to its full meaning, the spirit of the law, and not just the letter of the law. He kept it not just in outward action but also with the inner man. He loved people as His own self, and loved God with everything He was. Who can compare with this perfection of righteousness?

This is the standard of righteousness by which we shall be judged. On Judgment Day God will judge us according to everything Christ has done. God will not only judge us by looking at whether we have done this good deed or this bad deed, or whether we kept this commandment or that commandment. But He will look at Christ's life, and then look at our life, and rebuke us for every single point that was not like Christ. God will judge the world by Jesus Christ:
Romans 2:16 (ESV)
on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
We will all each be weighed in the balance with Christ on the other side of the scale. The kings of Judah's life were judged by this one thing: 'Did they live like their father King David?' David was God's standard for these kings. Likewise every person shall be compared with Christ:
1 Kings 11:6 (ESV)
So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and did not wholly follow the LORD, as David his father had done.
1 Kings 15:3 (ESV)
And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father.
1 Kings 15:11 (ESV)
And Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David his father had done.

If we fall short of David's standard, how much more shall we fall short of Christ's standard? Indeed, if we are to be judged by Christ, we will all stand before God only condemned. David himself will fall short of God's glory in Christ on that Day. But the Good News is that Christ has provided us God's Righteousness as a gift to be received by faith in Him. Christ, though He had kept the Law to its fullest degree, and kept every dot and iota of it, without failing any point whatsoever, died as though He had broken ALL the laws of God. This was so that all the righteousness that which He worked for, that which He preserved, the righteousness of God Himself, could be ours by faith, through His death:
Romans 8:3-4 (ESV)
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
As our substitute, Christ kept the Law for us, and died also for our breaking of the Law, so that we may be wholly declared righteous on that Day of Judgment. If we haven't done enough good, Christ has got that covered, for His obedience is counted to be ours. If we have committed sins, then Christ died for us, and God sees us as already punished in Christ. And to make sure we don't sin more, Christ lives in us through the Spirit that we may be able to keep His commandments. We are thoroughly righteous before God, all because of Christ.

Moses died in the wilderness to show the weakness of the Law to give us any lasting righteousness. Righteousness which is of the Law lasts only for a moment, as it is written by the prophet:
Hosea 6:4 (ESV)
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.
Following a bunch of rules may give you a spark of righteousness and momentary love to God, but will go away after a season. Trial will come and expose your heart what what is really in it, whether you really want to obey God:
Matthew 13:20-21 (ESV)
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, [21] yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

The Law not only gives instantaneous and fading righteousness, but eventually becomes a source of temptation through the sinfulness of the human heart:
Romans 7:8-11 (ESV)
But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. [9] I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. [10] The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. [11] For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

Law does this to us, not because it is evil, but because WE are too evil for a bunch of rules. Human beings are born hating being told what to do. From childhood we have hated being commanded, by our parents and by our teachers. We hate Law and order, but we love lawlessness, the "freedom" to do whatever we want, even if it is against the nature and order that God has designed the world. We want to be God. We want our own little worlds where we can do anything that our evil hearts desire. THIS is the sin that is running in our veins that we have inherited from Adam. What can rules and commandments do for a people who hate them? It will do nothing but increase sin and rebellion. And this Bible says was the very reason why the Law was introduced:
Romans 5:20-21 (ESV)
Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21] so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Law came to make man sinful beyond all repair that man would no longer worship himself. It came to show how ugly we really are, so that when we look at ourselves in the mirror of God's Law, we may loathe ourselves, and lose all hope in self in working ourselves to heaven. It came to show how us how evil we are, that this righteous, holy and good law would actually make us to do more evil. It came to show us how much we hate being told by God what to do, but love doing the exact opposite that God says. It came to show how much we hate God, and His will.

But there is another righteousness apart from the Law: the righteousness which is by faith in Jesus Christ. This righteousness is lasting righteousness. Mainly, this is because this righteousness is not ours. It is outside us, untainted by our failures. It stands as long as Christ is alive. Just as Christ has died, yet was risen, and lives forever more, and corruption has no hold on Him, corruption has no hold on our righteousness which is in Christ. Christ is our righteousness. It does not matter whether we move one inch to the left or to the right, we are righteous before God because of Christ. And since Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, so is our righteous standing before God eternally unchanging.

This incorruptible, perfect righteousness is received through faith, through hearing and believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is how Abraham became accounted to be righteous:
Genesis 15:5-6 (ESV)
And he brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." [6] And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.
Abraham believed in God's words about Jesus, and this belief was counted to God to be righteousness. Christ's righteousness was imputed to be his. It was not that the act of faith itself was righteous. Faith is virtuous indeed, and without it is impossible to please God, but it is not necessarily as though God takes that virtue to be so great that he justifies the believer. It is because Christ by grace lived and died for those who believe in Him. Faith is only a gift and the instrument that God gives to the elect, for whom Christ chose to die for, that they may be saved through believing. Christ died so that we may believe:
Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Righteousness that is by faith also is a better righteousness than that of the Law, because it is relying on another strength that this righteousness may be realized in the person, namely in sanctification. The person who is trying to be righteous by Law is basically something who is trusting in his own ability to be righteous. But the Christian believes in God's strength to change him. He does not ask that God gives him some strength in his personal attempts to become righteous, mixing God's strength with his, as though it is some joint-operation with God. But he trusts himself wholly to God, and expects God to do the entire work in and through him. The believer says that God Himself is his Strength:
Psalm 73:26 (ESV)
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The believer has no hope in himself, but only in God. The believer realizes that his heart is wicked and cannot be trusted, that it is always bent to do evil. Therefore he trusts God to sanctify him, to change him, to make him to do that which is good. And because all things are possible to those who believe in God, this righteousness will be realized, and it will grow gradually in the believer. However, those who believe in their own strength to be sanctified will become more and more wicked and sinful. For it is written:
Galatians 3:10 (ESV)
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."
But as it is written of those who trust in God:
Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. [8] He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit."

Read what it says above. The man who trusts in the Lord is like a tree that will not cease to bear fruit. Fruits of the Spirit are not given by striving, but by trusting in God. God will make us bear fruit by through the roots of faith. Let us therefore put our trust in God, and give Him the glory through faith in our sanctification. Law is not of faith in God, but it is of faith in self, of a 'working hard and hoping for the best' mentality. But those who put hope in themselves will be ashamed, for they are like trees that have planted themselves in the desert. They shall have no fruits, for they have turned their backs on the river of life, but trusted in empty cisterns of their own depraved hearts. Yet they who trust in Christ, His works and His strength, shall never be ashamed. They shall rise as upon eagles' wings, and they shall run, and not be tired, for they trust in Another's strength. Let us trust Him:
Romans 9:31-33 (KJV)
But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. [32] Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; [33] As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

Another thing we can learn from God having given the Law in the land of Moab, is that God speaks to us in through adversity. God speaks to us through opposition, through suffering, through distress, through trouble, through hardship, and through sorrow. Jesus Christ, though He spoke the Gospel in the land of Canaan, the land at that time was occupied by the Roman Empire. He spoke the truth to His people through the thick and gross darkness that had come over the land. His appearance was like a bright light through the spiritual, social and political darkness that had come upon the land:
Isaiah 8:22, 9:1-2 (ESV)
And they will look to the earth, but behold, distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish. And they will be thrust into thick darkness. But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. [2] The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined.

It is when we are going through the bad times that we learn more about God than through the good. Only through challenges and difficulties we are able to build our character, and become mature, not through having an easy, trouble-free life. It was through the Cross, through His death, that Christ spoke to us the most than through His miracle-filled 3 year ministry. It was through the Cross that Christ was glorified to be the Name above all names. Likewise we can't have glory without the cross. We can't become like Christ without pain and hardships. Let us have the faith to hear Christ's voice through the storms of life that we go through. Through suffering we will learn more about our weakness, that we may trust the more in Christ. David's life was full of troubles, but how glorious and Christ-like was his life because of them? But he said that God delivered him from all his troubles. Through them we see that God is a God who saves, that He is our rescuer and our ever present help in the time of need. Jesus Christ is our brother born for adversity:
Proverbs 17:17 (ESV)
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Let us not be so foolish as to think that God is far away from us when we find ourselves in trouble. It may be that He is nearer to us in those times, and far away from us when we are at ease and comfortable:
Psalm 34:18 (ESV)
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
It is good to have a God who is near us when we are brokenhearted and crushed. Let us then cling on to Him who is near us, and plead for Him to rescue us, that we may glorify Him. As long as we repent of our sins, He will always hear us, and He will save us:
Psalm 34:17 (ESV)
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 50:15 (ESV)
and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

God has spoken to us by His Son

Numbers 36:13 (ESV)
These are the commandments and the rules that the LORD commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

That the LORD commanded through Moses to the people of Israel. Moses was the mouthpiece of God through which He proclaimed His commandments and rules to the people of Israel. God spoke through Moses. God speaks through people. It is not because of God's weakness or inability that He speaks through human beings to deliver His message. God CAN speak directly to us, as He did when He declared the Ten Commandments by His own voice out of the fire:
Deuteronomy 5:22-26 (ESV)
"These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. [23] And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. [24] And you said, ''Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live. [25] Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?

We see then from the above passage that God does not speak to us directly because of OUR weakness, not His. God is perfectly holy God, whose holiness not even sinless angels dare not look, lest THEY die:
Isaiah 6:2-3 (KJV)
Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. [3] And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
How then can we corruptible humans, defiled with sinful thoughts, words and deeds, expect to live when we hear the holy voice of God? We can understand why Israelites practically begged Moses that God would not talk to them directly. They could not stand before the blazing furnace that was God's Word. Their hearts melted like wax before His holiness, His Law exposing their iniquity like a bright light and making them condemned before Him. Through the fire they saw a glimpse of God's burning wrath in Hell, and through His pronouncement a preview of the Judgment Day. They compared their own sinfulness to His commandments, and saw how far they have fallen from the glory of God, and how much they deserved to die. They could not lift their eyes to heaven, and cried in their hearts like the tax collector:
Luke 18:13 (ESV)
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ''God, be merciful to me, a sinner!''

It is then for our safety that God speaks through people, lest we be consumed by His power of His holiness. For read what He says when Israel pleads that God speak through Moses:
Deuteronomy 5:27-29 (ESV)
Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.'' [28] "And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ''I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken. [29] Oh that they had such a mind as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!
God says, They are right in all they have spoken. They were right in their fear of God. They were correct that if God continue to speak to them, they would die. They were right that a man must speak for them as prophet, lest God's wrath consume them all. So then, a prophet's mouth works as a softening filter for God's words to be heard. This is why we need faith when we are reading the Bible or listening to preachers. Though the Bible was written through men, and though it is only a human in the pulpit, we need faith to believe that it is God Himself speaking through these means, lest we die by His holiness. We must have fear of God in our hearts always when we listen to the Word being preached. We must not look at the outer appearance, but listen to what God almighty is saying to us through His vessels. See how God says in above verse that, when we have this fear always, it will go well with them and our descendants. We need a fear before God's voice, even if it is being spoken from weak vessels. When we read the Holy Bible, we must reject the idea that it was written by men, but listen to the holy and powerful voice of the Holy Spirit who wrote this book through men, for our own sake.

Another reason why God spoke through Moses to the people of Israel was because Moses was a child of Israel. People of Israel can relate to Moses, because he is one of them. Moses was one of the brethren, a man from the tribe of Levite. Moses understood the pain of his people. He himself as a baby survived the killing of all the firstborn sons. Though he did not experience slavery like his brethren, he saw their sorrow and their burdens, and desired to free them. He suffered 40 years of persecution from Pharaoh, having gone in exile. This man knew them, and had shared in the pain with them. And because it was this Moses speaking, people of Israel were willing to listen. Thus Moses was a fitting mouthpiece of God, because he was one of them.

We see then this is also because of our weakness, the tendency to reject that which is unfamiliar, that God speaks to us through man. God is Spirit, but we are of the flesh. God is therefore unfamiliar to us. He is not one of us, nor is He like us, as our sinful minds are so prone to imagine:
Psalm 50:21 (ESV)
These things you have done, and I have been silent; you thought that I was one like yourself. But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
God is foreign to us. Our small minds cannot contain His fullness. We only collect bits of Him that we like, and most of the time reduce Him down to some imagination that resembles something out of the paintings of Michaelangelo. But that is not God at all. God is not like anything or anyone. He is all by Himself. That is why His name is I AM THAT I AM. Who can compare with God? He alone dwells in the light that no one can approach.

It was therefore fitting that God speak through man to man, so we can understand His words. It is similar to the work of translation from one language to another. God speaks spiritual language, but we are carnal, meaning we don't speak the same language as God. We only think and speak about the things of man. As with language interpretation, we need someone in between who knows both and understand both languages to help us. For how can we understand God's word unless someone explains to us?:
Acts 8:30-35 (KJV)
And Philip ran thither to him , and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? [31] And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. [32] The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: [33] In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. [34] And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? [35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

God had anointed Philip with the Holy Spirit and made him a prophet of God, that he may first understand God's word. And because Philip was an eyewitness to the crucifixion of Jesus, he could explain more than anyone what the text meant to this eunuch. But no good interpreter is one who does not know both languages. Philip was well acquainted with the language of unbelief. It was Philip who spoke so unbelievingly of Christ's power when Christ tested him at the feeding of 5000. It was this Philip that doubted that Jesus was God:
John 14:8-10 (KJV)
Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. [9] Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then , Shew us the Father? [10] Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
But when he saw Christ die and rise again, and the Holy Spirit came and reminded him of all things that Christ did in fulfillment of the scriptures, he was now fit to be the interpreter of God's language. He was fit also because he understood the unbelievers' heart. He used to be an unbeliever. He could relate with them, and they could relate with him. How much do we need people like him to be mouthpieces of God, people who have personally and intimately seen the glory of the Father in Christ Jesus, and who is humble enough to sympathize with and have compassion on the unbelievers?

But who is the greatest Teacher who explained all things to us? It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. He was the great Interpreter that came down from Heaven to tell us of the things of God. No man has ever seen God, but He that was in the bosom of the Father, God has declared Him to the world. No man has ever ascended to heaven and has come back to tell us what God is like. All who ever went up to heaven never came back alive. But Christ has come down to us as the only Messenger from eternity, to testify to us of the goodness of heaven and of the horrors of hell. He came to tell us of the mysteries of Kingdom of God. And what better Interpreter of the things of God than God Himself? Christ was God manifest in the flesh, so that God could explain to us what He means. No man ever spoke like Jesus Christ, because it was God Himself speaking through Christ. God was no longer content with sending human prophets, so He sent His own Self, His Beloved and only begotten Son, into the world, to explain to man fully of the things of the Sprit of God. So if God Himself came down to speak His truth to us, what other teachers do we need to hear? We do well to hear the voice of Jesus Christ, and reject a thousand inferior voices, for in listening to Him, we listen to the very voice of God the Creator.

Christ is our best Teacher of the things of God not only because He is God, but He is also man. Like Moses, He is one of us. He suffered, He wept, He got tired, He hungered, He worked - He was tempted in every point, yet without sin. We can relate to Him, and He can relate to us. He knows all our pain, because He has gone through same for us. And because He was man, He could speak the things of God comfortably to us, not as though fire that we cannot bear to hear Him. When we listen to God through Christ, we can have the fear of God in us, yet at the same time feel not distant from God, but be joyful that God is with us in Jesus. Christ was the Prophet that God promised He would raise up from among us:
Deuteronomy 18:18 (ESV)
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

And because He was a man, He could speak to us the things of God in terms that we could understand. Imagine a university professor trying to explain quantum physics to a 6 year old child. He would simplify the content as much as possible, and use anecdotes and illustrations that a 6 year old can understand. He would speak to them as a child, that the child might understand it. This is what Christ did when He came as a man spoke to us in parables. He spoke to us in an earthly way, so that we may be able to get our minds around the heavenly:
Mark 4:30 (ESV)
And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?
John 3:12 (ESV)
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?

However, just as not all 6 year olds will understand quantum physics even if the professor presents the clearest and the easiest explanation, not all can understand Jesus. The things of the Spirit of God are foolishness to fleshly minds, even if it comes in the easiest forms. How easy are the parables of Christ? We teach them to little kids in Sunday School. Yet the most sophisticated adults minds have trouble understanding what it means. It is because God has not given them ears to hear:
Matthew 13:11-16 (KJV)
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. [12] For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. [13] Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. [14] And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: [15] For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. [16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Only those who are given blessed ears, eyes and heart can hear and understand what Christ means. GOD must enable a person to understand what Christ is saying. There must be a supernatural transformation of the mind. The carnal mind must be changed into a spiritual mind. The Holy Spirit must come, and give us the mind of Christ, in order that we may understand Him as He meant it. Only then is it possible for a human being to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Unlike the professor, the problem that God must deal with sinners is not merely difficulty, but impossibility. Human beings are not just immature or foolish or weak, but they are altogether DEAD to God. It is not possible that they can know God or understand Him, as much as a dead corpse has no chance of learning anything. They need to be made alive. The Holy Spirit must breathe life into the mind and give it the ability to understand God. It takes nothing short of a miracle:
John 3:3 (ESV)
Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."
1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (ESV)
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16] "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

Because of our total inability to know His thoughts through our wisdom, God simply makes us to have His thoughts by His Spirit. It is as though the professor, having failed in all other means, transplants his own mind inside the 6 year old, that the kid may have the thoughts of the professor, and understand exactly the things the professor was trying to teach him. Regeneration is like this, but is infinitely more than this. God has given His own mind to us through the Holy Spirit, that we may know Him and understand Him. So then, when we receive a great understanding or idea of the things of God, let us not to boast, but thank Him for giving his mind to us:
1 Corinthians 2:11-12 (ESV)
For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

Through the Holy Spirit, not only do all believers understand the things of God, they can also all be mouthpieces through which God can speak to sinners. Remember when Moses said to Joshua, when the 70 elders of Israel received the Spirit and began prophesying:
Numbers 11:29 (ESV)
But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"
Joshua thought that only Moses should be the one prophesying, but Moses on the other hand desired that all God's people were prophets like him. This is also Jesus Christ's heart for us. Christ desires that all His people were like him, anointed with the Spirit, and preaching the truth of God to the lost. And this desire He fulfilled when He sent Holy Spirit on Pentecost to His people:
Acts 2:32-34,38-39 (KJV)
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. [33] Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. [34] For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, [38] Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. [39] For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.

We, who have received the Holy Spirit from on high, must therefore preach the Gospel. The time is short until the harvest, but the labourers are few. The night is coming, when no man can work. We must pray, that the Holy Spirit send us, and that we may be mouths for Christ, as Aaron was to Moses, and as Moses was to God. How long shall we tarry, and tip toe around the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and speak not directly the truth that can set people free from their sins? We can't but speak what we have heard and have seen. As we have believed, we shall speak. Lord Jesus, grant us the boldness to speak your word without fear. Speak through us, and burst forth through through our closed lips and cowardice as Your Spirit has done on Pentecost.

Let us cry out to Lord to send us forth, as Isaiah did. Isaiah confessed of having a dirty mouth when he first saw the Lord's glory:
Isaiah 6:5 (KJV)
Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
But after having his mouth cleansed by the Holy Spirit fire, he desired the Lord that He send him to be a prophet:
Isaiah 6:8-9 (KJV)
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. [9] And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
Let us have such boldness. Is our sin stopping us from becoming His prophet? Let us confess them and repent to God. Let us get cleansing and purification by the Holy Spirit fire. Then we shall be bold again to preach His Gospel. True repentance is the beginning of a prophet's ministry. Confession of sin is where God's messengers are born. Peter confessed his sins to Christ, but that is when Christ called him to ministry:
Luke 5:8-10 (ESV)
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord." [9] For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, [10] and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men."
What sin can hinder us from God's calling and His Great Commission? Let us ask God to sanctify us with His truth, the Word. Let us be sprinkled with the blood of Christ, which cleanses us from evil consciences that we may serve the Lord. With God all things are possible. Even if we have fallen, God can restore us, that we may carry out His holy mission. Lord, cleanse us, send us, and speak through us, for Your glory. Amen.

A set apart life for a godly inheritance

Numbers 36:8-9 (ESV)
And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. [9] So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.

Every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe. God commands that not only the daughters of Zelophehad, but any daughter with an inheritance in any tribe must obey this law. The law did not mean that every woman in Israel must marry men from their own tribe. Those without any inheritance had the freedom to marry any man they wanted, as long as they were of the tribes of Israel. It was only the daughters with an inheritance that had the responsibility of preserving their fathers' inheritance. So then, these were not only forbidden to intermarry with those of other nations, but of other tribes.

Here we can learn something very important. The daughters with inheritances had an obligation to keep a law that others did not need to keep. These could not do as other daughters did. With the inheritance they had honour, but along with it came a burden to preserve their fathers' inheritance. In the same way, we who have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God have a responsibility to keep the commandments of God and to live a righteous life:
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (ESV)
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10] nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God

Just as the daughters who had inheritances were to be different from those who had not, so is the Christian to be different to those who have no part in the Kingdom of God. We must be holy, set apart from those who do not know God. As heirs, we have a law written in our hearts that we must follow, that which the children of this world do not know of. We have the Spirit of God in us, who guides our every step, that in everything we do we may be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ:
Romans 8:12-14 (ESV)
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. [13] For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. [14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Those who are not God's sons and daughters do not have His Spirit in them, to guide and to command them to walk in the way they should walk. They do not follow the Law of God. They are lawless, and do anything as their wicked heart pleases. Holy Spirit is not in them to restrain them and to make them do those things that are pleasing to God. They are free to do evil, and they have no shame, guilt, fear or remorse over their sins. The Word of God is not in their hearts to convict them and to reprove them. God gives them over to every wicked desire of their hearts, that they may have everything they would ever hope for:
Psalm 73:4-12 (KJV)
For there are no bands in their death: but their strength is firm. [5] They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like other men. [6] Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. [7] Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have more than heart could wish. [8] They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they speak loftily. [9] They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. [10] Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. [11] And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? [12] Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.

Why are the ungodly allowed to live so freely, apart from the Law of God? Why are they allowed to have anything they want, while God does not grant everything that His children want all the time? Why do they have so much freedom, while God restricts His children from every side that they may not do all their flesh desires? Why are the children of God stricken with His rod when they sin in even the smallest things, while unbelievers can do great sins and go on with their lives with barely no chastisement? It is because the wicked have no inheritance in the Kingdom of God. It is because they do not have God as their Father, as we do. God only chastens and rebukes those he loves. The fact that one can sin his heart out and yet receive no rod is not a sign of God's love, but of His curse. Lack of divine discipline is a sure sign of God's abandonment, NOT favour:
Hebrews 12:6-8 (ESV)
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." [7] It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? [8] If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

We have to remember something here. The daughters with inheritances did not keep this particulart law in order to gain their inheritance. They already owned the inheritance, and hence this law applied to them. Likewise it is with the Christian. He is not trying to keep the Law because he wants to get an inheritance in the Kingdom of God. He is keeping the Law because he already is an heir of God. And because he is a child of God and an heir, and because he already has eternal life in him, he keeps the Law. His obedience to the commandments of God PROVES that he will inherit the Kingdom of God. The child of God cannot but keep the law of God, which is the eternal standard of God's righteousness. The righteous life of the child of God proves that he already has a part in the everlasting inheritance. In the same way, a sinful life in which is no evidence of the work of God's Spirit or Word proves that, not only that the person is not a child of God, but that he is actually the child of the devil:
1 John 3:9-10 (ESV)
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. [10] By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.

Let us, then, who have an inheritance, live as those who have a part in the Kingdom of God. We are children of God. We are those who are going to live and reign forever with Christ. How then can we live as those who will inherit nothing but the wind and the wrath of God? We are not to live like other people who have no eternal life. We have a law to follow, not in order to be saved, but because we have been saved. We have an inheritance from God our Father. We have an obligation to preserve this inheritance that has been handed down to us by our spiritual fathers, who died for the cause of the Gospel.

Like the daughters of Zelophehad, we are not allowed to be married to any other but to our near kinsman Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Just as Boaz bought the inheritances that had been left to widow Naomi, and also bought with them Ruth the Moabite as wife, we have also been bought by Christ to be His faithful bride. We have been redeemed, so that all that we are and have may be Christ's, that we may endure forever:
Ruth 4:9-10 (ESV)
Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. [10] Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day."
Is not this what it means to be saved? When we sell ourselves to Christ with all that we have, committing ourselves under His Lordship, will not God make our names and our lives to endure forever, that we may not be cut off from the land of the living? But if we give ourselves to another husband, we and all that we have shall be lost, like a house built upon sand in the midst of a storm. Let us entrust ourselves only to Jesus, and He will preserve us and all we have, and our names shall never be erased from His book of life.

We can also briefly here talk about the idea of a believer marrying with an unbeliever. This whole chapter clearly advises to us that a believer should marry with a believer. We are not to find our spouses outside the tribe of Christ, that our inheritance may continue, that we may not lose God our inheritance. Yes, it may be possible that God may bring a believer to marry an unbeliever according to His sovereign will. But we who have an inheritance in the Kingdom of God should not go out of our way to seek for an unbelieving spouse. We should seek a believing wife or a husband as much as possible. For why should an unbelieving spouse care for the precious inheritance that has been given to the believer from God the Father? They are not of the same tribe. The unbeliever is of the tribe of the devil, who is their father. How can then the two have true and deep union? How can they, who have polar opposite worldviews, be truly be one? It is not possible. But when the believer marry a believer, then the couple both care about the inheritance that has been given to them, for they both have the same Father. Read what this passage says:
2 Corinthians 6:14-18 (KJV)
Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? [15] And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? [16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them ; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. [17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, [18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Believing couples can also hand down their inheritance of the Gospel to their next generation without hinderance. How can a Christian who is married to a non-believer freely bring up his children in the admonition of the Lord, when what the two desire to teach their kids are so vastly different? The non-believer only cares that his children find a good job, make lots of money, live and die comfortably, without getting into too much trouble. The believer desires that his children firstly to be saved, to glorify God in all they that they do, to love the Lord and to live a committed life to the Gospel of God, no matter the cost. So how can the two with such different views agree peacefully how they will educate their children? And since the child is born naturally sinful and opposed to the ways of God, he will more likely listen to the ungodly counsel of the unbeliving parent, rather than to accept the believing parent's teaching. Unless God miraculously intervenes, the inheritance will be lost. And when that child grows up, what will he teach his own children, but what he learnt from his unbelieving parent? In that case inheritance has been lost forever. Thus when a believer considers marrying an unbeliever, he must know the dangers of having his godly legacy perish forever in the hands of the unbeliving spouse.

Not only marriage, but any unequal friendship, association, confederacy with unbelievers can be dangerous for our souls and for our future generations. Indeed, like Christ we are to be called the friends of sinners, but this only applies if we are in a place where we are influencing them for holiness and righteousness. If we are being tempted and pushed into sin because of them, we are better off to stay away from them altogether. This is not because we are more righteous than they, but it is because we don't trust our own wicked hearts. We are not all perfect like Christ, to be perfectly able to keep our faith even in the company of sinners. Let us not be so sure of ourselves. Though we live among unbelievers, there is a sense that we must be separate from them. This does not mean that we build ghettos and live apart from them. By no means. It rather means that our actions must be separate from them. It means we must do differently than unbelievers. It means we must not join them in their sinful ways. It means when they tell a vile joke, we must not laugh along with them. It means when they entice us to do evil, that we must not follow them, but rather that we must expose and rebuke their evil deeds:
1 Peter 4:4-5 (ESV)
With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; [5] but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Psalm 1:1 (ESV)
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

In doing this, we preserve our inheritance from being taken away from us. We must keep salt in our selves, as Christ commanded us, lest we lose our saltiness, and be trampled by men as useless things. Unless we refrain from having sinful unions with unbelievers, our power to influence them with the grace and the holiness of God will fade, and we Christians will become nothing but a joke to the world. We remember how weak Lot's influence was in Sodom, even to his own sons-in-law:
Genesis 19:14 (ESV)
So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, "Up! Get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city." But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting.
Lot tried to warn his sons-in-law, but because he had for so long lived in sinful fellowship with unbelievers, and had not lived a set apart life, his preaching was powerless. He was salt that had lost its saltiness. If Lot had always lived a holy life, in sober devotion to the Lord, separate from sinners, being serious of the things of God, then his sons-in-law may have taken more notice of this warning. But they perished, because to them the fearful preaching of Lot sounded just like a comedy act of Sodom. Perhaps the sons-in-law were used to that kind of jokes from Lot. If Lot had lived in holiness and purity, he could have saved his sons-in-laws, and he could have preserved his godly inheritance for the next generation. But instead what happened to Lot's legacy? He became the father of idolatrous nations Ammon and Moab. His godly inheritance perished in the ashes of Sodom and Gommorah. Do we want to be like Lot? If not, we must break our fellowships, agreements, concords with sinners. We must destroy any friendships with sons of Satan that makes us to sin and be defiled. Let us live a holy life that is different from the unbelievers, not because we hate them, but FOR their sake, that we may save some of them, and that we may save our children. Let us live a holy life that helps our testimony of Jesus Christ.

Christ Himself is our inheritance

Numbers 36:7 (ESV)
The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

Inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another. God was going to give Israel the promised land as an eternal inheritance to them. And this inheritance would be divided into parts as He saw fit, and given to the tribes of Israel as unique and special gifts for each. The inheritance was specially made and prepared for each tribe, that God may get unique glory out of each, through the joys and burdens that are individual to the tribe. Therefore, it was impossible that inheritances, which were distinct to each, be transferred from tribe to tribe. What was given for a tribe, would remain that tribe's forever, as it was made only for them, and no one else.

Likewise is the inheritance that God has given to each of us who believe. God has granted to us each unique gifts, suffering, calling, work, burden and weaknesses that were especially designed for us. Just as God makes each of our facial features different and our thumbprints distinct, God has made each of our souls special and the lives we are to live different. We cannot look to others' lives and calling, comparing with them, wishing we could live their lives, or wondering why they don't do the same way as we do. This is the mistake that Peter made, being inquisitive about John's calling:
John 21:20-22 (ESV)
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" [21] When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" [22] Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"

Other's lives are really none of our business, because God has given us each work to do. There there is barely enough time to finish our own work, let alone compare ourselves with others. How many of us Christians look at those 'superstar' Christians who have done so much for the Lord, and look at our own lives, and wail and how much we are not being used of the Lord. It is good to be challenged, but if that is all we are doing, we are surely wasting our time. Whatever small talents we have, God has given them to us, that we may do business with them, and give glory to God as much we can. God cares not for the quantity of our achievements. He only cares whether we did something with what we have. He cares for our faithfulness, not for the amount of results. See how Christ scolds the servant who did nothing with the one talent that he had:
Matthew 25:23, 26-27 (ESV)
His master said to him, ''Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'' [26] But his master answered him, ''You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? [27] Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.

And infinitely more vain it is when we compare our lives with unbelievers'. When we look at the unbelievers, and see how little riches and happiness that we have compared to them, and we become envious and ask 'Why don't I have what they have?', we are being truly foolish, and we bring upon ourselves great sin. We don't realize that riches, happiness, and trouble-free lives are the portion that God has given to the wicked in this world:
Psalm 17:13-14 (ESV)
Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, [14] from men by your hand, O LORD, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants.
We don't realize suffering with Christ is the inheritance that God has given for His children in this life, that we may be glorified with Christ in the next:
Romans 8:16-17 (ESV)
The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17] and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Let us not envy others, or desire the portion that God has given them, for in doing so we despise the good inheritance that He has given to us. Imagine if it was Christmas, and you had bought gifts that had been custom-made for your two best friends. The gifts have each your friends' names engraved on them, coupled with messages that had been specially written for each friend. But imagine if you have given the gifts, but one friend despised your gift, and became jealous of the gift you have given to the other. How would you feel? You would feel pretty offended. You would to to lengths to explain to him that the gift had been specially made just for him. You would explain to him how much thought and effort had gone in to make that gift. You would point out the name that you engraved on it. You will sweat trying explain to him how the other gift does not suit him at all, and why the his gift also will not suit the other friend. Would not this be how God feels for us, when are envious of other people's lives or gifts? We realize not that others' lives do not fit us at all. Now we may not know what is the best gift we could give to our friends, but God knows what is the best gift for us, for He is our Maker. He gives some a lot of faith, while he gives some small faith. He gives some vast knowledge, while he gives some little. It is up to God, who gives us the best gifts, while withholding for us what is harmful, useless and burdensome. Let us be content at the special love that he gives to each of us, even the smallest of us. Let us be satisfied with what we have, for God treats us as individuals, and each has his own gift and part in the body of Christ and in the world.

For every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. The word 'hold on to' here means:
'cling or adhere; figuratively to catch by pursuit:--abide, fast, cleave (fast together), follow close (hard, after), be joined (together), keep (fast), overtake, pursue hard, stick, take.'
What is the inheritance that Christians are to cling unto or adhere to? What is it that we are to catch by pursuit, to cleave unto to follow after? Paul gives us the answer:
1 Timothy 6:11-12 (ESV)
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. [12] Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

We are to cling to and follow after and hold on to eternal life, to which we have been called to, and all the righteousness and goodness that pertains to this life. Yes, we have this life in us now, and it is ours already according to God's promise, but we are to hold and cleave unto it as though we can lose it. Not that we can lose it, but we hold fast onto it because it is precious, and Christ died to give it to us. We must remember that our eternal life is kept by God, indeed, but this keeping is not done by our hands being stagnant, but it is kept through our living faith - that actively treasures Christ above all things and rejects everything else, that which presses on to make Christ and our resurrection ours, and that which presses forward to the end of our faith, our salvation:
Philippians 3:8-14 (ESV)
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- [10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. [12] Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. [13] Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

As Paul says above, we are not to consider ourselves as already having reached salvation, or already having been made perfect, but we are to consider ourselves, as it were, in a marathon, looking and running forward to the salvation that will be revealed to us at the appearing of Jesus Christ. We, though we know that God will keep us unto the Day of Judgment, must hold on to our salvation as though we can lose it, and fear as though once we let it go out of our hand we may lose it forever. We must see ourselves as though we are hanging on from a cliff with Christ holding us with the rope of faith. We can't let go. Faith that does not do anything is dead faith. True faith actively clings on, pursues, and strives violently to hold on to the hope of life that has been given to him. It is those that violently climbs up the rope that inherit the Kingdom of God:
Matthew 11:12 (ESV)
From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.

We do well also to remember that our eternal life is not a 'thing', but is a Person. Jesus Christ is our eternal life. He is our Inheritance whom we must cling and cleave unto:
Acts 11:23 (KJV)
Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
We are to hold on to our Lord as though we could lose Him forever if we let Him go. We are to guard, nurture and keep our relationship with Christ, more than we do our relationship with our spouses, family or friends. We work so hard to preserve our relationship with people, in fear that we may lose them, but why don't give the same effort to our relationship with Christ? We must not take our relationship with Christ for granted. And we remember that the goal of our clinging on to Christ is that we may inherit Christ, that we may have Him and know Him, for His sake. We don't want anything from Him, as though He is some means to an end. He is the means and He is the end. What is eternal life, if we don't have Christ? He is our treasure, He is our heaven and He is our life. Let us pray that God pour out His Spirit on us, for no other end but that we may know Christ. This is our highest and most important calling:
John 17:3 (ESV)
And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.