Deuteronomy 25 contains laws that mostly deal with issues of honor. Some of them are about not bringing shame to another. The others are about doing the honorable thing in personal and business affairs. One law of note is regarding if a man dies before he has children. His brother is to marry his wife and have his brother’s sons on his behalf.  This law reminds us of the situation Tamar was in in Genesis.

Deuteronomy 26 contains a worship experience. It is a time of thanksgiving for all that God has done for the people of Israel. They are to bring a tithe of the first fruits they receive in the Promised Land. Those tithes are to be used to help those in need and to support those who lead in worship. This is still the purpose for our giving. We give out of gratitude for all that God does for us. The gifts we bring are used to help those in need, both near and far away, and to support the ministries of the church. God has been generous to us so that we can be generous with others.

Romans 6 addresses the issue of whether because we have been forgiven of all of our sins we have been given license to continue to sin. Paul emphatically says, “NO!” As a matter of fact, he says just the opposite. Because we have been forgiven of our sins, we have been given the ability to turn away from sin and toward righteousness. So often we feel helpless to the temptations that plague us. We feel as though we are helpless to turn away from them. But, the reality is that our sins were buried with Christ in his death. He left them in the grave at his resurrection and now we are not under sin’s control. We can overcome. Paul says that we must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. When we confront temptation we need to remember that Christ has already dealt with it for us. We live in a new reality. Let us remember.