“…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him: for He is thy life, and the length of thy days…” Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a.
The passage above relates an episode in the history of Israel. What would happen to you if you were in the same valley of decision between these two mountains? Let me help by giving you seven principles of choice. Your choices — your decisions — will determine your destiny.
1. You Are Free to Choose
Every day God gives us the freedom to make choices about what we think is going to be good, or even best for us.
2. You Are Not Free to Not to Choose
To decide not to choose is a choice. Am I making any sense? Let me make it very clear — to decide not to choose good is always a choice to choose evil.
Jesus said, “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth abroad” (Matthew 12:30). If you do not crown Jesus, you crucify Him. There is no middle ground.
3. You Are Not Free to Choose the Consequences of Your Choice
Let me illustrate.
Stand beside an open window on the tenth floor of a building. You’re free to jump. Now, that’s a foolish thing to do, but if nobody is there to restrain you, you can choose to do so. Stay in the room or jump out. Now, if you decide to jump, then you must be ready to face the consequences of that choice.
4. You Are Free to Choose, but Not Free to Achieve
What does that mean? Well, suppose I chose to achieve as a professional basketball player. Well, you look at my frame and you say to yourself, “How can he even hope of achieving success?” And you’re probably right.
You see, I can make all the choices I want. I can even have all the hopes and dreams I want. But I have to be realistic to see that I might not achieve success simply because I have chosen to do something.
5. One Big Choice Will Take Care of a Lot of Little Ones
How does this work? We see it played out every day.
Let’s say you are a man who has made up his mind that you’re going to be loyal to your wife. Then, you see, you don’t have to worry when you check into a hotel whether to watch pornography or not. You don’t have to be concerned whether you’re going to flirt with another woman.
You don’t have to keep making that decision to be loyal to your wife. You already made that decision, and that one big decision takes care of a lot of the other little decisions.
6. God Has Already Chosen You, that You Might Choose Him
That’s why we’re called His elect. “We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Had God not first chosen us, we would never have the inclination to choose Him. Thank God for His sovereignty!
And lastly,
7. The Day of Choice Is Passing Away
Don’t think that you have forever to make up your mind whether you’re going to be a follower of Jesus Christ or not. Make your eternal salvation secure today.
Choose Jesus because…
- You can know immediate joy. Why wait to have joy when you can have it right now? I’d be a Christian if there were no heaven or hell for the joy that I have today in Christ.
- You may die tonight. These may be the last words you ever read about salvation in Jesus Christ. After you die, there are no second chances to get saved. Choose life.
- Jesus Christ is coming back. Matthew 24:24 says, “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.” If you don’t think He’s coming, then that is a fulfillment of this verse because He’s coming when you least expect Him.
- Each time you decide against Him, you harden your heart. Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts.” A person becomes proficient at anything he does for a long time. You can become a professional Christ-denier.
