“Obedience as Response” – FBC Morning Light (2/4/2025)

Well good morning. I'd like to encourage you today with a few thoughts from Exodus 19 and 20 that I hope will be of benefit to you on the journey ahead in this particular day. Let me begin by asking this question.

How do you think about God's law, and especially the Ten Commandments? What's your perspective on the keeping of those Ten Commandments? The reason I ask this is because usually if you're talking to somebody who is not a Christian, hasn't come to faith and trust in Jesus as their Savior, you ask them, what do you think?

You think you'll go to heaven when you die? And a lot of times the answer is something like this. Well, I think on balance I'll probably do okay. You know, I try to keep the Ten Commandments, and you know, I think God will give me a pass because I do try to keep the Ten Commandments.

In other words, they look at the Decalogue, as we call it, the Ten Commandments as a means of gaining access to heaven, as a means of gaining eternal life. If you just keep the commandments, and you do it better than you break the commandments, then God will let you in to his heaven.

But that's not the perspective we ought to have, and we see that even as those Commandments are given, as the Decalogue is given. So we look in Exodus 19 and verses 4 through 6, and I want you to notice what comes first.

The Lord says to Moses and to the people of Israel, he says, you have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Alright, so this is what God has done.

He brought the people to himself. He says, now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to me above all people, for all the earth is mine, and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. And then Moses is to speak the law, the commandments. Alright, but notice that the Lord begins with, I have already brought you out, I have rescued you, I have redeemed you from Egypt.

Now therefore, you are to live in such a way. And this is emphasized again at the very outset of the giving of the Ten Commandments. In chapter 20, it says, God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, you shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make any graven images. In other words, the Ten Commandments that are about to follow here, the first four that have to do relationship with God, the last six that have to do with relationship with man, these are consequences, if you will, they are responses, maybe is a better word, they are responses to the work that God has already done, the gracious work of bringing his people out of the land of Egypt.

Now, what's the point of that? The point is that when we think about the Decalogue, which is summarized in the two great commandments, right? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, love your neighbor as yourself.

Why do we want to obey those things? Do we want to obey those things in order that we might gain access to heaven? Or, do we want to obey God's law, his moral law, out of a response of gratitude for the grace that has already been shown to us, that he has redeemed us, that he has brought us out?

I would suggest that that is the...no, I would say that God's Word makes it clear. That's the response of a true believer, a response of gratitude that shows itself in obedience. And so, don't look to the law and obedience to the law as a means of gaining salvation.

Don't look to the law or the obedience to the law as a way of earning God's favor. Instead, look at the Decalogue, the God's moral law, and your obedience to it as a way that you can respond to God's grace in a way of thankful love to a gracious God.

So let's obey not to earn, let's obey to show our love and appreciation and gratitude to a God who has redeemed us for himself. Our Father and our God, I pray that you would give us this kind of perspective on your law, so that it doesn't become a noose around the neck, it doesn't become a great burden to be borne, but instead becomes a delight.

We can express our love to you and our gratitude to you for all that you have done for us. We pray this in Jesus' name. Alright, well listen, have a good rest of your day, and I trust the Lord will bless you in it.