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

Faith Baptist Church

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Well, good morning.

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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.

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Let me begin by asking this question. How do you think about God's law, and especially the

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Ten Commandments? What's your perspective on the keeping of those Ten Commandments?

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The reason I ask this is because usually if you're talking to somebody who is not a

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Christian, hasn't come to faith and trust in Jesus as their Savior, you ask them, what do you think?

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Do you think you'll go to heaven when you die? A lot of times the answer is something like this.

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Well, I think on balance I'll probably do okay. I try to keep the

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Ten Commandments, and I think God will give me a pass because I do try to keep the

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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.

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If you just keep the commandments and you do it better than you break the commandments, then

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God will let you into his heaven. But that's not the perspective we ought to have.

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We see that even as those commandments are given, as the Decalogue is given.

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We look in Exodus 19, verses 4 through 6, and I want you to notice what comes first.

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The Lord says to Moses and to the people of Israel, he says, you have seen what

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I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself.

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All right, so this is what God has done. He brought the people to himself.

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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.

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These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. Then Moses is to speak the law, the commandments.

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But notice that the Lord begins with, I have already brought you out. I have rescued you.

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I have redeemed you from Egypt. Now therefore, you are to live in such a way.

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This is emphasized again at the very outset of the giving of the

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Ten Commandments. In chapter 20, it says, God spoke all these words, saying, I am the

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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.

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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 a relationship with God, the last six that have to do with a relationship with man, these are consequences, if you will.

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They are responses, maybe is a better word. They are responses to the work that God has already done, the gracious work of bringing

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His people out of the land of Egypt. Now, what's the point of that?

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The point is that when we think about the Decalogue, which is summarized in the two great commandments, right?

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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?

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Do we want to obey those things in order that we might gain access to heaven? Or, do we want to obey

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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?

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I would say that God's Word makes it clear.

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That's the response of a true believer, a response of gratitude that shows itself in obedience.

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Don't look to the law and obedience to the law as a means of gaining salvation.

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Don't look to the law or the obedience to the law as a way of earning

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God's favor. Instead, look at the Decalogue, the

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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.

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So let's obey, not to earn, let's obey to show our love and appreciation and gratitude to a

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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.

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We can express our love to you and our gratitude to you for all that you have done for us.

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We pray this in Jesus' name. All right, well listen, have a good rest of your day, and I trust the