The Old Testament Is Glorious / The New Testament Is More Glorious

Thank you for listening to this message from the ministry of Morse Corner Church in Leverett, Massachusetts.

Morse Corner is a non -denominational church that is committed to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our church was founded in 1896 by two students of the famous evangelist

D .L. Moody. We seek to encourage and edify the body of Christ through the proclamation of God's Word through the ministries of the local church.

If you'd like more information, visit our website morsecornerchurch .com. We hope you enjoy the message.

All right, last week you may remember we ended in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 verse 6 which says the letter kills but the

Spirit gives life. So what Paul is doing here is he is demonstrating how the new covenant is so much greater than the old covenant.

The Ten Commandments cannot change a person's heart. They may be able to restrain behavior but they cannot change the heart.

Only the Holy Spirit can do that. So the Ten Commandments ultimately, what do they do?

The letter kills. Ultimately the commandments only serve to condemn because all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God.

So the new is better than the old. But the old is still glorious.

Look at verse 7. But if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the

Spirit not be more glorious? So while it is called the ministry of death and by now

I think we all know why, while it's called that, it's not a matter of good and evil.

It's a matter of glorious versus much more glorious.

So the old covenant was glorious. The Ten Commandments were glorious.

The Old Testament Scriptures are glorious. And that's the reason we're going to turn to Exodus chapter 33.

So go ahead and turn there Old Testament book of Exodus chapter 33 and we'll read this to help us understand the point that Paul is making in 2

Corinthians 3. Exodus 33 and as you're turning there

I stress this point that the Old Covenant is glorious because this point needs to be stressed in our day and age.

Given the state of modern evangelical Christianity we need to stress this point.

I said last week that the law of God was dismissed by many of the false teachers back then and guess what?

That's happening today. There's nothing new under the sun. There are false teachers downplaying the importance of God's law to where now there are even very famous pastors and once they do this all their followers follow along and defend them but there are famous pastors in the church today who say that Christians must unhitch from the

Old Testament and this one man who I will name Andy Stanley he actually said in a sermon thou shall not obey the

Ten Commandments. So the law of God is being downplayed in the church today and one of the reasons why and this is his reasoning is if you preach and talk about the

Old Testament you know those stories are so difficult for people and they're so hard to believe and so hard to accept.

But I'll tell you something you show me a person who denies the Old Testament scriptures I'll show you a person who's denying

Christ because the scripture says Jesus says in John 539 speaking of the

Old Testament these are they which testify of me. What else did

Jesus say? If you had believed Moses you would believe me. So you can turn that around if you believe

Jesus you will believe Moses. If you don't believe Moses you will not believe

Jesus. So the Ten Commandments are glorious. First of all say why?

Okay first of all they were written by the finger of God. Second they reveal his holy character and third that holy character never changes.

It is immutable and eternal. The moral law of God has never passed away and never will.

Now there are parts of the Old Covenant that have passed away. Here's a very simple way of looking at it.

The Old Covenant all the things written in the Old Testament they are still in effect unless the

New Testament says they are no longer in effect such as the dietary laws, animal sacrifices, etc.

So the Old is glorious and in Exodus 33 this is a glorious story where the

Lord is speaking to Moses at the Tabernacle of Meeting. The pillar of cloud it would descend while the

Lord was speaking to Moses. And the Israelites they got to see this glorious sight from a distance and God is telling

Moses in this chapter take the children of Israel and go up to the promised land as I told you.

But what happened? Look at verse 2. The Lord says, and I will send my angel before you and I will drive out the

Canaanites and the Amorite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the

Jebusite go up to a land flowing with milk and honey for I will not go up in your midst lest I consume you on the way for you are a stiff -necked people.

So the Lord says go but I'm not going to go with you but I will send my angel before you that should have been enough should have been enough.

But when the people hear that the Lord isn't going he's just gonna send his angel what do they do?

They grumble and they complain they don't want to go. So here's how it's supposed to work. God says do this and you do it that's the way that's the way this is supposed to work.

But the Israelites why are they called stiff neck? Because God would tell them something tell them to do something and they always came up with a reason why they didn't think that sounded good and why they weren't going to listen.

But thankfully for the Israelites Moses found grace in the sight of God.

Look at verse 17. So the Lord said to Moses I will also do this thing that you have spoken for if you have found grace in my sight before you have found grace in my sight and I know you by name.

And what's Moses response? Please show me your glory.

Then he said says the Lord I will make all my goodness pass before you and I will proclaim the name of the

Lord before you and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious and I will have compassion on whom

I will have compassion. But he said you cannot see my face for no man shall see me and live.

And the Lord said here is a place by me and you shall stand on the rock and so it shall be while my glory passes by that I will put you in the cleft of the rock and will cover you with my hand and I will pass by.

Then I will take my away my hand and you shall see my back but my face shall not be seen.

So Moses didn't get to see God's face but what did he see? He saw

God's back. And you know what that was more glory than the people could handle.

Then he cuts out two new tablets of stone. You remember what happened to the first set of the

Ten Commandments? Moses came down from the mountain with the commandment saw the people worshiping the golden calf.

He got angry and he smashed them. Well now he carves out two more tablets.

Look at Exodus 34. Exodus 34 verse 4 says so he cut out two tablets of stone like the first ones.

Then Moses rose early in the morning and went up Mount Sinai as the Lord had commanded him.

And he took in his hand the two tables or the two tablets of stone.

Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the

Lord. And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long -suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.

Now everything we have read so far is glorious. This is very glorious.

So why then did Paul in 2nd Corinthians 3 call this the ministry of death?

See the problem is not with God obviously. The problem is not with the commandments.

The problem is not with the covenant. The problem is with who? The people. The problem is with the people.

They were stiff -necked. And because of that, that generation of Israelites in the wilderness, that generation save Joshua and Caleb, they all perished in the wilderness.

Why? Because they grumbled, they complained, they lacked faith, they did not obey

God. And you remember what I brought up last week, what Paul said in 1st Corinthians chapter 10, that all of those things about Israel in the wilderness, all of those things are written for a reason.

They're written for the church. They're written for our admonition. Why? Because there's a lot of Christians who profess belief in God.

What do they do? Grumble, complain, lack faith, they do not obey

God. But now that we have the ministry of the Spirit, you know what? The Spirit will enable you to obey.

You say, it's just too hard. I just can't do it. You ever notice where someone doesn't really want to do something, how there's always a thousand reasons and obstacles.

I don't have time or this, this going on. But when they really want to do something, they find a way to do it.

So, it's just a matter of how bad do you want it. So, while salvation is all of God, how you live, the decisions you make, that's up to you.

That part is up to you. So, Moses, he has seen God. Not face to face, but he saw a glimpse of God's back.

And still, even that was glorious. Now, skip down to Exodus 34 verse 29.

Exodus 34 verse 29 says, now it was so. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and the two tablets of the testimony were in Moses hand, when he came down from the mountain, that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

So, when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone.

And they were afraid to come near him. How would you respond? Comes down from the mountain, his face is shining like the sun.

You probably wonder. Verse 31, then Moses called to them. And Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned to him, and Moses talked with them.

So, what's happening here? Moses saw God's back. And even God's back is more glorious than you can imagine.

So, it caused Moses' face to shine. So, his face is acting like a mirror, basically, and reflecting the glory of God that he had seen.

Now, there's more we could talk about how the glory started to fade. And, of course, the

Old Covenant does fade. And we read about that in the New Testament. But his face is reflecting the glory of God.

So, God gave the Ten Commandments. Moses' face shone with the glory of the

Lord. Verse 32, that's the Old Covenant. Afterward, verse 32, all the children of Israel came near.

And he gave them as commandments all that the Lord had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.

And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil on his face.

But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would take the veil off until he came out.

And he would come out and speak to the children of Israel, whatever he had been commanded.

And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone, then

Moses would put the veil on his face again until he went in to speak with him, with the

Lord. So, Moses covered his face. And these things, again, are written for us.

This is for us, for our admonition. Thanks for listening.

I'm Pastor Michael Grant from Morris Cornick Church. If you'd like to listen to the complete message, or if you'd like more information about the ministry, visit our website,

MorrisCornickChurch .com. And we'd love to have you join us some Sunday morning here in Leverett.