Almighty and eternal God, whose Law is the path of life and peace, deal bountifully with us, your servants, we pray, that we may live and keep Your Word. Open our eyes, that we may behold wonderful things from Your law, and cause us to walk in the path of your commandments; following Him who fulfilled Your law perfectly in every way, and for the sake of the honor of His name, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

THE SERMON

Today we begin a sermon series on the Ten Commandments, and it is very important to note where and how we begin. If I asked you, "How do the Ten Commandments begin?" you might answer, "With the first commandment: You shall have no other gods before me." But wait, think again: the Ten Commandments do not begin with the first commandment. No, the Ten Commandments begin with the declaration of God’s sovereign, saving grace and mercy. This is very important. The Word of God’s saving grace precedes the commandments. God’s grace precedes, comes before, His law. Listen again to the preface of grace, the prologue of grace:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

With these words, the LORD declares who He is by His covenant relationship with Israel, by the covenant He, in His grace, established with Abraham. "I am the LORD your God," He declares; and He is their God, not because they have chosen Him, but because He in His grace and mercy has chosen them in faithfulness to His covenant with Abraham. In this preface of grace, the LORD also declares what He has done for His people Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." He is the one who has acted savingly, with power and might, to redeem His people out of slavery, to give them life and liberty.

As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites, the children of Abraham, had become helpless and hopeless and completely unable to do anything to save themselves from the power of Pharaoh. But, as the Scripture says, "God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" [Ex.2:24], and He delivered them with a mighty hand, and led them through the Red Sea as upon dry ground, and promised to bring them into the promised land of Canaan. Now, at Mt. Sinai, as they prepared to enter into the promised land, God renewed His covenant with them, and gave them His Law to direct them how to live in liberty, under His blessing, in the promised land. He was their Redeemer and their Deliverer, and now He declared Himself to be their King. And as their King, He was their lawgiver; and the Law He gave to them was the Law of life and love and liberty, that they might live in the joy of their salvation, in the fullness of freedom.

The Law of God shows us the path of life, the way of love, and joy of true freedom. God’s Law shows us what it means to be truly free. In our society, we think that freedom means being able to do whatever you please, without any constraint of law, especially God’s law. But no; that is a lie from the pit of hell. True freedom does not mean doing whatever you please; true freedom means being able to do that which pleases God.

Now, do you see this? The exodus from Egypt came before Mt. Sinai. Their salvation, in that event, preceded the giving of the Law. Grace comes before the commandments. Why is this so important? Because ... the Law of God is not the way to salvation ...the Law of God is not the way to salvation ....but the Law of God is to be the way of life for those who have been saved by God’s sovereign grace. The Law of God is given to us to show us how to live as His redeemed people --- the people redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. The Law of God shows us how to live in gratitude as the people who have called by God and claimed by God and saved by God with a mighty hand. The Law of God shows us how to live in covenant faithfulness with our wonderful, almighty God who has saved us by His grace. The Law of God shows us how to live in order that we might enjoy, in order that we might enjoy, the fullness of His blessings which are promised to us in our covenant relationship with Him. The Law of God shows us how to live in fellowship with one another under His kingship; and the Law of God shows us how a society is to be ordered in accordance with the kingdom of God.

Now, I know that I am belaboring the point, but it is so important that we get this first, foundational point --- the whole sermon series is built upon it: the moral law of God comprised in the Ten Commandments shows us how to live faithfully in response to God’s sovereign, saving grace. Now, with this point, I want to explain the Order of Service today, which we will follow for the remainder of this series. As always, our service begins with praise --- praise to the Holy One. And in the presence of the Holy One, we realize our sins, and we confess our sins. Having confessed our sins, we receive the Assurance of Pardon through the gospel of Jesus Christ. And then, and then, with the assurance of forgiveness --- given to all who truly repent of their sins and who trust in God’s redeeming grace and power through Christ --- then, as God’s people saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, we pledge ourselves to live in grateful, glad obedience to God’s commandments.

Now, that is not just liturgy ...it is to be our way of life. Do you see that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is our exodus out of the house of bondage? Do you see that the Israelite slavery in Egypt was but a picture of the slavery of sin in which we all are oppressed until Christ sets us free? Do you see that the tyranny of Pharaoh is but a picture of the dominion of the devil, and that it is Christ Himself by His great power and mercy who has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into His kingdom of light? Do you see that the promised land of Canaan was but a picture and a foretaste of that great promised land in the eternal kingdom of God? Do you see that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and our union with Him through faith, is our exodus?! And now, having been saved by His grace, we are called to live in glad and grateful obedience to Him in freedom from the power of sin and death.

Now, yes, it is true, of course, that the moral law of God does reveal our sin, and it shows us that we need a Savior, because we all have broken God’s law, and so it leads us to Christ And secondly, it provides a restraining order in human society in general, to deter wickedness. But thirdly, and most importantly, as I have been stressing, the moral law of God in the Ten Commandments has its primary and highest purpose in the hearts of believers as it instructs us how to live in accordance with God’s will. The Ten Commandments remain, for Christians, the path of holy living, the way of godliness, the law of life, and love, and liberty.

And so, throughout this sermon series, the Lord willing, I will be emphasizing and illustrating some very important principles concerning the moral law of God. First of all, the Law of God is good, and the Law of God is for our good. We must do away with any negative notions or negative feelings or negative estimations of the law of God, as though it were a heavy, burdensome, negative weight upon us. God has given us the Ten Commandments because He loves us, because He cares for us, because He wants the best for us, because He wants us to prosper and thrive under His blessings of grace. The Ten Commandments show us how to live in the blessings of His grace. And so the Scripture says,

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul.

The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart.

The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

(Psalm 19:7-8)

Psalm 119 is a lengthy meditation on the law of God as a gift of God’s goodness, as the way of life and wisdom and blessedness. Psalm 119:35 says, "Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight." And so, further on in Psalm 119, the psalmist exclaims, "Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long!" (Ps119:97).

And, in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul wrote that "...the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good" (Rom.7:11). When Paul wrote that "...you are not under law, but under grace," (Rom.6:14), he meant that, in Christ, we are no longer under the condemning power of the law because of our guilt. We are under the grace of Christ, which secures our forgiveness of sins and freedom from our sins so that we might live no longer as the slaves of sin but live as the slaves of righteousness. In other words, under the grace of Christ, and by the power of His Spirit, we are enabled to live in righteousness and holiness according to the law of God.

Therefore, the second major principle is that the law of God is relevant and applicable to the Christian life. As Christians, under the grace and mercy of Christ, we are called to holiness and righteousness. The written Word of God urges, exhorts, and commands us to live in faithful response to God’s grace. Romans 12:1 says, "I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God ... ." What is the standard of holiness, and the very definition of that which is pleasing to God, but the moral law of God in the Ten Commandments? The passage we read from Ephesians 2:1-10 says this with perfect clarity: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith --- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God --- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do" (Eph.2:8-10).

And so, you see, it is very clear in the New Testament as well: we are not saved by our good works, but we have been saved by grace, redeemed by God’s rich mercy in Christ, in order that we might live a life of good works to His glory. And what is the standard of those good works? It is the good law of God, which is but an expression of His holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.

So then, the law of God is good, and for our good; and the law of God is relevant and applicable to the Christian life. Thirdly, and this is very important: Obedience to the moral law of God is not legalism. I am not preaching legalism. I am not preaching works-righteousness. I am preaching salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, and in that context obedience to the law of God, and striving to live a life of obedience to the law of God, is not legalism. It is faithful, covenant-keeping, obedience in response to God’s grace. And I want you to think about this: standards of life, standards of moral obligation and ethical duty and personal purity --- in our personal lives, in our families, and in our congregation --- standards which call us to the highest goals of holy living are not a form of legalism. We are commanded in Scripture to "walk worthy of the high calling with which we have been called." "To whom much has been given, much is required." And we are to strive with all of the power within us to live in such a way that God’s law is honored in our lives. And to live with high standards does not mean that we are legalists. Legalism occurs when we trust in our obedience, when we believe that we have earned our salvation by our obedience. Phariseeism occurs when we add our own man-made laws and regulations to God’s law. Both legalism and Phariseeism are terrible errors. But faithful, glad obedience to God’s law, by the power of the Spirit, in response to God’s grace, is an expression of our love for God and our gratitude for His grace.

Fourthly, all of the Ten Commandments remain valid and in force as the moral law of God. Not one of them has been abrogated. It is not a multiple choice list! And if we break one, it is as though we have broken all of them.

Fifthly, the Ten Commandments, for Christians, have a spiritual application, an internal application to our lives. I will say more about this throughout the series, but, as one example, the commandment "You shall not commit murder" has not only to do with the external act of murder, but also with the spiritual intention of our hearts. Jesus said, "Anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment" (Matthew 5:22). The Ten Commandments apply to the inward, spiritual attitudes of our hearts as well as to our external behavior.

Sixth, the Ten Commandments, for Christians, have a positive application. Again, by example, the commandment, "You shall not murder," means, "You shall protect the life of your neighbor."

These principles will be developed throughout the sermon series. But the most important one for us today is that God’s grace precedes His commandments. Our obedience is therefore a response to His goodness and love. And, this is most clearly seen in the gospel. God sent forth His Son, "born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law" (Galatians 4:4). Our Lord Jesus Christ lived in perfect obedience to the moral law of God. He never sinned, in any way, neither in thought, nor in word, nor in deed. In every way, He fulfilled the law of God. And, dear friends, He did that for you and me. He did that so that His righteousness, His perfect sinlessness, might be given over to our account. And as as the sinless, perfect, Son of God, in human flesh, He offered Himself as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He died on the cross, taking all our offenses upon Himself, and giving to all who would receive Him, the perfection of His sinless righteousness. He did that to break the power of sin in our lives, set us free from the dominion of the devil, and bring us up out of the land of spiritual Egypt, out of the house of bondage, that we might live as His redeemed, holy, and free people. So let us, with gratitude for His grace, walk in His ways and keep His commandments, and live in accordance with the law of life, love, and liberty, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.