Exodus 19

Covenant with the people of Israel by speaking to them of their deliverance from Egypt.

! He reminds them what he had done for them before he requires anything of them.

! Notice the initial phrase in verse 4.

! You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians.

This phrase recalls God's judgment upon Egypt.

It speaks to God's incomparable working of justice and of his wrath toward his enemies

that Israel would fear God and hear his good commandments to them.

It reminded them of the wrath of God that they had escaped.

Secondly, the phrase, and how I bore you on eagles' wings,

shows Israel's role in their deliverance as entirely passive.

God's interpretation of his deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Egyptians

does not run contrary to Israel's understanding of the same.

They understood it was God who delivered us.

We took no part in this.

God has brought us out of Egypt.

In Exodus chapter 15, Miriam sings to Israel of Israel's deliverance after crossing the Red Sea.

Exodus 15 · chapter mention

And there is recorded for us, she sings,

sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously.

The horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.

So they understood, right?

It is God who judged Egypt.

It is God who has delivered us from their hand.

Thirdly, the phrase, and brought you to myself,

teaches us that God did not save Israel for her own sake,

but for a particular relationship with him.

A relationship that he expounds upon in the following verses.

Now, if we rightly understand the Exodus story,

we find in it a foreshadowing of the deliverance to come.

So we ought to, as those found in Christ,

delivered from the death of sin to life in Christ,

can connect here at this point with what God is saying to his people.

Verse 5 begins with the phrase,

Now, therefore.

So, in response to my deliverance,

because of who I am to you,

here is who you are to be to me.

God goes on to define Israel's calling.

What it will mean for them to be God's people.

So God begins with this reminder of his deliverance.

I delivered you.

I bore you on wings and I brought you to myself.

And then he goes on to expect something of them.

So grateful obedience.

And he gives them this calling.

And he first says,

The Hebrew term translated in our text as treasured possession is used elsewhere in the Bible to refer to a king's personal wealth.

Israel was to be a special people.

A highly valued people among all peoples.

God is saying,

God is saying,

I possess all peoples.

And you are to be a special people for the sake of all peoples.

And this idea is further developed in the next phrase at the beginning of verse 6.

God says of Israel,

And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests.

The people of Israel as a whole were meant to fulfill priestly duties.

It's a rather interesting Hebrew phrase.

Both here this idea of kingdom of priests as well as later on in the verse, holy nation.

These phrases are only found in this place in the Old Testament,

which makes it difficult to translate and understand.

We can also understand,

and I think more rightly,

rather than ESV rendering this kingdom of priests,

a priestly kingdom.

That they were as a whole meant to fulfill these priestly duties.

The priests were to be representatives of the Lord to Israel.

And the priests were meant to be representatives of Israel to the Lord.

The presence and service of the priests made possible a relationship between God and Israel.

And this is the way that Israel is meant to function for the peoples of the earth.

And while not expressly stated here,

from a broader understanding of the narrative of God's dealings and purposes for His people,

we can know that Israel was meant to serve this way for all peoples to the ends of the earth.

Recall, as a simple example, the story of God sending Jonah to the Ninevites to go and preach what?

Repentance.

Turn from your sins and turn to the one true God.

Finally, God says that Israel is to be a holy nation.

They were to be a people set apart in holy living as a nation amongst nations.

If this were not coming from the mouth of the Lord Himself,

it would seem so very blasphemous.

But God is placing this calling on His people.

He will give to them good commands.

Commands that are not burdensome and aimed at their flourishing.

Jesus repeats such an expectation of the citizens of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 5 and verse 48,

where He says,

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

perfect.

So, God has a purpose for Israel,

and it is a missionary purpose,

to display His glory to the world in holy living.

This is still God's purpose for His people.

His purpose for us.

And we can know this so clearly,

because the Apostle Peter borrows language from the beginning of Exodus 19

to make the expanded point to the church.

In 1 Peter 2 and verse 9,

He wrote,

and I hope your brains are just already pinging to the cross reference,

But you are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a holy nation,

a people for His own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him

who called you out of darkness

into His marvelous light.

So, as those who have been made righteous in Christ,

we are to be keepers of the law.

Not obedient so that we will be accepted by God,

but accepted by God,

and therefore gratefully obedient.

And we are to give all of ourselves to grateful obedience

for the sake of God's glory amongst all peoples.

This is why a study of Exodus 20 matters for the church.

God expects of us whole person righteousness.

A righteousness that we find ultimately in Christ.

The one who was without sin,

who kept the law perfectly,

but yet,

having been clothed in His righteousness,

and left here on this earth,

we are meant to pursue obedience for the sake of His name.

Every bit, every bit of our being.

This morning's Spurgeon quote on your bulletin,

Spurgeon once said,

Obedience rendered without delight in rendering it

is only half obedience.

God wants all of us given in worship to Him

for the praise of His name amongst all peoples.

So, with all of that in mind,

let's look together at the first three commandments.

We're going to do that

by using a historical document.

I mentioned it to you previously,

and again, my sincerest apology

if you don't have a bulletin in your hand

with something stapled to the back of it.

We're going to look at a number of the questions and answers

from the Westminster Larger Catechism.

I gave you some history of that in previous weeks.

1648 is when it was adopted.

Now, I want to be clear.

So, hear this please.

Historic creeds, confessions, and catechisms

are helpful to us,

but only insofar as they are consistent

with the Scriptures.

I believe that the Westminster Larger Catechism

on this matter is,

and therefore,

can give us a helpful framework

for which to think through the law

and our obedience to it.

As we look at the following catechism questions,

I will intersperse a bit of text

that the Westminster divines

employed in writing their answers,

but we do not have time

to proof out everything that they said.

So, I want you to be encouraged

to spend some more time with this document.

I want you to see it in front of you read,

and again, I'll try to read carefully

if you don't have a copy of it in front of you,

but spend some more time

looking at this historic text

and at God's inspired Word

where they're pulling together

this idea systematically for us.

You can easily access copies

of the Westminster Larger Catechism

with all of the Scripture proofs online.

Very simply.

I would have loved to have included

all the Scripture proofs for you on this,

and I tried,

but it was going to make eight pages

instead of two.

So, I retracted down

to just the text

that the Westminster divines wrote.

I also want to remind you

of a question and answer

from the catechism

that we discussed last week.

Okay, so before we get into

these present questions and answers,

from last week,

we looked at question 99,

which just asked this,

what rules are to be observed

for the right understanding

of the Ten Commandments?

And the answer, in part,

they say for the right understanding

of the Ten Commandments,

these rules are to be observed,

and we talked about six of them.

The third one is the one

I want to remind you of,

that one and the same thing

in diverse respects

is required or forbidden

in several commandments.

So, you're going to hear,

as we look at these,

some divergent commands,

both for or against

particular activity,

and that's okay.

It works out like a Venn diagram.

There's some overlaps

in some places,

and you'll note that

as we look at these matters together.

Once again,

we really could take

on each of these commandments a week.

We're going to tackle

the first three today,

Lord willing,

the fourth commandment next Sunday,

and then we'll try,

we'll see the final six,

the Lord's Day after that,

and then we'll get back

into the Sermon on the Mount following.

So, the first question

is question 103.

Skip 102 for now.

Question 103,

which is simply,

what is the first commandment?

And we find this in verse 3.

The first commandment is,

you shall have no other gods before me.

So, what does this mean?

Question 104 begins to answer,

what does the first commandment require?

We're going to see both requirements

and things being forbidden.

The first commandment requires us

to know and recognize God

as the only true God

and our God.

1 Chronicles 28,

in verse 9,

David says,

And you, Solomon my son,

know the God of your father

and serve Him

with a whole heart

and with a willing mind.

For the Lord searches all hearts

and understands every plan and thought.

If you seek Him,

He will be found by you.

But if you forsake Him,

He will cast you off forever.

So, the very beginning,

we are to recognize God

as God

and to seek Him

as our God.

And the answer goes on,

and to worship

and to glorify Him

as such.

Psalmist of Psalm 95,

Psalms 95:6

verses 6 and 7,

O come,

let us worship

and bow down.

Let us kneel before the Lord,

our Maker.

For He is our God,

and we are the people

of His pasture

and the sheep

of His hand.

So, we're meant to worship Him

as our God

by valuing,

meditating on,

remembering,

highly regarding,

honoring,

adoring,

preferring,

loving,

desiring,

fearing,

believing,

trusting,

hoping,

delighting,

and rejoicing

in Him.

How wonderfully

exhaustive, right?

All of us,

right?

All of our intentions,

all of our emotions,

given to the worship

of this God.

Deuteronomy 6, 5,

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart

and with all your soul

and with all your might.

This is a verse

that Jesus cites

in Matthew 22,

in verse 37.

Psalm 73, 25,

Whom have I in heaven

but you?

And there is nothing

on earth I desire.

besides you.

And Paul writes

in Philippians 1,

Philippians 1:21

verse 21,

For to me,

to live

is Christ.

My very being

is Christ.

And to die

is gain

because I am with

Christ.

The answer goes on,

We must also be

zealous for

and call on Him,

giving Him all praise

and thanks,

completely obeying

and submitting to Him

and our whole person.

Jeremiah 7,

in verse 23,

But this command

I gave them,

Obey my voice

and I will be your God

and you shall be my people

and walk in all the way

that I command you

that it may be well

with you.

In James 4,

James 4:7

verse 7,

James writes,

Submit yourselves,

therefore,

to God.

Finally,

the answer goes on,

We must walk

humbly with Him,

being careful

to please Him

in everything we say

and do

and being genuinely

sorry

when we offend Him.

1 John 3,

1 John 3:22

verse 22,

And whatever we ask,

we receive from Him

because we keep

His commandments

and do

what pleases Him.

And Psalm 119,

Psalms 119:136

verse 136,

My eyes shed

streams of tears

because people

do not keep

your law.

So in summary,

what does it require

of us?

Everything.

All of us

bent toward,

fixed upon

the one true

God

who is

our God.

Question 105,

What particular sins

does the first

commandment

forbid?

And I love

how exhaustive

these are.

I'm going to read it

for our benefit.

And I know

there's a danger

in doing this

that you're not

going to pay attention

to what I'm reading.

But beloved,

we are all guilty

probably of

all of these things

if not

at least

most

of these things.

And I want you

to see

that the Ten Commandments

set up a framework

for us

which all of the commandments

of the moral law

fit underneath.

So if we can rightly

understand

these commandments,

it will help us

to walk rightly

before our God.

To do this work

of walking holy

and bringing about

praise of His name

to all peoples.

So let me read it

in its entirety.

Particular sins

the first commandment

forbids.

The first commandment

forbids

atheism.

Denying or not

believing in God.

Idolatry.

Believing in or

worshiping any other

gods along with

or other than

the one true God.

Not having and

affirming Him

as God

and our God.

Failing or

neglecting to do

anything this

commandment requires

relating to God.

Ignorance of Him.

Forgetting Him.

Misunderstanding Him.

Untrue opinions

about Him

and evil or

unworthy thoughts

about Him.

Irreverent curiosity

about an inquiry

into His secrets.

All godless

desecration.

Hating God.

Self-love.

Self-interest.

And all other

disorderly or

excessive attention.

Mental,

willful,

or emotional

to things that

divert our attention

partially or

completely from

God.

Also included are

worthless beliefs,

lack of faith,

heretical beliefs,

wrong belief,

not trusting God,

spiritual despair,

refusing correction

and resisting God's

judgment,

hardness of heart,

pride,

willfulness,

worldly complacency,

putting God to the test,

using unlawful means

to an end,

trusting even in

lawful means of grace

rather than God,

indulging in pleasures

of the flesh,

depraved,

blind,

or improperly directed

zeal,

being lukewarm,

spiritual deadness,

deserting and forsaking God,

praying to or worshiping

saints,

angels,

or any other created

being,

making an agreement

with,

consulting or following

suggestions of the devil,

making men the rulers

of our faith and conscience,

slighting and despising God

and His commandments,

resisting and grieving

His spirit,

and finally being dissatisfied

and offended by the things

God provides in our lives,

ignorantly blaming Him

for the evils He inflicts on us,

as well as attributing

the credit for any good thing

we are,

have,

or can do

to luck,

idols,

ourselves,

or any other created being.

And when,

I'll say when,

not if,

when you look this up

with all of the Scripture proofs,

behind every one,

just before every comma,

there will be a little number

which will work out for you

the text

that these Westminster divines

got together

and pulled all of this understanding

together

for our benefit.

Oh.

Praise the Lord

for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have transgressed

the law of God

and we have only begun

to look at it.

A couple of New Testament places

for you.

Titus chapter 1 and verse 16,

Titus 1 · chapter mention

they profess to know God

but deny Him by their works.

They are detestable,

disobedient,

unfit

for any good work.

Romans 1 and verse 30,

slanders,

haters of God,

insolent,

haughty,

boastful,

inventors of evil,

disobedient

to parents.

Hear that, children?

Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3:2

verse 2 and verse 5,

set your minds

on things that are above,

not on things

that are on earth.

Put to death,

therefore,

what is earthly in you,

sexual immorality,

impurity,

passion,

evil desire,

and covetousness,

which is idolatry.

We are to give

all of ourselves

in worship

to God.

Question 106.

What do the words

before me

in the first commandment

specifically teach?

What do they

specifically teach?

And the answer is,

the words before me

or,

it could also be translated,

before my face

in the first commandment

teach us that

God who sees everything

takes special note of

and is very offended

by the sin

of having any other God.

These words emphasize

then how important it is

to obey this commandment

and how disobeying it

insolently provokes God.

They also urge us

to be just as mindful

of the fact that God

sees everything we do

as we are of doing things

in His service.

That's to say,

we all live,

whether we recognize it

or not,

quorum Deo.

It's Latin for

in the presence of God.

Everything that we do,

every awry emotion

or intention

that we have

is seen by God

and is an offense

to Him.

Just as,

the very end of the answer says,

praise the Lord,

those things we do

that are pleasing to Him,

He also sees

and is pleased

with us.

Psalm 44,

Psalms 44:20

verse 20 and 21,

the psalmist says,

if we had forgotten

the name of our God

or spread out our hands

to a foreign God,

would not God discover this?

Rhetorical question.

For He knows

the secrets

of the heart.

And so the first commandment

is a weighty,

weighty commandment.

And the case could be made

that the other commandments

flow from it, right?

If we were to

accurately

keep the first commandment,

I think we would find ourselves

keeping each and every

of the other commandments.

But God is gracious to us

in being more

specific.

So question 107

says,

what is the second commandment?

This is verses 4

through 6.

We're familiar,

and for the sake of time,

I'm not going to read

the entirety of it,

but this is the

idolatry commandment.

You shouldn't make

graven images,

but it has more to do

with our worship

itself.

So question 108

says,

what does the second

commandment require?

The second commandment

requires us

to receive,

respectfully perform,

and preserve

completely and purely

all the regulations

for religion and worship

that God

has established

in His Word.

We believe in the

sufficiency

of Scripture.

I know we have a number

of guests this morning,

and our gathering

might seem a bit

odd to you,

and I can understand

that.

we are laboring

by grace

to arrange our church

in a way that is

consistent with the way

the Scriptures have

commanded us

to arrange our church,

to strip away

those extra things

that are often added

to the worship of God,

and to faithfully

do those things

that we are

commanded to do.

And sometimes,

in our culture,

that can make us

seem strange.

Deuteronomy 12,

Deuteronomy 12:32

verse 32,

everything that I command you

you shall be careful

to do.

You shall not

add to it

or take from it.

And the Westminster

answer goes on.

These include,

and by the way,

adults were meant

to memorize this,

prayer and thanksgiving

in the name of Christ,

the reading,

preaching,

and hearing of the Word,

the administration

of and receiving

the sacraments,

church government

and discipline,

the administration

and upkeep

of the church,

religious fasting,

swearing by the name

of God

and making vows

to Him,

also included

our disapproving,

denouncing,

and opposing

false worship

and doing our best

in accordance

with our position

and calling in life

to eliminate it

in all forms

of idolatry.

So we are to rightly

gather together

for the worship

of God

and do what we can

to eliminate

false worship

of God.

And then question 109

asks,

what particular sins

does the second

commandment

forbid?

The second commandment

forbids,

and I just want you

to take a moment

and put in your mind

the American church,

even our church,

please be critical,

it's okay.

The second commandment

forbids

imagining,

recommending,

demanding,

practicing,

or in any way

approving

any religious worship

not established

by God Himself.

Creating any likeness

of God

as the Trinity

or as any one

of His three persons,

either internally

in our minds

or externally

in the form

of any kind

of image

or representation

of a created being.

There are all kinds

of skip ministries

that just got blown

out of the water.

Any worship

of such created likeness

as if God

were in them

or as if they were

a means to worshiping Him,

the creation

of any likeness

of invented gods,

any worship of them

or serving relating

to them,

and all superstitious

contrivances.

Also forbidden are

any departure

from the true worship

of God

by adding to

or taking away

from it,

whether by our own

invention

or received

from some other tradition,

and whether justified

by antiquity,

custom,

devotional practice,

good intentions,

or any other excuse.

Simony,

which is the selling

of religious benefit,

and anything sacrilegious,

and finally,

any neglect of,

contempt for,

hindering,

or opposition

to the worship

and regulations

established by God.

What a task before us

to gather as the church

and to rightly worship Him.

Praise the Lord.

We have good command,

right,

to help and direct us

for our benefit

and for the glory

of God

in the world.

To be a people

set apart

for His name

in our gathering

so that we can be

a people set apart

for His name

in our going.

Question 110.

What reason is added

to the second commandment

emphasizing

how important

it is

to obey it?

And that reason is

that God

is a jealous

God.

Right?

And that idolatry

will be punished

and faithfulness

will be rewarded.

Beloved,

I hope that we are those

finding ourselves

rewarded by God

in faithfulness.

Question 111.

I'm picking up pace

because I see the time.

What is the third commandment?

Verse 7.

You shall not

take the name

of the Lord your God

in vain

for the Lord

will not hold him

guiltless

who takes

His name

in vain.

This commandment

has been

oversimplified

to simply think

of using God's name

as a curse word

and it means that

to be sure.

But it means

so much

more.

Look at the answer

to question 112.

The third commandment

requires the holy

and reverent use

in our thoughts,

meditations,

words,

and writings

of God's name,

titles,

qualities,

regulations,

word,

sacraments,

prayer,

oaths,

vows,

casting lots,

His works,

and anything else

by which

He makes Himself

known.

His name

is His

person.

This treatment

will be reflected

in holy affirmations

of our faith

and conduct

that matches

our affirmations

to the glory

of God

and the good

of ourselves

and others.

And that's why

we're instructed

by Jesus

in Matthew 6,

9 to pray

like this,

our Father

in heaven,

hallowed,

reverenced,

be your name.

And why

we're warned

in places like

Ecclesiastes 5,

in verse 2,

be not rash

with your mouth,

nor let your heart

be hasty

to utter a word

before God.

For God

is in heaven

and you

are on earth

and you are not

is what

the writer

is saying.

Therefore,

let your words

be few.

Be very careful

in the words

that you utter.

Our words

are meant

to be reverent

about our God.

Question 113,

what particular sins

does the third

commandment forbid?

The third commandment

forbids

not using God's name

as is required,

the abuse of it

through ignorance,

empty or unholy

treatment,

irreverence,

superstition,

or any wicked

reference to

His titles,

qualities,

regulations,

or works,

blasphemy,

perjury,

all sinful cursing,

oaths,

vows,

and casting lots,

violating our

oaths and vows,

if lawful,

and keeping them

if aimed at

unlawful things,

complaining and

quarreling about

or misapplication

of God's decrees

and acts of providence

as well as

unwarranted curiosity

about them,

misinterpreting

or misapplying

God's word

or perverting

all or part

of its meaning

in any way.

Boy,

we shudder at that point.

Blasphemous mockery

of His word,

pointless arguing,

meaningless talk,

or supporting

false doctrines,

abusing God's name,

His creatures,

or anything included

under His name

in the practice

of magic

or to promote

sinful desires

and activities,

maligning,

scorning,

reviling,

or opposing

in any way

God's truth,

grace,

and actions,

pretending to be

religious

or using religion

for evil purposes,

being ashamed

of God's name

or ashamed to it

by stubbornly

refusing to obey Him

and by living

unwisely,

unfruitfully,

or in such a way

as to offend Him

or backslide

away from Him.

I find that we

are guilty,

again,

of the third

commandment.

And what reasons

are added

to the third

commandment?

The reasons

are in these words,

the Lord thy God

and the Lord

will not hold

anyone guiltless

who misuses

His name.

Because He is

the Lord

and our God,

His name must

never be treated

as unholy

or misused

by us in any way,

particularly since

He is so opposed

to acquitting

or sparing

those who break

this commandment

that He will not

allow them to escape

His righteous

judgment,

even though

many who do

break this

commandment

escape human

condemnation

and punishment.

Leviticus 19

and verse 12,

You shall not

swear by my name

falsely,

and so profane

the name

of your God.

I am

the Lord.

We ought to be

careful, beloved,

how we speak

about this God,

what we understand

to be true

of Him.

We will end

today's study

by looking

briefly at

question and

answer

102.

What is the

essence of the

first four

commandments that

cover our

obligations to

God?

We've talked

about three.

I understand.

What is the

essence of the

first four

commandments that

cover our

obligations to

God?

And the answer

is this.

The essence of

these four

commandments is to

love the Lord

your God,

with all your

heart,

with all our

soul,

with all our

strength,

with all our

mind.

To set our

affections,

our desires,

our love on

Him.

Beloved,

we are a people

called apart for

God's own

possession,

for our good,

and so that His

glory would be

known in all

the world.

world.

So as those

who have been

made righteous

in Christ,

we are to be

keepers of the

law, not just

outwardly, but

with all that we

are, working

with all His

energy that He

powerfully works

within us.

Standing confident

in the fact that

if we have placed

saving faith in the

personal work of

Jesus Christ, we

are secure in

Him.

Praise the

Lord that He is

our righteousness.

righteousness.

Because we have

not and we will

not perfectly keep

this law.

It's given to us

to labor in it,

to press on into

it for the sake of

His name, for our

good, but we will

not keep it

perfectly.

So praise God

that there is

therefore now no

condemnation for

those who are in

Christ Jesus.

But hear me so

clearly.

We have all

transgressed God's

law.

And if you are

not in Christ

this morning,

then there is

great condemnation

for you.

There is death

and eternal hell

awaiting you.

But by faith in

Christ, you can

put on His

righteousness and

stand in this

non-condemnation

place.

We have been

given the Spirit

of God to lead

us into all

truth and to

cause us,

those who have

been delivered

from sin to

walk in His

ways.

And we

should do so.

Let's pray

together.

Thank you.