The Goodness of the Law

The scripture reading comes from Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 5.

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

Please follow along on the screen.

See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me,

that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it.

Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples,

who, when they hear these statutes, will say,

Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

For what great nation is there that has a God so near to it as the Lord our God is to us,

whenever we call upon him?

And what great nation is there that has statutes and rules so righteous

as all this law that I set before you today?

Only take care and keep your soul diligently,

lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen,

unless they depart from your heart all the days of your life.

Make them known to your children and your children's children.

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them,

Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today,

and you shall learn them and be careful to do them.

The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant,

but with us, who are all of us here alive today.

The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain,

out of the midst of the fire,

while I stood between the Lord and you at that time

to declare to you the word of the Lord.

For you were afraid because of the fire,

and you did not go up into the mountain.

He said,

I am the Lord your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery.

This is the word of God.

Great.

So, today we're starting on a new series,

looking at the Ten Commandments.

And this time that we are going through

is a time where rules really count at the moment.

I don't know if you have looked around you.

The rules are everywhere.

Don't enter any shop without a mask.

Don't gather more than four people in a place.

Our experience of life is totally shaped by rules.

And for some of us, that gives us comfort.

For some of us,

it's just feeling very restricted at this time.

And it raises a lot of questions

about what does it mean to be free?

What does it mean to live life well?

Well, one Greek philosopher called Epictetus,

he said,

is freedom anything else other than the right to live as we wish?

Nothing else.

American philosopher,

pitbull,

rapper Pitbull,

said,

I'm free to do what I want and have a good time.

And so,

both of these people are saying to us,

the absence of rules is freedom.

That's the good life.

But if you've ever been to a nation

where the drivers follow that principle

of the absence of rules is the way to live,

you know that is not the way to freedom.

That's the way to chaos.

But some people love rules.

They love morality.

You know,

in Hong Kong,

I think many people around the world

think that Christianity is just a set of rules.

So I have met many people

who have brought their kids,

non-Christians,

they've brought their kids to church on Sunday.

They've dropped them off

and I've heard them say,

listen,

be good,

learn how to be good through these people,

but don't listen to any of the religious stuff they talk about.

And,

because what they think is,

get the rules,

but don't worry about the God part.

But,

I'm not sure whether people who love rules

or people who hate rules

will have the perception

that King David in the Psalms had

of the Psalm that Jeremy read to us earlier.

Let me just read a little bit of it again to you.

The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul.

The precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart.

More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold,

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

That's Psalm 19.

You see,

have you ever read the Ten Commandments

and go,

that is better

than making a billion dollars on the stock market,

having a 50% raise in your salary?

But that's what the psalmist is saying.

He's saying,

if that is not our heart,

God wants to change our heart,

and that's what I want us to see

and to get this morning,

that I want us to come away going,

God's commands are good for us.

Because you see,

freedom and life

is not doing what we want to do.

It's doing what we ought to do

so we become the people

we were created to be.

Freedom,

let me say it again,

freedom is not doing what we want to do,

but doing what we ought to do

so we become the people

we were created to be.

You know,

a goldfish is most free

when it's swimming in water.

It is not free

if it starts trying to hike up the peak.

It's going to die

because fish were made to swim.

Well,

we were made to swim in God's will,

which means that you and I

will learn to live well

even at this time

where some of us feel very restricted

if we get the commands of God in Scripture.

So,

we're just going to go on this journey

of the next few weeks

looking through the Ten Commandments

and I'm going to just introduce them

to you today.

And so,

by way of background,

let me just start off by saying

there are two versions

of the Ten Commandments.

One of them comes in Exodus 20

where God had brought the people

out of Egypt

and he takes them

to the Mount Sinai

and he gives them the law

for the first time.

But then,

the people just keep disobeying

and keep disobeying.

They wander through the wilderness.

Forty years later,

most of them have died out

and now,

they're back on the edge

of the land,

of the promised land

in Moab

and God comes again

through Moses

to bring them

a second time

the Ten Commandments.

And Moses is like a parent

who is about to send

their teenage son

off to boarding school

and giving them a pep talk

of everything you need to know

for how to live well

in the new land

that I am taking you into.

That is what

the Ten Commandments

are part of.

They're part of this talk

to the people.

And by the way,

the Ten Commandments

are never called

the Ten Commandments

in the Bible.

They are called,

in Hebrew,

the Ten Words.

Which should tell us something.

It should tell us

that these are not

some cold,

divine,

impersonal government

laying down the law

to us.

These are the words

of a personal God

speaking

to create a people

and these are

His constitution

that they can be

the kind of community

that He wants them

to be.

So what that means is

the law

and the commandments

are not

some legalistic way

to try and get

into heaven.

They never were.

The Ten Commandments

here

starts off,

I am the Lord

your God

who brought you

out of Egypt,

out of the house

of slavery.

before you have

a single rule

God reminds

the people

I have saved you,

I have redeemed you,

I have brought you

to myself.

God doesn't say

keep these ten rules

and then you can

be my people.

No,

He is saying

I have brought you

to be my people,

I have brought you

to be free,

I have brought you

to know how to live,

now live

in the way

that I want you to

because that is

going to be your life.

It is grace,

it is not legalism.

So,

if you have

the passage

with you,

I am going to

dive between

the two passages

in Deuteronomy 4

and 5

and really learn

what are the ten

words all about.

And I have got

four things

that they are about.

They are revelation,

they are wisdom,

they are lifestyle

and they are window.

Okay?

Revelation,

wisdom,

lifestyle

and window.

So,

let's have a look,

first one.

The revelation

of God.

What they are doing,

they are revealing

His authority.

So,

first of all,

they reveal His authority.

Mount Sinai,

in Deuteronomy 5,

Deuteronomy 5:4

verse 4,

Moses says,

the Lord spoke

with you

face to face

at the mountain

out of the midst

of fire.

You see,

at Mount Sinai,

there was thunder,

there was lightning,

there was smoke,

there was darkness.

This was a multimedia

spectacular

with surround sound.

This wasn't God

as kind of a nice

grandfather in the sky

speaking some words

to His children.

This was a terrifying

thunderstorm

and a forest fire

combined

and out of that,

God speaks.

You see,

His holy authority

is shown.

And the people,

they can't even

touch the mountain

or come near

and they go,

like,

how can an awesome

God like this

speak to us

and we can still live?

Because,

you know,

what it's showing

is that we often

tame God down

to kind of our level.

But God is not

a tame God.

The God who made

the galaxies,

made black holes,

made meteorites

is not a God

you can just

put in a box.

You see,

when God speaks,

He's not making

suggestions.

He's speaking

with authority.

You know,

I've been in

team meetings

with an older,

really experienced

guy there

and for 45 minutes,

younger people,

we're all kind of

talking ignorantly

about a whole load

of issues

and we're getting nowhere.

And then at the end

of about 45 minutes,

the older guy

just says

one or two sentences

and suddenly

everyone goes,

oh,

that's it.

That's settled it.

You see,

that's what God

is doing.

We humans

are like ignorant

people with all

of our opinions

but when God

speaks,

that settles it.

His authority

is complete.

So it reveals

His authority

but it also reveals

His desire

for relationship.

I love this.

This is great.

Verse 2

of chapter 5

says,

the Lord,

Yahweh,

made a covenant

with us

in Horeb

at Mount Sinai.

You see,

these 10 words

are God's covenant.

Now,

we don't really

talk about the word

covenant a lot

these days

but in ancient times,

a great and powerful

king would make

a covenant

with a smaller king

and basically

what would happen,

it was a relational

agreement where

the great king

would call for

the other person

to give loyalty

and taxation

to him

and in return

what he would do,

he'd give protection

and maybe some provision.

You see,

it was a win-win

kind of situation.

And so,

the Deuteronomy

is actually

written

very much

like the style

of an ancient

treaty.

You know,

there's God,

the great and powerful

king,

Israel,

the smaller

power

except for

there's just one

thing that's different.

God doesn't get

any mutual benefit

out of this.

He wasn't looking

for some extra benefits

just to increase

his power

or his wealth.

God was already

a powerful ruler

of the world

and Israel

had already

proved itself

to be completely

unfaithful

in every way

and yet God

still comes

and makes a covenant

with them.

Why?

Deuteronomy 7

says this,

it was not

because you were

more in number

than any other

people

that the Lord

said his love

and chose you.

For you are

the fewest

of all peoples

but it is

because

the Lord

loves you.

The Ten Commandments

are pure grace

from an authoritative

but loving God.

this is less

like a treaty

and more

like a ridiculous

marriage ceremony

with God

as the king

who needs nothing

chasing after

a wretch.

It's like Prince Harry

chasing after

a disfigured,

battered,

obnoxious,

slum dwelling

old beggar

and pursuing her

in marriage

and then bringing her

to Buckingham Palace

to show everyone

and he's proud

of her

and everyone goes

what?

You're with her?

Totally out of your league

and yet God

through the exodus

is showing again

and again

and again

his love

and the Ten Words

are Israel's

marriage vows

to be exclusively

Yahweh's

and to love him

in this relationship.

It's all grace.

It's all grace.

You know in marriage

the worst thing

as a guy

is when your wife

assumes you know

exactly how to love her best

without ever communicating

what she really wants

and so you know

as guys we're pretty dumb

and we really don't know.

You need to spell it out to us.

You know it's like

okay

don't buy me

a car magazine

subscription

for my birthday.

Buy me a spa treatment

or something.

You go

oh right

okay

that's what we need

but pagan religions

always left you

guessing

what their gods liked

and then they punish you

for getting it wrong

but God in his grace

tells us exactly

how to do a relationship

with him

and how it can flourish.

He doesn't leave you wondering.

That's grace.

That's the Ten Words.

So he shows us his authority.

He shows us his desire

for relationship

and he also reveals

his character.

You know in Deuteronomy

God keeps telling the people

walk in my ways

which means

image me

do what I do.

You know

every commandment

which is here

reveals something

of God's character

to us.

You know

when Jesus

he summarized

the commandments

he said

you can summarize them

in two ways.

Love the Lord your God

with all your heart

soul mind and strength

and love your neighbor

as yourself.

What he was saying is

the commandments

are all about love.

Why?

Because God is love.

You see

if you want to know

what love is

look at the commands.

The first four

are all about

how to love God

upwards

in that direction.

The next six

show us

what love for our neighbors

look like

in very practical terms.

They reveal

the heart of God.

Ray Ortlund

a pastor

says this

what kind

of amazing person

would say to us

you shall not steal

only a just

and generous person

who can be

fully trusted

who would never

rob us

or defraud us

who would never

lie or cheat

who would never

hold out on us wrongly

who is not out

for himself

who feels no need

and no appetite

but only overflowing

kindness

and abundance.

You see

in each command

you will see revealed

a passionate

devoted

faithful

loving

just

contented

God

who wants us

as his people

to be the same.

It reveals

God

these commandments

his authority

his desire

for relationship

and his character.

But that's not all

they do.

Don't just reveal God

they also

are wisdom

for abundant

living.

This is why

we've actually

called these series

10 words

for abundant

life.

Have a look

at what it says

in chapter 4

verse 6.

It says this

keep these laws

and do them

for that will be

your wisdom

and understanding.

Wisdom

is the ability

to make

good decisions

which lead

to flourishing

and the good life.

That is what wisdom is.

And so

throughout Deuteronomy

God keeps saying

keep these commands

so that it's going to go

well with you

so that you might

live well.

Deuteronomy 6.24

says this

the Lord commanded us

to do

all these statutes

to fear the Lord

our God

listen

here it is

for our good

always

not just sometimes

for our good

always

that's what the command

is.

Commands are all about.

You know

every one of us

wants to live

the good life

don't we?

That's why

we watch

all those TED talks

and buy so many

self-help books.

We want wisdom

because we want

a flourishing life.

You know

in Genesis 2

and 3

God gives us

this abundant

garden

with like a

gazillion trees

in it

which are amazing

and he tells them

he gives them

one command

don't eat

from that one tree

you can eat

from anything else

that one tree

will bring you death

but just trust me

with that one

everything else

you can have life

but then the serpent

comes along

in Genesis 3

and he says

did God

really say

you can't eat

from any

tree

in the garden

no he didn't

he just said

one tree

he didn't say

any tree

but you see

that is always

the lie

behind every

single sin

that you will

ever commit

it's the lie

that says

God is trying

to restrict you

God is trying

to make your life

miserable

God is trying

to take joy

from you

it's not really

for your good

that's why

Satan always

wants you to focus

on the one thing

you don't have

and to miss

all the things

that God wants

to give you

and has given

you already

he wants

to focus

you on

what you're

going to

miss out

on

rather than

what you're

going to

gain

by trusting

God

and his

word

and obeying

him

but just

imagine

the kind

of community

that if they

follow the ten

words

what it would

be like

you know

you would

never have

to lock

your door

because there

would be

no theft

you would

never have

to fear

going out

at night

because there's

no murder

families

would be

in harmony

because people

are honouring

father and

mother

it would be

a society

of justice

and integrity

where you can

trust whatever

anyone says

and also

there would be

no workaholic

bosses driving

you into the

ground

this is a place

of freedom

there would be

no lawyers

actually

and no police

probably

some of us

may think

that's a good

thing

some of us

may not

but it's a place

of freedom

and life

any command

in scripture

forgive

those who've

hurt you

don't watch

porn

don't sleep

with your

girlfriend

pray

share the

gospel

every command

is for your

good

always

do we

believe that

because

God wants

to change

our hearts

so that it

goes from

here

to here

and changes

us

so what I

want us

to do

now

is

I actually

want us

to stop

for a minute

and I want

you to take

a minute

to reflect

if you're

with someone

you can just

discuss

with the

person

next to

you

but I've

got a

couple

of questions

that we're

going to

show on

the slide

that I

want you

to look

at

how is

God

calling

you to

obey

him

right at

this

time

and how

do you

view

his

commands

do you

view

what he's

calling

you as

something

that's

to give

you life

or

restrictive

why do

you see

that

why don't

you

and if

you're

not a

Christian

whose

words

do you

rely on

to help

you live

well

and then

how is

that

working

for you

so

if

you're

by

yourself

I encourage

you to

take a

pen

write

down

your

answers

if

you're

with

someone

take

the

time

to

reflect

and

discuss

and

we'll

come

back

in

a

couple

of

minutes

time

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And like you and God.

And we go.

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Thank you.