Grace First

Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.’
- Exodus 19:3-6

Last Sunday we started a series on the Ten Commandments - or, to be more precise - what the Bible calls the Ten Words. But before diving in, we need to get something straight.

When most people think of Christianity, they imagine rules: a moral code, a list of dos and don’ts, a cosmic scorecard. Be good, and you go to heaven. Slip up, and you’re out. But Exodus 20 – the famous “Ten Commandments” – tells a very different story.

Before Israel ever received the commandments, God rescued them: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery” (Ex. 20:2). Salvation was not earned by good behaviour, by either ritual practice or moral practice. God carried them “on eagles’ wings” before they knew the law. 

In other words, grace comes first.

And the opposite of grace is not judgment but transaction – the assumption that a covenant is the same as some trade. In a teaching about the Law, Jesus tells the Rich Young Man to give up his bargaining power (whether his money, or his behaviour - "what must I do to enter eternal life") and follow him empty-handed. It comes right after Jesus' encounter with children, where we learn that faith like theirs is required to enter the kingdom; they don't tend to come with wealth, or status, to trade on. They can only trust.

So why commandments at all? They are not conditions of God’s love but invitations to live out a calling. Israel was chosen to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Their obedience was meant to reveal God’s character to the world: they should be a people of peace in a violent culture, a people who rest in a world of endless striving, a people marked by gratitude instead of envy.

When Israel failed, it wasn’t about breaking arbitrary rules but about failing their vocation. That same calling continues in Christ. Jesus fulfils Israel’s role, becoming the true priest and mediator, and now the church is described as “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9). The Ten Words, then, are not a cold checklist. They are a vision of flourishing – boundaries that make us more human, not less – lived out as a response to grace and as a witness to God’s goodness in a broken world.

Are there times when you’re seeking to enter a transaction with God - trying to earn His love or blessing - instead of resting in His grace and living out of your identity as His beloved child? Take a while to ask what Jesus is asking you to put down, so that you can be ready to hear what you should take up.