Exodus: The Gift of the Law

Exodus 20 marks a turning point in Scripture—the introduction of the Law. For many, this is where Bible reading plans "go to die." Modern readers often view the Old Testament Law as antiquated, harsh, or even embarrassing. Yet, the Psalmist in Psalm 119 gushes over these statutes, claiming they bring freedom, light, and delight. This sermon explores the lens through which we view the Law and why it remains a vital gift from a good God.

Key Points
1. The Lens of Freedom
Our Western culture views freedom as the absence of restraint (autonomy). However, true freedom requires boundaries. Just as soccer cannot be played without sidelines, human flourishing requires moral borders. The Law is not a prison; it is the "sidelines" that allow the game of life to be played effectively.

2. Correcting Unhelpful Attitudes

The "Two Gods" Myth: There is no division between a "wrathful" Old Testament God and a "loving" New Testament God. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Grace Precedes Law: God did not give the Law to the Israelites so they could get saved; He gave it because they were saved. Salvation has always been by grace through faith.

Rules vs. Relationship: This is a false dichotomy. In any healthy relationship (like a marriage), rules serve to protect and deepen the connection.

3. The Purpose of the Law

A Mirror: It reflects God’s perfect righteousness and highlights our own sinfulness.

A Restraint: It curbs evil and protects the righteous.

A Guide: It instructs believers on what is pleasing to God.

A Signpost: It points us to Jesus, the only one who fulfilled the Law perfectly.

4. Relating to the Law Today
We view the Old Testament as authoritative but through a Gospel lens. While ceremonial and civil laws (sacrifices, dietary restrictions) were fulfilled in Christ, the moral principles repeated in the New Testament remain binding for Christians today.

Conclusion
The Law is a relief, not a burden. It removes the guesswork of how to please God and reveals our desperate need for a Savior. Jesus did not abolish the Law; He fulfilled it, succeeding where we failed, so that we might walk in the "new way of the Spirit."

Calls to Action
Repent of Autonomy: Stop trying to define "good" and "evil" on your own terms.

Meditate on the Word: Ask God to give you the Psalmist’s heart—to "pant" for His commands.

Trust the Substitute: Approach the communion table with gratitude, knowing Christ’s perfect obedience is credited to you.

Transcript

We have Psalm one 1941 through 49. May your unfailing love come to me, Lord, your salvation according to your promise. Then I can answer anyone who taunts me, for I trust in your word. Never take your word of truth from my mouth, for I have put my hope in your laws. I will obey your law forever and ever.

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. I will speak of your statutes before kings, and I will not be put to shame. For I delight in your commands because I love them. I reach out for your commands, which I love, that I may meditate on your decrees. And then Psalm 119 129 through 136.

Your statutes are wonderful, therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words give light. It gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and pant, longing for your commands. Turn to me and have mercy on me as you always do to those who love your name. Direct my footsteps according to your word. Let no sin rule over me.

Redeem me from human oppression, that I may obey your precepts. May your face shine on your servant and teach me your decrees. Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed. This is a word of the Lord. Thanks.

We have been studying the book of Exodus and we've come to Exodus chapter 20. We've come to the place where most of your Bible reading plans come to die.

The law. And there's not just ten of them. Actually, the back half of Exodus, the entire book of Leviticus and the first part of Deuteronomy can be some some tough sledding. And it's not just that. Some say it's irrelevant or boring. Some of what is written in there can be embarrassing. We find ourselves thinking like, wow, I'm not sure that these laws fit the character of the God that I know.

This seems harsh. This seems violent. Some would say sexist, some would say racist. But this this seems antiquated. And beyond being outdated or irrelevant. It's embarrassing. And so many influential pastors have encouraged us to just unhitch ourselves from the Old Testament that the portrait of God painted there is unflattering, and we should move on that the work is not worth it and we should leave it behind.

And then we hear from this guy.

The psalmist, Addie, just read the words of a psalmist who had some pretty incredible things to say about a part of the book, a part of the Bible that we skip.

A part that we may even think, I'd rather this not be here. This ends up getting me in some tough conversations with my friends who don't believe in God.

A part of the Bible that maybe we find in the psalmist is just gushing about. And as I read this, I found myself thinking, what does this guy know that we don't? What does he see that has him savoring the law? And what is it that we see that has us wanting to skip it? Listen to what he says.

I'll always obey your law forever and ever. I'm going to walk about in freedom because I've sort your precepts. Your commands are going to produce freedom in my life. I delight in them. I get excited about this. I don't want to skip this. I enjoy this because I love them. I reach out for your commands, which, by the way, if you missed it, I love that I may meditate on him.

I don't just want to get through him, I want to meditate on him. Your statutes, they're wonderful and I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple. I open my mouth and I pant.

Longing for your commands.

I mean, honestly, this confronts our attitudes towards the law. I feel myself reading this and thinking about the dinner scene. And what about Bob, where Bill Murray is like, oh, Fay, this corn is scrumptious. Is this corn hand shucked?

As I read Psalm 119, I found myself thinking I'll have what this guy is having. I'd like to dance to the music he's listening to. He's hearing something different than I hear. He's seeing something different than we see.

So I want to help us see the law as a gift. A good gift from a good God. Isn't it so bizarre that a section of Scripture that we may skip, because it causes us to think that God might not be good, God might not be gracious, and God might not be loving? Convince this cat that God's love is steadfast.

What's going on here? So I want to talk about four things this morning. The lens that we wear when we read the law, that may keep us from seeing what he's seeing. The second thing I want to talk about are unhelpful attitudes and ideas surrounding the Old Testament law. The third is how we should relate to the laws given to Israel at Sinai.

And the fourth is what is the purpose of the law? And I'm going to do all that in 40 minutes while remaining engaging and and funny.

So the lens that we wear when we read the law, the lens we have on when we come to the law. My favorite food. I've got five daughters, and there was a season as a parent where everything was about your favorite. What's your favorite color? What's your favorite song? It's your favorite food. What's your favorite place? What's your favorite ride?

And I would have to say, honestly, my favorite food is a cheeseburger and I feel shame to that. I feel like I should have outgrown it by now. I didn't think that at 46 I'd still be saying this. I thought I'd have something more sophisticated to offer. In fact, there's times where when ordering with my wife will be out to eat.

It's date night. She's in a dress, and the waitress looks at me like, come on, man, don't order the burger. Like, just don't don't be that guy. And there have been times where I've not ordered the burger just out of, like, I know she's judging me. Like the way people who drink black coffee judge you. Quiet. They don't say anything.

They just look at you like, oh, I get it.

You're going to put cream in that. Oh, and sugar. Got it. Why don't you just go get a Frappuccino? So sometimes I don't put sugar in it because I know you're judging me. How many are black coffee drinkers? You judge people, don't you? You do? I know it, man.

You think you should have outgrown this? That's what you think, right? Like, that's how I started coffee when I was 12. But I've outgrown that. Another thing that's one of my favorite things that I feel embarrassed of is that my favorite movies, Braveheart. And I thought I would outgrown that, too. In fact, I want to say something cooler.

It's like how cliche that you're a pastor and your favorite movies. Braveheart, right? I want to say it's something else, but it's Braveheart because I remember how it felt to be 14 in the movie theater, watching the most violent film I'd ever seen. Not with my friends, because we snuck out to the theater, but with my old man, my dad.

And we're watching this and I'm like, whoa! And then, as you know, the film ends with William Wallace refusing to be comforted, refusing to take the easy way out, and he dies a death, and he musters all the strength he can. And he screams as he's dying. Freedom.

I just remember thinking in the theater as a 14 year old, like I1I love cheeseburgers. Two this is my favorite movie because it appealed to something deep in me. I feel like I decided on that day at 14, that the most noble thing you could do is die for freedom, give us liberty, or just kill us all. We die.

Freedom has become the undisputed, unchallenged, maybe only value that we can agree on in the West. And we've gone. I'll in. We love it. We've got a Statue of Liberty, right? We've got a Statue of Liberty. And at the bottom of it it says, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.

There's a belief in us that freedom can't ever be a bad thing. And it's only ever, always the answer. Kind of like Windex in my big fat Greek wedding. Like, just put some freedom on it. It'll get better. Whatever the problem is, Freedom's the answer. What we need. Really? It might be the only thing we can agree upon on the right and left.

We don't know how to apply it. We don't know how to define it. We don't know what to do with it. But we're convinced this is really, really important. I found myself thinking a lot about it, because I wonder if this is the lens that causes us to struggle with the law. We're very suspicious. Know those keep us from the life we want to live.

Those keep me from parking where I want to park. And last week, those laws cost me a lot of money. We would never see the law as a way to life, but only something that needed to be removed. And we've gone all in on freedom. This is my third 90s film reference in the last four minutes, but I was reminded of Forrest Gump, where he's put into the football game and they show him the destination and they're like, get in that end zone.

But he makes it to the end zone and then he just keeps running. It just keeps going through the tunnel at the tunnel and just keeps going. And to me it was like, hey, freedom. That's our destination. That's our end zone. But I think we've gone way beyond what any other generation had in mind when they said freedom.

We've gone all in. We've just kept running. We love it.

We've pursued autonomy. Like, well, then I define freedom for myself or hedonism. I'm free when I can satisfy my desires. Expressive individualism is the air we breathe. I'm free when I can define myself without external claims. Materialism I'm free when I can have what I want in power. I'm free when no one can stop me. We've gone all in.

And I have a question for you. Are we free?

How's it going? We've invested a lot in this. How free is our nation?

The legacy of our intense pursuit of freedom is a mixed bag. It isn't always the answer to what we're facing. And in fact, I found myself thinking a number of things as I read on freedom that challenge our idea that the answer to everything is people leaving you alone.

The first is this freedom comes with responsibility. No one tells me what to do. We know just doesn't work. There's more to it than that. Plato had a lot of thoughts about freedom, and a lot of thoughts about how our freedoms interact with one another. I talks about it like it's the bully. So as a bully, where does my freedom to act as I wish and punch you?

Interact with your freedom not to be punched where it is. My freedom stop and your freedom start. Where is that? And then who says and then who referees it? And how is it refereed? And you might be surprised to know this. To freedom comes with rules. Even freedom comes with rules. If you don't have sidelines, if you don't have boundaries, if you don't have offsides, and if you don't have a referee, you are not free to play soccer.

Freedom requires borders. The quickest way to ruin a game on the schoolyard was to call for jungle ball.

It lasts like three minutes. If you remember. There were no rules. It was anarchy. And it's funny because kids won't play that for the entire recess. It loses its luster in a couple of minutes. My kids for a season, they moved on from Uno into what they called killer Uno.

Which was just ensuring that I would only play one round of Uno because every card meant something. And then they hand you a seven and I'm like, why are you giving this to me? And they're like, well, because you played a three. And if you lay that three down, I'm going to give you all my cards, you know?

And I'm like, I'm done. What happened to what is this? This is an abomination.

This is an interesting article. It was in CNN in 2014. And I think it's really telling. The article starts like this. What if, instead of climbing Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments from God, Moses had turned to the Israelites and asked, hey, what do you guys think we should do? Considering the Hebrews bad behavior in the Bible, what with the coveting of neighbor's wives and murdering their own brothers?

That might have been a disastrous idea. But in our more enlightened age were perfectly capable of crowdsourcing our own commandments. Or at least that's what a new project would have us believe. So Lex Bayer, he's an executive for Airbnb and a humanist chaplain at Stanford University. They crowdsourced ten non commandments, offering $10,000 to the The New Moses. So if you had one of your commandments, make it onto this list of non commandments you got paid.

So here's the ten non commandments that were crowdsourced. Take a look at these. Number one. Be open minded. Be willing to alter your beliefs with new evidence. Number two strive to understand what is most likely to be true, not to believe what you wish to be true. Number three, the scientific method is the most reliable way of understanding the natural world.

Number four. Every person has the right to control. I wrote that wrong. The right to control their body. Number five God is not necessary to be a good person or to live a full and meaningful life. Number six. Be mindful of the consequences of all your actions and recognize that you must take responsibility for them. Number seven treat others as you would want them to treat you and can reasonably expect them to want to be treated.

Think about their perspective. Number eight, we have the responsibility to consider others, including future generations. Number nine, there's no right way to live. Number ten, leave the world a better place than you found it. As you read this, you'll probably notice that these non commandments. Well, they sound like commandments.

What's hilarious is number nine. Do this. Oh, and by the way, there's no one right way to live. Well, how are we supposed to leave the world a better place if there's no one right way to live? Here's the idea. Rules are always a part of this. Even when you embark on non commandments, you're creating commandments. You can't get away from this.

The other thing about freedom that I think challenges our perspective of it, is that freedom is not an end. It's a means to an end.

Of course, half the story is Moses saying, let my people go and the people being liberated from Egypt, but the other half is so that they may worship him, so that they may serve the one true God, Yahweh. So freedom is not an end in itself. It's a means to an end. Danny and I were talking this week and it's like, heaven forbid you actually get it.

Then what? It won't fix everything. It's a means to an end. And I don't think we hear that enough. We think it's the goal. We think it's the touchdown. And lastly, freedom is both from and to. So there's freedom from or liberty from external oppression from restraint. But liberation is only half the deal. There's also a freedom to a freedom to thrive, a freedom to flourish, a freedom to worship, a freedom to serve God with our freedom.

An exodus is incredible in pointing this out, because here's what you need to know when you read Exodus. Getting Free from Egypt takes 14 chapters.

It's the most powerful nation on the face of the earth, getting free from Pharaoh and external issues takes 14 chapters. Getting free from internal issues for the nation of Israel is four books of the Bible.

Summary. You are your biggest problem. I've had way more trouble with me than I've had with Gavin Newsom. I'm not saying he's not a problem. I'm saying I'm a bigger problem. I am my issue. And we always think, no, it's the external. Listen, the tyranny of Egypt had nothing on Israel's own cravings and desires, and it took a long time to deliver them of those things.

Here's another passage that really challenged our view of the law. This is Moses in Deuteronomy four. You know, one of the best ways to discover the air you breathe and the water that you swim in is to travel and not to just go to another culture, but actually to travel through time and to read the way that other people thought about these things.

Listen to the way that Moses talks about the law. The part that, again, you might be tempted to skip. See, I've taught you decrees and laws as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you're entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations who will hear about all these decrees and say, surely this is a great nation.

This is a wise and understanding people. What other nation is so great is to have their gods near them, the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him. And what other nation is so great is to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I'm setting before you today. Oh man, the nations are going to smell the stovetop cooking at our house and they're going to be like, man, I wish I had your dad.

The nations are going to be jealous because of the display of wisdom that's put on when we keep these laws. What in the world? What are they treasuring? What are they seeing? Why are they so proud of the law? Can you believe that God is near to them? This was to evoke jealousy in the nations.

One of the things I want to clear up before we move forward is this word law, because the Bible uses it in at least five different ways. And I think it's really important that we talk about what we're talking about when we talk about the law, because people say things like this, we're no longer under the law. And the first question you should ask is, what do you mean by the law?

Or when people say the law is incompatible with the gospel? The first question you need to ask is, what do you mean by the law? Because in the Bible, the law can refer to the Old Testament as a whole.

Is the gospel incongruent with the Old Testament as a whole? I don't think so. It also refers to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament. The law is also referring to the covenant in Sinai, the mosaic covenant, which is what we're talking about. It also refers to a principle of authority, like a governing authority, the law lawman.

Write a summary statement of God's demands for perfect obedience is another way that the law is used like shorthand, a summary statement of the call to perfect obedience. And just to help you guys out as we talk about law and talk about gospel. This is a pretty simple way to frame it up, but the gospel is what God has done for his people, and the law is what God calls his people to do.

The gospel is what God has done for his people. The law is what God calls his people to do everyone good with that. All right. So these are attitudes and ideas that need to be addressed. These are sayings that I think we should investigate. In fact, when you hear them, I think a red flag should come up when anyone says the God of the Old Testament, that should be a red flag for you.

This is an unhelpful idea. Usually the next thing that comes out of their mouth is something about how the Old Testament is about God's judgment and wrath, and the New Testament is about God's love and grace. And so we're moving on from the God of the Old Testament. God is the same God in the Old and New Testament.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And we remember that Colossians tells us that Jesus was before all things.

So he was there when the law was given, right? This is actually a really old heresy in the church called Marcion. It was named after a guy that felt that literally, the Old Testament depicted another God, then the New Testament, that we were dealing with two different gods when we're dealing with the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and there is grace all throughout the Old Testament, and there's judgment all throughout the new.

So it's too broad of a brush to say that the Old Testament is about judgment and God's anger, and the New Testament is about God's grace and his love. The Old Testament has incredible examples of God's grace. The Exodus is one of them. Before these people are called to keep the law, they were rescued, they were delivered, they were bound.

And God set them free. Free to live as God desires them to live. Grace is everywhere in the Old Testament, and some of the gnarliest scriptures about God's judgment are in the New Testament, and they come from Jesus himself in the Book of Revelation. So don't let anyone tell you the God of the Old Testament is like this.

And the God of the New Testament is like this. Have you ever read the book of Jonah? Jonah's like, I don't even want to go to Nineveh. I don't want to preach to that wicked city full of Assyrians. I don't want to do it because I know you're going to show them mercy. I know what you're going to do.

I know you, you're going to forgive these people. And I can't stand these people. So I'm not going to bring your message to these people, because I know what you're going to do. You're going to be gracious. You're going to be compassionate. You're going to be slow to anger. And that's not what I want for the Ninevites. That's in the Old Testament.

And people drop dead for lying in the New Testament. So don't buy into this divide. The the mosaic covenant was not. If you keep the Ten Commandments perfectly, I'll give you eternal life. Salvation is always been by grace. You don't know your salvation by keeping the law. God didn't come into Egypt and say, I'll trade you. I'll trade you if you keep one command and do it well, I'll send one plague.

And if you keep all ten commandments well, for the rest of the week, then I'll send ten plagues and set you free. No. His grace precedes the law. This group of people is set free. And then the law follows. The first 19 chapters of the Book of Exodus are all about what God did for Israel. He chose them.

He fought for them. He brought atonement through unblemished lamb. He rescued them, right? The other really unhelpful idea that I think we hear a lot and we've all probably said it. So today we're going to repent and we're never going to say it again. It's this sentence. It's not about rules, it's about relationship. This is really unhelpful. And this is a false dichotomy.

The first thing is that this story about the Exodus is full of relationship. Please don't think that what happens at Sinai is like an email from corporate. This is ground zero for our marriage vows. It's that kind of covenant that's happening at Sinai. And the rules serve the relationship. But this isn't rules coming from a cold and distant God.

Let me read to you from Exodus 19 before you get any of the laws, we hear this. Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, this is what you're to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you're to tell the people of Israel. You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings, and brought you to myself.

Grace. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all the nations you'll be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me like a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you're to speak to the Israelites. This is dripping with relationship before the rules come.

But the rules come to serve. The relationship rules can help a relationship flourish. If you don't believe me, break the rules and see what happens to your relationships.

And then maybe next time let's let's say we're in a relationship and and I gossip about you, and you find out that I was talking about you and not to you, and then you come to me and say, hey, that really hurt that you were talking about me and not to me. How would it feel if I said to you?

Yeah, well, it's not about the rules. It's about the relationship. You'd be like, I know, and you're screwing up our relationship by not keeping the rules. You can't talk about me. You've got to talk to me. So this false dichotomy of rules versus relationship, it just needs to come down. So we repent, Lord, and we're not going to say that anymore.

Another thing that seems to be a hurdle and attitude that comes up as we make our way through the law, is that there's just too many laws, and there are two detailed, like God appears to be some sort of micromanager that just doesn't respect your space or trust your interpretation, because there's a lot of detailed instruction that for an American, we resist and think, wow, this is cramping my style.

I'd like to take it and make it my own. Cut the sleeves off. Well, no, you don't get permission to do that. Context, in this sense is so key. The world that the Israelites lived in was just full of guesswork. People groping around, looking in a dark room for some sort of switch, always wondering what the gods wanted.

Trying to forecast what they would do next. And the clarity and the detail of the law is kindness. Look at this ancient prayer that comes from the same time as the Exodus. It's in Akkadian, which is the language of Babylon and Assyria. And and it dates to the same time. Listen to the angst in this prayer, and then think again about the details in the law.

Because clarity can be kindness. Citizens came and they've got like a writer, and the writer is kind of intimidating. It's like a lot of pages. And when I finally sat with Zach, he was like, look, we have to send that. But please, if at any point you can't fulfill these requests, could you just phone me because we don't need some of this stuff?

But then what you find out when you ask them about the writer is there's a story behind every request on it. There is a context to every request. There's a story of something gone wrong, and the clarity of requesting these things is for the sake of relationships so that they can bring themselves and we can receive the best of it.

And we aren't running around wondering what is needed. Look at this, this prayer. May my Lords angry heart be reconciled. May the God I do not know be reconciled. May the goddess I do not know be reconciled. May the God, whoever he is, be reconciled. May the goddess, whoever she is, be reconciled. Oh Lord, many are my wrongs.

Great! My sins. Oh my God, many are my wrongs great. My sins. Oh my goddess, many are my wrongs great. My sins. Oh God, whoever you are, many are my wrongs. Greater my sins. Oh goddess. Whoever you are. And many are my wrongs. Great. My sins. I do not know what wrongs I have done. I do not know what sin I have committed.

I do not know what abomination I have perpetrated. I do not know what taboo I have violated. This is the context of the law. So much uncertainty, so much. You know what? You know what gets me about this mindless repetition?

It felt as I read it, I was like, this is like me trying to figure out what my password is.

You can just tell in the in the prayer, it's like God. 27 exclamation mark goddess 27 double exclamation mark God or goddess 27 exclamation mark. It's torturous. And this is what Moses is saying. Oh, the nations are going to look on and be like, wow! They know where they stand with God. And not only has God told them, don't do this, God's provided a sacrificial system for not just their sins to be revealed, but for their sins to be removed and for them to know what they did and to know where they stand.

The the nations of the earth are going to be like, look at that.

God is 27.

God's clear vision was a relief for them. So anytime you look at it and go, man, there's a lot of these laws and there's a lot of details, understand that they might not have had the same response to that. The other thing you need to know is you read 613 laws. Is that until until now, Exodus Israel is a family, a growing family, like a people group.

But they're about to become a holy nation. So they cross over here. Here is the moment where they cross over into nation status. So there's land laws. There is laws about leadership. There is moral law, civil law, ceremonial laws that affect life and business and agriculture and cooking and diet and dress and worship and government. There's a lot of laws, but they're going right here.

Understand this, that God's not just addressing their spiritual needs. They're going from a swarm of people to a congregation. They will leave Sinai marching like an army. They came to Sinai as a swarm of slaves. That's literally the word at the beginning of Exodus. The same word used to describe the locusts is the word that God uses to describe the people.

This is a swarm of slaves. And of course, there's going to be many laws. And of course there's going to be detailed laws, and many have broken up those laws in an attempt to figure out how these laws relate to the Christian. Many have broken these laws up into moral laws, ceremonial laws and civic laws. And I think this is really helpful, but I don't actually think that it's water tight.

And I'll describe why the civil laws are those intended for Israel as a nation, and thus are not applicable to Christians today. This would include feasts, capital punishment, laws, etc. there were ceremonial laws. Those are related to the sacrificial system. And since these have all been fulfilled by Christ's sacrifice, they're no longer applicable either. And moral laws. Those are ethical principles that transcend time and culture and thus are still applicable to us as Christians today.

The problem with this breakdown, although helpful, how many of you have heard like the moral laws are for us today? But the civic and ceremonial laws are no longer for the Christian today. Have you heard this framework before? I think it's actually really helpful, but I actually feel like there is a lot of overlap between these categories, and there's morality involved in every one of them, so it's not that clean and tidy.

Which brings me to the biggest issue I think we have with the law is the charge of inconsistency or the issue of inconsistency. People picking and choosing laws that support their agenda. So we've seen a number of Ice protests, and if you see photos from an Ice protest, you're going to see Leviticus 19. This is a part of the law.

And it says the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native born. Love them as yourself. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 1934. What you'll never see at an Ice protest is Leviticus 2416, which basically says, whether you're a foreigner or native born, if you blaspheme, the Lord will stone you. The whole community will be involved in your execution.

Leviticus 2416 has never been at an Ice protest. Come with me over to the pride parade. And this guy is there. You know this guy and he's saying, Leviticus 1822 that a man shouldn't lay with another man as with a woman, because this is an abomination to the Lord. And you know how you stick it to this guy.

You go up to this guy and you say, yeah, well, are you wearing polyester? And did you have shrimp tacos today? And have you ever thrown a football? Because the law also says you shouldn't have mixed fabric, eat shellfish or touch a pig. And what is the person saying to this guy? You're cherry picking, bro. You're taking the ones out of the law that support your agenda.

And so are you. So is there a consistent way to relate to the law that keeps us from cherry picking the ones we like and getting the rid of the ones we don't? Just going. This one about boiling a baby goat in its mother's milk is, well, I don't have that problem in my life. I don't actually know what to do with that.

I think the most consistent way to approach this is is fairly simple. Whatever law is repeated in the New Testament through Jesus or the apostles is still binding upon Christians.

We don't keep a law because it's moral, but because the morality of it is repeated in the New Covenant. So it's not like, oh, we discovered this law and it's a moral one, so we'll hold on to it. It's the morality of it is repeated in the New Testament, and that's why we're holding on to it and saying it's binding for us today.

The Ten Commandments, which Glenn will speak on next week, each one of them is repeated in the New Testament, except for one. Do you know the one? Number four. I think it's four. Yeah, it's the Sabbath day not repeated in the the New Testament. So Glenn will sort that out for you next week.

We look at the Old Testament and we still treat it as authoritative, but we view it through a gospel lens.

Glenn found this quote from Thomas Schreiner, and it says, the old covenant is over. The Old Testament is authoritative, and I think it communicates the tension and the balance. Here's further help and understanding like, well, what do I do? I get that there's hurdles, I get that I'm not getting it. But what do I do when I read these obscure laws?

This comes from David Dorsey. And he recommends taking these four steps. That won't sound so easy. Actually, it sounds like an academic wrote these. But number one, remind yourself that the law is not my law, that I'm not legally bound by it, that it's one of the laws that God issued to ancient Israel as a part of his covenant with them.

And then step two determine the original meaning, significance, and purpose of the law. And then step three determine the theological significance of the law. I know you guys are probably going like, whoa, I can't even remember these, let alone do these. If this is supposed to be the helpful part of your sermon, it's not. But number four, determine the practical implications of the theological insights gained from this law for your own New Testament circumstances.

So as we go through the Old Testament, we're asking this question what does this teach us about God? What does this teach us about his mercy and justice, his zeal for purity and order? What can we take from this? And listen to me if you're if you're like, overwhelmed with the four simple steps that I just gave you, you do this already, I promise you.

Do you? You've been doing it for a really long time because our kids are next door and hopefully they're learning about David and Goliath, but hopefully none of them take as the moral of the story that they need to find the tallest kid on the playground tomorrow and stone him and then scream uncircumcised Philistine and take his lunch?

No. From a young age, you've been reading Old Testament stories and doing exactly what he said. No, this teaches us all kinds of things. This is this teaches us to trust Yahweh even in the face of giants who are mocking him. This teaches us not to despise youth. This teaches us.

To even when the crowds won't go with you, to stand with God, because you won't be put to shame. This teaches you to go to war, even when all you've got is a slingshot. And we know exactly how this works. We do it all the time. You do this and you can keep doing this even with things that say, don't boil a goat in its mother's milk.

As we close in, the worship team comes up.

John Calvin talked about this threefold purpose of the law, and I'd like to add a fourth to it today. John Calvin said that the law in the Old Testament is a mirror, that it reveals sin. It reflects God's perfect righteousness, and it highlights our sinfulness. He also talks about the laws of restraint for evil. The law curbs the evil by imposing restrictions and penalties and protecting the rights of the protecting the righteous.

And it's also a guide. The law instructs believers on what's God, what's pleasing to God and provides a guide for us. But fourthly, this law points us to Jesus as Christians. Jesus, the one who succeeded in all the ways that we've failed, the one who fulfilled the moral law, the ceremonial law, the civic law, because people like us were struggling to figure out what to do with it.

Jesus says that he fulfilled the law. He didn't abolish it. Do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the prophets. I've come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

He fulfilled them by perfectly obeying.

And accomplishing the prophecies made about him, and becoming a perfect sacrifice that would end the sacrificial system.

Paul puts it this way, that we've been released from the law to serve in the new way of the spirit, but now dying to what? What once bound us, dying to what once bound us. We have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the spirit, and not on the old way of the written code.

We're going to end our service by rejoicing in what Christ has done. We're also going to end our service by remembering what Christ has done and coming to the communion table where we remember his perfect sacrifice, the sacrifice that would end the sacrificial system, all the other sacrifices made for thousands of years, just simply pointed to him in the sacrifice that he made, which could atone for our sins.

And so we come, and we receive the cup, his blood, and we take the bread, his body broken for us, because he succeeded in all the ways that we've failed.