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.
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,
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,
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,
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,
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,
verse 22,
And whatever we ask,
we receive from Him
because we keep
His commandments
and do
what pleases Him.
And Psalm 119,
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,
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,
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,
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,
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.