LOVE GOD MOST

EXODUS 20:1-3

June 15, 2014

Todd Chapman

Exodus 20:1-3 ESV: [1] And God spoke all these words, saying, [2] “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. [3] “You shall have no other gods before me. 

Traditional Views of the Law

  • OT Jews are saved by keeping the Law.
  • Law’s only purpose was to reveal everyone’s incapability to keep the law.
  • To keep me from having fun.

Healthy View

  • Faith in God is the foundation that inevitably prompts folks to happily obey the Law as an inevitable expression of their adoration of Him.

Jesus’ Summary of the Law

Matthew 22:34-40

Keys to appropriately understanding the 10 commandments (Law):

  • Look at the Pentateuch as a whole.
  • See the big idea of the Pentateuch:  God’s Covenant at Mt. Sinai with the Jews

God’s Covenant

  • God miraculously rescued the Jews.
  • God brought the Jews into a special, unique, personal relationship to Himself.
  • The Jews, as an expression of faith, were to obey the commands.
  • If the Jews, as an expression of faith, obeyed God commands they would enjoy a personal relationship with God that would make them eternally happy.

The 10

  • The 10 are rooted in God’s goodness.
  • The 10 are founded in God’s desire for an intimate relationship with us.
  • The 10 are established in God’s longing to make us happy.
  • The 10 are a description of how genuine faith ought to be genuinely expressed.
  • The 10 are not, and have never have been, commands given to earn God’s favor.
  • The 1st of the 10 is key, Love God Most.