COVENANT-KEEPING WORSHIPERS

Read Exodus 20:1-17, the Ten Commandments.

We see how the Ten Commandments break into two groupings, with the first four dealing with our relationship with God and the final six dealing with our relationship with our neighbor.

Most fascinating is the way Jesus further boiled down the Ten Commandments (indeed the whole Law) into a singular command: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Luke 10:27)

There’s something we should be clear about here at the outset. The commandments are not about becoming a law-abiding citizen, as is commonly thought. They are about becoming a covenant-keeping worshiper.

In that light, it’s interesting how the most important words in the Ten Commandments, indeed in the whole of the Law, are most often excluded from the commandments when we see them inscribed in public places and even in Christian literature. They are these: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Exodus 20:2)

The Ten Commandments do not begin with commandments. The Law does not begin with laws. It begins with relationship. “I am Yahweh,” God says. “I am the God who heard your cries and who brought you out of Egypt, out of the cruel slavery under which you suffered.” I am God. I delivered you. This is the most primitive taproot of our entire faith. This cannot be overstated. If our faith does not come down to something as simple as “I am yours. You are mine,” we are missing the core essence of the Christian faith and likely lost in some form of a counterfeit religion. 

-- Excerpted from “Wake-Up Call” with J. D. Walt 

#6294

WE HAVE AN OBLIGATION

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation -- but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.”  (Romans 8:12 NIV)

Obligation. It’s not your favorite word, is it? But that’s because we interpret it, or rather misinterpret it, in a negative light. Don’t think of it as something we have to do; think of it as something we get to do. Our greatest obligation doubles as our greatest opportunity -- surrendering our lives to the lordship of Christ. Can you think of any greater privilege than being used for God’s eternal purposes?

The word means to be legally or morally bound, and the best picture might be marriage. When you say “I do” at the altar, you are obligating yourself for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part. I’ve officiated lots of weddings, and I’ve never seen anyone enter into that obligation with anything other than joyful anticipation.

When we enter into a covenant relationship with God, we tend to focus on the fact that we are legally and morally bound to God, but God is also legally and morally bound to us. The gospel demands that we give all of ourselves to God, but when we do, God gives all of Himself to us. I’ll take that trade seven days a week, and twice on Sundays! It’s a covenant of blessing, and every blessing belongs to you in Christ. Every promise is yes in Christ. 

-- Mark Batterson in “If: Trading Your If Only Regrets for God’s What If Possibilities”

#6293

ALMIGHTY AND COVENANTAL

“I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself known to them.” (Exodus 6:2–3)

There are two names mentioned here. The first is the divine name Yahweh, usually denoted in English translations with the small caps “LORD.” This is the covenantal name the Lord gives to Moses out of the burning bush. There is a reflection of the covenantal transaction in which the covenant begins with the greater party declaring His name. The second name is El Shaddai, or God Almighty. This indicates that God is all-powerful. He is the God who can do anything He wills to do. There is no power greater than Him.

Here is the importance of these names. God is Almighty, and God is Covenantal. If God were only El Shaddai, He would be powerful but would elicit only fear. Seeing Him would be like staring into the face of a tornado that is ripping houses off their foundations.

However, if God were only relational, then we could be comforted by His presence, but we would never know if He was able to do anything about our situation. He would be with us, but He would be impotent to save us.

God is not only El Shaddai, but He is also the covenantal God Yahweh. He is almighty, and He is with us. He comes alongside us to comfort us, and He is able to rescue us. Moses came to the Lord in his darkest hour, and God answered by declaring that He is mighty to save. In the darkest hour of our sin, the Almighty God of the universe heard our plea. He has come near to us in the person of Jesus Christ. The Lord hears our need, and Christ is both with us and mighty to save. 

-- Donny Friederichsen, excerpted from an article entitled “The Names of God”

#6003

GOD’S GRACIOUS GUIDANCE

“To you, O Lord, I offer my prayer; in You, my God, I trust… Teach me Your ways, O Lord; make them known to me. Teach me to live according to Your truth, for You are my God, who saves me. I always trust in you... He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them His will. With faithfulness and love He leads all who keep His covenant and obey His commands.”  (Excerpts from Psalm 25 GNT)

A letter came from a minister who, [after hearing a call to mission work}, felt obliged to leave his congregation and denomination, and now, like Abraham, goes out not knowing [to what place or situation]. In his letter, he quoted from a hymn by Charles Wesley on the sovereignty and security of God’s guidance. Guidance, like all God’s acts of blessing under the covenant of grace, is a sovereign act. Not merely does God will to guide us in the sense of showing us His way, that we may tread it; He wills also to guide us in the more fundamental sense of ensuring that, whatever happens, whatever mistakes we may make we shall come safe home. Slippings and strayings there will be, no doubt, but the everlasting arms are beneath us; we shall be caught, rescued, restored. This is God’s promise; this is how good He is… Here is the verse from Wesley:

“Captain of Israel’s host and Guide
Of all who seek the land above,
Beneath Thy shadow we abide,
The Cloud of Thy protecting love;
Our strength, Thy grace; our rule, Thy Word;
Our end, the glory of the Lord.”

 -- Adapted from J. I. Packer in “Knowing God” (1973)

#5898

FREEDOM IN CHRIST

We can serve God out of a cringing feeling of failure to measure up, or we can serve Him out of gratitude for the work of grace He has fully brought into our life. Grace is by far a superior motivation to guilt. God doesn’t want us running holes in our shoes on some guilt trip. He doesn’t want us living life by some Levitical checklist of rules and regulations. He wants us to be free -- not just from sin, but from the chafing collar constraint that the Law clamped around our necks.

God wants us to be free, He wants us to live free, as Hebrews 10:15-18 indicates: “The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put My laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’  Then He adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’ And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”

Having the Law in our hearts as opposed to an external standard of stone is the primary difference between the New Covenant and the Old (Jeremiah 31:31-33). The power of God’s Spirit residing within us is sufficient for us to live fully, to live fruitfully, and to live freely, unfettered from the shackles of sin and from slavery to legalism…

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free, therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.”  (Galatians 5:1) 

-- Charles R. Swindoll in “The Preeminent Person of Christ: A Study of Hebrews” 

#5653

A NEW COVENANT

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah -- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”  (Jeremiah 31:31-34 NKJV)

“Then Jesus took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’”  (Matthew 26:27-28 NKJV)

The Hebrew religion was an unfinished religion.  That is one of the best proofs of its divine inspiration.  The prophets had the forward look [and] great things were yet to come.  As one of the most daring expressed it, the old and hallowed covenant, made by God at the Exodus, would be superseded by a new and higher relation; God would write His law into the hearts of the people; the old drill in outward statutes would disappear, for all… would know God by an inward experience of forgiveness and love.  

-- Walter Rauschenbusch in “The Social Principles of Jesus” [1916]

#4899

GOD’S COVENANT

“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’”  (Genesis 12:1-3)

The God who takes the initiative and speaks to Abraham also enters into covenant with him.  Not a business deal where two people sign a contract nor a handshake over a fair exchange, a covenant is more profound than either of the above.

A Bible covenant unites people to God and to one another.

-- Joe E. Pennel, Jr. in "The Upper Room Disciplines 2000"

#3931

GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS

Faithfulness comes from good stock. If ever a word had good parents, impressive grandparents, and sterling ancestors, it is faithfulness. That's because faithfulness comes from God Himself.


God. The God who made a covenant with Abraham and said, "I will be faithful to you." God. The same God who made a covenant with Moses and the Israelites and said, "I will be faithful to you." God. The very God who made a covenant with the entire world by sending Jesus Christ in order to say, "In Him, I am faithful to you." God is faithful. That means God keeps His word. God does what He says He will do. He makes good on His promises. God is true even when His people are not. Faithfulness is an old, old word. Faithfulness is a good word. It is God's word.


-- Allen R. Hunt in Nine Words




#3836

OUR FAMILY COVENANT

At the Singletary house, we have a family mission statement we all helped devise engraved on a piece of oak that hangs in the foyer.  Everyone who enters our house can see the sign which reads:

"This is the home of champions.  As Singletarys, we will always strive to do our very best in all we do.  We will strive to be honest and respect each other's feelings, property, and time.  We will always pray for one another, fight for one another, and encourage one another.  For our trust be not in our home, nor our money or status or knowledge, but in each other, and above all, in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

This is the kind of covenant more families could make with each other.  It serves to keep all of us focused on our family goals and reminds us of our relationship with the Lord.

-- Mike Singletary with Russ Pate in Daddy's Home at Last


#3433

"I AM THE RESURRECTION!"

It is Easter that is the signed covenant of all of God's promises to us. It is Easter's truth that will meet you on the highways of your own becoming, as you seek desperately to make sense of the tragedies which now and then punctuate our days.  It is Easter which gives Lent its meaning and assures that there is a future beyond our repentance.  It is Easter that speaks to us loudly and clearly the Truth sounded by the voice of God so long ago in response to Moses' question, "Whom shall I say has sent me?"  "Say that 'I AM' has sent you!"  Or, more correctly, "I am who I am" -- there is no deviation in Me -- there is no promise unfulfilled in Me -- there is no obstacle that can stand in My way, but for a moment -- I am the Lord of life and death.  I am the Creator and Sustainer, without whom and beyond whom there is nothing else.  It is in My truth that you go -- it is on My errand that you are sent -- it is in My name that you preach -- it is in My purpose that you live your days -- it is to My vision that you are called to aspire -- and "I will go with you now and always, although at times it may seem not.  Yes, you may be set aside for a time -- you may give in to despair because of the seeming shortness of hope on the near horizon -- you may be laid low by the seeming mismatch of your strength against the never-ending onslaught of obligation and challenge.  But YOU ARE NOT ALONE! I am with you, now and forever, and nothing you or others can do will finally thwart My love and separate you from Myself.  I am God.  I am Life. I am Tomorrow.  I am Resurrection!" 

 -- Rev. Gil Hellwig

#2964