Sermon Follow-Up
What an incredible time of worship we had this past Sunday as we kicked off our new sermon series on the 10 Commandments! While what we unpacked from Exodus 19 was an introductory message, what we learned (or were reminded of) was integral to our understanding of the 10 Commandments and their application in our own lives!
To highlight a couple of points from Sunday that I pray “stick” with us as we journey through Exodus 20:1-17 over the next several weeks, I wanted to take a moment to remind you that:
To highlight a couple of points from Sunday that I pray “stick” with us as we journey through Exodus 20:1-17 over the next several weeks, I wanted to take a moment to remind you that:
- Regeneration precedes regulation. We’re saved and then commanded! It’s absolutely imperative that we do not get that out of order.
- Obeying the Law of God is NOT the source of our redemption, it’s the fruit of it. We do not follow the 10 Commandments so that the Lord will love us, we do so because He loves us.
"The law was given that grace might be sought. Grace was given that the law may be fulfilled" - Augustine
Keep in mind that before the law is given in Exodus 20, our Lord reminds Israel in chapter 19 that they had already been delivered from captivity, and they were already a chosen people, a treasured possession, a kingdom of Priest, and a holy people set apart for Gods purposes (Ex 19:4-6)
Keeping the Law wouldn’t make them what they weren’t yet, but it would enable them to be what they already were in God’s eyes!
Isn’t it interesting that in our sermon series in 1st Peter, the Holy Spirit inspired Simon Peter to identify the New Testament Church in the same way?
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9
Saints, much like Old Testament Israel, our own obedience the 10 Commandments doesn’t make us what we are not yet but enables us to be who we already are!
With that being said, I wish that we’d have had more time to work through the remainder of chapter 19, as it is rich with foundational truth that transforms how we view and apply the 10 Commandments. I encourage you to study verses 7 through 25 on your own this week.
To prayerfully assist you in your study, I would like to share a couple of thoughts that I had on the verses that we didn’t have time to cover on Sunday, particularly the passages that instructed the Israelites on how they should approach the Lord.
This is no small matter, and I think that many of the principles found in our text in regard to Israel certainly apply to us.
I find it compelling that before Israel could approach the Lord and thus receive the 10 Commandments, our Lord dictated exactly how that should happen.
In order to approach the Lord rightly, they had to do so on His terms, not their own.
Does that not remain true for us? I think so and I think we’d be wise to consider how the Lord commanded the Israelites to prepare themselves to hear from Him and receive the 10 Commandments as we have the opportunity this week to prepare ourselves to hear from Him and study these commandments ourselves.
Notice first that in their preparation, consecration is required.
“The Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them…” – Exodus 19:10
The Hebrew word used here is from the same root as the word Holy.
It means to be ceremonial clean or pure, to be set apart from that which is profane and dedicated or consecrated to that which is holy.
One of the New Testament words which carries the same meaning is “sanctify,”
God tells Moses to consecrate the people, to set them apart, to purify them, so they will be prepared to meet with God.
We do not know in exact detail exactly what it was that Moses did to consecrate them, what is of importance is that we note they had to be set apart before they were ready to meet with God.
There were two specific things God told them to do.
They were to wash their clothes. By washing their clothes, the Israelites were demonstrating their understanding that God was Holy and that to meet with Him required holiness.
They were to refrain from sexual activity. Not that sexual activity within the bonds of marriage was in anyway unclean, but as they prepared to meet God, as they prepared themselves spiritually, they were to abstain from any personal indulgence which would take their heart and mind off of God.
The principle that we have here for us is that meeting with God requires personal preparation.
It means approaching Him with an undivided heart and mind. It means not allowing anything else, no matter how blessed or wonderful it may be, to distract us from preparing to hear from our God.
In the New Testament, we find that preparing to meet with the Lord and hear from Him is not merely an Old Testament idea.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:8-10
Approaching God still requires consecration.
We also see that approaching our Lord demands veneration
This speaks to how we view God.
“Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death… The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die. Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them.” Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it.” And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them." - Exodus 19:12, 21-25
Here we find God telling the Israelites to keep their distance from the mountain. God tells Moses to set limits all around so that the people would not go up and touch the mountain. If they broke those prescribed barriers, they would incur the death penalty.
While it may seem harsh to the modern ear to hear the penalty that was put in place for disobedience, there is a principle of massive importance being communicated in the Lord establishing boundaries around the mountain.
This would teach the people that God was different from them as was not to be approached lightly.
Again, does this principle not apply today?
It is my conviction that the modern Christian, in general, approaches the God of Moses far too flippantly. He is Holy! He is mighty! He is our God!
As we prepare ourselves to meet with God corporately this coming Sunday, let’s consecrate ourselves and determine that we will not be found taking the worship of the one true King lightly!
I look forward to diving into the 1st Commandment on Sunday (Exodus 20:1-3) and I hope that you’ll invite a friend to be your guest as we journey through this series together.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor DK Caudell
Keeping the Law wouldn’t make them what they weren’t yet, but it would enable them to be what they already were in God’s eyes!
Isn’t it interesting that in our sermon series in 1st Peter, the Holy Spirit inspired Simon Peter to identify the New Testament Church in the same way?
“You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9
Saints, much like Old Testament Israel, our own obedience the 10 Commandments doesn’t make us what we are not yet but enables us to be who we already are!
With that being said, I wish that we’d have had more time to work through the remainder of chapter 19, as it is rich with foundational truth that transforms how we view and apply the 10 Commandments. I encourage you to study verses 7 through 25 on your own this week.
To prayerfully assist you in your study, I would like to share a couple of thoughts that I had on the verses that we didn’t have time to cover on Sunday, particularly the passages that instructed the Israelites on how they should approach the Lord.
This is no small matter, and I think that many of the principles found in our text in regard to Israel certainly apply to us.
I find it compelling that before Israel could approach the Lord and thus receive the 10 Commandments, our Lord dictated exactly how that should happen.
In order to approach the Lord rightly, they had to do so on His terms, not their own.
Does that not remain true for us? I think so and I think we’d be wise to consider how the Lord commanded the Israelites to prepare themselves to hear from Him and receive the 10 Commandments as we have the opportunity this week to prepare ourselves to hear from Him and study these commandments ourselves.
Notice first that in their preparation, consecration is required.
“The Lord told Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them…” – Exodus 19:10
The Hebrew word used here is from the same root as the word Holy.
It means to be ceremonial clean or pure, to be set apart from that which is profane and dedicated or consecrated to that which is holy.
One of the New Testament words which carries the same meaning is “sanctify,”
God tells Moses to consecrate the people, to set them apart, to purify them, so they will be prepared to meet with God.
We do not know in exact detail exactly what it was that Moses did to consecrate them, what is of importance is that we note they had to be set apart before they were ready to meet with God.
There were two specific things God told them to do.
They were to wash their clothes. By washing their clothes, the Israelites were demonstrating their understanding that God was Holy and that to meet with Him required holiness.
They were to refrain from sexual activity. Not that sexual activity within the bonds of marriage was in anyway unclean, but as they prepared to meet God, as they prepared themselves spiritually, they were to abstain from any personal indulgence which would take their heart and mind off of God.
The principle that we have here for us is that meeting with God requires personal preparation.
It means approaching Him with an undivided heart and mind. It means not allowing anything else, no matter how blessed or wonderful it may be, to distract us from preparing to hear from our God.
In the New Testament, we find that preparing to meet with the Lord and hear from Him is not merely an Old Testament idea.
“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” - James 4:8-10
Approaching God still requires consecration.
We also see that approaching our Lord demands veneration
This speaks to how we view God.
“Put boundaries for the people all around the mountain and say: Be careful that you don’t go up on the mountain or touch its base. Anyone who touches the mountain must be put to death… The Lord directed Moses, “Go down and warn the people not to break through to see the Lord; otherwise many of them will die. Even the priests who come near the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out in anger against them.” Moses responded to the Lord, “The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, since you warned us: Put a boundary around the mountain and consecrate it.” And the Lord replied to him, “Go down and come back with Aaron. But the priests and the people must not break through to come up to the Lord, or he will break out in anger against them.” So Moses went down to the people and told them." - Exodus 19:12, 21-25
Here we find God telling the Israelites to keep their distance from the mountain. God tells Moses to set limits all around so that the people would not go up and touch the mountain. If they broke those prescribed barriers, they would incur the death penalty.
While it may seem harsh to the modern ear to hear the penalty that was put in place for disobedience, there is a principle of massive importance being communicated in the Lord establishing boundaries around the mountain.
This would teach the people that God was different from them as was not to be approached lightly.
Again, does this principle not apply today?
It is my conviction that the modern Christian, in general, approaches the God of Moses far too flippantly. He is Holy! He is mighty! He is our God!
As we prepare ourselves to meet with God corporately this coming Sunday, let’s consecrate ourselves and determine that we will not be found taking the worship of the one true King lightly!
I look forward to diving into the 1st Commandment on Sunday (Exodus 20:1-3) and I hope that you’ll invite a friend to be your guest as we journey through this series together.
In Christ Alone,
Pastor DK Caudell
Recent
Archive
2025
January
February
March
2024
October
November
December
Advent Devotion December 1stAdvent DevotionThis Week at North AndersonAdvent Devotion Day ThreeGiving TuesdayAdvent Devotion Day FourAdvent Devotion, Day 5Advent Devotion, Day 6Advent Devotion, Day 7Advent, Day 8THIS WEEK AT NORTH ANDERSONAdvent Devotion, Day 9Advent Devotion, Day 10NEED-TO-KNOWS About TonightAdvent Devotion, Day 11This WeekendAdvent Devotion, Day 12Advent Devotion, Day 13Advent Devotion, Day 14Advent Devotion, Day 15Advent Devotion, Day 16This Week at North AndersonAdvent Devotion, Day 17Advent Devotion, Day 18You Don't Want To Miss This Sunday At North AndersonAdvent Devotion, Day 19Advent Devotion, Day 20Advent Devotion, Day 21Advent Devotion, Day 22Advent Devotion, Day 23This Week At North AndersonAdvent Devotion, Day 24Christmas Day Advent DevotionThis Sunday at North AndersonThis Week At North Anderson2025 Bible Reading Plan