Life Under the Promise
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
One of the most pervasive misunderstandings that Christians have of the Hebrew Bible is that in the Old Testament people were saved by keeping the Law, but in the New Testament salvation is by grace through faith. The very first sentence of the Ten Commandments contradicts this idea. " I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery" (Deut 5:6). The 10 commandments, often called "The Decalogue," were given to Israel not so they could perhaps gain salvation by keeping them. No! The commandments were given because God had already redeemed them out of bondage, and God was now instructing his people how to live in light of their new freedom.
This is the fundamental logic of the Christian life. We do not obey to earn God's love; God's loves us, and therefore we obey. Human obedience is a grateful response to the divine promise, freely given in Jesus Christ, that our lives belong to God forever. We are called to live as those whom God has chosen for covenant fellowship. The Ten Commandments, grounded in a vision of love for God and neighbor, form us to live as God's covenant people.
As you prepare for worship, Read through the whole of Deuteronomy chapter 5 and consider the following:
When you think about God’s law, do you tend to think of it more as a burden or as a gift? Why?
How does remembering that God’s grace always comes first (before our obedience) change the way you see the Ten Commandments?
What are some ways you have experienced God’s redemption or rescue in your own life? How might obedience become a grateful response to that?
The Ten Commandments can be summed up as love for God and love for neighbor. Which side of this call—love of God or love of neighbor—do you sense God inviting you to grow in right now
As we come to worship and communion this week, how might you bring both your failures and your gratitude to the Lord who has already redeemed you?
Deuteronomy 5:1–7
Moses summoned all Israel and said:
Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. It was not with our ancestors that the Lord made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today. The Lord spoke to you face to face out of the fire on the mountain. (At that time I stood between the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
Read along with us this fall! Download our Deuteronomy Reading Guide here.