Participants: Shelley Quinn
Series Code: 17SCM
Program Code: 17SCM000007A
00:13 Welcome to 3ABN's Spring Camp Meeting 2017:
00:25 Welcome to our 3ABN Spring Camp Meeting. 00:27 We've been blessed so far. Can we all say Amen to that? 00:30 Amen! And I know you're going to be blessed in this program. 00:33 A very important topic: Were the Ten Commandments 00:35 Nailed To The Cross? 00:37 And one of my favorite speakers - Shelley Quinn - 00:41 is going to divide the Word of God in a wonderful way 00:44 so please stay tuned. We know the Lord is going to 00:47 bless you tremendously. She's also going to pray 00:50 and so to give her the time she needs 00:53 because this woman of God knows how to divide the Word of God. 00:58 But we're going to pray for the Spirit of God to be in her life. 01:00 She's going to pray, but you continue to join us in prayer. 01:02 But before she comes to share from what the Lord has to tell 01:07 you today and how God has to lead and guide your life 01:11 we're going to have a song entitled The Power of the Cross 01:15 that's going to be brought to us by Celestine Barry. 01:18 After this song, the very next voice that you hear will be 01:22 that of Shelley Quinn. 01:47 Oh, to see the dawn 01:51 of the darkest day 01:55 Christ on the road to 02:00 Calvary. 02:04 Tried by sinful men, 02:08 torn and beaten then 02:12 nailed to a cross of wood. 02:20 This the power 02:24 of the cross: 02:28 Christ became 02:33 sin for us. 02:37 He took the blame, 02:41 bore the wrath: 02:44 We stand forgiven 02:47 at the cross. 02:59 Oh, to see the pain 03:04 written on Your face 03:08 bearing the awesome 03:13 weight of sin. 03:17 Every bitter thought, 03:21 every evil deed 03:26 crowning Your blood-stained brow! 03:33 This the power 03:37 of the cross: 03:41 Christ became 03:46 sin for us. 03:50 He took the blame, 03:54 bore the wrath: 03:57 We stand forgiven 04:00 at that cross. 04:21 Now the daylight flees, 04:25 now the ground beneath 04:30 Quakes as it's Maker 04:34 bows His head. 04:38 Curtain torn in two, 04:42 dead are raised to life, 04:47 "Finished" 04:49 the victory cry! 04:54 This the power 04:59 of the cross: 05:03 Christ became 05:07 sin for us. 05:11 He took the blame, 05:16 bore the wrath: 05:18 We stand forgiven 05:21 at that cross. 05:34 Oh, to see my name 05:38 written in the wounds 05:42 For through Your suffering 05:47 I am free! 05:51 Death is crushed to death 05:55 and life is mine to live 05:59 Won through Your 06:02 selfless love! 06:07 This the power 06:11 of the cross: 06:15 Son of God, 06:19 slain for us. 06:23 What a love! 06:27 What a cost! 06:30 We stand forgiven 06:33 at 06:36 the cross! 06:49 Ah... thank you so much Celestine! 06:53 Well I am so excited to have the opportunity 06:55 to present to you this hour what I hope will be 06:58 an eye-opening study of scripture... 07:02 one that will challenge an error that has been handed down 07:06 by the tradition of man. 07:09 One that has been received by many Christian circles 07:14 and accepted as truth. 07:16 I grew up believing that the old covenant was a covenant 07:21 of works and that the new covenant 07:24 in contrast was a covenant of grace. 07:26 And I was taught that the Ten Commandments 07:30 were nailed to the cross based on a single scripture: 07:34 Colossians 2:14. Let's look at that scripture. 07:48 Our objective this hour is to determine what was 07:52 and was not nailed to the cross. 07:55 You know, in the year 2000, two years before I became a SDA, 07:59 God led me on a study of the sanctuary 08:03 and His covenants. And this study... it was an 08:07 extensive study. But scripture exposed the counterfeit teaching 08:12 that had been handed down to me. 08:15 I found out that salvation had ALWAYS been by grace 08:20 and that righteousness was ALWAYS by faith 08:23 and that the moral law of God is still very much a part 08:27 of God's covenants. 08:30 It wasn't easy to change my mind. 08:34 Preconceived opinions effectively insulate our mind 08:39 against truth. So what I want to do right now 08:43 is let's pray and ask God to give us open-mindedness. 08:49 Heavenly Father, we come in the name of Jesus 08:52 and Father, we thank you so much for Your grace 08:55 and we thank you, Father, for this Camp Meeting 08:57 and this opportunity today 09:00 to speak about what was nailed to the cross. 09:03 Please send Your Holy Spirit to be our teacher, Lord. 09:06 Just get me out of the way. Speak through me, Father. 09:10 But in the name of Jesus I pray for everyone who is in 09:14 this audience or watching by TV, Internet, or on the radio, Lord. 09:18 Please give us open-mindedness 09:22 and give us ears to hear the truth that Your Holy Spirit 09:27 gives to us. In Jesus' holy name we pray. Amen. Amen! 09:33 To understand what was nailed to the cross 09:35 what we need to do is understand the progression 09:40 of God's covenants. So what we're going to do 09:43 in this hour is very ambitious. 09:46 We're going to take a rapid and sweeping review 09:51 of God's covenants. And in a race against the clock 09:54 we're not going to have time to look up every scripture. 09:57 So the scriptures will be on the side screens. 10:00 What we're going to do is answer three questions. 10:03 What is a covenant? 10:05 What was the purpose of God's covenants? 10:07 And what is the progression of God's everlasting covenant? 10:13 Now please don't get over- whelmed by the details 10:17 of this. What I'm asking you to do today 10:19 is sit back and see the pattern that develops. 10:23 See the big picture... 10:25 because until we see the big picture we're not going to 10:28 understand God's purposes 10:31 and His progression of HIS covenants. 10:34 In answer to our first question 10:36 a covenant is an oath-bound promise. 10:40 It is a solemn pledge to bless or serve another person 10:44 in a specific way. And God is the author 10:48 of the covenant concept. 10:50 He began it in the Garden of Eden. 10:53 In the Old Testament times people adopted and copied 10:58 that covenant concept. And with people, with human concepts 11:04 there are one of two types. 11:06 They were either bilateral where you had 2 parties involved 11:10 like a treaty or a contract or a partnership. 11:13 Or they were unilateral where there was only one person 11:18 involved. This would be a will or a testament. 11:22 Now this might surprise you - 11:24 at least some of you, particu- larly if you're watching by TV - 11:27 but ALL of God's covenants are unilateral. 11:32 Every single one of God's covenants is unilateral. 11:36 God is the only One who is making the promises. 11:40 Now sometimes His promises are unconditional. 11:43 Like to Noah He promised He would never flood the earth 11:46 again. Unconditionally. 11:48 To David He promised that David would always have a descendant 11:52 upon the throne. Unconditional promise. 11:55 But on other occasions God's promise-keeping is conditional. 11:59 It is conditioned upon a response 12:02 of mutual cooperation. 12:05 He requires faith to receive His promises. 12:09 Humans can only enter in into covenant with God 12:13 by accepting His offer with a response of trust 12:18 and faith and gratitude... 12:20 willingly submitting to the conditional terms that God 12:24 has set. We express our cove- nant loyalty and love to Him 12:30 by keeping covenant as He commands. 12:33 And within covenant context obedience is always 12:38 the pathway to blessings. 12:40 Now let me do a little sidebar here 12:42 because I know there are people who've been taught 12:44 the old covenant was bilateral. 12:47 That the people were making a covenant with God; 12:50 He was making a covenant with them. 12:52 I want to prove to you that God's covenants were 12:55 unilateral. We're going to look at a little language study. 12:59 What was the Old Testament written in? What language? 13:02 Hebrew. In the Hebrew the word for covenant is 13:07 beriyth. It means to fetter, to bind, to bond 13:11 and to obligate yourself. 13:14 It is used 280 times in the Old Testament. 13:17 Now two to three centuries before Jesus 13:20 the Old Testament was trans- lated from Hebrew into Greek. 13:26 That translation is called the Septuagint. 13:29 And you may have noticed sometimes it'll have LXX 13:33 for the Septuagint? That Roman numeral 70 13:37 is used because there were seventy Jewish scholars 13:41 who began the work of the Septuagint. 13:43 And these 70 scholars translated the first five books 13:47 of Moses. And when they translated this 13:51 every single time these 70 Jewish scholars 13:55 used the word in the Greek that means unilateral. 14:01 Let me explain. 14:03 In the Greek there are 2 words. One is suntheke. 14:06 Suntheke: this is when you have two parties 14:10 involved in the covenant. There's 2 terms in the Greek 14:14 for covenant. Suntheke is when there's two parties involved. 14:19 But diatheke is when there's only one person 14:23 involved like a will or a testament. 14:26 And these Jewish scholars used the word diatheke 14:30 every single time for all of God's covenants. 14:34 Now that's significant because it shows us 14:38 that all of God's covenants were unilateral. 14:42 And then in the New Testament - and by the way, 14:45 the Septuagint is quoted often in the New Testament 14:47 particularly by Paul, who was also a Jewish scholar... 14:51 But in the New Testament 14:53 any time that any of the writers 14:57 spoke of God's covenants - both the old and the new - 15:01 they used the same Greek word diatheke. 15:05 This is the word the Holy Spirit inspired them to use 15:09 to describe God's covenants. 15:12 So God is the One doing the promises. 15:16 So what is the purpose of God's covenants? 15:19 The unifying theme of scripture is that our Creator God 15:24 is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. 15:27 This is how He defines and establishes His relationship 15:31 with mankind throughout all the ages. 15:34 And the heart of God is always seen in His covenants 15:38 because He is saying: "I will be their God 15:41 and they will be My people. " 15:44 God's covenants contain His promises for people 15:48 who are willing to enter into an intimate relationship 15:51 with Him... and that's why we were created! 15:54 We were created to enjoy a relationship 15:58 of love and mutual trust 16:00 and one of unbroken fellowship with God. 16:04 But fellowship with God requires what? 16:08 Holiness. Fellowship with God requires holiness. 16:12 We have to be set apart from sin. 16:14 So when humans disobeyed sin fractured this relationship 16:20 but it didn't catch God by surprise. 16:23 Before the beginning of time God determined 16:27 to have this bond of intimacy with His people. 16:31 How? Through His covenant of grace. 16:34 Let's look at II Timothy chapter 1 and verse 9. 16:38 II Timothy 1:9. 17:00 Grace was given to us in Christ before time began. 17:04 Revelation 13:8 says Jesus is: 17:11 His blood is the blood of the everlasting covenant... 17:15 the covenant of redemption by grace 17:17 established by God before time began. 17:20 Christ came to redeem us and restore us 17:24 to fellowship with God. He's the everlasting gospel... 17:29 that one gospel that has abided throughout the ages 17:32 from Adam and Eve onward. 17:35 And God's covenants are the progressive revelation, 17:40 the unfolding of His one eternal plan 17:45 of salvation by grace in Christ Jesus. 17:48 Let me repeat that. 17:50 God's covenants are the progressive revelation, 17:55 the unfolding of one eternal plan 17:59 of salvation by grace in Christ Jesus. 18:02 Righteousness has ALWAYS been by faith. 18:06 The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah called God 18:10 "the Lord, our righteousness. " 18:12 The Old Testament prophet Isaiah said that "our righteousness 18:16 is nothing but filthy rags before Him. " 18:19 And you know, it is amazing to me that salvation 18:23 has always been by grace because the Old Testament 18:27 and the New Testament said "sal- vation belongs to the Lord. " 18:32 In the Old Testament there is a word - a Hebrew word - 18:37 that is the equivalent for grace. 18:40 And I'm surprised we don't teach on this word more. 18:43 But it is hesed... H-E-S-E-D. 18:47 Let's look at this definition of hesed 18:50 that is used 240 times in the Old Testament. 19:19 This is a rich word that you should add to your vocabulary. 19:23 Grace? People say: "Oh, there was no grace 19:25 in the Old Testament. " Two hundred and forty times 19:28 it's speaking of hesed, which shows us God's character 19:32 and His grace. So let's take a quick look 19:35 at the progression of God's covenants. 19:38 His covenant with Adam and Eve. They were created in His image; 19:42 His moral character was imprinted upon them. 19:45 They knew His love, they knew His will. There was only one 19:49 commandment that was needed and that was: "Do not eat 19:52 from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. " 19:55 In other words, don't try to be your own God. 19:58 Don't try to determine for yourself what is good 20:01 and what is evil. 20:03 And then God said: "If you eat, you're going to die. " 20:07 But Satan said: "Oh no, you won't die... 20:10 you'll be like God. " And they were deceived 20:14 by Satan and they disobeyed God. 20:17 And the curse of sin came on them and they lost 20:21 their covering of light... that Shekinah glory 20:24 that was from the Lord. And they realized they were naked 20:28 and for the first time in their life they experienced guilt 20:32 and fear and they recognized their need for grace. 20:37 And grace was put into action the moment man sinned. 20:42 God by grace killed a lamb to provide the covering 20:46 for their sin and their nakedness. 20:48 And He established the substitutionary system 20:51 of sacrifices to obtain forgiveness of sin. 20:55 It's obvious that Adam and Eve passed this knowledge on 20:58 throughout the generations. We see with Cain and Abel 21:01 and the others. But the animal's death 21:04 foreshadowed the substitution- ary death, the redemptive work 21:10 of Jesus Christ. Now let's look at Genesis 3:15. 21:13 God announced the everlasting covenant of grace 21:16 in the Garden of Eden. Genesis 3:15. 21:29 The Seed of the woman we are told repeatedly in the 21:32 New Testament was whom? Jesus Christ! 21:36 He is the One who would win the victory over evil. 21:40 He is the One who would destroy sin and restore paradise. 21:45 Now the covenant progressed to Abraham. 21:49 God promised Abraham that he would be the father 21:52 of a multitude and that all the nations 21:56 would be blessed through his Seed... 21:59 which Paul told the Galatians that descended Seed was 22:03 Jesus Christ. Let's look at Genesis 15:6. 22:06 We're going to look at the Amplified version. 22:09 Genesis 15:6. "And he - Abraham - 22:14 believed in... " And in the Amplified what you 22:19 see in the parenthesis is explaining the word before. 22:24 So to believe in in the Hebrew meant 22:27 to trust in, rely on, remain steadfast to the Lord. 22:31 "And He... " God... "counted it to him... " 22:35 He accounted it to Abraham... "as righteousness. " 22:39 As right-standing with God. 22:41 So the progressive revelation of God's covenant of grace 22:45 is that you would be justified by faith. 22:50 And Abraham was justified 14 years before he was circumcised. 22:55 Now let's look at Hebrews 11:8. 22:57 Hebrews 11:8. 23:10 The everlasting covenant of grace, this unilateral 23:13 covenant: God made all the promises 23:16 emphasizing what He would do. 23:19 But it was conditioned on faith. 23:22 It was conditioned on trusting in and relying on 23:25 and steadfastly following God's guidance. 23:29 Because of God's promised covenant blessings 23:32 Abraham obeyed. He left his countrymen, 23:35 his kindred. He even was ready to offer up Isaac 23:38 when he was tested. But he maintained covenant loyalty 23:42 to God. And obedience was his response of love 23:47 and appreciation for God's covenant blessings. 23:51 Now God takes Abraham's covenant after his death 23:54 and He renews it with Abraham's son Isaac. 23:59 Let's look at Genesis 26 verses 4 and 5. 24:03 God is speaking to Isaac, and God says in Genesis 26:4-5: 24:28 Abraham was justified by faith through grace. 24:32 The covenant blessings, though, were conditioned upon obedience 24:37 to God's voice. There was no written word at the time 24:40 of Abraham. Abraham spoke with God face to face 24:44 and he knew the principles of God's government. 24:47 He knew God's Ten Commandment law 24:50 and it is obvious that knowledge was passed from generation 24:54 to generation. When we look at the record of Genesis 24:57 we see that all of God's people knew His Ten Commandments. 25:00 For example, think about Joseph. 25:03 He knew he would be sinning against God to commit adultery 25:07 with Potiphar's wife. Jacob knew that it was a sin 25:11 to have idols in his camp and he got rid of them. 25:14 But now during the course of time what happened 25:16 to Abraham's descendants? They went into slavery. 25:20 They were in bondage in Egypt for 400 years... 25:24 just as God had said would happen. 25:26 And when they're there they cry out for deliverance 25:30 to God, and Exodus 2:24 says: 25:33 "God remembered His everlasting covenant. " 25:37 He remembered His promises to Abraham. 25:41 And God desired to share the very same covenant 25:47 relationship with the children of Israel. 25:50 Let's look at Exodus chapter 6 verses 2 through 7. 25:54 Exodus chapter 6 beginning with verse 2: 26:18 Now Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were familiar with the name 26:21 Jehovah or Lord, but they did not know by experience, 26:26 knowing that... seeing God as a covenant keeper 26:31 because they died before they saw the promises. 26:35 So now, speaking to Moses in verse 4 He says: 26:58 Any time you see therefore in scripture 27:00 or the word so this is a bridge 27:03 bridging what's just been said to what's coming. 27:23 In gracious hesed God powerfully redeemed Israel 27:28 bringing all of these judgments on Egypt. 27:32 And you know, after 400 years as slaves 27:35 in a pagan country where they practiced idolatry 27:39 God's people... it had been difficult for them to worship 27:44 as God had prescribed. 27:45 Over time they lost much of their understanding 27:49 of God's principles. But God graciously delivered them 27:53 from the bondage of slavery. He saved them 27:57 before they measured up to His moral standards. 28:02 Do you get that? 28:03 God saved Israel BEFORE they were walking 28:09 in obedience to Him in perfect obedience. 28:11 That was not the pre- condition of their salvation. 28:15 He delivered them through the Red Sea. 28:18 He brought them to the Mount of Sinai. 28:21 They were to be His covenant people 28:24 and enjoy the riches of the blessings and the inheritance 28:27 of Abraham. Let's look at Exodus 19. 28:32 Exodus 19:3-8. 29:29 He's relating back to His covenant with Abraham. 29:32 where He said to Abraham: "In you all the families 29:35 of the earth will be blessed. " 29:49 Now what had God commanded Moses to tell the people? 29:53 Simply: "Hey! I have saved you; 29:56 I have redeemed you in covenant love. 29:58 Now if you respond in covenant loyalty 30:01 by listening to My voice and walking in My ways 30:04 You're going to be My special treasure. 30:07 You're going to help Me spread the everlasting gospel. " 30:11 As Creator and Redeemer God wanted to establish 30:16 an intimate relationship with Israel. 30:19 He pledged His benevolence and protection 30:22 in exchange for their loyalty. 30:25 And the people responded I believe appropriately 30:29 pledging their covenant loyalty. 30:32 The people agreed to enter into covenant relationship 30:37 with God before He ever spoke the Ten Commandments 30:41 from the mountain. And this covenant was to be conditioned 30:45 upon hearing His voice. And obedience was to be 30:49 their appreciation for the sal- vation they'd already received, 30:53 an expression of their covenant relationship. 30:58 Now next in the history God now requires the people 31:04 to consecrate themselves. 31:07 He's going to appear on the mountain and He tells Moses: 31:11 "You tell them to consecrate themselves. " 31:13 The people had no sense of their own sinfulness 31:16 and they had no sense of God's glory and His holiness. 31:21 He needs to remind them that He is a holy God. 31:26 So He begins His "shock and awe" campaign 31:31 coming down on the mountain with thundering and lightning's. 31:36 And this is a pyrotechnic display of God. 31:40 And the mountain quakes and the trumped sounded loud 31:44 and long. This was all simply to humble the people 31:49 that they might revere the Lord 31:52 and to provide them a sense of His nearness 31:56 and His power to help them overcome sin. 32:00 But as the people trembled in the awe-inspiring presence 32:04 of God, God speaks Ten Command- ments to the entire nation 32:09 beginning with this preamble of love. 32:13 Let's look at Exodus 20 verses 1 and 2. 32:26 In other words: "I am your Redeemer. 32:29 I am the One who saved you. " Then God speaks 32:33 ten words... at least that's what it's called 32:36 in the Hebrew: aseret hadevarim. 32:40 And in the Greek it's called The Decalogue, which also means 32:43 ten words. Now it's interesting that we translate it 32:48 into English as commandments. 32:51 And the reason we do is the syntax, word arrangement, 32:55 indicates that these are commandments. 33:00 But the Ten Commandments were written in the future tense 33:05 which indicates that they are promises of God. 33:10 What was God saying? He is saying 33:13 "I am the Lord your God. I saved you; I redeemed you. 33:16 And I promise you, you'll have no other gods before Me. 33:20 You will not make idols and bow down to them. 33:23 You're not going to take My name in vain. 33:25 You will remember the Sabbath. You'll be excited 33:28 to come and spend this time with Me. 33:31 You will honor your mother and father. 33:33 You won't commit murder. 33:35 You're not going to commit adultery. 33:36 You're not going to steal. 33:38 You will not bear false testimony. 33:41 You will not covet. " Why? 33:43 Because that's what being in covenant relationship 33:48 with Me will be like. I am your Redeemer. 33:53 I am the One who will keep you from sin. " 33:56 The Ten Commandments revealed God's character. 34:01 The Ten Commandments revealed the people's sinfulness 34:07 but it also revealed their need for a Savior 34:12 and for the grace of God to meet His covenant moral standards. 34:17 So let's look at the rest of the timeline on the mountain. 34:21 The awe-struck assembly are shaking in their boots right now 34:26 and they ask Moses to be their go-between... 34:29 to be their mediator. 34:31 Did you know that this really disappointed Moses? 34:33 He knew... Oh, you guys didn't get it! 34:36 In Exodus 20:20 he said: "Oh, no, no, no... 34:39 do not fear for God has come to test you 34:43 that His fear may be before you. That His reverence 34:47 may be before you that you may not sin. " 34:51 Moses understood God's "shock and awe" campaign 34:54 on the mount. He understood God's character. 34:57 But the people still wanted Moses to be the go-between. 35:00 So he goes back up the mountain and God speaks to Moses 35:05 alone and He gives him words of a special covenant for Israel. 35:09 This covenant constituted the nation of Israel 35:14 as a theocracy. These words consecrated the nation, 35:19 set them apart for God. 35:21 And did you know that the Old Testament prophets 35:24 considered the old covenant as the marriage of Israel to God? 35:30 They believed that now God... the people would worship 35:34 and obey the Lord alone. 35:36 The principle of the covenant was simple: "Be holy 35:39 for I am holy. " And the purpose of the covenant 35:42 was: "As a holy nation I will use you to influence 35:47 the world. " There are five com- ponents in the Mosaic covenant. 35:52 Certainly the moral law, which was spoken before Moses went up 35:56 the mountain, but certainly the Ten Commandments. 35:59 The moral law was the heart of the covenant. 36:02 I think of it as the Bill of Rights for this new nation. 36:05 It called the redeemed to respond to the grace 36:10 that they experienced in salvation with a covenant 36:13 commitment first to God and then to the covenant community. 36:17 The first four commandments protect God's rights 36:21 as the covenant Lord... as their Creator and Redeemer. 36:24 And the last six protect the civil rights of the 36:28 covenant community. 36:29 Now the second component were civil laws. 36:32 These laws dictated the relationship with each other. 36:37 And these were ordinances and statutes for their civil 36:42 society but I guarantee you the judicial arrangements 36:46 for God's people were certainly far superior to anything 36:51 that were known at the time. And in fact it has become 36:56 the grand model that underlies much of modern legislation. 37:00 Thirdly, there were the ceremonial laws. 37:04 God spoke the ceremonial laws, the religious ordinances 37:08 dictating the worship. And Moses received a good portion 37:11 of the ceremonial law then on Mt. Sinai. 37:14 This expanded the existing system of sacrifices 37:19 and God added the annual Sabbaths, 37:22 these feast days and different things that foreshadowed 37:27 Christ's work. Now the fourth component 37:31 of the Mosaic covenant was God's righteous judgments 37:35 against lawbreakers. But the fifth component 37:39 is something we don't talk about much. 37:42 Those judgments were followed by the promises of God 37:47 as their King to undertake their guidance and their protection 37:53 by the provision of a special angel. 37:57 What does the word angel mean? 37:59 Messenger! So God had a messenger of the covenant 38:04 that was going to go with the people. 38:06 Let's look at Exodus 23 verses 20 and 21. 38:10 Exodus 23:20-21. 38:32 The messenger of the covenant was a manifestation of the 38:36 person of Jesus Christ. Many scholars believe this 38:40 including the widely-accepted scholar Matthew Henry. 38:45 Because all that was said about this angel 38:48 was attributed to the Lord. 38:51 So the covenant expectancy was that they would obey 38:58 and walk in obedience to Christ's guidance 39:02 and then the Lord would fulfill His good and gracious promises. 39:05 All right, turn in your Bibles to Exodus 24. 39:08 I want you to see this. Exodus 24.We're going to look 39:11 at verse 3 through 8. 39:13 Moses had been up on the mountain. 39:15 God had spoken the special terms of a temporary covenant 39:19 for Israel. And now Moses has come down the mountain. 39:23 Let's look at Exodus 24 beginning with verse 3: 40:28 Did you know that the Book of the Covenant is the 40:31 first-mentioned book of the written Word of God? 40:36 The Book of the Covenant is the first-mentioned word 40:40 of the written Word of God. 40:43 The people heard the covenant terms twice 40:46 and they had full understanding. But without one dissenting voice 40:51 they said: "All that the Lord has said we will do. " 40:54 You know, it shows to me two things. 40:57 First of all they were completely ignorant 41:00 of their own sinful condition. 41:03 And they were so self-confident that they could do this 41:06 in their own strength. But the ready acceptance of the terms 41:12 shows me that the Ten Commandments 41:15 were not new moral principles. 41:18 This was just sanctioning what was familiar to them. 41:22 The Ten Commandments - the principles of God's love - 41:26 were known to all generations through oral tradition. 41:30 And the civil laws must have appealed to their consciences 41:33 fair and right doing. 41:34 The ceremonial laws must have seemed like reasonable service 41:37 to the Lord so they say: "Sure! All that the Lord has 41:40 said we will do. " And immediately after ratifying 41:44 the covenant Moses goes back up the mountain 41:46 for 40 days and 40 nights. And God says to him 41:49 in Exodus 25 and verse 8... 41:52 Exodus 25:8: 41:54 "Let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. " 41:57 He wanted to be with His people; He wanted to 42:00 bless them and forgive them. And the sanctuary 42:03 was the theology of grace in a physical form. 42:07 The services of the sanctuary were God's remedy for sin 42:13 and the substitutionary death was the foundation 42:16 of God's covenants because God's holiness and justice 42:22 are behind His covenants. Holiness and justice 42:25 demand that guilty sinners die. 42:28 So either the sinner or the substitute had to die. 42:31 Then God tells Moses in Exodus 25 and verse 16: 42:42 The Testimony of God is His Ten Commandments! 42:46 Then God writes these Ten Commandments - Amen! 42:49 and He gives them to Moses. Moses goes down the mountain 42:53 and what does he find? The people have already broken 42:55 the covenant. They have fashioned a golden calf. 42:59 They've got a pagan worship orgy going on. 43:02 So in righteous anger Moses breaks that, but then God 43:06 tells him in Exodus 34:1: 43:19 So God engraves these the second time 43:22 and Moses puts them on the inside of the ark. 43:25 That's significant because the ark was the throne of God. 43:29 This... stone shows permanency, 43:31 so this was the foundation of God's government. 43:37 The mercy seat was over it, though, 'cause mercy always 43:40 triumphs judgment. So it was the third month 43:43 after the exodus from Egypt that Moses wrote 43:47 the Book of the Covenant. And then in the ninth month 43:50 after the tabernacle was done he wrote Leviticus. 43:54 And in Leviticus this is the book of the priests 43:58 basically. This was supplemental. 44:00 It wasn't in the covenant terms... it was supplemental 44:04 and it had the ritual directions. It also had 44:07 the dietary laws and other health things 44:11 that were just an expansion of what God had already told Noah. 44:15 But 39 years later on the plains of Moab 44:19 Moses repeats and reinforces this Book of the Covenant. 44:24 And this is what is written in Deuteronomy. 44:29 Turn to Deuteronomy 31 24 through 26. 44:34 Moses now... They've been wandering for 40 years. 44:39 So now Moses before he dies 44:41 he addresses the people several times 44:43 and he expands the terms of the Book of the Covenant 44:48 and he writes it in what they call the Book of the Law. 45:15 This Book of the Law... the handwriting of Moses. 45:19 Now people confuse the Book of the Law 45:22 and the law of Moses. The law of Moses was what? 45:26 The first five books of the Old Testament. 45:30 But the Book of the Law was what was written in Deuteronomy. 45:35 Let me show you this from Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary. 45:57 So here it is on the side of the pocket... 46:00 the side pocket of the ark as a witness against them. 46:04 But, oh, don't despair, Israel, because by grace 46:09 everything about the sacrificial system points to Jesus Christ. 46:15 And this Mosaic covenant was so needed because 46:22 it helped man as a preparatory work 46:25 to understand his sin and God's holiness. 46:27 It was intended to awaken their desire for knowing God 46:32 and to bring them to Christ. The purpose of the old covenant 46:35 was to get them to accept salva- tion by grace through faith. 46:41 So now, this Book of the Law 46:44 in Deuteronomy was always meant to be temporary. 46:48 Paul said that it was added 46:51 "until the Seed to whom the promise was made 46:57 would come. " Who's he speaking of? 46:59 Who's that Seed? Jesus! Let's look at Isaiah 42:6. 47:03 I've gotta get this in. This is a Messianic prophecy 47:06 about Jesus. Isaiah 42 verse 6. 47:24 JESUS is God's everlasting covenant of grace! 47:28 He fulfills all of the covenants. 47:31 He's the Seed of the woman; the Seed of Abraham. 47:33 He's the end goal of the Mosaic covenant. 47:36 He is the King, the descendant of David, 47:39 who will sit on the throne forever. 47:41 He's the Alpha and the Omega of God's progressive covenants 47:46 of salvation by grace and righteousness by faith. 47:50 And here is our question: 47:53 we... the new covenant is unilateral just like the old. 47:56 It is conditional just like the old, is it not? 48:00 The new covenant is conditioned on accepting Christ 48:03 as our Savior and walking in living faith in Him. 48:08 But are the Ten Commandments still the foundation of God's 48:11 government? Are they the heart of the old 48:13 as they were the heart... the heart of 48:17 the new covenant as they were the heart of the old covenant? 48:20 Let's look at Hebrews chapter 8 verse 8. 48:24 Hebrews 8, we'll start with 8. 48:51 God found fault with the people of the old covenant. 48:55 Israel's sad history of dis- obedience and covenant breaking 48:59 continued, and they twisted and distorted 49:02 His... obedience to His law as a means of salvation. 49:06 And they would rigorously follow the ceremonial regulations 49:12 but they would break the moral laws. 49:15 They were satisfied with external religion. 49:18 Are we? God desires His children to be one with Him 49:23 in spirit and in mind so He writes His commandments 49:27 on our heart that we will be like Jesus 49:30 and delight to do His will. 49:33 Jesus! Let's look at Hebrews chapter 7. 49:38 Hebrews chapter 7. I want you to look at verse 22 49:43 and - boy - underline this one. 49:45 Hebrews 7, we'll look at 22, 24, and 25. 50:18 Now pay attention: Jesus is surety 50:24 to us for God's covenant obligations. 50:29 All of God's promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 50:33 So Jesus is our surety 50:36 that all of God's promises are ours. 50:39 But Jesus is our surety for us. 50:43 Jesus is our guarantor 50:47 that we will meet our covenant obligations to God. 50:53 That's why Paul can write in Philippians and say: 50:57 "Hey, it is God who works in you to will and to do. 51:01 He will complete the good work that He has begun in you. " 51:04 Jesus is our surety! 51:08 It is impossible for a holy and righteous God, 51:12 our Creator, to take into His fellowship those who don't 51:16 walk in obedience. But the new covenant provides 51:20 a guarantee for obedience because Christ is our surety. 51:26 Christ undertakes the fulfillment of God's part 51:31 and our part. He gives us a new heart. 51:34 He puts His Spirit within us 51:36 and He causes us to be what He calls us to do... 51:39 to be. Jesus' death on the cross as our substitute 51:44 brought the new covenant in and made the old covenant obsolete. 51:51 The old covenant was ratified with the blood of an animal 51:54 that was symbolic of Jesus. 51:56 But the new covenant was ratified with the precious 52:01 lifeblood of Jesus Christ. Amen! 52:04 When He initiated the Lord's Supper Christ said 52:07 "This cup is the new covenant in My blood 52:11 which was shed for you. " 52:13 So Christ's death on the cross ushered in the new covenant. 52:17 Christ - our new covenant - nailed the old covenant 52:22 to the cross. The Book of the Law 52:26 from Deuteronomy and all of its supplemental ceremonial 52:30 laws that are found in Leviticus... 52:33 If the Book of the Law, Deuter- onomy, is nailed to the cross, 52:36 then Leviticus, those ceremonial laws have no purpose. 52:40 But not the health law... because the health law 52:44 in Leviticus wasn't part of the ceremonial law. 52:46 So the Book of the Law was on the side of the ark. 52:50 The handwriting of require- ments written by Moses 52:54 on a scroll, this temporary covenant 52:58 that had the symbolic rituals, sacrifices, ceremonial Sabbaths, 53:04 food and drink offerings: all pointed to Christ. 53:07 They were a shadow of things to come, a witness against them. 53:11 So let's look at our subject text one more time. 53:15 Colossians chapter 2. We'll begin in verse 14. 53:19 But I want to show you in context because people 53:22 confuse this so much. We're going to read through verse 17. 53:26 Colossians 2:14-17. 54:11 Food and drink offerings 54:14 that were in the book of Deuteronomy. 54:17 Part of the ritual... the ceremonial ritual. 54:21 Annual Sabbaths that pointed to Christ 54:26 and the work that He would do. 54:28 Is there any question that the Book of the Law 54:31 was nailed to the cross? 54:33 Now let's look at a parallel passage. 54:35 My time is nearly done. 55:16 Christ fulfilled the prophetic symbolism: 55:21 the sacrificial and ceremonial system. 55:24 His death abolished the ceremonial law. 55:29 The question: What was nailed to the cross? 55:32 As our ultimate substitutionary sacrifice 55:37 bringing an old covenant to the end 55:40 Christ had humanity's sin imputed to Him. 55:44 He paid our penalty. 55:47 Look at I Peter chapter 2 and verse 24. 55:52 I Peter 2:24. 56:10 Our sin and the old covenant, 56:15 the sacrificial, ceremonial, and civil laws, 56:20 like "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" 56:24 were nailed to the cross 56:27 but not the Ten Commandments. 56:31 The Ten Commandments are the foundation of God's government! 56:37 They are the heart of the old and the new covenant. 56:41 Christ died for our sins. 56:43 And let's look at I John 3:4 56:45 if we want to know what sins Christ died for. 57:09 Christ's death proved... PROVED! 57:14 that the Ten Commandments are unchangeable. 57:18 It was not the commandments that were nailed to the cross. 57:22 Because if God planned to do away 57:27 with the Ten Commandments 57:28 then Jesus Christ died in vain. |
Revised 2023-04-18