GOD SETS HIS PEOPLE FREE: THE GOSPEL IN EXODUS

Exodus 20:1-4           And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

The Old Testament is not just a list of all the Laws of God. It is not devoid of the grace, mercy, and peace of God. The 39 books do not begin and end with the Ten Commandments. The Word of God contains Law and Gospel, always has both Law and Gospel, no matter where it is written in both Testaments. There is, was, and always will be Gospel even in the supposed fire and brimstone of all the Old Testament, and there is Law, with fire and dread, with the Gospel on the New Testament. We need to be reminded of this over and over again, so we do not fall into the false belief that the Father is only a mad parent and the Son is a permissive and loving son.

This Lent we will take a close look at the second book of Moses, that second scroll from the Old Testament, that book that contains the summary of God’s Law given at Mount Sinai, those Ten Commandments. We will see clearly and obviously that God the Father has, is, and will be dealing with His people in grace. He has been sharing His Gospel throughout time. Exodus tells the story of God lovingly, fully, and wonderfully forgiving and caring for His own.

We see this in shorthand even in His initial proclamation of the Law from the mountaintop. Before that first rule is given God starts with a declaration of Gospel, pure and certain. I am the Lord your God. No matter the sin and brokenness of the children of Israel, God still claims them as His own. He wants them as His children. That is enough, but God never stops with the minimum.

I brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He not only claims them, He gives them the treasure of freedom. This is not just freedom from political and economic oppression. They will learn that the freedom extends to a release from sin, guilt, punishment, and death itself. He has done this, and will continue to accomplish this glorious work, until the end of time itself.

We have seen this worked out in the life of Christ, the topic, center, and worker of that salvation. He knows the Gospel is accomplished fact. We will see this Gospel of the Savior of man, from the start of salvation in Exodus to the life of Christ this Lent. So we will again have an appreciation and praise for the God who is our Savior, our Lord, our God, and our Life.

In His peace,

Pastor Red