Hello, I'm Shelley Quinn. 00:00:04.53\00:00:05.87 And we welcome you to Guarding Grace. 00:00:05.90\00:00:09.30 This is the first of two seminars 00:00:09.34\00:00:12.11 that we will be taking a deep look 00:00:12.14\00:00:15.91 at the topic of grace and how we need 00:00:15.94\00:00:19.51 to be on guard. 00:00:19.55\00:00:21.55 I am so excited that you're joining us, 00:00:21.58\00:00:24.35 and I hope you have a pen and paper, 00:00:24.39\00:00:27.09 'cause we're gonna move rather quickly. 00:00:27.12\00:00:28.56 We won't have time to look up all the scripture references, 00:00:28.59\00:00:31.76 but jot them down 00:00:31.79\00:00:33.29 so you can verify what I'm telling you. 00:00:33.33\00:00:36.00 You know, many Christians live 00:00:36.03\00:00:39.37 with an understanding of grace that is fundamentally flawed. 00:00:39.40\00:00:44.87 Hosea 4:6, God says, "My people are destroyed 00:00:44.91\00:00:49.51 from lack of knowledge." 00:00:49.54\00:00:51.15 We don't want to suffer destruction 00:00:51.18\00:00:54.48 because we don't understand God's grace. 00:00:54.52\00:00:57.82 So today we are first, 00:00:57.85\00:01:00.32 before we get into what we must do to guard grace, 00:01:00.36\00:01:04.29 we're going to expand our understanding of grace. 00:01:04.33\00:01:09.50 Two of the greatest heresies in the Christian Church 00:01:09.53\00:01:13.80 is first salvation by works. 00:01:13.84\00:01:16.77 That's what all pagan religions teach. 00:01:16.81\00:01:20.81 That's what all cult religions teach 00:01:20.84\00:01:24.21 is salvation by works. 00:01:24.25\00:01:26.58 But the second great heresy is that grace 00:01:26.61\00:01:31.55 gives us license to sin. 00:01:31.59\00:01:34.76 You know, while it is true to say that grace 00:01:34.79\00:01:39.69 gives us liberty from Pharisaical legalism, 00:01:39.73\00:01:44.23 it is an absolute distortion. 00:01:44.27\00:01:47.34 The devil's distortion of truth 00:01:47.37\00:01:49.74 to say that grace gives us license to sin 00:01:49.77\00:01:53.31 or that anyone who mentions obedience 00:01:53.34\00:01:56.91 is unlearned in grace. 00:01:56.95\00:02:00.72 Sin kills, God regenerates, 00:02:00.75\00:02:04.72 and God empowers us to live by grace. 00:02:04.75\00:02:10.13 We're going to ask and answer three questions today. 00:02:10.16\00:02:14.23 One, who are you trusting for your salvation? 00:02:14.26\00:02:18.80 Secondly, how do you understand 00:02:18.83\00:02:22.20 the covenant term of grace 00:02:22.24\00:02:25.77 and the effects that it has on our life? 00:02:25.81\00:02:28.84 And third, what is the relationship 00:02:28.88\00:02:32.71 between grace and obedience to God's commandments? 00:02:32.75\00:02:36.69 Now, in part two of this, in our second seminar, 00:02:36.72\00:02:40.36 we will consider how God keeps covenant 00:02:40.39\00:02:45.49 with those who keep covenant with Him. 00:02:45.53\00:02:47.60 Let's pray. 00:02:47.63\00:02:48.96 Heavenly Father, oh Lord, 00:02:49.00\00:02:51.27 it is so wonderful to be with my brothers and sisters. 00:02:51.30\00:02:54.14 Thank you for this message. 00:02:54.17\00:02:55.77 Thank you for grace, Father. 00:02:55.80\00:02:57.61 We ask in Jesus' name 00:02:57.64\00:02:59.17 that You will send Your Holy Spirit now. 00:02:59.21\00:03:01.68 Give us ears to hear what He has to say. 00:03:01.71\00:03:05.31 Let Him be our teacher in Jesus' name. 00:03:05.35\00:03:08.55 Amen. 00:03:08.58\00:03:10.02 Who are you trusting for your salvation? 00:03:10.05\00:03:12.79 Did you know both the Old and the New Testament say 00:03:12.82\00:03:15.82 salvation belongs to the Lord? 00:03:15.86\00:03:19.79 Let's consider a familiar passage. 00:03:19.83\00:03:22.33 Ephesians 2:8-10. 00:03:22.36\00:03:25.80 You probably know this well. 00:03:25.83\00:03:27.60 In Ephesians 2:8 Paul says, 00:03:27.64\00:03:29.97 "For by grace, 00:03:30.01\00:03:31.61 you have been saved through faith 00:03:31.64\00:03:33.54 and that is not of yourselves. 00:03:33.58\00:03:36.75 It is a gift of God." 00:03:36.78\00:03:40.02 The salvation that God gives to us 00:03:40.05\00:03:43.92 is first an act of God. 00:03:43.95\00:03:45.95 That's justification when He declares us not guilty 00:03:45.99\00:03:50.06 when we receive Christ as our Savior. 00:03:50.09\00:03:52.99 But secondly, it is an act of God 00:03:53.03\00:03:57.43 when He works in us to sanctify us, 00:03:57.47\00:04:01.20 to separate us from sin. 00:04:01.24\00:04:03.71 That's when we've accepted Christ as our Lord. 00:04:03.74\00:04:09.04 Both acts, the act and the work of God 00:04:09.08\00:04:13.72 are compelled 00:04:13.75\00:04:15.72 by His nature of self-sacrificing love. 00:04:15.75\00:04:19.75 God saves us by grace. 00:04:19.79\00:04:22.56 It is unmerited favor through the channel of faith 00:04:22.59\00:04:27.56 and Jesus Christ 00:04:27.60\00:04:29.36 must be the object of our faith. 00:04:29.40\00:04:32.37 Our trust has to be in Him alone for salvation. 00:04:32.40\00:04:38.14 He's the one who reconciles us to God. 00:04:38.17\00:04:41.64 So let's look at this again. 00:04:41.68\00:04:43.61 Ephesians 2:8, 00:04:43.65\00:04:45.71 "By grace you have been saved through faith 00:04:45.75\00:04:47.88 that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." 00:04:47.92\00:04:50.95 But then Paul goes on and it's like, 00:04:50.99\00:04:53.66 boy, he's hammering this point home. 00:04:53.69\00:04:55.49 Verse 9, "Not of works, 00:04:55.52\00:04:58.63 lest anyone should boast." 00:04:58.66\00:05:01.70 Do you know what he's saying? 00:05:01.73\00:05:03.13 There is absolutely nothing that you and I can do 00:05:03.16\00:05:08.44 to save ourselves. 00:05:08.47\00:05:10.87 Nothing. 00:05:10.91\00:05:12.24 He gives, we receive through the channel of faith. 00:05:12.27\00:05:16.85 And what we're doing is just accepting 00:05:16.88\00:05:20.35 by grace His gift of salvation. 00:05:20.38\00:05:23.08 Nothing we can do. 00:05:23.12\00:05:26.45 Nothing can earn our salvation. 00:05:26.49\00:05:30.06 And it is prideful to think that we could. 00:05:30.09\00:05:33.73 In Isaiah 64:6, 00:05:33.76\00:05:37.63 Isaiah says, 00:05:37.67\00:05:40.77 "Your righteousness, the best acts that you can do 00:05:40.80\00:05:45.91 to be in right standing with God 00:05:45.94\00:05:47.94 are nothing but filthy rags in the glory of God slide." 00:05:47.98\00:05:53.08 We cannot count on anything we can do. 00:05:53.11\00:05:57.12 Our lifestyle choices won't save us. 00:05:57.15\00:06:01.46 Are they important? 00:06:01.49\00:06:02.82 We'll consider that, but they will not save us. 00:06:02.86\00:06:07.30 We can't trust ourselves for salvation. 00:06:07.33\00:06:12.23 Only God can give us salvation. 00:06:12.27\00:06:15.64 Someone asked me once 00:06:15.67\00:06:17.21 to believe in righteousness by faith. 00:06:17.24\00:06:19.64 And I said, "Are you kidding? 00:06:19.67\00:06:21.64 Righteousness by faith 00:06:21.68\00:06:23.51 is the only kind of righteousness 00:06:23.55\00:06:26.28 that there is." 00:06:26.31\00:06:28.25 So it's interesting however, 00:06:28.28\00:06:31.29 Paul goes on in the next verse. 00:06:31.32\00:06:34.66 In Ephesians 2:10, he says, 00:06:34.69\00:06:36.89 "We're saved by grace through faith, 00:06:36.93\00:06:38.29 not of works, lest any should boast." 00:06:38.33\00:06:40.50 But then he says "For we are His workmanship 00:06:40.53\00:06:44.20 created in Christ Jesus for good works, 00:06:44.23\00:06:48.34 which God prepared beforehand 00:06:48.37\00:06:52.01 that we should walk in Him." 00:06:52.04\00:06:54.14 Do you realize you and I, God has prearranged 00:06:54.18\00:06:58.88 a plan for our lives, a path for our lives 00:06:58.91\00:07:02.42 and good works were recreated in Christ 00:07:02.45\00:07:05.95 for good works. 00:07:05.99\00:07:07.32 They are an essential element of our walk with God, 00:07:07.36\00:07:12.59 but good works don't save us. 00:07:12.63\00:07:14.70 They're merely the evidence 00:07:14.73\00:07:16.87 or the fruit of our salvation that 00:07:16.90\00:07:20.74 this is something God prepared in advance beforehand, 00:07:20.77\00:07:24.41 how we should live. 00:07:24.44\00:07:25.94 So salvation is by grace alone 00:07:25.97\00:07:30.58 that there's no question. 00:07:30.61\00:07:32.55 The Bible clearly teaches this. 00:07:32.58\00:07:34.82 It was in the Old Testament. 00:07:34.85\00:07:36.35 We'll consider that in a moment 00:07:36.38\00:07:38.45 as well as in the New, so let us examine ourselves. 00:07:38.49\00:07:43.79 Who are we trusting for salvation? 00:07:43.83\00:07:47.13 Oh, may we be like Paul. 00:07:47.16\00:07:49.33 Paul said in Galatians 6:14, 00:07:49.36\00:07:52.80 "But God forbid that I should boast 00:07:52.83\00:07:55.57 except in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ 00:07:55.60\00:07:58.94 by whom the world has been crucified to me 00:07:58.97\00:08:02.48 and I to the world." 00:08:02.51\00:08:04.41 The cross of Christ represents Christ 00:08:04.45\00:08:08.62 sacrificial sufferings for us, not our sufferings for Him. 00:08:08.65\00:08:13.22 So let's be like Paul, let us glory and rejoice 00:08:13.25\00:08:17.46 in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ 00:08:17.49\00:08:20.26 for our salvation. 00:08:20.30\00:08:22.10 So now our second question, 00:08:22.13\00:08:24.93 how do we understand the covenant term grace 00:08:24.97\00:08:30.04 and the effects that it has on our life. 00:08:30.07\00:08:32.37 In 2 Timothy 1:9, Paul says 00:08:32.41\00:08:35.31 grace was given to us in Christ 00:08:35.34\00:08:37.78 before time began. 00:08:37.81\00:08:42.08 Before time began, 00:08:42.12\00:08:44.05 grace was already part of the plan. 00:08:44.09\00:08:47.19 You know, God's everlasting covenant of redemption 00:08:47.22\00:08:52.76 was announced 00:08:52.79\00:08:54.66 before He laid the foundations of the world. 00:08:54.70\00:08:57.67 Revelation 13:8 says, 00:08:57.70\00:09:00.04 "The Lamb who was slain 00:09:00.07\00:09:03.07 from the foundations of the world." 00:09:03.10\00:09:05.61 Jesus has always been God's plan for us. 00:09:05.64\00:09:11.38 In Hebrews 13:20, it talks about His blood 00:09:11.41\00:09:15.45 is the blood of the everlasting covenant. 00:09:15.48\00:09:20.26 God humbled Himself. 00:09:20.29\00:09:22.99 He came down to earth and became a man 00:09:23.02\00:09:25.69 in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:09:25.73\00:09:28.10 He died to pay the penalty for our sins 00:09:28.13\00:09:31.43 that we could receive His gift of life. 00:09:31.47\00:09:36.00 Both the Old Testament and the New Testament say 00:09:36.04\00:09:38.41 salvation belongs to God. 00:09:38.44\00:09:42.68 I'm telling you, 00:09:42.71\00:09:44.41 salvation has always been by grace through faith. 00:09:44.45\00:09:48.62 Malachi 3:6, God says, 00:09:48.65\00:09:50.89 "I am the Lord, I do not change." 00:09:50.92\00:09:53.99 And Hebrews 13:8 says 00:09:54.02\00:09:56.12 "Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever." 00:09:56.16\00:10:01.86 Our problem in Christianity in general 00:10:01.90\00:10:06.47 is that some people see the New Testament 00:10:06.50\00:10:10.01 as a division, as a beginning, 00:10:10.04\00:10:13.17 like the Bible starts with the Gospel of Matthew. 00:10:13.21\00:10:16.75 No, it does not. 00:10:16.78\00:10:18.41 There is, the New Testament does not breach 00:10:18.45\00:10:21.98 the Old Testament. 00:10:22.02\00:10:24.19 God's Word 00:10:24.22\00:10:26.45 is both the Old and the New Testament. 00:10:26.49\00:10:30.73 We do not cast off or disown the Old Testament. 00:10:30.76\00:10:35.23 That was what the early church had to study by. 00:10:35.26\00:10:40.04 We should never look at 00:10:40.07\00:10:41.87 it as unauthorized or unworthy of acceptance. 00:10:41.90\00:10:46.61 Christianity says the Word of God 00:10:46.64\00:10:50.08 is both the Old and the New. 00:10:50.11\00:10:52.88 The New Testament is contained in the Old, 00:10:52.91\00:10:57.89 the Old Testament is explained in the New. 00:10:57.92\00:11:02.16 And Scripture is a progressive 00:11:02.19\00:11:07.16 unfolding of God's everlasting covenant. 00:11:07.20\00:11:13.00 This is something that the Lamb who was slain 00:11:13.03\00:11:16.91 from the foundation of the world. 00:11:16.94\00:11:18.97 He was introduced in Genesis 3:15, 00:11:19.01\00:11:22.51 and all of God's covenants, 00:11:22.54\00:11:24.38 both in the New Testament and the Old Testament 00:11:24.41\00:11:27.08 are described as DFAK. 00:11:27.12\00:11:29.22 You know what that means? 00:11:29.25\00:11:30.59 His covenants were not a contract 00:11:30.62\00:11:32.35 between parties. 00:11:32.39\00:11:33.72 His covenants are a will, a testament. 00:11:33.76\00:11:37.53 All of the promises are made by God. 00:11:37.56\00:11:41.40 And then He asks us 00:11:41.43\00:11:43.37 to come into covenant relationship with Him, 00:11:43.40\00:11:47.00 a relationship of covenant love. 00:11:47.04\00:11:50.31 And He asks that we agree to abide 00:11:50.34\00:11:54.61 by His government of love. 00:11:54.64\00:11:57.38 James 1:17 has always been one of my favorite scriptures. 00:11:57.41\00:12:00.48 It says, "Every good and perfect gift 00:12:00.52\00:12:02.82 comes from above, from the Father of lights." 00:12:02.85\00:12:06.32 That's an ancient Jewish expression for God is creator 00:12:06.35\00:12:11.13 of the sun and the light, and the moon and the stars. 00:12:11.16\00:12:14.83 But it says, "With whom," 00:12:14.86\00:12:17.33 speaking of this Father of lights, 00:12:17.37\00:12:20.04 "there is no variation or shadow of turning." 00:12:20.07\00:12:23.51 God never changed His mind. 00:12:23.54\00:12:25.87 He knows the end from the beginning. 00:12:25.91\00:12:28.01 And, you know, God is gracious to all. 00:12:28.04\00:12:31.05 He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust, 00:12:31.08\00:12:35.68 and God sends His Holy Spirit 00:12:35.72\00:12:38.45 to work on the hearts of all trying to convict them 00:12:38.49\00:12:42.62 of His, their need for salvation. 00:12:42.66\00:12:47.70 But in this particular seminar, 00:12:47.73\00:12:51.23 when we speak of grace, 00:12:51.27\00:12:53.94 we're talking about the covenant term, grace. 00:12:53.97\00:12:59.91 In the New Testament Greek, 00:12:59.94\00:13:02.68 grace is the term for God's commitment 00:13:02.71\00:13:06.95 to our redemption and salvation. 00:13:06.98\00:13:09.18 And in the Old Testament, sometimes people say, 00:13:09.22\00:13:11.52 well, grace wasn't mentioned 00:13:11.55\00:13:13.05 very much in the Old Testament. 00:13:13.09\00:13:14.62 Let me tell you, there's no word 00:13:14.66\00:13:16.32 that is so far 00:13:16.36\00:13:18.83 above what we think of as grace. 00:13:18.86\00:13:21.60 It surpasses grace, and it is the Hebrew word 00:13:21.63\00:13:25.83 for the Old Testament equivalent of grace. 00:13:25.87\00:13:29.14 And that word is hescd. 00:13:29.17\00:13:31.37 I've seen it spelled H-E-S-E-D or C-H-E-S-E-D. 00:13:31.41\00:13:36.18 It's used 250 times in the Old Testament. 00:13:36.21\00:13:39.35 And you know what's interesting about that word? 00:13:39.38\00:13:42.08 The word hesed, it's a covenant term, 00:13:42.12\00:13:45.69 but we cannot translate that Hebrew word 00:13:45.72\00:13:49.76 into a single English word. 00:13:49.79\00:13:52.49 You know what it means? 00:13:52.53\00:13:54.20 It means love, 00:13:54.23\00:13:57.87 covenant faithfulness, mercy, grace, 00:13:57.90\00:14:01.64 kindness and loyalty. 00:14:01.67\00:14:03.04 Let me give you an example. 00:14:03.07\00:14:05.04 In Exodus 34:6, 00:14:05.07\00:14:07.81 God passed before Moses, and He's getting ready 00:14:07.84\00:14:11.31 to proclaim His character to Moses. 00:14:11.35\00:14:13.82 And he says, "the Lord, the Lord, 00:14:13.85\00:14:15.55 a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, 00:14:15.58\00:14:19.05 abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness." 00:14:19.09\00:14:22.79 Steadfast love is His hesed. 00:14:22.82\00:14:25.96 This, it describes God's acts 00:14:25.99\00:14:30.73 of devotion to us, His loving-kindness 00:14:30.77\00:14:34.54 as a covenant keeping God. 00:14:34.57\00:14:36.60 Now to understand the effects of grace, 00:14:36.64\00:14:39.81 you have to understand the gifts of grace, 00:14:39.84\00:14:43.48 and the three greatest gifts of grace 00:14:43.51\00:14:46.11 are Jesus Christ and His merits, 00:14:46.15\00:14:49.28 which grace imparts the life source of our Savior to us 00:14:49.32\00:14:53.69 who became our righteousness, 00:14:53.72\00:14:55.92 our redemption, and reconciled us to God. 00:14:55.96\00:14:59.46 The second greatest gift is the Holy Spirit 00:14:59.49\00:15:03.16 and his empowering assistance. 00:15:03.20\00:15:06.23 Grace imparts life source of the Holy Spirit to us. 00:15:06.27\00:15:10.57 He works in us to will and to do God's pleasure. 00:15:10.61\00:15:16.01 That means obedience is by grace. 00:15:16.04\00:15:20.22 And then the third greatest gift 00:15:20.25\00:15:22.78 is the Holy Scriptures that yield knowledge of the Lord 00:15:22.82\00:15:26.79 and the power of His promises. 00:15:26.82\00:15:28.86 Grace gives us the life source of the Word, 00:15:28.89\00:15:33.40 which implanted in our hearts 00:15:33.43\00:15:34.90 has the power to save our souls and to have us 00:15:34.93\00:15:38.50 become partakers of His divine nature. 00:15:38.53\00:15:41.94 And if you understand the gifts of grace, 00:15:41.97\00:15:45.37 you'll understand the effects of grace. 00:15:45.41\00:15:48.78 Grace is God's divine power of salvation 00:15:48.81\00:15:52.08 to rescue us from sin and death, 00:15:52.11\00:15:56.32 to renew a right spirit in us 00:15:56.35\00:15:59.95 and to restore moral purity. 00:15:59.99\00:16:04.23 I want to share with you a definition 00:16:04.26\00:16:07.90 that God gave me for grace. 00:16:07.93\00:16:10.20 Divine grace is the unearned, underserved 00:16:10.23\00:16:15.14 gifts bestowed by a God of infinite love, 00:16:15.17\00:16:20.24 which provide His divine 00:16:20.28\00:16:23.75 assistance and supernatural power 00:16:23.78\00:16:27.35 unto salvation. 00:16:27.38\00:16:28.85 Hallelujah. 00:16:28.88\00:16:30.22 No wonder Paul proclaimed in 1 Corinthians 15:10, 00:16:30.25\00:16:33.66 "By the grace of God I am what I am, 00:16:33.69\00:16:38.16 and His grace to me was not in vain, 00:16:38.19\00:16:41.66 but I labored more abundantly than they all, 00:16:41.70\00:16:44.47 yet not I, but the grace of God 00:16:44.50\00:16:48.44 which was in me." 00:16:48.47\00:16:50.24 So our third question, what is the relationship 00:16:50.27\00:16:53.44 between grace 00:16:53.48\00:16:56.54 and obedience to God's commandments? 00:16:56.58\00:17:01.05 Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:13, 00:17:01.08\00:17:05.89 "God declared to you His covenant, 00:17:05.92\00:17:09.36 His will, His promise, 00:17:09.39\00:17:12.06 which He commanded you to perform 00:17:12.09\00:17:14.86 the Ten Commandments, 00:17:14.90\00:17:17.03 and He wrote them on tablets of stone." 00:17:17.07\00:17:19.93 So the Ten Commandments are God's covenant 00:17:19.97\00:17:23.57 and all of God's covenant 00:17:23.61\00:17:25.37 are like a will and a testament. 00:17:25.41\00:17:27.78 Did you know literal 00:17:27.81\00:17:30.01 translation in the Hebrew 00:17:30.05\00:17:32.91 is 10 words, 10 statements? 00:17:32.95\00:17:35.85 And in the Greek, it is also Decalogue, 00:17:35.88\00:17:39.42 which is 10 words. 00:17:39.45\00:17:41.22 They are written the commandments 00:17:41.26\00:17:43.49 in the future tense in a double negative, 00:17:43.53\00:17:46.76 which means they are promises, 00:17:46.80\00:17:50.40 but they convey an expectation of obedience. 00:17:50.43\00:17:55.27 So it was translated into English 00:17:55.30\00:17:58.54 as the Ten Commandments. 00:17:58.57\00:18:00.34 When God came down on Mount Sinai 00:18:00.38\00:18:03.88 to give these 10 promises to His people, 00:18:03.91\00:18:07.32 what was He saying? 00:18:07.35\00:18:09.28 He was saying, 00:18:09.32\00:18:10.79 "You'll have no other gods before Me. 00:18:10.82\00:18:13.99 You will not make idols and bow down to them. 00:18:14.02\00:18:18.26 You won't take My name in vain. 00:18:18.29\00:18:20.76 You will just cherish the Sabbath. 00:18:20.80\00:18:25.53 You'll be excited 00:18:25.57\00:18:26.90 to celebrate the Sabbath with Me. 00:18:26.94\00:18:28.70 You will honor your father and your mother. 00:18:28.74\00:18:31.47 You won't murder, you won't commit adultery, 00:18:31.51\00:18:33.58 you won't steal. 00:18:33.61\00:18:34.94 You won't bear false testimony, and you won't covet." 00:18:34.98\00:18:38.51 Why? 00:18:38.55\00:18:39.88 Because that's what living 00:18:39.91\00:18:42.72 in covenantal relationship with Me is like. 00:18:42.75\00:18:48.19 God defines in His Ten Commandments, 00:18:48.22\00:18:51.56 covenant love for our Creator 00:18:51.59\00:18:54.36 and covenant love for our neighbor. 00:18:54.40\00:18:58.47 And you know, I look at the Ten Commandments 00:18:58.50\00:19:01.54 as the Bill of Rights of God's government. 00:19:01.57\00:19:05.34 They are the... 00:19:05.37\00:19:07.98 How can I say it? 00:19:08.01\00:19:09.54 It's the Bill of Rights for a covenantal relationship. 00:19:09.58\00:19:14.92 God wrote them with His own finger on stone 00:19:14.95\00:19:18.85 both times after Moses 00:19:18.89\00:19:20.69 broke them in the second time. 00:19:20.72\00:19:22.52 And then He had Moses place those commandments where? 00:19:22.56\00:19:27.33 In the inside of the ark, in the Most Holy Place. 00:19:27.36\00:19:32.67 Do you know what that signifies? 00:19:32.70\00:19:34.44 The ark was God's throne. 00:19:34.47\00:19:37.24 The commandments were placed inside the ark 00:19:37.27\00:19:40.81 and the mercy seat was above it. 00:19:40.84\00:19:43.81 The commandments are the foundation of God's 00:19:43.85\00:19:47.48 sovereign government of love. 00:19:47.52\00:19:51.29 It is a law of liberty, but let me tell you something. 00:19:51.32\00:19:55.82 The commandments are not the Old Covenant. 00:19:55.86\00:20:00.00 The commandments are not the Old Covenant. 00:20:00.03\00:20:03.93 And I can prove that to you from the Word. 00:20:03.97\00:20:07.60 In the Word of God, the book of the law, 00:20:07.64\00:20:10.67 which is Deuteronomy, and that means second law 00:20:10.71\00:20:14.18 is the Old Covenant. 00:20:14.21\00:20:15.54 It started as the Book of the Covenant. 00:20:15.58\00:20:18.18 After God gave the Ten Commandments 00:20:18.21\00:20:20.32 to Moses, 00:20:20.35\00:20:22.18 then Moses goes back up the mountain. 00:20:22.22\00:20:25.19 God gives Moses civil laws, moral laws 00:20:25.22\00:20:28.99 and ceremonial laws. 00:20:29.02\00:20:31.26 And He tells Moses, now you go write this down. 00:20:31.29\00:20:34.66 Moses comes down the mountain. 00:20:34.70\00:20:36.50 He speaks in to the people, then he writes them out 00:20:36.53\00:20:39.50 and he writes them in something that is called 00:20:39.53\00:20:42.97 the Book of the Covenant. 00:20:43.00\00:20:44.97 This is not the Ten Commandments 00:20:45.01\00:20:47.24 that God wrote on stone, but the Book of the Covenant 00:20:47.28\00:20:50.21 which were based on the commandments. 00:20:50.25\00:20:52.21 And then he builds this altar in Exodus 24:7-8 says this. 00:20:52.25\00:20:57.79 "Then he took the Book of the Covenant, 00:20:57.82\00:21:01.66 read it in the hearing of the people. 00:21:01.69\00:21:03.66 And they said, 'All that the Lord has said 00:21:03.69\00:21:05.99 we will do and be obedient." 00:21:06.03\00:21:07.90 Which by the way was a good response. 00:21:07.93\00:21:10.37 And Moses took the blood sprinkled. 00:21:10.40\00:21:13.30 He takes the blood from the sacrifice 00:21:13.34\00:21:16.20 that he's just made on this altar. 00:21:16.24\00:21:18.41 He sprinkles the people with the blood, 00:21:18.44\00:21:20.88 and the Book of Hebrew said, 00:21:20.91\00:21:22.31 he even sprinkled the Book of the Covenant. 00:21:22.34\00:21:25.51 And he said, "This is the blood of the covenant, 00:21:25.55\00:21:29.75 which the Lord has made with you 00:21:29.78\00:21:32.69 according to all these words." 00:21:32.72\00:21:34.62 All these words are found after the Ten Commandments. 00:21:34.66\00:21:38.86 Exodus 20:22 through Exodus 23:19. 00:21:38.89\00:21:44.40 Then 39 years later, 00:21:44.43\00:21:46.67 when they had reached the edge of the Promised Land, 00:21:46.70\00:21:50.77 Moses repeats and reinforces the Book of the Covenant. 00:21:50.81\00:21:55.14 And he records it now in what is called 00:21:55.18\00:21:57.38 the book of the law. 00:21:57.41\00:22:00.18 And listen, what Moses says in Deuteronomy 31:26, 00:22:00.22\00:22:04.32 "Take this book of the law 00:22:04.35\00:22:07.42 and put it beside 00:22:07.46\00:22:10.66 the Ark of the Covenant 00:22:10.69\00:22:13.63 of the Lord your God, that it may be there 00:22:13.66\00:22:17.07 as a witness against you." 00:22:17.10\00:22:20.14 Now, you know, this is really an important point. 00:22:20.17\00:22:24.21 Where were the Ten Commandments? 00:22:24.24\00:22:26.24 Inside the ark, under the mercy seat, 00:22:26.27\00:22:28.74 the throne of God. 00:22:28.78\00:22:30.45 It was the foundation for God's government 00:22:30.48\00:22:33.11 that suggests permanence. 00:22:33.15\00:22:35.68 They're written on stone by God's own finger. 00:22:35.72\00:22:38.59 But this book of the law that is written on parchment 00:22:38.62\00:22:42.26 is put on the side of the ark 00:22:42.29\00:22:45.56 as a witness against the people. 00:22:45.59\00:22:47.70 This suggests a temporariness about it. 00:22:47.73\00:22:51.40 And Colossians 2:14, it says, 00:22:51.43\00:22:54.57 "Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements 00:22:54.60\00:22:57.21 that was against us." 00:22:57.24\00:22:59.57 Same words that are used in Deuteronomy 32:26, 00:22:59.61\00:23:03.95 which was contrary to us, 00:23:03.98\00:23:06.38 Christ has taken it out of the way, 00:23:06.41\00:23:08.98 having nailed it to the cross. 00:23:09.02\00:23:11.32 You see, 00:23:11.35\00:23:12.95 Jesus fulfilled the ceremonial law. 00:23:12.99\00:23:16.73 And He abrogated the book of the law 00:23:16.76\00:23:20.40 as the constitution for His people. 00:23:20.43\00:23:22.96 He delivered a new constitution 00:23:23.00\00:23:25.97 when He was on the Mount giving the Sermon on the Mount. 00:23:26.00\00:23:31.31 And let me tell you something, He did not repeal 00:23:31.34\00:23:35.08 the Ten Commandments, He magnified them. 00:23:35.11\00:23:38.71 What did he say? 00:23:38.75\00:23:40.08 He said, "You have heard it said 00:23:40.12\00:23:41.55 that you shall not commit adultery." 00:23:41.58\00:23:43.69 But you know what Jesus said? 00:23:43.72\00:23:45.22 "I tell you, if you lust in your heart, 00:23:45.25\00:23:46.86 you're already guilty of adultery." 00:23:46.89\00:23:51.19 And then He said, 00:23:51.23\00:23:53.26 "You have heard it said that you shall not murder, 00:23:53.29\00:23:56.87 but I tell you 00:23:56.90\00:23:58.80 that if you hold hatred in your heart, 00:23:58.83\00:24:01.94 you are guilty of murder." 00:24:01.97\00:24:03.81 So Jesus 00:24:03.84\00:24:05.27 expanded the explanation of God's commandments 00:24:05.31\00:24:08.68 showing us the spirit of the law. 00:24:08.71\00:24:12.11 And then he ratified the New Covenant 00:24:12.15\00:24:15.78 with His own blood 00:24:15.82\00:24:17.39 when He died on Calvary's cross. 00:24:17.42\00:24:20.46 So the Old Covenant 00:24:20.49\00:24:22.92 was contained in the Book of the Covenant, 00:24:22.96\00:24:25.49 which was then called the book of the law 00:24:25.53\00:24:27.56 after it was expanded. 00:24:27.60\00:24:29.90 But the Ten Commandments were the heart of the Old Covenant. 00:24:29.93\00:24:34.27 And you know what? 00:24:34.30\00:24:35.64 They are the heart of the New Covenant. 00:24:35.67\00:24:38.44 Let me read to you from Hebrews 8:7-10. 00:24:38.47\00:24:43.11 Hebrews 8:7 says, 00:24:43.14\00:24:46.11 "For if the first covenant had been faultless, 00:24:46.15\00:24:48.35 then no place would have been sought 00:24:48.38\00:24:49.88 for a second because finding fault with them," 00:24:49.92\00:24:52.92 not with the covenant itself, but with the people, God says, 00:24:52.95\00:24:56.89 "Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, 00:24:56.93\00:24:59.43 when I will make a New Covenant 00:24:59.46\00:25:02.36 with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 00:25:02.40\00:25:04.73 Not according to the covenant 00:25:04.77\00:25:06.10 that I made with their fathers, 00:25:06.13\00:25:07.57 in the day when I took them by the hand 00:25:07.60\00:25:09.97 to lead them out of the land of Egypt, 00:25:10.01\00:25:11.67 because they did not continue in my covenant 00:25:11.71\00:25:16.11 and I disregarded them, says the Lord." 00:25:16.14\00:25:19.45 Now Hebrews 8, continuing in verse 10, 00:25:19.48\00:25:23.28 says this, "For this is the covenant 00:25:23.32\00:25:27.16 that I will make with the house of Israel 00:25:27.19\00:25:29.26 after those days said the Lord. 00:25:29.29\00:25:31.36 I will put my laws in their mind 00:25:31.39\00:25:35.03 and write them on their hearts. 00:25:35.06\00:25:37.40 And I will be their God and they will be My people." 00:25:37.43\00:25:41.60 Are the Ten Commandments 00:25:41.64\00:25:43.10 binding on Christians? 00:25:43.14\00:25:44.51 Absolutely. 00:25:44.54\00:25:45.87 Listen to what James says, in James 2:10-11. 00:25:45.91\00:25:51.25 He says, "For whoever shall keep the whole law 00:25:51.28\00:25:54.32 and yet stumble in one point, 00:25:54.35\00:25:56.45 he is guilty of all." 00:25:56.48\00:25:58.12 What laws is he talking about? 00:25:58.15\00:25:59.69 He's getting ready to tell us. 00:25:59.72\00:26:01.16 Verse 11, "For he who said, 00:26:01.19\00:26:04.03 'Do not commit adultery," what law is this? 00:26:04.06\00:26:07.66 Also said, "do not murder." 00:26:07.70\00:26:09.36 He's talking about the Ten Commandments. 00:26:09.40\00:26:11.63 And he says, "Now, if you do not commit adultery, 00:26:11.67\00:26:16.14 but you do murder, 00:26:16.17\00:26:18.84 you have become a transgressor 00:26:18.87\00:26:22.48 of the law." 00:26:22.51\00:26:25.25 Ten Commandments are a part and parcel 00:26:25.28\00:26:30.89 of the New Covenant. 00:26:30.92\00:26:32.85 In Mark 12:30-31, someone had asked Jesus, 00:26:32.89\00:26:36.73 a scribe came to him and said, 00:26:36.76\00:26:38.36 what's the most important commandment? 00:26:38.39\00:26:40.26 And Jesus answered and said, 00:26:40.30\00:26:42.56 here it is, 00:26:42.60\00:26:43.93 "You shall love the Lord your God, 00:26:43.97\00:26:45.53 with all of your heart, with all of your mind, 00:26:45.57\00:26:48.87 with all of your soul, 00:26:48.90\00:26:50.97 with all of your strength. 00:26:51.01\00:26:53.14 And then he says the second like it is this. 00:26:53.17\00:26:58.98 You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 00:26:59.01\00:27:04.35 There is no commandment greater than this. 00:27:04.39\00:27:08.49 Then Jesus said in John 14:15, 00:27:08.52\00:27:11.73 "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 00:27:11.76\00:27:15.96 Love and obedience are inseparable. 00:27:16.00\00:27:17.90 Love fulfills the law of God. 00:27:17.93\00:27:20.20 If we love God, and if we love others, 00:27:20.24\00:27:24.37 we won't violate 00:27:24.41\00:27:25.74 any of God's Ten Commandments. 00:27:25.77\00:27:28.21 Jesus said, then He keeps going. 00:27:28.24\00:27:30.35 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. 00:27:30.38\00:27:31.98 And I will pray the Father, 00:27:32.01\00:27:34.42 as a result of you keeping My commandments. 00:27:34.45\00:27:36.69 He will give you another helper, 00:27:36.72\00:27:38.82 allos parakletos that he may be with you forever." 00:27:38.85\00:27:41.82 The spirit of truth with whom 00:27:41.86\00:27:44.43 the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him 00:27:44.46\00:27:48.96 nor knows Him, but you know Him, 00:27:49.00\00:27:51.57 for He dwells in you. 00:27:51.60\00:27:53.70 He will be with you, allos parakletos. 00:27:53.74\00:27:56.81 A parakletos is an advocate, a counselor, 00:27:56.84\00:28:00.28 a comforter, a helper, 00:28:00.31\00:28:02.21 and the word allos in the Greek 00:28:02.24\00:28:04.88 is important for another, two Greek words for another. 00:28:04.91\00:28:09.05 There is heteros, which means yeah another, 00:28:09.08\00:28:11.75 but not exactly the same. 00:28:11.79\00:28:13.66 Or allos one who is exactly like me. 00:28:13.69\00:28:16.83 And so what Jesus is saying 00:28:16.86\00:28:19.06 is that the Holy Spirit is the same quality, 00:28:19.09\00:28:22.26 the same character. 00:28:22.30\00:28:23.63 He is another person. 00:28:23.67\00:28:25.63 He is sending to live in our hearts. 00:28:25.67\00:28:28.00 The greatest gifts of God's grace 00:28:28.04\00:28:32.51 are Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit 00:28:32.54\00:28:35.44 and the Word of God. 00:28:35.48\00:28:40.02 1 Corinthians 10:12, Paul says, "Therefore, 00:28:40.05\00:28:43.95 let him who thinks he stands take heed, 00:28:43.99\00:28:46.29 lest he fall." 00:28:46.32\00:28:47.66 Join us for part two of Guarding Grace, 00:28:47.69\00:28:50.49 where we will look at that situation. 00:28:50.53\00:28:55.06