Grace Over Rules: Embracing God's Relationship

Devotional

Day 1: Relationship Before Rules

God's relationship with humanity is not based on adherence to rules or laws but is rooted in His choice to establish a connection with us. This is evident in the story of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, where God delivered them not because they followed laws—they didn't have them yet—but because He chose them. This foundational principle reveals God's nature and His desire for a relationship with us that is not contingent upon our behavior. Instead, it confirms our belonging to Him, emphasizing that His love and grace precede any expectations of rule-following. [16:01]

Deuteronomy 7:7-8 (ESV): "It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt."

Reflection: Think of a time when you felt unworthy of love or acceptance. How does understanding that God's relationship with you is not based on your actions change your perspective today?

Day 2: Forgiveness, Not Goodness

Jesus taught that it is not the goodness of people that grants them entry into heaven, but rather the forgiveness they receive. This forgiveness is a gift from God, not something earned through deeds. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection opened the door for all to enter into a relationship with God through a simple expression of trust. This teaching challenges the assumption that one can earn their way into heaven and instead highlights the importance of grace and forgiveness as the foundation of our relationship with God. [07:54]

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV): "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Reflection: Consider an area in your life where you are striving to earn approval or acceptance. How can you shift your focus from earning to receiving God's grace and forgiveness today?

Day 3: The Purpose of the Law

The laws given to the Israelites were not intended to establish a relationship with God but to guide them in their newfound freedom. These laws were revolutionary, emphasizing justice and dignity for all, reflecting God's character. They were designed to keep the Israelites free, not to bind them, and to help them live lives that mirrored God's justice and love. Understanding the purpose of the law helps us see it as a guide to living in freedom rather than a means to earn God's favor. [23:37]

Galatians 5:1 (ESV): "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

Reflection: Reflect on a rule or guideline you follow in your life. How does viewing it as a guide to freedom rather than a restriction change your approach to it?

Day 4: Jesus' New Covenant

Through His sacrifice, Jesus established a new covenant, inviting all into a relationship with God through faith. This covenant is not about rule-keeping but about embracing the grace offered through Jesus' death and resurrection. It shifts the focus from adhering to laws to living in a relationship with God, characterized by faith and trust. This new covenant invites us to experience God's love and grace in a profound and transformative way. [27:33]

Hebrews 8:10 (ESV): "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."

Reflection: How can you embrace the new covenant in your daily life? What steps can you take to deepen your relationship with God through faith and trust today?

Day 5: Living Out Our Faith

As Christians, we are called to live out our faith by loving others as Jesus loved us. This means treating others with dignity and respect, recognizing that our actions reflect our relationship with God. Our faith is not just a personal belief but a call to action, to live in a way that demonstrates God's love to the world. By loving others, we embody the grace and forgiveness we have received, showing the world the transformative power of a relationship with God. [35:19]

1 John 4:11-12 (ESV): "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us."

Reflection: Identify one person in your life who needs to experience God's love through you. What specific action can you take today to show them love and reflect your faith?

Sermon Summary

Taking a deep breath, let's delve into the heart of today's message. We explored the profound truth that God's relationship with us precedes any rules or laws. This is a foundational principle that is evident throughout the biblical narrative, from the Old Testament to the New Testament. The story of the Israelites' exodus from Egypt illustrates this beautifully. God delivered them not because they adhered to a set of laws—they didn't even have them yet—but because He chose to establish a relationship with them. This relationship was not contingent upon their behavior but was a confirmation of their belonging to Him.

In the same way, Jesus' message was not about rule-keeping as a means to earn a place in heaven. Instead, it was about recognizing that no one is good enough to earn their way into heaven. Jesus taught that forgiven people, not good people, go to heaven. This forgiveness is a gift, not something we earn through our deeds. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection opened the door for all to enter into a relationship with God through a simple expression of trust.

The rules, then, are not a means to earn God's favor but are given out of His love for us, guiding us to live lives that reflect His character. They are designed to keep us free, not to bind us. As followers of Christ, we are called to live out this freedom by loving others as He has loved us, recognizing that our relationship with God is secure not because of our goodness but because of His grace.

Key Takeaways

1. keeping but about embracing the grace offered through Jesus' death and resurrection. [27:33]
5. Living Out Our Faith: As Christians, we are called to live out our faith by loving others as Jesus loved us. This means treating others with dignity and respect, recognizing that our actions reflect our relationship with God.

** [27:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:09] - Family Rules
[01:06] - Series Recap: Heaven, Who Goes There?
[02:02] - The Assumption of Goodness
[03:03] - The Moving Target of Good
[04:16] - The Challenge of Goodness
[05:19] - Jesus' Radical Teaching
[06:14] - Mistreatment and Sin
[07:12] - Jesus' Critique of Religion
[08:07] - Forgiveness Through Jesus
[09:03] - The Purpose of the Law
[11:56] - The Exodus and Freedom
[13:01] - The Revolutionary Law
[17:15] - The Preamble to the Commandments
[25:12] - Jesus' New Covenant
[29:40] - God's Love Demonstrated
[34:01] - Relationship Precedes Rules
[38:19] - Invitation to Relationship

Bible Study Guide

Observation Questions

What was the primary reason God delivered the Israelites from Egypt according to the sermon? [16:01]
How does the sermon describe the purpose of the laws given to the Israelites? [23:37]
What does Jesus' new covenant emphasize according to the sermon? [27:33]
How does the sermon explain the relationship between God's rules and His love for us? [34:17]

Interpretation Questions

How does the concept of "relationship before rules" challenge traditional views of religious rule-keeping? [16:01]
In what ways does the sermon suggest that the laws given to the Israelites were revolutionary for their time? [13:01]
How does the sermon interpret Jesus' teaching that "forgiven people go to heaven"? What implications does this have for understanding salvation? [07:54]
How does the sermon explain the significance of Jesus' sacrifice in establishing a new covenant? [27:33]

Application Questions

Reflect on a time when you felt you had to earn God's favor through your actions. How does the idea that "relationship precedes rules" change your perspective? [16:01]
The sermon emphasizes that God's laws are meant to keep us free, not bind us. Can you identify an area in your life where following God's guidance has brought you freedom? [34:17]
Jesus taught that forgiven people, not good people, go to heaven. How does this understanding of forgiveness impact your view of yourself and others? [07:54]
Consider the revolutionary aspects of the laws given to the Israelites. How can you apply the principles of justice and dignity in your interactions with others today? [13:01]
Jesus' new covenant invites us into a relationship with God through faith. What steps can you take to deepen your trust in God this week? [27:33]
The sermon suggests that our actions reflect our relationship with God. What is one specific way you can demonstrate God's love to someone in your life this week? [35:19]
How can you remind yourself daily that your relationship with God is based on His grace and not your merit? What practical steps can you take to live out this truth? [07:54]

Sermon Clips

We did not have children so that there would be someone to keep the rules. Let me go over that again. This is pretty deep thought. This may be the deepest part of the whole message. We did not have children-- In other words, we didn't have like some rules and it was like, Sandra, we got all these great rules. These are like great rules. We need to have some children so there will be someone to keep the rules. [00:00:42]

The followers of Jesus made it clear that nobody's good and nobody's good enough to earn their way to heaven. So if you're looking for an answer to this question, how good is good enough to earn a spot in heaven, if you're looking for an answer to this question, which most people think there must be a good answer, the Bible will not help you. In fact, the Bible will hurt you. [00:03:58]

Jesus implied throughout his ministry, just read the gospels that bad people have the potential to end up in heaven and the goodest of the good weren't good enough. In fact, as we saw last time, Jesus raised the bar for good so high that it made all of us look bad. For example, and we talked a lot about this last time, have you ever mistreated another person? The answer is yes, and according to Jesus, that's a sin. [00:05:25]

According to Jesus, no one is good enough to go to heaven. Good people don't go because no one's that good. The way he again defined good. According to Jesus, and this is where we left off last time, according to Jesus, forgiven people go to heaven and Jesus claimed, this is audacious; Jesus claimed to have authority to forgive other people on behalf of God, which was ridiculous until he rose from the dead. [00:07:52]

God is demonstrating his love and his concern for a group of people that he considered his own, His people that he delivered, not because they kept his law, they didn't have a law, not because they were obeying the rules. They didn't even know what the rules were. He delivered them pre-law and do you know why God delivered them from Egypt? Because he wanted to. [00:15:27]

Relationship always precedes the rules. God did not give Israel the law as a means of establishing a relationship with him. God gave Israel the law because they were already in relationship with him. It wasn't a condition, it was a confirmation that they were in the family. Again, going back to what I said earlier, we never established a bedtime for our neighbor's kids, just our kids. [00:16:07]

The law that God gave the ancient Israelites, the law that God gave the ancient Israelites that you find in the first part of your Bible was so far ahead of its time that there's really no explanation for it, except perhaps it was, in fact, given by God. There are divine element to this law because there was nothing that paralleled. [00:13:04]

And God was about to do something new, a brand new covenant, not simply with a nation, but for and with the world. He was saying as just as God delivered our people from slavery in Egypt, he's about to deliver the world from slavery and from the ultimate consequence of sin and the term and the condition would be the same as it was 1500 years ago. A single expression of trust. [00:28:27]

The reason that the gospel, the reason that the arrival of Jesus, the reason the message of Jesus is good news is because we don't good our way in. We don't behave our way in; any more than my children behave their way into our family. Best news of all, we can't bad our way out, any more than my children can misbehave their way out of our family. [00:32:08]

With God, as with all good parents, the relationship always precedes the rules, and and the rules are simply God's way of saying, because I love you, here's how I want you to live. Because I love you, here's why I want you to forgive, because I love you. Here's why I want you to serve one another because I love you. [00:34:20]

We are reconciled to God, are made to be able to fit with God by grace. We choose to follow. We choose to obey out of gratitude. And Jesus summarized it, so he made it so simple. He said, 'Here's all I want you to do. Here's what it looks like to follow in, obey me. Here's your one rule. I just want you to treat other people the way that I have treated you.' [00:35:05]

Who goes to heaven? Forgiven people go to heaven. And how do we find forgiveness? Through Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord? [00:39:13]

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