Pastor Schmidt | Service of the Word

Devotional

Day 1: The God Who Names Himself: Compassionate and Gracious

God doesn’t leave us guessing about His character. He defines Himself in Exodus 34 with visceral clarity: “compassionate and gracious,” slow to anger, overflowing with loyal love. This isn’t theoretical kindness—it’s the heartbeat of a God who enters the mess of human rebellion to forgive. His compassion isn’t passive pity but active rescue, His grace not a mood but His identity. Yet this tenderness exists within the same God who confronts sin with unblinking holiness. The tension invites awe. [20:30]

The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty.”
(Exodus 34:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: When have you experienced God’s compassion as a deliberate rescue rather than vague kindness? How does His self-defined grace challenge your assumptions about His heart toward you?

Day 2: The Unflinching Justice of a God Who Condemns

A holy God cannot shrug at sin. Exodus 34’s jarring truth—He “does not leave the guilty unpunished”—cuts through sentimental views of divine love. His justice isn’t cruelty but the fire that purges creation’s cancer. This reality terrifies until we see the cross: the same God who condemns sin absorbed its penalty in His Son. To soften His wrath is to cheapen His mercy. His severity makes His sacrifice shocking. [29:22]

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to downplay God’s justice? How does Christ’s bearing of wrath deepen your gratitude for mercy?

Day 3: The Cross Where Justice and Mercy Collide

At Calvary, God’s “slow to anger” met His “punishing the guilty.” Jesus became both the condemned sinner and the compassionate Savior. The Father’s justice burned fully on His Son so His mercy could flood fully on us. This collision isn’t contradiction—it’s the epicenter of redemption. The cross proves God takes sin seriously enough to kill for it and love seriously enough to die for it. [35:22]

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
(2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

Reflection: How does seeing Jesus as both punished and pardoning reshape your view of God’s heart? What sin feels too heavy to bring to this cross?

Day 4: Stiff-Necked People Called God’s Inheritance

Moses called Israel “stiff-necked” just before God called them His “inheritance.” The dissonance stuns: rebels become heirs. Our identity isn’t earned by good behavior but bestowed through Christ’s blood. Being God’s inheritance means we’re His treasured possession not because we’re valuable, but because He values us. The same mouth that declares our guilt claims us as family. [38:53]

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.
(1 Peter 2:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you struggle to believe God delights in you as His inheritance? How does being “stiff-necked yet chosen” free you from performance-based faith?

Day 5: Answering “Who Is God?” With a Blood-Bought Story

The sermon’s closing question—“Who do you say God is?”—demands more than theology. It invites testimony. Our answer isn’t abstract attributes but a Person: the God who crushed His Son to embrace us. Every “He is…” should drip with the blood of the Lamb. To testify isn’t to debate but to declare what He’s done—for us, for others, for the world still groaning for redemption. [39:54]

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
(1 Peter 3:15, ESV)

Reflection: How would your answer to “Who is God?” change if it could only include what He’s done for you? Who needs to hear your story of being both condemned and claimed?

Sermon Summary

Exodus 34 answers the question, “Who do people say God is?” The world makes up all kinds of answers. Ancient gods kept people living in fear, atheists deny God, and many people want God to be whatever fits their own agenda. Creation, human life, and conscience can show that some great power exists, but those things cannot tell sinners who God really is. God must reveal himself.

The Lord reveals himself in his Word, and God’s people come before that Word not to tell God what he ought to say, but to hear him speak. The name LORD, written in all caps, points to the great I AM, the God who is and exists in himself. That name also stands as God’s Old Testament Savior name, because the LORD repeatedly comes to save his people.

Exodus 34 tells who God is by telling what God does. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet the Lord also does not leave the guilty unpunished. God’s mercy and God’s justice must both stand side by side.

God’s holiness cannot tolerate sin, wickedness, rebellion, or unbelief. Moses’ description of Israel as stiff-necked, stubborn, and sinful fits every sinner far too well. God could rightly condemn every sinful person to eternal death and hell. God does condemn sin because he is just and holy.

Jesus Christ shows how God saves sinners without setting aside his justice. Christ lived the perfect, holy, sinless life that God demands, and Christ gives that perfection to sinners. Christ also carried every sin to the cross and suffered the full wrath and fury of God in the sinner’s place. Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” because he endured the separation and punishment that sin deserves.

God raised Jesus from the dead as the sign and seal that forgiveness is real, full, and complete. Christ alone is the solid foundation, while all other ground is sinking sand. The Holy Spirit creates faith through the gospel, giving sinners a personal hold on Christ’s finished work. God brings believers back into fellowship with himself and calls them his inheritance, his dearly loved children who will dwell with him forever. God is the one who has saved sinners through his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, and he has done the same for all people in Christ.

##

Key Takeaways

1. God defines himself through his Word God cannot be discovered merely by human imagination, personal preference, or observation of the world. Creation and conscience raise important questions, but God’s Word gives the true answer. God’s people listen because the Lord alone has the right to say who he is. [24:52]
2. God’s justice and mercy stand together God does not shrug at wickedness, rebellion, and sin, because holiness cannot make peace with evil. God also abounds in love and forgives sinners. Christ is where these truths meet without either one being weakened. [32:50]
3. Christ bears sin’s full punishment Jesus did not merely offer a good example or a second chance. Christ took sin’s true punishment, including the wrath and forsakenness that sinners deserved. The cross means that forgiven sinners do not need to bear hell for themselves. [35:22]
4. Christ gives sinners his perfection God demands holiness, and sinners cannot manufacture it through effort or religious activity. Jesus lived the sinless life in their place and gives his righteousness to them. In Christ, God sees the perfection that his justice requires. [34:37]
5. God calls believers his inheritance God’s salvation does more than remove guilt from the past. God restores fellowship and gives his children a promised future in his eternal dwelling place. Heaven is the lasting joy of living with the God who has made sinners his own.

## [38:33]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:14] - The Lord Reveals His Name
[21:02] - Who Do People Say God Is?
[23:16] - Why Human Reason Cannot Define God
[24:52] - God Speaks Through His Word
[25:49] - The Meaning of the LORD
[28:46] - God Tells Who He Is
[29:42] - The Holy God Who Punishes Sin
[32:40] - The Merciful God Who Forgives
[33:18] - Christ Alone Is the Foundation
[34:12] - Jesus Fulfills God’s Demand
[35:22] - Jesus Bears God’s Wrath
[36:08] - The Resurrection Seals Forgiveness
[37:14] - Faith Created Through the Gospel
[38:33] - God’s Inheritance and Eternal Home
[39:40] - God Has Saved Sinners in Christ

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 34:6-7
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” [20:23] [29:02]

Matthew 16:16
Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” [16:40]

Psalm 22:1
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” [35:41]

Observation questions

What descriptions of God’s mercy appear in Exodus 34:6-7, and what words in the same passage show that God also deals seriously with guilt and sin? [32:40]
Why is the name LORD written in all capital letters, and how does that name connect God with the words, “I AM”? [26:18]
What examples show why creation, the human body, and conscience can raise questions about God but cannot fully tell sinners who God is? [23:16]
According to the passage, what did Jesus do to meet God’s demand for holiness, and what did he do to bear sin’s punishment? [34:12]

Interpretation questions

Exodus 34 says that God forgives sin but “will by no means clear the guilty.” How does Jesus Christ make it possible for God to forgive sinners without ignoring his justice? [35:22]
Peter calls Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Why is this confession a solid foundation for a believer’s hope rather than simply admiring Jesus as a good teacher or example? [33:29]
Jesus cried the words of Psalm 22:1 while on the cross. What does his cry of forsakenness show about the depth of the punishment he carried for sinners? [35:41]
God’s forgiveness is full and complete in Christ, and faith receives that forgiveness personally. How does hearing the gospel give a struggling believer something firmer than feelings or personal effort? [37:21]

Application questions

When people around you describe God as whatever they want him to be, what are some specific ways you can return to God’s Word instead of letting personal preference define him? [24:42]
Which description of God in Exodus 34—compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, faithful, forgiving, just—most encourages or challenges you right now? Why?
Moses described God’s people as stiff-necked, stubborn, rebellious, and sinful. Where do you see stubbornness toward God’s will showing up in your own thoughts, words, or habits? [32:02]
When guilt over a particular sin returns, how can Christ’s perfect life given to you and his punishment borne for you reshape the way you respond? [34:37]
Jesus bore the full punishment of sin so that his people would not have to bear hell themselves. What fears about God, death, judgment, or the future need to be brought under that promise? [36:01]
God raised Jesus as the sign and seal that forgiveness is real, full, and complete. What would it look like this week to live as someone whose forgiveness is settled in Christ rather than earned by performance? [36:20]
God calls believers his dearly loved children and his inheritance, with an eternal home in his presence. How can that future hope shape one difficult relationship, disappointment, or burden you are carrying now? [38:40]

Sermon Clips

73s

“And the only true just punishment for sin is eternal death and hell. And so, that's the other thing that Jesus did for us. Jesus came to this earth not only to live a perfect life in our place, but also to suffer the punishment of sin in our place. And that's exactly what Jesus did on the cross. And he took every single one of our sins from us, and he carried them himself all the way to the cross, and he suffered under the weight of our sins because he felt the full wrath and fury of our just and holy God. It was all pointed right at Jesus Christ. Jesus experienced what it is to be eternally separated from God as he suffered hell itself there on the cross. Because that's the only true payment and punishment for sin. But Jesus took on that punishment for us so that you and I would never have to experience such an eternally horrible thing.”

61s

“And we long for that day, don't we? When God calls his inheritance to him. When we get to live in those mansions that he's preparing for us right now, gathered with all of God's people there in that glorious, eternal dwelling place, experiencing perfect, eternal fellowship with our God, singing praises to him, and calling on his name forever. That's who God is, dear friends, and that's what he does. So if someone should ever ask you, who do you say God is? It simple. God is the one who has saved me through his one and only son, Jesus Christ. And then follow that up with this. Say to that person, and he's done the same for you in Christ.”

50s

“He gave up his life to death, and then God brought him back to life. Jesus rose from the dead, didn't he? God did not abandon him to the grave, but raised him back to life as the sign and seal of everything that he did on the cross for us. Our forgiveness is real. It's full and complete because of what Jesus has done for us. So God tells us who he is by telling us what he does. And then he points to Jesus Christ, and he says, I have done all of that for you through him, through Jesus. Christ is full and free forgiveness.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church (WELS) This sermon · AI assistant

What does the name Yahweh signify for believers?

How can God be both loving and just?

How does Jesus reconcile divine justice and mercy?

Pastor Schmidt | Service of the Word | The Son of Man is God