The Ten Commandments: Love, Law, and Liberation

where I fall short, Jesus stands perfect. Where the law exposes our sin, Christ offered forgiveness. Where the law calls us to holiness and otherness of God, Christ gives us his spirit to allow us to do what we cannot do on our own. The law was written on stone. Remember the 10 commandments? But in Christ, they're now with the holy spirit written on our hearts. [00:32:26] (24 seconds)  #SpiritWrittenOnHearts

See, grace comes before the law. Even here in the Hebrew scriptures or the Old Testament. Salvation comes before obedience. Relationship comes before responsibility. Now, it does include the law, obedience, responsibility. But grace, salvation, relationship come first out of that. So obedience isn't a required payback, if you would. It is gratitude in action. It is love responding to love. Quite frankly, a smart it's a smart person listening to a very wise god. [00:06:11] (33 seconds)  #GraceBeforeLaw

But what I hope is that you will not see these as rules to fear or standards we must somehow climb in our own strength, but as God truly intended them, as words of life spoken to redeemed people. The law is not God's way of saying, try harder so I'll love you. Though we often treat it that way. The law is God's way of saying, because I love you, this is how you should live. It's in your best interest. [00:00:46] (32 seconds)  #CommandsOfLove

The heart of the 10 commandments is not fear. It is not control. It is not legalism. As the worship team comes up, I wanna remind you, the heart of the 10 commandments is love. It's love for God. It's love for others. It's love flowing from a redeemed people who know that they belong to a gracious God and are responding to that love. [00:48:00] (25 seconds)  #LoveNotFear

See, idols attempt to shrink God into something manageable. They're not just statues. They're any distorted image of God that we can control. Idolatry is not just worshiping, by the way, the wrong thing. It's worshiping the right God in the wrong way. [00:13:15] (18 seconds)  #DontShrinkGod

When we turn God into an an an image, physical, or even a mental one, you limit his power, You simplify his character. You remake him in your own likeness, which for me is scary. And a small god produces a life where your hope is small, your courage is small, and your faith is fragile. The real God is bigger than anything that you can imagine. And that's good for you. It's good for me. [00:36:59] (32 seconds)  #GodIsBigger

It means I'm I'm willing to leave some things unfinished. Because I trust that what what God can do in six days, what I can't do in seven. And as that trust builds, it lowers our anxiety, heals chronic stress, it creates inner peace. There's a lot of people who have a lot, but they're they're they're always anxious because it's just not enough. What if? What if? What if? And it creates real relationship with God. [00:40:12] (29 seconds)  #TrustOverHustle

This command forms us into people where our words are trustworthy, and I don't have to invoke the name of God. They just know that's the person's character. Faith is sincere. Speech matches reality. It ends up strengthening relationships, builds credibility, and gives ultimately you inner peace. And it keeps God big in your life. Remember, small gods, small awe, small awe, small faith, small faith, anxious life. [00:38:54] (28 seconds)  #HonestSpeechMatters