Exodus chapter 19. In our study in Exodus, we're coming
to the chapters where God Almighty gives Moses his law. And I pray the Lord to give us
some light on the subject and enable me to be able to preach
the gospel of Christ in these verses and in these chapters
that lie ahead. I'll tell you without any reservation
that I take this matter of preaching still very seriously. I do. I've learned that just as important
as studying is praying when it comes to preaching. Oh, if God
doesn't bless the words of the preacher, they just won't be
blessed. Truly, we plant in water, but
it's God that gives the increase. But I do believe that the gospel
of Christ is seen clearly in even the holy law of God. Paul
said, Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law. For I had not
known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. And
this is for certain. A man or a woman will never see
their true need of Christ apart from a true knowledge and revelation
of their sin. God gave His law and what a beautiful
reflection His law is of His own holy and just and righteous
character. It's just a beautiful reflection
of who God is. And now God gives His holy law
and it exposes both His inability and His unwillingness to submit
to God and desires to be His own. but to some that God gave
to Christ. They are given a glimpse of themselves
in the mirror of God's holy law. And they see that they've come
up way short. Way short. Been weighed in the
balances and the Scriptures says found wanting. Come up way short
of the glory of God. But it's then, friends, that
a sinner is shut up completely to the mercy and the grace of
God in Christ alone. Did you remember when God shut
you up to Christ? And that's where you have to
come, and that's a wonderful place to be. When you see that
there's no hope of eternal salvation but that which is found in Christ. You see that there's no need
or reason to look within for anything that God would accept
from us. It all falls short. But sinful
men and women are stubborn. You figured that out yet? Oh,
I'm so stubborn and we're so proud. Israel, in our verses
here, gives us proof of that. Before God ever gave Moses his
law to give to the people of Israel, to the nation of Israel,
they proudly and they arrogantly and confidently trusted in their
own ability to do righteousness. And they promised God complete
obedience to all in the law before they even knew what the law demanded. Before God even gave the law
to Moses. And how presumptuous and how
arrogant to think that they in and of themselves had the ability
and the will to keep God's law and keep it perfectly. It's the
same for those today who desire to be under the law. Paul said,
do you not hear what the law is saying? Now here in our text
tonight, we have the introduction of the Mosaic Law, and there's
much, I believe, that we can learn of God's mercy and grace
when we look at the law of God. I hope the Lord's pleased to
teach us some things. Now, let's begin reading here
in verse 7, Exodus 19. And Moses came and called for
the elders of the people and laid before their faces all these
words which the Lord commanded him. And the people answered
and said, all that the Lord hath spoken we will do. Now these
words are also repeated in Exodus chapter 24, but in chapters 20,
21, 22, and 23, we have the giving of the law, and that includes
the Ten Commandments, and that includes a whole lot of other
laws that God gave. It's important for us to understand
that the law is one. I hear people talk about the
moral law, and people talk about a ceremonial law, and people
talk about a civil law. But there is but one law. The
Bible never tries to separate the law of God into divisions
like that. I don't know if men think by
separating them like that, that they might have a better chance
of tackling them one at a time. If I can get the moral law down,
maybe I can keep working on the ceremonial law and get that,
like it's some kind of a graduating course of personal righteousness.
But it's one law, and we must not only keep the whole law,
but we have to keep it perfectly. And we have to keep it perfectly
continually. James said it this way, for whosoever
shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he's
guilty of the whole thing. So no matter how good we think
we're getting at keeping the law of God, if we offend in one
point, we're guilty of the whole law. No hope in trying to appease
God through the keeping of the law. You've got to keep it all
and you've got to keep it perfectly. Turn over just a couple, three
pages to Exodus chapter 24 if you would please. Now this is
after God has given the Ten Commandments and all the rest of the law.
In verse 7 here, in Exodus 24, and He took the book of the covenant,
that being Moses, and read it in the audience of the people.
He took the book, which all was written in chapters 20, 21, 22,
and 23, and He read it to them, and look at what they said in
verse 7. And they said, All that the Lord
hath said, we will do, and be obedient. And it's then that
the Lord gives them the law. Will they do all that they promised?
It all must be done, and it must be done perfectly, for it must
be perfect to be accepted. Now turn back with me, if you
would, to Deuteronomy. Or turn, not back, but forward
to Deuteronomy chapter 5. I want you to look at verse 27.
We'll come back to Exodus 19, but it may be Exodus 24. But
look here in Deuteronomy 5, verse 27. It's here that we have another
account of Israel's self-righteous promise here. Verse 27, Deuteronomy
5. You got it? Here they tell Moses,
they say, go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall
say, and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak
unto thee, and we'll hear it and do it. And the Lord heard
the voice of your words when you spake unto me. And the Lord
said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people
which they have spoken unto thee. They have well said all that
they have spoken. And what God is saying there
basically is in other words, they've said what they should
have said. What were they going to say? Well, we're going to
try to keep path of it. So they spoke well in saying,
we'll do all that the Lord tells us to do. But they had no idea
what the law of God required and demanded of them. But look
what the Lord says concerning them in verse 29. He says, Oh,
that there was such a heart in them, that they would fear me
and keep all my commandments always. And it might be well
with them and with their children forever. Oh, there's no doubt,
friends, that there's a special blessing for the people of God.
God says that it might be well with them and their children.
But we see here that they spoke well. They said, all that the
Lord gives us to do, we'll do. We'll keep it. But their heart
was not right. And that's why God has to give
His people a new heart. This heart that we have by nature
is deceitful above all things, isn't it? It's desperately wicked.
Back in Exodus 19, if you would, verse 8. And all the people answered
together and said, all that the Lord has spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words
of the people unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Moses,
lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud. that the people may hear
when I speak with thee and believe thee forever." And Moses told
the words of the people unto the Lord. Now the Lord here is
telling Moses, I'm going to make sure that Israel knows that your
words are my words. And then Moses goes on to give
a description here of Mount Sinai, this place where God is going
to give His law. Now, beginning at verse 10 here,
let's just read a few verses. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Go unto the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and
let them wash their clothes, and be ready against the third
day. For the third day the Lord will
come down in the sight of all the people upon Mount Sinai.
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying,
Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount,
or touch the border of it. Whosoever toucheth the mount
shall be surely put to death. And there shall not a hand touch
it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through, whether it be
beast or man, it shall not live. And when the trumpet soundeth
long, they shall come up to the mountain. God is so holy that
if anyone even touched the mountain on which God at this time inhabited,
they'd be stoned, shot through, and killed. Verse 14, And Moses
went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the
people, and they washed their clothes. And he said unto the
people, Be ready against the third day. Come not at your wives. And it came to pass on the third
day in the morning that there were thunders and lightnings
and a thick cloud upon the mountain. and the voice of the trumpet
exceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. Oh, they were scared to death.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with
God, and they stood at the nether part of the mountain. And Mount
Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon
it in fire. And the smoke thereof ascended
as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet
sounded long and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and
God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon Mount
Sinai, on the top of the mount. And the Lord called Moses up
to the top of the mount, and Moses went up. And the Lord said
unto Moses, Go down, charge the people lest they break through,
and to the Lord to gaze, and many of them perish. And let
the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify themselves,
lest the Lord break forth upon them. And Moses said unto the
Lord, This people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, for thou chargest
us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And
the Lord said unto him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt
come up, thou and Aaron with thee. But let not the priest
and the people break through to come up unto the Lord, lest
he break forth upon thee. Now plainly spoken here, what
the Lord is saying is if these people came into the presence
of God, He would kill them. You remember what God told Moses
when Moses asked to see His glory? He said, no man can see God's
face and live. Exodus 33. So in verse 25, we
read, so Moses went down into the people and spake unto them. And again, here we see in Moses
a picture of Christ, our mediator. Now, what I want to do is to
take you to the New Testament, if I can, and show you the commentary
of what the New Testament says about what we just looked at.
So turn with me to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. No better commentary on the Bible
than the Bible. And there's no better illustrations
of redemption than the ones found in the Scriptures. And my intention
tonight, at least it was my intention when I began this study, and
began studying for it, was to try to show you two mountains. Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Now, Hebrews chapter 12, verse
18. For ye are not come unto the
mount that might be touched. It could be touched, but you'd
die if you touched it. And he says, and coming to the
mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor
unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest. He's talking about
Mount Sinai here. In Exodus 19. And can you imagine
how terrifying that must have been? The mountain burned with
fire. It was covered with smoke. There
was darkness. There was blackness. I imagine
somewhat like there was in Egypt. so black you couldn't see. There
was tempest, strong winds, and a storm. This was a mountain
that couldn't be inhabited. Not Mount Sinai. No one could reside on Mount
Sinai and not be stormy. Have we yet learned that God,
apart from grace in Christ, is utterly unapproachable? Do we
dare think that we can approach God in our own righteousness?
Is there any satisfaction of divine justice with the presenting
of our filthy rags of righteousness to God? Tell me you that desire
to be under the law. Do you not hear the law and what
it says? Look at verse 19. And the sound
of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that
heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them
any more. for they could not endure that
which was commanded." They couldn't keep the law. They couldn't obey
the commandments. They couldn't even handle the
law being read to them. You see, the carnal mind, friends,
is enmity against God. It's not subject to the law of
God, and neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. Now fallen men and women cannot
endure that which God commands. Adam and Eve were not plagued
with the sin nature that you and I are, and they couldn't
keep one commandment, not one. How do we who are sold under
sin fare in keeping the law of God? Thank God my salvation is
not found in my faithfulness to God, but Christ's faithfulness
to God for me. Verse 20, for they could not
endure that which was commanded, and neither can we. And if so
much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned and thrust
through with a dart. God's too holy and glorious to
be in the presence of sin without consuming the sinner and their
sin. God is so holy, just, and righteous
that even Moses, God's friend, feared for his life. Look at
verse 21. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I
exceedingly fear and quake. You can't come to Mount Sinai
and live. No sinner can stand before God's
holy law to be judged and expect to be spared. Why? Because we've
all come short. God can by no means do what? Clear the guilt. The soul that's
in it, it shall what? It shall die. No sinner can satisfy
the holy justice of God. There's only one who can. And
it's then that the writer of Hebrews here reveals to us the
gospel of God's grace, God's love, God's mercy. Verse 22,
here it is. But ye are come unto Mount Sinai
and to the city of the living God, a place that's inhabitable. The heavenly Jerusalem as opposed
to that mountain that can't be touched. And to an innumerable
company of angels. What a place this city is. It's
the city of the living God. It's heavenly Jerusalem. Verse
23, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn which
are written in heaven. And to God the judge of all and
to the spirits of just men made perfect. Now most of the Bible
dictionaries here explain that term general assembly as having
something to do with a festive gathering. It's a festival, a
party so to speak. Now the gathering at Mount Sinai
was anything but festive. But this gathering at Mount Sinai,
oh, it's a festive gathering. It's a joyous occasion. It's a time of celebrating. Certainly
a very different place from Mount Sinai. A place of rejoicing,
a place of habitation, a place of life, a place of comfort,
peace, and rest. In the General Assembly, in Church
of the Firstborn, notice here that in verse 23, their names
are written in heaven. That's talking about the Lamb's
Book of Life. This speaks of the elect of God.
They are those that God chose and God elected. They are those
that God called and justified. They are those that Christ died
for. They are those who Christ paid the debt of sin for. Those
Christ satisfied God's justice against. And those that Christ
gave His perfect righteousness. And you know what? They're perfect,
perfect in God's sight. He's the judge of all, verse
23, and those in this general assembly are by their substitution
with Christ now called, look at this, just men, and that means
women too, just men and women made perfect. It's in this festive
city that God, the judge of all, has judged of all there to be
just men, and women, sinners, made perfect. You're made perfect. Made just and perfect by the
substitution and the work of another Christ as that substitute. He's my Lord and my God. He's
my Lord and my Savior. The salvation of God's people
was according to His will as the result of God's purpose The
ruling of God's choice. You think about it. In Christ,
I am just and perfect before God. As perfect and just as Christ
is. It doesn't even sound right,
does it? It sounds wrong to say, but it's not. Such is our union
with Him. In Christ, I can't get any more
holy. I can't get any more saved. I
can't get any more sanctified. People talk about progressive
sanctification. I can't get more set apart, more
perfect and holy than I am in Christ right now. I can't get
any more accepted. I'm accepted in the Beloved.
Can't do anything to be more accepted. He did it all for me.
I'm accepted where? In Him, the Beloved. I believe
by God's grace, yes, that I'm growing in the grace and in the
knowledge of the Lord. But I'm as set apart and perfect
as I'll ever be. And so are you who trust in Christ. That's something that I am in
Christ right now. And that's why we confess and
we pray, Lord, I believe, but help thou our unbelief. That's
the same as praying, Lord, give me more faith. Enable me to grow
in the grace and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior. Enable
me to lean more on Him and trust more in Him. But in Christ, I
am a just man made perfect. And I love that. I'll take that
title for my own. Made both just and perfect in
Christ. You know, I think often about
that verse we all know, faith is a substance of things hoped
for. The evidence of things not seen. But friends, that's faith
in Christ. Faith in Christ is the substance. It's the grounds. It's the confidence
of things hopeful. Only in Him. And that's why we
can come boldly into the throne of grace. That's why I can come
festively with joy. Jesus Christ is just and perfect. And so are those that are in
Him. In Christ, what a wonderful place to be. Look at verse 24. And to Jesus, the mediator of
the new covenant. Just one mediator between God
and me and the man Christ Jesus. Well, what is this old covenant? It's the law. It's the holy law
of God. God's holy law says obey me and
be saved and break me and be damned. And understand this,
that means much more than just trying to obey the Ten Commandments. It means keeping the whole law
in its entirety and keeping it perfectly. You remember in Galatians
chapter 4, Paul talks about the bondwoman and the free woman,
Sarah and Hagar. And in verse 34 there, he said,
these things are an allegory, for these are the two covenants,
the one from Mount Sinai, which gendereth the bondage, which
is Hagar. And you remember that story.
God promised Abraham and Sarah a child. And the years just flew
by and they had no child. And Abraham's now 100 and she's
90. His seed's dead. Her womb is barren. It's going
to take a miraculous creation from God Almighty for them to
have a child. But somewhere along the line,
they grew tired and they got impatient and they decided they
were going to help God out. They're going to take matters
into their own hands. They're going to do their part.
Isn't that what religion teaches? Religion always tells you, oh,
you've got to do your part. That's where we always get in
trouble. So Abraham lays with Hagar, Sarah's handmaid, a bondwoman,
she has a child. But God rejected that boy. He
was not the son of promise. He was the son of the bondwoman.
The result of man's will and man's work and man's way. And
Paul tells us right there in Galatians 4 that Hagar is Mount
Sinai. Mount Sinai represents man's
will, man's worth, man's work, man's way. All by keeping the
law. And if you believe that salvation
is in any way dependent upon you doing your part after God
has done His, that's salvation by the law. That's salvation
by works. And that's a problem. Because
there is a problem with that Old Covenant, the law of works. It won't save. That's the problem
with it. And no problem with the law itself.
It's God's law. It's holy. It's just. It's a
glorious reflection, as I said, of God's holiness and perfection.
The problem with the law is in what we cannot do. The law cannot
save them that it was weak through the flesh, Paul said. Our flesh. And it's simple. The ones who
must perfectly keep God's law cannot keep it. Much less keep
it perfect. They don't have the life, they
don't have the ability, they don't have the willingness. So
what does God do? Paul says, God sending His own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin
in the flesh. And that's the only hope that
you and I have of being saved. God came and did for us what
we couldn't do. How many times have I said that? Sinai demands perfection. It demands perfect obedience
to God's law. And man cannot provide it. He can't provide what God requires
or what God demands, so God provides it for some. By Christ coming
into the world to save those that God gave Him. Again, verse
24, I'll wrap this up. And to Jesus, the mediator of
the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh
better things than that of Abel. Abel's blood cried from the ground,
and you know what his blood cried? Justice. vengeance, for punishment,
for condemnation. But the blood of Christ, dear
friends, not only calls for justice, it does. But it also cries for
pardon, and for peace, and for forgiveness, and for acceptance. Christ's blood speaks better
things than that of Abel. The blood of Abel says, put the
offender to death. The blood of Christ says, let
that offender go free. He cried for better things, the
blood of Christ. The fire of God's judgment burns
upon Mount Sinai, the holy law and justice of God. It's unbending,
it's inflexible. But there's another mount called
Mount Sinai. It's the city of the living God.
It's called heavenly Jerusalem. And it was so purposed and executed
and accomplished by God for the glory of His own great namesake.
Lord willing, next time we'll talk more about why God gave
His law. May we be pleased to make these
studies profitable to our hearts and to our souls.