January 28, 2006 - Exodus 19-20 and Matthew 18:21-35
Is there any doubt that the theme of this passage in Exodus is obedience? I know there are other elements here, but the focus is on obeying God and His response to our obedience. Look at Exodus 19:5. This is the first thing God told Moses to tell the people once they arrived at Mount Sinai. Obey Me, keep My commandments, and you will be a special treasure to me. What a promise! It shows us God's nature of love and His desire to bless us, but it shows His holiness and righteousness at the same time. That is why only Moses and Aaron could enter His presence on the mountain. They were His special servants set apart for His work. The people had to keep their distance, even though they had consecrated themselves and washed their clothes. God wanted them to see how holy He was and to fear Him, so they would be obedient. (20:21) God speaks His Ten Commandments first to show them His will and to call for obedience. It reminds me of the Garden of Eden. God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow. Why did He do that? He was looking for obedience. Here He gives ten rules, because He wants to emphasize obedience. There are other lesser rules, but God's message to His people is that blessing comes through obedience. Look at Exodus 20:5,6. What does it say? Sin has serious long lasting consequences, but obedience brings God's mercy. God has not changed. People have not changed. He is still looking to see if we, as believers, have consecrated our hearts to Him, cleansed our lives, and are being obedient to His commands. His first command is to love Him completely and the second is to love each other as He loves us. If we keep those two, we will be obedient to the rest of them. How are you doing?
Is there any doubt that the theme of Matthew 18:21-35 is forgiveness? How important is forgiveness? If we do not forgive others, the Lord will not forgive us. How many times are we to forgive a repentant person? As often as they come to us in repentance. Why does God put a premium on forgiveness? He is a forgiving God, and He recognizes the damage unforgiveness causes to the person who harbors it. Did you notice how the servant who was forgiven of the huge debt treated his fellow servant who only owed him a small amount? Why was he so rough? It was selfishness and bitterness. We can't be like Jesus as long as we have that in our hearts. The Bible tells us to forgive others as Jesus has forgiven us. He forgave us before we repented. (Romans 5:8) He extends that forgiveness to us as individuals when we come to Him in repentance and faith. That is how we should be when it comes to forgiveness. It goes back to loving others as Christ loves us. He loved us enough to die for us while we were yet sinners. Aren't you glad about that? If we are glad we are forgiven, we should forgive others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.
Is there any doubt that the theme of Matthew 18:21-35 is forgiveness? How important is forgiveness? If we do not forgive others, the Lord will not forgive us. How many times are we to forgive a repentant person? As often as they come to us in repentance. Why does God put a premium on forgiveness? He is a forgiving God, and He recognizes the damage unforgiveness causes to the person who harbors it. Did you notice how the servant who was forgiven of the huge debt treated his fellow servant who only owed him a small amount? Why was he so rough? It was selfishness and bitterness. We can't be like Jesus as long as we have that in our hearts. The Bible tells us to forgive others as Jesus has forgiven us. He forgave us before we repented. (Romans 5:8) He extends that forgiveness to us as individuals when we come to Him in repentance and faith. That is how we should be when it comes to forgiveness. It goes back to loving others as Christ loves us. He loved us enough to die for us while we were yet sinners. Aren't you glad about that? If we are glad we are forgiven, we should forgive others.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Exodus 21-22 and Matthew 19.