Where Justice Meets Mercy | Moses | Pastor Steve Andres

Where do justice and mercy meet? This weekend Pastor Steve Andres continued our MOSES series with a message about the Law of God.Exodus 20:1-3Then God gave the people all these instructions: I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. You must not have any other god but me.This is the moment when God gives Israel the law, and yet the people are terrified. If the Law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul (Psalm 19:7), why do we hide from it?1) You can’t understand the law of God without knowing the person of God.The first words from God are not about what Israel must do, but about who God is and what he has already done for them. To truly understand God’s law, we have to first understand God’s heart.2) God’s laws are rooted in his unchanging nature.Before sin was ever called sin by the Law, it was still sin and it was still deadly. God’s laws are descriptions of reality. He draws lines around sin because he knows that it leads to death!3) The Law is meant to point us to Christ.The Law is not able to save. It is designed to clarify our deep need for saving.Galatians 3:24Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.When we feel conviction or guilt because of the law, it is the pain that is designed to get our attention and cause us to address the problem.4) The Holy Spirit is the presence of God to his people today.When Israel sees God’s presence at Mt. Sinai, they are terrified because they realize that God’s presence will not keep company with sin. And yet the miracle of the New Testament is the gift of God’s presence to every believer. How?5) Jesus came to fulfill the law.When Jesus preached his Sermon On the Mount, he clarified the heart of God’s Law. In doing so, he made it perfectly clear how high God’s standard truly is.Matthew 5:17Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.There are two ways to fulfill a law: obey it perfectly, or pay the penalty for breaking it. Jesus did both! He lived a sinless life that met God’s standard, and then he paid the penalty for all of us lawbreakers who deserved punishment. The cross is the place where God’s justice and mercy met, and the reason we can now live with daily access to the presence and promises of God!