Law and Grace

It's tempting, as we look at the Ten Commandments, to see, oh, more laws. You know, God in the Old Testament gives his people a lot of laws. But as we look deeper, as we look closer at a lot of these laws, particularly even the Ten Commandments, we encounter God's grace. Look at how the Ten Commandments begin. It says, "I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." So, we see God, first of all, being a God of deliverance, showing grace and mercy to his people. But even as we look through these commands, we can see grace. Well, basically, I mean, as Jesus essentially encapsulates the Ten Commandments — love God; love your neighbor — we see that these are commands that help us connect, reconcile, be in relationship with God and with humans. I see grace in that.