If we take the 10 commandments without the preface they will soon burden us: a list of prescriptions, ‘do this’, and prohibitions, ‘don’t do that’ Even if we sum up the commandments as ‘the Great Commandment’ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind strength and your neighbour as yourself, It still is a burden isn’t it? Who here has ever really kept up to that? But then again, we have left something out. That great commandment, known as the ‘Shema’ from the Hebrew for ‘Hear’ begins with a call to God’s people Israel: ‘Hear, O Israel ...’ Likewise the 10 Commandments before they get to what we are to do begin with a statement of who God is and what he has done for us: there is a proclamation before the prohibitions Exodus 20:2 is the all important introduction When God says ‘I am the Lord your God who brought you up out of the house of bondage it is like an algebra sign preceding a formula in brackets, it qualifies everything in the brackets. These are "redeemer's commandments" not "suggestions for successful living", nor even "maker's instructions" but a statement of "covenant commitment" a charter of freedom. As the Shorter Catechism says: ‘Because God is the Lord, and our God, and Redeemer, therefore we are bound to keep all his commandments’ and Eugene Peterson remarks: ‘Because we are persons of consequence [a people rescued from slavery] it does make a difference whether we do or do not have other Gods, make graven images, kill, steal etc.’

We need to understand first and foremost that God’s rules are to be seen as a statement of what is required of people who have been set free by God and not as a set of preconditions that have to be fulfilled before God will love us and free us Chris Wright says: ‘God did not send Moses down to Egypt with the law already tucked under his cloak to say to Israel in bondage,’ "Here you are. This is God's law and if you keep it fully from now on God will rescue you from slavery" Israel were not told they could deserve or hasten their own deliverance by keeping the law. No. God acted first.

And what was true for the people of Israel in Exodus can be true for any person through the deliverance of Jesus Christ. We must never get into the trap of thinking that we can be ever good enough for God to love us. If that were so, as Paul says ‘Christ died in vain’. No God acted first in sending Jesus who in his life and teaching shows us what it really means to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind strength and your neighbour as yourself,

For God’s law is good, not restrictive: It is good for us to worship him only and not to make idols and to be reverent with his name and to take time to worship him -- the first 4 commandments are there to help us see how we should and can love God. It is good to honour your parents and not to kill, or commit adultery or steal or bear false witness or covet -- the last 6 commandments are there to help us see how we should and can love our neighbours.

Jesus, in his life and teaching helps us how to understand God’s laws and Jesus helps us to keep God’s laws and without him we cannot keep God’s laws.

Has keeping God’s law become to us a bit like an awful exam -- some of us do our best, but we know we can never answer all the questions and that makes us very sad and burdened. others give up -- why bother when no-one can pass? - but isn’t there still an emptiness and unhappiness in dismissing them? Others perhaps pick and choose: they ignore the ones they don’t like and pride themselves on the ones they think they can manage to keep, unlike other people - but isn’t that pride of ours pitiable and pathetic?

But God’s law is not totally like an exam: yes, we should attempt all questions, we cannot pick and choose; yes, 100% is expected, but we have a teacher who not only tells us what to do but also, as a good teachers, shows us in his own life and example and also dies on the cross to take the punishment of our failures and, even more than that, by the Holy Spirit, promises to be with us and in us as we take the exam.

That’s what Paul means in Romans 13. 8-14. Fist of all he reminds us that ‘love is the fulfilment of the law’ and then he goes on to tackle the darkness still in us and calls us to ‘clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature’ Wrap yourselves around with Jesus. If we would live to please God we are to keep his commandments but to keep his commandments we need a redeemer, one who sets us free and who comes with us we need to be personally committed to Jesus Christ clothed in Christ, identified with Christ for when we know God, then we can be good.

Lord, we want to be good we are tired of the lifestyle that hurts others and grieves you Forgive us for sometimes proudly thinking that we have done enough to get by or for giving up in despair

Help us to meet Jesus Christ today to understand that he has died to fulfil the demands of your law and that he is alive and with us that we may live the life that pleases you

We have heard God’s word; we have worshipped him with praise and prayer. Now may the Holy Spirit go on writing God’s law in your hearts; may the mind of Christ be truly in you as you go into all the world and love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and your neighbour as yourself.