Grace Percedes Instruction

April 18th, 2026
by Scott Sutton

Notes from Scott Sutton's sermon on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Sermon text: Exodus 20:12-21

There is nothing that will bring you closer to God more than time in His Word regularly
and time in prayer with Him regularly. But occasionally, you will have an experience in your life that also brings you closer to God. For our family, that occasion was adoption. Our desire to become licensed to foster and adopt had been informed by the Gospel. We see the grace of God reaching low for us, bringing us into His family. As former orphans, God gives us a heart for the orphans. For us, there was this moment, in a courtroom, with a 10-month old little girl, where we actually put our name on her... And not only that, but her birth certificate was actually changed to reflect our name. It was the Gospel on display in a courtroom where there was a sort of re-birth that took place.

There were 10 months when Haddie was not a Sutton.

- We didn't tell her what she must do to become a Sutton

- We adopted her. We committed to love her. We made her a Sutton. We placed our name on her.

- And then we said, "Haddie, this is what it means to be a Sutton."

Becoming a child of God is what allows you to walk as a child of God... to act like a child of
God. How bizarre would it have been to look at that little 10-month old and say, "If you want to become a Sutton, here is what you have to do!" God has drawn Israel out of Egypt, made them His chosen possession, and then explained to them how to live. It was grace first, and then instruction.

1.) Grace precedes instruction.

- We make such a mess of things when we get this backwards.

- As we look at 6 very important pieces of instruction this morning, let's make sure that we do so a children of God who have a Good Heavenly Father who has first moved toward us... put His name on us... Former orphans who he has redeemed and made a people of His own possession.

- Let's make sure that we don't look at these 6 commandments as the things we must do if we desire to be called Children of God. Rather, this is what God's children's do.

2.) The instruction of the Father reveals the heart of the Father.
- Last week we were in the 1st section that Jesus summarizes in Matthew 22:37-38, saying,
"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment."
- This week we are in the 2nd section that Jesus summarizes in Matthew 22:39, saying,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
As we aim to better understand the heart of the Father by heeding His instruction, I am reminded
about something we considered in our Advent series last year. As we considered that Jesus is a
better King, we saw that the earthly Kings were known for what they take. God's people were
rejecting God as their King. His warning is in reference to all that an earthly king will take. God
says, He will take your sons, daughters, fields, vineyards, servants, donkeys, flocks, and finally
freedom.
These 6 Commandments can be viewed in terms of what we should never take from another. One
commentator asks this pressing question: "How can you love God and love your neighbor if you
are depriving them of things that are rightfully theirs?" God intends for His people to have
certain things, so in order for that to happen, He also has to put a law in place to remind us not to
take those things from one another. Let's look at them one at a time...

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the
Lord your God is giving you.

 This is rightly referred to as the law that comes with a promise.

 God's plan for His people starts in the home. A healthy world is made up of healthy

communities. And healthy communities are made up of healthy families. And the beauty

of the Gospel is that if you do not have a family, through God's grace you are given one

through redemption. All of us are little orphans. God has lovingly placed His name on us.

As brothers and sisters, we enjoy the grace of a Good Father. And our good father says,

"Honor your mother and father."

 God means for your mother and father to have honor. Do not take that away from them. [Quiet Quitting] We live in a culture that seems to disregard parents as we get older. Some of you sitting here today have felt disregarded rather than honored. Some of you here and maybe even listening online have disregarded your parents rather than honoring them and you need to call your mama! The Kingdom of God is counter-cultural and your home is meant to reflect Kingdom Values.

13 “You shall not murder.

 God is the maker of life. Literally none of us would have it if it was not given as a gift.

And he didn't just create us, but He created us in His image. So, the gift of life bears the

image of God.

 If you go all the way back to the beginning, God made life and called them Adam & Eve. Adam & Eve made life and called them Cain & Abel. And when there were only 4 people on earth... only 2 siblings on earth, one of the murdered the other. So, murder has been a problem from the beginning.

 God means for your neighbor to have life. Do not take that away from them.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

 God is the maker of marriage. It is not our idea. He made one man and one woman. So, there are 2 genders. And marriage is between one man and one woman. It is meant to be sacred.

 Quote from Reid: "Adultery is essentially breaking faith with a spouse, that is, it is about

unfaithfulness. Hence, the command not to commit adultery is a command to be like God

in relation to your spouse, to be faithful to your spouse as God has been or is being

faithful to you... What is wrong is that it is the greatest act of unfaithfulness a person can

exercise in that it is unfaithfulness to both the spouse and God... Adultery is an affront to

Him [God] because unfaithfulness is an affront to him; it is against all that he holds

precious."

 God means for men and women to have an exclusive relationship with their spouse. Do not take that away from them.

15 “You shall not steal.

 God is the giver of provision and blessings. When people forget that, they steal.

 God means for His people to have more than they need. Do not take that away from

them.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor

 In Amos 5, God is expressing His desire for His chosen people to obey Him, by ruling

justly and behaving righteously... to stop living as hypocrites and idolaters. V.24 says,

"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream."

 Over and over again in Scripture you see a need for multiple witnesses to establish what is true. Even in Matt. 18 where we see Church Discipline explained, it is to be established if someone is guilty of unrepentant sin by the account of multiple witnesses. When someone is sworn in at a jury trial, they are asked to put their hand on Bible and commit to telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth. So a false witness is in direct

opposition to what is true. God's desire for justice is seen over and over again in His call

for His people to be truth speakers; the kind of people who let no corrupting talk come

out of their mouths.

 God means for His people to have justice. Do not take that away from them.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

 Up until this point, the laws we've covered today have been in reference to our outward expressions toward other people. This law has to do with what is going on inside... in the heart.

 In a sense, it is saying that behavior modification is never enough. We need heart

transformation. Covetousness comes from the inward feelings of discontent, jealousy, and a lack of trust in God.

 James 4 says, "What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this,

that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your own

passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is

enmity with God."

 God has blessed you abundantly. Do not take that away from yourself.

18 Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

 When we take heed to God’s instruction, we do so as those who have had God's name

placed upon us. Because of who we are, we act according to our identity. Grace precedes

instruction. Fear God that you may not sin.

Discipleship Questions:

What happens if we forget that Grace precedes Instruction?
How do the 10 Commandments reveal the heart of the Father?
How can you love God and love your neighbor if you are depriving them of things that are rightfully theirs?
What are some ways that we deprive others of God-intended good things that may not seem so obvious as murder and stealing?
What are some ways that you can honor your mother and father as an adult? Even if they have passed away?
How does adultery misrepresent God?
Is there anything that you are coveting? If so, what are two things you can do this week to invite accountability?