- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 1
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 5
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 3
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 6
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 4
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 7
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 6
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 13
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 7
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 17
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 8
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 21
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 9
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 24
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 11
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 25
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 12
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 26
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 15
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 27
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 18
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Matthew 28
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 21
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Mark 6
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 22
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Mark 8
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 24
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 1
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 27
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 2
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 28
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 4
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 37
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 7
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 39
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 15
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 40
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 16
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 41
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 18
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 42
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 19
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 43
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 20
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 44
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Luke 24
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 45
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 1
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Genesis 50
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 3
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 1
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 4
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 2
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 6
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 3
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 8
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 4
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 10
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 5
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 13
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 6
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 14
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 7
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 15
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 8
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 16
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 9
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 17
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 10
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 20
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 11
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: John 21
- 365 Key Chapters of the Bible: Exodus 12
- Acts 1: The Ministry of the Gospel
- Exodus 13: Paying the Price
- Acts 2: Faith Founded on Fact
- Exodus 14–18: When Security Vanishes
- Acts 7: Eternal Glory
- Exodus 19: The Covenant to Come
- Acts 8: Counterfeit Gospels
- Exodus 20: The Holy Splendor of God
- Acts 9: From Persecutor to Proclaimer
- Exodus 32: God’s Inexpressible Glory
- Acts 10: The Gospel Goes to the Gentiles
- Leviticus 16: The Holiness of God
- Acts 13: Paul’s Missionary Journeys
- Numbers 13: The Book of Wanderings
- Acts 15: How Are We Saved?
- Numbers 14: The Faithfulness of God
- Acts 16: Interrupted Plans
- Deuteronomy 1: “Beware Lest You Forget”
- Acts 17: How to Spread the Good News
- Deuteronomy 2: Knowing God
- Acts 18: Encouragement through Fellow Believers
- Deuteronomy 3: Mercy and Judgment
- Acts 19–20: The Power and Word of God
- Acts 20–21: The Cost of Following Christ
- Deuteronomy 4: Leaving a Legacy
- Acts 22: Common Ground without Compromise
- Deuteronomy 5: The Purpose of the Law
- Acts 23: The Centrality of the Resurrection
- Deuteronomy 6: The Pitfalls of Prosperity
- Acts 24: Living in Light of the Resurrection
- Deuteronomy 7: Warnings about the World
- Acts 25: The Witness of Waiting
- Deuteronomy 8: Our Daily Bread
- Acts 26: Agents of Eternal Change
- Deuteronomy 27: A Covenant of Obedience
- Acts 27: Surviving the Storm
- Deuteronomy 28: Idolatry of the Heart
- Acts 28: Service and Encouragement
- Deuteronomy 29: Anticipating the New Covenant
- Romans 1: A Practical Theology
- Deuteronomy 30: God’s Merciful Covenant
- Romans 2: The Universal Moral Law
- Deuteronomy 32: Learning from the Past
- Romans 3: Righteousness in Christ
- Deuteronomy 34: The Death of Moses
- Romans 4: The Grace of Justification
- Joshua 1: Listening to the Lord
- Romans 5: Reconciliation with God
- Joshua 2: Rahab’s Faith
- Romans 6: Fighting the Flesh
God’s laws do not call us to mere external actions. Instead, they go deeper, commanding us to reorder our internal attitudes before the holy splendor of our God.
Indeed, God’s glory is the first thing we see in Exodus 20, which tells of the first giving of the famous Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mount Sinai. God appears with thunder and flashes of lightning in His majesty.
When we think of law, we rarely think of it in such a way. But these laws reflect the nature and character of God Himself. As a result, they call us to a standard of holiness more beautiful and more impossible than we usually imagine.
This standard of holiness can be understood in terms of our vertical and our horizontal relationships.
The vertical axis refers to our relationship with God. This is the primary one, and out of this relationship flows our responses to other people.
The horizontal axis refers to our relationships with other people. We may at first treat this as a check-list: I haven’t murdered, haven’t committed adultery, so I must be a good person. But when we see this in the context of our vertical relationship with God in all of His awe-inspiring majesty, we realize that we fall far short of the perfection God requires.
Jesus picks up on this in the Sermon on the Mount. It is not enough merely to adhere to the external standard; our heart is also in view.
No person in all of history has ever fulfilled the law perfectly—except one. Our Lord and Savior fulfilled the commandments perfectly for us so that He could stand in our place. It is because of Him that we can stand before a holy God.
Watch part 81 of the 365 Key Chapters of the Bible series, based on Ken’s Handbook to Scripture.