S4: Week 11 Day 5: Applying Exodus 12:1-13 & John 1:29-34

Summary

A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace

Episode: Season 4, Week 11 Day 5: Applying Exodus 12:1-13 & John 1:29-34
Host: The Daily Grace Co.
Release Date: March 14, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace, hosts Beth and Alexa delve into the profound connections between the Old Testament and the New Testament, specifically focusing on Exodus 12:1-13 and John 1:29-34. As part of their ongoing Christ in All of Scripture study plan, they explore how these passages intertwine to reveal Jesus as the central figure of the entire biblical narrative.

Key Topics Discussed

1. Salvation by Grace Through Jesus’s Blood

Beth opens the discussion by emphasizing the dual role of Jesus's blood in the salvation narrative. She articulates that Jesus's sacrifice not only liberates believers from sin and its ultimate punishment but also empowers them to live obediently and righteously. Referencing the parallels between Jesus’s death and the Passover lamb’s sacrifice in Exodus, Beth explains:

“Jesus's blood not only saves us from our sin and its punishment, but it also saves us for obedience and righteousness.”
— Beth [01:11]

2. The Order of Salvation: Mercy Before Obedience

A significant portion of the conversation centers on understanding the sequential nature of God's salvation process as depicted in Exodus. Beth clarifies that God’s mercy initiates salvation, freeing His people from bondage, followed by a call to obedience. She cautions against the common misconception that obedience is the means to earn God's favor or salvation:

“It's really important that we understand the order of this process, and Exodus really helps us with that. So God first mercifully delivers his people and then he calls them to obedience.”
— Beth [01:45]

Alexa builds on this by addressing the internal struggle believers might face in balancing grace and obedience. She reflects on personal experiences to illustrate how understanding God’s unconditional love liberates believers to obey out of gratitude rather than obligation:

“How freeing is it to know that God's love for us doesn't grow or minimize depending on our obedience.”
— Alexa [02:30]

3. God's Unconditional Love and Obedience

The hosts explore the relationship between God’s love and human obedience, debunking the myth that obedience enhances God's love. Alexa draws a poignant analogy with human relationships, explaining that just as parental love isn't contingent on a child’s obedience, God's love remains steadfast regardless of our actions. This revelation encourages believers to embrace obedience as a response to love, not a prerequisite for it.

“It's coming from a place of delight and gratitude.”
— Alexa [02:50]

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Beth: “Jesus's blood not only saves us from our sin and its punishment, but it also saves us for obedience and righteousness.” [01:11]
• Beth: “It's really important that we understand the order of this process, and Exodus really helps us with that. So God first mercifully delivers his people and then he calls them to obedience.” [01:45]
• Alexa: “How freeing is it to know that God's love for us doesn't grow or minimize depending on our obedience.” [02:30]
• Alexa: “It's coming from a place of delight and gratitude.” [02:50]

Application and Practical Insights

The episode transitions to practical applications, where Beth and Alexa discuss how the insights from the scriptures can be lived out daily. They highlight the importance of recognizing that obedience is a natural outflow of being saved by grace. This perspective shifts the believer’s motivation from seeking favor through actions to responding with heartfelt gratitude and love.

Beth warns against the deceptive belief that personal obedience can secure God’s favor, reinforcing that salvation is solely by grace. This understanding frees believers from legalistic tendencies and invites a more authentic, grace-based relationship with God.

Prayer Section

Following the discussion, Beth leads listeners into a time of prayer, encouraging them to internalize the episode's teachings. She provides specific prompts for reflection:

1. Thank God for both His perfect justice and His mercy toward His people.
2. Ask God to make you aware of His great love for you that was shown through Christ.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you seek to walk away from sin today.

This segment underscores the practical outworking of the episode's themes, inviting listeners to engage personally with the truths discussed.

Conclusion and Takeaways

Beth and Alexa wrap up the episode by reiterating the central theme: God’s salvation is an act of mercy, not a result of human obedience, and true obedience flows from an understanding of and gratitude for this grace. They encourage listeners to embrace this truth, allowing it to transform their relationship with God and their daily walk.

Beth highlights the liberating nature of this understanding, freeing believers from the burden of trying to earn God's favor and empowering them to live obediently out of love and gratitude:

“So it's only from grace that I'm even able to think about obeying God.”
— Beth [02:00]

Alexa echoes this sentiment, expressing excitement about living a life motivated by God’s unconditional love rather than obligation:

“That truth all the more makes me excited to obey God because it's coming from a place of delight and gratitude.”
— Alexa [02:40]

Final Reflections

This episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace offers a profound exploration of the interplay between grace and obedience. By examining Exodus 12:1-13 and John 1:29-34, Beth and Alexa illuminate how Jesus fulfills and embodies the themes of liberation and redemption present throughout Scripture. Listeners are left with a deeper appreciation for God’s mercy and a renewed motivation to live in obedience as a natural response to His love.

For further studies, journals, and resources to deepen your relationship with God and His Word, visit thedailygraceco.com.

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Connect with The Daily Grace Co.:

• Instagram: @dailygraceco
• Podcast: A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace

Transcript

[Beth]

Welcome to A Year in the Bible with daily grace. This year we want to spend a few minutes with you every day walking through our study Christ in All of Scripture. Each week we will dive deeply into two passages of Scripture, one from the Old Testament and one from the new, seeing how they connect and point to Jesus.

[Alexa]

Whether you are doing the study yourself or just following along with us here, we are hopeful that through studying these passages each week, you will see how Christ is not only present throughout the entire biblical story, but but the center of it. Hello, friends.

[Beth]

Welcome back to another day of a year in the Bible. My name is Beth and I'm here with Alexa.

[Alexa]

Hey, everyone. Today we are going to be talking about how we are planning on applying the passages that we looked at this week and the ways in which we saw the Christ connections in them.

[Beth]

So there are a couple things that really stood out to me for application in these passages. And so the first is Jesus's blood not only saves us from our sin and its punishment, but it also saves us for obedience and righteousness. We talked about that a little bit at the end of yesterday's episode, how Jesus's death releases us from our slavery to sin in the same way that the Passover lamb's death released Israel from their slavery to Egypt. But it's really important that we understand the order of this process, and Exodus really helps us with that. So God first mercifully delivers his people and then he calls them to obedience. And so I can easily get caught in the lie that I have to obey God, turn his favor, that the way to salvation is through obeying God. And I think that we all know that that's not true. We're told constantly that we're saved by grace, but it's just really easy to think that it's my obedience that earns God's favor or earns my salvation. But what these stories tell us is that really it's God's mercy that provides us salvation. And then once we are saved, he then calls us to obedience. And so I obey God because He has already demonstrated his great love and favor toward me through giving me Jesus's blood to save me from death and releasing me from my bondage to sin. So it's only from grace that I'm even able to think about obeying God. Alexa, was there anything that stood out to you for application from this week?

[Alexa]

Yeah, all of what you're saying connects with that first prompt on day five that says, do you ever find yourself even subtly thinking that God loves you more when you have been obedient to him. And that's such a good question, because it really is so easy to think that God's love for us is measured by obedience. Like, we know that God's Word says that we can't earn God's favor, but at the same time we think that God must love us more if we're obedient to Him. It's something that I think I felt a lot of times as a kid. Like if I always obey my parents, they'll be more pleased with me when in reality my parents love me, when I obey and when I disobey. So how freeing is it to know that God's love for us doesn't grow or minimize depending on our obedience? That truth all the more makes me excited to obey God because it's coming from a place of delight and gratitude okay, we're going to transition to our time of prayer now. Beth is going to read some prompts for us, and after each one, just take a moment to respond in prayer to the Lord.

[Beth]

Thank God for both his perfect justice and his mercy towards his people. Ask God to make you aware of his great love for you that was shown through Christ. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you as you seek to walk away from sin today.

[Alexa]

Thanks so much for joining us this week, and we're looking forward to diving into more of Christ in all Scripture next week. Bye friends. Thank you for listening to today's episode of A Year in the Bible with Daily Grace. Be sure to check out our show notes for some helpful links and resources related to today's episode, and make sure you're following aalygrace Podcast and hedaily Grace Co on Instagram for more Bible study resources and encouragement. We're looking forward to studying God's Word with you again tomorrow. Bye friends.