This week's theme on Things Unseen is The Grammar of the Gospel.

Just as language has rose of grammar that govern how we speak it or write it properly,

the same is true of the gospel in a way.

And we were reflecting on the New Testament's teaching that by nature we speak a different

language with a different grammar from the language of the gospel of grace.

So what's in gospel grammar?

I signed off yesterday by saying I hope you'd be in the mood for today because that's

where we're going to begin, moods.

The mood of a verb is just a sophisticated way of talking about the quality or tone of

a verb, and there are actually several verbal moods.

But for our purposes today, I want to focus on the two that we call indicative and imperatives.

An indicative is a statement of fact, God loves you.

An imperative is a statement of command, love God with all your heart and mind and soul

and strength.

Now here's the important point in gospel grammar.

God's indicative are always the basis for God's imperatives.

This is why we often find the word, therefore, in the New Testament.

It's because of who God is and what He has done for us in Christ that we should therefore

respond in a certain way.

What God does in His grace, the indicative, is the foundation for what we do in our response

of faith and obedience, responding to His imperative.

Here's another example from 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 19.

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