Good morning. Well, hopefully everyone enjoyed having Mark here last week to share with us in the revival. I got a chance to talk with him this week and he really enjoyed the trip. He especially enjoyed that dinner that we had. He suggested that I have you do that at least every 3rd and 4th Sunday of each month, and if we did to invite him to come and eat. But I think I was a good weekend, and I know that he enjoyed it and we both hope that it strengthened those of you who took part in that.
Today I would like to start a new series, and I think that I will go until the next revival that we have scheduled. I think that many times people look at the Old Testament as being outdated and not useful to us yet today. They think that because Jesus came and we are now saved by our beliefe in Him that we no longer need to live by the Old Testament. However, there is a great deal that we can learn from the Old Testament and apply to our lives. I think that probably the best thing from the Old Testament that we could spend time and take a look at would be the 10 Commandments.
Now there are a lot of people out there that would say because we live in the New Testament world, that the Old Testament has nothing in it that needs to be followed or that can help us in our walk with Christ. However, there is a scripture that tells us that ALL scripture is God breathed and is useful. So, for the next several weeks I want to spend some time looking at the Old Testament and focusing in on the 10 Commandments. Today will be an intro, and then we will take time to look at each of the Commandments in the weeks to come. Before we begin though, let’s open with a word of prayer.
The 10 Commandments are not a list of “THOU SHALT NOT’S”. If you only see them as a set of rules or as a ball and chain that weigh you down, you’ve missed the very heart of God. You see, a loving parent will set down curfews, they will set down boundaries, and give their children limitation. That’s not because they are trying to ruin the life of their child, it’s because they know what is best and they want what is good for their children. God is the same way, He wants what is best for us, and this is the way He coveys that message.
Instead of a list of does and don’ts, the 10 Commandments should be viewed as a list of things that concern our relationships. The whole Bible can be boiled down to one word, “RELATIONSHIPS.” It is all about 2 kinds of relationships: Ours with God, and Ours with others. From Genesis to the end of Revelation the Bible focuses on how to have a close, intimate relationship with a holy God and how we can have healthy and holy relationships with others. If that is the focus of the Bible it is no surprise that the 10 Commandments are all about relationships as well. In fact, the first 4 have to do with our relationship with God and the last 6 deal with our relationship with others.
Well let’s go ahead and read over these Commandments and see what we are going to be looking at for a while. Turn with me to Exodus 20:3-17. Now Moses went and received these 10 Commandments back in his day, but they are still applicable for us today so pay attention. Exodus 20:3-17 says, “1”
These 10 phrases have deep and profound implications for us today. I recently received an e-mail that contained the cowboy’s version of the 10 Commandments as they appear at Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas. Here are the Cowboys version of the 10 Commandments:
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma &Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin’.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin’ before God.
(6) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal.
(7) No killin’.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don’t take what ain’t yers.
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.
Of course children have some unique perspectives on the 10 Commandments as well don’t they. For example, a Sunday school teacher was discussing the 10 Commandments with her 5 and 6 year-olds. After explaining the commandment “Honor your Father and your mother,” she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat one little boy answered, “Yeah, thou shall not kill.”
Before we examine them more closely in the weeks to come, there is some background information that we need to take a look at. This will help us to better understand these important words of God. The background that I want to look at is the nature of the 10 Commandments.
What are the 10 Commandments? Are they law like we think of law? Are they rules of conduct that we must abide by? Or are they something else?
Well, I agree with Gordon Wenham when he says, “The Ten Commandments should … be looked on as a statement of basic religious and ethical principles rather than as a code of law.” So what does this suggest? It seems that the 10 Commandments are not “law” that we think of when we think of “law.” Rather, the 10 Commandments are God’s expectations for people who choose to follow Him.
Let’s now briefly look at each of the commandments this morning as a way of marking the path that we will be traveling in the weeks to come. Some Biblical scholars have pointed out that the first 4 define what the people’s relationship with God is to be.
· Do not worship any other gods besides me.
· Do not make idols of any kind.
· Do not misuse the name of the Lord Your God.
· Remember the Sabbath by keeping it Holy.
All around the Israelite people were people who worshipped many different gods. They had many, many, many different gods that they would worship. They worshipped a sun god, a moon god, an earth god, and a whole host of other gods.
So when God gives Moses the first command, it is a statement about who truly is God and that there is only one God. As we read the Old Testament, especially the books that deal with this time of history, we again and again read about the warning to not worship other gods. For example, in Exodus 32 the people ask Aaron to make them a clean god. Aaron makes a golden calf, and they begin worshipping that. However, this displeases the true God as you will find if you read on in that story.
But, what Aaron and the Israelites did was common in that time and place. Idols, images of animals, and people, made of metal or wood, were a part of the worship practices of the people that existed at that point. Except when it came to God’s commandments – no idols of any kind, the second commandment.
And God gives His reasons in verses 5 and 6 for both commandments 1 and 2. “I am a jealous God” He says. Don’t share your affection, your love, or your worship with anyone or anything but Me. He is telling us that He is to be the only one that we worship and call God.
Then there is commandment number 3 – “Do not misuse the name of God.” This is one that is abused most often, and we will look more deeply into this in the week that we cover it, but here is a brief thought concerning this command. What does God mean?
Well, the first thing that comes to our minds is swearing and profanity. Over and over in the New Testament, Paul tells the believers in the early Christian church that their language must change and must become more pure and clean. There is no place, he writes in places like Colossians 3:8, for things like slander and dirty language from the mouths of those who profess the name of Christ.
Then we move on to the 4th Commandment regarding the Sabbath. Matthew Henry, a Bible commentator and preacher of another generation makes the important point, “Six days are allotted to worldly business, but not so as to neglect the service of God, and the care of our souls.” Easier said than done these days, isn’t it? What is necessary on the Sabbath? Well, God gives Moses a command to keep the Sabbath day holy.
In Mark 2:27 we read that Jesus, in response to a charge by the Pharisees that His disciples broke the Sabbath as they broke off the head of some wheat as they were walking through some grain fields, said, “The Sabbath was made to benefit people, not people to benefit the Sabbath.” This fourth commandment is given because God wanted His people to take the time to rest both the body and the soul and to worship Him as a critical way to be His people.
So, why are these commandments necessary? To some they seem out dated and unnecessary. But, these first 4 commandments outline God’s expectations of the Israelites relationship with Him. But, not only is God outlining His expectations of the Israelites relationship with Him, He also lays out His expectations for their relationships with one another.
The first of this second group of commandments starts with a command that is an important foundation of our lives together, “Honor Thy Father and Mother.” To honor someone is to respect them. To respect someone is to value them. Now I know, and we all know, that respect of parents is something that is considered old fashion and dumb in our society today. And granted there are some parents who give those who are good parents or are trying to be good parents, a bad name. Their parenting leaves a lot to be desired and respect is the furthest thing from the minds and hearts of their children and family. But, that is no reason to throw out this commandment. In keeping this commandment, we honor the created order and purpose of the family that God put into operation at the time of creation.
If we believe that God has crated us, if we take seriously and believe the Genesis account of creation, then the next commandment is one that is not optional. Perhaps no other commandment has generated as much discussion during the past 30 years as this one has generated due to abortion and capital punishment. Matthew Henry’s simple statement, “The sixth commandment requires that we regard the life and the safety of others as we do our own,” is a very good way to understand this vital commandment. Life is sacred because God has made it so. How well are we regarding the life and safety of others these days?
In the next 4 commandments, God was telling the Israelites that He expected them to show love and respect of other’s property and family and to be content with what they have. And I think that God expects the same thing of us today. How do you view other people? As pain in the necks? As something to be tolerated? As objects to be possessed? These commandments prohibit the disrespecting of others and what they own.
Adultery is a disrespecting of another’s spouse. Stealing is a disrespecting of another’s property. Lying by false testimony or slander or malicious envy is a disrespecting of another’s character. And Coveting, a yearning for what properly belongs to someone else, is a disrespecting of what God has given to each one of us.
Not much room for moving around these, is there? God was pretty plain when He gave these commandments. We can argue and debate some of them, but the truth is that they are there for our own good. Now, I want to conclude this morning with a brief comparison of another mountain dialogue between Jesus and humanity that is found in Matthew 5.
Jesus begins His comparison in verse 17 with an important statement, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to fulfill them.”
By the time Jesus spoke these words the Jewish law had grown to be a demanding group of rules. Jesus, in the verses that are to follow, brings them back to the meaning for which God originally intended them to be. They are there to help us in our relationship with Him and in our relationships with others around us. They are not just a bunch of rules that have to be followed, rather they are a set of principles that we as Christ followers should be committed to follow. In the next couple of verses there are 2 portions of this passage in which Jesus directly addresses 2 of the 10 things covered by the 10 Commandments.
“You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, “If you are angry with someone, you are subject to judgment.” You have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust in his eye has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
What is Jesus saying here? Murder and adultery as well as idolatry and disrespect begin in our hearts and in our minds. The act of murder and the act of adultery; the disrespecting of people, and the failure to take time to rest and worship God starts from within. Every time He says, “But I say to you,” Jesus raises the bar on what constitutes sin and what God expects from us. Sin, disobeying God, it all starts with our attitudes and our priorities. Our behavior is simply an outward expression of these attitudes and priorities.
If we are going to fully follow God, then we must love both God and one another in these ways, not as a way of forced obedience but as a way of expressing love and respect for God and for one another. As we progress through the weeks to come, we will take time and look at each of these commandments and see what it’s relevance is for us today. And hopefully as we look at the 10 Commandments, it will give you a better understanding of the Old Testament and what it has to offer us as Christians still today.
Let’s Pray |
