Made Right To Live Right Series

Made Right to Live Right

Introduction

I know some of you might have a hard time with it, but I really kind of enjoy living alone. Especially after being a middle-aged dorm student when I was in seminary. But there is one thing that I don¡¦t like. I can¡¦t blame anything on anybody. I mean, I have the dog, but there¡¦s a limit to what I can blame on her.

If the kitchen is a mess, I can¡¦t storm in self-righteously and mutter under my breath about how I¡¦m the ONLY ONE who ever cleans up around here.

I can¡¦t look at the dog and say, ¡§Would it KILL you to refill the ICE TRAYS after you¡¦ve used up the ice? Would you like me to TEACH you how to put on a new roll of toilet paper?¡¨

Except for bones and toys all over the floor, I just have to take ALL the blame for everything.

And I HATE that! I HATE admitting my flaws and failings.

For the last eleven weeks (not counting my vacation) we¡¦ve been studying the 10 Commandments. I don¡¦t know about you, but I¡¦ve had to see a LOT of my flaws, failings, and honestly, my sin during this series.

Before we leave the 10 Commandments behind, I wanted to review them and revisit just how they fit into a Christian¡¦s life.

Review of the Ten Commandments

1st ¡V There is only One God

And that is the God revealed in the Scriptures

And He is to take first place in our lives.

Have you ever given any one or any thing besides God first place in your life? (I have)

Then we¡¦ve failed to keep the first commandment.

2nd ¡V No idols ¡V no ¡§graven images¡¨ of God

Although we can never have a complete understanding of who God is, we need to constantly be on guard against having a twisted view of Him

We need to be growing in our knowledge of the Scriptures and our relationship with God so that we won¡¦t have twisted images of God in our minds and hearts.

Have you sought continuously to grow in your knowledge of God and understanding of Scripture?

I haven¡¦t

So we¡¦ve failed to keep the second commandment

3rd ¡V Honor God¡¦s Name

Certainly this includes what comes out of our mouth

God¡¦s name should not be used for cursing or even used lightly ¡V ¡§Oh my GAWWD!!¡¨

But even more serious is the fact that as Christians we ¡§wear¡¨ God¡¦s name.

Non-believers judge our God by our behavior.

Has your behavior ever brought shame to God¡¦s name?

Mine has

Then we have failed to keep the third commandment.

4th ¡V Keep the Sabbath Holy

We saw how the Sabbath was given for a couple of reasons.

The most important one was that it gave us a picture of the way salvation came through Christ;

By NOT working.

Our salvation is a free gift to all who believe.

By keeping the Sabbath, we remember that we are not saved by OUR work, but through Christ¡¦s work on the cross.

By keeping the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship, we also give witness to our faith in God¡¦s care and provision in our lives as well as the importance of worship.

Have you ever trusted in yourself (or in anyone or anything else) when you should have been trusting God?

I sure have!

Then we¡¦re guilty of breaking the 4th commandment.

5th ¡V Honor your father & mother

We don¡¦t really have to review much here, do we?

Is there anybody here who has NEVER dishonored either of their parents?

Not me.

So we¡¦re all guilty of breaking the 5th commandment

6th ¡V Don¡¦t Murder

Once we get to these, we start feeling better, right?

But as we talked about, keeping this commandment doesn¡¦t just mean not physically killing someone.

Jesus said we¡¦re guilty of murder if we¡¦re angry with someone or if we call somebody an idiot.

And the positive side of this means that we protect and promote human life and health in every way possible.

I don¡¦t know about you, but I¡¦ve broken the 6th commandment

7th ¡V Don¡¦t commit adultery

Again Jesus said that anyone who has had lust in his or her heart is guilty of adultery.

And the positive side of this is faithfulness, especially in our marriage relationships, but in other humna relationships ¡V and also in our relationship with God.

I¡¦m not married, but I¡¦ve let God and other people down plenty of times.

In that way, I¡¦ve been unfaithful, and I¡¦m guilty of breaking the 7th commandment.

8th ¡V Don¡¦t steal

When I preached on stealing, I listed a number of ways of stealing that have become increasingly popular:

Cheating & Plagiarism