• Exodus 20:3-17 (NIV)
[3] You shall have no other gods before me.
[4] You shall not make for yourself an idol. . .
[7] You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. . .
[8] Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. . .
[12] Honor your father and your mother. . .
[13] You shall not murder.
[14] You shall not commit adultery.
[15] You shall not steal.
[16] You shall not give false testimony . . .
[17] You shall not covet.
INTRODUCTION:
President John Adams stated, “The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal code as well as a moral and religious code. These laws are essential to the existence of men in society and most of which have been enacted by every Nation which ever professed any code of laws. Vain indeed would be the search among the writings of secular history to find so broad, so complete and so solid a basis of morality as the Ten Commandments lay down.”
The Ten Commandments are the foundation of our legal system. So much so that James Madison said, “We have staked the future of all our political institutions upon . . . the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to control ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to the Ten Commandments of God.” While the commandments have been debated, you can still find them engraved on the walls of the US Supreme Court.
Over the next 10 weeks we are going to take a closer look at the Ten Commandments. It is my prayer that we will all learn how to live our lives in simple obedience to God’s commands and be a holy and righteous people. My attempt to help bring clarity and understanding to the commandments may be out done by “The Hillbilly’s Ten Commandments.” These are the simple down home interpretation of the Ten Commandments as posted on the wall at Cross Trails Church in Louisville, KY.
(1) Just one God
(2) Put nothin’ before God
(3) Watch yer mouth
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meetin’
(5) Honor yer Ma & Pa
(6) No killin’
(7) No foolin’ around with another fellow’s gal
(8) Don’t take what ain’t yers
(9) No tellin’ tales or gossipin’
(10) Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff
Now I suppose it doesn’t get much simpler than that! If we can all learn to live like that then the world would be a better place.
God has given commands that are the basis for our lives. With ten simple rules for us to follow, there is no need for an 11th commandment. God has covered all the bases. The Ten Commandments summarize God’s moral law. The first four commandments instruct us how to maintain a right relationship with God; the last six commandments focus on our relationships with other people. With only 302 words from start to finish (in the NIV) God has stated all that needs to be said about how to live a life that pleases Him. (That’s a pretty good economy of words when you think about some of the laws coming out of Washington DC. For instance a recent federal directive to regulate the price of cabbage contains 26,911 words!)
I. God has made His commandments known.
Illustration: If I were to ask you how the Ten Commandments were given to the children of Israel, perhaps you would make the same mistake that I have made. How many of us picture Charlton Hesston, I mean Moses, on Mt. Sinai receiving the Ten commandments on tablets of stone engraved by the finger of God? With that image who can blame the children of Israel for sinning while Moses was on the mountain by making the golden calf and worshiping it. They didn’t know any better right? Wrong!
1. God spoke the commandments.
• Exodus 20:1, 18-19 (NIV)
[1] And God spoke all these words. . . [18] When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance [19] and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
a) God didn’t spring the commandments on the people after they had sinned by making the golden calf. God gave them the commandments personally, but the people didn’t want to listen to the voice of God. It was only after Moses was on the mountain for 40 days that they decided to make the golden calf and worship it, but they did so knowing what God had already told them.
b) People are always looking for an excuse. What better excuse than, “I didn’t know.” Only that excuse doesn’t work.
2. God has made His commandments known to us.
• Romans 2:15 (NIV)
. . . The requirements of the law are written on their hearts. . .
a) God’s law is not something alien or foreign to us; it is woven into the very fabric of our being to know what is right and wrong. Are we willing to obey the law that God has put within us?
b) More importantly are we willing to listen to the voice of His Spirit and live a life of obedience, or will we like the children of Israel ignore God’s voice and give place to sin in our lives?
II. GOD EXISTS.
1. The ten commandments begin with the declaration, “GOD EXISTS!”
• Exodus 20:1-2 (NIV)
[1] And God spoke all these words: [2] "I am the Lord your God. . .
a) Look again at the first two words God spoke to the people. God used the name He revealed to Moses; “I AM.” God makes Himself known! The greatest truth that can be known is that God exists. The saddest fact is that so many people either don’t know God exists or have rejected it.
b) Augustine said, “In the heart of every man is a great god shaped vacuum, and man finds no rest until he finds rest in God.” What have you used to try to fill that place within your heart that can only be filled by God?
• Psalm 14:1-2 (NIV)
[1] The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. [2] The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.
c) All creation shouts, “There is a God!”
• Romans 1:20 (NIV)
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
2. God exists and is a PERSONAL GOD!
• Exodus 20:2 (NIV)
I am the Lord YOUR GOD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
a) God doesn’t just say, “I’m the Lord your God.” He says, “I’m not a distant God unconcerned about your lives. I’m your God. I’ve taken an interest in your life and care for you. I’m the God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”
b) God is a personal God and is interested in your life! Some people may want to say, “Prove it” or that we accept God on “blind faith.” Yes we believe in God by faith, but it is not a blind faith. The evidence of God’s existence is abundant! The testimony of changed lives tells us that there is a God, a personal God who cares about us!
c) The Ten Commandments are based upon an intimate relationship between God and His people. The Ten Commandments are very much like the vows made between a bride and groom on their wedding day as God gives these commandments in the context of His covenant relationship with Israel.
• Exodus 19:4-6 (NIV)
[4] ’You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. [5] Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, [6] you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
d) God does not give the Ten Commandments and say, “DO THIS BECAUSE I TOLD YOU SO!” God promises to love and protect His people, thus the Ten Commandments should be the natural loving response of a people who have received so much from God. The Ten Commandments bind us in a relationship with God, but they also bind God to us in a covenant relationship.
e) Jesus came not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it. So as we come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, He enables us to fulfill or obey the Ten Commandments as God desires. The key to obedience is a relationship with God. Why should someone be concerned about not stealing if they have not been bound in a relationship with the God who said, “You shall not steal?” Why should we remain faithful in marriage except that we know that the God who said, “You shall not commit adultery” is faithful to us? Why refrain from using God’s name as a swear word unless we have come to know and love the God who said, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God?” Obedience to the commandments is based upon a relationship with a personal God who loves us.
3. God doesn’t just want blind obedience to a set of rules. God wants to share an intimate relationship with you!
a) God has not abandoned His creation but watches over it. God cares for His creation, and more importantly HE CARES FOR YOU. Look what God said to the people to whom He gave the Ten Commandments.
• Deuteronomy 14:2 (NIV)
For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
b) Perhaps you think that’s just an Old Testament promise for Israel and has nothing to do with me. Think again! God has not changed. THE PROMISE GOD MADE TO ISRAEL HE MAKES TO YOU!
• 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)
[9] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. [10] Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
c) God wants to be in a relationship with you, BUT THE CHOICE IS UP TO YOU! Just like God rescued Israel from the bondage of the Egyptians, God has rescued you from the power of sin. God wants you to be free from sin to enjoy a relationship with Him.
• John 8:34 (NIV)
Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
• Romans 6:18 (NIV)
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.
• 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 (NIV)
[14] For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. [15] And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
[16] So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! [18] All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: [19] that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. [20] We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. [21] God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
d) We know that God exists as a personal God who loves His creation and wants to share an intimate relationship with us. He has made His commandments known, not as a dictator demanding obedience, but as a loving God who has fully committed Himself first to us.
III. GOD ALONE IS GOD.
• Exodus 20:3 (NIV)
You shall have no other gods before me.
1. Keep God first in your heart and worship only Him.
a) Why does God begin the Ten Commandments with this rule? Why does God not want us to have any gods before Him?
• Exodus 34:14 (NIV)
Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.
b) God is jealous for our love. We often think of jealousy in a negative way, to be envious or suspicious, to demand loyalty. But God says His name is Jealous. God is protective and watchful over those He loves. God is not a green eyed monster full of envy. God loves us. The jealousy of God shows that He is passionate about His love for us and desires our complete love and affection in return.
ILLUSTRATION: Susie and I will have been married 25 years this August. Our love for each other has grown deeper with each passing year. She has never done anything to be unfaithful to me; she has shown her commitment and devotion to me. While she has remained true to her promise to forsake all others, I’m still jealous for her affection. I don’t want her love for me to be divided. My jealousy for her is a good thing; I’m protective and watchful over our love for each other. Furthermore, my jealousy for Susie motivates me to remain faithful and true to her in return. My jealousy keeps her as the center of my affection while at the same time desires her undivided love.
2. God created us with the ability to worship. God says, “WORSHIP THE BEST; WORSHIP ME ABOVE ALL ELSE.”
a) We don’t worship God because He demands our worship. We worship the Lord because God made us creatures of worship. We are made in the image of God. The best description of God is simply “GOD IS LOVE.” Therefore God has made us to be like Him with the capacity to love others. One expression of love is worship, and this expression of love is reserved for God alone.
ILLUSTRATION: Again think about the marriage relationship. God has made us as sexual beings, male and female. However sexual expression and fulfillment is to be reserved for the marriage relationship between a husband and wife. That’s the best place for the sexual expression of love. Unfortunately sexual expression is misplaced outside the marriage relationship. Likewise our expression of love through worship is not always given to God.
b) God was not on an ego trip when He made the first commandment say that our worship should be reserved for Him, that He alone is God. God considered everything in creation: the stars, the sun and moon, the trees and all the animals He had made (God even considered humans with great abilities made in His image); God considered the angels of heaven. But nothing in all creation was deserving of our worship; nothing else was superior to God Himself.
3. People may worship many different things (and even other people) as their god, BUT GOD ALONE IS GOD.
a) The first commandment focuses on the PRIORITY of our worship; our worship should be given to God alone. Next week we will look at the second commandment and the PRACTICE of worship as we think about some of the so-called “gods” men make for themselves.
b) Satan tried to get Jesus to misplace His worship. The devil offered Jesus all the kingdoms of this world together with all their majesty and power if Jesus would just bow down and worship him. Satan had the authority and power over this world and believed himself to be worthy of worship; to be worshiped has always been Satan’s desire.
• Matthew 4:10 (NIV)
Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’"
c) The human race has always been trying to improve things. We have developed better means of communication; instead of sending smoke signals or a letter by pony express, we can use cell phones, computers with e-mail and instant messages, video conferences with people around the block or around the world. We no longer are limited to travel only by walking, horseback or wagon train; today we can get in air conditioned cars and travel on interstate highways or get on an airplane and travel around the world quickly. YET WITH ALL OUR IMPROVEMENTS, WE HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE OUR WORSHIP. WHEN YOU WORSHIP GOD YOU WORSHIP THE BEST.
d) We can do nothing to improve our worship, but God did. God is a personal God and desires to have an intimate relationship with us. “You shall have no other God’s before me.” With that commandment God established the PRIORITY of worship. God said worship the best, worship me. Nothing else in all creation compares to worshiping God. God has bridged the gap that has separated man from God. With 3 nail and two pieces of wood God bridged the chasm of sin and made the way for man to again be able to enter into His presence and worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. The cross of Christ is the only thing that improves our worship. We can do nothing to improve what God has done. God wants a relationship with you.
