Introduction
When Almighty God wanted to reveal to His people the way to live life at its fullest, He gave them what theologians call the ten words. Most people know them as the Ten Commandments. They’re God’s Top Ten directives that summarize the moral values God’s people are to live by. They are essentials for living in freedom.
The Ten Commandments are one of the few things Jews, Muslims and Christians all agree on. All three accept these commandments as from God.
God’s Top Ten are the bedrock of Western Civilization. Many legal historians would contend that the American judicial system was originally based on the Ten Commandments.
President Abraham Lincoln said, “We’re it not for the Ten Commandments we would not know right from wrong.”
President and national reformer Theodore Roosevelt put it this way: “No man is a good citizen unless he so acts as to show that he actually uses the Ten Commandments.”
But the opinion of many American’s toward the Ten Commandments has changed. Today they’re seen as outdated, useless and even illegal.
The 1980 Supreme Court of the United States banned hanging the Ten Commandments on the walls of our schools. You might wonder why they would do that? Well, the majority believed the Ten Commandments had no educational value for school children. Let me directly quote the majority ruling – They wrote, "If the posted copies of the Ten Commandments are to have any effect at all, it will be to induce the school children to read, meditate upon, perhaps to venerate and obey the commandments...” Which (they went on to write) is not a permissible objective."
Think about it? The majority on the court were saying it is not permissible for students to honor God, speak without cursing, honor their parents, tell the truth, be honest, respect others property and to treat life as sacred. If these values are not allowed, should it surprise us that many public schools now have to employ metal detectors, surveillance cameras, bomb squads and undercover police officers.
So what’s your opinion? Wouldn’t you agree that the Ten Commandments would be of some educational value for today’s school children?
What’s really astonishing to me is to realize this ruling was made in a courtroom where a depiction of Moses and the Ten Commandments adorns the walls.
You could say the Ten Commandments are the value system by which God’s people were created to live and the standard by which greatness is to be measured.
Yet only 45% of American’s surveyed could even name 5 of the commands. Maybe that could be expected from the general population but when weekly churchgoers were asked, there were only 47% who could name 5 or more. Ten weeks from now I hope 100% of you will be able to name all of the commandments but better yet, I pray that we will be living them out.
The Purpose for the Ten Commandments
Over the next ten weeks we are planning to study the Ten Commandments in sequential order, examining a different command each week. Next week we’ll look at the First Commandment and I am so excited about it, because understanding and living out God’s first command can absolutely transform your life for good and allow you to live the best life possible. You really don’t want to miss it.
Yet, before we begin looking at the commandments individually, I’d like to talk about the purpose of the Ten Commandments in our lives today. To do so, let’s review their history.
Out of all the people in the world, God chose a man named Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees. The LORD appeared to Abram and promised to make of him a great nation. Abram believed God and eventually the old man, now known as Abraham, became the father of a miracle child name Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob, who had twelve sons, who out of envy, sold their brother Joseph into Egyptian slavery. Yet, despite their wicked act, God had a plan to use what they meant for evil to save their own lives. The LORD took Joseph from being a slave, then through an Egyptian prison, to finally the position of Prime Minister of all the land of Egypt. A few years later, during a famine, the family turns to Egypt for food and Joseph made himself known to his brothers. He forgives them, saying, “What you did, you meant for evil but God meant it for good.” Joseph then relocates all of the family to Egypt. Years pass, Israel grows into a great population of people and a Pharaoh in Egypt, who no longer knew of Joseph, subjected the Israelites to slavery, for the purpose of building his treasure cities. In their hard slavery, Israel calls out to the LORD, and God sends a former Prince of Egypt named Moses, back into Egypt, to deliver his people by ten mighty plagues. God brings them through the miracle of parting the Red Sea into the desert wilderness. The LORD is now going to form a new nation out of these former slaves. The problem is that after getting them out of Egypt, He has to get Egypt out of them. They have taken on the mental constructs and the world-view of the Egyptians and God now must give them a new way to look at life and a new way to live life.
In Exodus 19:4-6 God says, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation...”
They had entered into a unique and personal relationship with God. The LORD is saying his commands were the basis for experiencing the fullness of that relationship. Keeping the commands didn’t save them out of Egypt. God had saved them and now obeying God’s commands would allow them to be His holy people and special treasure – that is, they were to be beautifully different than other nations.
In Deuteronomy 6:6-7, God told Israel how important His commands were to them.
Deut 6:6-7 (TLB) “And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning.”
You may say, “But how do these commandments apply to us today. Didn’t Jesus come to do away with the Law of Moses?” That’s actually not what Jesus said.
In Matthew 5:17-19 NIV Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
The Law of Moses was divided into four sections. There were the ceremonial, sanitary, civil and moral laws. Jesus fulfilled the civil, sanitary and ceremonial laws through his death, burial and resurrection. That is, all of the festivals, special days and rituals have been fulfilled. Yet, the moral laws spelled out in the Ten Commandments are still principles for us to live by today. In fact, 9 of the 10 Commandments have a direct equivalent command in the New Testament. The fourth command, the Sabbath command is the only one that doesn’t, though we’ll learn that the principle of the Sabbath is still in force. Now we are to live out the Ten Commandments, not by human effort, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. In the coming weeks we’ll learn how to do that.
Today I want all of us to see that there are important and practical reasons God has given us His Top Ten. We are going to look at three of those reasons this morning.
The Ten Commandments Provide
First, the Ten Commandments provide…
1. Boundaries for freedom.
1 John 5:2-3 (NKJ) “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”
Some see the Ten Commandments as burdensome because they see them as restrictions to freedom. The reality is that the commandments provide the boundaries we need to experience a life of freedom.
It is said without proper boundaries a child grows up insecure. Maybe you are living an insecure life because you are living without boundaries.
When my wife Kelly and I were on our honeymoon up in the mountains we saw a big sign on the road that said– GO NO FURTHER – just past the sign was a sheer precipice that went down hundreds of feet. This was a good boundary. God’s commandments are good boundaries.
You may say, “I understand the need for boundaries but the Ten Commandments come off so strong” - THOU SHALL NOT. If my 3-year old child was running as fast as her little legs could carry them toward the edge of the cliff what would I do. Would I whisper, “Precious little sweetheart please come back to the car and we will have a session on values clarification.” No I would yell at the top my voice, “Faith, stop.” That is what God is doing because He knows the danger for a society, a family or an individual, which disregards his commands.
Living a life of obedience to God’s commands leads to freedom. There are many things that were created for the water and if they stay in the boundaries of the water they experience freedom.
A fish is dead if left outside the water but in the water it is alive and free. A canoe on the land is stuck and of little value but it’s free and useful in the rapids. An ocean liner is restricted on shore but it’s free and majestic in the ocean.
Freedom comes from honoring the restrictions and boundaries that correlate with our design.
The first reason for the God’s Top Ten is that…
The Ten Commandments provide boundaries for freedom.
Second, the Ten Commandments provide…
2. Blueprints for fulfillment.
Deut. 6:24 (NLT) “And the LORD our God commanded us to obey all these laws and to fear him for our own prosperity and well-being…”
We are to obey God’s commands for our own good. And obeying God’s commands will provide us with the best life possible. The problem is the commands don’t always seem the best for us or feel like they’re the best for us. That’s what obedience is all about.
True obedience always involves crossing your will. Agreement isn’t really obedience. For instance, if I tell my daughter to eat her chocolate ice cream and she does it, that really isn’t obedience. That’s agreement Because that’s what she wanted to do anyway. But if I tell her to eat her broccoli, when she doesn’t want to do eat it, and she still does it, now that’s obedience.
Often what God asks us to do doesn’t set well with us. It crosses our will. We think a lie will get us out of difficult situation – God’s says not to lie – it crosses our will. We feel taking something that doesn’t belong to us will get us ahead – God crosses our will and says do not steal. We think no one will know about our one night stand – God says not to commit adultery and it crosses our will.
There are many times when what we want to do seems right and feels right but we have to let God cross our will and obey Him. To disobey God’s commands and to do what we think or feel is best is saying my discernment and wisdom is more reliable than the Bible. When you say, “No, I won’t do what the Bible says, you are saying, “God I am wiser, more loving and more qualified to know what is right than you.
So when it comes to obeying God’s commandments, though it feels wrong – I do what God says is right. And though it feels right, I won’t do it if God says it’s wrong.
Maybe you’ve met people who say, “We don’t need boundaries and restrictions.” “We just need to follow our feelings. We just need to follow our heart.” Let’s look at this video to see the fallacy of that kind logic.
(VIDEO – From the Heart - 2:30)
Can you imagine what would happen if there was a sudden revival in America. And as a nation we turned to God and as a country we all began actually live by God’s Top Ten. There would be wave of morality, purity and purpose that would sweep our land. Now, it would cause some immediate unemployment problems because every drug dealer, pimp, prostitute and pornographer would be out of business. We could quit building prisons and start paying teachers a descent wage. If theft, price gouging, and frivolous lawsuits ended we could afford to see every American have quality health insurance. Teen pregnancies would cease, sexually transmitted diseases would end, and the AIDS crisis would begin to fade away. Women could once again walk to their cars at night without fear.
I almost sound like a politician. Actually living out the Ten Commandments may be the best policies our politicians could be proposing this election season.
Because they would create a virtual heaven on earth. And if that is true for a nation, it is also true for our individual lives. God has given us the way to live. These commands are His blueprint for successful living.
So we’ve seen the Ten Commandments provide boundaries for freedom and blueprints for fulfillment.
In addition, the Ten Commandments provide a…
3. Basis for faith.
In the book of Romans, Paul explains how the law actually was designed to show us our own fallen and sinful condition.
Rom 7:7 (NKJ) “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law…”
In this passage Paul tells us he came to the dreadful conclusion that there was nothing wrong with the Ten Commandments. Instead there was something wrong with him.
Rom. 3:20 (NKJ) “Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
You see, without a standard to compare ourselves to we wouldn’t realize how sinful we are. But when the standard is raised we see our own sinfulness and our inability to keep the law.
Gal. 3:24-26 (NKJ) “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
If it weren’t for the law, we would try to establish our own standard for being right with God.
We might resort to:
Comparison – People will say, I know I’ve made a bunch of mistakes and I’m less than perfect but I’m better than Hitler, or an axe murderer or my mother in law. Well you may be better than some, you may even be better than most, but the Ten Commandments tell us we still aren’t good enough.
Service – If I just do enough good work I can earn my standing with God. If I’ll volunteer at the Salvation Army, build a habitat for humanity, give blood and recycle my garbage – surely I’ll be good enough for God to accept me. But the Ten Commandments let us know that you can serve 24 hours a day and give away all you have to the poor and you still haven’t done enough.
Subtraction – If I can get rid of my bad habits, then I’ll be ok. If I’ll quit smoking and drinking and partying and fooling around, I may not have any fun any more but at least I’ll be right with God. But the Ten Commandments tells us you can give up everything sinful, immoral and fatting and it still will not redeem your soul.
Inheritance – My parents were strong Christians, so I must already be a Christian. But the Ten Commandments let us know we’re all individually guilty before God and God doesn’t have any grandchildren.
Ritual – If I can get baptized, or take communion regularly then that will save me. But the Ten Commandments let us know you can get sprinkled, and dunked, eat a hundred little wafers and drink 10-gallons of Welsh’s grape juice and still not be right with God.
Ritual will not pardon our sin. I’ve heard a story about a businessman who was well known for his ruthlessness who once announced to writer Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.” “I have a better idea,” replied Twain. “You could stay in Boston and keep them.”
Great thought. But the reality is we have all failed to keep them. The Ten Commandments tell us that we each stand accountable before God. That we have all broken God’s commands in thought, word or deed. We’re each guilty before a Holy God and deserve to be eternally separated from God. That there is nothing we can do or any other imperfect human being could do to make us right with God.
Shaving Example (Props) – A mirror show me I need a shave but it doesn’t shave me. In the same way, the law shows me I am a sinner but the law was not designed to save, but to point out the need for a savior – the mirror doesn’t shave you, it points out you need a shaver.
We have all violated God’s Holy Law and are condemned before God with nothing we can do to redeem ourselves. So from the God-side, out of His great love for us, God came in the person of Jesus, lived the law of God perfectly and died as if He were every lawbreaker. Then He rose from the dead to institute a new relationship with Him. In doing so, He perfectly fulfilled the law of God and dealt with our violation of the law.
Col. 2:14 (CEV) “God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross.”
Though we can’t save ourselves by trying to keep the law, what God has done is credited to our account when we trust in Jesus.
You could say, Jesus ran the race and we get the gold medal. Jesus scored an A+ and his test score goes into our file.
The children of Israel looked ahead to the cross. Their faith saved them and their obedience to God’s commands gave them freedom and fulfillment. Read the Old Testament. As long as they followed God’s commands they lived the in God’s best. When they disobeyed they knew only bondage and trouble.
While Israel looked ahead to the cross, we look back on the cross and what Christ has already done for us. We don’t obey the commands to be accepted. Through Christ we are accepted and loved. And we demonstrate our love for Him and experience freedom and fulfillment by living out the Ten Commandments through a relationship with Him and in the power of His Holy Spirit.
Throughout this series we will discover what Galatians 5:14 tells us, through love we can fulfill the law. As we love God and love others, we can begin to live out the Ten Commandments by His Spirit.
Public Invitation
We’ve learned today that we all have fallen short of the standards of God’s holy righteous law and we all stand guilty before God. But God so loved the world that He sent His Son, who lived under God’s law in perfection, and died as if he were every lawbreaker, taking our place and paying for the penalty of our sin. Now, when we put our trust in Christ, we are forgiven and Christ’s righteousness is credited to us. Today if you are ready to step across the line of faith, I’d like to pray with you.
