THE TENDER COMMANDMENTS #4: LOVE ONE ANOTHER
INTRO TO TOPIC:
Jesus said, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
• Jesus summed up the whole Old Testament law = love God and love people.
• But how do we love God and love people? The Ten Commandments!
o The first four commandments = an expression of how to love God.
o The last six commandments = an expression of how to love people.
REVIEW THE FIRST FIVE COMMANDMENTS:
“1 And God spoke all these words, saying: 2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 You shall have no other gods before Me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. 7 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:1-12).
THE BIG IDEA: The second table of the Ten Commandments teach us how to love one another. If we love our neighbour, we won’t murder, commit adultery, steal, lie or covet.
KEN: THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT MURDER: (Ex. 20:13).
1. This Commandment also warns against anger and hatred:
Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22).
• According to Jesus, murder begins with anger.
• “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15).
• Anger leads to hatred which ultimately leads to murder.
QUOTE: “That is murder in the heart. And that is where it all starts. So, how does this sixth commandment reflect the love of God? … Because God knows that when I love Him above all else and put Him first in my life, I will not injure anyone. It will not be in my heart to offend, slander, hurt, humiliate, destroy or write anyone off.” (Ron Mehl).
2. This Commandment tells us to respect and sustain all life:
“you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:18b).
• Therefore, abortion and euthanasia are wrong.
THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY:
(Ex. 20:14).
1. This Commandment also warns us against lust:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ’You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28).
“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust upon a young woman.” (Job 31:1, NLT).
2. This Commandment tells us to respect God’s institution of marriage:
“He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ’made them male and female,’ and said, ’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6).
5. Therefore, divorce, pre-marital sex, and homosexuality are wrong.
THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT STEAL: (Ex. 20:15).
1. This Commandment tells us to trust God:
“Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never forsake you." That is why we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper, so I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Heb. 13:5-6, NLT).
* QUOTE: “Why do people steal? The reason people steal is because they’ve forgotten about God. The reason people deceive, manipulate, and cut ethical corners is because they believe their future lies in their own hands.” (Ron Mehl).
2. This Commandment tells us to work hard and be generous:
“Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” (Eph. 4:28).
“It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” (Prov. 11:24-25, NLT).
KEN: THE NINTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS:
(Ex. 20:16).
1. This Commandment tells us to speak the truth:
“Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another… Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.” (Eph. 4:25,29).
2. This Commandment also warns us against speaking lies, gossip, slander and strife:
“Do not spread slanderous gossip among your people. "Do not try to get ahead at the cost of your neighbor’s life, for I am the LORD.” (Lev. 19:16, NLT).
THE TENTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL NOT COVET: (Ex. 20:17)
1. This Commandment tell us to be content with what we have:
“6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Tim. 6:6-10).
QUOTE: “In Luke 12:15 Jesus says, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Do we truly believe that? Do we believe that down deep in our bones, so that the truth of those words changes our priorities, impacts our choices, and shapes the way we live our lives? We live in a consumer society, and today’s sophisticated marketers spend billions of dollars and work around the clock for one purpose: to make you unhappy and dissatisfied with what you have. They seek to convince you and I that if we would just buy this or possess that, we’d find a greater measure of happiness and security in this old world.” (Ron Mehl).
CLOSING CHALLENGE:
Now that we’ve studied the Ten Commandments – so what?
1. Let’s do our best to obey them – and in so doing, love God and love people.
2. Pray for God’s grace and strength to do this – we can’t do it on our own.
3. If you mess up, go to the Cross and ask Jesus for forgiveness!
Beausejour Community Church Website: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Pastor Chris Jordan’s Blog: http://thelandofpromise.blogspot.com/
