Since 1997, an anti-lawsuit group from Michigan has held “The Wacky Warning Label Contest” every year. They do it to highlight the absurd effects of lawsuits on warning labels. In 2007, Kevin Soave of Farmington Hills, Michigan, submitted the winning label, which he found on a small tractor. It read, “Danger: Avoid Death.” In that same year, the second place prize was found on an iron on T-shirt transfer. It warned: “Do not iron while wearing shirt.” Another warning label included this warning on a letter opener package: “Safety goggles recommended.” And finally, there was this sign on a chainsaw: “Do not hold the wrong end of a chainsaw.” (www.mlaw.org/wwl)
How ridiculous can it get? Some rules are just plain silly, but God has given us a set of rules that are actually very helpful. We know them as the l0 commandments, and they serve some very useful purposes.
If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 20, Exodus 20, where we have God’s rules, which are anything but wacky.
Exodus 20:1-20 And God spoke all these words: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” 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 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” (NIV)
God shows up in fire and smoke, because He wants His people to understand His holy nature. He’s not some “Old Man” in the sky. He’s the Almighty God, who deserves our utmost respect. And that’s what the 10 commandments are all about. They help us to…
KNOW GOD HIMSELF.
They help us to understand His holy nature. They help us to see who God really is. You see, the 10 commandments are not the whims of a capricious God, who made them up just to make us miserable. No. They reflect the unchanging character of a holy God.
God told us to honor our earthly parents, because He values and honors every one that He made. God told us not to murder, because He is the author of life. God told us not to commit adultery, because He is faithful in His commitments to us. God told us not to steal, because He is generous and gives. God told us not to lie, because he is the truth. And God told us not to covet, because He is self-sufficient. He wants for nothing; and when we have Him, we want for nothing else as well. The 10 commandments reveal the character and nature of a holy God.
Shortly after [St. Augustine had finished writing a thick theological tome on the Trinity], he was walking along the Mediterranean shore on the coast of North Africa. There, he came upon a boy who kept filling a bucket with seawater and pouring it into a large hole in the sand.
“Why are you doing that?” Augustine asked the boy.
The boy replied in all seriousness, “I’m pouring the Mediterranean Sea into the hole.”
“My dear boy,” Augustine chided, “what an impossible thing to try to do! The sea is far too vast, and your hole is far too small.”
Then, as Augustine continued his walk, it dawned on him that his efforts to write on the nature of God were much like that boy: the subject was far too vast, and his mind was far too small! (Stephen Seamands, Ministry in the Image of God, IVP, 2005, p. 101)
Our minds are too small to comprehend the nature of God. He is far beyond our understanding. God Himself says in His Word, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). And yet, the 10 commandments give us a glimpse into God’s character and nature.
You see, we may not always understand what God is up to especially when hard times come. But we do KNOW that God is good. We do KNOW that He always does what’s right, because we see His goodness and His righteousness reflected in His law. The 10 commandments help us to know God Himself. More than that, they help us to…)
KNOW OURSELVES.
They help us to understand what we are. They help us to see that we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. You see, after we catch a glimpse of God, we know that we fall far short. Romans 7 says, “I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ‘Do not covet’” (Romans 7:7). The law is like a light, which reveals the dirt.
Stephen Kingsley of Craigmont, Idaho, runs a carpet cleaning business in which he offers a special service for removing pet urine odors. To show potential customers their need for the service, he darkens the room and then turns on a powerful black light. The black light causes the urine crystals to glow brightly.
To the horror of the homeowner, every drop and dribble can be seen, not only on the carpet, but also on the walls, drapes, furniture, and even on the lamp shades. One homeowner begged him to shut off the light: “I can’t bear to see anymore. I don’t care what it costs. Please clean it up!” Another woman said, “I’ll never be comfortable in my home again.”
The problem was there all the time, but it was invisible until the right light exposed it. Now, it would have been cruel for Kingsley to show his customers the extent of their problem, tell them “that’s too bad for you,” and walk away. No. He brought the light so that they might desperately want his cleaning services. (Stephen Kingsley, Craigmont, Idaho; www.PreachingToday.com)
Well, that’s why God gave us his 10 commandments – not to heap guilt on us, but to show us we have a problem that He can solve if we turn to Him for help. Without the 10 commandments, we live in blissful ignorance of the dirt in our lives. But when we shine the light of God’s law on our lives, we realize how dirty we really are.
Thomas Carlyle once wrote, “The deadliest sin is the consciousness of no sin.” Well, the 10 commandments give us a consciousness of sin, so we can do something about it before it destroys us; i.e., so we can go to the Savior for help.
How about you? Are you tired of the mess in your life? Then turn to Jesus. Call upon Him, who died on the cross for your sins and rose again.
The Bible says, “The blood of Jesus, [God’s] Son, purifies us from ALL sin” (1 John 1:7). No matter how dirty we are, Jesus can make us clean. Just trust Him with your life. By faith, put your life in His hands and let Him start that cleansing process today.
Then the 10 commandments will no longer be a cause for guilt. Then they can become a cause for rejoicing. Because the 10 commandments not only reveal the problem. They become a promise for those who depend on Christ. They become a promise of what we may become as Christ completes His work in us.
You see, the 10 commandments not only help us understand what we are today – sinners in need of a Savior – they help us understand what we are in the process of becoming tomorrow. They help us see the work that Christ is accomplishing in each of us who trust Him.
Do you struggle with the love of money? Jesus is working in us to create a single devotion to God alone. Is your life unbalanced with too much activity and things to do? Jesus is working in us to give us regular times of rest. Is your marriage suffering? 0Jesus is working in us to make us faithful mates. Do you wrestle with murderous thoughts? Jesus is working in us to give us hearts of forgiveness and love. Do you have trouble keeping your word? Jesus is working in us to make us men and women of integrity. The 10 commandments are promises of what we may become in Christ.
Mark Galli, in his book Jesus mean and Wild, said, “The difference between Jesus’ holiness ethic and that of the Pharisees is this: the Pharisees refuse to touch any unclean thing. Jesus aims to make the unclean holy. (Mark Galli, Jesus Mean and Wild: The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God, Baker, 2006, p. 44)
The Pharisees were judgmental and condemned sinners. They stayed far away from people they deemed unclean. Jesus, on the other hand, got close to sinners. He touched a leper and made him clean. He touched a thieving tax-collector and made him generous. He touched an adulterous woman and made her pure.
Please, let Jesus touch you today and make you whole. Then the 10 commandments will become promises for you, rather than burdens of guilt.
The 10 commandments are wonderful! 1st, They help us know God. 2nd, They help us know ourselves – what we are and what we can become. & 3rd, the 10 commandments help us…
KNOW LOVE.
They help us to see what love is all about, and they help us to put our love into action. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will…” What? “OBEY what I command” (John 14:15). When we obey Christ’s commands, we demonstrate true love. Anything else is just fluff. Our songs, our supplications, our sacrifices mean nothing if we don’t also submit to Him.
When Jesus was asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37-40). Jesus said you can hang the whole Law on two commands: Love God, and love your neighbor.
Do you want to know how to love God and love people? Then let the 10 commandments guide you. The first 4 commandments show us how to love God, and the last 6 commandments show us how to love people.
Rich Tatum’s eight-year-old son was lying on the couch one morning, reading a book, when he discovered a new word. “What does ponder mean?” he asked.
Rich told him, “Ponder means you’re wondering or thinking about things. Like, you might say, ‘I’m pondering the meaning of life.’”
Then he thought, “Oh no! Mentioning ‘the meaning of life’ could lead into one of those twisty, theological discussions where I’ll have to finish the discussion by saying, ‘I don’t know; it’s a mystery!’”
But to Rich’s humbled surprise, his son was way ahead. The boy said, “I already know what the meaning of life is. It’s to love God!” (Rich Tatum, Grand Rapids, Michigan; www.PreachingToday.com)
Do you know that boy is absolutely right! Do you want to find meaning to YOUR life? Then learn to love the Lord with all your heart. And let the 10 commandments show you how. Put God first in your life, and don’t worship anything but Him. Don’t misuse His name, and set aside a whole day every week just for the Lord.
Do you want to love people? Then the 10 commandments can help you there, as well. For if you truly want to love people, then don’t kill them even in your thoughts. Don’t steal from them and take advantage of them. Don’t lie about them or spread gossip. And don’t covet their stuff.
The 10 commandments provide very practical help in ALL our relationships. Do you want to love your parents? Then learn what it means to honor them at every stage of their life. Do you want to love your wife? Then have eyes only for her. The 10 commandments show us how to truly love God and others.
Until a few years ago, there were no laws about child safety seats and restraint systems in automobiles. As a result, many young children died tragically in car accidents, because they were not safely belted in their seats. Today, laws prohibit children from riding in a car without a child seat facing the right direction and properly installed. Even new mothers are required to have the seat installed before talking a child home from the hospital.
Now, there is no greater love than that of a mother for her child. And yet, when a child’s safety is at stake, that mother’s feelings are not enough. The law of child safety restraints in the car ensures that children are truly loved and therefore kept safe. (Troy Dean, Fullerton, California; www.PreachingToday.com)
So it is with God’s law. Our feelings are not enough. Rather, we need God’s law to show us how to love, and we need God’s law to help us truly love Him and other people.
The 10 commandments are wonderful! They help us know God. They help us know ourselves. And they help us know love.
Kevin Miller, Christian author and conference speaker, talks about the time he was a student at Wheaton College 700 miles away from his home. His roommate was a loner, and it snowed 90 inches that first winter there. Kevin felt like he was living in the Arctic, so lonely and literally, out in the cold.
Then a senior named Mike Yearley invited Kevin to his apartment for dinner and a Bible study. When Kevin got there, the first thing he noticed was that Mike’s apartment had real walls made out of dry wall, not cinder blocks painted over too many times.
Mike’s wife, Lin, was cooking a home-cooked meal, and it tasted way better than anything from the college cafeteria. There were other people there, too—a guy named Dave, and another named Dan, who were upperclassmen and popular. They all talked and laughed and played games and listened to music and drank coffee and hung out till super late. And as Kevin walked home with Dan, he thought: Wow. No one’s got a huge, bloated ego. They just care about each other.
That apartment became Kevin’s home and his sanity. Whenever he had a question or problem about dating, he would head to Mike’s apartment. Whenever he had a question or problem about his spiritual life, he would head to Mike’s apartment.
“At the time,” Kevin says, “I was trying to live my Christian life in a legalistic way, in my own power, which is a really stinky way to do it. But I didn’t know any other way.” So Mike and Dan began teaching him how to live by the power of the Holy Spirit within, and what Kevin found in Mike’s apartment was a community of love.
That, he says, is what it means to be a Christian. “To be a Christian,” he says, “is to get an invitation to Mile’s apartment. To be a Christian is to be invited into the Community of Love we call the Trinity. In the Trinity, you never find one Person who’s grumpy. Never find a Person who is taking love but not giving it out. No one’s critical or cynical or jaded.
“The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit live in an absolute unity of love. The Father glorifies the Son. The Son gives glory to the Father. The Spirit knows the thoughts of God and prays to God for our sake. In the Trinity, there’s no jealousy, no politics, no power plays?”
Kevin Miller says, “The reason we can’t find many good analogies for the Trinity is that we constantly live in such broken relationships that it’s hard for us to imagine a Community in which there’s constant joy and creativity and each Person pouring himself out for the others. It sounds crazy,” he says, “but I think it would be theologically accurate to say: ‘God is a party, and you’re invited.’” (Kevin Miller, Getting to Know Your God; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s really what the 10 commandments show us about God, ourselves, and love. They show us that God is a party and we’re all invited. Please, Don’t stay out in the cold any longer. Come to the party and never be lonely again. Come to the Lord and experience a Community of Love.
