CLW
SEPT 16, 2012
DEUT. 5; 16-21
16“Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
17“You shall not murder.
18“You shall not commit adultery.
19“You shall not steal.
20“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
21“You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
AGAIN TODAY, WE WANT TO GO BACK TO THE TEN
COMMANDMENTS. IT HAS BEEN SAID; ALL OF OUR LAWS FIND THEIR ORIGIN IN THESE LAWS. IT WAS THESE LAWS THAT SEPARATED THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FROM ALL OTHER PEOPLE. THE PURPOSE OF THESE LAWS WAS TO ACCOMPLISH JUST THAT. GOD WANTED HIS PEOPLE TO BE DIFFERENT. AND, GOD STILL WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO BE DIFFERENT. WE ARE IN THE WORLD, BUT NOT OF THE WORLD. I PETER 2 SAYS, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God,” “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world,”. WE ARE THE CHOSEN PEOPLE, CHOSEN OF GOD. B/C THAT IS TRUE, WE MUST BECOME ALIENS AND STRANGERS IN THIS WORLD. THIS HAPPENS FOR US, NOT AS A RESULT OF THE LAWS, BUT AS A RESULT OF THE GRACE OF GOD. BUT FOR THEM, THEY NEEDED THESE LAWS TO HELP THEM IN THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
AS WE DISCUSSED LAST WEEK, THE DECALOGUE CAN BE DIVIDED INTO TWO SECTIONS. THE FIRST DEALS WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE SECOND DEALS WITH OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OUR FELLOW MAN. BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THE SECOND PART, LETS GET ONE THING CLEAR IN OUR UNDERSTANDING. THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL THESE LAWS IS THE FIRST, LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD, WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH. WE LOVE GOD, NOT B/C HE FORCES US TO AGAINST OUR WILL, WE LOVE GOD B/C HE FIRST LOVED US. HE IS WORTHY OF OUR LOVE. NOW THEN, IF WE CAN GET THAT FIRST COMMANDMENT DOWN, THEN ALL THE REST MAKES SENSE TO US. WE WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH THE OTHERS IF WE CAN FIRST GET THAT ONE.
THE FIRST OF THE SECOND SET OF COMMANDS, THOSE DEALING WITH RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS IS THIS. THE SAME GOD THAT CREATED YOU, CREATED THE HOME. BTW, BEFORE GOD CREATED THE CHURCH, HE CREATED THE HOME.
AS A CHURCH, ONE OF OUR PRIMARY PURPOSES IS TO PROMOTE STRONG FAMILIES. B/C GOD CREATED THE FAMILY; WE SHOULD UNDERSTAND THE GOD GIVEN DYNAMICS OF IT. GOD FIRST CREATED MAN, MAN WAS ALONE AND GOD CREATED WOMAN TO BE A HELP MEET FOR HIM. CATCH THAT, SHE IS NOT A HELP MATE, SHE IS A HELP MEET. HER RIGHTFUL PLACE IS BESIDE HIM, NOT ABOVE, NOR BELOW. CHILDREN SHOULD HONOR BOTH MOM AND DAD. THAT WORD HONOR MEANS TO GIVE VALUE TO, OR RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF. INTERESTING SIDE NOTE, THE GREEK WORD TRANSLATED, HONOR IS THE WORD TIME. CHILDREN, RECOGNIZE YOUR PARENTS FOR WHO GOD CREATED THEM TO BE IN YOUR LIFE. IF YOU DO THIS, YOUR LIFE WILL BE LONG.
SECOND COMMAND; B/C THE GOD WHO LOVES US, CREATED US IN HIS OWN IMAGE, DO NOT TAKE THE LIFE OF ONE OF HIS CREATION. THIS IS WHAT KEIL & DELITZSCH HAVE TO SAY; Thou shalt not kill,” not only is the accomplished fact of murder condemned, whether it proceed from open violence or stratagem (Ex 21:12, 14, 18), but every act that endangers human life, whether it arise from carelessness (Deut 22:8) or wantonness (Lev 19:14), or from hatred, anger, and revenge (Lev 19:17-18). Life is placed at the head of these commandments, not as being the highest earthly possession, but because it is the basis of human existence, and in the life the personality is attacked, and in that the image of God.
JESUS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT ADDS TO THIS; 1“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. MATT. 5;21,22
HE RAISED THE STANDARD.
THIS COMMANDMENT REMINDS US OF HOW IMPORTANT LIFE IS TO GOD, AND HOW PRECIOUS IT SHOULD BE TO US AS WELL. IF WE BELIEVE THAT LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION, THEN WE MUST KEEP THIS COMMANDMENT EVEN FOR THE UNBORN.
THE NEXT COMMANDMENT IS; NOT ONLY DID GOD CREATE THE HOME, HE ALSO INSTITUTED MARRIAGE. THE ORIGINAL GOD GIVEN DESIGN WAS; ONE MAN ONE WOMAN TOGETHER FOR LIFE. CATCH A COUPLE OF THINGS HERE. GOD DID NOT CREATE ADAM AND STEVE, OR EVE AND EDITH. HE CREATED MARRIAGE TO BE BETWEEN ONE MAN AND ONE WOMAN.
GOD DID NOT CREATE ADAM AND EVE AND EDITH.
HE NEVER INTENDED FOR MARRIAGE TO BE POLYGAMOUS. GOD ALSO CREATED SEX. AND, IT WAS MORE THAN JUST FOR PROCREATION. WITH THAT BEING SAID, GOD’S DESIGN WAS FOR THIS TO BE RESTRICTED TO MARRIAGE.
AGAIN, JESUS ELEVATES THIS. “You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ‘Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.
I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT NUMBER NINE AND THEN COME BACK TO EIGHT AND TEN. B/C GOD IS A HOLY GOD, AND ALL TRUTH RESIDES IN HIM, WE MUST BE TRUTHFUL AS WELL.
Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” 38“What is truth?” Pilate asked.
JESUS SAID, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE. WE ALSO KNOW THAT SATAN IS THE FATHER OF LIES. WHAT THIS COMMANDMENT SAYS TO US IS THIS, SPEAK THE TRUTH.
NOW LETS LOOK AT THE 8 AND 10. B/C GOD IS A LOVING GOD, HE PROVIDES FOR HIS CHILDREN AND THEIR NEEDS.
WHY WOULD ANYONE EVER FEEL THE NEED TO TAKE FROM SOMEONE ELSE? THESE TWO COMMANDS DEAL WITH OUR ATTITUDES TOWARD POSSESSIONS.
I READ IN THE TRIB ON FRIDAY, ABOUT A YOUNG MUSLIM WHO HAD HIS RIGHT ARM AND HIS LEFT FOOT CHOPPED OFF. He is one of five cousins, all in their 20s, and all but one from the village of Fafa, who were convicted of carrying out highway robberies. It's a crime punishable by double amputation, according to the strict form of Shariah, or Islamic law. Since then, an adulterous couple was stoned to death, a thief's hand was cut off and numerous people have been publicly whipped, including at least one woman.
THOSE SEEM TO BE PRETTY HARSH PUNISHMENTS FOR THE CRIMES. IN THE OT, WE SAW THE SAME KINDS OF PUNISHMENTS FOR THE SAME OFFENSES. BY THE TIME OF JESUS, THEY HAD RELAXED THOSE TO A DEGREE. REMEMBER, THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY BROUGHT BEFORE JESUS. THEY WERE READY TO STONE HER TO DEATH. JESUS, STOPPED THAT BY ASKING ONE SIMPLE QUESTION; IF YOU ARE WITHOUT SIN, THROW THE FIRST STONE. HE RAISED THE STANDARD. IN REGARDS TO THE LAW, JESUS ALWAYS RAISED THE STANDARD.
PAUL IN WRITING TO THE ROMANS, SUMS THIS ALL UP FOR US.
8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
