Sermon
I’d like to look at a few verses this evening.
There are some gems in it
7The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The decrees of the LORD are firm,
and all of them are righteous.
And of course the final verse
14 May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
And in this psalm we see there are related couplets
7The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
They complement each other.
1. The Law of the Lord equates with the Statutes of the Lord.
So you can see that the Law of the Lord is perfect and trustworthy
2. Then you have the precepts of the Lord equating with the commands of the Lord
What is a precept: It is defined as a general rule intended to regulate behaviour or thought.
Surely that is what the commands of God are there to do?
3. And finally the fear of the Lord equating to the decrees of the Lord
What is the fear of the Lord Fearing God means to have respect for Him and to obey Him.
Aren’t we to respect God’s decrees?
But this evening I just want to focus on “The Law of the Lord”
John says this about the Law or the commands of God in 1 John 5:
5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children as well.
2 Here is how we know that we love God’s children. We know it when we love God and obey his commands.
3 In fact, here is what it means to love God. We love him by obeying his commands.
And his commands are not hard to obey.
4 That’s because everyone who is a child of God has won the battle over the world. Our faith has won the battle for us.
1. One extreme interpretation on the Law of God was that of the Pharisees
They hedged God’s Law with 613 commandments or laws, which all faithful Jews should follow.
But these 613 laws were also divided into those that were “weighty” and those that were “light.”
“Thou shalt not commit murder” was one of the “Big Ten” as it was written by the hand of God on stone at Sinai, this commandment was definitely weighty.
Making a fire on the Sabbath, striking up some firelight, that was definitely a “light,” commandment and in an emergency, absolutely expendable.
That is one extreme in understanding the Law of God.
2. At the other extreme, I have heard liberal theologians say that now Christ has come we can ignore the Laws of the Old Testament.
Interestingly they go on to say that only what Jesus himself said is authentic.
So what did Jesus himself say on the matter
17 “Do not think I have come to get rid of what is written in the Law or in the Prophets. I have not come to do this. Instead, I have come to fulfill what is written.
18 What I’m about to tell you is true. Heaven and earth will disappear before the smallest letter disappears from the Law. Not even the smallest mark of a pen will disappear from the Law until everything is completed.
19 Do not ignore even one of the least important commands. And do not teach others to ignore them. If you do, you will be called the least important person in the kingdom of heaven. Instead, practice and teach these commands. Then you will be called important in the kingdom of heaven.
And in John 14:15 Jesus said:
If you love me, keep my commands
So as Christians how are we to live?
There are three types of Law in my opinion
1. The Ceremonial Law
The ceremonial Law was there to remind the people of
God that the Messiah was coming.
The sacrificing of a Lamb was a prefiguring in the Old
Testament of Jesus the Lamb of God coming to this
Earth to atone for or take away our sin.
Since Christ has come and died – Jesus has already
fulfilled the ceremonial law and so we no longer need
to carry it out.
2. The Law of those living in the Land of Israel
There were laws in Israel just for those living in the
Land of Israel.
For example cities of Refuge for those
who unintentionally killed a man, so that his relatives
who not kill the person in revenge
3. Finally the moral Law of God
This is summed up in the Two Greatest commandments
36 “Teacher,” he asked, “which is the most important commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied, “?‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) 38 This is the first and most important commandment.
39 And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18)
40 Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”
But love is an attitude that cannot be measured in a
Court of Law
But you can measure up the moral Law of God summed
up in the Ten Commandments.
And for me, THAT is extremely important.
The OT Law is something tangible to let me know if
I am going in the right direction.
The 10 commandments are listed in two places
The 10 Commandments List in Exodus 20:2-17
1. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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; 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 upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
3. “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.
4. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, 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. 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.
5. “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
6. “You shall not murder.
7. “You shall not commit adultery.
8. “You shall not steal.
9. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10. “You shall not covet your neighbour’s house; you shall not covet your neighbour’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour’s.”
The 10 Commandments are also listed in Deuteronomy 5:6-21
As a Christian, you keep the Law of God – the Moral Law of God at the least by keeping the 10 Commandments.
They are wonderful rules for society to live by.
The OT tells you a lot about what God likes and what he dislikes.
And I can assure you that what he dislikes in the OT is true for all time.
That’s why it is good to read the Old Testament.
Jesus himself often said:
“As it is written…” (Mt 4;4, Mt 4:10 and Lk 4:8) referring to the OT.
Because you can avoid doing the things God hates and dislikes.
Let me sum up
It is because we love God that we keep the Law of God – the 10 commandments.
We don’t keep them to BECOME saved but if we keep them it is BECAUSE we are saved.
Because Jesus said: “If you love me you will keep my commandments”
The 10 commandments are not God’s suggestions – they are how he wants us to live.
Let’s finish where we started:
Psalm 19 7:
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.
Amen
