God’s Top Ten (Exodus 20:1-20)
Some time ago, A. J. Jacobs, a Jewish author, decided to spend a year putting into practice everything he read in the Bible. At the end of that year, he wrote a book, called The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible.
For example, on Day 62 of his experiment Jacobs came across the command where it says adulterers should be stoned. That day, he wandered into Central Park and met a man in his mid-70’s sitting on a park bench. Jacobs tells the man, “I'm trying to live by the rules of the Bible: the Ten Commandments; stoning adulterers; etc.
“You're stoning adulterers?” the man asks.
“Yeah, Jacobs says, “I'm stoning adulterers."
“I'm an adulterer,” the man replies.
“You're currently an adulterer?” Jacobs asks.
“Yeah,” the man replies, “Tonight, tomorrow, yesterday, two weeks from now. You gonna stone me?”
“If I could, yes, that'd be great,” Jacobs replies.
To which the man says, “I'll punch you in the face. I'll send you to the cemetery.”
The man is serious. He isn't a cutesy, grumpy, old man. He is an angry, old man with seven decades of hostility behind him.
Jacobs fishes some pebbles from his back pocket and tells the man, “I wouldn't stone you with big stones, just these little guys.” He opens his palm to show the man his pebbles, and the man lunges at Jacobs. He grabs one out of Jacobs’ hand and flings it at his face. It whizzes by his cheek.
Jacobs is stunned for a second. He didn’t expect the grizzled old man to make the first move. But now there is nothing stopping Jacobs from retaliating. He figures, “An eye for an eye”, so Jacobs takes one of the remaining pebbles and whips it at the old man’s chest. It bounces off.
The man says, “I'll punch you right in the kisser.”
To which Jacobs responds, “Well, you really shouldn't commit adultery” (J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically, Simon & Schuster, 2007, pp. 92-93; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s very true, but that’s no way to use God’s Law. 1 Timothy 1:8 says, “Now we know that the law is good, IF one uses it lawfully.”
The book of Galatians in the New Testament makes it very clear: every believer in Christ is free from the law, but that does not mean we’re lawless, no! There is an appropriate way for the believer to use the law, not to try and get God’s approval or to stone others with it, but to…
Well, let’s look at the law itself to see how we’re supposed to use it, because the law has some very useful purposes for the believer. In fact, it can be very beneficial if used correctly. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 20, Exodus 20, where we see the benefits of the law in the introduction to the law itself, the 10 commandments.
Exodus 20:1-20 And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “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. You shall not bow down to them or 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 the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “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. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep 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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.” Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin (ESV).
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 law is all about. So if you want to use the law in a way that truly benefits you, use it to…
KNOW GOD.
Employ the law to understand His holy nature. Utilize the 10 commandments 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 everyone 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; www.PreachingToday.com)
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.
Years ago, terrorists in the Philippines seized Martin and Gracia Burnham and held them captive for more than a year. Eventually, the Philippine army came to rescue this young missionary couple, but Martin was killed during their raid on the terrorist camp.
Afterwards, Gracia reflected on her experience. She wrote, “Sometimes I wonder, ‘Why did Martin die when everyone was praying he wouldn’t? Why does Scripture lead you to believe that if you pray a certain way, you’ll get what you pray for? People all over the world were praying that we’d both get out alive, but we didn’t.’”
Her questions made her realize it isn’t always easy to understand God’s nature. She continues, “I used to have this concept of what God is like, and how life is supposed to be because of that. But in the jungle, I learned I don’t know as much about God as I thought I did. I don’t have him in a theological box anymore. What I do know is that God is God – and I’m not. The world is in a mess because of sin, not God. Some awful things may happen to me, but God does what is right. And He makes good out of bad situations (Corrie Cutrer, ”Soul Survivor,” Today’s Christan Woman, July/Aug 2003, p.50; www.PreachingToday.com).
We don’t always understand what God is up to, 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.
So use the law to know God Himself. Then use the law to…
KNOW YOURSELF.
Employ the 10 Commandments to understand who YOU are.
To begin with, use the law to show you how bad you really are. Utilize the 10 Commandments to reveal your own sin and your desperate need for a Savior.
Romans 7 says, “If it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7). The law is like a light, which reveals the dirt.
On a warm, summer night, Pastor William Wimmer and his wife in Benton, Arkansas, were traveling in their car with Micah, their 3-year-old son sitting in the back seat. After many miles of driving in the darkness, they came to a stop in a remote area under a traffic light. The brightness of that light revealed all the dirt, dead bugs, and insects on their windshield. Micah noticed it and said, “Look, how dirty!”
A moment later, they drove on – away from the light and back into the darkness. There, they could no longer see the mess on their windshield, and Micah quickly piped up and said, “Now the glass is clean!” (William Wimmer, pastor of Grace Chapel Church of God, Benton, Arkansas; www.PreachingToday.com)
It was still dirty, but they couldn’t see it. You see, without the light, you can’t see the dirt. But when the light of God’s law shines on the windshield of your heart, it reveals the dirty sin you’ve collected on your journey.
Now, you don’t use the law to clean up the dirt, just like a traffic light can’t be used to clean your windshield. No! You use the light of the law to reveal the dirt, so you turn to the only One who can clean it all up.
Thomas Carlyle once wrote, “The deadliest sin is the consciousness of no sin.” Well, the 10 commandments give you a consciousness of sin, so you do something about it before it destroys you, so you 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 cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). No matter how dirty you are, Jesus can make you 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. Instead, they become a cause for joy, because the 10 commandments not only reveal the problem. They become a promise of what Christ can do for you as you depend on Him.
So use the law to show you how bad you really are. Then when you trust Christ to clean up the mess, use the law to show you how good you will become as Christ completes His work in you.
Do you struggle with the love of money? Then as you depend on Christ, rejoice in the fact that He is working in you to create a single devotion to God alone. Is your life unbalanced with too much activity and things to do? Then as you depend on Christ, rejoice that He is working in you to give you regular times of rest. Is your marriage suffering? Then as you depend on Christ, rejoice that He is working in you to make you into a faithful mate. Do you wrestle with murderous thoughts? Then as you depend on Christ, rejoice that He is working in you to give you a heart of forgiveness and love. Do you have trouble keeping your word? Then as you depend on Christ, rejoice that He is working in you to make you men and women of integrity. The 10 commandments are promises of what you 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; www.PreachingToday.com).
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.
Do you see it? The 10 Commandments are a blessing for the believer! The law is very beneficial if you use it correctly, so use it to know God. Use it to know yourself. And finally, use the law to…
KNOW LOVE.
Employ the law to show you how compassion really works. Utilize the 10 Commandments to show you how to put your affection into action.
Jesus said, “If you love me, you will…” What? “KEEP my commandments” (John 14:15).
When you obey Christ’s commands, you demonstrate true love. Anything else is just fluff. Your songs, your supplications, your sacrifices mean nothing if you don’t also submit to Him.
When a lawyer asked Jesus, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Jesus said the whole Law depends on two commands: love God and love your neighbor.
Let me read to you a paragraph and tell me if it makes sense to you:
“A seashore is a better place than the street because you need lots of room. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Birds seldom get too close. If there are no snags it can be very peaceful. But if it breaks loose, you won't get another chance.”
Does it make any sense? No! That’s because there is no context. Now, let me read the paragraph again, but this time I’ll provide some context—a one-word frame or interpretive key. That one word is kite. Now see if it makes sense:
“A seashore is a better place than the street because you need lots of room. At first it is better to run than to walk. You may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it is easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Birds seldom get too close. If there are no snags it can be very peaceful. But if it breaks loose, you won't get another chance.”
That makes a lot of sense now, doesn’t it? It’s because you know the context. “Kite” is the interpretive key for the entire paragraph. In the same way, “love” is the interpretive key to the entire law. It’s what gives God’s commands real meaning. Without love, they don’t make sense; but with love, everything else falls into place (Christopher West, Fill These Hearts, Image, 2012, pp. 99-101; www.PreachingToday.com).
Do you want to find meaning to YOUR life? Then learn to love God and your neighbor and let the 10 Commandments show you how.
The first four commandments show you how to love God: #1, Put God first in your life, and #2, Don’t worship anything but Him. #3, Don’t misuse His name, and #4, Set aside a whole day every week just for the Lord.
Do you want to know how to love people? Then let the last six commandments help you there. Don’t kill people 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 you 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 taking 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 very beneficial to you, but only if you use them correctly. So use them to know God. Use them to know yourself. And use them to know love. Any other use will only make your life miserable.
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, available on 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.
