Exodus 20:1-17
Intro: Ill. Ted Turner has declared the Ten Commandments obsolete, "We’re living with outdated rules. The rules we’re living under are the Ten Commandments, and I bet nobody here even pays much attention to them because they’re too old. When Moses went up on the mountain, there were no nuclear weapons, there was no poverty. Today, the Ten Commandments wouldn’t go over. Nobody around likes to be commanded. Commandments are out!"
Turner is wrong when he declares that the Ten Commandments are outdated. As we will see in upcoming messages, they are as fresh as ever. He was right, however, when he says that nobody likes to be commanded. In fact, modern society mocks the truth and exalts the lie. We live in a time when right is classified as wrong and wrong as right.
“20Destruction is certain for those who say that evil is good and good is evil; that dark is light and light is dark; that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.” Isaiah 5:20
The Ten Commandments are part of the Torah, which means instruction or command. The Torah comprises the first five books of the Old Testament written by Moses. In theological language the Ten Commandments are called the Decalogue.
There is something about the Ten Commandments that demand something from us. They hold us accountable. They force us to face “the man in the mirror.”
When the commandments are ignored and kept out of sight, when they are treated like nothing more than a quaint relic of the past, they trouble no one. But when they are taken seriously, held up as an immutable standard, and perchance, actually obeyed, they instantly bring conflict. Why, because God’s Ten Words challenge the most passionate notions of moral autonomy. “Don’t you try to impose your morality on me!”
“I’ll decide for myself what is right and wrong!”
What would a society look like in which each of its members decided for themselves what is right and wrong? It would be like living in a town where stopping at a stop sign was left up to the relative decision of each individual driver.
We have as a nation basically caved in to the “live and let live” mentality.
Today, in America, many believe that there are no "moral absolutes." Many hold to a philosophy of "moral relativism." How many times have we heard statements like these: "What’s right for you may not be right for me."; "If it feels good do it."; "Anything goes."; " Nothing is right or wrong, there are just different opinions?" All of this is the result of the feeling that there is no absolute truth. You are entitled to your truth and I am entitled to mine! A recent poll found that 67% of Americans do not believe in moral absolutes. Among "Baby Busters", those born between 1965 and 1983, the percentage was even higher at 78%. Even 62% of professing Christians said that there was no absolute standard of right and wrong. This nation was founded on biblical principles of right and wrong. Today, that foundation is crumbling beneath our feet! James Madison, the 4th President of the United States said this, "We stake the future of this country on our ability to govern ourselves under the principles of the Ten Commandments."
Today, we begin a series of messages on the Ten Commandments. My aim is to show you their relevance for our day. Today I will lay a foundation for the future messages by looking with you at the background of the Ten Commandments and why they were given.
1. What is the reason for the law?
A. Why did God give the Law?
Was it to save people from their sins? No! Israel was already in a covenant relationship with God, according to Gen. 15. The Law cannot save. We read in Rom 3:20: “20Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” Rom. 3:20.
Let me give you some reasons why God gave Israel the Law:
To reveal His glory and Holiness. “Surely the Lord our God has shown us His glory and His greatness.” Deut. 5:22-28
To reveal man’s sinfulness
“8We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. 9We also know that law[a] is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers–and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,” 1 Tim. 1:9;
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it–he will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22-25
To mark Israel as His chosen and to separate them from the heathen
To give Israel a standard for godly living
“Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD , the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.” Deut. 4:1ff
To prepare Israel for the coming of Christ.
To illustrate in type and ceremony the Person and ministry of Christ
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never meet with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” Heb. 10:1
B. The Law is: 1. A Mirror: It reveals man’s sins. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.” James 1:22-25
2. A Yoke – It brings bondage since the flesh finds it impossible to keep – Acts 15:10; Gal. 5:1; Rom. 8:3.
3. A Schoolmaster – Points men to Jesus “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” Gal. 3:23
4. A Shadow – Contrasted with the reality and fulfillment found in Jesus – Heb. 10:1; Col. 2:14-17.
C. The Law was unable to accomplish certain things:
1. Make anyone perfect – Heb. 7:11-19; 10:1-2.
2. Justify from sin – Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:20-28.
3. Give righteousness – Gal. 2:21.
4. Give peace – Heb. 9:9.
5. Give life – Gal. 3:21.
D. The Law was merely a guideline for living that possessed no saving power.
There were certain sacrificial laws that brought a sense of salvation and cleansing. IT was a list of rules without life. Many in our day desire the bondage of the Law over the freedom found in Jesus.
2. Is there a ransom from the law?
A. The Law condemned and offered no hope, Jesus came to fulfill the Law and set us free from its bondage.
B. In His life and death, Jesus did all that was necessary to set us free.
1. He fulfilled the Law
“4But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of woman, born under law, 5to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. Gal. 4:4.
Jesus perfectly kept the Law and fulfilled all the types of Leviticus and Numbers. He became our Passover Lamb and our Scapegoat, forever taking away the demands of the Law upon our lives. The Law was never given to make us righteous. It was given to show us that in ourselves and in our own works, we could never hope to keep the Law. The Law opens our eyes so that we will see our need for Jesus
2. Jesus met all the righteous requirements of the Law.
“13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.” Col. 2:13-14.
Jesus’ death satisfied God’s requirements for sin and for obedience to the Law. When we are in Him, we are not forced to obey the Law, we are compelled to obey it out of love for Him and His great sacrifice for our sins. In Him, we move under grace, not the whip of the Law – Rom. 6:14-15; Gal. 5:18.
3. When we receive Christ as Savior, He writes the Law in our hearts. “...who shows the work of the law written in their hearts” Rom. 2:15
3. Is the law relevant today?
A. With all this in mind, some Christians might be prone to think that the Law therefore has no impact on us today. That there is no reason for us to even think about the Law or the Ten Commandments. That is a false assumption! When we get to the place where we need no guidelines, then we have entered lawlessness and we are in trouble and in sin.
B. Matt. 5:17-18. Jesus did not come to abolish or to do away with the Law or Ten Commandments. He came to fulfill them. (Fulfill – "To carry out, to make full, to get to the heart of.") When we are in Christ, the Ten Commandments become more relevant than ever.
“34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matt. 22:35-40
C. Matt. 22:35-40 – Jesus summed up all the Law of God into two commandments. If I love God as I should, I will always keep Commandments 1-4. If I love my neighbor as I should, I will always keep Commandments 5-10.
Augustine put it this way, "Love God and do as you please." That works, because when you love God, you will always seek to do those things that please Him!
D. The Commandments do not stand as rungs on a ladder to climb for salvation. They stand as barriers erected by God to help us live lives that glorify His Name. They are relevant today! (Ill. Ted Koppel of Nightline said, "Our society finds truth too strong a medicine to digest undiluted. What Moses brought down from Mt. Sinai were not the "10 Suggestions." They are Commandments.. Are, not were! The sheer brilliance of the Ten Commandments is that the codify in a handful of words acceptable human behavior , not just for then and now, but for all time."
You want to know why we need the Ten Commandments? For the last forty years or so we have embraced the do anything that turns you on mentality. It has had a enormously negative impact on the physical and psychological state of America.
Rob Schenk in his book, Ten Words that Will Change a Nation, writes: “Out of wedlock births, abortion, substance abuse treatment, and psychiatric problems have caused health insurance premiums and taxes to skyrocket. The government now spends more on AIDS than they do on the number one health problem of Americans, heart disease. Divorce on demand has placed the welfare of millions of children at risk. Co-habitation, once rare in the U.S., now puts kids in serious jeopardy. . .”
“Many businesses spend more today on security than they do on research and development of new products. And losses due to theft and fraud are higher than ever.
We are in need of a revival of God’s law in our lives. He didn’t write them to be cute or give Sunday School kids something to memorize.
Today is the day! You’ve finally gotten the new car everyone has been raving about, and boy is she a beauty. You climb in, put on your seatbelt and turn the ignition. As you start to head down the road, you notice the instrument panel has no instruments – no speedometer, no fuel gauge, no battery meter. Then you notice the car doesn’t have any headlights or turn signals, and the glass is tinted almost to pitch black, including the windshields. It’s a little unusual, but the salesman said it was supposed to be this way. Anyway, the car does have a great stereo. Every kind of music to fit your tastes is reproduced in perfect stereophonic quality. And the mirrors in the car are specially designed and placed to reflect only your best features. Never mind the fact that you can’t see where you’re going – you calmly ignore the occasional honks and screams and thumps under the wheels – those are other people’s problems, not yours. But you do get a little annoyed when the car stops running and you can’t figure out what’s wrong with it; and hey, did you see that guy who almost hit me?! Somebody ought to do something about those lousy drivers out there!
Sound ridiculous? Of course it is. But this little parable is actually a pretty good picture of the current state of our society. There is no moral consensus at the end of the 20th century. We have rejected restrictive external authorities like fuel gauges, speed limits and commandments. I don’t need someone else to tell me what truth is. Who are those imperialist white males in Detroit to oppress me with their ideas of how much fuel I’ve got left? I can decide for myself! I don’t need any external authority telling me how to drive or live!
But in the absence of any objective criteria for right and wrong, self-fulfillment becomes the supreme moral guide. I will live how I want regardless of the damage to myself or others.
Conclusion: Can we keep these rules for life? Not in ourselves, but it is possible in Jesus “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Phil. 4:13.
The Reason?
We operate with a different motive and power as believers in Jesus. Far too many have tried to keep the 10 Commandments from the outside in. They have tried to do good to change their heart. As Christians, we come at the things from the opposite direction.
We operate from the law of love. Because we love Him so much we keep His word. We hide it in our hearts. We saturate ourselves with His words and living them becomes as natural as breathing. Because our hearts have been changed, we are able to live the Ten Commandments from the inside out and it works just fine! Yes, they are relevant! And, we shall see that as this series unfolds.
Have you surrendered your life? Or, are you trying to please God by keeping some list of do’s and don’ts? If you are trying to good your way to God, let me tell you it will not work! The only way to please God is to come to Him through His Son, the Lord Jesus. Receive Him by faith and then He will give you the power to live the kind of life you are failing to live right now.
