The 10 Commandments Series

Intro:

AG: Ted Turner has declared the Ten Commandments obsolete and stated, "We’re living with outdated rules.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Turner is wrong when he declares that the Ten Commandments are outdated.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.

However, Turner was right when he said that nobody likes to be commanded.

Modern society mocks the truth and exalts the lie.

We live in a time when right is classified as wrong and wrong as right.

Today, in America, many believe that there are no "moral absolutes."

Moral Relativism reigns

Reflected in statements like:

"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.

A recent poll found that 67% of Americans do not believe in moral absolutes.

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."

Tonight, we begin a series of messages on the Ten Commandments.

My aim is to show you their relevance for our day.

This evening, I hope to lay a foundation for the future messages by telling you a little of the background of the Ten Commandments and why they were given.

Let’s look into these ancient Laws and see that they are a practical standard for life for modern man.

I. God Spoke

God gave us His word

Inspired- breathed by Him

Here, the The 10 commandments (Decalouge)- literally 10 words are given by the Lord

He spells out the moral code He expects His people to follow

God set them apart and exalted them as the capstone of all the law.

1.

He spoke to Israel directly out of a cloud.

2.

He wrote them by His power on tablets of stone.

3.

He commanded that they be placed in the Ark of the Covenant

Obviously, God placed a high value on the 10 commandments

In Deuteronomy, the 2nd giving of the law, Moses reviews them with Israel.

The amazing thing here to realize: GOD SPOKE!

We often speak of the Bible being God's word.

Prophets often began, "Hear the word of the Lord....."

Israel was honored to hear Him!

As we study the 10 commandments, we are studying God's law.

AP: What are the implications of God speaking His Law?

1. we need to hear it.

2. we need to remember it.

3. we need to obey it.

4. we need to teach it.

II.

The Lord Your God.

God made it personal

He declared i am Your God (LORD = YHWH)

God took this upon Himself

God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob (renamed Israel)

God was fulfilling that covenant

As He brought out Israel, it was clear, He was their God

in the Exodus, He had redeemed His people and was leading them back to the land He had sworn to give them

He brought them out of Egypt, the house of bondage

They were enslaved and oppressed

Once they still prospered, Pharoah decreed the unthinkable

AP: God is still "our God"

Under the New Covenant

Through Jesus Christ, He brings us near

He gives us a new nature and we are His people

As in the Old Covenant, God took this burden (US) upon Himself

He choose us!

He calls us

He saves us!

That is love

His word and will should matter to us!

III.

The Relevance of the Law

A. Some Christians might be prone to think that the Law 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.

C.– Jesus summed up all the Law of God into two commandments.