1124. Telling the Truth, Respecting Others – Eighth & Ninth Commandments

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The school was founded in 1927 evangelist Dr. Bob Jones Senior's intent was to make a school where Christ would be the center of everything, so he established daily chapel services today. That tradition continues with fervent preaching from the University Chapel platform today on The Daily Platform or continuing a study series entitled.

Oh how I love thy law, which is a study of the 10 Commandments. Today's message will be preached by seminary professor Dr. Dan, Oleg, or he'll be preaching on the eighth and ninth Commandments entitled telling the truth and honoring others be GU Pres. Steve Pettit will introduce him well.

We are honored again to have one of our own faculty member speak today Dr. Dano linger. We are continuing our series on. Oh how I love thy law and I think that you will be a challenge this morning because a part of being a Christian is God puts his love in his heart for his own character in the 10 Commandments will reflect the character of God and so open your hearts and ears this morning is Dr. Olinger comes good morning sense in the Lord's Providence. It has fallen to me today to be speaking in chapel on faculty, staff appreciation day.

I wonder if I could take just a moment to presume to speak for the faculty and the staff since I've served on both faculty and staff and express my appreciation to the SLC into all of you for what you are doing. It is a great privilege and a joy to serve here. It is unusual in that both the people for whom we are working and the people on whom we are working our delightful and generous and gracious and I would express the appreciation of the faculty and the staff for all that you have done and all that you will become.

Every so often I have interacted with the student a graduate out there and every so often I have had the occasion to say to him or her you know graduates like you are the reason the teachers like me get up and go to work every day and may you be one of those. May you be hundreds of those last month Sasha Evans at 23-year-old caregiver from Darlington, England, admitted in court that while providing care for a wheelchair-bound 39-year-old man she used his phone to make 90, 100 pounds or nearly $13,000 in withdrawals from his bank account. She had excitedly told him about the new laptop. She had bought and about the tattoo.

She'd gotten on her leg without informing him that she had bought those things with his money. When confronted with the evidence of her theft. She alleged that the man had sexually propositioned her a an allegation that the court ruled to be false after her conviction, she announced that she was going to move to another city to be the caregiver for her mother today in our series on the 10 Commandments were talking about two Commandments together. The eighth and the ninth in Exodus 20 they read like this, verse 15 thou shalt not steal.

Verse 16 thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

So why are we doing to Commandments in one day these Commandments less important than the others, and each of them gets just 1/2 a chapel sermon is a chapel calendar to crowded and we need to get a a day back is there something else. Dr. Pettit wants to talk about in three weeks or is there a reason that the two Commandments belong together.

Well, thank you for asking. Let's talk about that for a minute. What is stealing.

Stealing is taking something that doesn't belong to you, why is it wrong will let me suggest a number of reasons. Perhaps some that you haven't thought of turnover to Romans chapter 13 Romans chapter 13 and will start reading in verse eight, oh no man anything but to love one another. For he that loveth another have fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shall not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Most obviously, then, when you steal you're not loving your neighbor and that's the second great commandment. After all, you're depriving the victim of what he has earned.

But beyond that there are a lot of other reasons that stealing is wrong by stealing from him years, saying that he's not really in the image of God and you don't have to respect your saying that what you've taken really belongs to you.

Your saying that God your abundantly generous heavenly father has not given you everything you need your saying you need more, and your saying that he doesn't care that you need more.

What else flip over to Ephesians chapter 4 if you would Ephesians chapter 4 and will start in verse 17 this I say therefore and testify in the Lord that he henceforth walked not as other Gentiles walk and he gives several examples of what that means and then down in verse 22.

He says that you put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Being a believer is about turning away from how you used to live and taking up a completely new way of living.

Paul describes it in terms of taken off some old clothes and putting on some new ones.

This new way of living is characterized by loving God and loving others in particularly in particular, loving others more than you love yourself. If you're a believer and use steel then what you're saying is you haven't taken off the old life you haven't put on the cloak of righteousness.

Your saying that God hasn't fundamentally changed.

You from the way you used to be. Keep your finger here in Ephesians 4 were to come back here and just flip the page back for those of you who her actually using pages flip the page back to chapter 2. You know it's actually in my Bible software. It's a literate little harder to flit back a page or two in the software than it is in the book, but the reason I'm a firm believer in Bible software is because of this I can make the print bigger and I have found that to be a valuable skill.

Ephesians chapter 2 verse one and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins in which wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world according the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

If you sin if you steal as a believer your living as though you're still by nature children, a child of wrath. That's likely a square circle it. It just doesn't make any sense and when you steal your denying that God is really the owner of everything and that he will certainly bring you to just in short, you're lying, you're lying in a dozen different ways and that's why Paul mentions stealing in the context of lying back to chapter 4 where we just work and let's read verse verses 25 and 28 verse 25 wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another, that he lists some other things and then in verse 28 let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needed when you steal you're not telling the truth and you're not living the true and there's nothing good down that road you don't like it when other people do that to you. So how can you excuse it in yourself and that's why were dealing with two Commandments. At the same time in chapel today, both stealing and lying there two sides of the same coin. Stealing is just one way of lying and oddly enough, lying is just one way of stealing. There are several examples of stealing and lying in the Scripture, I'd like to look at one of them today. Turned acts chapter 4 please ask for the last paragraph of that chapter will start reading in verse 32 of acts chapter 4 and the multitude of the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul. Neither said any of them that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had all things common and with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles feet and distribution was made on every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas which is being interpreted, the son of consolation or encouragement, a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles feet, but a certain man named Ananias, with some fire. His wife sold a possession and kept back part of the price.

His wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land while it remained was it not thine own, and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power. Why has thou conceived this thing in nine heart that was not lied on to men, but unto God and Ananias hearing these words fell down and gave up the ghost, and great fear came on all them that heard these things, and the young men arose wound him up. That is in burial clothes and carried him out and buried him and it was about the space of three hours after when his wife not knowing what was done came in and Peter answered under her tell me whether you sold the land for so much and she said yeah. For so much. Then Peter said under her. How is it that you have agreed together to test the spirit of the Lord.

Behold, the feet of them which of Barry thy husband are at the door and shall carry the out. Then she fell down straightway at his feet and yielded up the ghost and the young men came in and found her dead and carrying her fourth buried her by her husband, and great fear came upon all the church and upon as many as heard these things widen Ananias and Sapphire are due this. Why did they lie to their professed Christian brothers and sisters, well they wanted approval and acclaim from those brothers and sisters how we know that well. The juxtaposition of the previous paragraph the last paragraph of chapter 4 with the first paragraph. Chapter 5 it's very clear what the motivation Barnabas had sold some land and he had donated the money and the church was so grateful and they applauded him and they commended him and Ananias and Sapphire are wanted a piece of that action. They wanted the praise of their peers but they didn't want to make the sacrifice so they're willing to lie to get the reward with out expending the effort, nearly all sin is based on pride and self-centeredness is an you want something for yourself more than you want God to be glorified. I say you I do that to we want something for ourselves more than we want God to be glorified in this in spite of the fact that God has already given us all spiritual blessings and he has already given us all that we need for the day. He clothes us. He feeds us. He gives off his awesome warmth and light and shelter. And he promises much more to come. So what would you do for recognition but would you do to have fellow believers think well of you if you do something that God forbids then you've made yourself into an idol that you worship.

Can you think of anything more ridiculous than that, you know, the physicists have told us that neither you nor I has enough mass to be the center of the universe.

So, what was their sin.

Well, they lied to the church but at bottom.

Look at verse three.

Peter says you've lied to the Holy Spirit, verse four. You've lied to God. Okay. How stupid is it to lied to somebody who's omniscient, you know sin does make you stupid. I mentioned one of my classes just yesterday that one of my hobbies is reading accounts of stupid criminals and that there are so many Google the Darwin awards not in chapel, but later when my favorites is the guy who held up the bank and he wrote the holdup note on the back of one of his checks look. Sin makes you stupid teachers are supposed to use that word but I feel justified in this instance they didn't have to do any of this. Peter says you it was your property. You could have kept it. You could've sold it. If you sold it you could have kept all the money for yourself. It was your property. By the way. Sometimes people say the early church practiced socialism and socialism is really voluntary. That's the impression I get from looking at socialist countries. This was voluntary. There's a really big difference there. They could've done anything that they didn't have to do this. Did they really think God wouldn't know what they've done is just stupid. So what's the penalty well. Ananias falls down dead and seems a little harsh dozen I'll confess that it seems a little harsh to me but you keep in mind that this is a direct act of God. Peter didn't command Ananias to fall down dead and God has the right of life and death and he is just and when all of this story is over. Every one of us will look God in the eyes as Romans 14 and tell him that he was just in all that he did.

But what's really interesting is the next step. Verse seven. Notice what happens next, some fire, it gets wrapped up in this thing as well were told earlier that she knew what Ananias was doing sin as a way of spreading it has a way of getting out of control.

Someone said, sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay and cost you more than you want to pay Ananias is supposed to be a tender Shepherd for his wife and he leads her into sin and her conspiracy just makes everything worse. So what's the outcome. Verse 11. Great fear comes upon the church is a good thing or a bad thing.

Well, fear sometimes makes little children, obey, and obedience is a good thing. The Bible tells us the perfect love casts out fear God doesn't intend for us to live in fear. He doesn't intend for us to be afraid of being caught. It's a shame really is in it that that fear had to come upon the church at all. When the life of the church be better if fear wasn't necessary. It's our sin that brings fear into the picture. Wouldn't your life be better if you didn't have to try to remember which lies you had told her which people if you didn't have to live in fear of getting caught while I live in fear when God calls you to grace and mercy and peace. How are you stealing. There are the obvious ways of course, how are you lying well not giving a full days work for a full day's pay might not be so obvious that it stealing from your boss not paying your be at bills is stealing from the people you borrowed from gossip, gossip.

I was at stealing.

Well let me quote that great scholar of 1611, named William Shakespeare who wrote in his work. A fellow good name in man and woman, dear, my Lord is the immediate jewel of their soul who steals my purse steals trash to something.

Nothing was mine to his his. It is been a slave to thousands but he that filters from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed. You know God is never stolen from you is never taken anything from you that was rightfully yours he's done the very opposite.

He's given you infinitely a whole list of things that were not rightfully yours if you're a believer he's given you grace and mercy and peace with him.

He's given you abundantly. All things that pertain to life and godliness. He's given you perfect righteousness through the life and the death of his only son he's given you everything he's never lied to you either is told you the truth about your desperate condition even though it was hard for you to hear because you needed to hear.

If you've turned to him.

He's kept all his promises to you for forgiveness and cleansing a new birth and adoption and life in the sun and is made promises to you about the future and is the keep all of those promises as well because all the promises of God in Christ are yes and amen. Now if you're not a believer. If you're, you know, wearing the Christian mask just trying to slip through that any hassle. God never lied to you either. He will keep his promises to you for good or for bad. And he stands ready today to give you all of the things he's given the rest of us. He stands ready today to keep promises to you, just as he's kept them for us. All you need to do is come to all you need to do is trust all you need to do is turn.

Let's pray thank you father for the delights of your word. We are so grateful that you are the truth. We are so grateful that you are the gracious and abundant giver of all things to us that are not ours. May we father follow you in that way. Help us to speak the truth and to give to those without things that are not theirs.

May we bring joy to your heart to the hearts of our beloved friends and neighbors into our own hearts as we follow you in the delightful path you've laid out for us in Jesus name, amen. You've been listening to a sermon preached at Bob Jones University by seminary professor Dr. Dan Olinger, which is part of the study series about the 10 Commandments. Join us again tomorrow as we continue the series here on The Daily Platform