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April 6, 2022 8:00 am
Recognize what the 10 Commandments present to us is a matter of a magnificent revelation of the holiness of God and the implications of his holiness for mankind and for his people. Hello and welcome back to the truthful with John Green, founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. I bill right and today is Don continues teaching God's people. God's word to begin a new series called God's forgotten law with part one of a message called the 10 Commandments done when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments as laws came thundering down on the heads of all mankind quickly revealing that man was infinitely guilty before and infinitely holy God. So was looking good, but Jesus Christ changed all that didn't Bible tells us that the law of God points us to Jesus Christ. We need the law to help us understand that we need Christ and yet most people are ignorant of the 10 Commandments that ignorance causes them to underestimate the holiness of God and also to underestimate the enormity of their own guilt, and so my friend you're listening to the broadcast. Today, I encourage you to ask God to open your eyes to the glory of his law and what it means for your soul because my friend, it should cause you to flee to Christ for mercy. Thanks Don and Fred. Let's open our Bibles now to Exodus chapter 20 begin today's lesson here is Don Gray in the truthful or going to do today is were going to look very quickly at each one of the 10 Commandments 10 points in this message today, just as introduce the 10 Commandments to meet them, as it were, and then once the introductions have been made we will go back and get to know them better. So the 10 Commandments open with a preface. They start with a historical context that the Lord gives in the opening two verses here in Exodus chapter 20. This is just an introduction were just sitting down for a a first acquaintance with them here relieving all of the exposition and all of the context and all of the rules of interpretation, leaving all that for the future.
We just want to see them for the first time here today and so the 10 Commandments contain a preface that you find in the first two verses, Exodus chapter 20 verses one and two.
Then 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. God gave this law after Egypt had surrendered the people of Israel, as it were, to his power. After he had redeemed them after he had brought them out of slavery. God revealed this law to them through the hand of Moses through the words of Moses and so there's this there's this historical context. The God says this is who I am. I am the one who has delivered you from Egypt. I am the covenant keeping Yahweh I am God himself. I am the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery and therefore I speak with authority over you. He says to the people of Israel as he reveals his word now in like manner God speaks with no less authority over us even if we are not biological Jews. Every one of us has been made in our mother's womb by the hand of God. Psalm 139 those who are in Christ have been purchased by the shed blood of Jesus Christ so that God has an ownership right over you by right of creation, and by right of redemption. He has outer authority over you and he has complete authority to command every aspect of your life. Every aspect of your thinking every aspect of your emotions every aspect of every affection of your heart, all of it comes under the broad umbrella of God's great authority by the sheer significance of who he is and who we are, in response to him. He's the creator where the creature he's holy were sinful we say were Christians then were under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and as will find and in some of the early Commandments. One of the one of the aspects that we need to come to grips with in as we contemplate these things is that those of you who claimed to be Christians. Those of you who claim to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We all have to come to grips with the fact that Jesus says plainly in Luke chapter 6 verse 46.
Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say there is this utterly unthinkable hypocrisy of naming him with our lives. But ignoring the things that he tells us to do the kinds of people that he tells us to be just kind of rubbing the magic lamp of prayer looking for Jeannie to come out and fix our problems, but otherwise living as though there's really not much need to contemplate his Lordship were not in a good position spiritually beloved, were not all that we think that we are like that. We want to think that we are in the 10 Commandments exposed that and because the 10 Commandments are an expression of the authority of God because we are under his authority by right of creation by right of redemption.
It behooves us to come and to study and to learn and to submit and to change in response to what is revealed to us in his word. This is his moral law. This is his enduring moral law that applies even to the lives of Christians today. We do not obey this law in order to be saved. We can't.
The law condemns us and exposes our sin.
The law for those who are in Christ. The law does not threaten us with its punishment because Christ has endured that punishment on our behalf at the cross. However, the law is still an expression of the moral will of God and how we are to live, how we are to know him how we are to please him and it's from that understanding will address all of that more in future weeks, but it's from that understanding that God speaks with authority to his redeemed people and we are to hear and we are to heed. We are to listen and we are to obey and we are to take this seriously deep in our hearts and find in it. The way that God would lead us forward from the present point of our spiritual sanctification. So let's look at these 10 Commandments. What are these 10 well, the first four commandments are vertical in nature that's that's referred to as the first table of the law. The second table the last six commandments are horizontal end and deal with our our relationships with men and with property and and with our inner man.
One thing that we should that we should take a look at. In addition to revealing to us the holiness of God go back to the book of Matthew chapter 22 Matthew chapter 22. The 10 Commandments are revealing to us the holiness of God, and you could you could say this without saying too much. The 10 Commandments are giving us instruction on how we are to love God and to love our neighbor.
Jesus makes this very, very clear. A lawyer came up to him in Matthew chapter 22 verse 35 asking the question because he wanted to test him. He said in verse 36 Matthew 22 verse 36 teacher, which is the great commandment in the law and Jesus said to him in verse 37 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 foremost commandment. The second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. In other words, there is there is an underlying principle in the 10 Commandments that are designed to teach us how we are to love God and how we are to love our neighbor and so they reveal to us the holiness of God, and they show us how it is that we are to respond in faith and obedience to the great holiness of this great and majestic God and and and and and responding to them. We are we are to love him and to fear him and to trust him and to obey him. The 10 Commandments. Teach us that in addition to that, the second table. The final six.
Give us an idea of what it is like what it means to love our neighbor and how we need the purifying impact of this to cleanse our minds of the sentimental mush by which the word love has come to be associated in our thinking and need.
We need to cleanse our minds of all of these things in the word of God is going to have that cleansing sanctifying impact on us as we go through this text together now. So let's start with the 10. This may be the message with the most points I've preached and certainly in a long time 10 points today corresponding to 10 Commandments. The first commandment.
The first commandment is no false gods.
The first is no false gods. And that's just were just doing little some brief summary terms to get the thoughts stimulated in our minds.
The first commandment is that is found in verse three God says you shall have no other gods before me. In other words, this commandment has both a negative and a positive implication to us. This commandment requires us, God commands us to forsake and to never go back to any other preeminent object of our affections to forsake all false gods and on a positive sense to know him as the one true God, the God of the Bible commands us to know him and to acknowledge him as the one and only true God, and that there is no other.
This commandment implicitly condemns and rejects all false religion that is not rooted in the exclusive revelation of God found in the 66 books and no more of the holy Bible, and every other God and every other system of worship is to be rejected. Why is that it's because God is holy and there is no other real God. And so we are to recognize he is holy and exalted separate place in the universe acknowledge him as the creator of heaven and earth, the giver of life, in whom we live and move and have our being and forsake every other competing truth claim that would be in contradiction with his exclusive place and his exclusive revelation found in Scripture beloved, even in the Scripture reading that I did from the book of acts chapter 4 earlier. This point is made about the Lord Jesus Christ, when it says there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven among men by which we must be saved. And so there is this a resting wake-up call right from the start and it is as if it is as if God is saying understand who you're dealing with here is the most holy God.
The only one true God, and that means that we are to honor him exclusively and reject everything that lists itself up as a rival to him. We are to acknowledge him alone as our God. You are to love him and to worship him and to glorify him exclusively. Why because he is holy because he is separate because he is alone in majesty.
Therefore, he is to be alone. The object of your supreme affections. Everything else is subordinate to that everything that is contrary to that must be forsake and repented of and never gone back to again. The first commandment is that there are to be no false gods in your heart. Secondly, the second commandment, no false worship, no false worship. The second commandment is this.
Look at that verse four goes for three verses here. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children. On the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments here. We simply want to see this for today. We simply want to acknowledge a most basic principle that God commands us to worship him in the right way.
We must worship the true God in the right way in the way that he has appointed us to worship him by. We are not free to simply make up our own rules and regulations of worship without an in utter disregard of Scripture.
We are not free to just go off into our dear stand in the forest and and pretend that were communing with God and obeying God in worship because were communing with him in nature. That is not the kind of worship the God has appointed we must worship the true God in the right way.
Now, in contradiction to everything about Roman Catholicism, Eastern orthodoxy, and other other such kinds of religions. God forbids the use of images in worship in this text and that is that representative the fire of the fact that God is zealous for the manner in which he is worshiped Jesus said into the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 verse 24 God is a spirit and and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. We need to give thought to the way that we worship you need to give thought to the way into the approach that you make in your private life toward Scripture and toward prayer because all of those things are brought under the umbrella of the 10 Commandments God is holy God is holy and so we are not free to represent him in, and other images.
Soon after this soon after this text of Revelation you will remember that that Israel made a golden calf under the leadership of Aaron and Aaron said this is your God, who led you out of Egypt. The idea wasn't so much that they think that they actually thought that that golden calf was the thing that had led them out of Egypt rather being a calf being being a strong animal is supposed to be a representation of who God was and it represented God in visual form to suggest something about the invisible nature of God. God says I'm I'm having none of that anything created by human hands cannot possibly be a true representation of who God is, pictures of Jesus cannot possibly be an appropriate thing for Christians to use and have hanging in their homes. A human artist, a sinful human artist cannot possibly rightly convey what the holiness of Christ look like there is nothing in a physical representation of God that can possibly rightly represent his invisible spiritual nature can only mislead so God says there must not be any of that stuff because it will only mislead you about what my character is in God has the right, God has the absolute prerogative to insist upon this from his people because he is God and he is entitled to tell us how it is that he must be worshiped and we must worship the right God in the right way. Why, because God is holy God is set apart, and therefore our worship must be set apart and done in a manner that is in accordance with what he is revealed, the look. It's inevitable that all of our toes are going to get stepped on here by the word of God. It is inevitable that there is going to be conviction that is brought to us as a result of these things that is not indicating that there is a problem with the word of God.
If it makes us uncomfortable if it exposes things that we've wrongly thought or wrongly done or wrongly had over the years is our problem with the word of God. It couldn't possibly be that because the word of God is perfect. It is living in is active, it is inerrant, it is infallible. If there's a conflict between us and the 10 Commandments it's because there's a problem in us not in the word of God. We must approach it with that spirit of humility and in prior submission and not pretend to reserve our private judgment on whether these things are going to be right and true or not, you must worship the true God in the right way.
And thirdly, the third commandment. Do not take God's name in vain or to stated more simply honor the name honor the name of God. The third commandment is this. Look at verse seven you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. The trivial use of the name of God.
This is a true pandemic of great disease.
This is something truly truly deadly whatever the command means. Look at how seriously the Lord takes it says there at the end of verse seven. The Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain uses the name of God in an empty way, without regard for the reverence that he deserves and the implications of this command are vast. The name of God is holy because the name of God is the sum of all that he is and so when we speak the name of God. We have no liberty whatsoever to use it in a casual flippant manner for for you teenage girls like to text out OMG just say oh my God in all that you need understand that is a profoundly sinful use of the name of God.
This is not how the name of God is to be treated at all. For those of you who are of of you know where your word isn't necessarily true to say all I swear to God what I'm about to say is true, that is a profound sin against God.
It is a flippant use of flippant taking of an oath when Jesus said your yes should be enough to be yes and your no should be enough to be no the name of God is holy and therefore it should not be lightly or flippantly on our tongues the name of God is holy and therefore when we pray to him. Here heading requires the full engagement of our faculties, not a rote memorization or rote recitation of some some prayer that we've heard her praying with our lips when our minds are distracted in a thousand different places so will if that's true, then were all really guilty before yeah that's that's the point. That's how holy God's name is and we are to recognize the holiness of God recognize the holiness of his name and watch this and therefore respond to him with reverent fear with sanctified thoughts with sanctified prayers with a sanctified sense of who he is and in light of this third commandment there.
There is no measuring. There is no measuring the greatness of the guilt of the entire world on this commandment alone. The name of Jesus Christ is used as a cuss word is used to condemn people when they cross someone I don't watch any television anymore except for an occasional sports event. I suppose even when I stopped watching you could watch, you can watch 15 minutes of regular secular programming without this commandment being violated is if as if as if the holy exalted name of God was no better than the refuse found in the in the ditch of a messy farm and entitled to no more respect than the refuse on the street. The house God not going to vindicate his name against all of its violations that are just that, or just saturated in the culture around us. You see the problem. God says don't do that. No one who does that will go unpunished. I will not leave him unpunished. We should understand that the that the pulsating wrath of God must be great on this third commandment alone.
We are to use his name and to use his word with respect in our hearts, and with the purity of lips that is fitting for the great holiness of his name, beloved, the fact that this sin is so common and so acceptable, even within the walls of the Christian church does not mitigate the black nature of its sin by a single stroke.
We are to take God's name usage with respect because he is amen made the name of God remain ever holy upon our lips will friend next time Don will bring us the balance of his overview of the 10 Commandments you're on the truth pulpit.
We do hope you'll join us. Then meanwhile, if you'd like to know more about Don and this Bible teaching ministry. We invite you to visit the truth.
Pulpit.com. Once again, that's the truth. Pulpit.com now just before we end our time today. Here again is done with a closing word of encouragement are your sins forgiven. Have you taken your sins to the cross of Jesus Christ and asked him to cleanse you with his shed blood. And if you don't know Christ in the way of which I'm speaking here today. Jesus said I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. Jesus Christ offers you free forgiveness of all your sins if you will come to him in a humble, repentant faith, you can receive him as your Lord and Savior and rest in him to be the one to carry you safely to heaven thanks God and friend to join us next time. As Don Greene continues teaching God's people.
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