The Ten Commandments and the 21st Century

So God in Exodus chapter 20 says I want you to understand who I am I me know I am Elohim. I am powerful I am in sovereign control and you are my people. You belong to me on the basis of the preeminence of his character. He graciously reminds them of his provision is is a case of forgotten the power of Elohim. Remember verse to be who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves.

Did you forget sometimes our perceptions about God were tempted to try and create a God who's more to our liking. Maybe we downplay characteristics of God that we don't care for, and we emphasize the characteristics that we like. We want to God that feels comfortable to us. That's not the right approach God has revealed to us who is and what he's like and were going to learn some of that today. This is wisdom for the heart. Stephen Davey is in a series called down from Sinai.

Looking at the 10 Commandments.

Morgan a look at the first of those commandments today gentleman who owns his own news system declared at a meeting of his company's broadcasting system. These startling words, he declared the 10 Commandments obsolete. I don't know what that had to do with the news convention, but he got off on the subject. He told the members of the national newspaper Association quote we were living with outmoded rules rules were living under the 10 Commandments and I bet nobody here even pays much attention to them because they are too old today. The commandments would never go over because nobody likes to be commanded. Commandments are out.

So he listed 10 rules of his own and he calls them the 10 voluntary initiatives. I would submit that he is not only misinformed, but I doubt he is ever set on a look at them and perhaps even knows what they say. I read a survey that less than 50% of everyone who attends church can list even four of the 10 Commandments, so is the problem that they do not apply or is the problem we do not know what they say we never taken time to look because we are going to the book of Exodus we now approach the 20th chapter, and it is going to be delightful to spend time studying each of the 10 Commandments we are going to see how they apply to our lives.

The first thing we need to do is take an overview of these 10 Commandments, and answer the question why did God give the law we studied all of the fireworks in the previous chapter, and now he is about to give his revelation.

Why did he give mankind the law three reasons. There are more but I much boiled it down to these three. First of all to reveal his glory and his holiness.

Ultimately, everything that God says everything that he reveals everything that he commands everything that he demands gives himself glory and honor and everything that we are to do in life is to reflect his purpose and that is to glorify and honor him.

So these alternately provide the foundation where his name is power his purity, his character can receive glory and honor. The second reason is to reveal man sinfulness. It's easy for us as humans to rationalize any sin or any activity that we may participate in but you match up to the 10 Commandments and it reveals that none of us are perfect and we cannot rationalize what we do. The Bible calls them sin.

They are a violation of God's commandments.

My wife and I were watching a documentary that had an interview in there with the man who had killed several people and they were talking about this individual's life and and how he is in some ways very intellectually intelligent. He is sharp.

He has earned a degree and he finally had a chance to appear before 1 Particular Ct. room and they were doing a dramatization of of that appearance in court and it was interesting that this man who has put a number of people in the grave, stood, and he said I know I knife that person.

I know I shot that person but I am not at fault.

It is the system that has created what I am well we look at that and we think man is he ever dodging the issue, perhaps, but you and I also rationalize things that we do. For instance, the command says thou shalt not steal well. None of us would claim that were liars but yet we would cheat on an income tax report, we would adjust the hours that we work so that our employer doesn't get a full 40. We may find other ways but we would never consider ourselves liars.

The Bible says not to steal, and we would never consider ourselves thieves but are there areas where we in fact take what does not belong to us. Would we consider ourselves, doors, and yet do we look at those things that belong to others and secretly desire them. You see, the commandments are what we could call straight talk from God to mankind.

Any really doesn't pull any punches. The bottom line is whether or not we will apply them to every area of our lives. You can take a plumb line and you can hang it next to a wall in that plumb line will reveal how crooked the wall is the plumb line could not make that wall straight, it can only reveal that it's crooked. That's the nature of the 10 Commandments they are revealing that in our nature, which is crooked which is deceitful, which cannot be rationalized away. Why is that it is to reveal our sinfulness, so that ultimately we will come to Jesus Christ who is the fulfiller of the law and find in him salvation. There's 1/3 reason that is to reveal a standard, a principal for godly living. It's fascinating, as I've begun studying these commandments that the first four reveal the relationship that we are to have with God.

The next six or the final six reveal our relationship that we are to have with one another.

So the foundation for these commands are that you are to have no other gods before you. You are not to create some other image you are not to take his name in vain.

You are to assign a day of worship and rest to him and on the basis of what we now have an relationship with him.

Now we will not kill. We will not steal. We will not covet, etc. so the beginning and the foundation is a relationship with God. A principal that reveals the standard whereby we can live in a way that pleases God. Now the law is compared to a mirror. It reveals man's sin. James chapter 1 verse 23 talks about looking into the mirror of the word and we should never look into it and see our reflection and leave forgetting to put into practice what we have learned so the law that which is perfect. The standard reveals who we are. My favorite painter was Norman Rockwell and he is a painting that is always fascinated me. It is the lady standing at the counter at the butcher shop and the butcher has a turkey on the scale and they are smiling at each other and at first glance everything looks just right. The ladies dressed all properly and the butchers wearing his apron and his But if you look closely you will notice behind the turkey the butchers, pressing down and you will notice the lady discreetly pushing up. It is interesting when you consider that those individuals would never call themselves thieves.

And yet when you look into the mirror of the word.

It's perfect standard reveals man's sin, and sin nature.

It also is compared in Scripture to a yoke and that is disobedience to the law brings bondage in bondage to sin. It is also compared to a schoolmaster schoolmaster in the New Testament time was usually a trained slave that would take the children of the household and prepare them for adulthood. He is saying that the law is in a sense, a trained slave of his character, and it prepares you for the way of Christ, who is the only one that can never fulfill it. And finally, the laws compared to letters written on stone in second Corinthians chapter 3 as compared to the new law, the summation of the law. That is the law of love that is written on our heart. Now remember before we even begin the study that the law cannot do several things.

I'm sure you are aware of this fear, we failed to apply first of all, it can never justify from sin, keeping all of the law could never declare a man righteous that must be an act whereby a righteous God gives us the declaration of righteousness. And that is justification. It also can never give righteousness that is perfectness.

And thirdly, it could never produce peace following the law can never produce peace and let me apply that you and I are so often intimidated. We are fooled by that moral person who may live next to us whom I worked on the hall from us, who seems to be the epitome of clean living. And yet if they do not know Jesus Christ don't be full.

They do not have peace of mind.

If you got behind the façade, if you got beneath that veneer you would find a person who has difficulty in their thoughts. In fact the Scripture talks about one who, by the law can never receive a perfected conscience, so you may think man they got it together. They don't really need what I got. Don't be fooled. They need Jesus Christ because even though they are seemingly the standard of morality. They do not have a clear perfected conscience that only comes from knowing Christ.

With that said, now is foundation. Let's take a look at Exodus chapter 20, and we will cover the first commandment. The remainder of our time. The first commandment is let's begin with verse 20 worker, whether or verse one of chapter 20 then God spoke all these words say here is what I want to give you the presupposition of faith in that first verse, to give you several points.

The first is then God spoke all these words and when I read that and studied the way he would introduce his revelation.

Everything in Genesis, the first three chapters are so hard to swallow by the liberal or the critic or the scoffer because they have never come to grips with the very first verse in the beginning God is in the basis of faith in that God that I can believe that he created all of the things that he said he created and you take that same thought to Exodus chapter 20 it is on the basis of the fact that God spoke these commands and I believe that God gave these commands is revelation.

Then on that basis.

I cannot believe it is wrong to kill.

It is wrong to steal it is wrong. The cup, but that is built on faith in God so at the very beginning we are speaking to the believer, the one who is acknowledged faith in God that can ever hope to apply the principles in this chapter. The second thing is the preeminence of government verse two he says I am the Lord your God. I am Yahweh Elohim. I am preeminence. He says I am the one that brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.

You see how that is built upon the truth. Not only that we believe God exists, but that he is our Yahweh. He is preeminent in our lives. He is our Elohim is the master of our life.

There are many false conceptions of God and I'm speaking to the believer, conceptions that make it impossible to apply revelation from God because we view God in a wrong fashion. In fact I think he is beginning the commandments by trying to straighten out the perception of the people as to who he is.

I want to take time to give you five false conceptions of who God is. You may discover in your own thinking your own heart, one or more of these conceptions will be given to you the first we could call an eager bellhop. I do not mean to be sarcastic but I think that that sums up an attitude that many people have toward God. This is the individual who carries your baggage. This person never argues with you because you are the person in charge, not him and all he could ever hope for.

Perhaps as a smile, a pat on the back and and maybe a tip which you you have them around because he conveniently helps. The mistake is, ladies and gentlemen, and forgetting that this is a sovereign God, we should never fool ourselves into assuming that whatever we think is right.

He thinks is right.

In fact Joshua one time was about to go into battle and you remember in Joshua chapter 5 verse 14 the angel of the Lord appeared, which is a pre-incarnate form of Jesus Christ and he he appears with a sword drawn and Joshua says this he he says who's side are you on theirs or ours.

And the answer is credible. The angel of the Lord says neither I command the hosts of heaven using that something that we need to straighten out in our thinking. It is not that he is on our side. It is that we are on his side and we claim allegiance to him. He is the sovereign God. The point is of that passage, but whose side the Lord is on, but whose side we are on we don't demean his sovereignty. He is not a bellhop. He doesn't carry our baggage.

He is a master is a sovereign, powerful God. I think another one is a stern teacher, a schoolteacher.

This is the kind of individual you remember you had one or two of them that determine to ruin your life. I had one of those in junior high school. She was my science teacher. She was brilliant and she made that known to everyone, and if you ever asked the question that seemed less than intelligent.

She quickly put you in your place and I was trying to ask questions that were less than intelligent, so after the first week, I determined never to ask another question and to this day.

I hate that Adam chart.

Some you had teachers like that we we view God perhaps is a stern teacher some some killjoy who who makes life miserable because he always wants to teach us lessons that are way too difficult and if I ever ask a question.

He makes me seem ridiculously foolish coming to church to worship him is an obligation it's a drudgery bread she watched on public television Lake Wobegon days Garrison Keillor. He nicknamed the church he went to because it was a drudgery. It was a difficulty God was someone less than enjoyable. He nicknamed his church, our Lady of perpetual responsibility.

Jesus Christ said come to me all you that are weary and heavy laden, and I will make life difficult for you. I said I will give you rest.

The person who views God is that stern schoolteacher is someone who does not understand the compassion of God and in mind you men and women are perception of who God is, affects our lives affects the way we think and act. Let me give you another one was call this one the impersonal scientist. This is the individual somewhat like the other one who has vast knowledge, who is very intelligent and intellectual but not emotional.

This is the individual who seems far removed from the events of our lives. He is a thinker. He is brilliant, but he could never know how to communicate to me and I really think that for an individual like this man I quoted in the beginning who says that these things never relate that is perhaps his perception of God. Some far removed brilliant person who does not know how to communicate with mankind and doesn't really know how to straighten things out.

We also forget what a set of our God. In Hebrews chapter 4 that we have a high priest who can sympathize with all of our difficulties because he was touched and every point like we are to give you another one will call this one a building grandfather picture in your mind.

Those of you that are grandparents you can easily do this. Although you may not admit it. An individual who loves the grandchildren so much that just about anything goes so long as they acknowledge your love just to sit on your lap nanny as the kids call my mother-in-law was in the living room and and we had just gotten and I think the kids were there along with her all day and Candace was in her lap and I was, walking through the living room and I heard nanny say yet to Candace take to get down and go do something II heard this pause and you know pauses or very loud thing and then I heard this no and I stop and when turned around and about the time I turned around I saw nanny and a look at her and then they broke into laughter and they hugged and then he said isn't she so cute she's got her own. I wanted to send nanny to her room. This is the view of God that he will just pat us on the head and let us do whatever we want. He just so happy we say he is our God, and were in the family.

This individual finds it very difficult to apply the 10 Commandments because he figures that God will let him off.

God is not grandpa and he hears and sees everything I was reading about gentlemen grandfather lived with his family and he was he was losing his hearing and the family sort of ignored him and he would sit over in his rocker and Rockaway and unable to really hear what was going on and finally one day he decided it was time to fix that and he went down in the bottom couple of hearing aids and he could hear wonderfully. He came back a couple weeks later to just get a checkup and and the doctor said have a house and going and he said wonderful. I can hear everything in case the doctor said your your family must be so happy and he said I haven't told my family yet.

I've just been sitting around listening and he said I change my well two times already know that's not God cute, but not him. He is God. The last one that I would give you is that God is kind of a Mr. fix-it he's he's there whenever you get into a jam. He's not there the rest of the time.

He's the kind of person you often hear people talking about how they got into a difficulty, and they prayed and something wonderful happened but you wonder where is God. The rest of the time he sort of like rabbits foot that you carry around. You can call his name. If you need something, you need a job. We need something to work out you know all of that. Then you go running to God and he'll fix everything. Is that view of him that distorts our perspective. In fact, the Israelites had that problem in first Samuel chapter 4, they were having to battle the Philistines and they were having difficulty. So what they do.

They ran back and they got the art and they said if we can just bring this art which is the representation of God's power and holiness into battle with us were led no problem. In John allowed them to lose. He is not a lucky charm. He is not a God comes along and you can use him whenever you want to make everything just perfect. He's not a Mr. fix-it is a sovereign God.

You can see how believing different perceptions of God changes the way we view revelation from God, can't you so God in Exodus chapter 20 says I want you to understand who I am.

I am Yahweh, I am Elohim. I am powerful I am in sovereign control and you are my people.

You belong to me on the basis of the preeminence of his character. He graciously reminds them of his provision is in case you forgotten the power of Elohim.

Remember verse 2B who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slaves. Did you forget I make a claim on you because I am the one who brought you out of Egypt I parted the waters I brought the plagues I give you liberty. I have a right to be your God. Ladies and gentlemen, all those of you that have named Jesus Christ as your Savior.

He has all rights in your life. He brought you out of the house of the slave. He has forgiven he has redeemed you. You now belong to him.

He is provided so much. Don't forget and then I think the command could be summarized this way and that is the prominence of God is look at verse three. You shall have no other gods before me. Isn't that a logical conclusion of everything we said, in light of who he is, is preeminence in his provision in light of all of that in the presupposition of faith in him as God doesn't make sense that he would say.

Now I am to be the only one he would take Israel out of a polytheistic world that is many gods and he would make them mono theistic that is one God. He says I am the true God. So don't have any others trailing along I met Luther, of course apply this to contemporary man by saying that is a God to whom you cherish and you yield your life. That is who your God is God says I want you cherishing me. I alone hold the right to that position. He says I don't want any other gods before me the word. The words before me out in a could be translated in my face straw.

I don't want any gods in my face and who go on in the next Commandments that will look at and explain that in detail he said he alone is Sauber. Let's wrap it up with two thoughts. First of all, the 10 Commandments are universal absolute truths. They are changeable, they do not fluctuate between cultures. These are absolute because God is the God of the universe. He is the creator of all men and because of that he has not only given us written revelation, but the writers of Scripture say he has written the law on our hearts, and that is in Romans chapter 1.

A perfect illustration of that person who does not know Jesus Christ, but who knows the law you go to some remote tribe in some distant country and you get into that tribe and you observe his missionaries have shared with us and you will find that they know it is wrong to deal it is wrong to commit adultery. And with that comes certain penalties. They don't have this is a universal absolute truth that is not only here but it is on the hearts of men and women. No one in America could ever claim that it is right to lie, because they know in their heart. It is wrong. In fact, because of that our sin nature yields or produces in us a tendency to what to live. Did you teach your child how to lie.

Where did he pick it up.

Did you teach them to steal where they grab that one from there is a law and with that is the opposition to that law. Within every human being. These are universal absolute truths and is this individual said Commandments are out because nobody likes to be commanded and that is very true. The absolutes are being thrown out. No one likes yes and no. We want all of it great whatever makes you happy. Whatever you think you want to do the authority is gone because this book is in effect gone from their lives. Note this is well number two. The first commandment. As I've mentioned is the foundation for the other nine.

That is my perspective of who God is my acknowledgment to God is the sovereign God in my life that then produces the foundation for me now not to steal, not to kill not to covet not to commit adultery.

Why all of those things. How is it that I will never commit those if that why because I have yielded to the first commandment which is the foundation in God is sovereign God in my life. We ask a question, do you have a problem with honesty.

Do you have a problem with coveting do you have difficulty stealing. Do you know when we go to find the foundation for a solution and acknowledging God is to be the sovereign God in your life by yielding to him. I now have the basis whereby I can live on this. I can live contented. This is the foundation for the other. I hope today's lesson has helped clarify for you. God you been listening to wisdom for the heart with Stephen Devi to learn more about us, please visit wisdom online.org.

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