35 Sermon Illustrations on Ten Commandments

Soothsayer named Choi tried to join a church but the pastor refused. Choi began to curse the church and everyone in it. Things fell apart until the pastor came upon the First Commandment. He confronted Choi and destroyed his cursing stuff. After that the communist officials outlawed cursing and put Christians

in charge of destroying occult material.

Two generations of American children have come to intellectual maturity with ignorance about the world's religions - including, often enough, their own. Now religion is being taught in classrooms. All religions are included.

Example of ignorance:

Jan Grodeon asked her seventh-grade class at a California school who led the Israelites out of Egypt. Not a single one of her students knew the answer.

Sermon in Ten Commandments series. (Overview) Exodus 19:3-8

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LAYING DOWN THE LAW

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I. Mom, the Lawgiver.

A. Mom, the Lawgiver.

B. We don't like laws.

C. We need laws.

II. Why study the Ten Commandments?

A. Some think they can be improved on.

B. The Ten Commandments have permanency.

C. This generation needs them more than ever.

III. The foundation of the Christian ethic.

A. Two sections, two directions.

B. Principles, not regulations.

IV. Ten Commandments and Christians.

A. We cannot obey our way into heaven.

B. God's laws lay out the boundaries.

C. To obey is better than sacrifice.

There is no honor among thieves - or so goes an old saying. But at least one crook seems to be trying to clean up his act. Dennis Lee Curtis, an armed robber in Rapid City, South Dakota, was carrying the following list of personal rules in his wallet when he was arrested:

1. I will not kill anyone unless I have to.

2. I will take cash and food stamps - no checks.

3. I will rob only at night.

4. I will not wear a mask.

5. I will not rob Mini-Marts or 7-Eleven stores.

6. If chased by cops on foot I will get away. If chased by a vehicle I will

not put the lives of innocent citizens on the line.

7. I will rob only seven months of the year.

8. I will enjoy robbing from the poor [rich?] to give to the poor.

According to the Reformer John Calvin, pursuing the good of others is a way to love God.

________

Social justice is a fiercely debated concept among evangelicals today. Some believe it reflects “dangerous ideas” in secular culture or even “godless ideologies“ rather than biblical Christianity. The notion is understood variously, and debate abounds as to whether Scripture ranks it as a “gospel issue.“ Even the simpler term justice is subject to “competing visions.” Yet one thing is certain: Calls for justice in our society seem to only be increasing, and while some evangelicals have been struggling for justice for decades or even generations, today more and more are championing justice in some form.

Nevertheless, concerns remain for some. Is the gospel primarily about individual salvation, and do justice efforts detract from personal piety and evangelism? Just how important is justice to the Christian faith? John Calvin, a leading Protestant Reformer whose writings still influence theology and practice today, can help us think through such questions. For Calvin, justice is not a distraction from or tangential to the Christian faith but is integral to it.

While this might surprise some people today, John Calvin believed that we must act justly in order to live piously. Justice not only reveals personal piety but also is a means of living piously. What is more, justice is the meat and potatoes of what it means to love others. Many modern evangelicals don’t think along such lines. Perhaps a 16th-century French refugee who trained in law and served as a pastor can help us see more clearly the biblical portrait of the Christian life.

The Substance of the Christian Life

Many Christians rightly understand that the essence of godly living is captured in the maxim “love God, love others.” This is, after all, Jesus’ summary of the Law and Prophets (Matt. 22:36–40). Calvin agrees that such double love is what ultimately pleases God, and the Ten Commandments best summarize such a life. Though certain Old Testament laws (mainly ceremonial) have been fulfilled in Christ, the Christian life is detailed in the Ten Commandments and many of the Mosaic precepts that expound them. Commenting on the law in his magnum opus, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Calvin writes,

First, indeed, we should be entirely filled with the love of God. From this will flow directly the love of neighbor. This is what the Apostle shows when he writes that “the aim of the law is love from a pure conscience, and of faith unfeigned” [1 Tim. 1:5]. You see how conscience and sincere faith are put at the head. In other words, here is true piety, from which love [for neighbor] is derived.

Calvin equates heartfelt love for God with faith and piety . Law-keeping, therefore, is no coldhearted service toward God that springs from a mere sense of duty. Rather, obedience that pleases God flows from sincere love for him. And love for God is the source of love for others. To refer to this second love, Calvin frequently uses the term “charity” (caritas in Latin). Thus, while Calvin understands love as the substance of the law, he also believes the essence of the law is described with more specific terms like “piety” or “faith” and “charity.”

For Calvin, the Christian life is profoundly active. Loving God and neighbor doesn’t entail simply refraining from evil — such as idolatry, adultery, theft, and so on. Loving God and others has as much to do with actively pursuing and performing what is spiritually good as it does with abstaining from evil. When we read divine commands, Calvin informs us, we must consider both the matter it treats and its opposite to fully understand what pleases God. The prohibition against murder, for example, requires more than not harming others physically.

As Calvin states in his Institutes, “The commandments and prohibitions always contain more than is expressed in words.” We must look beyond the mere words of the biblical text in order to understand the whole meaning of a precept. As Calvin scholar John Hesselink explained, “if interpreted literally” the commands are “limited in scope”; but as Calvin universalizes the commands and interprets them positively, they assume “tremendous breadth and depth.” If we think the Ten Commandments teach us only what not to do, then we have not grasped their true meaning.

The Order of Loves

Just as Jesus prioritizes love for God when summarizing the Law and Prophets, so does Calvin when expositing “the Decalogue,” or the Ten Commandments. Knowing and glorifying God is the ultimate goal of life. The first four commandments which summarize duties of personal piety, take priority because God created and redeemed us so we may worship him. And as Calvin exclaims in a sermon on the Decalogue, “the worship of God” is treated before commandments 5 through 10, commands on how to love others, “because it is impossible for men to act as they should toward their neighbors unless they are led by the fear of God.”

Although the first table of the Decalogue (Exod. 20:1–11) takes priority, the second table (Exod. 20:12–17) is by no means optional for believers and is in fact a way of worshiping God. Calvin even asserts that God tests our obedience to him in giving us the second table. Observing the second table, then, is one way we prove our faith. In a sermon on the Ten Commandments, Calvin exclaims that while we must first yield to God the worship he deserves, we must “live in such justice and equity with our neighbors that we demonstrate thereby that we are true children of God.”

The reason obedience to the second table proves the existence of piety and faith is that, as Calvin states in the Institutes, “the intention of the heart” is not always visible, and hypocrites “continually [busy] themselves with ceremonies.” As Reformation historian Elsie Anne McKee explains, “The order of precedence” in Calvin’s understanding of worship is “inward faith, outward acts of worship (ceremonies), and then love [that is, obedience to the second table]. Unhappily, ceremonies are always susceptible of distortion and hypocrisy. Thus, in some instances, love toward neighbor may better evince faithful worship of God than liturgical or devotional practices.”

This does not mean that personal piety is supplanted. After all, we cannot rightly love our neighbors unless we first love God. The two tables are inseparable, though distinguishable. Yet Calvin makes a provocative point while preaching on the Ten Commandments: People who suppose they can observe only the first table without also observing the second do not actually keep the first table. Or, as he writes in the Institutes, “Our life shall best conform to God’s will and the prescription of the law when it is in every respect most fruitful for our brethren” (emphasis added).

Loving others is a way of living piously toward God. Calvin even suggests that the good works that prove our righteous standing before God refer specifically to deeds of charity toward others and not acts of piety toward God. Although charity is subordinate to piety, “the observance of justice and equity towards men is ... the means which we are to employ in testifying a pious fear of God, if we truly possess it.” Thus, while Calvin prioritizes piety, he sees charity as an indispensable means by which we express our love for God.

The Meaning of Neighborly Love

So what exactly does Calvin mean by charity, love for neighbor?

To modern ears, charity often connotes monetary donations. While Calvin certainly includes almsgiving as part of charity, he means far more than that. Translators rightly render Calvin’s use of caritas as “love,” yet Calvin’s notion of neighborly love is not merely sentimental, involving only warm feelings toward others. His understanding of the term has a wide-ranging meaning and cannot be reduced to either mere feeling or affectionless giving. As McKee states, “Caritas [for Calvin] is not only kindness or sharing, whether alms, hospitality, or vocational service; caritas is also justice — legal and personal.” For this reason, Calvin frequently refers to the second table, which summarizes love for neighbor, with justice and sometimes with terms like equity and kindness.

We see this in Calvin’s lectures on Ezekiel 18, a passage that emphasizes “justice and judgment.” According to Calvin, these are aspects of charity, or general duties of the second table. Calvin explains, “To do judgment and justice is nothing else than to abstain from all injury by cultivating good faith and equity with our neighbors: then to defend all good causes, and to take the innocent under our patronage when we see them unjustly injured and oppressed” (emphasis added). Obeying the second table, therefore, means actively seeking the good of others in addition to refraining from harming them. This is the essence of charity for Calvin.

More specifically, Calvin teaches — in his various treatments of the Decalogue — that neighborly love, or justice, consists in:

Rendering honor to authority figures, which includes respecting and obeying our parents and others in authority over us. Paying such honor, when it is due, preserves the order of society.

Promoting our neighbors’ physical and economic well-being. This includes seeking peace, helping others in physical and financial need, and openly opposing injustice.

Protecting our neighbors’ reputation, which includes affirming the truth about God and others, promoting and maintaining unity with others by our speech, and opposing slander and lies.

Preserving chastity. This includes not only upholding sexual propriety but also fighting for the rights of those who have been victimized by sexual misconduct.

Promoting our neighbors’ spiritual well-being, which includes praying for others (both Christians and non-Christians), warning others of their sin, and proclaiming God’s truth to others.

Calvin’s understanding of justice is profoundly social — that is, biblical justice ought to permeate society. And again, biblical justice includes far more than refraining from harming others. It requires intentional action toward just outcomes.

While it is impossible to retrieve all the ways Calvin believed Christians could or should exercise justice, it is clear that he understands justice — that love we extend to others — in broad terms. In his commentary on Hebrews 6:10, where he describes the good works or “labor of love” that God rewards, Calvin writes,

We are not to spare labor, if we desire to perform our duty towards our neighbors; for they are not only to be helped by money, but also by counsel, by labor, and in various other ways. Great sedulity, then, must be exercised, many troubles must be undergone, and sometimes many dangers must be encountered. Thus let him who would engage in the duties of love, prepare himself for a life of labor.

Loving others requires hard work and commitment, says Calvin, and it is quite extensive, taking on many forms. Charity, then, seems to be any assistance given to others in need, whether physically or spiritually, and any act that appeals to their rights.

The Reasons for Love and Justice

Calvin wants us to understand not just that love for God and love for neighbor are inextricably connected and that justice is integral to the double love. He also wants us to understand the reasons Christians are obligated to love and help others by seeking just outcomes.

First, God has united all humans together with a common bond, since all people are created in his image. In fact, we act “contrary to nature” if we “hate our [own] flesh,” Calvin preaches. The natural bond between all humans is the most basic reason we should seek each other’s well-being. Yet there is an even stronger reason why believers should exercise charity and justice: “they must remember that they are members of our Lord Jesus Christ and that there exists a more strict and sacred bond of nature which is common in all human beings.” For Calvin, therefore, there is an anthropological reason and a Christological reason, by nature of the Incarnation, why believers should exercise love toward others, both inside and outside the church.

Yet he also lists a theological reason. Commenting on Exodus 23:4 — which commands Israelites to attend to their enemy’s wandering or struggling livestock — Calvin states that believers should “imitate their heavenly Father” by bestowing kindness upon both the worthy and unworthy. We should extend kindness indiscriminately because God has done so toward us and because loving our neighbor is a means whereby we express our love for God. In pursuing love and justice, we not only honor our fellow humans and demonstrate our piety but also become more Christlike and Godlike.

In an age when many Christians separate justice from piety, assume it’s sufficient to merely refrain from harming others, or reduce worship to songs of praise, Calvin would have us think again. For him, worship, piety, neighborly love, and justice are inextricably connected. Calvin gave justice significant attention in his understanding of what it means to love God and others. What might it look like if we did too?

________

Kevin P. Emmert (PhD, London School of Theology) is an academic book editor and former Christianity Today theology editor.

Their stone-faced expressions have wrung strong emotions from millions of visitors since 1941 when the famous features on South Dakota’s Mt. Rushmore were finally finished. Though the monument took fourteen years to sculpt, it was actually sixty million years in the making, counting the time it took for incredible pressures deep within the earth to push up layers of rock.

Originally, the massive mountain project was to feature the faces of legendary western scouts Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, and John Colter, all in hopes of blazing a trail for tourists and their money. But when sculptor John Gutzon Borglum was hired in 1923, he successfully pushed for a more patriotic presentation: George Washington, “Father of the Nation”; Abraham Lincoln, “Preserver of the Union”; Thomas Jefferson, “The Expansionist”; and Theodore Roosevelt, “Protector of the Working Man”.

To find firm stone for sculpting, Borglum had to blast away weathered surface granite. He then measured critical “points” on a scale model and transferred them to the mountain, to figure out how much rock to remove. Carved at a cost of $990,000, the fabled faces were six storeys high with noses twenty feet long, mouths eighteen feet wide, and eyes eleven feet across. Though the work was hard and dangerous, remote Mt. Rushmore was ideal because the rocks faced southeast to the sun, giving maximum light for construction and -- later -- for viewing. Once Borglum completed the sculpture, his son added the finishing touches to what is now considered one of the modern wonders of the world.

As impressive as Mt. Rushmore is, it’s nothing compared to the artistry wrought upon stoney hearts by another Father and Son. The raw material for their work, too, develops when pressures deep within us shape what people see on the surface. A surface that’s often rough, weathered and unyielding.

Sometimes others see potential in us, but seek to exploit us for their own gain. If we let others shape us, our lives can easily become monuments to greed, ego, sex or power. Instead, we need to yield to the touch of the Master, the One with a grand vision of what we can become as He transforms us with the love and force of His eternal creativity.

That process may have to begin with the devastating removal of our heart’s flinty surface through divine discipline or human disappointment. But once we begin to respond to God’s design, we’re slowly but vitally changed as He carves away the carnal, sculpting us with the aid of his Model.

Before long, people see in us the Father of the holy nation, which is the church, the bride of Christ. They see Jesus, who is the Preserver of that union. Our lives also depict the Holy Spirit, the Expansionist who draws people to God and extends the borders of the kingdom.

The fourth image is the likeness of love which pervades all Three and protects those who work alongside them. Then, bathed in the warm glow of the Son, we stand as living memorials to the reality that -- as it was on Mt. Sinai -- God’s will is still carved in stone.

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Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Publish at will.

In Oscoda, Michigan, Rev. John Siler gives the Ten Commandments the Chippewa Indians had long ago. They are:

1. Never steal, except from an enemy.

2. Respect the aged and harken to them.

3. Be kind to the sick and deformed.

4. Obey your parents.

5. Be modest.

6. Be charitable.

7. Be of good courage, suffer in silence.

8. Avenge personal and family wrongs.

9. Be hospitable.

10. Pray to the Great Spirit.

Many people criticize some of these Chippewa commandments and at the same time look upon God’s Ten Commandments as ghostly whispers of a dead age.

________

Robert G. Lee, {Lee Lines }(Nashville: Broadman Press, 1937), p. 109

Just before the launch of the invasion of Normandy in World War II, the paratroopers were very nervous. Private Tom Porcella of the 508th was torturing himself with thoughts of killing other human beings (this was common; the chaplains worked overtime assuring soldiers that to kill for their country was not a sin). "Kill or be killed," Porcella said to himself. "Here I am, brought up as a good Christian, obey this and do that. The Ten Commandments say, 'Thou shalt not kill.' There is something wrong with the Ten Commandments, or there is something wrong with the rules of the world today. They teach us the Ten Commandments and then they send us out to war. It just doesn't make sense."

«The leader’s material is “em-braced” by these braces; excluded from handouts.»

The Christian and the Decalogue — Sex — Exodus 20:14

2 I am Jehovah thy God, … 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. — ASV

«I shall admit to you frankly that this is a subject where I have a very low comfort level — and I suspect that I am not alone. » I could have entitle this “The Christian and the Decalogue — Family (or Fidelity or Faithfulness, etc.)” but that would have sidestepped a number of issues with which the Bible deals.« So, at the risk of being accused of sensationalism, I have entitled it as above.»

Our culture today is obsessed with sex. It dominates the media, entertainment, and people’s conversation. Sigmund Freud and his disciples make it the dominant factor of the arts, of literature and of human action. Hedonism considers sexual fulfilment as a main purpose of life. On the other hand, some Christians consider sex to be the source of all sin and the original sin as sexual in nature. So the only holy life has been seen by them as the celibate life of the hermit, the monk, and the nun. But the Bible, while recognizing the reality of sex, does not centre life around it; rather, the Christian living a life by faith, subordinates it to his relationship with God.

A. But Who designed sex? God. And what is its character and purpose?

1. Genesis 1:27–28« the propagation of the species»

2. and some say that this is its sole purpose and to add to this any thought of enjoyment is to turn love into lust; that this is a doubtful interpretation of Scripture is evidenced by

a. the word used in the Bible to describe having sexual relationships is ________« (know)» as in Genesis 4:1; this is a very common word in the Old Testament and includes such ideas as

(A) Learn to ________« (know) »

(B) to gain __________________« (knowledge)»

(C) to ________« (know) »by experience

(D) to be ____________________« (acquainted, as in Exodus 1:8, there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph)»

(E) and in the ultimate sense is how God __________ «(knows)» us completely (Psalm 139:4)

(F) being kindred to the use of this word in describing what takes place between a husband and a wife in this physical act; that of the most intimate and deepest knowledge, the one of the other

(G) finally: this is the same word used to describe in the New Testament the intimate relationship between Christ and His Church (as Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 3:10, 2 Peter 3:18), with marriage itself being an analogy of that union (the church as Christ’s bride)

b. also, we find that this physical act

(A) Genesis 2:24–25 «has an aspect transcending the merely physical into a union of two people; it is an exclusive relationship of unity: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual»

(B) 1 Corinthians 6:15–18 «this union exists even if there is no marital relationship; and the enduring nature of such an illicit union is totally incompatible with union with Christ»

(C) so that for men and women, spiritual creatures, this has a meaning and purpose which differs from that for all the other living creatures that God made

c. The Song of Solomon

(A) is frequently interpreted as being solely allegorical, depicting the relation between ____________« (Christ)» and the __________« (church)»

(B) but the primary meaning of this book is very evident as in it are expressed, by the bridegroom and the bride in turn, in the frankest sexual terms, words of endearment and admiration of the other’s physical endowments, strength, and beauty

B. So, we would maintain that marriage, with sexual intimacy as an integral part, was intended by God to be a fulfilling human relationship which mirrored that relationship intended between God and His people

1. so we have the astounding command of God to _________ «(Hosea)» to take Gomer, a ____________, «(harlot)» to be his wife to represent what ____________ «(Israel)» was like before God «(Hosea’s treatment of his wife was to survive all of her infidelities as an illustration of how God’s faithful love to Israel went on despite all of their unfaithfulness)»

2. hence, what are God’s “feelings” about marriage

a. Proverbs 5:18 «(it is intended to be an enduring, enjoyable relationship)»

b. Malachi 2:14–15 «(it is a covenant relationship, akin to God’s covenant relationship with His people; to break this covenant is a sin against the other person, as well as against God who has joined them together — note that in one sense marriage is a legal contract without religious implication; priests in the Old Testament and pastors in the New do not appear to have solemnized marriages, this being done by the families involved; only later did the church take over such increasing legal control of its “members” with the rise of “church law”)»

c. Malachi 2:16 «(He hates divorce, “putting away”)»

d. Matthew 19:5–6 «(no human authority nor counsellor should legitimatize anything other than its being an enduring relationship between and a man and a woman — with the exception of adultery itself, Matthew 5:32)»

e. Hebrews 13:4 «(sex has a pure role within marriage but is utterly condemned outside it)»

C. Thus, for the Christian, living a life under faith by grace (as opposed to the pre-conversion life under sin by the law)

1. we see that it is unquestioned that this life will

a. be enduringly ________________ to the marriage relationship« (faithful)»

b. abandon all forms of sexual __________________« (immorality)»

2. that an unmarried life is neither a goal of high spiritual purpose nor measure of rejection or shame; Jesus taught that there are a number of reasons that God may choose to have a person live in this state (Matthew 19:10–12).

3. but couples will also engage in the positive actions that will make their marriage the God-intended joyous relationship; what are some of the things that should be evidenced in the marriage relationship as found in Ephesians 5:21–33

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

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This set of lessons was inspired by part II of “Ethics of Decision” by George W. Forell, The Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1955 (Library of Congress 55-7767).

«The leader’s material is “em-braced” by these braces; excluded from handouts.»

The Christian and the Decalogue — Authority — Exodus 20:12

2 I am Jehovah thy God, … 12 Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee. — ASV

Where the commandments are repeated, this one in Deuteronomy 5:16 (ASV) reads Honour thy father and thy mother, as Jehovah thy God commanded thee; that thy days may be long, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

A. This commandment is sometimes referred to as the “first of the second tablet”

1. how does it correspond to the “first of the first tablet?” «— the first of the first is to do with our relationship of faith to our Heavenly Father; the first of the second, with our relationship of respect to our earthly father and mother; in this fashion it forms a transition from the first to the second tablet»

2. what distinguishes this command from those before?

a. «those before are all God-ward, this is man-ward»

b. What do Ephesians 6:1–3) and Colossians 3:20 tell us?

(A) «this is a continuing command to believers»

(B) «this is the first commandment with a promise attached to it.»

3. what is meant by “honour”? «The root meaning of the word used in the Hebrew (kabhadh) is “to be heavy, weighty, even burdensome” So to honour is to give due recognition to their influence, their dignity, and their authority. It is not merely feeling a happy, emotional relationship with one’s parents.»

4. What is presumed in this command respecting the parents?

a. Deuteronomy 11:19-2 2

(A) «teach their children »

(B) «live the commandments themselves»

b. what about the context in Ephesians and Colossians?

«An illustration of the wrong way to demand respect was given by James W. Hewitt [Holwick illustration #5189]: A young second lieutenant at Fort Bragg discovered that he had no change when he was about to buy a soft drink from a vending machine. He flagged down a passing private and asked him, “Do you have change for a dollar?” The private said cheerfully, “I think so, let me take a look.” The lieutenant drew himself up stiffly and said, “Soldier, that is no way to address an officer. We’ll start all over again. Do you have change for a dollar?” The private came to attention, saluted smartly, and said, “No, sir!”»

5. What are the two parts of the promise in Exodus 20:12?

a. «long life»

b. «a land given by God»

6. How does Deuteronomy 5:16 qualify one or both of these?

a. with respect to life, what was important as well as its duration

(A) Joshua 14:10–11

(B) Psalm 23:6

(C) Psalm 91:16

b. what is the frequent description of the land that God was giving them? «Flowing with milk and honey»

7. so looking at their quality, we see the two parts as

a. P______________ fulfilment« personal»

b. N______________ (or societal) fulfilment« national»

8. How did the Israelites follow this command (Judges 2:6–10)? «When some godly ruler died, they ceased to obey.»

9. What was the cause of failure (Hosea 4:6)? «The lack of knowledge implies that parents didn’t teach their children.»

10. What is the immediate implication for Christians? «The first responsibility for teaching the truth lies in the home»

B. This command can also be looked at by the Christian in terms of authority, and,

1. in particular of the matter of authority in

a. the family

b. the church

c. the nation

2. Authority is a responsibility to be held and not merely a power to be practised. This is indicated in the two epistles of Paul by his words to two other groups as well as parents and children

a. Ephesians 6:5–8, Colossians 3:22-25: «Slaves, servants»

b. Ephesians 6:9, Colossians 4:4: «Masters»

3. A favourite self-description that Paul used was “Paul a ________—__________ of Jesus Christ” seeing himself as having been bought by a loving master who fully lived up to the ideal in His exercise of authority over Paul

4. What does the Roman centurion teach us about authority (Luke 7:1-8)? «That to wield authority properly one must recognize those who have authority over him as well as the authority that others may have.»

C. In the church there is to be a recognition of human authority.

1. What is the responsibility to church leaders (1 Timothy 5:17, 1 Peter 5:5)? «Be subject; given honour»

2. How should church leaders lead (1 Peter 5:1-4)? «As well as in humility (verse 5) by example rather than power.

I read the following account of Rev. Jack Hyles. At a church banquet a visitor asked Hyles how he got such loyalty from his workers. Hyles turned to a young associate next to him and said, “Stand up.” He stood up, and the crowd hushed and turned their attention to him. Then Hyles said, “Sit down.” Sheepishly, the young man sat down. Hyles ordered him once more, “Stand up!” The associate did, almost in tears. Hyles turned back to the visitor who asked the question and replied, “That’s how [I get loyalty].” — [by Dr Robert Sumner in The Biblical Evangelist, May 1, 1989, from Holwick illustration #833, sermon #916] — This is not Christian leadership.

»

3. What other passages describe how leaders should lead? «1 Timothy 3:1–13, Titus 1:7–9»

D. How about authority in the nation?

1. Romans 13:1–7: it is to be … «obeyed as God’s representative»

2. 1 Timothy 2:1–2: it is to be … «prayed for»

3. are there qualifications?

a. what over-ruled in Exodus 1:17 «fear of God — a higher honour was due»

b. what over-ruled in Acts 5:29 «obedience to God — a higher authority — about 15 years ago, after defrauding a U.S. government program and giving the money to the poor, Marilyn Louise Harrell quoted this verse by way of justification. Obviously, we need to be very sure that we have it right [Times Reporter, Holwick illust. #930].»

E. so the teaching of children to honour their parents is a first step in teaching them respect for authority in general — in the school, in the work-place, in the church, in the nation. But it has to be accompanied by a life that deserves such honour, and which lays the lesson that God is the ultimate authority and actions must confirm to His revealed will in His word.

~~~~~~~~~~

This set of lessons was inspired by part II of “Ethics of Decision” by George W. Forell, The Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1955 (Library of Congress 55-7767).

«The leader’s material is “em-braced” by these braces; excluded from handouts.»

The Christian and the Decalogue — Discipleship — Exodus 20:7

2 I am Jehovah thy God, … 7 “Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold Him guiltless that taketh His name in vain. — ASV

A. How do we shorten this command? Thou shalt not S_________ «(swear)»

1. so we usually think of this command as dealing with sins of the M________ «(mouth)»; these evidence themselves in various ways

2. Colossians 3:8 (AV, NIV, NKJV) «(This is the one that often we think of first, the use of all those words that are not used in “polite society.” Frequently these are words related to physical functions and words that cause us embarrassment. But there are some of these words that are more a cultural reflection. So a Christian farmer may use words that we avoid. Or a Christian from another country. Because in their context the word doesn’t carry the same stigma. Note that the NAS translates this as “abusive speech” and Weymouth as “foul-mouthed abuse”)»

a. James 3:2 — Why should Christians avoid words that are not in themselves wrong, but are culturally wrong? «(The law of liberty: because of the offence they may give 1 Corinthians 10:32, Philippians 1:10)»

3. Ephesians 4:31 «(this word, evil speaking, or blaspheme, is one that can be done against man, as well as God: the context here suggests that this is against man. Other such actions that the Christians is warned against are slander, backbiting, and so on. Why does the Bible speak so strongly against this kind of “swearing?”)»

4. James 3:9 «(cursing our fellow human beings — literally, calling down judgment or condemnation upon them — is but a step away from cursing God, and a small step up from evil speaking of others … so close you can tell them apart!)»

5. James 5:12 «(some take this verse, and the passage in Matthew 5:33–37, to prohibit taking oaths in court; what do you think?)»

6. and the most direct interpretation of this commandment is that one should not

a. speak God’s name without T__________ «(thinking — or in mockery, jesting, unbelief)»

b. fail to C_______ O____ «(carry out)»an oath in God’s name «(as a final comment, you should be sensitive to the derivation of much of the slang that is in use, even in the church. There are many words that are in use today, and you may have been as guilty as I, which are a mere softening of words that we wouldn’t use; one example that I can repeat is “heck” for “hell.”)»

B. Understanding this command as enjoining discipleship

1. a disciple

a. L________ «(learns) »from his teacher — Matthew 11:28–29

b. F__________ «(follows)» his teacher — Matthew 16:24

c. I__________ «(imitates)»his teacher — 1 Corinthians 11:1

d. and the disciple’s C_________ «(conduct)» reflects upon his teacher

2. the literal meaning of “take God’s name in vain,” is to lift up, bear or carry His name emptily or in a worthless manner and God’s name — and particularly that of Jehovah for the Jews, but now revealed in God the Son in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ — stands for «all His nature, His character, His attributes, His Person and His works — the various titles and names of God reveal different facets of Who He is. (By the way, did you notice that some “worship” could transgress this commandment?) »

3. and so the question comes: how are we representing the Lord God; what kind of disciples are we of the Lord Jesus?

4. Ezekiel 20: 3–9 — what kind of representatives were the people of Israel?

a. they cause God’s name to be ________________

5. 2 Corinthians 5:20 — what did Paul see himself as? What is the implication?

C. Let’s discuss some of the implications for us

1. now this overlaps in part with last week; what did Christ command His disciples to do with respect to His name, Matthew 28:19–20, Acts 1:8, Galatians 3:27? «(To bear, proclaim it)»

a. Acts 5:41, Matthew 5:11-12 «(suffering for His name)»

2. what is the implication of 1 Timothy 6:1? «(our work, service is to honour our profession of Christ)»

3. how about 2 Timothy 2:19? «(We change our lifestyle so as to honour Him)»

4. and 3 John 7? «(We act for the sake of His name, not … )»

5. to close, let’s look at who God is, and what He expects

a. Psalm 33:5 — God is «(just, lovingkindness, &c is Chesedh)»

b. Micah 6:8 — God requires «(justice, lovingkindness)»

c. «You can carry out that same exercise with other aspects of God’s character. »As a Christian, then I have a responsibility for …

(A) «standing up for justice and against oppression»

(B) «supporting the poor, needy, downtrodden»

(C) showing God’s love to the unlovely, unlovable

~~~~~~~~~~

This set of lessons was inspired by part II of “Ethics of Decision” by George W. Forell, The Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1955 (Library of Congress 55-7767).

«The leader’s material is “em-braced” by these braces; excluded from handouts.»

The Christian and the Decalogue — Other Gods — Exodus 20:3

2 I am Jehovah thy God, … 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. {or, besides me} — ASV

A. or, The Nature of Christian Faith«

1. looking at the various areas of our life that God transforms through His grace

2. the commandments being changed from the accusing law to a description of the possibilities of the Christian life»

3. the commandments are

a. no longer the terrifying study of what we M______ but C_______ do for God; rather that through the gospel, «Must, Cannot»

b. what God can M______ out of our life« Make»

4. Martin Luther’s paraphrase: “Since I alone am God, thou shalt place all thy confidence, trust, and faith on Me alone and on no one else”

a. F________ is the work of the first commandment« Faith»

b. But this is in turn a miracle of God’s G________ that happens when we recognize our desperate situation as a result of sin; this alone makes it possible for us to obey and commandment of God (see Ephesians 2:8–10)« Grace»

5. Is it possible to do any good work outside of faith?

a. John 6:28–29 «Christ says that the first work that they are to do is to believe on Himself»

b. John 16:8-9 «The principle description of sin is that it consists of lack of faith in Christ»

c. Hebrews 11:6 «The main qualification for works to be pleasing is that of pre-existing faith in God»

6. So, what do you think about the statements

a. Augustine: «”faithless works are splendid vices”»

b. Luther: «”All works without faith are idolatry”»

c. “It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you are sincere.” «James 2:19, 1 John 4:1»

d. “If we believe in God, even if we call Him different names, it is all the same.” «Acts 2:38, 4:12, 1 John 5:13»

7. Breaking this first commandment is I______________« Idolatry»

B. How do the following, common attitudes relate to idolatry?

1. “How do we know there is only one God?” (Psalm 19:1, Romans 1:20, 2 Peter 3:5)

2. “Pray to God and pass the ammunition” (Zechariah 4:6, 1 Corinthians 2:5, 2 Corinthians 10:4–5)

3. “The Lord helps those who help themselves” (Proverbs 3:5–6, 2 Corinthians 3:5, John 15:5, 2 Corinthians 12:9)

C. What form of idolatry is found in

1. 2 Timothy 3:2 «Self-centredness, selfishness, making a god of one’s own self»

2. 2 Timothy 3:4 «Making a god of pleasure (hedonism)»

3. Philippians 3:18-19 «Living to eat (versus eating to live) »

4. Galatians 5:16, 1 John 2:16 «The lust of the flesh — given to the satisfaction of our carnal desires»

5. Luke 16:13 «Serving mammon (or riches)»

6. Colossians 2:18 «Worship of angels (Romanist practice) what form can such worship take? Praise, prayer.»

7. «If prayer to someone other than God constitutes worship (since it means trusting in them rather than God) what Romanist practices also are idolatry»

a. «prayers to Mary»

b. «prayers to the saints»

D. Because the Lord, He is our God, and no other, what areas of our lives should be completely transformed?

1. Colossians 1:13 «a new loyalty»

2. Ephesians 2:1, Colossians 2:13 «a new life»

3. Colossians 3:1 «a new affection and interest in God»

4. Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26 «a new heart and spirit»

5. Romans 12:1–2 «a new mind, a new service»

~~~~~~~~~~

This set of lessons was inspired by part II of “Ethics of Decision” by George W. Forell, The Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1955 (Library of Congress 55-7767).

There was this gracious lady mailing an old family Bible to her brother in another part of the country.

"Is there anything breakable in here?" asked the postal clerk.

"Only the Ten Commandments."

The Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of government displays of the Ten Commandments, and one local official thinks he knows why such displays are legal.

“American law is all about God,” said Allan Watson, mayor of Monroe County, Tennessee. Watson, a member of First Baptist Church in Madisonville, Tennessee, is fighting a legal battle to keep a display of the commandments in the county's courthouse.

In a more nuanced way, many other defenders of Decalogue displays assert the legality of such monuments - saying that the commandments played such an integral role in the formation of Western legal codes that commemorating them in courthouses or other government buildings is natural.

“Justices of this court, decisions of lower courts and the writings of countless historians and academics have long recognized the significant influence that the Ten Commandments have had on the development of American law,” wrote Acting Solicitor General Paul Clement in a brief submitted to the Supreme Court. Clement -- representing President Bush's administration -- was arguing in favor of Ten Commandments displays in the McCreary and Pulaski County, Ky., courthouses.

Likewise, during oral arguments before the Supreme Court March 2 on that case and another Ten Commandments case, some members of the high court themselves made similar statements.

“Of course it [our system of laws] stemmed from the religious beliefs of those who came to the United States,” said Justice Steven Breyer, addressing the attorney for the group suing for the Kentucky display's removal.

And the Kentucky counties included an explanatory document in their display, claiming “The Ten Commandments provide the moral background of the Declaration of Independence and the foundation of our legal tradition.”

But those presumptions may be incorrect, according to some church-state and history experts.

“On the contrary, the historical record reveals that: the influences on early American law are largely secular; any early religious influences declined during the nation's founding; the American government's central founding documents have nothing to do with the commandments; and, to the extent that the Ten Commandments' non-religious precepts are consistent with current law, those precepts are universal (and even predate the Ten Commandments),” wrote David Friedman, representing the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky in their lawsuit against the counties, in his brief to the high court.

In fact, according to Yeshiva University law professor Marci Hamilton, early American law grew almost entirely out of English Common Law -- which, in turn, was pre-Christian in its origins.

“The development of the Common Law grew out of the Roman Empire,” she said. “So, the notion that you can identify at one point in time the primary influence any one set of commands had on our law -- it's just indefensible.”

Hamilton, a Presbyterian, specializes in church-state law and American history. She once served as a law clerk to Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, a moderate who is considered a crucial “swing vote” on church-state cases.

Hamilton said a quick reading of the commandments themselves makes her case. The first five laws -- demanding the worship of God alone, barring graven images, prohibiting taking God's name in vain, observing the Sabbath, and honoring one's parents “so that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee” -- are explicitly religious in nature.

And, she noted, although the last five commandments -- banning murder, adultery, theft, perjury and covetousness -- aren't explicitly religious, many of them have parallels in virtually every other legal system in the history of humankind. That includes law codes, such as the famous Code of Hammurabi, that predate the Decalogue.

“There are all these different influences that contributed to what we have now,” Hamilton said, “and this attempt to own the culture” by asserting that one religious tradition was the primary or even a significant source of the laws “is indefensible -- it's hubris, unfortunately.”

But Brigham Young University law professor Brett Scharffs said that, even given those considerations, the Ten Commandments still are an important symbol of the development of law in the Western tradition. Though American law may not show a direct linear descent from the Decalogue, he said, “I think the Ten Commandments are very much in the background in the creation of the American government as an example of lawmaking or lawgiving.”

They are important to legal history, Scharffs asserted, because “Moses as a lawgiver is an important early example of what law is or what law means.”

However, he acknowledged, there's a reason that the Code of Hammurabi and the Seven Pillars of Islam aren't commemorated in scores of government buildings around the nation like the commandments are.

“I think the people who donate [such monuments] are interested in communicating the religious message. I think they're making a point about what they believe to be eternal and important,” Scharffs said. “So, if we're going to say they're going to be displayed because of their historical significance, I don't think it's a really accurate account of the reason they're displayed.”

*

Anti-religious comedian Bill Maher, speaking to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. on a television show:

“In your new book you make a very interesting point about how the Republican right is always wanting to post the Ten Commandments in public places, which of course is from the Old Testament, but they never, ever seem to want to post the sayings of Jesus, like the Beatitudes: Blessed are the meek, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the peacemakers. They’re such Christians but they never want to put up what Jesus said.”

Sermon in Exodus series, #12. Exodus 20:12-17

GOD'S RULES FOR LIVING

======================

I. Commandments aren't what they used to be.

II. More dangerous is those who think they have them mastered.

A. Jesus and the rich young ruler. Luke 18:18-23

B. We must know God's law - and its intention.

III. The regulations of relationships.

A. Honor your parents.

B. Don't murder.

C. Don't commit adultery.

D. Don't steal.

E. Don't give false testimony.

F. Don't yearn for other people's stuff.

IV. Really radical morality.

A. Newsman Ted Koppel says the Ten Commandments apply now.

B. We are called to go beyond the Ten Commandments.

V. The Ten Commandments are not just for society.

A. They are meant for us.

B. Skeptic Mark Twain got it right.

«The leader’s material is “em-braced” by these braces; excluded from handouts.»

The Christian and the Decalogue — Sex — Exodus 20:14

2 I am Jehovah thy God, … 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. — ASV

«I shall admit to you frankly that this is a subject where I have a very low comfort level — and I suspect that I am not alone. » I could have entitle this “The Christian and the Decalogue — Family (or Fidelity or Faithfulness, etc.)” but that would have sidestepped a number of issues with which the Bible deals.« So, at the risk of being accused of sensationalism, I have entitled it as above.»

Our culture today is obsessed with sex. It dominates the media, entertainment, and people’s conversation. Sigmund Freud and his disciples make it the dominant factor of the arts, of literature and of human action. Hedonism considers sexual fulfilment as a main purpose of life. On the other hand, some Christians consider sex to be the source of all sin and the original sin as sexual in nature. So the only holy life has been seen by them as the celibate life of the hermit, the monk, and the nun. But the Bible, while recognizing the reality of sex, does not centre life around it; rather, the Christian living a life by faith, subordinates it to his relationship with God.

A. But Who designed sex? God. And what is its character and purpose?

1. Genesis 1:27–28« the propagation of the species»

2. and some say that this is its sole purpose and to add to this any thought of enjoyment is to turn love into lust; that this is a doubtful interpretation of Scripture is evidenced by

a. the word used in the Bible to describe having sexual relationships is ________« (know)» as in Genesis 4:1; this is a very common word in the Old Testament and includes such ideas as

(A) Learn to ________« (know) »

(B) to gain __________________« (knowledge)»

(C) to ________« (know) »by experience

(D) to be ____________________« (acquainted, as in Exodus 1:8, there arose a new king over Egypt which knew not Joseph)»

(E) and in the ultimate sense is how God __________ «(knows)» us completely (Psalm 139:4)

(F) being kindred to the use of this word in describing what takes place between a husband and a wife in this physical act; that of the most intimate and deepest knowledge, the one of the other

(G) finally: this is the same word used to describe in the New Testament the intimate relationship between Christ and His Church (as Ephesians 4:13, Philippians 3:10, 2 Peter 3:18), with marriage itself being an analogy of that union (the church as Christ’s bride)

b. also, we find that this physical act

(A) Genesis 2:24–25 «has an aspect transcending the merely physical into a union of two people; it is an exclusive relationship of unity: physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual»

(B) 1 Corinthians 6:15–18 «this union exists even if there is no marital relationship; and the enduring nature of such an illicit union is totally incompatible with union with Christ»

(C) so that for men and women, spiritual creatures, this has a meaning and purpose which differs from that for all the other living creatures that God made

c. The Song of Solomon

(A) is frequently interpreted as being solely allegorical, depicting the relation between ____________« (Christ)» and the __________« (church)»

(B) but the primary meaning of this book is very evident as in it are expressed, by the bridegroom and the bride in turn, in the frankest sexual terms, words of endearment and admiration of the other’s physical endowments, strength, and beauty

B. So, we would maintain that marriage, with sexual intimacy as an integral part, was intended by God to be a fulfilling human relationship which mirrored that relationship intended between God and His people

1. so we have the astounding command of God to _________ «(Hosea)» to take Gomer, a ____________, «(harlot)» to be his wife to represent what ____________ «(Israel)» was like before God «(Hosea’s treatment of his wife was to survive all of her infidelities as an illustration of how God’s faithful love to Israel went on despite all of their unfaithfulness)»

2. hence, what are God’s “feelings” about marriage

a. Proverbs 5:18 «(it is intended to be an enduring, enjoyable relationship)»

b. Malachi 2:14–15 «(it is a covenant relationship, akin to God’s covenant relationship with His people; to break this covenant is a sin against the other person, as well as against God who has joined them together — note that in one sense marriage is a legal contract without religious implication; priests in the Old Testament and pastors in the New do not appear to have solemnized marriages, this being done by the families involved; only later did the church take over such increasing legal control of its “members” with the rise of “church law”)»

c. Malachi 2:16 «(He hates divorce, “putting away”)»

d. Matthew 19:5–6 «(no human authority nor counsellor should legitimatize anything other than its being an enduring relationship between and a man and a woman — with the exception of adultery itself, Matthew 5:32)»

e. Hebrews 13:4 «(sex has a pure role within marriage but is utterly condemned outside it)»

C. Thus, for the Christian, living a life under faith by grace (as opposed to the pre-conversion life under sin by the law)

1. we see that it is unquestioned that this life will

a. be enduringly ________________ to the marriage relationship« (faithful)»

b. abandon all forms of sexual __________________« (immorality)»

2. that an unmarried life is neither a goal of high spiritual purpose nor measure of rejection or shame; Jesus taught that there are a number of reasons that God may choose to have a person live in this state (Matthew 19:10–12).

3. but couples will also engage in the positive actions that will make their marriage the God-intended joyous relationship; what are some of the things that should be evidenced in the marriage relationship as found in Ephesians 5:21–33

a.

b.

c.

d.

e.

~~~~~~~~~~

This set of lessons was inspired by part II of “Ethics of Decision” by George W. Forell, The Muhlenberg Press, Philadelphia, 1955 (Library of Congress 55-7767).