12.0 The Ten Commandments
March 2008
Topics:
Obedience: a Story
Can the Law be Kept?
The Sabbath
Jesus Supported the Law
* The Work of Grace
* The Civil Law
* The Ceremonial Law
* Ceremonial Law Notes
The Ten Commandment Moral Code
Jacob came into Egypt as a large patriarchal family of sixty six persons, plus the four in Joseph’s family. It could also be called a small nomadic tribe. During the 215 years they were in Egypt, they grew in numbers, enough to raise fear among the Egyptians (Exodus 1:7-10). By the time of the Exodus, they had become a nation, albeit oppressed and disorganized.
A large group of people, a nation, required a written law. The basis for all law in Israel and the heart of the covenant was the Ten Commandment moral code, the eternal law of God. This was also summarized as love to God and love to fellow man.
“thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18).
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
“If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love” (John 15:10).
It is also called the law of liberty.
“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (James 1:25).
In the preamble to the ten commandments God reviewed His power and grace in delivering Israel from the bondage of Egypt. By that same power and grace He would fulfill the promises of the ten commandments. The law would be a guide, a “schoolmaster” (Gal 3:24) by which He would make of them “an holy nation” (Exodus 19:6).
“I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage” (Exodus 20:2).
Is it legalism to keep the law? People very much want neighbors that keep the ten commandments! They are quite willing to forget the “legalism” argument when it comes to the neighbors. If legalism is bad, it must be something different than just the keeping of the ten commandments, which are essentially good. Here is a good definition: Legalism is when grace is spurned and keeping the commandments become the method to earn salvation.
The Ten Commandments were also called “the covenant” (1) and were put inside the ark (2). There was also a “book of the law” or “book of the covenant” which was different from the ten commandments written on stone. It was an expansion of the ten commandments. It was put in the side of the ark (Deut 31:26).
What is the reason for having a law? Martin Luther gives us the following:
It is natural for men to be legalistic. Sinful man is selfish and will even do good things to achieve his own goals. Shall we then discard the law and break it whenever we feel like it in order to avoid the trap of legalism? Immediately you see the problem. The law must be kept. But keeping the law is not how we are saved.
Adolph Hitler stood on a balcony looking over a sea of people filling the streets below. He was flanked by his be-ribband officers. There was restless expectation in the crowd below. He gave a stiff straight-armed salute and cried “Heil Hitler.” Instantly, all arms were raised toward him, and the crowd roared “Heil Hitler.” Then dropped into silence. Hitler then cried one word: “Obedience!” This was followed by a frenzied oration lasting 2-3 hours. Thus, a whole nation was hypnotized to extreme lengths of obedience.
From this experience, the nature and experience of obedience has been closely examined as it never had before. Is obedience bad? Does obedience have any place in human experience?
We recognize that it is important to obey the civil law, or to obey orders from the boss. But, do we have to obey God? Does God require obedience? Is it even possible to obey the law? The answer is that God does require obedience. But the God who requires obedience also provides the grace to make it possible. So, . . . God provides grace to give us power to obey the law!
Now consider, can we focus on the law, cover it with grace and call it gospel? Think about that for awhile! The answer is: No! Our primary focus must be on Jesus Christ. In a focus on Him, following His example, we keep the law. Our focus on Him also brings grace into our lives to make it possible.
Christians, generally, keep the ten commandments. But we need to look a little deeper. The ten commandments can be summarized as love to God and love to man. Lacking one we have pride and lacking the other we have selfishness. These are the basic sins, and are the basis of the sinful nature. Even the good things we do are tainted with these twin evils. Only by the grace of God is the heart changed, and a person can truly keep the commandments of God.
A civil law requires only legal obedience. But this alone is not pleasing to God.
Is it even possible to meet the demands of God’s law? Many Christians will immediately say, “No!” But when did you last murder, pick a pocket, or take off for Reno with your secretary? Christians do not do things like that. It seems that we DO keep the law on a superficial level. So, where is the problem? We have to go back to see what happened to Adam and Eve at their fall from grace. Their lives moved from being God centered to being self-centered. From this all sin and sorrow came. A person can do even good things for selfish reasons. Keeping the law for selfish reasons leaves the life unchanged, even in sin and rebellion.
Even knowledge of God and knowledge of His law has merit only as it leads a person to Christ As scripture says: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:19).
A person may have accurate knowledge of the law but he will still have temptations. At the moment of temptation he must consent to let Christ live in him. Is it easy? No! The battle with self is the hardest battle a man has to fight. It is always easy for us to “do” something but often difficult to submit to Christ as lord of your life.
By habitually turning to Christ with the temptations of daily life, the Christian will “wear ruts” in the road, so that when the “big temptation” comes, he will find his way in the dark. In the faith experience, Christ becomes real. We think about Him, talk about Him, focus our lives in Him. There is no room for sin.
In the middle of the ten commandment law is the command to keep holy the seventh day as the Sabbath. In this command the seventh day is to be kept holy, because it is holy. The command is given by “the Lord thy God,” as a memorial to Creation. God is portrayed as the Creator and His domain encompassing all of “heaven and earth.” The Sabbath command is God’s “signature” in the middle of the ten commandments. It is also the “sign” of sanctification (Exodus 31:13), and thus an important sign of the covenant that will make of His people “an holy nation.”
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
“Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).
Why the seventh-day? Would not another day be acceptable if we worship God on that day? The Seventh day is no different in any way from the other days of the week. This day is holy only because God made it so. It was given as a sign of man’s relationship with God. Would man accept the will of God, or would man choose to go his own way? It was a simple test, easy to understand. To break the Sabbath was wrong simply because it was forbidden, not because it was evil by nature. The Sabbath was given simply to show that man acknowledges God as Creator and Lord. Man lays aside his own reasoning and accepts the will of God. From reverent obedience to this command, obedience to the other nine naturally flow.
“Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
“It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed” (Exodus 31:13, 17).
“Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.
“And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God” (Ezekiel 20:12, 20).
Another question follows: Why should the Sabbath commandment be kept differently from the other nine? Christians are meticulous about the nine. Did God really mean what He said about keeping the seventh day as the Sabbath? If a sabbath-keeper is legalistic or idolatrous in keeping the seventh day Sabbath, how about those who keep the other nine? Aren’t they just as “legalistic and idolatrous?” These concepts need to be thought out. A person needs to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead. When Jesus said, “If ye love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15), He shows that keeping the commandments brings us closer to Him.
Is it important then that we be accurate in our service to Christ? If a person is sincere and loves Christ, is not this more important than “details?” We need to be clear on this. God is never honored by falsehood or error, however innocent it seems. Truth has consequences. Truth affects our relationship with God. A correct understanding of truth has often been an issue that divides those who seek to serve God, and those who follow “another master.”
There is only one God, one Holy Spirit, and one truth. Our understandings may differ, but by reading the Bible under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you will learn the truth.
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him” (John 4:23).
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).
Jesus kept the Sabbath. “As his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day” (Luke 4:16). He was more liberal in Sabbath keeping. His teaching and practice did not follow the multitude of ordinances that the Jews had added to the law. In Mark 2:28 Jesus stated that He was “Lord of the Sabbath.” After the crucifixion, Jesus rested in the grave over the hours of the Sabbath (Luke 23:56). In Matthew 24 Jesus told the disciples that they were to pray that their flight be not in the winter or on the Sabbath day, looking forward forty years to the destruction of Jerusalem.
The last book of the Bible is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev 1:1). In Revelation seven is pictured the four angels holding the four winds of trouble until God’s people are sealed. What is the seal? The Sabbath is given as the “sign” of sanctification (Exodus 31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20). We are sealed (verb) by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). This seal (noun) is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, His signature in the midst of His law. In this way a people are prepared to see Jesus come again!
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus strongly supported a law that was changeless and eternal (Matthew 5:17,18). In His life on earth Jesus “fulfilled the law” by keeping the law. He lived a life free from sin.
When the rich young ruler came to Jesus with the question: “Good Master, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” Jesus answered him: “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:16,17).
In His answer, “There is none good but one, that is, God” Jesus tested this young man to see if he recognized that He was the Messiah, the son of the living God. Failing that test, Jesus used the more common approach,“but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” He went on to specify several of the ten commandments.
The young man responded, “All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20). The man was a commandment keeper, which Jesus accepted. He was now ready for the next step:
“If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21).
In holding to his possessions rather than to follow Jesus, the young man showed that he did not love his neighbor as himself and was by definition a law breaker. By not making Jesus first, he also spurned the offer to be a disciple.
On another occasion, a lawyer questioned Jesus as to “the great commandment in the law.” Jesus summarized the law as being love to God and love to man (Matthew 22:36-40). Some will say that the law of love has replaced the ten commandments. However, this love was an old testament concept (Deut. 11:1; Leviticus 19:18) and has been the basis of the law from the beginning. Jesus also decried an empty belief in these words, “blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it” (Luke 10:28).
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