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Ten Commandments |
Dear Brethren,
Why did God give us the Ten Commandments?
What is their purpose? Are they to be kept today? Some people have been
wrongly taught that the Ten Commandments are a heavy burden – restricting
our right to happiness. Politicians and lawmakers want the Ten Commandments
removed from our schools, courthouses, and public buildings because they do
not want to recognize and yield to God's supreme Laws. They will not admit
that God gave the Ten Commandments for the very purpose of bringing
prosperity, peace and order into our lives.
The Ten Commandments define the correct
relationship between God and men. The keeping of God's Ten Commandments is
necessary if a person is to inherit eternal life. A man came to Jesus and
asked Him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why do you call me good?" there
is none good but One, that is, God: But if thou wilt enter into [eternal]
life, keep the Commandments." (Matthew 19:16-17)
The Kingdom of God on earth is going to
work in perfect harmony and accord because the inhabitants will know and
keep the perfect Law of God – the Ten Commandments. God the Father seeks
those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23). How can we
go about finding out how to worship God in spirit and in truth? God's
Law is the Truth (Psalm 119:142). The Ten Commandments delineate how a
right relationship with God is accomplished. "Teach me thy way, O Lord;
I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise
thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for
evermore." (Psalm 86:11-12)
God's Law is spiritual and applies
in every situation from everlasting to everlasting (Romans 7:14). His law
permeates the universe. Therefore, when we live according to God's Law, we
are beneficiaries of His good graces, but when we violate His Law, we incur
the penalties that come with broken law (Leviticus 26, Deuteronomy 28).
The Ten Commandments define God's basic
Law of Love. Godly Love is a concept that evades the great majority of
mankind. God has provided the perfect means of our becoming full members of
His Family. We find the Ten Commandments listed in codified form in Exodus
20 and Deuteronomy 5. "Wherefore the
Law is holy, and the
Commandment holy, and
just, and good." (Romans 7:12)
The Law of the Ten Commandments involves
the two greatest principles: love of God, and love of neighbor. The first
four Commandments show us how to hold God in reverence, while the last six
Commandments show us how to relate to our fellow man in a Godly way. The
Scribes of Jesus' day sought to be righteous according to the minimum letter
of the Law. They asked Jesus:
"Which is the first commandment of all?
And Jesus answered them, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O
Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like,
namely this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these."
(Mark 12:28-31)
Letter of the law righteousness is not
righteousness at all. Jesus said, I say unto you, that unless your
righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees,
ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:20)
We, like the scribes, and Pharisees, are not able to live perfectly
according to God's law by our own strength. We must have Godly Love, and
that comes only by God's Holy Spirit. "Show me thy ways, O Lord; teach
me thy paths. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my
salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." (Psalm 25:4-5)
It is not enough to say to God, "I love
you." God expects much more from us than lip service and mere sentiments.
God is our Maker. He has shown His love to us by creating us and sending
His Son, Jesus Christ, that we might have salvation and eternal life. In
return, we are obligated to show our love to Him. How can we prove our love
to God Almighty?
We prove our love to God by the things we
do, just like we confirm our love to our family and close friends. Jesus
said it so clearly: "You shall love the Lord your God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and
Great Commandment."
(Matthew 22:37-38)
We have heard and been taught that the
term "Law" is harsh and that law denies us our liberties to enjoy life and
become masters of our destinies. Society today is eager to have every last
vestige of God's Ten Commandments removed from our social order, because it
believes the Ten Commandments inhibit the free expression of our will and
desires.
The world does not realize that God's Law
is the only lifeline to survival of the human species. "Sin is the
breaking of God's Law" (1 John 3:4). Like Solomon, men believe that
they are wise enough to avoid the natural penalties that accompany broken
Law. They are wrong. God is not mocked – no one sins with impunity
(Galatians 6:7).
We must believe God, and not man. The Law
is not a restraint, but freedom to live in peace, fulfillment and happiness
forever more. Without God's Law of Love, every life ends in misery, pain,
death and hopelessness. That is because God's Law defines how we are to
live in accordance with God's created order of things. God's Ten
Commandments provide the only way for us to achieve happiness and our full
potential. "This is the love of God, that we keep His Commandments: and
His Commandments are not grievous." (1 John 5:3) The intent of God's Ten
Commandments is the making of orderly lives, families, society, and nations,
but most of all, the creation of Godly character in those being called at
this time to be in the Family of God.
"Pay diligent heed to do the
Commandment and the Law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to
love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to
keep His Commandments,
and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all
your soul." (Joshua 22:5)
Through His Spirit, God has to call and
open the mind of each convert to belief and understanding – no living person
is able to choose God's way on His own. We demonstrate our love and faith
by living God's Way with all our heart and soul, and by the might of God's
Spirit in us.
"Beloved, if our heart condemns us not,
then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of
Him, because we keep His Commandments, and do those things that are
pleasing in His sight. And this is His Commandment, That we should believe
on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us
Commandment. And he that keeps His Commandments dwells in Him, and He in
him. And hereby we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit which He
hath given us. " (1 John
3:21-24)
God's calling gives a person the
opportunity to choose whether he will follow God's Law of Love, or follow
the dictates of his own mind; it is the exact same choice that Adam and Eve
had, and the same choice that Jesus had when He came to this earth. Jesus
said, "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)
Mankind lacks the wisdom and the character
to chart his own course through a world of choices and decisions. The Ten
Commandments are the road-map that is able to guide and shield us from
spiritual harm. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not
unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall
direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6) The primary way that God leads us
on the right path is by way of His law and commandments.
The Ten Commandments emphasize the
importance of our relationships now, so that we will be trained for
rulership with Jesus Christ in the Millennium. We will not be in the
Kingdom of God until we learn to interface with each other according to
God's perfect law of love. When we love our fellowman, we love Jesus Christ
and Our Father.
"Hereby we do know that we know Him, if
we keep His Commandments.
He that saith, I know Him, and keeps not His Commandments, is a liar, and
the truth is not in him… He that saith he is in the light, and hates his
brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loves his brother abides in
the light, and there is no occasion for stumbling in Him." (1 John 2:3-4, 9-10)
Jesus' principles and teachings develop
the full spiritual intent of the Ten Commandments for us. For example, He
taught that not only are we not to kill, we are also not to hate or be angry
without a cause (Matthew 5:22). And, not only do we not commit adultery, we
also do not yearn to do so. Jesus' teachings
intensified the Ten Commandments in their application. The Ten Commandments are the
rules of the Kingdom of God! We must each endeavor to rid our nature of its
inordinate desire to violate God's perfect instruction for living.
With God's Holy Spirit, we are able to keep the Ten Commandments. The people
of this world, like Old Testament Israel, are totally unable to live
according to God's way of life. We, the people of New Covenant Israel, are
able to live our Christianity. "This is the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my
Laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will
be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." (Hebrews 8:10)
***
| Sermon: |
"Ten Commandments" |
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