Participants: Jim Reinking
Series Code: LDS
Program Code: LDS000007
|
00:34 Tonight, we are studying a subject
00:36 which has caught up many in the web of deception 00:40 and that is the place of the law, 00:42 the commandments in the born again Christian's experience. 00:46 You know, some will tell us that as Christians 00:48 we are to keep the law 00:50 while others will stress that we are released 00:53 from obligations to its requirements. 00:56 And we want to know in other way 00:57 what does the Bible actually teach? 01:01 Well, we have to face it tonight. 01:04 We live in an age in which honesty and integrity 01:07 are all too often a rare commodity. 01:11 All around this we find moral values 01:13 been undermined or simply ignored. 01:15 And some years ago I picked up this article 01:18 that really illustrates a little bit of 01:19 what we're talking about, 01:20 as if you need an illustration of this. 01:22 But I picked to the part of the newspaper. 01:25 It was entitled honesty, 01:26 "honesty brings repayment, ridicule." 01:29 And it was reported at Ridgecrest, California. 01:32 And this is how it read, 01:33 "Two auto repairman say 01:35 all that they got for their honesty was a lot of ridicule. 01:39 Clifford Don and John Thatcher 01:41 this week found more than $30,000 01:45 stuffed inside a used tyre 01:47 that they were getting ready to sell for $17." 01:50 Well, that would be a fine, wouldn't it? 01:52 "And so they turned the money over to the police 01:55 and signed affidavits swearing they did not know 01:58 who owned the money. 02:00 Under California law they must wait 19 days 02:03 advertise the find in the newspaper for one day 02:08 and wait another week to see if anybody answers. 02:11 And if no one does they get the money." 02:14 I never saw a follow up to this, 02:16 so I don't know if they got the money or not. 02:18 But anyway it went on to say 02:20 "the main result of their find so far said the two 02:23 has been congratulations for their honesty 02:25 but ridiculed from their friends." 02:28 You see, it all-- it seems like all too 02:32 often the prevailing attitude is be honest, 02:35 if you think somebody is looking off your shoulder 02:37 but if not, don't sweat. 02:41 Does that seem to be the attitude of many today? 02:45 And some of these kids awfully close at home. 02:47 I remember hearing about a classmate of mine 02:49 from my college days, 02:50 who sat in her pastor's study 02:54 and said of her living situation with her boyfriend 02:57 that it was holy and blessed of God 02:59 and this inspired with the teaches 03:00 about fleeing fornication. 03:04 And we could go on and on, couldn't we? 03:06 Sad to say even among professed Christians 03:09 we find the same trends as we see in the world around us. 03:13 What was once called sin 03:15 is no longer considered to be so today. 03:17 And I ask you the question, has God changed? 03:20 Has He changed? What do you think? 03:23 No, maybe we've changed but God has not changed. 03:27 Why is it that we see these things happening all around us? 03:31 My friend, the answer lies 03:32 in the disregard of the commandments, 03:35 a departure from God's appointed way. 03:38 If you see the general Christian teaching today, 03:41 is that the law has been done away with? 03:43 We are no longer under obligation 03:45 to its requirements. 03:47 And in thus undermining 03:49 the bulwark of God's moral standard 03:51 and thus failing to uphold those eternal principles 03:54 of righteousness in our Christian witness, 03:57 we have suddenly seized that a born fruit 03:59 in the disregard for our moral values. 04:03 So let's really find out what the Bible teaches 04:05 about this matter of the commandments. 04:07 Take your Bibles and turn with me 04:08 to 1 Corinthians 7, the New Testament, page 133, 04:13 New Testament, page 133 04:15 and its 1 Corinthians 7:19. 04:21 First Corinthians 7:19, 04:23 Paul is writing to the believers in the church in Corinth. 04:27 This is-- Corinth was a major city 04:31 in what we call Asia Minor. 04:34 And this is what he had to say to the Corinthians. 04:36 Again it's 1 Corinthians Chapter 7 04:39 and we want to look at verse 19, verse 19. 04:44 What he says, "Circumcision is nothing, 04:46 and uncircumcision is nothing, 04:49 but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." 04:54 My friend, whenever you find 04:55 that kind of a phrase in the Bible what matters, 04:58 you know, what follows has to be significant, right? 05:03 And so Paul says it right here in his letter to the Corinthians 05:07 that what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God. 05:11 And so right off we see 05:13 written in the New Testament an indication 05:15 that the commandments haven't really been done away 05:18 with though there're many even among Christians 05:20 who are teaching that, that's exactly what has happened 05:22 the commandments were done away with. 05:24 They were nailed to the cross when Jesus, 05:26 you know, when Jesus came and lived on this earth 05:28 and He lived the perfect life 05:30 He eliminated our need to be 05:32 concerned about the commandments. 05:35 And we have a word in the world of theology for this teaching, 05:40 this idea that the commandments were done away with, 05:43 we call this antinomianism. 05:46 It comes from the Greek word, nomos, 05:48 that we translate commandments. 05:51 So antinomianism is an anti-law is teaching again 05:55 that the commandments have been done away with. 05:58 And my friend, again we want to be clear, don't we? 06:01 We want to be absolutely clear and sure 06:05 that what we believe is in keeping 06:08 what the Bible teaches. 06:10 And that's exactly what we're gonna find 06:11 as we go further into our study. 06:14 Take a look at Matthew 5, 06:16 the New Testament page 3, page 3. 06:20 Matthew 5:17-19. 06:23 Let's take a look at what Jesus 06:25 said about this matter. 06:26 It's a part of the Sermon on the Mount 06:28 and we will remember in the Sermon on the Mount, 06:30 Jesus is establishing the principles of His kingdom. 06:35 And you know something about Jesus too, 06:37 when it came to the established traditions, 06:40 of the religious leaders of His day. 06:42 My friend, He did really give very much regard 06:44 at all to their religious traditions. 06:48 He just kind of ignored them 06:49 and you know, that's important 06:51 why He got in so much trouble with them. 06:54 And I think that here as you look at this passage 06:57 Jesus is seeking to make it very clear 07:00 in regards to where He stands 07:02 when it comes to the commandments. 07:04 At last there will be some 07:05 who were conclude that as Jesus did, 07:08 you know, did-- not did consideration 07:10 to the traditions of the elders 07:12 that maybe He didn't really believe in the commandments 07:15 to keeping them as well. 07:17 Take a look at Matthew 5:17, 07:20 Jesus said, "Do not think, 07:23 that I came to abolish the law or the prophets, 07:25 I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." 07:30 So the first thing we take note of 07:32 from the New Testament, the words of Jesus, 07:34 He did not come to abolish the law, right. 07:38 That's pretty clear. 07:40 He didn't come to abolish but to fulfill. 07:43 And did Jesus fulfill the law? 07:46 Did He? 07:47 And how did He? 07:49 He kept it perfectly, didn't He? 07:51 And again the phrasing there is, 07:54 "I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." 07:56 So this idea that when Jesus fulfilled the law 08:00 that He released us from keeping the commandments 08:02 is so contrary to the statement of Jesus. 08:06 He said don't you think that in fulfilling the law 08:08 that I abolished it, right. 08:11 That's what it says. 08:13 And then verse 18, 08:14 He says, "For truly I say to you 08:16 until heaven and earth pass away 08:18 not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away 08:21 from the law until all is accomplished." 08:25 I've got a question for you, is heaven and earth still here? 08:29 I know, feels pretty solid under my feet. 08:33 So what does that say about the integrity of the law? 08:37 And in furthermore Jesus said here in verse 18, 08:40 "Not the smallest letter or stroke 08:42 until all is accomplished." 08:45 While has all been accomplished? 08:48 Well, much has been accomplished 08:51 among the significant things that been accomplished, 08:53 Jesus has come to this earth, 08:55 His died for our redemption 08:58 but my friend, 09:00 Jesus is yet to return in power and in glory. 09:04 The eternal kingdom is yet to be established. 09:08 We have yet to see 09:09 the elimination of sin and rebellion 09:11 so not all has been accomplished. 09:13 And again what does that say about the integrity of the law? 09:17 What Jesus said, and not the smallest letter 09:20 or stroke that's like a crossing of a "T" 09:24 has been eliminated from the law. 09:27 And then finally verse 19, 09:28 He says, "Whoever then annuls 09:29 one of the least of these commandments, 09:31 and teaches others to do the same, 09:33 shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven 09:36 but whoever keeps and teaches them," 09:39 and by implication the least of them, 09:41 "he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." 09:46 So my friend, we are in-- 09:48 on solid New Testament foundations 09:51 and we are perfect accord with the teachings of Jesus here 09:56 to have the night in which we talk about 09:58 the importance of the commandments 10:01 and they are important. 10:02 You know, this has become an issue in recent years. 10:06 I mean, you know something about this, 10:08 I-- you know, going back to who was it, 10:11 there was a chief justice of Alabama back in 2003. 10:15 I think his name was Roy Moore remember, 10:17 he had erected a 2.5 ton replica of the commandments 10:24 in the state house there in Alabama 10:30 and this became, this became an issue 10:32 that went before the Supreme Court 10:34 of the state of Alabama. 10:37 And remember the Supreme Court said, 10:38 you got to take out that religious, 10:42 that religious object out of this the courthouse. 10:46 And you could see the picture here 10:48 where they're removing it because of that. 10:51 And this thing eventually-- 10:53 this whole issue eventually worked its way up 10:56 to the Supreme Court of the United States. 10:59 Do you remember this in 2005, 11:02 they finally made the determination 11:04 because there was an issue again in a very similar way 11:08 they have posted the commandments 11:10 in the courthouse of Kentucky 11:13 of the Supreme Court of Kentucky and of Texas. 11:17 And the Supreme Court said you got to get those replicas 11:20 of the commandments out of those courthouses. 11:25 And yet, you know this is down in the Bible about it. 11:29 And there are many actually who are teaching 11:31 that commandments were done away with and yeah 11:33 this was stirring people, 11:35 this idea of the commandments being done away with. 11:39 Well, Jesus said in John 15:10, 11:42 again coming back to how Jesus related to the commandments. 11:45 He said, "I have kept My Father's commandments, 11:48 and abide in His love." 11:51 Jesus gave us an example, didn't He? 11:53 And notice the connection 11:55 between His keeping the commandments 11:57 and His relationship to the Father. 12:01 He says, keeping the commandments 12:02 and I abide in His love. 12:05 And so it is in our relationship with Jesus Christ, 12:08 when we love the Lord Jesus Christ, 12:10 we will see a similar pattern in our own lives 12:15 is what the Bible indicates. 12:17 But then do you recognized this fellow right here? 12:21 That's Ted Turner, yes. You got it, Ted Turner. 12:24 And Ted Turner had something to say 12:27 about this matter of the commandments. 12:28 Back in 19-- I think it was '89, 12:30 he determined that 12:32 the Ten Commandments were obsolete. 12:34 Oh, wonderful they have that commentary from Ted Turner. 12:37 So he put into place 12:39 his 10 voluntary initiatives is what he called them, 12:43 voluntary initiatives to replace the Ten Commandments. 12:47 I bet you, you never even heard of that thing, you know. 12:51 So people being tampering with this matter 12:53 but take a look at what the Bible says 12:55 in Psalm 111:7, 8. 12:59 It says, "The works of His hands are verity and judgment, 13:03 all His commandments are sure. 13:05 They stand fast for--" how long? 13:09 "for ever and ever, 13:10 and are done in truth and uprightness" 13:13 is what the Bible teaches about the commandments. 13:16 And then I want to take you on the Matthew 19, 13:18 the New Testament page 16. 13:21 Page 16, Matthew 19. 13:24 Now there's something deeply spiritual 13:26 about this whole matter 13:28 that we want to get to sooner than later. 13:33 You know in almost any subject there are gonna be well, 13:35 I call the nuts and bolts, 13:37 that's when you're getting down to the essential teachings 13:41 or what is actually being taught. 13:43 And it's easy to miss 13:45 the deeper spiritual implications of the teachings 13:48 that we don't take time to take note of them. 13:50 So here we are as we come to Matthew, 13:54 Matthew 19, to begin with verse 16. 13:57 It's the story of the rich young ruler. 14:01 And this what it says, 14:02 "And someone came to Him and said, 14:04 'Teacher, what good thing shall I do 14:06 that I may obtain eternal life?' 14:08 And He said to him, 14:10 'Why are you asking me about what is good? 14:12 There is only one who is good, 14:14 but if you wish to enter into life, 14:16 keep the commandments.'" 14:18 Just a minute. 14:21 What did He say? 14:23 If you'd enter into life, what? 14:25 Keep the commandments. 14:28 You know, putting aside, if we did 14:30 we've to consider that Jesus was saying this 14:32 and I think it was more than it was in the Bible. 14:35 If anybody else had answered that question, 14:38 what must I do to inherit eternal life? 14:40 And they said, "Keep the commandments." 14:42 I would bet that some of us would very quickly say, 14:46 if ever that was a legalistic answer to that question 14:50 of what we must do to inherit the eternal life, that's it. 14:54 Where in the world do you come up with this idea 14:56 that we keep the commandment, enter into life. 14:59 It comes out of the personal commitment of the Jesus Christ. 15:02 Is that what some of us would be saying? 15:05 But yet Jesus said it, if you want to enter the life, 15:09 keep the commandments. 15:11 Now we're gonna see 15:12 how this relates to the relationship 15:14 and then it's gonna make it abundantly clear 15:17 that Jesus was not confused about this matter of salvation. 15:21 We'll never accuse Jesus of being confuse 15:23 about the matter of our redemption, would we? 15:26 But nevertheless it has an importance 15:29 as Jesus would not have responded the way that He did. 15:32 Verse 18, "Then he said to Him, 15:35 'Which ones? Lord, which ones?' 15:37 And Jesus said, 'You shall not commit murder, 15:39 you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, 15:42 you shall not bear false witness, 15:44 honor your father and mother 15:46 and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" 15:48 Clearly, Jesus was talking about the Ten Commandments, 15:51 he quoted them. 15:52 These are the ones that we are to keep, 15:54 if we are to enter in the life. 15:57 And so we have to again ask ourselves the question 16:01 not only should we keep them, are they relevant? 16:05 Well, let's take a look at this matter of the commandments 16:08 as we look at the record of it, 16:10 as we find it in the Book of Exodus 16:11 beginning actually in Exodus 19 16:15 and then in Exodus 20 of course, 16:16 we find the record of the Ten Commandments 16:18 but among the things that we take note, 16:20 we take note that the children of Israel 16:22 are there at Mount Sinai. 16:24 They spend a whole year at this mountain. 16:27 Moses is going up into the mountain, 16:29 he's in communion with God. 16:32 And it's in that context 16:33 that he receives the commandments. 16:35 But first of all we take note in Exodus 19 16:38 that God called for all of His people 16:41 to gather around the base of that mountain. 16:45 And then He spoke to them directly, audibly. 16:50 It is one of the most unique things recorded in scripture 16:53 that God spoke to His people. 16:55 And what was it that He said? 16:58 Well, my friend, 16:59 He gave them the Ten Commandments. 17:03 And so again for those who would just very casually 17:06 would do it away with the commandments, 17:08 my friend, here it's God Himself speaking from the mountain, 17:14 giving the commandments. 17:15 That says they are important, 17:18 they were important enough for God to come down 17:20 and to give them, right. 17:22 And then furthermore we take note that He-- 17:24 that He wrote them on tablets of stone with His own finger 17:29 and still there are those who say 17:32 that the commandments have been done away with. 17:34 Well, again, let's take a look at them. 17:37 As it recorded in Exodus Chapter 20, 17:38 looking at the relevancy of the Bible way 17:41 there is a preamble to the Ten Commandments 17:44 that's often overlooked. 17:46 It's right here on the screen, Exodus 20:2, 17:51 where God declares, "I am the Lord your God, 17:55 who brought you out of the land of Egypt, 17:57 out of the house of slavery." 18:00 So the first thing we take note of before 18:02 we really get to the Ten Commandments, 18:03 God declares, I am the Lord, I am your God. 18:08 And what else? 18:10 I've delivered you out of the house of bondage, 18:14 out of the house of slavery. 18:17 My friend, He still is in the business 18:20 of releasing slaves, slaves to sin 18:26 from their bondage. Amen. 18:28 He is still in the business of delivering 18:31 us from the bondage. 18:34 And so this is really a vital point 18:37 to understand and to appreciate 18:38 before we get it down to the thou shalt not. 18:42 They understand who God is, and how He has related to us. 18:48 Our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer He is all of that. 18:52 So again, we're going to be looking 18:54 at the relevancy of the commandments 18:55 as we began with the very first one of them where God says, 18:58 "You shall have no other Gods before Me." 19:03 Oh, was that relevant 19:05 in the day and age that we live in? 19:07 Oh, come on, we are sophisticated, 19:09 we are just too sophisticated in western culture, right? 19:12 We don't have Gods. 19:14 Maybe in ancient times, maybe in primitive, 19:18 you know, civilizations 19:20 but not in ours western civilization or do we? 19:25 Do we have our Gods? What is it God? 19:28 My friend, anything that we put first place in our lives 19:33 we effectively have made up it 19:36 or that someone a God. 19:39 Can we make an individual God? 19:43 Can we make a husband, a wife, 19:45 can we make a child, a friend a God? 19:51 We can do this with relationships. 19:54 That is where this relationship is more important to us 19:57 than our relationship to God. 19:59 And by the way, I am here to assure you 20:01 whenever we put God in first place in our lives 20:04 because we love Him and we appreciate the fact 20:07 that He loves us, 20:09 whenever God is in first place in our lives 20:12 all the other relationships are enriched. 20:19 They are. 20:21 The marriage relationship is enriched 20:23 when God has first place in our lives. 20:27 The family relationships are enriched 20:30 when we make God first. 20:33 Do you see that? 20:36 And then we move on into the second commandment 20:39 where it says, "You shall not make 20:41 for yourself a graven image, 20:42 or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 20:45 or that is in the earth beneath, 20:47 or that is in the water under the earth 20:48 you shall not bow down to them or serve them." 20:52 He's talking about graven images. 20:54 And again we ask the question, 20:56 is it relevant, does it relate to the times-- 20:59 of the times that we are living in? 21:01 And my friend, when we realize 21:02 how materialistic we really are, 21:06 we began to see that really is a connection here. 21:10 Are we worshiping things above God? 21:15 Things? 21:17 You know, I really had a wonderful father, 21:21 he was not a Christian but boy, did he love his things 21:25 and he never did anything half way. 21:28 I remember the period of time 21:30 that he decided to get into the tropical fish 21:32 and he didn't do it in just a small way. 21:35 In fact this is almost like Washington. 21:38 He took and put into my sister's bedroom, 21:41 my sister's bedroom now a 100 gallon tank. 21:46 He was raising tropical fish and selling them off 21:50 to the local pet stores. 21:53 I remember and one Christmas after you know, 21:56 grandchildren were coming along 21:58 and we were coming home for Christmas, 22:01 we came home to find that he had put together 22:04 the tracks for a train that went under you know, 22:08 through the pres-- 22:09 he stack the presents underneath the Christmas tree 22:12 and we had the train. 22:14 Before the year-- the next year so was out 22:17 he had taken over my bedroom, 22:21 of course-- you know, I left home by now 22:22 but he took over my bedroom and he had-- 22:25 I mean, he had about nine different trains 22:28 and all these different tracks. 22:30 You had to crawl into that bedroom of mine 22:33 to find this little hole that you can come up 22:36 and where you could play engineer. 22:40 And I remember too, when my dad-- 22:44 when VCRs first came out, this is the 1970s. 22:48 And you know they were $1500 back then 22:50 and they were these huge machines. 22:53 Well, my dad again, 22:55 he didn't have just one he had several of them. 22:57 He had TVs in the living room, 22:59 the family room and the bedrooms 23:02 and he'd gone under the house 23:03 and he had drilled holes through the floor 23:07 and he had all of those TVs 23:08 and all of those VCRs interconnected. 23:13 Anything of interest that would come on TV 23:15 that he possible would want to record 23:16 he could do it and he had this big library. 23:20 And you know, I like to tell you about cars, 23:23 my dad had this love affair with cars. 23:26 He love Cadillacs, everybody, every year or less sometimes 23:30 we were going through another automobile. 23:33 And then it was RVs, you know. 23:37 He went through a series of about 23:39 three or four motor homes 23:41 and each time they kept getting bigger 23:43 and more elaborate until he ended up 23:46 with this 35 food motor home 23:50 and he like to do all of this work. 23:52 I want to tell you, he spent so time 23:54 because he'd like to do his own mechanical work, you know. 23:57 Save a few bucks and he enjoyed doing that, 24:00 except something go right. 24:02 And so he would be spending all of this time 24:06 and all of these things 24:09 and we can end up doing the same things, can't we? 24:12 And we end up finding out 24:14 that we spent so much time on things 24:16 that we've been serving things, right? 24:20 We can do that. 24:23 You know, we are blessed 24:24 but we need to keep these things in proper perspective, don't we? 24:28 And then there's-- 24:29 well, there's another commandment by the ways, 24:31 as we go through the third commandment where it says, 24:32 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, 24:36 for the Lord will not hold him guiltless 24:38 who takes His name in vain." 24:40 And I ask you the question, what is in the name? 24:44 Well, what's in the name is what the name stands for, 24:47 it stands for the person, it stands for the character. 24:50 And the name of God stands for His holy-- 24:54 He's God, He is holy, He's just, He's righteous, 24:57 He's loving, compassionate, He's all of those things. 25:03 And yet, I guess, there are many even among professing Christians 25:09 who evidently have decided, this commandment is irrelevant 25:12 the way that the name of Jesus, 25:14 that holy name of Jesus and that holy name of God 25:17 is taken upon ones lips today. 25:21 You know, those of us have been around for a little while, 25:25 I think many of us have observed 25:27 that our culture has increasingly through the decades 25:32 has become more and more crude. 25:36 Have you noticed that? 25:38 It's become more and more crude. 25:41 And so we have the third commandment. 25:44 And then we come to the fourth commandment, 25:46 it's the longest of them all but it says, 25:48 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 25:50 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 25:52 but the seventh day 25:53 is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. 25:56 In it you shall do you shall not do any work, 25:58 you, or your son, or your daughter, 26:02 or your manservant, or your maidservant, 26:04 or your cattle, or your stranger 26:06 who is within your gates. 26:07 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 26:10 the sea, and all that is in them, 26:12 and rested the seventh day. 26:13 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day 26:15 and hallowed it." 26:18 So again, living in the times that we are, 26:22 is that commandment is called to rest? 26:26 This idea that God would take the seventh day 26:29 and once a week He would-- 26:31 and He counsels us to cease from all our work. 26:36 Is that relevant today? 26:39 My friend, absolutely. 26:42 I mean, we keep-- you know, 26:43 we keep squeezing up more and more productivity 26:47 out of the average worker. 26:48 What happened to the 40 hour week-- 26:52 work week anyway for some of us? 26:55 What's happened? 26:58 My friend, we're stressed out, 27:00 we're over-- many times over worked. 27:03 And God is saying, listen, 27:05 you know, for your own interest you need to rest. 27:10 And He does that out of love, doesn't He? 27:13 And then we move on to the next commandment, 27:15 "Honor your father and your mother, 27:17 that your days may be long in the land 27:19 which the Lord your God is gives you." 27:21 Who of us wants to say that, 27:22 that commandment is inconsequential, 27:25 has no relevance in the time that we're living? 27:28 And this is getting into the heartbeat, 27:30 you know, of the family structure 27:31 which is at the foundation of any society of any culture 27:37 and those relationships are vital, aren't they? 27:40 They truly are. 27:42 And then we move to the next one where it says, 27:45 "You shall not kill." You shall not murder. 27:49 I think all of us would be-- 27:51 of course that would be relevant. 27:53 But you know in the Sermon of the Mount 27:55 Jesus even went back-- went deeper into the motives 27:59 behind some of these commandments. 28:01 He said, if you are angry with your brother 28:03 you have already committed murder in your heart. 28:07 That's getting down the motivation, isn't it? 28:10 You've already committed murder in your heart. 28:13 And then we come to the Seventh Commandment, 28:15 "You shall not commit adultery." 28:18 Adultery? 28:20 Oh, that really is old fashion, 28:22 this idea of adultery for some people evidently. 28:25 My friend, the Seventh Commandment 28:26 is a call to sexual purity. 28:30 And my friend, we ought to take note, 28:31 I assume most of us understand, 28:34 it is God that made us male and female, 28:36 it is God therefore that created sex. 28:41 You know it's interesting what we talk about publicly 28:43 and in church 28:45 today you know, on a way that 28:47 we probably wouldn't have done 20, 30, 40 years ago. 28:51 You know things have become so much more open 28:53 but you know God created sex. 28:56 It is a good thing within the framework 28:58 in which God created it, right? 29:02 And what framework did He created in? 29:05 My friend, He created it in the framework 29:08 of a committed relationship, a married relationship. 29:13 Look at Hebrews 3:5 29:16 where we are instructed and counsel 29:18 that we ought to hold marriage in honor. 29:23 And yet, you know, 29:26 how just this last year Eliot Spitzer, 29:28 the former governor, 29:30 now the former governor of New York 29:32 got caught spend $80,000 on call girls had to resign 29:39 from his governorship of New York 29:40 and here he is in the press conference announcing it. 29:44 And I look at the face of his wife 29:47 and I just wondering 29:48 what in the world did he take her through, 29:50 what in the world is she thinking 29:54 having this come out so publicly? 29:59 My friend, God still calls for sexual purity. 30:02 He does, and then his Lt. Governor that took over, 30:06 David Patterson in his press conference, 30:10 God, he better did it right out up front 30:13 that he had been guilty-- 30:14 he and his wife had both been guilty of affairs. 30:23 You know where this all began in our culture? 30:27 This all began down in The Bay Area. 30:32 It all began in San Francisco with the summer of love. 30:39 Now for some of you that's just gonna be 30:40 kind of ancient history. 30:42 But those of us who are little older, 30:44 we're going to remember the summer of love is not 1968, 30:47 it's a part of the hippy movement, 30:49 the anti-establishment movement 30:53 and the determination of the anti-cultural movement 30:58 of that period of the '60s. 31:00 That one was not gonna be obligated 31:02 to the moral restrictions, 31:06 inhabit the restrictions that had been largely, 31:11 you know, a part of other culture that period of time. 31:16 And then we began to see people beginning to live together. 31:21 I remember little bit about this. 31:24 You know, it was kind of a shock 31:25 when this first began to take place 31:28 and then over time it has become almost the norm. 31:33 You know, people living together 31:36 outside of a married committed relationship. 31:41 It has undermined the institution of marriage, 31:44 hasn't it? 31:45 It has. 31:47 And, but my friend, though it is the norm, 31:52 some what the norm today it was not always that way. 31:56 Those of you who may remember the pre-1960s, 32:00 it was not the norm. 32:02 Did it happened? 32:03 It happened, yes, on occasion it did happened 32:06 but it was frowned upon. 32:07 It was not, it was not looked upon favorably 32:11 and now we just hardly brink and eye. 32:13 I tell you, there's been a lot of stuff 32:15 coming out of San Francisco. 32:17 I mean, just a year or two ago 32:19 they started in with homosexuality, 32:23 you know, gay people marrying. 32:27 I tell you, what's going on in the Bay Area. 32:31 My friend, look at it historically. 32:34 And some of the things we have come to accept today. 32:39 Again, let's go to the next commandment, 32:40 the eight one which says, "You shall not steal." 32:43 Certainly living in a materialistic society 32:46 we will all say that you know, 32:48 we ought to respect the property of others. 32:51 Of course, not everybody agrees to that ideal, 32:55 that moral value. 32:58 I was holding a series in Portland, Oregon 33:00 I send some years ago in the-- 33:01 oh, could be six, seven, eight years ago and down in, 33:08 I would say Glisan area. 33:09 Glisan, is that a part of Portland, Glisan? 33:12 Anyway, I was there 33:13 and I was in an RV right next to the church 33:16 and outside was parked my Ford Aerostar. 33:19 I got up one morning and went out jogging 33:21 and when I came back it was only then 33:23 that I noticed it was missing. 33:26 Well, I just had noticed it 33:27 when I went out because during the night 33:29 somebody had come and stolen my Aerostar. 33:33 I reported it to the police of course, 33:35 I just couldn't believe. 33:36 I was sleeping within feet of that vehicle 33:40 then somebody would come in the middle of the night 33:41 and steal it. 33:44 And within a couple of days they found it. 33:47 They had taken out the transmission 33:49 and some other things 33:51 and they have done a lot of damage 33:53 but it was not quite totaled. 33:55 If they were going to do it 33:56 I wish they'd totaled it, you know. 33:58 But anyway I had to get it repaired, 34:00 I just, you know, I just you couldn't believe 34:03 that somebody would do that. 34:06 And then the Ninth Commandment, 34:07 "You shall not bear a false witness against your neighbor." 34:10 False witness, we call that lie. 34:12 That's misrepresenting our neighbor, the reputation. 34:17 We have another word for this, we call this backbiting. 34:20 Backbiting is a part of this idea, 34:22 misrepresentation people. 34:24 And my friend, it's a horrible thing, 34:26 if you have ever gone through that vicious gossip 34:29 that can destroy ones reputation. 34:33 I know how important it is, 34:35 this idea that we ought to guard the reputation of others 34:39 and to misrepresent others, 34:43 to lie it's just really not a part of the moral values 34:47 that as Christians we really ought to hold to. 34:49 And then we come to the last of the commandments, 34:52 the tenth one which says, 34:53 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house, 34:55 you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, 34:58 or his manservant, or his maidservant, 35:00 or his ox, or his ass," 35:02 or his Cadillac or his boat or his house. 35:06 You could go got in the list, can't you? 35:09 "Or anything that is in your neighbors." 35:12 Now it's one thing to admire 35:14 something that somebody has, 35:16 but it's something else to covet. 35:19 Covet is one step away from stealing. 35:23 Coveting is not only I like it but I got to have it, 35:28 I've got to make it mine 35:30 and that really is getting into the intent of the heart, 35:32 isn't it? 35:33 this matter of covetousness? 35:35 Again, as we look at the principles, 35:37 my friend, they are practical, 35:40 they cross cultural lines, they are universal 35:45 and then we're reminded that what Paul says 35:46 in Romans 13 and what is in verse 10. 35:49 He says, love is the fulfilling of the law. 35:52 The basic fundamental principal of the law is love. 35:58 The first four commandments described for us 36:01 what it means to have love for God, 36:03 the love Him supreme. 36:04 You won't have other gods, 36:06 your reverence His name, et cetera et cetera. 36:08 The last six commandments define for us 36:11 what it means to love one another. 36:14 I mean, if you love somebody you are gonna be caring them 36:17 and if you love somebody 36:18 you are not going to be committing adultery 36:20 and et cetera, et cetera, right. 36:22 This is what love is all about. 36:25 And my friend, they're more spiritual 36:27 than sometimes we give then credit for. 36:30 But the problem is with us. 36:33 You know always natural feel that, 36:35 naturally feel that way. 36:36 Take a look at James 2, The New Testament, page 178. 36:42 James 2 and let's look at verses 10-12. 36:50 I haven't really 36:51 gotten into the deeper spiritual side of this 36:55 and but we will. 36:57 Here in James 2, and beginning with verse 10, 37:00 this is what we find written in the scriptures. 37:04 It says, "For whosoever keeps the whole law, 37:06 and yet stumbles in one point," 37:09 is doing really pretty good. 37:10 I mean, one out of ten, breaking one out of ten, 37:13 you are getting 90% of them right. 37:15 Okay, 90% depending on how your teacher 37:20 would grade the curve 37:22 would get you almost an "A" to an "A," right? 37:27 So one out of ten, you know. 37:29 But that's not the way the Bible looks at this or God. 37:32 "For whosoever keeps the whole law, 37:33 and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." 37:38 We have transgressed all 37:39 because the fundamental principal 37:41 really comes down to our relationship to God 37:44 and our respect for His authority 37:47 when it comes to this matter of moral values. 37:51 Because verse 11 he said, 37:52 "For he who said, do not commit adultery, 37:54 also said, do not commit murder. 37:56 Now if you do not commit adultery 37:58 but do commit murder, 38:00 you have become a transgressor of the law, 38:02 you have broken it." 38:03 And then verse 12, and remember, 38:06 are we in the Old Testament or New Testament? 38:09 We are in the New Testament, it says, 38:10 "So speak and so act as those 38:13 who are to be judged by the law of liberty." 38:18 We are to speak and act as those who will be judged. 38:22 My friend, it doesn't make sense if something's been done away 38:24 with that we find in text it says, 38:26 we would be judged by it. 38:28 And notice it say, it's the law of liberty. 38:30 It doesn't describe as the law of bondage 38:32 it's a law that gives liberty. 38:34 And who is really, 38:36 who is really experiencing liberty? 38:39 The transgressor or the one who by the grace of Jesus is seeking 38:42 to live in harmony with the commandments? 38:46 My friend, it's the one that is seeking to live in harmony, 38:49 that's not breaking the commandments. 38:51 The one who is breaking the commandments 38:52 is really experiencing bondage, 38:57 bondage to sin. 39:00 And then we come to James 1:23-25. 39:04 In a moment I am gonna take you through several texts 39:06 that will lay down the parameters 39:08 of this matter of the commandments. 39:11 You know the limitations of the commandments. 39:14 But look at this, James 1:23, where it says, 39:17 "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, 39:21 he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror, 39:26 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, 39:28 he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was." 39:35 Now I want to ask a question, 39:36 how many of you looked into a mirror 39:37 before you came down to the meeting tonight? 39:39 Let me see your hands. 39:42 Okay. 39:44 Some of you have not raised your hands, 39:45 maybe you should have looked before you came. 39:49 Maybe you should have looked. 39:51 I did, you know. 39:55 You know I had a mirror behind and you know, 39:58 it's now little bit hair so I have to pick the way 40:00 out the little bit to fill it in and you know, how it is. 40:04 But what would you think of me 40:06 if looking in the mirror and I found my face was dirty, 40:09 if I took that mirror and I started you know, 40:11 doing this with it? 40:13 You think I've lost it. 40:16 Now I look in the mirror 40:18 and I see reflected back to me an image of myself. 40:23 And if my face is dirty, 40:24 I turn the water on and I reach for the soap 40:28 and you know, I get cleaned up. 40:30 Okay, that's what we were talking about. 40:33 It continues, "But one who looks intently 40:36 at the perfect law, the law of liberty," 40:40 not burnish the law of liberty 40:42 "and abides by it, 40:43 not having become a forgetful hearer 40:45 but an effectual doer, 40:47 this man shall be blessed in what he does." 40:53 My friends, if you want to be blessed in your life 40:55 by the grace of Jesus seek to do the right thing 40:59 for the right reason. 41:01 Motivation is very important with God, 41:04 not legalistically but out of love. 41:07 Seek to do the right thing 41:09 and you will be blessed in what you do. 41:12 So the law is talking about 41:14 one who looks intently at the perfect law, 41:16 the Spirit of God is you know, 41:19 examining our hearts as we're looking 41:21 at the principles of the commandments 41:23 and there are gonna be some points 41:25 in which we're gonna convicted, 41:26 we're gonna be convicted of sin within our lives, okay. 41:30 And so it's talking about looking intently. 41:33 We see reflected back 41:35 what sin has done to the human heart. 41:39 We see how we've been corrupted and tainted by sin. 41:44 Okay. 41:45 So the law, this is the point I want to make out of this text, 41:49 the law is diagnostic. 41:53 It's like going to the doctor when you are sick. 41:57 I mean, it's been about two years, three years ago 42:01 somebody I've known for a very long time since 1986, 42:05 a member of my Bible class at church 42:10 I've know, Sharon, as I said, a very long time. 42:13 And she had been ignoring something 42:15 that were going on in her life, 42:16 she was getting a little bit older 42:17 and you know, she wasn't feeling quite right 42:20 but she was getting older. 42:22 And she was ignoring certain symptoms. 42:27 Finally, she went to the doctor 42:29 and went through all of these tests. 42:31 She went through the diagnostic process 42:34 and discovered that she had advance cancer. 42:39 She survived one year and died. 42:43 Well, it's been almost a year ago, 42:45 not quite a year ago 42:47 because she had ignored the symptoms. 42:50 My friend, we can not ignore the symptoms of sin 42:56 and the law is diagnostic. 42:59 It convicts us and shows us 43:01 where we are out of harmony with the God 43:04 who loves us and created us 43:07 and long suspending eternity with us. 43:12 And so the law reveals to us, it's diagnostic. 43:14 The law is not therapeutic. 43:18 It's like getting an X-ray, 43:19 it's like going through and getting MRI. 43:22 You discovered there's a problem and if there's a problem-- 43:25 I went through this, I felt you know, 43:27 had some back problems, found out 43:29 I had hernia of disc some years ago 43:31 and I went through the MRI 43:33 and I was sitting before surgeon, 43:35 he was looking at it, the MRI. 43:37 So you know, I've done diagnostic thing and he said, 43:41 well, I don't think you need surgery 43:43 but we're going to get you some injections, it was painful. 43:47 So it's diagnostic, it is not therapeutic. 43:51 The law is not therapeutic. 43:53 The law will save no one, 43:55 the law will change no one, right? 43:58 It just reveals to us how great our need really is. 44:03 And where do we find 44:05 the therapeutic process spiritually? 44:08 My friend, it is in the love and grace 44:11 of God in Jesus Christ. 44:15 It is through the wonderful plan of salvation 44:19 that we find the therapeutic process 44:21 that will save us form our sins 44:24 and the consequences of our transgressions, 44:27 is what the Bible tells us. 44:30 Well, oh, yes, I got to tell you about 44:33 the fish traders to the Fiji islands 44:35 who by the way brought among the things 44:38 to trade with those local natives, mirrors. 44:42 The queen of the island 44:43 professed to be the most beautiful women on the island 44:48 until she got to hold one of those mirrors. 44:52 And what she discovered she was not so happy about. 44:56 It disturbed her in fact, 44:58 she immediately acted by declaring 45:01 that they were outlaw. 45:02 She didn't want to see another mirror on that island. 45:07 And of course that settle the whole thing, 45:09 didn't it or did it? 45:13 No and my friend, that sometimes happens 45:15 as we study the Word of God 45:17 as we look at the moral standard that God has given us. 45:22 Sometimes we in the process 45:23 of the Holy Spirit working on us, 45:25 we begin to discover some things about ourselves 45:28 and there is some pain with the discovery 45:30 how sin has tainted us. 45:32 And there is this human tendency you know, 45:35 that well, I just don't look anymore, 45:38 I just gonna get rid of it. 45:40 My friend, that solves nothing and God never-- 45:43 God never points out our sin without pointing out 45:48 how deeply we need His saving love and grace. 45:52 He's right there for us 45:55 to help us in our spiritual need, right? 45:58 Just like that physician, hopefully he's right there. 46:01 When we've got problems and it's been diagnosed 46:04 and hopefully he's got the treatment plan 46:07 that's gonna help us. It's the same idea. 46:09 Look at Galatians 5, The New Testament, page 149, 46:14 149, Galatians 5:4. 46:16 I am gonna lay down again the limitations of the law. 46:20 We've already taken notice, diagnostic, 46:22 it is not therapeutic. 46:24 And this is what we find, Galatians 5:4, 46:31 he says "You have been severed from Christ, 46:34 you who are seeking to be justified or saved by law, 46:39 you have fallen from grace." 46:42 And my friend, the Galatians evidently got into legalism. 46:46 They have determined that 46:47 they were gonna seek to measure up 46:49 to what God required of them. 46:51 They were seeking to be obedient to that 46:55 which God required to them-- required of them. 46:58 They sought to do this because 47:00 they thought by being good 47:03 that they would be saved or justified. 47:07 But my friend, you see, 47:08 that is depending upon what we can do. 47:11 And if what we can do could ever save us 47:14 then Jesus never needed to come 2,000 years ago to die for us. 47:18 All we would be saying and preaching here 47:20 is do the right thing, do what's right, 47:23 be obedience, stop doing the things 47:26 that you know that you shouldn't be doing. 47:28 And my friend, we would miss the whole point 47:31 because if we were depending upon what we can do. 47:35 Number one, we are saying "we don't need the savior, 47:38 we're just going to do a self improvement-- 47:41 get into a self improvement program 47:44 and that's all we got to do." 47:47 My friend, there is no self improvement program 47:50 that is gonna save us from sin. 47:54 It's the relationship with Jesus Christ 47:57 that alone is going to save us from the sin. 48:01 And the Galatians are depending upon what they could do 48:05 to be saved had defectively severed themselves for Christ 48:09 because they were saying, 48:11 "we don't need Jesus for salvation, 48:14 we just are going to do what is right." 48:19 And my friend, it's good to want to do 48:21 what is right but again, we have to realize again 48:25 that only Jesus can do for us 48:28 what we cannot do for ourselves. 48:29 Take a look at Romans 10, the New Testament, page 125. 48:35 Romans 10:3-4. 48:38 again, looking at the limitations 48:39 of this matter of the law. 48:44 Romans 10:3, talking about God's people, 48:46 talking about the Israelites, the Jews. 48:49 Paul says of them, 48:50 "For not knowing about God's righteousness," 48:53 they were ignorant about God's righteousness 48:55 "and seeking to establish their own." 48:58 And they were doing this by their own obedience. 49:01 "They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God." 49:05 And then he says in verse 4, 49:07 "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness." 49:11 And some put the period right there, 49:13 they don't finish the text. 49:16 And if you put the period there it kind of feeds into this idea 49:19 that the law has been done away with. 49:21 Don't you know that Christ is the end of the law? 49:24 No, it says, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. 49:28 We do not drive our righteousness 49:30 from obedience to the law, 49:32 we drive our righteousness 49:35 through our relationship with God. 49:39 And it says, "To everyone who believes. 49:41 To the one who has faith." 49:43 And that faith is speaking of the relationship. 49:47 And my friend, you and I can not do it. 49:51 We cannot keep the commandments, 49:53 some go further its like 49:54 because you cant keep the commandment 49:55 you might as well do away with them. 49:56 No, we wouldn't want to go there, would we? 49:58 because that's not what the Bible teach us. 50:01 So and then we look at Romans 6:14, 15 50:07 where Paul says, "For a sin shall not be master over you" 50:10 is that a beautiful promise? 50:11 "Sin shall not be master over you, 50:13 for you are not under law, but under grace. 50:16 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law 50:19 but under grace? May it never be"! 50:23 And again some will take this text say 50:25 you know there it is, Romans 6, 50:27 we're not under law, 50:28 but, my friend, it's not talking about 50:30 not being under the jurisdiction of the law, 50:33 it's talking about something quite different than this. 50:35 You see the law is God's perfect standard of righteousness, 50:39 it convicts us, it points out our sin, 50:42 it condemns us, it stands in judgment of us 50:45 because we are out of harmony with those divine principles. 50:50 But when we come to Jesus, 50:53 and He forgives us and accepts us, 50:57 we are no longer under condemnation 51:00 we are under grace, right. 51:04 Being under grace doesn't do away with the standard. 51:09 It's by grace by which we fulfill 51:13 that which God requires of this. 51:14 And Romans 8:1 51:17 I mean there's a part of the whole context here 51:20 that we're talking about. 51:22 It says "that those who are in Jesus Christ 51:25 are no longer under condemnation." 51:28 And further more it says here in Romans 8, 51:30 and I'm gonna look at verse 3 and 4 with you. 51:33 It says "For what the Law could not do, 51:35 weak as it was through the flesh" 51:37 and that's the limitation, it's us, 51:41 it's because we have been again deeply affected by sin. 51:45 "For what the Law could not do, 51:46 weak as it was through the flesh, 51:48 God did sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh 51:52 and as an offering for sin, 51:54 He condemned sin in the flesh, 51:56 so that the requirement of the law 51:58 might be fulfilled in us." 52:02 What we can't do, 52:04 God did for us through his Son Jesus Christ 52:07 so that what again so that requirement of the law 52:11 might be fulfilled in us. 52:14 And that's deeply spiritual, isn't it? 52:18 Galatians Chapter 3 the New Testament page 148, 52:23 Galatians 3: 24, 52:28 this is what Paul tells us here in Galatians 3:24. 52:31 "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, 52:35 so that we may be justified by faith." 52:39 My friend, anything that leads us to Jesus 52:41 has to be important, doesn't it? 52:45 But, my friend, the law is limited, 52:47 the law, the function of the law the law cannot gives us life, 52:51 it cannot save us 52:52 but it can point out our need of Jesus 52:55 who yields life to us and who alone can save us. 52:59 And so it bears testimony of our need of Jesus 53:04 that's what we find. 53:05 And the beautiful promise of 1 John 1:9 is, 53:08 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous 53:12 to forgive us our sins 53:13 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 53:17 And my friend, that's all that He requires of us 53:19 as we come to Jesus is to confess our sins. 53:25 All right, I want to share with you two bible texts. 53:28 Matthew 1:21 where it says and speaking of Jesus 53:31 talk about Mary to began with, 53:33 "And she will bear a Son, 53:35 and you shall call His name Jesus, 53:37 for it is He who will save this people from their sins." 53:41 He will do what? 53:42 He will save this people from their sins, 53:44 that's why we call Him Savior. 53:46 But what is sin that He came to save us from. 53:51 And what is the New Testament definition on sin? 53:54 Well, it's I John 3:4. 53:56 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 53:59 And you put it together. 54:00 My friend, clearly Jesus came to save us 54:02 from the transgression of the law 54:04 instead of doing away with the law, 54:06 my friend, the death of Jesus shows 54:07 how vitally important the law is for it required 54:10 the death of God's Son on the Cross of Calvary 54:15 to atone for the transgression of the law. 54:19 That doesn't do away with it. 54:24 And then I want to take you to 1 John 2:3, 4 54:27 the New Testament page is 185, 1 John 2:3, 4. 54:34 This really puts it together. 54:36 Back here not far from the Book of Revelation 54:38 a three letters written by John, 54:40 who want the first its chapter 2 looking again, 54:43 this is 3 and 4. 54:44 It says, "By this we know that we've come to know Him, 54:48 if we keep His commandments." 54:50 The one who says, "I come to know Him 54:52 and doesn't I keep His commandments, 54:53 He's a liar and the truth is not in him." 54:57 The truth is not in him. 55:00 By this we know that we come to know Him. 55:02 How does that work? 55:03 What is keeping the commandments 55:04 have anything to do with now that we know Him. 55:08 My friend, it means this. 55:10 That only the one that knows Him 55:13 is able to keep His Commandments. 55:17 You see keeping the law is not the means of our salvation. 55:21 It is the evidence of our salvation 55:26 and those who would do away with the commandments, 55:28 my friend, in effect of giving the Christian a license to sin. 55:34 That's exactly what it means. 55:35 Take a look at 1 John 5, the New Testament page 186, 55:39 1 John 5:2- 3, where John adds. 55:44 He says, "By this we know 55:46 that we love the children of God, 55:47 when we love God and observe His commandments. 55:50 For this is the love of God, 55:52 that we keep His commandments 55:53 and His commandments are not burdensome." 55:55 My friend, this is New Testament. 55:58 This comes out of saving relationship with Jesus Christ. 56:02 As I share with you the other night 56:04 relationships are powerful 56:06 but this is the most powerful of them all. 56:08 And when we enter into a personal relationship with God 56:12 through Jesus Christ it is transformational. 56:18 And my friend, it goes to the new birth experience. 56:20 What does it mean to be born again? 56:23 My friend, it means where as I haven't dominated by my sins. 56:30 It means that as I come to Jesus confessing my sins, 56:33 He forgives me, cleanse me, 56:35 He accepts me and in that process 56:37 I receive salvation and I receive the Spirit of God 56:44 that works within me, a transformation 56:48 by which I am born again. 56:51 And my friend, its all that new birth experience 56:54 that haven't been lost in sin 56:56 that we can began by His grace 56:58 to keep the commandments. 56:59 My last text, John 14:15. 57:03 "If you love Me" Jesus said, "keep My commandments." 57:06 If you love Me. |
Revised 2014-12-17