WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.140 Would you turn with me to Exodus chapter 20? 00:00:18.019 --> 00:00:20.760 Exodus chapter 20, that's page 61 in the Pew Bible. 00:00:24.740 --> 00:00:26.859 As you turn there, let me pray for us. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.980 Father, indeed, we are in awe and wonder at your majesty. 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:45.859 God, you are great and you are good and you are holy and just. 00:00:47.260 --> 00:00:51.519 And above all, you are a God who loves with an unending love. 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:58.659 As we come now to your word, Father, would we have that same awe and majesty, 00:00:58.659 --> 00:01:05.739 knowing that it is here that you, our great God, speak to us. 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:14.439 Holy Spirit, make the reading and the preaching of your word this morning effective in all of our hearts, we pray. 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:18.239 For Jesus' sake and in his name, amen. 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:18.379 Amen. 00:01:18.379 --> 00:01:27.079 Exodus chapter 20, we're looking at the second half of the Ten Commandments, focusing on verses 12 through 17. 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:30.179 But we're going to start in verse 1 to get the context. 00:01:30.420 --> 00:01:31.619 So let me read this for us. 00:01:33.459 --> 00:01:34.219 Verse 1. 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:38.019 And God spoke all these words, saying, 00:01:38.599 --> 00:01:44.599 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 00:01:46.019 --> 00:01:48.760 You shall have no other gods before me. 00:01:50.140 --> 00:01:54.819 You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, 00:01:55.280 --> 00:01:57.859 or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 00:01:57.859 --> 00:02:03.480 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, 00:02:04.359 --> 00:02:09.039 visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 00:02:09.580 --> 00:02:15.639 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 00:02:17.079 --> 00:02:19.599 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, 00:02:20.340 --> 00:02:23.159 for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:26.699 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 00:02:26.699 --> 00:02:29.439 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:32.379 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. 00:02:33.159 --> 00:02:37.319 On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, 00:02:37.899 --> 00:02:39.959 your male servant or your female servant, 00:02:40.239 --> 00:02:43.359 your livestock or the sojourner who is within your gates. 00:02:44.019 --> 00:02:46.239 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, 00:02:46.639 --> 00:02:48.379 the sea and all that is in them, 00:02:48.659 --> 00:02:50.239 and rested on the seventh day. 00:02:51.079 --> 00:02:53.579 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 00:02:53.580 --> 00:02:57.240 Honor your father and your mother, 00:02:57.940 --> 00:03:01.920 that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 00:03:03.100 --> 00:03:04.840 You shall not murder. 00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:07.920 You shall not commit adultery. 00:03:07.919 --> 00:03:10.659 You shall not steal. 00:03:11.599 --> 00:03:14.899 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 00:03:16.060 --> 00:03:18.539 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. 00:03:19.739 --> 00:03:23.799 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant 00:03:23.799 --> 00:03:29.159 or his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.960 And we'll end there. 00:03:34.180 --> 00:03:39.919 So I ran across a quote recently that went like this. 00:03:41.699 --> 00:03:47.900 Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad. 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:55.039 Those who hear not the music think the dancers mad. 00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:57.679 It's a great picture, isn't it? 00:03:58.819 --> 00:03:59.599 There you are. 00:03:59.699 --> 00:04:04.500 You're watching a room full of people spinning and gyrating and twisting and turning. 00:04:05.419 --> 00:04:12.099 And yet, without the music, they all seem, well, a little crazy. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:12.899 Right? 00:04:14.039 --> 00:04:20.219 Imagine if someone walked in this morning and just saw us all kind of spinning and bopping around in utter silence. 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:33.400 But, turn the music on and suddenly what seemed like chaos is actually shown to be choreography. 00:04:37.320 --> 00:04:40.340 As I've said, we're looking at the second half of the Ten Commandments this morning 00:04:40.340 --> 00:04:45.560 or the ten words as they're later called in Deuteronomy, the Decalogue, which is just Greek for ten words. 00:04:46.340 --> 00:04:50.120 Matt preached on the first half, commands one through four last week, and we're picking up from there. 00:04:51.140 --> 00:04:56.360 And believe it or not, what we have in the Ten Commandments is just that. 00:04:56.660 --> 00:04:57.800 It's choreography. 00:05:00.020 --> 00:05:03.880 But the trouble is, we don't hear the music. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:08.180 And so we don't see much of a dance here. 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:12.320 We just see, well, rules. 00:05:14.080 --> 00:05:19.140 And rules that increasingly seem more like madness than beauty. 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:22.360 They seem more and more like restriction than freedom. 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.199 And that's not just the case broadly, culturally. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:30.579 I think that's the case in the church, too. 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:37.979 Of course, many cultural commentators would say that there's great moral fragmentation going on around us, 00:05:38.019 --> 00:05:41.019 socially, culturally, and that is certainly a cause for concern. 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:46.560 But I think we ought to be even more concerned about the state of the church, 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:50.159 which Jesus said is supposed to be salt and light. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:58.640 And often I think we as the church aren't hearing the music and we're forgetting how to dance. 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:11.360 So what I want to try to do this morning is not give a six-point sermon where we go into all the details of commands six through ten. 00:06:11.479 --> 00:06:15.319 You know, point one, honor your father and mother, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. 00:06:15.379 --> 00:06:16.519 We're not going to do that this morning. 00:06:16.620 --> 00:06:18.399 There are good resources that do that. 00:06:18.399 --> 00:06:22.959 J.I. Packer wrote a great short book called Keeping the Ten Commandments, 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:27.179 which would be one of many good places to start if you want to kind of do an initial study. 00:06:27.659 --> 00:06:33.139 But rather than sort of analyze all the dance steps this morning, I want to try to help us hear the music. 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:36.359 And I want to do that in three ways. 00:06:37.299 --> 00:06:41.479 I want us to consider this morning the point of the Ten Commandments. 00:06:42.299 --> 00:06:45.239 And then we're going to look at the picture that's in the Ten Commandments. 00:06:45.240 --> 00:06:49.420 And then finally we're going to look at the end of the commandments. 00:06:49.740 --> 00:06:53.920 So the point and the picture and the end to try to hear this music. 00:06:54.040 --> 00:06:55.199 So first let's look at the point. 00:06:56.420 --> 00:06:59.660 And to get to the point, we have to get the context here. 00:06:59.759 --> 00:07:04.300 After all, the Ten Commandments, well, I guess they do sort of come down from heaven. 00:07:04.500 --> 00:07:05.939 But they're part of a story, right? 00:07:05.980 --> 00:07:07.560 They're buried within a story. 00:07:07.939 --> 00:07:12.379 And that story matters immensely for understanding the point of them. 00:07:12.379 --> 00:07:16.240 Go back in your Bible to chapter 19, verse 4. 00:07:16.319 --> 00:07:18.879 If you've got the pew Bible open, it's just like literally right on the other page. 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:20.759 Look at chapter 19, verse 4. 00:07:21.060 --> 00:07:25.379 This is God talking to Moses after the Exodus at the foot of Mount Sinai. 00:07:26.459 --> 00:07:27.800 That's where we're at in the story. 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:28.819 And God says this, 00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:57.560 These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel. 00:07:58.819 --> 00:08:02.480 And then right after that, God gives them the Ten Commandments. 00:08:02.759 --> 00:08:12.459 You see, God rescued Israel from slavery to be a kingdom of priests, he says. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.699 In other words, they had a calling. 00:08:16.139 --> 00:08:17.199 They had a purpose. 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:19.699 They had a mission in the world. 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:24.500 And on the one hand, that mission was to be a kingdom. 00:08:25.219 --> 00:08:26.740 That is, to be rulers. 00:08:27.639 --> 00:08:29.979 To be stewards of God's creation. 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:33.679 To be bringers of justice and peace in the world. 00:08:34.100 --> 00:08:38.519 Under God's lordship, they were meant to be agents of God's rule, of God's kingdom. 00:08:41.059 --> 00:08:42.919 But they were also meant to be priests. 00:08:42.919 --> 00:08:51.299 That is, they were meant to be the ones who directed the praise and the prayer of the creation back to its creator. 00:08:52.519 --> 00:08:55.959 Mediating the presence of God and the praise of creation. 00:08:58.299 --> 00:08:59.959 A kingdom of priests. 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:04.799 Friend, why are you here? 00:09:07.480 --> 00:09:08.599 What's your purpose? 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:12.740 Get fit. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:15.860 Make a lot of money. 00:09:17.139 --> 00:09:18.040 Grow old. 00:09:19.340 --> 00:09:19.820 Die. 00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:24.700 And in three generations or so, be basically forgotten. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:29.779 Is that what human life is for? 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:31.120 Ever thought about that? 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:38.700 Chances are, your great-grandchildren, certainly your great-great-grandchildren, will not remember you. 00:09:39.159 --> 00:09:40.639 And that's your own family. 00:09:41.879 --> 00:09:43.320 Let alone everybody else. 00:09:44.919 --> 00:09:46.600 Is that all that we're here for? 00:09:47.980 --> 00:09:48.919 To make money? 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:50.200 Exercise? 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:51.720 Take care of ourselves? 00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:54.419 And die and be forgotten? 00:09:54.419 --> 00:10:02.519 Friends, God has a much grander vision for your life. 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:19.319 The apostle Peter, in our reading from earlier in the service, says that the church, all those who are united to Christ in faith, now are carrying forward this vocation of Israel. 00:10:19.579 --> 00:10:21.099 Listen again to what Peter says. 00:10:21.100 --> 00:10:28.300 You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. 00:10:28.460 --> 00:10:29.960 That sounds familiar, right? 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:31.740 It's Exodus 19. 00:10:32.440 --> 00:10:34.080 Peter says, that's you, church. 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:40.180 That you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:42.980 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:46.180 Once you have not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 00:10:46.179 --> 00:11:04.039 What if our life was about being a kingdom of priests with an eternal aim to see creation glorify its creator and to pray with Jesus our Lord that God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:11:04.679 --> 00:11:11.579 And to be in our life together under the guidance of the Spirit, the advanced foretaste of that reality in our life together. 00:11:11.580 --> 00:11:11.680 Sure. 00:11:16.400 --> 00:11:20.060 Or we can just go back to getting fit and making money and die and being forgotten. 00:11:21.879 --> 00:11:22.940 I'll take the former. 00:11:26.860 --> 00:11:32.820 But to do that, to be this kingdom of priests, Israel needed to know what God required of them. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:39.800 They needed to know what sort of actions would appropriately embody their new life as the people of the Lord. 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:42.319 Because they didn't know this on their own. 00:11:43.779 --> 00:11:44.519 Think about it. 00:11:44.539 --> 00:11:47.500 They couldn't look to their own culture around them. 00:11:48.099 --> 00:11:50.319 Or they couldn't look back to their own history. 00:11:50.779 --> 00:11:54.559 And they couldn't sort of dig down into their own reason to try to figure this out. 00:11:55.259 --> 00:12:04.939 They needed God's revelation to know how to live in a way that was fitting as the redeemed creatures of God that they were. 00:12:07.199 --> 00:12:08.740 And that's the same for us too. 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:12.500 We need God's revelation to. 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:19.360 Because we don't know how to live how we're supposed to live merely by looking back at history. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:21.519 Whose history? 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:22.480 Which history? 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:24.139 Whose story? 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:24.840 Which story? 00:12:26.200 --> 00:12:27.919 Or looking out to our culture? 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:29.779 Which culture? 00:12:31.560 --> 00:12:34.460 Or looking into our reason alone? 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:39.500 Friends, we need God to tell us how to be God's people. 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:46.300 How to live into this thrilling calling as his rulers and priests. 00:12:46.299 --> 00:12:53.279 And part of that revelation that God graciously gives us is the Ten Commandments. 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:59.699 And so you see the Ten Commandments aren't sort of these arbitrary rules. 00:12:59.699 --> 00:13:02.839 Or these sort of free floating moral maxims. 00:13:02.879 --> 00:13:07.939 Or this sort of hammer that's supposed to come down and sort of shape up the pagan society. 00:13:08.100 --> 00:13:08.339 No. 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:11.579 One commentator put it this way. 00:13:11.639 --> 00:13:11.860 He said, 00:13:11.860 --> 00:13:26.980 And part of what that means is that it's a life of freedom. 00:13:26.980 --> 00:13:30.759 Look back at the beginning of chapter 20. 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:34.220 God spoke all these words saying, 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:40.259 I'm the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 00:13:41.920 --> 00:13:43.759 God's saying to them and to us, 00:13:44.379 --> 00:13:46.840 You're no longer slaves. 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:52.500 So how then do we live in the freedom that God has given us? 00:13:52.920 --> 00:13:56.580 Are we going to live like we learned to live in Egypt, in slavery? 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.519 Or are we going to live in the real, true freedom of God? 00:14:01.300 --> 00:14:04.960 And the Ten Commandments show us what real freedom is. 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:08.620 Think about the Ten Commandments in turn. 00:14:09.580 --> 00:14:10.460 What are they saying? 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:13.160 It's freedom from. 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:15.660 Tick through them, false gods. 00:14:15.659 --> 00:14:18.159 Freedom from false worship. 00:14:18.939 --> 00:14:20.539 Freedom from irreverence. 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:26.579 Freedom from endless work and generational strife. 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:32.240 Freedom from murder and hate and adultery and theft and slander and coveting. 00:14:33.100 --> 00:14:34.759 Freedom from all those things. 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:40.019 And freedom for knowing the living and true God. 00:14:41.459 --> 00:14:43.620 And enjoying true worship. 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:45.759 And deep reverence and awe. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:48.360 Freedom for rest. 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:50.220 And familial peace. 00:14:50.600 --> 00:14:54.240 And life and love and generosity and truth. 00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.740 And to crown it all off joyful contentment. 00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:03.139 It's freedom. 00:15:03.139 --> 00:15:13.480 And what's more, if the Ten Commandments are part of the covenant, the binding agreement that the great king, the Lord, makes with his people, 00:15:13.480 --> 00:15:18.679 then what we're talking about here is the image of God, is the kingdom of God. 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:22.059 The rule of God. 00:15:22.059 --> 00:15:29.000 And what we know is that the life of the kingdom is the life of God's new creation. 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:33.419 After all, Israel has come through the waters. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:35.419 They're headed to the promised land. 00:15:35.819 --> 00:15:37.259 God's going to dwell in their midst. 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:42.679 They are a foretaste, a pointer of what it means to be a new creation people. 00:15:42.679 --> 00:15:49.179 And they're meant to be a people living out on earth what is true in heaven. 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:53.239 After all, friends, imagine a world. 00:15:55.079 --> 00:15:57.539 Imagine a world with absolutely no murder. 00:15:59.299 --> 00:16:00.739 And no adultery. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:04.039 Imagine a world with no theft. 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:06.620 And no false witnessing. 00:16:07.500 --> 00:16:09.120 Imagine a world with no coveting. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:13.460 Wouldn't that be heaven on earth? 00:16:15.340 --> 00:16:16.980 Or at least a foretaste of it. 00:16:22.200 --> 00:16:26.960 Now, there are many things in the law of Moses that no longer apply to New Testament Christians. 00:16:26.960 --> 00:16:31.980 There were civil laws that regulated Israel's life as a nation state, as a political entity. 00:16:31.980 --> 00:16:35.820 We'll get into some of those in the next couple of weeks in chapters 21 and 22 of Exodus. 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:43.560 And there were ceremonial laws that regulated Israel's worship and that distinguished them visibly from the surrounding nations of the time. 00:16:43.680 --> 00:16:46.040 Things like clean and unclean foods and circumcision. 00:16:46.540 --> 00:16:51.600 But when we come to the New Testament, we see that those civil and those ceremonial laws are no longer in force. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:52.560 Why? 00:16:54.580 --> 00:16:59.160 Well, the answer that is given again and again in the New Testament is because Christ has come. 00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:03.860 And he has fulfilled the ceremonies through his death and resurrection. 00:17:04.440 --> 00:17:15.659 And he has transformed the people of God from being a particular nation state into now an international spiritual family made up of people from every tribe and tongue and nation. 00:17:15.779 --> 00:17:18.579 It's a transnational movement, the church. 00:17:18.579 --> 00:17:26.480 You see, the civil and ceremonial laws were sort of like flashlights shining on the path, pointing the way forward. 00:17:27.879 --> 00:17:30.980 But then the dawn broke and the sun came up. 00:17:33.179 --> 00:17:38.839 And when the sun comes up, you can turn off your flashlight because you don't need it anymore. 00:17:38.839 --> 00:17:44.319 But there's a moral law that God gives. 00:17:45.419 --> 00:17:52.779 And these laws teach us God's unchanging character and what it means to love God and love our neighbor as ourself. 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:57.699 And these laws, we find, are actually reaffirmed in the New Testament. 00:17:58.519 --> 00:18:06.480 And they're still an abiding guide for the church as we live into our renewed calling to be a kingdom of priests in the world. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:14.460 To proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light, as the Apostle Peter puts it. 00:18:17.279 --> 00:18:21.079 Now, next Sunday, Pastor Greg's going to teach a Sunday school class at 9 a.m. 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:23.660 all about interpreting the Old Testament laws. 00:18:23.779 --> 00:18:30.039 So, if you want to do a deeper dive into some of the nuances of understanding all the varied parts of the Old Testament law today, 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.579 come to Sunday school next week at 9 o'clock. 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:38.539 And, in fact, that class is going to kick off a whole summer course that we're doing on reading and understanding the Old Testament 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:41.639 and especially reading and understanding the Bible with Christ at the center. 00:18:42.399 --> 00:18:45.960 And Alex Sherman is going to be back from seminary and he's going to be teaching that class. 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:49.259 So, make a point to come to Sunday school next week at 9. 00:18:49.980 --> 00:18:50.339 Got it? 00:18:51.619 --> 00:18:52.059 Good. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:52.779 Okay. 00:18:53.099 --> 00:18:53.819 Commercial break over. 00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:55.359 Back to the Ten Commandments. 00:18:55.539 --> 00:18:56.460 What's the point? 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:58.380 Here's the point. 00:18:58.980 --> 00:19:07.500 That these commandments that we're so familiar with, honor your father and mother, don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't bear false witness, don't covenant. 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:11.759 They're part of a story for us. 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:19.620 The point is that they are ways in which we live out our calling to display God's glory in the world. 00:19:19.619 --> 00:19:26.119 To be kings and priests of the new creation right in the midst of the old. 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:31.719 To be the on earth as it is in heaven people as Jesus taught us to pray. 00:19:33.919 --> 00:19:37.219 So, you see, these Ten Commandments aren't the way that we win God's favor. 00:19:37.359 --> 00:19:38.659 No, God's already done that. 00:19:38.839 --> 00:19:40.959 He's already given us his favor by his grace. 00:19:41.419 --> 00:19:44.500 I've taken you out of slavery already, God says in verse 2. 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:47.380 Now, here's how you live into that freedom. 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:51.079 Here's how you take up that mission in the world that I have for you. 00:19:53.940 --> 00:19:56.460 So, you're starting to hear the music just a little bit. 00:19:59.019 --> 00:20:06.160 The point of the Ten Commandments is to direct the life of the redeemed people of God to display the glory of God in the world that he has made. 00:20:06.259 --> 00:20:07.059 They're the script. 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:08.500 They're the marching orders. 00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:13.500 They're the sheet music for the kingdom of priests that we are as the church, as the people of God. 00:20:14.500 --> 00:20:17.740 But there's more. 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:24.359 How exactly do the commands help us fulfill that vocation and that mission? 00:20:26.380 --> 00:20:32.880 And to hear that further part of the music, we have to consider not just the point of the Ten Commandments, 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:35.920 but we have to look at the picture in the Ten Commandments. 00:20:35.920 --> 00:20:45.759 Now, I know I'm changing metaphors here, but imagine the Ten Commandments now as ten brushstrokes on a canvas or ten lines across a page. 00:20:47.720 --> 00:20:51.340 Now, it's often said that the first four commandments focus on our relationship to God, 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:54.940 and the next six commandments focus on our relationship to one another, to our neighbor. 00:20:55.420 --> 00:20:59.120 We're to love God in commands one through four, tell us basically how to do that. 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:03.500 And we're to love our neighbor as ourself in commands five through ten, tell us how to do that. 00:21:04.279 --> 00:21:07.579 And Jesus himself said that the whole law could be summarized in those two commands, 00:21:07.679 --> 00:21:11.479 to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourself. 00:21:11.480 --> 00:21:18.980 But as we take these Ten Commandments, these ten brushstrokes painted across the canvas, 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:22.420 whose picture do we see? 00:21:26.360 --> 00:21:32.920 The picture is ultimately the picture not of us, but of God. 00:21:35.500 --> 00:21:40.960 You see, these commandments flow out from the very nature of God, 00:21:40.960 --> 00:21:42.579 from who God is. 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:46.059 And that's why God is glorified as we live them out. 00:21:46.360 --> 00:21:51.700 That's why God is seen and known as the great God that he is when we live our lives this way, 00:21:51.759 --> 00:21:56.059 because the commands all picture God's own beauty and glory. 00:21:58.140 --> 00:21:59.840 So think about the fifth commandment. 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:01.840 Honor your father and mother. 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:06.480 It's about respecting the rightful authorities in your life. 00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:13.579 And there are lots of tricky issues that come up as we become adults about what it means to honor our parents, 00:22:13.620 --> 00:22:16.440 even if we don't necessarily obey them anymore, etc., etc. 00:22:17.579 --> 00:22:21.519 And that's a good question to parse out with godly friends and mentors if you're facing it. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:30.779 But what shines through this commandment is ultimately God's own authority as our heavenly and good Father. 00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:34.379 His authority which is always good and always just. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:37.639 And it's an authority that brings flourishing to those under it. 00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:42.019 The Apostle Paul points out that this is the first commandment with a promise, he says. 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:47.000 Honor your father and mother that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:53.359 Now, that's not a promise of individual long life in return for treating your parents well. 00:22:55.160 --> 00:23:02.079 Rather, it's a promise to the people as a whole that they will dwell in the promised land for generations and generations 00:23:02.079 --> 00:23:06.480 as they honor their parents and the other rightful authorities in their lives. 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:16.660 And this promise is a sign of God's own good authority that brings eternal flourishing to those who are under it. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:22.420 So in the fifth commandment, we see a picture of God's own good authority. 00:23:22.500 --> 00:23:23.440 How about the sixth commandment? 00:23:23.500 --> 00:23:24.279 You shall not murder. 00:23:25.339 --> 00:23:28.000 This commandment forbids taking innocent human life. 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:32.519 And ultimately, it's a picture of God who is the Lord and the giver of life, is it not? 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:34.559 He decides when life will begin and end. 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.480 He creates and sustains and determines the end. 00:23:37.660 --> 00:23:39.000 He's sovereign over life and death. 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:42.119 In fact, God is life himself. 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:47.459 The seventh commandment, you shall not commit adultery. 00:23:47.619 --> 00:23:50.419 It's a command for fidelity within marriage. 00:23:50.539 --> 00:23:56.059 More broadly, it's a command for us to order our sexual lives according to God's will and not our own. 00:23:57.059 --> 00:24:00.439 But ultimately, is it not a picture of God's own faithfulness? 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:05.899 That when God makes a covenant, he does not break it. 00:24:05.900 --> 00:24:10.140 That he is ever trustworthy, ever committed. 00:24:10.820 --> 00:24:13.880 That God will never turn his back on his own. 00:24:14.259 --> 00:24:20.040 That he'll never shame or exchange his people, his bride, his spouse for another. 00:24:21.940 --> 00:24:24.100 The eighth commandment, you shall not steal. 00:24:25.220 --> 00:24:29.620 A command to respect and uphold what rightfully belongs to others and not to take it for oneself. 00:24:30.220 --> 00:24:33.040 It's a picture of God's rightful ownership of everything. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.119 Everything belongs to God. 00:24:36.200 --> 00:24:40.299 And this command also, if you look at it the right way, is also a picture of God's generosity. 00:24:41.319 --> 00:24:44.819 That he gives us everything that we have and need. 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.759 God is our provider. 00:24:46.920 --> 00:24:47.879 He will take care of us. 00:24:47.940 --> 00:24:51.019 So we need not take what isn't ours. 00:24:54.159 --> 00:24:57.879 The ninth commandment, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 00:24:57.879 --> 00:25:02.440 Specifically, this commandment forbids misrepresenting the facts in a court case. 00:25:03.039 --> 00:25:08.819 More broadly, it upholds the importance of truth speaking, of not deceiving or flattering one another. 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:15.700 But it's a picture of God's own utter truthfulness. 00:25:17.420 --> 00:25:18.200 Psalm 13 says, 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:25.579 The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times. 00:25:25.579 --> 00:25:31.539 All that God is and says and does is utterly reliable, utterly true. 00:25:32.699 --> 00:25:35.779 There's not a speck of deceit in God. 00:25:37.939 --> 00:25:39.579 And last, the tenth commandment. 00:25:40.339 --> 00:25:42.139 You shall not covet your neighbor's house. 00:25:44.339 --> 00:25:47.279 This commandment is really all about contentment, isn't it? 00:25:47.279 --> 00:25:52.899 Don't desire, don't want what belongs to someone else. 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:58.920 Longing and grasping out at it in your heart as if that is what will make your life whole or better. 00:25:59.059 --> 00:25:59.920 Rather, be content. 00:26:04.139 --> 00:26:08.819 And is that not a picture of God who is utterly sufficient in himself? 00:26:08.819 --> 00:26:20.359 Have you considered, friends, that God has no lack and no need and no what we would call craving for something he doesn't have? 00:26:21.939 --> 00:26:24.359 God doesn't create the world because he's lonely. 00:26:27.339 --> 00:26:32.279 God creates and redeems in an overflow of his sufficiency and fullness and love. 00:26:32.399 --> 00:26:34.319 God is a God of wholeness and peace. 00:26:34.399 --> 00:26:37.000 But above all, God is a God of joy. 00:26:37.000 --> 00:26:37.039 God is a God of joy. 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:42.119 It is impossible for God to covet. 00:26:42.579 --> 00:26:46.839 Because God is the fullness of joy in and of himself. 00:26:50.519 --> 00:26:53.179 And so take a step back from the canvas. 00:26:53.799 --> 00:26:55.879 Look at those brush strokes all together. 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:59.039 Authority and life. 00:27:00.139 --> 00:27:01.700 Faithfulness and generosity. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:03.399 Truthfulness and joy. 00:27:03.400 --> 00:27:10.340 The Ten Commandments are a picture of the character and nature of God. 00:27:12.460 --> 00:27:17.340 And they're meant to be the means whereby we hold up that picture to one another and to the world. 00:27:17.339 --> 00:27:21.199 So it's not just about following rules. 00:27:22.119 --> 00:27:23.959 It's certainly not about earning God's salvation. 00:27:24.099 --> 00:27:28.259 It's about fulfilling the mission God's given us to display his glory. 00:27:28.259 --> 00:27:39.819 But still, it can all still seem a little mad. 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:40.920 Can't it? 00:27:43.279 --> 00:27:49.779 Are we really to stay faithful in a marriage even when we've completely fallen out of love? 00:27:50.279 --> 00:27:54.579 And even if we've mutually agreed and consented to be open to seeing other people, 00:27:54.579 --> 00:27:55.720 what is the harm in that? 00:27:59.659 --> 00:28:04.679 Are we really expected to be truthful all of the time? 00:28:05.639 --> 00:28:07.500 I mean, that can be quite costly, you know. 00:28:08.699 --> 00:28:09.779 I could lose a friendship. 00:28:10.799 --> 00:28:11.980 I could lose a promotion. 00:28:11.980 --> 00:28:18.759 The music still isn't playing loud enough yet. 00:28:20.640 --> 00:28:24.079 We need to see more than just the point and the picture of the Ten Commandments. 00:28:24.180 --> 00:28:27.759 We have to see the end to really get it. 00:28:29.519 --> 00:28:31.579 So what is the end of the law? 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:36.860 Well, I think to get there, let's start with that last commandment. 00:28:37.640 --> 00:28:39.019 You shall not covet. 00:28:39.019 --> 00:28:45.099 You know, I think it's easy to tick through the commandments and feel as if we're doing pretty good. 00:28:46.519 --> 00:28:48.259 Have I murdered anyone today? 00:28:49.519 --> 00:28:49.920 Nope. 00:28:51.319 --> 00:28:52.920 Have I committed adultery today? 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:54.539 Also no. 00:28:55.220 --> 00:28:56.400 Have I stolen anything? 00:28:57.319 --> 00:28:57.759 No. 00:28:58.920 --> 00:29:00.920 Have I given false witness against my neighbor? 00:29:01.700 --> 00:29:02.440 Also no. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:04.279 Hey, I'm doing pretty good. 00:29:06.279 --> 00:29:06.980 How about you? 00:29:06.980 --> 00:29:07.000 How about you? 00:29:09.019 --> 00:29:09.639 Pretty good. 00:29:11.579 --> 00:29:12.200 Last one. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:13.900 How about coveting? 00:29:16.879 --> 00:29:18.519 Things get a little different here, don't they? 00:29:20.819 --> 00:29:24.200 Now we're talking about not just external actions and behaviors. 00:29:24.920 --> 00:29:27.220 We're talking about the desires of the heart. 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:33.839 Have I ever wanted something someone else has? 00:29:36.440 --> 00:29:37.539 Their house? 00:29:38.440 --> 00:29:39.100 Their job? 00:29:39.779 --> 00:29:40.940 Their reputation? 00:29:41.779 --> 00:29:42.900 Their physique? 00:29:43.779 --> 00:29:44.819 Their humor? 00:29:45.860 --> 00:29:47.000 Their intellect? 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:47.920 Their kids? 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:49.759 Their life? 00:29:49.759 --> 00:29:50.259 Their life? 00:29:50.259 --> 00:29:50.420 Their life? 00:29:53.420 --> 00:29:54.460 It's very interesting. 00:29:54.619 --> 00:30:05.400 In Romans chapter 7, Paul quotes this commandment as the one that woke him up to the depth of what was really going on in his own heart. 00:30:05.400 --> 00:30:08.940 And to the depth of the nature of sin. 00:30:12.780 --> 00:30:15.980 You see, friends, the law exposes us, doesn't it? 00:30:16.320 --> 00:30:19.680 Yes, it sets before us a glorious calling. 00:30:19.680 --> 00:30:22.720 It invites us to bear God's image in the world. 00:30:22.860 --> 00:30:32.259 But when we get to the end, we are at the same time exposed as lawbreakers who need forgiveness. 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:38.940 After all, the command not to murder, Jesus says, isn't just about murder. 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:41.299 That's also about your heart too. 00:30:41.379 --> 00:30:44.000 Do you harbor hatred and bitterness towards others? 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:47.879 That's a breach of the sixth command. 00:30:49.960 --> 00:30:51.759 And the command not to commit adultery. 00:30:52.160 --> 00:30:54.819 That one also points to a deeper heart problem, Jesus says. 00:30:54.879 --> 00:30:57.160 Do you look lustfully at other people who aren't your spouse? 00:30:57.160 --> 00:31:06.720 No, we might not be murderers or adulterers or thieves or perpetual liars, but our hearts still aren't right. 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:19.180 And face to face with that tenth commandment, we see that we want and we want and we want and we covet and we covet and we covet and we covet. 00:31:19.180 --> 00:31:22.240 And even if we get it, we're never satisfied. 00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:29.220 So what is the end of the law? 00:31:30.140 --> 00:31:31.540 Is it merely exposure? 00:31:32.440 --> 00:31:37.800 Is it merely showing us that we're guilty failures in this great mission that God has given us? 00:31:40.040 --> 00:31:50.640 Is there any good news for lawbreakers who've taken God's mission and treated it poorly and gone to smash? 00:31:50.640 --> 00:32:00.880 In Matthew 5, in the same chapter where Jesus says that the sixth commandment about murder also applies to bitterness and anger, 00:32:01.000 --> 00:32:03.580 and the seventh commandment about adultery also applies to lust, 00:32:03.600 --> 00:32:05.120 in that same chapter Jesus says, 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:09.340 do not think that I've come to abolish the law or the prophets. 00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:14.660 I've not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:21.759 You see, Jesus doesn't relax any of God's commands. 00:32:21.880 --> 00:32:23.080 In fact, he does just the opposite. 00:32:23.360 --> 00:32:24.360 He intensifies them. 00:32:25.220 --> 00:32:28.800 And yet, he also fulfills them. 00:32:31.640 --> 00:32:35.259 You see, there was only one human being in all of history 00:32:35.259 --> 00:32:39.180 who honored his father and mother his entire life. 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:45.759 There was only one who never spoke a word from unjust anger, 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:47.700 and never one, 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:51.500 and only one who never looked at another person with lust in his heart, 00:32:52.060 --> 00:32:54.259 who never stole, who never lied, 00:32:54.880 --> 00:32:56.240 and who never coveted. 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:02.660 And that one human was the God-man, Jesus Christ, 00:33:03.299 --> 00:33:07.460 who didn't merely keep the law for his own sake, 00:33:07.460 --> 00:33:10.380 but did it for our sake, 00:33:10.880 --> 00:33:12.840 for his people's sake, 00:33:13.420 --> 00:33:16.299 for the sake of lawbreakers. 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:20.420 And his obedience on our behalf, 00:33:21.460 --> 00:33:25.220 his persistence in the mission that God had given him, 00:33:25.539 --> 00:33:30.220 ultimately led him not to public acclaim and favor, 00:33:30.860 --> 00:33:34.519 but to the worst that these Ten Commandments picture. 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:39.299 His faithfulness to the mission of his father led him to scorn, 00:33:40.059 --> 00:33:40.660 and hatred, 00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:42.299 and arrest, 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:44.539 and false accusation, 00:33:45.119 --> 00:33:46.000 to scourging, 00:33:46.440 --> 00:33:47.799 and to crucifixion. 00:33:52.619 --> 00:33:54.639 You know, as we've been walking through the book of Exodus, 00:33:55.400 --> 00:33:59.460 it can sometimes seem like the Exodus from Egypt didn't seem so costly, did it? 00:33:59.460 --> 00:34:01.940 I mean, God just lifted his hand, as it were, 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.940 and the plagues came, 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:04.019 and the waters parted, 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:05.019 and the manna appeared, 00:34:05.100 --> 00:34:06.340 and the mountains smoked with fire. 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:11.619 But looking at the cross, friends, 00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:13.119 do you see what it cost God 00:34:13.119 --> 00:34:15.300 to set you free from your sin, 00:34:15.740 --> 00:34:16.760 from your lawbreaking? 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:18.300 In love, 00:34:18.400 --> 00:34:20.619 Jesus died under the law's curse 00:34:20.619 --> 00:34:23.079 so that you could come under the Father's blessing. 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:26.259 Jesus made a new covenant with us, 00:34:27.000 --> 00:34:30.559 and God provided in Christ, 00:34:31.039 --> 00:34:32.659 God supplied in Christ 00:34:32.659 --> 00:34:35.139 what he had demanded in Moses, 00:34:35.900 --> 00:34:36.319 righteousness. 00:34:38.079 --> 00:34:39.199 And on the third day, 00:34:39.259 --> 00:34:42.000 Jesus rose in power to show that the law had been satisfied, 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:43.960 and to give a new status, 00:34:44.159 --> 00:34:46.940 and a new life to everyone who believes. 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:51.440 So why do we keep the law? 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:54.360 Why do we participate in this madness? 00:34:58.119 --> 00:35:00.099 Because it's not madness, you see. 00:35:01.700 --> 00:35:04.940 Listen to the music of the gospel that's playing, 00:35:05.440 --> 00:35:07.360 that Christ has died for you 00:35:07.360 --> 00:35:08.960 to meet the law's demands, 00:35:09.280 --> 00:35:11.280 and to free you from the penalty of sin. 00:35:11.519 --> 00:35:14.539 How could you not trust that same Jesus 00:35:14.539 --> 00:35:16.720 to lead you in the way of real freedom? 00:35:16.719 --> 00:35:18.339 How could we not take up our cross 00:35:18.339 --> 00:35:19.899 and follow such a one? 00:35:23.319 --> 00:35:24.059 You see, friends, 00:35:24.079 --> 00:35:24.839 at the end of the day, 00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:26.059 grace is the music, 00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:29.719 and these commands become the dance steps. 00:35:30.619 --> 00:35:31.879 And yes, with each step, 00:35:31.980 --> 00:35:34.679 we realize afresh that our sins are great. 00:35:35.319 --> 00:35:36.379 But with each step, 00:35:36.439 --> 00:35:40.039 we remember that Christ is an even greater Savior. 00:35:43.039 --> 00:35:45.199 And so in obedience to God's commands, 00:35:45.199 --> 00:35:46.919 we aren't just displaying God's character. 00:35:47.279 --> 00:35:52.199 We're showing how great and how worthy Jesus is. 00:35:52.199 --> 00:35:59.019 How do you show the world you love someone? 00:36:01.439 --> 00:36:03.859 Usually people do all sorts of costly and crazy things, 00:36:03.919 --> 00:36:04.259 don't they? 00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:07.619 They spray paint names on bridges. 00:36:08.960 --> 00:36:10.239 Ever wondered how they do that? 00:36:10.379 --> 00:36:11.439 Do they hang upside down? 00:36:11.939 --> 00:36:14.279 Are they really good at spray painting upside down? 00:36:14.899 --> 00:36:16.699 Do they have a really big ladder in the middle of the night 00:36:16.699 --> 00:36:17.739 when no one's driving on the road? 00:36:20.179 --> 00:36:21.779 People get tattoos on their arms. 00:36:22.719 --> 00:36:23.339 That's serious. 00:36:24.279 --> 00:36:25.460 I mean, when you're dating someone 00:36:25.460 --> 00:36:26.859 and you get a tattoo on your arm 00:36:26.859 --> 00:36:27.799 of that person's name, 00:36:27.939 --> 00:36:28.599 like that is, 00:36:29.099 --> 00:36:30.139 that's serious. 00:36:30.319 --> 00:36:31.039 What if you break up? 00:36:31.480 --> 00:36:32.379 That's a lot of commitment. 00:36:34.859 --> 00:36:36.279 People buy lavish gifts. 00:36:37.739 --> 00:36:39.799 People do all sorts of crazy and costly things 00:36:39.799 --> 00:36:40.599 when you love someone. 00:36:40.599 --> 00:36:44.980 Jesus says in the Gospel of John, 00:36:45.079 --> 00:36:45.900 if you love me, 00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:47.940 keep my commandments. 00:36:49.299 --> 00:36:50.579 Come follow me. 00:36:51.860 --> 00:36:54.019 It might be hard at times, yes, 00:36:54.460 --> 00:36:56.319 but trust me, the Lord says, 00:36:56.400 --> 00:36:57.980 this way of the cross 00:36:57.980 --> 00:37:00.500 is also the way of glory. 00:37:01.319 --> 00:37:04.219 The glory of being my kingdom of priests, 00:37:04.360 --> 00:37:05.420 my image bearers, 00:37:05.659 --> 00:37:06.719 my new creation. 00:37:07.420 --> 00:37:08.039 Jesus is saying, 00:37:08.119 --> 00:37:09.759 come join the dance with me. 00:37:11.360 --> 00:37:13.019 And let's show this world 00:37:13.019 --> 00:37:14.119 what our God is like, 00:37:14.440 --> 00:37:15.139 what I'm like. 00:37:17.779 --> 00:37:18.599 Let's pray. 00:37:26.940 --> 00:37:29.039 Let's pause just a moment together 00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:33.799 and think through these commandments 00:37:33.799 --> 00:37:35.400 we've considered this morning 00:37:35.400 --> 00:37:39.539 and their call to love our neighbor as ourself. 00:37:40.599 --> 00:37:42.159 And let's take a moment 00:37:42.159 --> 00:37:43.279 in the quiet of our hearts 00:37:43.279 --> 00:37:44.699 to confess to God 00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:47.980 that we've fallen so far short 00:37:47.980 --> 00:37:49.599 of the heart of these commands. 00:37:49.599 --> 00:38:02.019 Our Father, we thank you 00:38:02.019 --> 00:38:04.619 that you do show us 00:38:04.619 --> 00:38:05.920 what it means to live for you. 00:38:07.019 --> 00:38:07.940 But more than that, 00:38:08.000 --> 00:38:09.179 you show us what you're like 00:38:09.179 --> 00:38:10.759 and you've given us a savior 00:38:10.759 --> 00:38:11.799 to forgive us 00:38:11.799 --> 00:38:13.380 and to equip us 00:38:13.380 --> 00:38:14.279 and empower us 00:38:14.279 --> 00:38:15.539 for being your people in the world. 00:38:15.539 --> 00:38:16.079 Oh Lord, 00:38:16.139 --> 00:38:17.559 would we run 00:38:17.559 --> 00:38:18.539 in the path 00:38:18.539 --> 00:38:19.539 of your commands 00:38:19.539 --> 00:38:20.920 because you have set 00:38:20.920 --> 00:38:22.079 our hearts free 00:38:22.079 --> 00:38:23.279 as the psalmist says. 00:38:25.219 --> 00:38:26.699 Be with us this week, Lord. 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:28.179 May we do that 00:38:28.179 --> 00:38:28.779 in the strength 00:38:28.779 --> 00:38:29.599 that you provide 00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:31.380 arm in arm 00:38:31.380 --> 00:38:32.019 with one another 00:38:32.019 --> 00:38:32.679 as your church. 00:38:32.779 --> 00:38:34.079 We pray this in Jesus' name. 00:38:34.279 --> 00:38:34.559 Amen. 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:37.440 Well friends, 00:38:37.480 --> 00:38:37.980 as we've been saying 00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:38.800 the Ten Commandments 00:38:38.800 --> 00:38:39.480 are about displaying 00:38:39.480 --> 00:38:40.440 the glory of Christ, 00:38:40.559 --> 00:38:41.619 so why don't we stand together 00:38:41.619 --> 00:38:42.779 and let's sing 00:38:42.779 --> 00:38:43.539 and praise God 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:44.219 for his greatness.