By Pastor K. Bruce Oyen
My theme is, “Practical lessons from the 10 commandments.”
Some portions of the Bible are composed of very involved theology. An example is Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which is sometimes called, “The Charter Of Christian Liberty.” Other portions of the Bible are more practical in nature. This is true of the 10 commandments. Though the letter to the Galatians has to do, ultimately, with daily Christian living, it is complicated and involved in its argumentation of its subject. Not so with the 10 commandments. They get right to the point. They are, for the most part, easily understood. They are, figuratively speaking, spiritual hay put down on the barn floor where we can easily get to it. They are like lessons put on a chalkboard in plain English for all to read and understand. Therefore, let us consider some practical lessons from them. All quotes from the Bible are from the ESV (English Standard Version), unless otherwise noted.
1. They reveal that God knows we need specific directions for daily living.
Well-taught Christians believe in divine revelation. That is, they believe God has revealed certain things about himself. This divine revelation has come to us in two ways: 1) through general revelation, and 2) through special revelation.
General revelation from God comes from two sources: 1) nature, and 2) conscience. The Bible gives examples of general revelation from both sources. For example, Romans 1:18 - 32 tells about the role nature and conscience have in our moral decisions. Verses 19 and 20 clearly state that some things can be known about God from the universe which he created. Consequently, these verses tell us, the worship of false gods is condemned. Romans 1:24 - 27 state that homosexuality is known to be wrong because it is contrary to nature. That is, our conscience tells us some activities are wrong because they are contrary to how God designed the human body to be used. So, what we can learn from this passage in Romans is that we don’t need a list of commands from God on paper to know right from wrong on some subjects.
Psalm 19:1 speaks to this matter of nature giving us some revelation about God. It says: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” As we contemplate the universe in which we live, we should come to the conclusion that God made it all. Moreover, we should conclude that God is omnipotent, for it took almighty power to bring the universe into existence. We should also conclude that God must be of infinite intelligence and wisdom to design this complex universe.
So, we are thankful for what nature and conscience reveal to us. But we need more than general revelation. We need special revelation, too, for by it God unmistakably reveals to us what we would otherwise only be able to guess at. And our guesses can be seriously wrong!
Christians who believe in special revelation believe that special revelation is confined to the Lord Jesus Christ and to one book, and that book is the Bible. In the Bible, we find divine directions for daily living. God’s Book speaks directly to many subjects relating to morality (how we should behave) and theology (what we should believe). God has not left us to ourselves to determine right from wrong. Rather, he has put in the Bible what he considers to be right and wrong behavior. We can turn to many places in the Bible for God’s directions for daily living. The book of Proverbs and the letter of James are two examples of this fact. But so are the 10 commandments.
What directions for daily living do we find the 10 commandments? Consider these 7:
1) God says “You shall have no other gods before me.”
2) God says “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.”
3) God says “You shall not murder."
4) God says “You shall not commit adultery.”
5) God says “You shall not steal.”
6) God says “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
7) God says “You shall not covet.”
Yes, God knows we need specific directions for daily living. Let us be thankful he has given them to us. Let us follow them. Our lives will go much better if we “follow the directions.” Without them, we will be like blind persons helplessly wandering about with no one guiding them.
2. The 10 commandments are introduced with God’s authority behind them.
Exodus 20:1 introduces these commands with this statement: “And God spoke all these words, saying….” If the 10 commands were simply the ideas of Moses, the people to whom they were given would have had the right to question them and to ignore them because it would have been his word against theirs, so to speak. But God, the Ultimate Authority, gave these commands to Moses to give them to the people. Therefore, God’s Word was to be taken seriously. It was to be obeyed.
Exodus 20:1 introduces these commands with this statement: “And God spoke all these words, saying….” If the 10 commands were simply the ideas of Moses, the people to whom they were given would have had the right to question them and to ignore them because it would have been his word against theirs, so to speak. But God, the Ultimate Authority, gave these commands to Moses to give them to the people. Therefore, God’s Word was to be taken seriously. It was to be obeyed.
If we have the right opinion of the whole Bible, that is, if we believe all of it to be of divine origin, we will accept the fact that all of it has God’s authority behind it, not just the 10 commands or some other part of it. 2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” not just some of it.
The world runs more smoothly when its inhabitants submit to human authority, within reason, of course. Children should submit to parents. Students should submit to teachers. Teachers should submit to administrators. Drivers should submit to driving laws. Soldiers should submit to superiors. The list could go on. But the point is, when we submit to reasonable human authority, life goes more smoothly.
The same is true in the moral and spiritual part of life. When we submit to God’s laws, found in the Bible, life goes more smoothly. And Christians have plenty of laws to obey. They are not only to obey civil laws, but also divine laws. Shortly before he returned to heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ gave instructions to his apostles. And these instructions were to have had an impact on the lives of all Christians since then. The Lord’s instructions are found in Matthew 28:18 - 20. Here is what he said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We see here that the apostles were commanded to teach Christians to obey the Lord’s commands.
What the Lord has told us to do is found in the pages of the New Testament, and comes with his own divine authority behind those commands. When they are followed, we experience peace and happiness. As the Gospel song says, “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”
Christians find many commands in the New Testament to obey. But to give just one example, consider Romans chapter 12. It has only 21 verses, but many commands are in them. How many commands do you find in verses 9 - 13? The verses say: “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”
Yes, the 10 commands are introduced with God’s authority behind them. But the same is true of the whole Bible. We have no right to ignore any command that applies to us as Christians.
3. The 10 commands reveal our need for both negative and positive commands from God.
These commands are a combination of negative and positive statements, and show that we need a combination of the two for a balanced Christian life. Eight of them are negative. That is, they prohibit certain activities.
The 8 negative ones are these: 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. They say:
1) “You shall have no other gods before me.”
2) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image……..”
3) “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain……”
6) “You shall not murder.’
7) “You shall not commit adultery.”
8) “You shall not steal.”
9) “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
10) “You shall not covet………”
The 2 positive commands are numbers 4 and 5. They say:
4) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…….”
5) “Honor your father and your mother……”
We see this same combination of negatives and positives in many other places in the Bible. For example, Psalm 1, sometimes called “The Psalm Of The Blessed Man,” tells us what he doesn’t do and what he does do.
What doesn’t he do?
1) He doesn’t walk in the counsel of the ungodly.”
2) He doesn’t stand in the way of sinners.
3) He doesn’t sit in the seat of scoffers.
What does he do?
1) He delights in the law of the LORD.
2) He meditates on God’s law day and night.
It is significant that Psalm 1 not only presents the negative and positive actions of the blessed man, but it contrasts him with the wicked man. And in so doing it shows the positive results that come to the blessed man and the negative results that come to the wicked man.
Another illustration of this use of positives and negatives can be taken from 1 Peter, chapter 2. Note how Peter alternates between the two in verses 1, 2, and 3, which say: “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.“ (KJV) Now note how he does the same in verses 11 and 12, which say: “Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts , which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (KJV)
The 10 commands and other Biblical statements reveal our need for both positives and negatives in the Christian life. Let us, therefore, thank God for giving us a balanced combination of “You should do this” and “You shouldn’t do that” statements.
4. The 10 commands teach us that, when our hearts are right with God, his commands are not a burden but a blessing.
The Christian life is a joyous one, but also a demanding one. It is demanding, because God calls us to live contrary to the sinful world in which we live, and contrary to our own inclinations to sin in thought, word and deed. We know by experience what the song writer meant by the words, “Prone to wander Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” If such were not true of us, the Bible would not have so many warnings against the world, the flesh, and the devil.
We Christians have not yet reached sinless perfection. That state won’t be reached until we are in the immediate presence of Jesus Christ in heaven. In the meantime, we need to take to heart what we read in Galatians 5:16 and 17, which says: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”
We not only contend with our fallen nature, that is, “the flesh,” but also with the fallen world in which we live. That is why Paul made in Romans 12:2 this important statement: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
We also contend with the devil. 1 Peter 5:8 and 9 says: Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”
My goal in these statements about the these three enemies with which we struggle is to remind us that the Christian life is not to be one of passivity but one of activity, as we seek to live for the Lord. But this struggle against the world, the flesh, and the devil can become wearisome at times. However, in spite of that fact, when our hearts are right with God, his commands are not a burden but a blessing! 1 John 5:3 expresses a wonderful truth: “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome,” or as the KJV words it: “his commandments are not grievous.” Demanding? Yes. Burdensome or grievous? No.
In contrast to us New Covenant Christians, King David lived under the exacting demands of the Old Covenant. Yet, it was he who wrote Psalm one, which tells us that the blessed man delights in the law of the LORD, and he meditates in it day and night. And in Psalm 19 we find him expressing the same feelings. In verse 9 he said: “The rules of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” And in verse 10 he wrote: “more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”
If a man who lived under the many demands of the Old Covenant felt that way about God’s Word, including his commands, should not we who live under the New Covenant, with its fewer commands, feel the same way?
The key to having this favorable attitude toward God’s commands is to have our hearts right with the command-giver himself. This good heart-attitude is what God longed to see in his people who first received the 10 commandments. In fact, we are told in Deuteronomy 5:29 that God said this about them: “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever.” (KJV)
If we find the commands of God to be burdensome instead of a blessing, we would do well to make it a matter of prayer. We can tell the Lord that we want to have the kind of heart for his Word that he spoke of in Deuteronomy 5:29. In our prayer about this matter, perhaps we would do well to say David’s prayer that is found in Psalm 139:23 and 24. He said: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.!” It might be good for us to pray what David did in Psalm 51:12. He said: “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
If we go to the Lord in sincerity about this subject, he will graciously answer our prayer and help us to have a heart that finds his commands to be a blessing, not a burden. When our prayer is answered, some statements in Psalm 119 will express our feelings. Verse 72 says: “The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” Verse 97 says: “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.” Verse 103 says: How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth.!” Verse 127 says: “Therefore I love your commandments above gold, above fine gold.” Oh, that these statements would be what we feel, too!
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