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SERIES: |
02 Exodus - 2011 |
MESSAGE: |
Exodus 20:8-21:36 |
SPEAKER: |
Skip Heitzig |
SCRIPTURE: |
Exodus 20:8-21:36 |
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MESSAGE SUMMARY
In this study from Exodus 20, we take a look at the Ten Commandments and the precepts of the Law. We'll learn to apply these teachings to our daily living and gain a greater understanding of its role in pointing us to salvation through Jesus Christ.
DETAILED NOTES
- Introduction
- Purpose of laws
- Primarily for positive reasons
- Safety
- Harmony
- Reveals the truth about self and sin
- Would not know sin without the law (see Romans 7)
- No man is justified by the law (see Galatians 3)
- We are not under the covenant of the law: "For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
- Law shows us how to please God
- Supreme devotion to Him
- Sincere affection for others
- "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment." (Matthew 22:37-38)
- The Ten Commandments
- Vertical: The first four commandments
- Horizontal: The second six commandments
- First commandment: No other gods before Me (v. 3)
- Whom we should worship
- Worship God exclusively
- Forbids false gods
- Second commandment: No images (vv. 4-6)
- How we should worship
- Worship God correctly
- Forbids false worship of the true God
- Images misrepresent God and mislead people
- Third commandment : Not take God's name in vain
- שָׁוְא, shav: empty something of its meaning
- God is to be spoken of in a holy fashion
- Principles of the Covenant: God's Top Ten (cont'd)
- Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." (v. 8)
- "Sabbath" appears 90 times in the Old Testament; 55 times in the New Testament
- שַׁבָּת, shabbath: to stop
- God worked for 6 days; the seventh day He stopped
- Not tired
- His work was complete
- Set aside this day to honor God and "recharge your battery"
- By the New Testament, keeping the Sabbath had become work
- 39 restrictions apart from the Talmud
- Talmud: 24 chapters devoted to Sabbath law
- More work to keep the Sabbath than to work the other 6 days
- Jesus said: "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." (Mark 2:27)
- Fulfillment of the Sabbath is Jesus Christ: (See Hebrews 4:4-11)
- Only commandment not repeated for the church to keep
- "So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths," (Colossians 2:16)
- Only non-moral commandment
- Early church met on the first day of the week (See Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2) because we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus
- "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind." (Romans 14:5)
- Fifth Commandment: "Honor your father and your mother" (v. 12)
- First commandment related to horizontal relationships
- Commandment mentioned 8 times in the Bible (2 in Old Testament; 6 in the New Testament)
- Everyone has parents
- Sixth Commandment: "You shall not murder" (v. 13)
- Murder: The intentional taking of human life for personal reasons (not national or judicial reasons)
- To God, life is sacred:
- Death must be viewed through the lens of the value placed on life
- If you believe God created life, then murder is an insult and assault against God Himself
- If you believe man is a biological animal, by accident, to end a life is simply a biological process
- Our forefathers said in the Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights...life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
- Seventh commandment: "You shall not commit adultery." (v. 14)
- A fence around marriage
- The sexual impulse is God-given
- Because it is God-given, it must be God-governed
- Sex is beautiful in its proper domain (marriage); like soil in a garden
- Taken out of context it is ugly; like soil on the carpet
- Eighth commandment: "You shall not steal." (v.15)
- A problem from the beginning
- Watchtowers to protect property
- Moving boundary stones
- Stealing' s many forms
- Steal from employer: take office supplies, call in sick, phone calls
- Steal from government: taxes
- Steal from God: tithes and offerings
- Ninth commandment: "You shall not bear false witness" (v.16)
- No lying
- Based on the Character of God Himself
- God loves truth
- God hates falsehood
- "These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren." (Proverbs 6:16-19)
- Tenth commandment: "You shall not covet," (v. 17)
- This commandment is different from the rest: it deals with what no one sees: the hidden attitude
- This command helped Paul realize it was an issue of the heart: (See Philippians 3:4-6; Romans 7:7)
- The law was given to govern not only the outward action, but the inward attitude
- "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." (Matthew 5:27-28)
- People of the covenant
- The mediator
- Moses was the mediator
- Represents the people to God
- Represents the words of God to the people
- Mediator needed between distinct parties: Holy God and sinful man
- Jesus is our mediator
- "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus," (1 Timothy 2:5)
- "The LORD is my shepherd" (Psalm 23:1)
- Never settle for second best: Jesus is the only mediator
- Pastors called shepherds regarding their role of feeding the flock, not mediators
- "Do not fear; for God has come to test you" (v. 20)
- The test
- Will they see their own sin?
- Will they see the gap that exists between God and man?
- Fear
- yirah: reverence; Yahweh
- Reverential awe; fear of not pleasing Him
- Keeps people from sin
- Earthen altar
- Not hewn stone
- Ornate altars
- Thought: "Only the best for God!"
- Glorify man rather than God
- Application of the Commandments and the Old Testament Law
- As a compass: give you bearing, plot your way
- As a thermometer: gauge your love for God. ""If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15)
- As a mirror: show you yourself
- The mirror is not the soap!
- "But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." (Galatians 3:11)
- As a road sign: points the way to Jesus Christ
- According to Jewish tradition, Moses received the law on the day of Pentecost; The birth of the church was Pentecost. "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17)
Hebrew terms: שָׁוְא, shav: empty something of its meaning; שַׁבָּת, shabbath: to stop; יִרְאָה, yirah: reverence; Yahweh
Publications Referenced: The Declaration of Independence
Cross References: Psalm 23:1; Proverbs 6:16-19; Matthew 5:27-28; Matthew 22:37-38; Mark 2:27; John 1:17; John 14:15; Acts 20:7; Romans 7; Romans 7:7; Romans 14:5; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Galatians 3; Galatians 3:11; Colossians 2:16; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:4-11
Topic: The Ten Commandments
Keywords: Moses, law, capital punishment