EXODUS 20:1-17 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS2015 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Exodus 20:1-17 The Ten Commandments

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2015. This morning we're going to be talking about the Ten Commandments.

And the Ten Commandments are one of those things that everybody knows about, right? We maybe don't have them all memorized, but we've heard the Ten Commandments. We highly esteem the Ten Commandments. And of course, as we've been reading through the Bible in three years, this past week, we read about the Ten Commandments again in Exodus chapter 20. Now, this morning, I want to consider what it is that we are supposed to do with these Ten Commandments.

What are they supposed to do for us? Or what are they supposed to look like in our lives? Do we have to keep them? What happens if we don't? Should we have them, you know, painted on our walls? What relationship are we to have with these Ten Commandments? And what do they mean to us? Now, before we get to what to do with the Ten Commandments, I'd like to take some time just to walk through the Ten Commandments with you and just reflect

help us understand what exactly God was saying with each of these. And so these are the Ten Commandments here. The first commandment, and we'll go through these one by one, it says, you shall have no other gods before me.

Here in Exodus chapter 20, we're looking now at verses 1 through 3 for this commandment. And it says, So the first commandment, first things first. God says, okay, first on the list, I'm God and I brought you out of Egypt. Right?

And so this is God speaking to Moses. Moses at this time is on Mount Sinai. And so Israel has been delivered from Egypt. They're in the wilderness. And there at the mountain, God is revealing his law to them. He's revealing the plans for his tabernacle. And he's establishing them as a nation and as a people. Now, as he does this, he gives these 10 commands to Moses. And so he says...

I delivered you out of Egypt, and so I'm going to be your God, and you're not to have any other gods before me. And so in this first commandment, God is requiring that he be first. That is, that he would be the first priority.

the highest passion, the greatest devotion being given to him above anything else, that there would not be any competing passions, anything that would come before God in the hearts or in the lives of the people of Israel. And so this is God's first commandment to them. You shall have no other gods before me. Well, the second commandment going on in verses four, five, and six is,

He says,

He says, So here God says, This is, of course, related to the first commandment.

The first command, you shall have no other gods before me. Well, one of the ways that they would have gods before him is they would practice idolatry. And idolatry was prevalent in that day and in their society and even within the people of Israel.

The idea of idolatry is they would carve out an image and they would allow that image to represent some God that they are worshiping. And then they would bow down and they would worship and pay devotion to or pay homage to this idol that represented the God they were worshiping. And so this command to not make carved images was especially important for Israel because it's something that Israel practiced before.

As God was delivering these commands. You might remember, while Moses is up on the mountain, when he comes back down, he breaks the tablets. Remember that? Why did he break the tablets? Because they had already begun to mold images, the golden calf, and they were worshiping the golden calf. So right from the very beginning, God knew this is an issue. And so he makes it command number two. You shall not, you must not make any carved images. Okay?

Throughout Israel's history up until the New Testament, for the majority of the time, for the most of its history as a nation, there was idolatry that was going on.

in the time of judges, all the way into the times of the kings of Israel, there was this practice of bowing down and worshiping these carved images. And so God, knowing that was going to be a struggle for them, says, command number two, you shall not have any carved image for yourself. The third command, he goes on in verse seven to say, you shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. So you shall not take the name of the Lord in vain. The word vain, it means nothingness, emptiness, or worthlessness. And so he's essentially saying here, you shall not use my name in a way where it means nothing or in a way that it has no meaning or no value.

And so one of the ways, of course, that we're familiar with this idea of taking the Lord's name in vain is profanity. And so using it where, you know, you use it as a word and it really doesn't mean anything. It doesn't have any value, but instead you're using it to take away value from, you know, what is going on or for what you're saying.

Another way that this would be applied is in the oaths that would be given. When they would make promises or swear, if they would say, I swear to God, but then don't uphold that promise, they're making the name of God worthless. Although they promised, you know, then they attach their promise to the Lord, but they said, you know, that promise or the Lord isn't valuable enough to

to keep the promise. It's not valuable enough for me to keep my word. And so it was a way that they would break, you know, the oaths and the bonds or the promises and represent that the name of God didn't have much meaning or much value at

to them. God says, I want you to honor my name. Don't use it in a way that is profane, that it's worthless, that it's meaningless, but make sure however you use my name, it's given the appropriate honor that is due. Well, the fourth command found in verses 8 through 11 is to remember the Sabbath day. In verse 8, he says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. This idea of keeping it holy means to keep it set apart.

to keep it different. This day, he says, is to be different than the other days. Now the Sabbath day, that was the seventh day or Saturday. And he says, Saturday is to be different. It's not to be like Sunday through Friday. It's not to be like the rest of your days. You're to keep it different, keep it separate. And how different?

How are they to keep it separate? Well, he explains in verse 9 and 10. He says, Then notice what he says. Right?

So the way that this day, Saturday, Sabbath, is to be different is that this day is to not contain any work. All the other days, God says, essentially, you can work as much as you want. But on this day, keep it different. Keep it separate. And don't work on this day.

Now, he also included some extra detail to make sure that, you know, we didn't try to get around his commands or they didn't try to, you know, come up with a plan to work without actually working. So he says, you nor your son nor your daughter. So don't work, keep it separate, keep it different. And don't think that you can get away with saying, okay, well, I'm not going to work, but kids, you go work in the field. Okay.

God says, no, don't do that. Keep it separate. And don't send your servants to work when you're not supposed to work. And don't send strangers. Hey, you're a foreigner, so you go work in my field because I'm not supposed to work today. God says, no, strangers, sons, daughters, animals, you're to take this day off completely. And so it's to be a day of rest. God wanted his people to follow his example. And he gives that example in verse 11.

He says, And so God gives an example. He says, And then I rested. I stopped working on the seventh day.

And so therefore the Lord blessed the seventh day, the Sabbath day, Saturday. And he said, you're to keep it separate. Keep it, follow my example. Keep it different. Don't work on the seventh day.

Well, then the fifth commandment now transitions. These first four have been focused on relationship with God and their relationship with him. And then now verses, well, 12 through 17, the rest of these 10 commandments focus more on the relationships between one another. And so command number five is honor your father and mother. It's from verse 12.

He says, Honor your father and mother. Now Paul talks about this command in the book of Ephesians. And he says that children are to obey their parents. But then he says, look, this is the first command that's given with a promise.

The other commands are given, one, two, three, four. God gave it, God gave it, God gave it. But now he gives this command with a promise. If you obey this command, he says, your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God has given you. So there's a promise attached to this command to honor your father and mother. Now the word honor, honor,

Of course, we know what the word honor means and we're familiar with it, but one way to think about it to kind of help us appreciate the meaning of the word honor, honor means to treat with significance, to treat with significance your father and your mother. Now, as a minor...

under 18 years old, you're not an adult, you're not on your own, that means obedience. And that's what Paul says in Ephesians. Obey your mom and dad. Obey your mother and father. Treat them with significance. What they say matters. What they say is significant and is meaningful and is important. And so obedience is required for minors. Now,

Now, as you grow and you become an adult, the command to honor your father and mother doesn't go away, but the obedience is not required in the way that it used to be. Instead, honoring your father and mother transitions into a reverence or a respect. So treating them with significance, as if they're significant, recognizing you're valuable, your insight, your counsel is valuable, and

So still listening and still receiving from mom and dad and treating them with respect or treating them as being significant in your life. Now, later on in Matthew chapter 15, Jesus corrected the religious leaders because they were breaking this command, but

They had kind of found out or made up their own way to do that. They were withholding support from their parents who were in need by saying, all right, we dedicate all of our resources to God. And now that we've dedicated all of our resources to God, we can use it. But mom and dad, sorry, whatever would have helped you, we can't help you now because all of our resources are devoted to God. So only we can use it and God can use it, but you can't use it. And so

Jesus rebuked the religious leaders saying, you've made up this method, this fake way of, you know, people breaking the law, but trying to, you know, seem like they're doing what's right and what's good. And so by that, we understand though, part of the responsibility here of honoring your father and mother, what God intends is for the elderly to be provided for and taken care of.

So the older parents who are in need of support, who are in need of help, that the children are to provide that. And so that's part of what this commandment is. So as a minor, it requires obedience. As an adult, it requires respect. It requires, you know, receiving counsel and listening, but then also providing for and taking care of as they grow older.

Well, the next commandment, number six, found in verse 13, you shall not murder. This one, of course, some people get a little bit confused about. This is not a law against all killing. All killing is not the same. And so, for example, war, in war, there is killing, and that's allowed and even commanded by God in many cases in Israel's history.

Also, in the law of God, there is the type of killing that is a result of punishment. It's capital punishment. And God commands for certain types of crimes, there is to be capital punishment. And so that is also killing, but it's a different kind of killing than murder. Murder, of course, is something that is done that is not a part of war, that is not a part of the legal system. David Guzik puts it this way.

Murder is the taking of life without legal justification or moral justification. So legal justification would be execution after due process, after, you know, things have been done appropriately. The matter has been investigated. It has been confirmed. It's been, you know, established that this violation has occurred and it is worthy of death.

which God maintains those things and establishes those things in his law. And so in that case, there is a legal justification for sin.

killing or a moral justification. For example, in self-defense, that it's not a legal matter, but you know, in self-defense, there is the killing that occurs and that's justified, that's allowed under God's law. And so murder is apart from those things. It's apart from, there's no legal right to it, there's no moral right to it, but for whatever reason, this killing takes place and that is forbidden here in this sixth commandment.

Well, then the seventh commandment found in verse 14, you shall not commit adultery. And so he speaks against or commands his people not to engage in sexual relationship outside of marriage. Now, as you go through these commandments, I'd like you to consider something. God here is establishing his people as a nation, right?

And you can see here as he goes through these, he's establishing the priorities, the values that he is expecting of his people as a nation.

And so first and foremost, he talks about their relationship with him, that they're to honor him. He's to be first. They're not to be involved in idolatry. They're to value his name. They're to rest on the seventh day as he rested. But then as he goes on into their relationships with one another, he says, okay, now as a people,

You're to value the elderly. Value mom and dad. Value those who are older. And value life. Do not put an end to life for any reason. Do not be, you know...

Just getting rid of people because, you know, you don't want them around. But value life. And it's something he establishes. And now as he says, you shall not commit adultery. Notice he's not addressing here all types of sexual sin. He's talking about a specific type of sexual sin. And that's breaking the marriage bonds. And so here God's establishing. It's really important to him.

that we value marriage, that that covenant is important. It needs to be maintained. It needs to be upheld. And so you shall not commit adultery. You shall not be unfaithful to your spouse. Then the eighth commandment found in verse 15, he says, Of course, this is the taking of someone else's property.

Also in this idea of stealing could be the idea of cheating. So, you know, tricking people into paying more by using different weights and measures and such so that you rip people off. That's also part of this idea of stealing. So you're not to take those matters into your own hands to take more than what is due to you. And then command number nine found in verse 16. He says, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not bear false witness. We often refer to this as lying, which is pretty accurate. But bearing false witness against your neighbor, it speaks really to the legal system. Trials, of course, are based upon faithful eyewitness accounts. And so he says, when you're called on to give your eyewitness account, you're to be faithful. You're to tell the truth and not to bear false witness.

And so in the legal system and in their exchanges and as they're dealing with problems within the society, they're to be faithful to the truth and to not bear false witness. This would also be a protection against slander so that you wouldn't be circulating false reports about the people around you. And then finally, the 10th commandment found in verse 17. He says, you shall not covet your neighbor's house

So you shall not covet. The word covet, it means to greatly desire or to yearn for. And it alludes to a selfish desire. It

for anything. Now he talks about, and he gives a couple examples here. So your neighbor's house. So if you're having this selfish desire, you're having this yearning for your neighbor's house, well that's violating this command. Or for your neighbor's wife. Now we just talked about adultery, but it goes along with that, that desire, that lust for someone that God has not provided for you.

or for their servants, or for their oxen. I don't know if you struggle with that, if you look at your neighbor's oxen next door and say, oh man, I really want those oxen. But maybe their car, you know, maybe their vehicles, those kinds of things. And so he says, you're not to covet, you're not to have these yearning desires for your neighbor's goods. So these are the Ten Commandments. Now, the question that I want to finish up with addressing and spend the next few moments talking about is,

what do we do with these Ten Commandments? What do these mean to us? How do we use these in our lives? And what does it look like for us? And so we're going to jump around to a couple of different passages as we look at this, but there's three points I'd like to walk you through on what to do with the Ten Commandments. The first one is found in Romans chapter 3. Would you turn there, please? Romans chapter 3.

And the first point is don't misuse the Ten Commandments. Don't misuse the Ten Commandments. Now, we've been studying Romans chapter 3 for the past two Wednesdays. And so if you've been here on Wednesday evenings, you're going to be a little bit familiar with these things. So congratulations, you got a head start on the rest of the class. But these are good things for us to consider and understand. When it comes to the Ten Commandments...

Typically, people think of the Ten Commandments as something that they can do to be approved of God.

There was a man I spoke with a long time ago, maybe about 12, 15 years ago, and we were having dinner together, and we were talking about things of the Lord, and he was not a believer, but knew, you know, enough to be a believer if he wanted to. But he was challenging me on some things and began to question, why is it that people say or that you would say that I need to go to church? And

And so we had that discussion for a little bit. And then to conclude the conversation, he says, you know, I don't think I need to go to church. I just need to follow the Ten Commandments. As long as I got the Ten Commandments, I'm good. I'm set.

And he began to have a discussion with the rest of his family. What are the Ten Commandments? And so he was quizzing people and trying to see if anybody could actually, you know, say back the Ten Commandments, which none of them could. And that frustrated him because, well, he just made this conclusion. All I need is the Ten Commandments. So then he decided, okay, well, what I need to do is I need to print out the Ten Commandments and put them over the house.

And so that we know and that we learn the Ten Commandments. And the idea behind it was, as long as we know these commandments and make sure we do our best to keep these commandments, then we'll be fine as far as God is concerned. God will look at us and say, hey, you mostly keep the Ten Commandments. Good job. And that was the mindset. And that's the mindset of a lot of people. But the problem with that is, if you try to use the Ten Commandments as a means to approach God...

Well, it will not work. That's what Paul says here in Romans chapter 3. Look at verse 19. He says, So here Paul says, whatever the law says. Now, the Ten Commandments says,

are parts of the law. They're not the whole law, but they're part of the law that Paul is referring to here. So he says, whatever the law says, whatever the 10 commandments being included say, it says to those who are under the law, those who live under the guidelines of the law. But then notice what he says, that every mouth may be stopped. Now, every mouth being stopped is

is a way of saying all of our excuses are done away with, that we have no excuse for ourselves. Instead, he says, all the world may become guilty before God. So here's the purpose of the law, Paul says. The purpose of the law is to prove that everyone is guilty. If we try to use the law to present ourselves as approved to God, that's a misuse.

of the law. It's a misuse of the Ten Commandments. To try to present ourselves to God and say, God, look how faithful I am in these commands. Paul says, that's not what the law is for. What the law does is it proves that everyone is guilty before God. And so trying to show your righteousness by the Ten Commandments is a misuse. It won't work because what the law does is it proves that you are guilty.

He concludes that thought in verse 20 saying, therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin. So by using the law, he says, you can never be justified. The idea of being justified is being right with God. And so you can never be right with God using the law, showing him these are the commands that I keep.

showing him, these are the things that I do. These are the things that I don't do. So you should accept me, God. He says, no, you'll never be justified. You'll never be right with God by keeping the 10 commandments or the rest of the law. But he says, by the law is the knowledge of sin. Again, the whole point of the law is to let you know

that you are sinful. The whole point of the law is to let us know that we are not righteous. It's not our means of proving ourselves righteous. It's the opposite. It's the way that we are proven to be guilty. Now, as you consider this and keeping the Ten Commandments and such, also understand that you cannot just pull out these Ten Commandments and try to hold on to them and

neglecting the rest of the law. So if you are going to try to approach God and you're going to say, I'm going to keep the 10 commandments and that's how I'm going to, you know, make myself righteous before God. I'm going to show God that I deserve to be in heaven, that I deserve to not be in eternity in hell, and I'm going to use the 10 commandments for that. Well, that doesn't work

First, because the law proves that you're guilty. But second, because the 10 commandments are just one piece of a system that God is establishing. The 10 commandments are just one part of that. This is not the law. This is a part of the law. And so these 10 commandments are important, but they're just one element. They're just one piece. So let me give you an example. It would be like pulling out

One of the sacrifices and trying to use that to make yourself righteous before God. So you say, all right, as long as I keep the Passover sacrifice once a year, I'm going to have the Passover meal. I'm going to sacrifice the lamb.

As long as I do that, then I'm fine. I don't have to think about or worry about the rest of God's commands. It doesn't work. That doesn't make sense. You can't just pull out one piece and say, as long as I do this, then I'll be good. Whether it be the Ten Commandments or one of the sacrifices or some other portion that we select. We cannot use the law to present ourselves as right before God, whether it be one piece of it or all of it.

We can't do that. But there are those who really insist on these Ten Commandments. And some will insist, for example, on the Sabbath in particular. Like, that's the highest commandment in some circles. Like, you have to keep the Sabbath, and if you don't keep the Sabbath, you can't be saved. But,

When we hold to something like that, we got to consider, if you just pull out the Sabbath, that's just one part of the whole law. You can't just say, that's the only thing I got to worry about, and the rest I don't have to worry about. The context is really important. It's part of a system that God is establishing. And many times the context of the law of God is really missed. Again, here's what we need to understand. As we walk through those Ten Commandments, we

Those were specific commands given to the nation of Israel by Moses. As God spoke to Moses, he brought down these commands to the nation of Israel, and it was part of God establishing them as a nation. That's the context. Now, that's really important because as you read through the law, there's some pretty incredible promises. And a lot of those promises are

are directed toward the nation, not towards the individuals. So as God is establishing his nation, he says, I'm going to bless you. You're going to be wealthy as you follow me, as you keep my commands, you're going to be a wealthy nation. Now, a lot of times people will take that and say, all right, I'm going to be wealthy because I believe in God. But that's not the way that the word was delivered. You have to consider the context and understand that

God was speaking to them as a nation. If they as a nation will walk with the Lord, then God is going to bless them. And he did while they walked with the Lord. And when they walked away, that blessing was removed. And so many of the promises, many of these things, we have to make a distinction and understand some of this is delivered and meant for individuals, but some of it is meant for God is establishing a nation. I would ask you to consider it much like the Constitution.

The Constitution of the United States. That's similar to what we're working through in the law. In the Constitution, you know, our nation, the principles upon which our nation exists are established there in the Constitution. And then, of course, in the amendments to that Constitution. Now, we, our society operates according to that.

Well, that's what God was doing here. He was establishing the rules by which their society as a nation, as his people, were to operate. Now, would you ever try to use the first amendment to prove yourself right before God? God, I believe in the freedom of speech and I say whatever I want and that's why I should be allowed into heaven. That wouldn't make sense, right? Nobody would do that.

But that's similar to when we just pull out one piece of the law and we say, okay, this is it. I just got to do this and then I'm right before God. We have to understand the whole context that's happening here. This is part of the system that God is establishing. It's just one part. And this part of the system that God is establishing wasn't ever intended. It wasn't meant for us to be able to be proven righteous. It was meant to be proven that we are sinful, that we need a savior.

And so he goes on in verse 21 here of Romans 3, and he says, So there is a way to be right before God, but Paul says it's apart from the law. It's not by keeping the law, but then notice he says it's also witnessed by the law and the prophets. And so here's the example I used on Wednesday, and I think it's appropriate for this morning. So,

Using the law to try to present yourself as right before God is like trying to escape through an exit sign. And so I got a stool and I got up there and I tried and I recorded it on camera for you. So I tried to get through the exit sign. I just didn't work. I don't know what the problem was. Well, you know what the problem is, right? The exit sign is not the means of escape. It's

It's the sign to show you where to escape or how to escape. This is where you go. That's what the exit sign says, right? In the same way, when we try to use the law to present ourselves as right before God, we're like trying to escape through the sign, right?

No, the law is the sign to show you, first of all, you need to escape. You are sinful. You need a Savior. And then it points you to Jesus as the Savior so that you know how to escape, how to escape the judgment that is to come, how to escape the wrath of God that you have deserved. And so misusing the Ten Commandments, trying to use those to make ourselves right before God is

is a complete misunderstanding of what God's law is all about. Instead, as you look at these Ten Commandments, you're to recognize, I don't measure up to that. I break that one. I fall short in that one. I'm not able to keep these. And as you realize your deficiency, as you realize that you're a sinner, then Paul says, the law not only shows you that you're a sinner, but it witnesses to you

this righteousness from God that comes by faith in Jesus Christ. And as you recognize that Jesus Christ died for you, as you accept by faith that he paid the penalty for your sin, then you are able, by receiving his forgiveness, by receiving what he did for you, as you turn from your sin to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, he counts you as righteous.

And it's a righteousness apart from the law. It's not because you kept the law. It's not because you kept all the Ten Commandments. But it's because you allowed those things to point you to Jesus. And you received what he did for us upon the cross. That is the proper use of the law. So don't try to approach God with your keeping of the commandments. That's not the way to be righteous.

So what are we to do with the Ten Commandments? Well, number one, we're not to misuse them and try to use them to prove ourselves righteous before God. But secondly, as we go on now, we're going to go now to Matthew chapter 5. And here the point number two is don't ignore the Ten Commandments. So we have a tendency to go to different extremes in our beliefs and our value systems. And sometimes we go too far to the other side.

So on the one side, we might say, all right, all I got to do is keep the Ten Commandments. But then as we're instructed by the Lord, we see that in Romans chapter 3. That's not what the commandments are for. All right, then we can go to the other side and we say, all right, let's just get rid of the Ten Commandments then. We don't need to know them. We don't need to think about them. We never need to concern ourselves with them because they don't matter anyways. They're not our means of righteousness. And that's going too far to the other side. Don't ignore the Ten Commandments.

You might think, well, hey, we're under grace and not the law, so I don't need to consider the law. I don't need to know the law. We can just do whatever we want because all things are lawful, Paul says. But again, that's going too far. Consider what Jesus says here in Matthew 5, verse 17. He says,

So Jesus states very clearly, I didn't come here to get rid of the law, for us to cast it out, never think about it again. It's not important. That's not why I came, Jesus says. He doesn't want you to throw out the law. Instead, he came to fulfill the law.

He came to complete the law, and he did that in that he himself walked perfectly. He fulfilled the law. He also fulfilled the law in that he, as a sacrifice for us,

fulfilled the foreshadowings of Christ in the law. There's tons of things as you look at the different aspects of the law that speak of the Savior that would come, and he fulfilled that by being our Savior, by dying upon the cross for us. But he also came to fulfill the law in us, because as we believe in Jesus, we are included with him. We are clothed in his righteousness and

And so our faith in Jesus Christ, well, it makes God relate to us as if we completely kept the law, as if we were perfect before him. In verse 18, he says, "'For assuredly, I say to you, "'till heaven and earth pass away, "'one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law "'until all is fulfilled.'"

And so Jesus says, I didn't come to destroy it. No, instead the law is permanent. It's not going anywhere. Every detail of the law is going to be fulfilled. And so it's established. It's there. I'm not getting rid of it, Jesus says. And so if we don't use the law to prove ourselves righteous, then what is it for? Verse 19 says,

He says, Jesus says, look, these commands are important to God. And doing them, keeping them, well, it matters. And it has some value.

And so I'm going to put it this way. Don't ignore the Ten Commandments because the law reveals God's heart. In the law, we have not a means for us to present ourselves as righteous before God, but in the law, we have God revealing what is important to him. The law shows us what's pleasing to God, what he values, what he appreciates. And so the law reveals God's heart.

But also as Jesus goes on here in Matthew chapter 5, and I'm not going to get into all the details here, but the law also reveals your heart. It reveals God's heart and shows us what he values, what he says is important and what's pleasing to him. But it also reveals your heart. As Jesus goes on, he essentially says the law doesn't go far enough.

The law is meant to deal with your heart, but the way that the Jewish people were approaching the law, they were just focused on the outside. As long as they kept the law on the outside, they thought they were fine. But Jesus explains, look, it's not just the final act of breaking that law, but it's everything that leads up to it. That's the issue. It's the heart that God is concerned about. And so he gives an example in verse 21 and 22.

He says, you have heard it said to those of old, you shall not murder. And whoever murders shall be in danger of the judgment. But then he says, but I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. So you've heard it said, you shall not murder. That's one of the 10 commandments. You shall not murder. That's God's law. But Jesus says, what you need to understand is if you're angry with your brother without a cause...

Well, that's the steps. It's part of the steps leading up to murder. And so that also makes you guilty and deserving of judgment. Remember, murder is killing without a cause, without a just cause. And so if you're angry, he says, without a cause, if you don't have that legal cause, that moral cause to be angry, well, that anger is also murder.

It's on the path to murder. And it's also part of what God is seeking to address in the law. It's revealing in your heart murder before it happens. And so the final act of murder is not the only issue, but everything along the way. And Jesus will go on also to give another example of adultery. In verse 28, here in Matthew chapter 5, he says, But I say to you,

Now you can reverse the pronouns as well if you want. But I say to you, whoever looks at a man to lust for him has already committed adultery in her heart. So it can go either way. But the point is to have that lust for somebody is adultery, but it's the root of it in the heart. It's still adultery.

It's not just the final act, but it's everything along the way. And so these commands reveal God's heart, but it also reveals your heart and where you're at with these laws. I like the way that David Guzik puts it. He says, we aren't innocent just because we didn't have the opportunity to sin the way that we really wanted to. Now, I had to read that a couple times to get it. So I'm going to read it again.

We aren't innocent just because we didn't have the opportunity to sin the way we really wanted to. That's the reality, right? If the circumstances were right, if I could get away with murder, well, then I would. But I didn't have an opportunity to. I was afraid of the law. I was afraid of, you know, my family, whatever. I was afraid of these things. And so I didn't carry it out. I didn't have the right tools with me to do it. And so I didn't get to do it.

But that doesn't make us innocent. You wanted to do it. Well, I didn't have the opportunity, you know. We didn't actually sleep together. We didn't actually, you know, go all the way. But you wanted to. So you're still guilty. You're not innocent just because you didn't get to do what you really wanted to do, but you just didn't have opportunity to do it. No, you're guilty because you want to. That's the issue is the heart. And so...

God doesn't want us to just throw out the Ten Commandments, even though there's grace, even though as believers in Jesus Christ, we're counted righteous before him. That doesn't mean we just toss them out. No, we consider these things because it reveals for us God's heart. It helps us see what's important and what's valuable to him. But it also reveals our heart.

and shows where we're at and shows that we still are in need of a Savior. And it should point us back to calling out upon the Lord, to calling out for forgiveness, to looking to God to change our heart because there's still that sinfulness that is battling within. And so what are we to do with the Ten Commandments? Well, we're not to misuse them, try to use them to present ourselves right before God.

We're also not to ignore them. Don't just toss them out. They're important and they're valuable in revealing God's heart and your heart. So those are the things that we don't do with the Ten Commandments. Now, what is it that we are to do? For that, would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 22? And here we find the third point for our message this morning. And that is, do the greatest commandments. Do the greatest commandments. Don't try to use...

The commandments to present yourself right before God. Don't toss them out all together, but instead focus on the greatest commandments. Now, Jesus addresses this in here in Matthew chapter 22, when the religious leaders are trying to test and trap Jesus. In verse 35, it says, then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him and saying, teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?

Now the law, of course, was the 10 commandments were included in the law, but the law was all of the books of Moses. And so there's lots of commands given throughout those books. There's lots of commands given that are considered the law. And so which of those is the greatest? They asked Jesus. Which of those is the most important? In verse 37, Jesus replies. It says, Jesus said to him,

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. So what's the greatest commandment, Jesus? Jesus says, here it is, love God. I think it's interesting. The first and greatest commandment isn't one of the 10 commandments. We have the 10 commandments here in Exodus chapter 20.

it will be repeated again in Deuteronomy chapter 5. But then in Deuteronomy chapter 6 is this command to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. So the greatest commandment is not one of the 10 commandments, but Jesus will go on to say in verse 40, he says, on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. So loving God is

is a higher priority command even than the Ten Commandments because the rest of the commandments hang on or are built on the foundation of this command, love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And then he gives the second greatest commandment in verse 39. He says, the second is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. So love God and love your neighbor. These are the two greatest commandments. Now again, love your neighbor is not one of the Ten Commandments.

It's a command that's given in Leviticus chapter 19. God says you're to love your neighbor as yourself. And so he says, these are the greatest commandments. And on these two hang all the law and the prophets. And so if you look at the 10 commandments, if you love God, you're going to fulfill all these commandments because you love God. So loving God is

because you want to please him, because you want to honor him, because you desire to do what he loves, you'll be walking in fulfillment of these commands because you love God. Loving others, wanting what's best for others, being willing to set aside your desires and wishes for the best for others, the well-being of others, or what's best for them. If you do that, well, then you're going to be fulfilling these commands, right?

So you're going to honor your father and mother because you love others. You're not going to murder because, well, you love that person, even if you're angry with them. You're not going to commit adultery because of your love for one another. And you're not going to steal. You're not going to lie about each other. You're not going to covet each other. You're going to be blessed for other people when they're blessed because you love them. And so Jesus says, here's how to sum it all up. Here's the greatest two commandments. Here's what you need to focus on.

Maybe you don't know all the Ten Commandments. Maybe that's a lot to memorize. Can you memorize two? Love God and love others. That's what we're to focus on. It changes the picture entirely. It's not a list of, all right, keep these things and you'll be fine. But it's a love this person. Love this person. The Ten Commandments are not meant for you and I to take and try to prove ourselves righteous to God.

They show, God, you should let me into heaven, and you should bless me, and you should take care of me, because look how faithful I am at keeping all of your commands. That's a misuse of the Ten Commandments. That's not what they're used for. Instead, we're to use the Ten Commandments to show, God, I'm in desperate need of your help. I need a savior, because I break that one. I fall short in that one. I'm not able to do that one. I was angry at that guy. I

I break these. I'm not able to keep these. And that should drive us to the Lord. That should drive us to Jesus Christ and what he's done for us. So don't misuse the Ten Commandments. Let them be used appropriately. Let them reveal the sin, the issues of your heart that God wants to address so that you call out to Jesus Christ, that you call out for salvation. But also don't ignore the Ten Commandments. As you call out to the Lord, then you don't say, well,

Now there's grace. Now I can live however I want to live. No, the Ten Commandments reveal what's important to God. It shows us what's valuable to Him. And it shows us what's really going on in our hearts. And so let them bring conviction. Let them show you those areas that are not pleasing to God in your life. Because the thing that you need to focus on the most is loving God. And if you love God, you're not going to want to do the things that are displeasing to Him.

You're going to want to do the things that are pleasing to him. But it's not now about keeping a list. It's about keeping that relationship. It's about putting God first. If you're having trouble walking in obedience to the Ten Commandments or any other of God's laws, you got to go back to the relationship. A lot of times we're like, okay, I'm struggling with this issue. So let me add some laws. So I fix this issue. That's a misuse of the law.

Let me memorize these verses so I fix this issue. That's not the way that God's word is intended to be used. No, let those issues point you back to your need to walk with God, to know God, to call out for God's mercy and grace. Love God. Is God first in your life? Are you willing to set aside your wants and wishes for what pleases God? That's...

what God desires from us. That needs to be our main concern. So what do we do with the 10 commandments? We let them show us our faults so that we call out to God and ask him to help us to love him and walk with him. And flowing out of that comes the idea of loving others. Because we love God, because his love for others around us, we want God's best for the people around us. And that has to flow out of our relationship with God.

We can't be right with everybody around us if we're not right with God. That's got to come first. First and foremost, do you love God as he first? And then as you walk with God, he's going to be addressing those relationships around you. And so let these commandments, let the law do what it's intended to do. Show you your need, show you your savior so that you call out to him.

and that you pursue him with all of your heart and soul and mind. Let's love the Lord. Amen? The youth are going to come back up and close us in one song. And I would encourage you as we close in this song that you would just simply ask God to check your heart and to show you if there's things out of line, if there's commands that are being broken, if there's issues that he wants to address, if there's something going on that he wants

He wants you to pay attention to. Let him do that. But then don't try to keep laws to fix it. Love him, pursue him, walk with him, call out to him. He is your savior. He's the one who extends mercy and grace. And he is the one who credits your account with his righteousness. Let's worship the Lord and love him together.

We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.