Hear

Introduction

A few years back a Congressman was making a push to have the Ten Commandments placed in both the House and the Senate of the Congress as well as in courthouses.

He went on the Stephen Colbert show and was asked a pretty straightforward question, “What are the commandments?”

The Congressman said, “What are all of them? You want me to name all of them?”

Colbert said, “Yes.”

The Congressman said, “Don’t murder. Don’t lie. Don’t steal...” Then after thinking for a moment admitted, “I can’t name them all.”

Most Christians will say we highly value the Ten Commandments. But, do we really know them? Do we know what they are all about? Do we know why they matter so much? Do we know if they matter to NT Christians or not? And why or why not?

This morning we will begin a series of sermons titled “Encounters with the Ten.” In this series we will be studying the Decalogue, or the Ten Words. However, most of us know it better by the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments are presented twice in the Torah; in Exodus 20 when God told them to the people. We also find the Ten Commandments presented again in Deuteronomy 5 by Moses to the people before he died and before they entered into the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua.

Both presentations are well worth our study, but for this series we will mainly focus on Deuteronomy, but referring back to Exodus often.

Turn to Deuteronomy 5:1-5 (I’ll get there, I promise!)

An Introduction to OT Law

In the first five books of the OT, or the Torah, we find what is known as the law. This doesn’t mean that everything within these five books could be classified as “law,” but that within the narrative sections, we find the covenant of the law that God gave to Israel.

In short, the law helped to set specific boundaries for proper behavior and worship. But the law is more than ‘thou shalls’ and ‘thou shall not’s.’ The law allowed Israel to maintain their covenant relationship with the Holy God.

That covenant relationship was, in short, the God would be their God and that they would be His people.

Throughout the OT we see that God was faithful to His covenant, despite the fact that God’s people were not.

Part of God’s faithfulness to His people was giving them a set of laws that helped them to maintain their end of the covenant.

These are most clearly laid out in the Ten Commandments.

In fact, all the other laws flow out of these ten commandments.

And God’s desire was that His people would take these commandments seriously, as we will see.

But why?

God tells them in Deuteronomy 12.

Deuteronomy 12:28 ESV

Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

God’s laws are not arbitrary, self-aggrandizing, or capricious like some of our human laws. They are what’s best for us.

Additionally, and more importantly, they are a reflection of the law-giver Himself. We see His divine character throughout the Ten Commandments, as we will see throughout this study.

Focal Passage: Deuteronomy 5:1-5

Here Moses has gathered Israel together for the second of his 3 great speeches in Deuteronomy before he died.

“Hear, O Israel...”

This phrase is repeated multiple times in Deuteronomy.

It is a call to listen with the intent of obeying.

“…the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today...”

These are moral truths that were true for them, but they are also true for us and every other person who has ever walked the earth, regardless whether they know the God of the Bible or not.

Because, these statutes and rules are a reflection of the One True God’s holy character.

…you shall learn them and be careful to do them...

God’s intention was not just that His people would know the law, but that they would live the law. Meaning they would practice the law.

“The LORD our God made a covenant with us...”

Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai, where the commandments were given.

Giving these commandments was God’s way of showing them how they were to hold up their end of the covenant.

Verse 3 is letting these people know that it wasn’t simply a covenant with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but with them. The idea being that God’s covenant is a lasting covenant.

Verses 4-5 point back to Exodus 19 and Moses’ role as the mediator between God and His people.

They heard the commands, but they could not approach God.

It was Moses who would draw near to God and who God would teach the fulness of the law, as explained throughout the rest of Deuteronomy.

Okay, but what does all this mean to Christians today?

Christians and the Law

As New Testament Christians, most of us pay little attention to much of the law. Other than the Ten Commandments, and a few others of our favorites, we tend to steer clear of much of the law. Part of the reason for this is because of confusion about what the law means for us.

Are we to obey everything within the law? Is the law now null and void? Can we pick the ones we like, and throw the rest back?

Right from the start we must understand that the law should not be minimized. The law is important. Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:17-18;

Matthew 5:17–18 ESV

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.

If the law mattered to Jesus, then it must matter to us.

But the law is not to be accepted whole scale by New Testament believers either.

Just the simple fact that Jesus said that He would fulfill the Law means that we must look beyond the Laws themselves.

Our relationship to God is different this side of the cross. God views us through His grace. I like what Paul says in Romans;

Romans 7:6 ESV

But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

Because of God’s great grace, given through Jesus Christ, we have a completely new relationship with God. This is what is known as the redemptive story.

Galatians 3:10–14 ESV

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

So, how can the Law speak to Christians today?

First, as Christians, we must be able to distinguish between laws that are still in force and laws that were for Israel alone.

Separate between the 3 types of laws:

Moral laws – always binding for all times (i.e. ‘thou shall not steal’)

Civil laws – How Israel was to function as God’s people

Ceremonial laws – How Israel was to worship God.

Moral laws flow into the other two...

So, moral laws are still as true today as they were then, but civil and ceremonial laws for the most part were for Israel alone.

However, in a moment I’m going to talk about the underlying principles of all the laws that NT believers must seek diligently.

Second, as Christians, we must see the law as escorting us to Christ.

Galatians 3:24–25 ESV

So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

The law could only point us in the proper direction to God. Faith in Christ actually justifies us, or brings us into a relationship with God.

So, the law has it’s place, but Christ Jesus fulfills the law, just as He promised.

Third, as Christians, we must look to find the spirit of the law.

The Principlist Approach

Meaning, what is the timeless principle behind this law?

Why did this matter enough to God that He would tell His people this (regardless of whether it is moral, civil, or ceremonial law)?

What is the principle behind ‘thou shall not steal’?

To fully understand we must ask the question about why people steal in the first place?

People steal out of greed, selfishness, out of a desire to control that which they do not control, or a sense that they need something they don’t have, or a sense that they are owed something.

The principle is that God does not steal because He is not greedy or selfish.

It’s against God’s very nature, so its sin, and thus it’s wrong.

Here is where is the beauty of the principlist approach comes in.

It’s that the implications and applications to Scripture will never end. When we find the principles behind what is being said, then we can begin to apply God’s Word to our lives in powerful ways.

Challenge

Read Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5 multiple times throughout the next eleven weeks.

Try to memorize the Ten Commandments.

I titled this sermon “Hear” because of the words of Moses. Just as Israel needed to hear in the sense that they needed to listen in order to obey, so should we.

Each week, as we study the commandments, look for Christ in the commandments. How did He fulfill each commandment? What did He say about this commandment?

Finally, look for the timeless principles that we ought to apply to our life within each of these commandments.