Ethics Ten Commandments Overview

Who has Ethics?

Are ethics the same as morals?

Both ethics and morals refer to “right” and “wrong” behaviors and conduct. While they are sometimes used interchangeably, these words are different: ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, such as a code of conduct in the workplace. Morals refer to an individual’s principles regarding right and wrong.

From the definition above ethics can be derived from our employer, parents, etc.

Morals come from ourselves, from our hearts. I believe where we learn our ethics from affects our morals.

Have you ever taken a class on ethics? Where did the study material come from? Who were some of the people quoted?

Have you ever said “that person has no ethics?” Everyone has a set ethics and they can vary from person to person.

As a Christian where should we get your ethics from?

We have a most merciful God. Jehovah-Jireh (The LORD will provide) has provided us with a set of ethics, in the TEN COMMANDMENTS. They can be found in the Book of Exodus.

I think some of the Church’s in the Western Hemisphere have lost their way. They focus on making a good show, they feel they must entertain their congregants, they temper their messages so as not say anything that may offend their congregants. What has happened by doing this?

Half truth’s (or half lies) are spoken. Congregants do not know what sin is. God’s word is twisted. Messages are given about what God can do for you, not what we should be doing for God. Sin is affirmed not rebuked and the list goes on. Portions of the Bible are discounted..The Creation account in Genesis.

I believe we need to get back basics. I made a promise to God. That I would teach his whole word, that I would share his truth, not the worlds truth. But, I would do it by the fruits of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22–23 (NASB 2020)

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

My Professor related the following story:A preacher friend of mine was pursuing a Doctor of Ministry Degree at a prominent Seminary. One of his classes was on Christian Ethics. Now, this class included 37 ordained preachers most of whom already had Masters Degrees. The professor announced that he wanted to start the class with a quiz to see how much these preachers already knew about Christian ethics. The quiz was this, write down the Ten Commandments. Of those 37 preachers only 10 could list the Ten Commandments in order. Of those pastors, another 7 at least got all the commandments but in scrambled order and the other 20 pastors couldn't list all Ten Commandments so more than half the pastors ordained already with master’s Degrees in a postgraduate class couldn't list the Ten Commandments all of them.

Exodus 20:1–17 (NASB 2020)

1 Then God spoke all these

words, saying,

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be prolonged on the land which the Lord your God gives you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male slave, or his female slave, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Are we under the Law? The more accurate question to ask. Are we to do away with the Law?

I have heard it said and I have been told. We; meaning “Christians” are not under the Law. I have never asked anyone what do they mean by this. Because, when it was mentioned, it was always in relationship to the 10 Commandments. I have made the same comment as well without clarification. So, let me clarify this comment.

Side Note: approx. 13% of American Christians think all 10 Commandments are binding.

So let’s briefly talk about God’s laws.

God gave the nation of Israel three different sets/types of laws.

Ceremonial Laws: These were rituals that pointed ahead to Jesus and that are now fulfilled in Him and these rituals are no longer required by Christians. Such as we no longer need to offer sacrifices for the forgiveness of our sins. We are no longer forbidden to eat certain foods. Christians are not required to keep the festival/feast days as listed in Leviticus.

Civil Laws: these are case laws for governing the old covenant people of Israel and these laws still today can provide valuable information for a just society but they're not for every nation and every people in every age. Such as the laws that governed slavery-God does not approve of slavery, by knowing the heart of man, he set forth regulations so slaves would not be abused within the Jewish Nation in that particular setting. Divorce: we know from the Old Testament from Jesus himself that God never approved of divorce, but there were some Civil Laws for regulating divorce when it did happen.

Moral Law: The Ten Commandments. These are God’s ethic’s that he has passed down to his children. To say we are not under the law, the question needs to be asked asked. Which laws are you referring to? Are you saying, we can ignore the laws? Did God just throw them out? The ceremonial laws? The civil laws?, The moral laws? Or all three Laws?

As, I pointed out earlier we are not under the ceremonial laws nor the civil laws. To say we are not under the moral law would need a bit more explaining.

Legal definition of “under”: in compliance with, or in accordance with, the provisions of the of the specified rule, form or statute/commandment.

Do you remember the definition of ethics? Ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, such as a code of conduct. Trying to follow God’s ethics (Ten Commandments) in turn will shape our morals. If our principles/morals are shaped by the Ten Commandments, then our morals will fall into line with God and not ourselves.

The Ten Commandments are our code of conduct. The Ten Commandments are the very foundation of Christianity.

How do I know we are under God’s Moral Laws? Remember the definition of under..

Matthew 5:17–18 (NASB 2020)

17 “Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!

John 14:15 (NASB 2020)

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

Jeremiah 31:33 (NASB 2020)

33 “For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

You may be saying to yourselves. Robert Jeremiah is talking to the house of Israel. Yes, he is. In Jeremiah 31 starting at verse 27 God is promising a new covenant with the house of Israel. But remember the gentiles, the Christian church has been grafted into the olive tree which is the nation of Israel.

Romans 11:17 (NASB 2020)

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NASB 2020)

3 revealing yourselves, that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Jeremiah and Paul are telling us God has not done away with the law, as a follower of Christ he has written the law on our hearts.

In Jeremiah the God states: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”

2 Corinthians Paul states: that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

God’s Moral Laws are summed up in the Law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2 (NASB 2020)

2 Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.

John 13:34 (NASB 2020)

34 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Matthew 22:37–40 (NASB 2020)

37 And He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Now the Law does not save, Let me repeat we are not saved by the LAW! It is by the Law that we are shown that we need a savior, that we are sinners, that we fall short of the Glory of God.

WE NEED THE TEN COMMANDMENTS!

Once we are saved, God, Christ, the Holy Spirit writes the law upon our hearts, as we strive to honor, to uphold the ethics of God we become more like Christ. This is the Sanctification process.

Let me leave you with this quote by A.W. Tozer:

I will only remind you, for you surely know it well, that many people have declared the Ten Commandments no longer valid, no longer relevant in our society. I watch the papers to check on the sermon topics of my fellow ministers, and it is apparent that Christian churches are not paying attention to the Ten Commandments.

Dwight L. Moody preached often on the Commandments. John Wesley said he preached the commands of the Law in order to prepare the way for the gospel. R.A. Torrey told ministers if they did not preach the Law they would have no response to the preaching of the gospel. It is the Law that prepares us for the gospel. It is the Law that shows us our need for the gospel of salvation and forgiveness.

Romans 3:19–20; Galatians 3:24; Hebrews 12:29

Jesus, Author of our Faith, 129.

A. W. Tozer