Love God

The 10 Commandments are about Loving God and Loving People! Today we are going to focus on the first four Loving God.

The Law can not save you. It teaches you that you are a sinner.

Romans 3:19–20 “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

The 10 commandments teach us things that are sacred.

The New Testament is serious about the 10 commandments. If you read Romans 2-7 you will find that

It is impossible to keep the law.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

John 7:19 “Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me?””

Praise God, Jesus does the impossible!

Mark 10:27 “But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.””

That is an introduction to the beginning of the 10 commandments.

You belong to God, He created you.

Isaiah 43:1 “But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.”

There is a key to the 10 commandments in the passage. It comes right in the middle not only do you belong to God because He created you.

If you are a child of God, you belong to God twice.

Exodus 20:1–2 “And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

You are redeemed. So you are the people that should follow God’s commands. The 10 commandments teach the unbeliever his need of a Savior. For the Believer it gives a starting guide as to follow Christ’s two great commandments. Love the Lord your God and Love your neighbor as yourself.

Which act of Grace cost more, your creation or your redemption? I think we owe Christ everything.

No other Gods before me.

Exodus 20:3 ““You shall have no other gods before Me.”

God is in heaven. He is the creator of heaven and earth. He is eternal and immortal!

Psalm 115:2–3 “Why should the Gentiles say, “So where is their God?” But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases.”

This verse tells us who to worship,

The devil would have you worship anything else.

No graven images.

Exodus 20:4–6 ““You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” ““You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;”

Interesting command. At first and clear glance this means no idols.

Idols are worthless.

Psalm 115:4–8 “Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see; They have ears, but they do not hear; Noses they have, but they do not smell; They have hands, but they do not handle; Feet they have, but they do not walk; Nor do they mutter through their throat. Those who make them are like them; So is everyone who trusts in them.”

I like to say that this include American Idols. Have you ever heard the phrase don’t meet your idols.

Tell the story of meeting Pat Parelli

Look see I met this person! SO WHAT

Idols can be religious symbols. (The Story of Nehushtan)

2 Kings 18:4 “He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan.”

We worship Jesus, not the cross.

John 3:13–15 “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Jesus is in heaven correct! just like the 10 commandments say. He is the Jesus who died on the cross, Lord and Savior. The cross can become like Nehustan it can become an idol.

We obey God’s law because we love Him.

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

People want to worship things that they can touch.

We worship God in spirit and in truth.

John 4:23–24 “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””

Do not take God’s name in vain.

Exodus 20:7 ““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.”

God’s name is holy.

Luke 11:2 “So He said to them, “When you pray, say: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.”

Remember the 10 Commandments are about holiness. They teach the sinner that they don’t measure up that they need a Savior. These commands are for us to keep because we love God. Don’t get upset at the unbeliever cursing. You can get upset at cursing in general it should bother you. But when you hear a sinner swearing they are acting like a sinner. But YOU as a saint should guard your tongue. Curse words pop out. I am amazed at how many times Christians swear to me not at me let’s be clear. But what about Scott Willson’s lips and His use of the word God, Jesus, Holy, Christ! Am I treating it with respect. I’ll still wash your mouth out with soap if you use a four letter word but I am more concerned with the three and five letter words.

Respect God’s name. (REVEREND)

Psalm 111:9 “He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name.”

The word awesome in Psalm 111.9 is the word reverend in the King James it is the only time a word in the Bible is translated that way. It means to fear to revere to cause to frighten. You need to have a healthy holy respect for God’s name. I am serious about this because God is serious about this.

Remember the Sabbath, keep it HOLY!

Exodus 20:8–11 ““Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Should we keep the sabbath today?

Many would argue that the Sabbath is the only of the ten commandments not repeated in the Old Testament is the keeping the Sabbath. We are free in Christ and the Sabbath is a Jewish thing.

The Sabbath is a lot older than the 10 Commandments.

Genesis 2:1–3 “Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.”

It precedes the 10 commandments, Jesus followed the Sabbath in an acceptable way. I think His provisions are accommodating to emergency work. It is the only of the 10 commandments Jesus wasn’t more strict than the Jews.

Remembering the Sabbath means you work six days!

That doesn’t mean you have to clock in, but you are to be busy sometimes it is working for your self some times it is working for the lord but you work six days, this doesn’t include vacation and holidays God provides for those. But it should be your practice to be busy six days. May you are disabled you can’t go work a 9 to 5 I get it. Don’t rot in front of a TV Do something productive.

The Sabbath was made for man, remember that.

Mark 2:27 “And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.”

When you obey the Sabbath it is for your own good.

Eternal Sabbath is coming!

Hebrews 4:9 “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

Obey God His commandments are a gift from a loving caring heavenly Father. Will you fail, yes! But it is an eternal blessing and privilege to live a righteous life.