Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

U.S. Constitution.

This past week, controversy broke out in Washington as the Senate Confirmation hearings began for the new Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavaugnan.

If you watched the beginning of the hearings on the news, there was shouting and people protesting and even people arrested for interrupting the hearing.

I bring this up because there the next Supreme Court Justice has more power to influence the country than even the President of the United States.

The tenure of a Supreme Court Justice is for a lifetime.

And one of their fundamental duties as Supreme Court Justice is to uphold and interpret the Constitution.

The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States.

There are those who believe in authorial intent and believe that the constitution should be interpreted according to the intentions of the founding fathers and then there are those who are on the left who believe that the constitution’s interpretation may change as time passes and culture evolves.

The constitution is what governs how U.S. citizens are to live.

And its important because the constitution protects our freedom and liberty.

Well, just as the Constitution summarizes how a citizen is to live in the U.S., the Commandments summarizes how a Christian is to live before God.

Today, we begin a new series on the Ten Commandments.

In one sense, we can say this was the constitution of the Bible for God’s people.

For the next few weeks, we will be examining each of the commandments and see what they mean for our lives.

Well, just as the Constitution summarizes how a citizen is to live in the U.S., the Commandments summarizes how a Christian is to live before God.

The Ten Commandments, or literally Ten Words, Decalogue, Law, have shaped Western civilization.

The Ten Commandments show that there is absolute truth, revealed by God, and man is will be held accountable to His Maker.

It is the foundation of Jewish and Christian moral ethics.

In one sense, the OT furthers explains the significance of the Ten Commandments and the Prophets remind the people where they have broken the Law and the need to return to obedience to the Law.

In the NT we see the true explanation of the Ten Commandments and the fulfillment of the Commandments, and the rest of the NT is the explanation of how to use the Law to glorify God as redeemed saints.

Even the great Reformer Martin Luther said,

“Thus we have in the Ten Commandments a summary of divine instructions, telling us what we have to do to make our whole lives pleasing to God and showing us the true source and fountain from and in which all good works must spring and proceed; so that no work or anything can be good and pleasing to God, however, great and costly in the eyes of the world, unless it is in keep with the Ten Commandments” Martin Luther

Most of the Reformation Catechisms included the Ten Commandments to teach children and church members what it is, its purpose, and use in the life of the Christian.

Why study the 10 commandments?

And I believe more than ever we need to study the commandments because of the culture and society we live in.

Cultural Relativism

Cultural Relativism

First, our society is steeped in what is called cultural relativism.

Cultural relativism basically states that truth is determined by the culture or society.

And this view may also lead to subjectivism, which is a view that the ethics or morality is determined by the individual.

This is problematic for a few reasons.

First, truth is determined by what is popular or what is trending, rather whether or not it is right in itself.

Second, truth is made up and not objective.

Therefore, everyone has their own view of truth.

There is no truth out there, but just made up truths that people find for themselves.

So secular people will say:

That’s true for you, but not true for me.

There is not one God, but many gods.

There is not one way to heaven, but many ways to heaven.

There is not one morality, but many moralities.

Everyone is free to believe and follow whatever he wishes regardless of whether or not it is morally wrong.

Relativism denies absolute truth or a objective standard that exists outside of us.

And this is why religion or morality is constantly debated both in private and public.

This is why we have culture wars when it comes to the topic of abortion or women’s rights or marriage.

Because if the individual or society determines truth, people will have differing opinions regarding what is true or what is ethical.

Biblical Ignorance

Biblical Illiteracy

Second, our society is biblically illiterate.

Because of the growing influence of secularism, the belief that there is no god and all that we see in this world is all that there is, people are largely ignorant of the teaching of the Bible.

Believe it or not, there was once a time where every child in public school learned the Ten Commandments in the western world.

They see the Bible as some archaic out dated book that has no relevance in society.

So to put the Ten Commandments in a public school becomes offensive to non-religious people because the first table of the law deal with our duty before God.

Believe it or not, there was once a time where every child in western public school learned the Ten Commandments.

This view is largely ignorant of how the Bible has shaped western history, and even America.

Believe it or not, there was once a time where every child in western public school learned the Ten Commandments.

And sadly, the biblical ignorance is also in the church.

If I were to ask some of the members of the church to recite the Ten Commandments, I believe members of our church would struggle and find difficulty with something so basic and foundational to our Christian faith.

Glorify God

Glorify God

And the study of the Ten Commandments is important because how can you glorify God if you don’t know what He commands?

How can you glorify your Maker if you don’t know what pleases Him?

How can you glorify God if you don’t know his revealed will?

Are we not longer under the law?

I thought we are Christians, no longer under the law.

We are not under the ceremonial laws of the old covenant, but we are still under the moral law of God.

I believe its important to study the Ten Commandments because we need to understand the foundations of our faith.

We also need to clarify misunderstandings and misrepresentations of the faith.

And we need to ultimately glorify God as we know what He commands.

Like I said, this is an introductory sermon to the Ten Commandments.

Next week, we will look at each commandment individually, but as we will see today, it is of great importance to study and know and obey the Ten Commandments with the help of God’s Spirit.

Main Proposition

Today, we are going to look at four reasons why the Ten Commandments are foundational to our faith, so that we can truly appreciate the Law of God and see how it applies to the Christian today.

Background:

The Ten Commandments were given to God’s people in the third month after God rescued his people from Egypt.

describes God’s rescue of his people from Egypt.

The people were oppressed by Pharoah and enslaved by the Egyptians.

God delivered his people with great and mighty miracles to show Pharoah that He was the true God who had all sovereign power.

God saved his people through Ten Plagues, the crossing of the Red Sea, and feeding his people miraculously as they approach Mt.

Sinai.

And in , the people were terrified as they stood at the foot of the mountain hearing the violence of the storm, the lighting, the shaking of the earth, the loud trumpets, the smoke that showed the significance of this event.

Moses had to go up the mountain by himself as a mediator because the people were terrified of the presence of God.

The people were to consecrate themselves and stay at the foot of the mountain lest they see God’s glory and perish.

And as Moses receives the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone, God reminds them of why He is giving the people the Commandments.

God enters into covenant with his people.

This giving of the Law is traditionally called the Sinai/Mosaic Covenant.

It is because the people of God were rescued by God and in covenant with Him, they were to give their whole allegiance to God.

reminds the people that they are saved to worship and they are saved to obey.

Grace always precedes obedience and obedience should always flow from God’s grace.

There is one and true God.

He is Holy and worthy of worship.

God’s delight in creation.

His authority.

He values human life because they are made in his image.

He values human sexuality because the one flesh union is part of his good design.

He values truth telling because He is the God of truth.

And he values that we have right affections that give Him the exclusive worship.

Why Should We Study the Ten Commandments?

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The Ten Commandments reveal God’s Character ()