Our Promise to God

Introduction

Today I want to take a somewhat familiar subject and look at it a little differently. Today we are going over the 10 commandments which we have talked about a few times before. However today, I want to not look at it as a list of rules or a list of principals. Today I want to look at it as a list of promises. When we say we want to follow God, and God asks us to obey these commands then should we do more than just say ok I will try to follow them? Today I want to consider this vow we take to pick up our cross and follow Jesus means we promise to obey God’s commands. These 10 commandments are universal so it is not about following levitical law or the rules and regulations for tabernacle or temple worship or all the laws found in the law given to Moses.

Today we will work a little differently where I want to examine the promise contained in each of these.

Listen to Exodus 20:1-17

Exodus 20:1–17 NRSV

1 Then God spoke all these words: 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, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me, 6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name. 8 Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it. 12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 You shall not murder. 14 You shall not commit adultery. 15 You shall not steal. 16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Lets go commandment by commandment and look at the promise we make in each one.

Expansion

Commandment 1

The first one is about having no other Gods before God. God has put great effort into bringing us into being. God formed Adam from the dust of the earth and put the breath of life in him. No other being brought forth creation and no other being should receive our worship and adoration and affection. God is the one who has rescued us from slavery to sin and given us freedom.

Promise: our promise to God should be that we recognize God for who God is as the only god. We promise to look at everything else as less than God and to not away our adoration and affection to anyone or anything else. It is easy to miss that point where things of this world gain our affection and attention and we focus more on them than God. Remember your promise to God is that God alone is where you worship, adoration, and affection should focus and not anything of this world.

Commandment 2

The second commandment is to have no idols that you worship. Just like in the previous command of having no other gods, idols are the focal points worship. In other cultures there are plenty of things that people use as focus points of worship. In some ways we have a cross that reminds us of who we worship. Yet we do not worship the cross itself. There is a difference between objects that point us to God and those objects becoming the center of worship. Secondly, things of this world that gain your attention can also become subtle idols. When you start to focus on something more than God and want to spend more time with this thing or hobby or whatever it is, then take a step back and see if this has become and idol. If so, remove it or realize it and step back from it and put it back in its appropriate place in your life.

Promise: our promise to God here is to let nothing else but God be our obsession in life. Nothing else in this world deserves our worship. God alone should be the focus of our worship and nothing else should ever be elevated in our lives to that status.

Commandment 3

The third commandment is to not misuse the name of the LORD your God. This may seem obvious but here God makes plain that it is not ok to misuse the name of God. Too often you probably hear people misuse God’s name. Often you hear it is cursing and the more subtle one is using God’s name to further your purpose. In other words, using God’s name to build up your own credit with people. These are just two examples of misusing the name of the LORD your God. At the heart of it is that when you use God’s name, it is in worship, it is in naming God in your prayers, your singing, your allegiance. This is where God’s name belongs in your speech.

Promise: our promise to God is to remember to only use God’s name in proper reverence. This means we use God’s name in our prayers, praises, singing, and worship. We should only use God’s name reverently.

Commandment 4

The fourth commandment is to remember the sabbath day. Do not carry out your normal work one day a week and keep it set aside as special. It is a day of rest from your labors.

Promise: our promise to God is to set aside one day where we find rest from our labors. This seems to be most difficult in our busy culture and the many things competing for our attention and time. Yet, we are saying in this promise that we will do just this. One day a week, we not only rest from our labors but give ourselves a break from the many things that compete for our attention and time. While we may choose to worship the Lord on this day, we promise to rest.

Commandment 5

The fifth commandment is to honor your father and mother. Interestingly enough, you notice in this commandment you are not told a reason but to simply do this. Parents are imperfect the same as you are imperfect so it is not conditional. While this may be in some cases such as abuse unfair or seem unjust, it is not about them and it must be done safely. The same as there are no specific conditions around why there are no specific ways in which it must be done. It is a principle rather than a prescribed practice. This means that as the ones who God chose to bring you forth into this world, they receive the honor and credit due as such. As the ones who raised you and helped you grow up, they deserve honor and credit due as such. Again, this can be complicated in some situation but you must evaluate who brought you forth and who raised you up. Sometimes this is the biological parents, sometimes this is the adoption parents, sometimes this is grandparents. At any rate, search out answers to these and make sure to give credit where credit is due.

Promise: our promise to God and to parents (or whomever has raised us into adults) is to give credit and honor to those who have had that influence and impact on our lives. Our promise is not just to God but to them as well. We promise to not forget and to make an effort to give them credit for what they have done.

Commandment 6

The sixth commandment is not to murder. This includes the physical act of murdering someone as well as what Jesus said about cursing someone which was the same for him. Yes, when you get mad and want to say bad things about someone, Jesus said you are murdering them with your words. This is the commandment we want to be simple but unfortunately more of us are guilty of this than we care to admit if we are honest.

Promise: our promise to God and others is that we don’t murder people physically or with our words. We choose our words carefully before they leave our mouths and when we must be silent.

Commandment 7

The seventh commandment is to not commit adultery. Do not violate your covenant of marriage and do not violate someone else’s marriage covenant. This is plain and simple yet passions and lust seem to rule over the world some days. Jesus said even lusting in your mind after someone else is the same so don’t even let the thoughts linger in your mind. Cast them out as soon as they creep in there.

Promise: our promise to God is to be faithful in our relationships. We promise not to violate the promises we made to each other and you.

Commandment 8

The eighth commandment is to not steal. It is ironic that while the physical act of stealing is understood well, the abuse of others and other people’s property is skipped over in some folks minds. In my only political comment I will make today, I see both political parties making deals and compromises that help some while at the same time taking away from others. I have watched politicians, and no I can’t claim all because I don’t know all nor have I watched over all, spend tax payer money in terrible ways that to me is stealing. I don’t want to turn this commandment section into a politics talk but I wanted to give an example of where it is not just the physical act of stealing from one person. It is taking away from one person unwilling or unknowingly to use for your own purpose. This is not something I found in the bible but is just my personal take on it.

Promise: our promise to God is to not take or misuse others or others property. This promise is to treat fairly what we are entrusted with and to not take or abuse what we have not been entrusted with.

Commandment 9

The ninth commandment is to not bear false witness. Sometimes this is interpreted as do not lie. At any rate, we are told not to lie about what we have seen and heard and witnessed. Don’t lie at all but be honest in everything. This includes our dealings with God and people. We can’t fool God and we often think we fool people but are not and just become known as liars that nobody believes.

Promise: our promise to God and to people is to always tell the truth.

Commandment 10

The tenth commandment is to not covet. This is hard because we are all envious or jealous at some point of others. It may be brief or it may be for a long time. The point being is that we should avoid this because of what it does to us and how it turns us against them or twists our hearts and minds into impure thoughts and attitudes toward others.

Promise: our promise to God is that we should focus and think carefully on when we start to see any seeds of jealousy or envy start to creep in and deal promptly with them. We promise that we accept what God has provided and that others and what they have shall not consume our thoughts and twist our minds and hearts against others.

Conclusion

I have focused today on looking at the ten commandments as a list of promises we make when we say we will follow God’s will and way. The reason behind this is that when we simply say, I will try, then we make not be making a full hearted commitment on the item. When I say well I will try to do better next time, then I am conceding that I am still likely going to do it. When we promise God, we really need to take it serious and we need to take it as a full commitment to follow through. Take the 10 commandments as your promises to God and others and start living as God intends.