“No Other Gods” (Exodus 20:1-3) - The 10 Commandments for Today I -

“No Other Gods” (Exodus 20:1-3)

- The 10 Commandments for Today I -

“Ten Real Commandments”

This year we as a church are conducting the “One Year Bible Reading” movement. We have finished reading the New Testament in the first quarter. And now we are reading the Pentateuch – the first five books of the OT. Probably some of you have experienced that you just gave up reading somewhere in the middle of Leviticus or Deuteronomy, in the middle of all different kinds of laws. According to our reading plan, we are supposed to read Leviticus from today. You may wonder why we need to read those regulations and laws. In order to help you keep going, we will explore the Ten Commandments from today for ten weeks because they are the essence of God’s law. James Patterson and Peter Kim wrote a book, titled The Day America Told the Truth. They observe that today there is absolutely no moral consensus at all. Everyone is making up their own personal moral codes – their own Ten Commandments. Some of the rules are as follows:

-         I don’t see the point in observing the Sabbath (77 %).

-         I will steal from those who won’t really miss it (74 %).

-         I will cheat on my spouse – after all, given the chance, he or she will do the same (53 %).

Is the Law Still Binding Today?

Many people don’t think that God’s law is still in effect today. The problem is many Christians also think the same on this issue. One of the rationales behind this is that we are not under law but under grace (Rom 6:14). They argue that God’s law has been abolished in the New Testament. To answer this question we should be aware that there are at least three different kinds of law in the Old Testament: the moral, the civil, and the ceremonial. The moral law is summarized in the Ten Commandments. In Romans 3:31 Paul says, “Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.” The moral law displays the character of God. So It is holy, righteous and good (7:12). The moral law also expresses God’s perfect and righteous will for our lives.

The civil law consisted of the laws that governed Israel as a nation under God. For instance, when you read Deuteronomy, you would find guidelines for waging war, restrictions on land use, and penalties for specific violations of Israel’s legal code. That’s the civil law. The civil law has expired. In the New Testament the Church is Israel (Rom 9:6-7; Gal 3:29). And the Church is not a state. We do have a king, Christ, but his kingdom is spiritual. Although the civil laws contain useful principles, we are no longer bound by their specific regulations.

The ceremonial law is also no longer in effect. When you read Exodus and Leviticus, you would find laws for clean and unclean foods and instructions for offering sacrifices. That’s the ceremonial law, and it has been abolished, because Christ has offered himself to make atonement for our sin once for all. Because of that, now we don’t need any further sacrifices. If we continue to make a sacrifice, it would be to deny the sufficiency of his work on the cross. Let me ask this question: “Is the law still binding today?” The answer is, of course it is! The moral law is as eternal as God is. 

The Law as a “Map”

Now we know the moral law is still valid today. Our next question is: “What is the purpose of God’s law?” “Why do we have to keep God’s law?” In Deuteronomy 10:12 Moses says, “Observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.” Many of us think that God’s law restrains our freedom, but actually, God gives us his law for our own well-being. The LORD said to Joshua after Moses’ death, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” God’s moral law is like a map. It teaches us how to live for God’s glory. The Ten Commandments begins in this way: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He identifies himself as a Redeemer. He delivered his people out of slavery while they were still undeserved. First God set his people free, then he gave them his law. First the Israelites were saved, then they had God’s law to live for their redeemer. They had a story to tell to their children how the Lord did deliver them with a mighty hand and outstretched arms.

We too have a story to tell. And our story begins with our slavery to sin. I still clearly remember my college years. I was in such spiritual bondage. There was no way out. I didn’t want it, but I just kept sinning. I was powerless. I was a slave to sin. One time one friend of mine said, “I want to commit suicide.” Do you know what I said? I said to him, “So do I.” I was hopeless. I couldn’t find the purpose of life. But Jesus Christ even came to my life. He loosed the chains of sin and set me free by his precious blood. He indeed gave me a new heart. He transformed my heart. That was my great exodus. We are redeemed by Jesus’ death and resurrection. What comes next? Are we free to live as we please? By no means! When God redeemed his people, he had a clear purpose. When Jesus redeems us, there is a clear purpose. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, “And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” God gives his redeemed people the law to teach them how to live for his glory.

What Are Our Idols?

The first commandment is this: “You shall have no other gods before me.” All of us in this room believe in God. So we may think that at least we faithfully obey the first commandment. But that may or may not be true. One time Sociologist Robert Bellah had an interview with a woman named Sheila Larson. Sheila was the ultimate individualist. She said, “I believe in God. I’m not a religious fanatic. I can’t remember the last time I went to church. My faith has carried me a long way. It’s Sheliaism. Just my own little voice.” Bellah comments, “This suggests the logical possibility of over 220 million American religions, one for each of us.” One of the most subtle but strongest idols we serve is the god or goddess of self. Yes, we believe in God. But we do believe in ourselves more than Him. We say we love God, but we spend most of our money for ourselves. We say we want to serve God, but we spend most of our time thinking about our own needs, plans, problems, and desires.

I fight against self-love everyday. I fight against complacency each and every single day. For me personally the best cure for this is to hear the story of the persecuted churches and Christians. Every time those testimonies restore my first love for Christ and set my heart on the kingdom of God. Yesterday I read a story of one missionary family to Afghanistan. Werner and his family were called to go to Afghanistan in 2002. For 12 years life was difficult, but they were glad and rejoiced in Christ. They changed so many Afghans’ lives. In October 2014, Werner preached on the subject of “Counting the Cost of Christ.” He ended by saying, “We die only once, it might as well be for Christ.” Exactly one month after that day, he and his two teenage children were killed in a Taliban attack. Werner’s wife, Hannelie, is the only surviving family member. She said, “For me, it is an indescribable loss. For them and the kingdom, a great gain. I know I have to focus on the gain and not the loss. We lived for Jesus; they died for Jesus.” This story rekindled the fire in me. About two years ago God gave me a heart for North Korea missions. To be honest, I am afraid. I am afraid of torture and death. But I still pray that I may die for Christ and for the North Korean people, because we die only once, we might as well die for Christ.

No God but Christ

On Mount Sinai God had spoken the Ten Commandments. On the Mount of Transfiguration God spoke only one commandment: “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him” (Luke 9:35). “No other gods” means no other name than the name of Jesus. God redeemed the Israelites. Jesus redeemed us by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father! (Phil 2:7-11) Apostle Paul had a story to tell how Jesus set him free by his death on a cross. In a Roman prison he did the dance of joy and worshiped Christ alone. He said to the Philippian Christians, “But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God… And I want all of you to share that joy!” (2:17) Since Paul was redeemed, he lived for Christ and died for Christ. All of us in this room live and die only once. What would you live for? And what would you die for?