South Woods Baptist Church

Most of the focus on the Ten Commandments over the past decade has been on the legality of posting the ancient law code in public places or else as the brunt of a comedian's one-liner. I do not deny that while the Ten Commandments are a moral code it is also a spiritual document. When the Supreme Court rejected the Ten Commandments being placed in secular educational institutions in Stone v. Graham, the Court explained, "The Ten Commandments is undeniably a sacred text...and no legislative recitation of a supposed secular purpose can blind us to that fact." There's no argument there. They continue, "The commandments do not confine themselves to arguably secular matters, such as honoring one's parents, killing or murder, adultery, stealing, false witness, and covetousness. Rather, the first part of the commandments concerns the religious duties of believers: Worshipping the Lord God alone, avoiding idolatry, not using the Lord's name in vain, and observing the sabbath day" [quoted by Philip Graham Ryken, Written in Stone, 33]. While I think we all agree that the Ten Commandments "concerns the religious duties of believers" (italics added), what the Court did not do is acknowledge that each of the Ten Commandments regards the duties for all humanity, believer and unbeliever alike. That does not mean that an unbeliever (1) can justify himself before God by obeying the Ten Commandments, as many suppose; (2) nor does it imply that the unbeliever has the inward love and power to obey the Commandments that comes only through union with Jesus Christ. (3) Nevertheless, the creation is responsible to the Creator; those persisting in breaking the Creator's law will be broken by the law and judged by the Creator.

Unfortunately, the squabble over the Ten Commandments is not restricted to the nation's courts or political rallies. It is also found in the church. Varied opinions exist regarding the Ten Commandments as to their validity in light of the cross of Christ and the New Testament. Some have embraced the ancient problem of antinomianism or lawlessness, thinking that because they have grace they are free to do as they please without any regard to law. Others use the law as the basis for judging and controlling others, as well as an instrument for restricting relationships-that devolves into legalism. Even worse would be those that cannot be categorized as either antinomian or legalistic but simply give no attention to God's law. They cannot name the Ten Commandments nor can they comment on their New Testament explanation and application. That's probably where most professing Christians land in our day: neither in the ditch on the right or the ditch on the left but stuck in the rut in the middle!

Our purpose in the next few weeks in probing the Ten Commandments is to see the God-centered and God-saturated truth for living in each command. The Ten Commandments or Ten Words, as they are called, have a four-fold usage. First, and this will be the primary focus in our present study, is that the commandments reveal God's character. We find out what God as like when He spoke the Ten Words. Each command reflects the moral nature of God. As the late Ernie Reisinger pointed out, "Man is therefore not answerable to an abstract law, but to God himself. Behind the law is the lawgiver, and to find fault with the former is to malign the latter." Further he explained, "The law is not the arbitrary edicts of a capricious despot, but the wise, holy, loving precepts of one who is jealous for his glory and for the good of his people" [Whatever Happened to the Ten Commandments, 5].

Second, the Ten Words restrains sinful impulses in society in general. To know that there is an objective, absolute standard for what is right and wrong reels in even hardened sinners. Though all men are fallen in Adam, there remain the vestiges of the image of God in all of us, even though marred and flawed at every point. The simplicity of these words and the penetrating way they touch every aspect of human thought and relationships, does not go unnoticed. From that standpoint, though a spiritual document, the Ten Commandments serve society well as a restraint against the base nature. Obviously, apart from the gospel giving power to the will to lovingly follow what God has commanded, the power of restraint will be limited [cf. Philip Ryken's excellent comments on the commandments restraining sin in society, 31-33].

Third, the Ten Words reveal unrighteousness in the heart. That's why there's so much objection to public posting of the Ten Commandments! People see how they have failed to measure up to God's demands; they prefer ignorance to reality! Yet this is an essential component to the gospel. Apart from the law one cannot understand the gospel. Apart from the gospel one cannot love and appreciate the law. The law reveals to us the sinful condition of the heart, so that we recognize, if we dare thought it possible, that we cannot justify ourselves before such a holy God by conformity to the law. Donald Grey Barnhouse illustrated this precisely. "The law of God is like a mirror. Now the purpose of a mirror is to reveal to you that your face is dirty, but the purpose of a mirror is not to wash your face. When you look in a mirror and find that your face is dirty, you do not then reach to take the mirror off the wall and attempt to rub it on your face as a cleansing agent. The purpose of the mirror is to drive you to the water" [quoted by Ryken, 37]. When John Eliot did his first translation work among the Algonquin Indians in the 17th century, he did not begin with John 3:16 but with the Ten Commandments. He had no thought that the commandments could save them, rather "the commandments would show them why they needed to be saved," as Reisinger explained, "they were law-breakers, and they needed a law-keeper to be their substitute" [Whatever Happened 5].

Finally, the Ten Commandments set forth the pattern for righteous living in how believers are to love God and love their fellow man. While the law precedes the gospel in terms of seeing your need for Christ, the law follows the gospel in identifying how to follow after Christ. The believer's sanctification follows along the tracks of the law. There is no antithesis, but rather cooperation in grace and law at the point of the believer's sanctification. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explained this clearly.

There is nothing more fatal than to regard holiness and sanctification as experiences to be received. No, holiness means being righteous, and being righteous means keeping the law. Therefore if your so-called grace (which you say you have received) does not make you keep the law, you have not received grace. You may have received a psychological experience, but you have never received the grace of God. What is grace? It is that marvellous [sic] gift of God which, having delivered a man from the curse of the law, enables him to keep it and to be righteous as Christ was righteous, for he kept the law perfectly [quoted by Brian Edwards, 21].

And so we come to the Ten Commandments-God's moral law for humanity and His sanctifying law for believers. We distinguish the moral law from the ceremonial law of rules and regulations related to sacrifices, holy days, feasts, and other issues regarding temple worship. They had their place in ancient Israel to distinguish the worship of God's people from the pagan worship of their neighbors. Each aspect of their worship served as a shadow of which Christ is the substance. The Epistle to the Hebrews explains this in detail, but for our purposes, let us recognize that the ceremonial law found its fulfillment in Christ. There is no need for sacrifices or feasts days or temple any more, for Christ has completed the Levitical system. They served their purpose in pointing to fulfillment in Christ (see Hebrews 7-10). Christ has given to the Church two ceremonial ordinances to replace that system: baptism and the Lord's Supper, both of which point back to Christ and His death on our behalf.

We also distinguish the moral law from the civil law that related specifically to Israel as a theocracy. The civil laws, while valuable for precept, were applied to the theocratic nation of Israel and not enforced upon other nations by Moses or by the later New Testament writers. In commenting on those that would try to frame their governments by "the political system of Moses," John Calvin warned "how perilous and seditious this notion is." He pointed out that while both ceremonial and civil or judicial laws had some connection with the "eternal and unchangeable will" manifested in the moral law, both were abrogated in Christ without negatively affecting one's ability to love God and men. "Therefore, as ceremonial laws could be abrogated while piety remained safe and unharmed, so too, when these judicial laws were taken away, the perpetual duties and precepts of love could still remain" [Institutes, 4.20.14 & 4.20.15]. The focus was no longer on the state but on the church. "The church is not a state," as Philip Ryken reminds us. "Today the people of God are governed instead [i.e. of OT civil laws] by church discipline, which is based on the moral law, and which has spiritual rather than civil consequences" [Written 22].

With this as a backdrop for our study, let us begin by looking at what is commonly called the "preamble" to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-2). As we approach our study of the Ten Words, we do so by recognizing not only their moral but spiritual value, seeing them related not only to the old covenant but also to the new covenant as the laws are written upon our hearts (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 10:16-17), and valuing the purpose of the law to show us our need for justification and to give us a path for sanctification. We will observe that the New Testament expands, explains, and applies the Ten Commandments as the law of love, given by our Lord and Redeemer that we might walk in love for Him and others. But first we must consider the preamble that establishes God's justification for and our responsibility to the Ten Commandments.

I. God's self-revelation v. 1

Chapter 19 helps us see what is taking place. God had redeemed Israel from bondage. They had come out of Egypt, crossed the Red Sea, and journeyed through the wilderness to Mt. Sinai. There, we are told, "Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet God." God was revealing Himself to Israel. They saw the smoke and fire, and felt the reverberations of thunder and the mountain quaking violently. They saw the bounds set about the mountain marking off the limitation of their approach so that they would be reminded of God's holiness and their sinfulness. How would God now reveal Himself?

1. God spoke

He clears the air concerning what He is like by speaking forth the Ten Words. All of the caricatures of God cultivated by 400 years in Egypt with their superstitions, idols, and false gods had to be stripped from Israel. Their picture of God was distorted and misrepresented by their experiences (which often happens today!). Unlike the gods of Egypt or Canaan, now God would speak to them.

That's how God reveals Himself in history: He speaks. This is precisely what the writer of Hebrews explained. "God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world" (Heb. 1:1-2). Here we find the affirmation of Scripture's authority as a divinely breathed out book. God has spoken through His written word, and ultimately has spoken through His living Word-His Son. His personality, character, attributes, will, and purpose for creation were made known as God spoke.

2. God spoke words

How would Israel, or for that matter any of the other people, know what God was like? They saw smoke, flashes of lightning, and heard thunder. That spoke of God's power, majesty, and sovereignty. He was a mighty God that controlled the elements to make Himself known. Yet that told Israel nothing of God's personality or will. How could they be like this God that revealed Himself in smoke and thunder on the mountain? "Then God spoke all these words," God spoke words. And not just any words. Not confusing or mystical words as you so readily see in the holy books of other religions. He spoke Ten Words to explain His moral attributes and His moral demands [I'm following Philip Ryken's summary of the Ten Commandments, Written in Stone, 14-17].

His uniqueness as the only God, who alone is Sovereign Lord is found in the 1st Word. "You shall have no other gods before Me."

The second, "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," explains the preciseness of our God in how we are and how we are not to worship Him. God is jealous for His glory and will not tolerate any denigration of it through any type of idolatry.

The third demonstrates the honor of His name. "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain."

The fourth, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy," calls for us to work and rest as God has modeled for us, recognizing that in both work and worship we honor Him.

The fifth commandment moves into the series that relates particularly to our relationships with one another. It begins with learning to respect the most basic authority. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you." Respect for God's authority is reflected by honoring authority in the home.

The sixth commandment, "You shall not murder," declares that all life is sacred because it is given and sustained by God. We dare not attempt to violate the sanctity of life through destroying another.

The seventh commandment, "You shall not commit adultery," demands that we reflect God's purity and faithfulness within the covenant of marriage between a man and woman.

The eighth commandment, "You shall not steal," affirms God as our provider and sustainer in all things, so that we are to trust Him and never resort to taking what God has given another.

The ninth commandment, "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor," reminds us that our God is a God of truth, and so we are to reflect truth and integrity in our relationships.

The tenth commandment affects our worship and our dependence upon God. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor." Coveting sets desire above humble dependence upon God as provider, so that one seeks to usurp God's rule over his life. It leads to idolatry, which Paul warned of in Ephesians 5:5, so that both worship and daily God-dependence suffer under the tyranny of coveting.

What is God like? Philip Ryken explains, "To summarize, the Ten Commandments display the character of God. They reveal his sovereignty, jealousy, justice, holiness, honor, faithfulness, providence, truthfulness, and love" [17].

II. God's self-declaration

There's something very personable in the preamble to the Ten Commandments. God had just taken this people by the hand and led them out of bondage. Through Moses, God had to tell them His name! He had shown them grace in coming to them in their bondage and delivering them. Now as a God of grace He would give them His law so that they would know how to walk in His pleasure. "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." The two pronouns are both second person singular pronouns. God had revealed Himself personally to each one, and now they were each personally known by Him. So in personally knowing God He makes them personally responsible to live in right relationship to Him. Grace came to them, not just corporately but personally. So each one was to view the Ten Words as God's personal self-revelation and His personal self-declaration that explained at the same time His character and His will. They were to be faithful and pure because their God is. They were to honor the sanctity of life because their God does. They were to keep God's name glorious and honorable in their conversations because He is glorious and honorable.

But this law would have another effect upon them-as it does upon us. The law revealed God as holy, pure, and faithful. Yet that same law, as it probes the mind and heart, exposes to us our unholiness, impurity, and unfaithfulness. What we see in God we do not see in ourselves! Does God give us these laws, therefore, to torment us about how sinful we really are? Oh no, but rather, God gives these laws as an action of His grace to drive us back to Him as Redeemer. To frame it in New Testament terms, the law always leads us to the cross. Notice how we see this in verse 2.

1. Eternal Sovereign

"I am the LORD your God," or I am Yahweh. That was the name that Moses used to introduce God as Israel's "great Liberator," as Jochem Douma put it. The name Yahweh means, "I am who I am," the eternally existent one. God is who He is not who we make Him to be. As Douma amplified, "I am the saving and liberating One, who fulfills the promises that I gave to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" [The Ten Commandments: Manual for the Christian Life, translated by N.D. Kloosterman, 2]. God did not liberate Israel because of their merit but in spite of their sin. He did so by His own sovereign might. So He announces Himself as Yahweh your God.

Do you see what is happening? God announces Himself, explains who He is, and re-centers their lives to be focused on Him. In this sense, the Ten Commandments are not about us but about Him-and all of life being lived to His glory.

2. Creator

"I am the Lord your God." That is, I am the Eternal Sovereign who, as God, created you and as God, sustains you. So in light of God as Creator and Sustainer, we are to obey His commands. We have no existence apart from His providence and provision, so "it would be monstrous for us to want to withdraw from his rule when we cannot exist apart from him," as Calvin explained [2.8.13]. As God has revealed His Ten Words as an extension of His own moral character, "every violation of the law," states Ryken, "is an offense against God's holy character" [17]. Since God is unchanging in His moral character then these laws perpetuate to all generations. They did not come into existence at Sinai but have always been in the character of God. Even before the law was written in stone by God's finger, the Creator enforced them from the beginning of time:

3. Redeemer

"I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Here is where we see, more than in any statement, that grace precedes law. First there is the gospel, in this case, and then law is explained. That's the same pattern that is found in Deuteronomy 6:20-25. "When your son asks you in time to come, saying, 'What do the testimonies and the statutes and the judgments mean which the Lord our God commanded you?' then you shall say to your son, 'We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and the Lord brought us from Egypt with a mighty hand... He brought us out from there to bring us in... so the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today." He kindles our desire for obedience as we consider Him as Redeemer.

So we see the multiple purposes of the law. God reveals Himself as a holy God. God reveals to us our sinfulness. Such revelation points us to the cross of Christ where we meet this God as Redeemer. Then the gospel takes us back to the law, giving us a clear path for loving God and loving man.

Conclusion