The Exodus – Part 31
The 10 Commands
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org
Online Audio Files | HOF Church Facebook | Truth Digest Facebook
This document is a Sermon Outline. You may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on Facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on Facebook at House of Faith Church.
SERMON TIMELINE
· The Book of Genesis
· The Book of Exodus
· The First Three Miracles
· The Ten Plagues
o Passover & Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ Instructions for Passover Feast
§ Instructions for Feast of Unleavened Bread
§ The Exodus Begins
o Passover Restrictions
o Consecration of Hebrew Firstborn Sons
o Cross the Red Sea
o The Complaining Begins (continues)
o Manna & Quail
o Water from the Rock
o Jethro visits Moses
o Moses and Mount Sinai
o The 10 Commands
INTRODUCTION
Moses and the Israelites are now safe from Egypt in the wilderness. His father-in-law has returned with Moses’ wife and sons, and even some free council.
Moses was called by God to Mount Sinai were they spoke and Moses received instruction for the people. We talked last week about how this foretold of Jesus being sent by God to bring salvation to the lost, and now we will read how God will give the Law to Moses to take to the people.
W read last week about how the people were to prepare themselves, like a bride for the bridegroom, and the clean garments they were to wear representing the covering of Jesus when we stand on Judgment Day.
Today we examine Moses and the Ten Commands
SCRIPTURE READING
Exodus 20
"And God spoke all these words:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before (besides) me.
4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping 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. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land 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 give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
18 When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance 19 and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”
21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.”
TODAY'S MESSAGE
I. THE COMMANDS
a. The Commands are not what God is but what man should be
i. They are the moral code for men
ii. They are the code we are all judged by
iii. These have only been fulfilled by Christ Jesus
1. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20
b. The laws are the concise moral code which is written on men’s hearts
i. “because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” Romans 2:5-8
ii. “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law instinctively perform the requirements of the Law, these, though not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience testifying and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of mankind through Christ Jesus.“ Romans 2:14-16
iii. Matthew Henry – “Conscience is a witness, and first or last will bear witness. As they kept or broke these natural laws and dictates, their consciences either acquitted or condemned them. Nothing speaks more terror to sinners, and more comfort to saints, than that Christ shall be the Judge. Secret services shall be rewarded, secret sins shall be then punished, and brought to light.”
c. The commands are mostly negative, but their positive is stated in Matthew
i. Matthew 5:1-48 Jesus speaks the beatitudes
ii. None will find happiness in this world or the next, who do not seek it from Christ by the rule of his word. He taught them what was the evil they should abhor, and what the good they should seek and abound in.
iii. Jesus lists in the beatitudes eight characters of blessed people, which represent the principal graces of a Christian.
iv. Read Matthew 5 and be mindful of yourself as you do.
II. THE TWO TABLES OF COMMANDS
a. The first set, 1-4 our duties toward God
i. You shall have no other gods besides me.
1. The ONLY acceptable object of worship, God alone.
ii. 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. 5 You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
1. The worship we render to the Lord our God
2. Forbidden to worship any man-made representation of anything, even God Himself
iii. 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.
1. The Manner of worship to God
2. We must hold His name in all reverence and seriousness.
iv. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 For six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male slave or your female slave, or your cattle, or your resident who stays with you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and everything that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day; for that reason the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
1. Remember
2. The Sabbath day is to be a day of HOLY rest
3. Works of necessity, charity, faithfulness
4. “Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27
5. Works of luxury, vanity, self-indulgence is not what is meant by a “day of rest”, slothfulness and indolence may be carnal, but a Holy Day of Rest means rest from the worldly and rest in service to the Lord.
6. The day is blessed, and men shall be blessed by it, and blessed of God.
b. The second set, 5-10 our duties toward man
i. The second set is our duties to fellow man.
ii. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves.
1. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
a. Our duty is to esteem them and obey their lawful commands
b. Care for them when they are old or need support
c. Submit to their council and guidance
d. Listen to their correction
e. With this command come temporal blessings when we are obedient, and the opposite when we are disobedient.
f. “…that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
2. You shall not “murder”
a. You shall not Murder…it doesn’t say kill
i. Murder is evil
ii. 1 John 3:11-12 “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”
iii. Matthew 15:18-19 “But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
b. Capital Punishment
i. Leviticus 24:17 “Anyone who takes the life of a human being is to be put to death.”
c. Self Defense is Allowed
i. Exodus 22:2 “If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no guilt for bloodshed on his account.”
3. You shall not commit adultery
a. Marriage is between one man and one woman according to God
i. Adam and Eve
b. Fornication is relations outside of marriage
c. Adultery is relations with someone other than your spouse
d. God never intended for people to have more than one spouse.
e. In the section of “administration of Justice” in Deuteronomy 17:17 “And he shall not acquire many wives for himself…”
f. Adultery is more than one spouse, or relations with someone other than your spouse.
4. You shall not steal
a. Self-explanatory
5. You shall not give false testimony
a. In other words, do not lie about anything
6. You shall not covet
a. The first 4 laws were our duties to God
b. The next 5 forbids the desire to do harm to our neighbor
c. The last law forbids wrong desires of what will gratify ourselves
d. Covet, or to desire to obtain something someone else has.
c. These two sets are summed up in one great law
i. Matthew 22:36-40 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
III. THE ONLY ANSWER
a. If judged by the 10 commands
i. The laws will show us guilty.
ii. With the coming judgment, who can despise the gospel of Christ?
b. The knowledge of the Law shows our need for repentance
i. The commands reveal our sin, and the need of both repentance and a savior, Jesus Christ.
c. It is only by Christ we receive our new hearts
i. Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
ii. When God is in our hearts, He dethrones sin and crucifies it.
iii. The Holy Spirit enables us to hate sin and flee from it.
iv.
And
we will love and keep the laws in sincerity and truth, and commit to repentance
CONCLUSION
We see the Law of Moses and the power it has to move us toward God, repentance and a savior, Jesus Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we move forward in our spiritual growth to serve the Lord.
1 John 5:3-4 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For [d]whoever has been born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world: our faith.”
The Commands of God are not Burdensome
NEXT WEEK
Idols and Altars
This, and other Sermon Audios can be found for FREE at
https://www.ps127.org/online-audio-files
Want to learn more about Salvation?
Want to read more FREE sermons?