Yesterday’s message was the first in The Ten Commandments for Today series from the book of Exodus. This first message was an Introduction to the Ten Commandments, taken from Exodus 20:1-17.

Exodus 20:1-17 – 1 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 me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol 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 fathers 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 manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. 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 manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (NIV)

Here is a brief outline of the message:

What’s the fuss?
    1) The secular fuss – separation of church and state
    2) The religious fuss – separation of law and grace

What’s the need?
    1) We live in an age of lawlessness
    2) We live in an age of pluralism
    3) We live in an age of spiritual ignorance

What’s the context?
    1) God’s deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt
    2) Israel’s arrival at Sinai and time of preparation
    3) God’s appearance on Mount Sinai before the people

What’s the purpose?
    1) The law is not designed to:
        – bring you into relationship with God
        – serve as some type of entrance exam into heaven
    2) Rather, the law is designed to:
        – reveal God’s character
        – restrain human evil
        – convict you of sin and your need for a Savior

Some general observations:
    1) absolute commands rather than “if/then” statements
    2) directed to the individual (“you” singular)
    3) spoken and written directly by God
    4) different numberings of the commandments
    5) two tables of the law
    6) two versions recorded in Scripture (Exodus 20; Deut 5)
    7) good three-fold rule of interpretation
        – where any duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden
        – where any sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded
        – the internal heart condition leading to the sin is also forbidden

Note: To read the complete message, go to the Sermons tab at the top of the blog.