The Ten in the New #1

We want to see the Ten Commandments in the New Testament. Why would we focus on the Ten Commandments from the Old Testament if we are believers under a new covenant? Teaching God's people God's Word. This is the Truth Pulpit with Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Hello, I'm Bill Wright, and as Don continues today in his series called God's Forgotten Law, he'll show us that while Christians aren't under the penalty of the Mosaic Law, that doesn't mean we have no law at all.

So if you're ready, let's get started. Here's Don with part one of a message called the Ten in the New on the Truth Pulpit. There's going to be ten points corresponding to each commandment.

The math on this and the parallelism is all pretty easy to follow. The first commandment telling us there are to be no false gods in our lives. The first commandment emphasizes the exclusivity of God, both in his essence and in our affections. So look at it there in verse three as it says simply, you shall have no other gods before me. In other words, you are to hold the God of the Bible as unique. There is to be an exclusive place in your affections for him, and as a result of that, you allow no competing desires or other thoughts or philosophies or beings, supplant him or be beside him in your affections.

The singular defining affection that drives everything else in your life is to be love for the Lord God, the Lord God of the Bible. Well, the Bible repeats this theme in the New Testament in a number of ways. Look at Matthew chapter four with me. Look at Matthew chapter four as we look briefly at the account of our Lord's temptation in the wilderness by Satan. It says in verse eight that the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to him, all these things I will give you if you fall down and worship me. In other words, supplant in your heart me for the living God. And Jesus, while not quoting the first commandment directly, quotes the theme of the first commandment when he said to him, go Satan, or in other words, be gone, for it is written you shall worship the Lord your God and serve him only. And so there is to be this cultivated affection and conviction in your heart that says God is the only one that ultimately matters to me.

He is unique. He has an exclusive place in my affections, and things of the world or things of other matters can never compete with him, and we consciously repent of things that we find and sometimes make more important than God in our lives. I remember that there was a time where, this is long ago, long before I was married, talking with friends, and I had things going on in my life, and I was a brand new Christian, and I said something really foolish. I said, you know what, I don't want to go to heaven right now because I want time to enjoy these things on earth.

Well, I was being an idolater at that point. I had something other than God as the supreme affection in my heart. I had other things beside him, other things that I was more devoted to and that I wanted more than him and than his presence, and what a foolish, sinful thing for me to have said. Well, I wonder if there are things in your heart like that that you find that you are more attached to the things in life, the relationships in life, than you are to the God who saved you.

When you think of what Christ did for you, you think of him on the cross, you think of redemption and all that it means, how could anything possibly compare to that as the supreme object of your affection? That's what the first commandment is teaching us. And you'll find passages that emphasize it in a different way.

We won't turn to these. 1 Corinthians 8 verse 6, Galatians chapter 3 verse 20, 1 Timothy 2 verse 5, they're all making the point that there is one God. There is only one God.

And as you meditate on that, you realize how that brings you into a position of worship and a recognition of his unique holiness, his unique position in the universe. He is set apart. He is unique. He is different.

There is no one like him. And it is the instruction of the first commandment that we are to take that to heart and govern the affections of our heart accordingly. No false gods. First commandment.

Since there is only one God, you can have no others. And so we see that from the first commandment and the way that it is applied in the New. Now the second commandment, go back to Exodus chapter 20, the second commandment has the idea of no false worship.

In other words, there is a true God, and he must be worshipped in a true way according to what he has revealed. We are not free to make up our own methods of worship. We are to worship in accordance with what has been revealed and set down in Scripture.

And so God commands in verses 4 through 6 as follows. He says, 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. You are not to make, in other words, you are not to make a physical object that somehow represents the true God. It's not only a matter of not worshipping false gods, it's a matter of not using physical imagery to worship the true God who is a spirit.

Any kind of physical image, trying to represent God in a physical image, greatly assaults his glory and reduces him to something earthly rather than the great heavenly, infinite being that he is. And that's the point of the second commandment. So God goes on and says in verse 5, You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Now, where do we find this theme stated in the New Testament? Well, it's found in the numerous New Testament warnings against idolatry. Let's look at just a couple from the book of 1 Corinthians, starting in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And you see how seriously the Lord takes this. He showed in the second commandment in Exodus 20, he warns us that he takes this command seriously.

Don't do this, for I am a jealous God, and I visit iniquity on subsequent generations who violate this commandment. Well, you see this same kind of sobering emphasis in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. And we tend to gloss over its warning against idolatry for the sake of the sexual sins that surround it. So look at verse 9, 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 9. He says, Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? He says, Do not be deceived, neither fornicators nor idolaters.

There it is. A New Testament emphasis picking up on the second commandment saying idolatry is a sin that excludes people from the kingdom of God. Nor idolaters, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. That's a sobering, serious warning that causes us to probe the depths of our heart and ask, Where is it that my deepest affections lie?

What is it that I want the most out of life? If it's anything other than the Lord God, if it's anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ that you want most out of life, you are worshiping an idol. You have made an idol in your heart and you are worshiping it because you desire something other than God more than Him. And that is a gross and serious sin to commit. This searches out the deepest motivations of our heart, doesn't it? In 1 Corinthians 10 verse 7 it says, Do not be idolaters, as some of them were.

As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and stood up to play. You see how idolatry becomes simply a matter of prioritizing earthly amusements and earthly pursuits over the nature of worshiping the true God? This is a serious warning. And it's a sin that we're all guilty of. We're all guilty of violating this. People make idols of so many things, make idols even of family, even of marriage. We'll talk about this more when the time comes to address the second commandment. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9 it says, You turned away from idols to serve the living and true God. In 1 John chapter 5 verse 21 it says, Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

You know, the Bible only has to say something one time for it to be important, to be something that arrests and commands our attention. We have this command against idolatry stated at least those four times in the New Testament. And so there's no false worship. We're to examine our hearts and purge it of those things that would supplant God as the supreme object of our affections.

He is the one and only God, and as a result he is to be the one and only object of our worship and affections. That's the second commandment. Thirdly, the third commandment, honor God's name. Honor God's name.

And you can go back to Exodus chapter 20. The third commandment requires us to honor the name of God. And look at verse 7 of Exodus chapter 20, the third commandment. Honor the name of God.

It's expressed in a negative form which requires a positive action. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. You know a very simple and familiar place where you can find this theme in the New Testament? It's at the very start of the Lord's Prayer, Matthew chapter 6 verse 9, where Jesus said, Pray in this way.

And he said, he instructs us to pray, Our Father who is in heaven, what? Hallowed be your name. Let your name be sanctified.

Let it be set apart. Let it be honored and worshiped. Let it be honored and worshiped throughout the world, throughout the church.

And Lord, let it be set apart and worshiped in a unique and highway in my own heart. The name of God, which is a representation of all that he is, is to be hallowed and respected by us. It's a part of his moral law that flows from his unique and surpassing majesty. The surpassing majesty of God calls for his name to be honored and to be spoken with respect and not in flippant ways. As I pointed out in my message, Meet the Ten Commandments, this is so routinely violated that our ears have just become dull to it. I fear that there are some, even in the room here with me, are happy to say the sinful phrase, oh my God, in a flippant way, expressing at the most trivial way, at the most trivial things, responding to them and using God's name in a flippant, casual, disrespectful way like that. And you can multiply the examples, and we did that last time, and we'll do it more as we go through the third commandment. But God's name is to be honored and respected.

It's not a matter of casual conversation. When the name of God comes up, there should be a sense of reverence that comes over your tongue and over your heart in respect to the great majesty of who he is. I'm quite convinced, and I hope to make this point as we go through the commandments, to just show how the holiness of God is fundamental to understanding the significance of the Ten Commandments. The holiness of God sets him apart so that there could be no other gods. The holiness of God means that he must be worshipped in the right and proper and biblical way. The holiness of God means that his name is treated with respect, and all of that is indicated by the Lord's instruction to us to pray.

The first line of his model prayer for us deals with the holiness of the name of God and imparts it and imprints it on our hearts in that way. And so our constant prayer, our ongoing prayer, should be that the name of God would be honored. God, be glorified in my life. God, be glorified in my family. God, be glorified in my church. God, be glorified in evangelism. God, be glorified in the conversion of sinners. God, be glorified in the obedience of your people and let it start with me. God, be glorified and send revival upon this wicked land of ours. God, be glorified and let the gospel spread so that your name would be honored and loved and revered by everyone who comes into contact with it.

That's the idea. And it's convicting, isn't it, to realize just how often that thought doesn't really come to our minds? The third commandment points this out to us and convicts us of our indifference to his name. And as I said, a little bit of a tangent here, a reminder for those of you that haven't been here for the early parts of our series, in addition to convicting us of sin, the Ten Commandments are doing something else. They are teaching us how to love God. The Ten Commandments are teaching us how to love God.

Jesus was asked, what is the greatest commandment? He said, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul, strength and mind. Well, beloved, that's more than just a sentimental feeling about God and, you know, an emotional reaction of feeling close to him. The content of what it means to love him is found in, is expressed in and is guided and instructed to our hearts by these early commandments. That means that you hold him unique. It means that you allow no competing affections for that exclusive space in your heart. It means that you honor his name.

And these commandments, as they're understood in their implications, instruct us in how we are to love God in the way that he demands to be loved. He demands exclusive devotion. Jesus said, if anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow after me. Take up an instrument of death.

Die to yourself and come and follow after Christ. You know, and so we ask ourselves, we look in the mirror and say, is that me? Is that reflected in anything that animates my life? Does that drive my life at all?

I know for many of you it does. I understand you do it imperfectly. But we all come under the authority of this command. Fourth commandment, going back to Exodus 20 for just a moment. Fourth commandment, easily the most controversial of commandments in Reformed theology, and we're not going to sort all of that out.

But just to bring the fourth commandment to your attention, in verses 8 through 11 of Exodus chapter 20. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant, or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day, therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Now, without going into the detail, I've prepared my messages on this.

They'll come in due course. But the New Testament treatment of the Sabbath as one of the Ten Commandments is distinct, and it's different from the other nine, and we'll explore that when the time comes. For now, for today, it's enough simply to show you this, that the New Testament speaks of the Sabbath and points to Christ as the fulfillment of the Sabbath. Look at Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2, as we see how the Word of God fits together. Colossians chapter 2, speaking of the nature of true salvation, of regeneration and redemption, the Holy Word of God says this, when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions. You see, the new birth and forgiveness spoken of there, salvation is such a wonderful thing, and I hope that all of you are in Christ and know the blessing of that, but if not, I invite you to Him right this moment to put your faith in Him, turning from sin and putting your faith in Christ for your redemption.

Young people, you little children, this can be yours as well. There's no reason for you to be outside of Christ, because He calls you to come. Verse 14, having canceled out the certificate of debt, consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. He died for our sins. He paid the penalty for us, and He released us from the bondage to Satan and demonic forces, as shown in verse 15.

When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. So Paul has given us this great summary of the doctrines of salvation. He's shown us the wonders and the implications of what it means to be in Christ, to be united to Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. And what's the consequence of being in Christ then?

What flows from that? What's the next thought that he expresses? In verse 16, he says, therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink, or in respect to a festival, or a new moon, or a Sabbath day, things which are a mere shadow of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. What he's saying here is that because Christ has come, died for our sins, and been raised from the dead, because He has caused us to be born again, and He has saved us from our sins, He's forgiven all of our iniquities, having taken them out of the way and nailed them to the cross, it says earlier in the passage. What he's saying is understand this, that the rest of the Sabbath is fulfilled in Christ. The Sabbath commandment was pointing to rest, and now that Christ has come, we find our rest in Him, not in a literal seven-day rotating calendar matter. We find our rest in Christ because He has fulfilled everything, and our spiritual rest is found in Him. We rest from our works of trying to please God because Christ has already pleased Him on our behalf, and if we are in Him, the rest has been accomplished, and therefore we rest in Him, and we do not need the ceremonial aspects of the law to please God anymore. He's pleased with His Son, and if we're in His Son, He's pleased with us by imputation, and therefore we find the New Testament treatment of the Sabbath set forth before us.

Remember the Sabbath tells us to remember Christ and what He has done for us, and to rest in Him, to be content in Him, and to know that everything that God requires from us has been fulfilled in our matchless Lord and Savior. So that's number four. Number five. Number five, the fifth commandment. Honor your father and mother. Honor your father and mother.

Look at verse 12 with me. Honor your father and mother. This command, the fifth command, opens up what's known as the second table of the law. The first four commandments are related to our vertical responsibilities and obligations before God. The second table relates to horizontal relationships, and the lead one is honor your father and mother. Verse 12, honor your father and your mother that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Now, this commandment is quoted directly by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter six, verses one and two, where it says, Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you and that you may live long on the earth. You're listening to The Truth Pulpit with Don Green, and we hope today's lesson has been a blessing to you. If you'd like to hear it again or you'd like to share it with a friend, we invite you to click on thetruthpulpit.com.

That's thetruthpulpit.com. And now, just before we go, here again is Don with a closing thought. Thanks, Bill. My friend, I want to give you an invitation to a special evening on Tuesday, May 17. There is still time for you to register, at least as we're recording this, for a special evening with my friend John MacArthur on Tuesday, May 17. Our church is hosting John on the campus of Northern Kentucky University just minutes from downtown Cincinnati. Again, that's on May 17.

The tickets for the event are free, but you must register to attend. Please go to thetruthpulpit.com for details. Again, that's thetruthpulpit.com to see John MacArthur live on May 17. Thanks, Don. And friend, we are out of time for today. I'm Bill Wright inviting you to join Don Green next time as he continues teaching God's people God's Word here on The Truth Pulpit.