The Ten Commandments for God’s Children (Exodus 20:1-17)

 

-Do you think that the law in the Old Testament is necessary for Christians? If so, what is the role of the law?
①to realize sin and we are sinners
Romans 3:20, Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
-Through the standard as the law, people can realize that they are sinners before God. They have no hope in themselves.
-Psalm 51:5, Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
②to lead us to the Gospel
Galatians 3:24, Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
-After they realize their sins and find no hope and solution in them and in the world, the law points out that the covenant of Jesus Christ is the one and only way to resolve the problem of sins.
-Hebrews 9:12, Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His (Jesus) own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
-In the wilderness, God gave ten commandments to Israelites who were free from Egypt through Exodus. What is the essential meaning of ten commandments for God’s people?

 

1.Remember and take hold of God’s salvation through Exodus
-First of all, God made Israelites remember God’s salvation through Exodus before he gave ten commandments.
1)God is the Lord your God (v.1)
-God reminded them who God is. God is “the Lord your God.” This phrase points out that the relationship between God and human beings are restored. They belong to God. How can God become their God and Lord? Through the blood of lamb on Passover, God delivered them and became their God.
Exodus 12:27, that you shall say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and delivered our households.’” So the people bowed their heads and worshiped.
-This restoration is connected to reconciliation and the restoration of relationship between God and human beings through the blood of Jesus Christ
Romans 5:10, For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
2)Freedom from the bondage (v.1)
-Israelites were slavery in the land of Egypt. They were in bondage to Pharaoh and Egypt. By their own efforts, they could not escape. They can be liberated from the slavery of Egypt through the blood of lamb. This shows the freedom from sin, death, and Satan through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:13-14, He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
-God wants His people to remember always God is their God and Lord and they received true freedom through the blood of Jesus Christ. Before the ten commandments, we should first concentrate upon the Gospel and God’s salvation.
-How can we understand the crucial meaning of ten commandments? Jesus Christ summarizes all laws. Matthew 22:37, Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

 

2.Love your God with all your heart, soul, and mind!
1)Live God-centered life! (v.3,7)
-The 1st commandment acknowledges that God is the one and only God, Creator, and Almighty One (v.3). Therefore, human beings are creatures and must admit the Lordship of God in their lives. They should live not self-centered life, but God-centered life.
-The 3rd commandment indicates that God is living God who listens and see everything that we do. Therefore, we should not take you the name of God in vain (v.7). We should live in front of God who knows everything.
2)Live worship-centered life! (vv.4-6, 8-11)
-The 2nd and 4th commandments can be summarized in worship-centered life. We should get rid of idols for our benefit, profit, success, and name. We must worship not ourselves or idols, but God alone.
-John 4:23-24, But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.
-On Sabbath, we have to be filled with God’s grace through worship. Because of this priority order of worship, God forbids people from working on the Lord’s day.
-How can we comprehend the rest of ten commandments?
Matthew 22:39, And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 

3.Love your neighbors as yourself
1)Respect your parents (v.12)
-In the family of the covenant, parents play an important role to teach and relay God’s covenant to their children. In this sense, we should respect and honor our father and mother. If our parents have no faith, we pray for them to believe in Jesus Christ through us (Acts 16:31).
-One of characteristics of sinners and the end time is to disobey their parents.
-Romans 1:30,  backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
-2 Timothy 3:2, For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
2)Love your neighbors as yourself!
-From the 6th to the 10th commandments, we can summarize them in loving neighbors as ourselves. However, if we follow our heart and mind, we cannot love others.
Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
-How can we love our neighbors?
1 John 2:15, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
-Instead of loving the world, we should love God and Jesus Christ. With love of God, we can love our neighbors as ourselves.

conclusion
1)Meditate upon God’s love through God’s Word
1John 4:9-10, In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
-Do you really experience God’s love through the salvation of Jesus Christ? In Jesus Christ alone, we can stay in God’s love. Therefore, to meditate upon the Way of Salvation is the best way to stay in God’s love.
-Ps 119:97 Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.