Conclusion to the Commandments – Feel the Spirit of Christian Living at Epiphany
on August 26, 2007
Grace,
mercy, and peace are yours through God our Father who promises to show love to a
thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Amen.
Exodus 20:5-6 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.
Done!
School has already started
or is starting soon. Summer is over. Did you have big plans for this summer? Did
you get everything completed that you had planned? Paint the garage, finish the
basement, remodel the kitchen, put in a garden, go on a family vacation, read a
few novels, shop for school supplies, get better at your golf game (although most
of us will never complete that one). How much did you get done? Probably not as
much as you would have liked.
The mass of work you
have can be overwhelming. That’s why it is always helpful to write a “to-do” list
of all the things that need to be done. It is always a good feeling to check off
that task when it is completed. Check. “Done!” Check. “That’s finished!” Check.
“That took forever. I’m never doing that again.”
God says to us in his
Bible: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” That’s an overwhelming task,
so God wrote a “to-do” list for us. In your mind, put a check by every one of these
you have completed.
First: "You shall have
no other gods." You are to keep love God more than anything or anyone else. Second:
"You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God." You are to honor and respect
God in all you do and all you say. Third: “Remember the Sabbath Day by keeping it
holy." No one and nothing should ever get in the way of worshiping your God. Fourth:
"Honor your father and your mother." Love and respect all those whom God has placed
in authority over you. Fifth: “You shall not murder.” This means to not only hurt
or harm others with your thoughts, words or actions. It also means you are to actively
demonstrate love in everything you think, say, and do toward others. Sixth: “You
shall not commit adultery.” You are to live a sexually pure life in thought, word,
and action. Seventh: “You shall not steal.” You are to respect and protect the property
and the possessions of others. Eighth: “You shall not give false testimony against
your neighbor.” You are to always be truthful, speak well of and defend the reputation
of others. Nine and Ten: “Do not covet.” Be content with all the blessings God has
provided and not lusting or desiring things that you don’t have.
So how did you do? How
many checks do you have? Ten? Surely not. Seven? Nope. Four? Not even close. One?
We can’t even complete one commandment on God’s “to-do” list. That’s pitiful!
These commandments we
have been studying all summer are God’s demands on what we are to do and not to
do. Today we examine the conclusion to the commandments. We praise God that all
these commands are “DONE” in Christ.
God comments
on all his commandments: "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, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and
keep my commandments."
These words and commands
of God paint a picture of God who is both just and merciful. He is a God who does
not allow sinful people into heaven. If you have ever been greedy, ever been selfish,
ever shown a lack of love, ever had adulterous thoughts, God says you will not inherit
his heavenly kingdom, and you will end up separated from God in a very hot place
for eternity. Doesn’t that scare you?
Throughout the centuries
there have been many theologians who have tried to cover up this portrait of God.
They will say, “God hates sin, but he loves the sinner.” Or they’ll say, “All you
can do is try your hardest. That’s all God demands of us.” Even Lutherans will say,
“Fearing God means that we should respect him, but not be afraid of him.” But the
true picture of God in the Bible can be terrifying. It shows us a holy God who demands
nothing less than perfection and threatens you with physical and eternal punishment
if you aren’t. It’s scary.
The reason God presented
himself in this way was to scare his people enough so that they would listen and
do what he told them to do. God explained, “So that the fear of God will be with
you to keep you from sinning.” (Ex
It’s a sad testimony
to what kind of people we really are. Moses writes that “The LORD saw how great
man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts
of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Ge 6:5) Even as a Christian Paul said
of Himself, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.”
(Ro 7:18) When you get beyond your nice clothes and your Sunday smile – when you
reach down to the innards of your soul – you’re nothing but a stubborn, selfish,
arrogant sinner. You still have a part of you that doesn’t want anyone to tell you
what to do. The only way you can be motivated is if you have to. So God has to flex
his muscles and threaten and condemn to get you to move. It shouldn’t have to be
that way, but it is.
Even when God presents
himself in this way – there are still millions of people that don’t fear him. Every
day we have millions of Americans who watch pornographic TV shows, use the Lord’s
name in vain, and ignore God every minute without thinking twice about it. The really
sad part is that many people who call themselves Christians are doing the same thing.
How many of you, after you think an evil thought, or say a mean thing, think to
yourself, “Dear God, I beg of you, don’t send me to hell.” We have members who are
knowingly not praying, not reading their Bibles, and not forgiving. School parents
who come to church primarily when their children are singing. Members who live an
adulterous lifestyle but imagine that God approves. Members who look and act like
a Christian for that one hour on a Sunday, but fit in with the heathens and unbelievers
the rest of the week. Members who know people who don’t believe in Christ, yet say
nothing to them, and act as if this is just a small sin of negligence in God’s eyes.
Christians who are living like this and acting like it isn’t a big deal. In reality
the holy God thunders, “No, these also are serious offenses! These are damnable
transgressions!”
I wouldn’t doubt that
some of you have never once been terrified by these words of God. How can you say
you believe in God if you have never been scared of God’s wrath?
“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” (Ex 20:5). What a horrible inheritance
we can give our children. God’s zeal to punish sin is so great that if we are unfaithful
to our heavenly bridegroom, he will not only punish us, but our children, grandchildren
and great-grandchildren. If we rebel against God, and our children continue in that
sin, not only will they be punished for their own sins, but also for ours.
This zeal in punishment
is meant to terrify us. The author of Hebrews warns, “If we deliberately keep on
sinning … no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment
and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God…. It is a dreadful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb
But the God who is zealous
to punish is also zealous to save. We see our God’s zeal to save in his becoming
one with us to suffer and die on the cross. The God who revealed his zeal to punish
at
What kind of inheritance
do we want to leave our children? We can amass a fortune of millions of dollars
that may provide for generations to come. But that inheritance can’t rescue them
from death. But God promises that we can give an inheritance that can rescue numerous
generations from eternal death. What a marvelous incentive our God has given us
to be faithful to him — that not only we will receive his blessings, but that he
will bless a thousand generations after us.
As we consider these
commandments and take inventory of our lives in comparison to them, how do we do?
The Bible says, "through the law we become conscious of sin." I don't know about
you, but as we’ve studied God’s law this summer I have become very conscious of
the fact that I have sinned often and that I definitely have fallen short of the
glory of God. This means that if it is my desire to go to heaven, I have messed
up my opportunity to do it with my own ability. I feel like Humpty Dumpty. I have
fallen, my life is broken, and all the king's horses and all the king's men can't
put me back together again. Is the same thing true for you? Is there anything in
life that can fix our brokenness? Now, we may try to pretend like our lives are
all put together on the outside, but on the inside we are broken to pieces. Our
thoughts are so often messed up, relationships are falling apart, insecurities weigh
us down, harmful addictive behaviors pollute us, fear of death and even fear of
life itself burden us. What hope is there for the Humpty Dumpties in the world like
us?
Did you notice that the
king's horses and the king's men couldn't save Humpty, but what about the king himself?
We have the King of kings on our side and he loves us even in spite of our brokenness.
We cannot work to save ourselves. Yet Jesus reminds, "With man this is impossible,
but all things are possible with God." (Mk 10:27) When it comes to putting our lives
back together again the power is not in us, but comes from God himself. The King
can fix us. He has the answer for our brokenness. Jesus lived the perfect life that
God demands. He completed God’s “to-do” list. He was able to place a check by every
task God set for him. He even placed a check there for each one of us, as if we
had also completed them. Jesus died in brokenness on the cross. He rose victoriously
from the grave to win an eternal home for us. He made us whole again through the
gift of faith in him as Savior. In other words, Jesus is the “sin buster” who can
fix our broken lives and make us whole again.
God commands us “Do!”
and “Don’t do!” Jesus comforts us with the word “DONE!” These commands are done,
completed, finished in Christ. God the Father was the Lawgiver. Jesus, the Son,
is the Lawcompleter.
Our salvation has not
been determined by what we do, but by what has been done through Jesus. There is
no greater news for me to share with you than this truth. If you believe in Jesus
you are forgiven and on the road to heaven. The past is covered over, the present
is in his control and the future is fantastic. This is a truth that transforms.
Because we have a God who loves, we can learn to love. Since we have a God who forgives,
we can learn forgiveness; a God who accepts, we can learn acceptance.
In your life, in our
church, and in our school, let’s firmly believe and boldly proclaim this awesome
truth: through Jesus Christ our salvation is done! Amen.