Exodus 20_12-17      God's Rules For Living

Rev. David Holwick  ZD                                 Exodus series, #12

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

September 20, 2009

Exodus 20:12-17


GOD'S RULES FOR LIVING



  I. Commandments aren't what they used to be.

      A. The Ten Commandments quiz.

          1) Can you name them, in order?

          2) If you can't, you're in good company.


             A Danish newspaper did an interesting experiment.

             Its reporters phoned more than 100 ministers in the

                Lutheran State Church of Denmark.

             They asked the pastors to list the Ten Commandments.

             Eighty percent of the pastors could not remember them all,

                or recited them out of order.


             Three pastors broke the Ninth Commandment by yelling to

                their wives to tell the reporters they were not at home.

                                                                   #14495


      B. Some people don't have a clue.


            The former "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno used to do

               "man-on-the-street" interviews on his show.

            One night he collared some young people to ask them questions

               about the Bible.


            "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" he asked two

               college-age women.

            One replied, "Freedom of speech?"


            Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let he

               who is without sin...."

            Her response was, "have a good time?"

                                                                    #4339


      C. The moral underpinnings of our civilization are weakening.

          1) Many are directly assaulting any reference to a spiritual

                basis for our laws and morality.

              a) They want to treat laws as a purely human construction.

              b) God must be left out of the picture.

          2) Psalm 11:3 - "When the foundations are being destroyed,

                what can the righteous do?"


II. More dangerous is those who think they have them mastered.

      A. Jesus and the rich young ruler.                    Luke 18:18-23

          1) The man asks Jesus for the requirements for eternal life.

          2) Jesus lists most of the human-oriented commandments.

              a) The guy says he has always obeyed these.

              b) So Jesus gives him one more requirement - give up

                    all your stuff.

              c) The man walks sadly away.  He was too rich.

          3) Apparently the man had an issue with coveting.

              a) He wanted stuff more than he wanted God.


      B. We must know God's law - and its intention.

          1) They are not meant to be finagled to apply to just other

                people.

          2) And they are not just rigid rules for a few situations.

              a) Jesus shows how the law doesn't just cover murder and

                    adultery, but also anger and lust.

              b) God's law is meant as a broad framework for living

                    in peace with one another, and with God.


III. The regulations of relationships.

      A. Honor your parents.

          1) One of the rare positive commandments.

              a) The Apostle Paul notes that it is the only one that

                    contains a promise - you'll have a long life.

              b) This is not the reason for honoring them, but the

                    natural result of doing it.

          2) The deeper principle: respect authority.

              a) The family is the building block for society.

                  1> Some cultures have tried to replace the family -

                        kibbutzes [*] in Israel, communes in Russia.

                  2> All of them have failed to usurp the family.

              b) Families and governments have a similar arrangement.

                  1> Government leaders, teachers and employers all

                        function similar to parents.

                  2> We should respect them insofar as they exercise

                        their authority within the limits of God's law.

          3) Honoring long-term relationships is a challenge.

              a) It is a kind of a contract between generations.

                  1> Parents have a duty to pass on God's values, and

                        children have a duty to honor their elders.

              b) Most societies will be dominated by the elderly soon.

                  1> "Death panels" may not be so far-fetched soon.


      B. Don't murder.

          1) King James has "thou shalt not kill" which is much broader.

              a) Jews had seven words for killing.

              b) This word is the most appropriate one for murder.

              c) In the latter part of the Old Testament, this word

                    always means intentional, premeditated murder.

          2) This commandment does not apply to specific situations:

              a) Killing animals for food.                      Gen 9:3

              b) Self-defense from burglars.                    Exod 22:2

              c) Accidental killings.                           Deut 19:5

              d) Execution of murderers.                        Gen 9:6

              e) Soldiers in valid wars.

          3) The deeper principle: respect life.

              a) This commandment implies people have a right not to

                    have their lives taken without just cause.

              b) Therefore we have duties to protect the lives of others

                    from unjust killing.  (they don't fall in sect. #2)

                  1> We have a duty to protect the unborn.

                  2> We have a duty to protect the aged.

                  3> We have a duty to protect the infirm.

                  4> We have a duty to exonerate the condemned innocent.


      C. Don't commit adultery.

          1) Jews had a strict code about sex.

              a) They forbid adultery (married people), fornication

                    (single people), homosexuality, and perversions.

              b) The penalties for violating them were harsh.

          2) We also know the Jews often broke these commandments.

              a) It is amazing when you think how many wives they were

                    allowed to have.

              b) But humans always want a little more...

          3) Modern people have certainly loosened the standards on sex.

              a) Old taboos have been shattered.

              b) But natural consequences remain, nonetheless.


                 This week I read a short article about Sheryl Weinstein.

                 She was the financial head of Hadassah, an important

                    Jewish women's organization.

                 Hadassah had $40 million invested with Bernie Madoff.

                    And Sheryl was having an affair with Madoff.

                 She is now promoting a book about the affair.


                 What I found interesting was the reaction of her

                    husband, Ron Weinstein.

                 He says, "I dislike the choice she made, but I try to

                    understand it.

                 He was powerful and he was attentive, and an illicit

                    love is a hot love."

                 Then he added, "Don't be too quick to judge my wife.

                    Affairs are commonplace and shouldn't be such a big

                       deal."


                 Mr. Weinstein fits the bill for a sophisticated

                    New Yorker.

                 Still, it tears him up to see her bragging about the

                    affair on TV.

                 He says the upside is if they divorce anyway, he gets

                    half the profits from the book.

                                                                   #36007


                  1> Most people admit that being betrayed destroys

                        their relationship.

                  2> You can be as sophisticated as you want, but no one

                        wants to be treated this way.

          4) The deeper principle: promote faithfulness.


      D. Don't steal.

          1) This one is straight-forward.

              a) It is also a common one to break.

              b) A recent study found that 74 percent of Americans will

                    steal from someone who won't miss it.           #1910

          2) The deeper principle: respect property.

              a) The Bible defends the right to own property that is

                    legally gained.

              b) We are obligated by God to be good stewards of our

                    property, and to respect the property of others.


      E. Don't give false testimony.

          1) The setting is a local law court.

              a) You have to keep in mind that the typical sentence in

                    a Jewish court at that time was death.

              b) By spinning the truth a little, your neighbor could

                    die.

          2) The deeper principle: uphold integrity and truth.

              a) We are duty-bound to tell the truth, the whole truth

                    and nothing but the truth.

              b) People should be able to trust what we say, and we

                    should not use our words to wrongly hurt others.


      F. Don't yearn for other people's stuff.

          1) Some argue this is the only human-oriented commandment

                that focuses on our attitude rather than our action.

              a) But as Jesus said, every sin originates in our hearts.

              b) To control sin, you must have a heart controlled by God.

          2) Our modern economy is based on coveting.

              a) We spend billions making you want to want stuff.

              b) Think of the TV show "Mad Men" about advertisers in the

                    1960s.

          3) The deeper principle: trust God for what you need.

              a) Those who trust God are content with what they have.

              b) Those who doubt God, covet what they don't have.


IV. Really radical morality.

      A. Newsman Ted Koppel says the Ten Commandments apply now.


         For many years, Ted Koppel was the host for the Nightline

            television news program.

         In 1987 he was asked to give the commencement address at Duke

            University in North Carolina.

         In his speech he deplored our declining moral climate and

            reminded his predominately secular audience of the abiding

               validity of the Ten Commandments.


         "What Moses brought down from Mount Sinai was not 'the Ten

            Suggestions,'" he said.

         "They are commandments.

            Are, not were.

         The sheer brilliance of the Ten Commandments is that they codify

            in a handful of words acceptable human behaviour, not just

               for then or now, but for all time.


         "Language evolves.

            Power shifts from one nation to another.

         Messages are transmitted with the speed of light.

            Man erases one frontier after another.

         And yet, we and our behaviour - and the Ten Commandments

            governing that behaviour - remain the same."

                                                                   #28402


      B. We are called to go beyond the Ten Commandments.


         HBO comedian Bill Maher despises religion.

            He even made a movie that mocks it.

         On one of his shows he was interviewing author and humanist

            Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

         Maher says to Vonnegut:


         "In your new book you make a very interesting point about how

            the Republican right is always wanting to post the Ten

               Commandments in public places, which of course is from

                  the Old Testament...

          but they never, ever seem to want to post the sayings of Jesus,

             like the Beatitudes:

                Blessed are the meek,

                Blessed are the merciful,

                Blessed are the peacemakers.


         They're such Christians but they never want to put up what

            Jesus said."

                                                                   #35502


         That's a valid point.  We should be Sermon on the Mount people!


  V. The Ten Commandments are not just for society.

      A. They are meant for us.

          1) Paul's condemnation of his generation in Romans 2:17-24.

              a) Don't preach against stealing, then steal.          2:21

              b) Non-believers ridicule Christians for this.


                   Example of Robert Hanssen, an FBI agent and a

                      super-rigid Catholic.

                   He encouraged his subordinates to go to church and

                      pray.

                   At the same time, Hanssen visited strip joints and

                      betrayed his country by turning over vital

                         intelligence information to the Russians.


          2) Many of you have a high view of morality.

              a) But your own behavior doesn't match up.

              b) You know adultery is wrong - are you having an affair?

              c) Are you cheating at business?


      B. Skeptic Mark Twain got it right.


            A businessman well known for his ruthlessness once

               announced to Twain:

            "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy

                Land.

             I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments

                out loud at the top."


            "I have a better idea," replied Twain.

               "You could stay in Boston and keep them."

                                                                   #29521



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


Some of the details in Section III are derived from the article "Equal

Rights But..." by E. Calvin Beisner, Discipleship Journal #21, May/June 1984.


# 1910  "The Ten Suggestions," reported in "The Day America Told The Truth"

           (Prentice Hall, 1991), Leadership, Fall 1991.


# 4339  "Are We Living In a Moral Stone Age?," by Christina Hoff Sommers,

           Professor of Philosophy at Clark University; IMPRIMIS, Hillsdale

           College Newsletter, March 1998, p. 1.


#14495  "Pastors Forgot The Ten Commandments," SBC Life, June/July 1997 in

           article "Danish ministers can't recall the Ten Commandments,"

           p. 22; Fredericksburg Bible Illustrator Supplements.


#28402  "Ted Koppel on the Ten Commandments," http://www.theinterim.com/~

           oct98/8winifride_prestwich.html, and other sources.


#29521  "Stay In Boston and Keep Them," Moody Bible Institute's Today in

           the Word, September, 1991, p. 32; secondary source:

           www.sermoncentral.com newsletter; contributed by Donnie Martin.


#35502  "Do We Have A Problem With What Jesus Said?,"

           http://www.ryanbolger.com/?m=200509.


#36007  "Making Out With Madoff," edited by David Holwick, The Week

           Magazine, September 18, 2009, p. 12.


These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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[*] Literally it should be "kibbutzim" but most people would not know what

that meant so I made it an English plural rather than Hebrew.


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