Sunday, February 19, 2023 PM

Ten Commandments and understanding them as ten words about Christ. We've been thinking a lot about covenant and how we're supposed to understand that. That word shows up a lot in the Bible. Sometimes we see covenants made between two people such as Laban and Jacob, but most importantly we see covenants made between God and man.

The covenants that God makes with the likes of Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and so on, are covenants that are very significant. We've developed a definition for that. We're talking about these covenants in redemptive history.

A covenant is a restoring and revealing relationship the Creator formalizes with man. We're emphasizing the fact that it's between the Creator and his special creation man. We know we're made in God's image.

Nothing else that God ever made in all the world is like a human being. We are unique. We're set apart. Many people try to zoomorify man. We're just another animal. We're not really significant. We're just a random mutation.

Of course, that is a lie. We recognize that the Creator has made us in his image, but the covenants that he makes with Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and so on, are covenants or relationships that he formalizes by promises, sacrifices, and standards that he calls the participants to.

These all happen after the fall. These all happen after Adam and Eve sin in the garden and are cast outside of the garden. That's where God begins to make covenants with his special creation. In a sense, it's a restoring kind of relationship because it's looking back.

It's looking back to what it means to be made in God's image and all the things that were lost and marred and messed up because of sin. It's not just a restoring relationship. It's also a revealing relationship because the covenants that God makes with Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David are not in and of themselves destinations.

They are signs pointing forward. There are promises that God makes in every case that are looking forward to bigger and brighter things, which are, of course, fulfilled in Jesus. 2 Corinthians 1 .20 says, "...for all the promises of God in Christ are yes.".

These are signs pointing the way forward. These covenants that God makes are restoring and revealing relationships that the Creator formalizes with man. The relationship we're talking about is the one that God established at the very beginning.

When we read Genesis chapters 1 and 2 and then consider the fallout of Genesis 3, we see that only mankind is in a particular three-way relationship of loving God supremely, loving another rightly, and recognizing dominion over the created order according to God's standards.

The angels don't have this intersection of three relationships. Those made in God's image do. God spoke to Adam and Eve in a very special way. He set them apart in a very special way. No matter who we are or where we come from, no matter what language we speak, no matter where we were born or what time frame we were born in, every single person, every single human being is born and made in the image of God.

We all have to deal with that. We all wear the uniform. Whether we betray that uniform or we embrace that uniform, it dims just the facts. The worship switch in every human being is hardwired on. Why?

Because we're made to love God supremely. That worship switch is hardwired on, so we're going to worship something, someone, somewhere, somehow. God doesn't believe in atheists, but he still believes in them.

He knows that they worship. That's basically our design. You've heard no man is an island. We are created in a way that we are relational to one another. That can be very difficult at times, or it can be a great blessing at times, but we are made to relate to one another.

No matter how much we maybe want to leave and go to Mars, we are still bound and responsible and tied in to everything that is around us. It's just the way that we're made. Now, God is, in his grace, ultimately through Christ, restoring and revealing the image of God in Christ.

When we think about the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David, we find that all of them are wrapped in the new covenant with Christ. That's described in Jeremiah 31. Jesus is called the image of the invisible God.

In his incarnation, we have our salvation and our hope. He is called the last Adam, the second Adam, for good reason. So, when we read them in their original context, we see how bound they were to the life of Israel.

So, what point do they have in our lives? Why would we ever see the Ten Commandments on a wall somewhere? Why would we teach our children to memorize the Ten Commandments? What relevance do they have for us when they are a pinnacle summary of the covenant that God made with Israel, which was simply a signpost along the way to Christ?

Well, there's various reasons why they're important, and the Ten Commandments, all ten of them, address the image of God. If we did this the other night, you name a commandment, we see which one of the three relationships it deals with.

Every single one of the Ten Commandments will deal with one or more of those three relationships. How we relate to God, how we relate to one another, and how we relate to the created order. So, all Ten Commandments address the image of God restored and revealed in Christ.

So, when we think of Jesus, how did he relate as the God-man in our place and for our sake? How did he relate to his Heavenly Father? Perfectly, amazingly, wonderfully. How did he treat everyone around him?

Perfectly, amazingly, lovingly, honestly, truthfully, righteously. And how did he engage with the created order around him? He wasn't an idolater, he didn't fall into temptation, and ultimately we see that he is the heir of all things.

We're told all things are given to him. So, we see that the image of God is restored and revealed in Christ to its absolute fullness. Adam was never so glorious and bright as the second Adam. Well, why is this important as the Ten Commandments are a covenant summary of the covenant that God made with Israel.

So, if there was a good way to sum up the covenant, it was the Ten Commandments. In other words, God said to Israel, hey numbskulls, I just hauled you out of Egypt, and you guys are already worshiping a golden calf, but here's the deal.

Here's how you're gonna relate to me, here's how you're gonna relate to one another, and here's how you're gonna relate to the created order around you. This is how it's going to be, and when those Ten Commandments were written down on the stone by God, it was called the testimony, and they were called the covenant, and they were put inside the Ark, and then the Ark was called the Ark of the Testimony, or the Ark of the Covenant.

So, they are a covenant summary, and they mark redemptive history's path from the first Adam to the last Adam. So, they are a signpost along the way, a signpost along the way. They are not the ultimate expression of the righteousness of God, they are an accurate expression of the righteousness of God, but there is a greater and more supreme expression of the righteousness of God.

We can see the goodness of God's character in a more clear and beautiful way than the Ten Commandments, and His name is Jesus Christ. That's what Hebrews 1 tells us, right? He is a superior, supreme expression of God.

Now, they are not in contradiction. Ten Commandments don't contradict Christ. Christ is the end of the law. The meaning of the Ten Commandments and their application are bound to Christ, who is the end of the law.

In other words, as we live on this side of the cross, in the resurrection, with Jesus reigning from heaven, if we want to make full use of the Ten Commandments, which are God-breathed, profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, if we want to make full use of the Ten Commandments, we must recognize their meaning and application are bound to Christ.

So, if we try to obey the Ten Commandments without respect to Jesus, without respect to His finished work, without respect to His resurrection and His ascension, then we will not actually be using the law in a lawful way, which is the warning that Paul gives in Galatians.

So, that's the big idea, and we've been talking about the First Commandment. And the First Commandment, you would imagine, it was pretty important, listed first, but it has to do with our worship. Now, being made in the image of God, and being told there's only one God to worship, if we don't worship the one true God, and we begin to worship other gods, that is going to mess everything else up.

It's going to mess everything else up. Now, the idea that we should worship one God alone was true in the Garden, it was true in the days of Noah, it was true in the days of Abraham, even before the law was ever given.

And it was certainly specified in the Ten Commandments that was given some 400 years ago. When we think about God making a covenant with David, as David responds in thanksgiving and prayer, he specifies there's only one God, and you are he, and I worship you.

And his desire, of course, was to build a temple to that one true God. But let's think about how that First Commandment matters to us as we follow Christ. How does Jesus deal with this truth that there's one God, and no one else should be worshipped except the one true God?

Let's think about that. Let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew, look at a few passages from Matthew and a few passages from John. Once we understand that the covenants that God makes throughout his patchwork mantle, which Christ alone is worthy to wear and to bear, when we understand that it was Christ by the Spirit speaking the words of God throughout the Scriptures, that Christ is not only the lawgiver and the law teacher and the law keeper and the law fulfiller, we could do no better than to understand what does the First Commandment mean than to listen to Jesus.

And the one who fulfilled the law, we follow him, we can't go wrong. Now, in Matthew chapter 4, after Jesus is baptized and God declares of Jesus that he is his beloved Son in whom he is well pleased, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness where he is tempted by the devil.

And one of those temptations, the devil wanted Jesus to worship him, and in exchange he would give to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. Of course, the kingdoms of the world were promised to the Messiah in Psalm 2, but by way of the cross, by way of suffering and resurrection, Satan tempted him to avoid the cross.

Remember what Jesus said to Peter when Peter tried to persuade Jesus to avoid the cross? What did Jesus say to Peter? Get behind me, Satan. It wasn't that Jesus forgot Peter's name, it was that it was the same temptation that was here in the wilderness.

Verse 8 of Matthew 4, again the devil took him on an exceedingly 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 will fall down and worship me.

Then Jesus said to him, away with you, Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve. So this is the basic teaching of the Shema in Deuteronomy 6. This is directly related to the first commandment, you must worship God and worship him alone.

How much mess did Israel get into worshipping other gods? When God promised to David, I'm going to do all these wonderful things for your son, but he must remain faithful. What was Solomon's big problem?

He started worshipping a whole bunch of other gods because he married a thousand women. So here Jesus simply states the principle. Now, how does one worship God alone? Is it simply a matter of making sure we don't name anybody else?

Or is there more to it? How does one worship God and God alone? Well, in Matthew chapter 5, Jesus specifies in verses 17 through 20, how things are going to be with him on the scene and the law in the past.

How is this going to work? Well, Jesus says in verse 17, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. In other words, I didn't come to unhitch you from the Old Testament. I did not come to destroy the law or the prophets or to sell you New Testaments without the front part of it.

I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled. Now, you may have different translations there about the jot and the tittle, but it's simply this.

That's a Hebrew letter. Jesus says not the little smallest parts of the letters of the law, the letters of the scripture, are going to fail. And the jot is the yod. Looks like that. Not the smallest letter or the smallest parts of a letter are going to pass away.

That's how much Jesus believed that every single part of God's Word was true and unfailing. He said, so these are not going to pass away from the law until all is fulfilled. Well, who's the one who fulfills the law again?

Yep. Verse 19, whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. So, if you go around saying, oh, all of these commandments and instructions, they don't mean anything anymore.

They have no significance. They don't matter. Jesus is saying, that's going to bust you down to janitor in my kingdom. You're going to get demoted for that. That's not what I want. But, whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

All right, Jesus, and what way are we to do and teach them? Well, he tells us. Verse 20, for I say to you, in other words, explanation here, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now, the scribes and Pharisees are very impressive. The scribes are the ones who actually copy the Old Testament word by word, papyrus sheet by papyrus sheet, and they are very careful to try to follow the law, to keep the law.

The Pharisees are very keen on trying to keep the law. Later on in Matthew, Jesus will tell his disciples, you know, whatever the Pharisees say to you, you know, pay attention to what they're saying to you about the law.

They sit in the seat of Moses. He says here, your righteousness actually has to exceed that. There's got to be something more than just trying to keep the law and keep up with the law. Okay, Jesus, in what way does that work?

You want us to teach and do the commandments. You say you're not here to destroy the law and the prophets, but you're also saying that our righteousness has to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.

Well, what is better than keeping the law? How about fulfilling the law? What's better than trying to keep up with the law? How about fulfilling the law? Which, of course, Christ does, and he is the end of the law unto righteousness for all who believe in him.

What's it like following Jesus and fulfilling the law in him? Well, he gives an explanation. He shows us in the next few passages, here's what it looks like. The scribes and Pharisees, they look at the Ten Commandments, right?

They look at the law, and they read something along the following. You shall not murder. Well, I haven't murdered anybody all my whole life. Check. Man, just keeping the law is easy. I didn't murder anybody.

Jesus says, you've heard now, he was just talking about the scribes and Pharisees. He was just talking about the commandments of the law. And he says, now, whoever murders will be charged in danger of the judgment.

But I say to you, but I say to you, now he's not going to contradict the law, but now he's going to go way past it. That whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.

And whoever says to his brother, rakah, shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says you fool shall be in danger of hell or fire. And then he begins to make some more application. He does the same thing with adultery.

He does this and applies it to marriage. He does it with concerning taking the name of the Lord God in vain. And he takes that, and he goes way past that, accelerates that. And he begins to take these principles of the law.

And remember that the fulfillment, the summation of the law is you shall love your neighbor as yourself. When you go back and you read those Mosaic case laws in Leviticus, it comes down to this. Do no harm.

Do no harm to your neighbor. It's basically what it comes down to. But when you come to Jesus, he begins to say, do good to your neighbor. You go out and you help your neighbor. You actively seek their good.

And when they hate you, and they would be your enemy, then you pray for them. All of a sudden, things are far more accelerated than they were before. And you kind of look and say, well, where's that most important commandment about worshiping God alone?

Where is that, Jesus? I mean, we're talking about the, you know, and murder is pretty important too, you know. Well, how about all of chapter 6 of Matthew? How about the whole thing? Worship God alone.

Scribes and Pharisees, what would they say? Check. We got rid of that idolatry stuff hundreds of years ago. We're not idolatrous. We don't worship false gods. We worship the one true God around here. And then Jesus begins to say, don't worship like they do.

Because they're actually worshiping men and worshiping themselves. When they give, they blow a trumpet so everybody sees them and they're impressed with them. They're looking for their reward with men.

So you, when you give, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing because you're doing it for the Lord. You're doing it for God. You're worshiping God alone. When you pray, don't stand on the street corner and pray really loud and long words and let everybody know how impressive you are.

No, but when you worship God through prayer, you do it just for him. You worship God alone. Not so that you're making yourself impressive and trying to impress others. When you fast, don't wear your worst clothes and drag yourself through the market so everybody knows how holy you are.

That's not worshiping God alone. But when you fast, when you go through your practices of worshiping God, you do it for God and God alone. He's dealing with that first commandment showing us how to worship God alone instead of doing these acts of piety and worship for others or for yourself.

Because that's worshiping man. That's elevating the self. That's what the scribes and Pharisees were totally missing. They're following the letter, but Jesus brings the Spirit and shows us what does it actually mean to fulfill the law in him.

There are many other passages that we could look at, but let's jump over to the Gospel of John for our conclusion. Because this is important for us to understand. The Ten Commandments are very important.

So thankful for the Ten Commandments. They're part of God's Word that are meant for our instruction. Ultimately, they point us to our Savior, Jesus Christ, and isn't this the case that we should have no other gods before him?

Absolutely. We should have no other gods before the one true God. We ought not be worshiping other gods. Absolutely the case. Now, the question is, can someone obey that commandment in total disregard of Jesus?

No, he can't. Can you? Can't do that. Why is that? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him nothing.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And we read that this Word, verse 14, became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Word who was with God from the beginning, who was God and was with God, face to face with God from all of eternity, he became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

Verse 17 says, the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the Word who became flesh. No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son who was in the bosom of the Father, he has declared him.

So how are we going to worship God and God alone if we do not turn our attention to the Word who became flesh, Jesus Christ, who reveals God to us? We can't. Which is the point of John 14, where Jesus tells Philip, have you known me this long?

Have you been with me this long, Philip? If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. So we can't worship God and God alone unless we understand what that commandment is all about, unless we turn our gaze upon Christ, who is the end of the law.

So that's how Jesus teaches us to worship God alone, by directing our attention upon himself, you see. Ultimately, when we read through the New Testament in the New Covenant, and please look for it on your own, make sure for yourself, but you go and look in the New Testament and go look at where you find the language of keeping the law, or keep the law, and you'll find it every single time it is in a negative context.

But then if you go and look about fulfilling the law, you're going to find it in a positive context. It's the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, Christ is the end of the law, he fulfills it, and since we're in him, our righteousness does exceed, our righteousness does surpass the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees.

So that will be our conclusion on the first commandment, and we've been spending a lot of time trying to understand the context of the Ten Commandments. But moving forward, Lord willing, what we'll do is we'll try to go through the rest of the Ten Commandments, understanding its context now, we'll be a little bit more swift in going to see how it is that the truth of those commandments are fulfilled in Christ, and what that means for us today, and how it's useful for us today to take up these shadows that prophesy of Christ, that are full of the wisdom of Christ, and how they actually work out in our lives today.

I ended ten minutes earlier than last time. I feel compelled to open it up for a question. Dylan? Yes, absolutely. Yeah, it's a good question. I know you've covered that before, too. Remember, you had a great story about preaching at Grace Rescue Mission, about Jesus talking about his keep my commandments, and his commandments, well, they're not burdensome, but his commandments are not exactly the same as they are given in the Old Covenant.

Why is that? Because it's the New Covenant, and he's the fulfillment. He's still our authority. He does have things for us to do, praise God, but they are not burdensome. All right, well, let's close by singing the doxology together.