Category Archives: Sermon

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20:16)

If we have learned anything about communication over the centuries it is that even when we strive to convey a given truth, it often comes out somewhat distorted. The well‑known party game of “gossip” is but another evidence of the same phen-omenon.

In this message we are studying the Word to Live By, which states: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exod. 20:16; Deut. 5:20). Technically, this is not a prohibition of lying in general, but of that “false testimony” which is given in a court of Law, by which another is either convicted or found innocent.

In 1981, Janet Cooke of the Washington Post was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her moving account of an eight-year old boy hooked on heroin given him by his mother’s boyfriend. A few days later, the story was exposed as a hoax and fabrication.

The Pulitzer was returned, Miss Cooke resigned her position, and the integrity of the journalistic profession was called into question.

Perhaps the saddest thing about such an episode is the way it was greeted by the public. There was a brief, pious outcry, followed by the comment that probably all our news is manipulated, all statistics are shaded, no public figures are credible, etc. According to a study from Cambridge Survey Research, 69 of every 100 Americans believe our nation’s leaders have consistently lied to them over the past ten years. We are becoming altogether cynical about being lied to!

When God created Adam and Eve He gave them the gift of speech, which was one of the ways He distinguished them from the rest of His creatures. It was not long after the fall that falsehood raised its ugly head in the Scriptures. It is appropriate that the first falsehood in the Bible should be spoken by Satan, the “father of lies” (8:44). He assured Eve that partaking of the forbidden fruit would not result in death, as God had said (Gen. 3:4).

Cain lied to God, insisting that he did not know where his brother was (Gen. 4:9). Abraham lied about his wife, passing her off as his sister (Gen. 12:11‑13). Jacob was a master of deceit (e.g. Gen. 27).

Joseph’s brothers deceived Jacob, their father, into thinking he had been killed by a wild animal (Gen. 37:20, 32‑33). The midwives were not completely truthful with Pharaoh, when he asked why the Hebrew boy babies were not put to death (Exod. 1:18‑19). Moses was not forthright with his father-in-law about his reasons for returning to Egypt (Exod. 4:18).

As surely as one commits himself to a policy of total truthfulness, someone will ask about exceptional cases which seem (to some) to justify lying. What about Rahab protecting the spies at Jericho by hiding them and lying to the police about their whereabouts?

Joshua 2:1-7 (ESV)
¹  And Joshua the son of Nun sent two men secretly from Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” And they went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab and lodged there.
²  And it was told to the king of Jericho, “Behold, men of Israel have come here tonight to search out the land.”
³  Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who entered your house, for they have come to search out all the land.”
⁴  But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. And she said, “True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.
⁵  And when the gate was about to be closed at dark, the men went out. I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them.”
⁶  But she had brought them up to the roof and hid them with the stalks of flax that she had laid in order on the roof.
⁷  So the men pursued after them on the way to the Jordan as far as the fords. And the gate was shut as soon as the pursuers had gone out.

We see this story of Rahab and the Jewish spies in her city. Read the story closely, and you will discover that she is nowhere commended for her lies. Hebrews 11:31 (ESV) By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.

Here was a pagan woman who recognized that the God of the Hebrew people was the true God. In spite of her immoral sex life and her willingness to play fast and loose with the truth, God saved her. He did not commend her for either of her sinful activities.

The truth question can be discussed under two major headings: (l) factual truth and (2) moral truth.

Factual truth has to do with the accuracy of statements in relation to the state of affairs they purport to identify. A statement is judged true if what is said really does represent the state of affairs to which it refers. The statement “That new car is John’s” is a true statement if the car referred to really does belong to John; otherwise it is false. The statement “Jesus is the Son of God” is true if and only if Jesus really is who he claims to be and false otherwise.

But there is another way to approach the subject of truth, and that is in terms of moral truth. This has to do with one’s honesty in telling the truth and not withholding what he believes to be the facts of a matter.

Someone tells a caller on the phone “Gary isn’t here”; Gary is present and looking him in the eye, but he knows Gary doesn’t want to talk to the person calling.

Perjury. The most obvious application of the ninth commandment in its context is its prohibition of perjury. For one to hear “false witness” is to give false testimony in any sort of civil hearing. Under the Law of Moses, a stiff penalty was imposed on anyone who perjured himself in a formal hearing. Deut. 19:15-19 makes it plain that the court was to impose on any perjurer the sentence his lie would have brought to the accused person. “If the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother.”

If a man bore false testimony in a murder trial and was discovered, he would pay with his own life, for death is the penalty his lie would have brought on an innocent person. If he charged someone with stealing another man’s sheep, he would have to restore the stolen property at the rate of four sheep for each one missing, for that penalty would have been imposed on an innocent man if his lie had gone undetected.

Silence before lies. It also condemns allowing false reports to go unchecked. It is a form of bearing false witness against one’s neighbor to allow falsehoods about that neighbor to be told without challenge.

Discrediting others. It is forbidden to Christians to tear down one another. “Do not speak evil against one another, brethren. He that speaks evil against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge” (James 4: 11).

“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15)

If you have ever gone shopping on Black Friday, it is likely that you went about your purchases and business unconsciously aware of the many security devices that are now a common feature of our public life.

Consider the fact that we move past security cameras regularly in banks, stores, and public spaces. The items we buy are protected against tampering and shoplifting with plastic seals, magnetic strips, ink packets, and strapped-on sirens. When we check out or shop on-line our transactions are locked up in 128-bit encryption and initiated with PIN codes and passwords. All of these layers of security, and we are rarely conscious of them!

These facts of life indicate that our culture is conditioned to assume that someone is always stealing something. Doesn’t that strike us as a natural outlook? It’s not only the suburban teenager stuffing a sweater in the oversized bag that we imagine stealing from us. We have also learned the hard way that some of the richest and most powerful people in big business and government are also thieves. The image of the robber in a striped shirt and domino-mask with a dollar-sign bag has been replaced by a man in a $5,000 dollar suit and tie.

There are a few other facts we might draw from the reality of our high-security world:

• First, stealing costs us all. Who pays for all the cameras, metal detectors, and encryption? We all do. And it doesn’t only cost us in cash, there is an erosion of public trust that is costing us dearly.
• Second, the environment we live in is highly toxic to personal integrity. If there is theft going on everywhere, then who really notices our efforts to be completely honest – and does it really matter?
• Third, stealing in America is not typically motivated by material needs. Only in the rarest cases or in disasters do we hear of people stealing for food and water. When we consider that statistically, theft was less of a problem in the Great Depression than it is today, we might conclude that theft today is not based on need, but it is motivated by greed.

Greed is a problem for all classes. The wealthiest and poorest may be influenced by greed. The long-lines, the early-bird shoppers, and the huge profits are often reported on the news with a wink and nod, but do we ever stop and realize how upside-down it may truly be? In our country we wait in lines for high-priced smart phones and electronic games, but in many other nations the people wait in lines for food that may not be available. What we spend on our one purchase may be as much or more than what people in other nations make in a single year.

The fundamental principle of biblical ethics is this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39).) Among the many specific commandments that grow out of this fundamental responsibility, the Bible requires us to show respect for others’ lives (i.e., “You shall not kill”) and personal purity (i.e., “You shall not commit adultery”). In the eighth commandment, heaven demands respect for a neighbor’s property.

Stealing is a breach of one’s fundamental obligation to love others and treat them as he would want to be treated. It is an encroachment into someone’s rights and property. It is taking something under his authority and in his possession away from him, depriving him of something that rightfully belongs to him.

Concept of Ownership –

• God owns all things. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.” –Psalm 24:1.
• Stealing is the false idea that you can take something and make it your own. That goes beyond legal and illegal. Even if you acquire something “legally” it may not be your own.

Giving counters Greed.

• The 10% of our income that we give is not all that God owns or cares about. God has an opinion with the 90% too. In his parable of the seed and the sower, Jesus taught that the deceitfulness of wealth and desire for things chokes out the growth of the gospel in our lives (Mark 4). James issues a serious warning to those who live in self-indulgence (James 5). The message is clear that we should use all of our wealth to honor God.
• Giving counters greed and every act of giving is a rebellion against the desires and powers that makes us materialistic. How we give should lead how we spend.

     If we realize that all we have comes from God then we give thanks. Cultivating an attitude of thanksgiving transforms our attitude about things and ownership. It overcomes greed and it allows us to be more content. We learn to trust God by giving thanks. And it just might change our whole society starting with us …

Acts 4:32-37 (ESV)
³²  Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
³³  And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
³⁴  There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
³⁵  and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
³⁶  Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
³⁷  sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

Ananias and Sapphira were members of that first church. They were struck dead for lying to God, not for keeping property (Acts 5: 1-10). Read Peter’s words of rebuke to Ananias very carefully: “While [your land] remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4).

Peter acknowledged that Ananias was under no obligation to sell his property. After he did choose to sell it, he was still under no obligation to give the proceeds of the sale into the church treasury.

Rather than common ownership of property, the New Testament ideal is work, acquisition, and proper stewardship of material things. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).

God needs men and women “of upright character who realize their earning power is from God and who feel a strong sense of responsibility to use their wealth for heaven’s service rather than selfishly. Wealth is not virtue, nor poverty vice; some evil men accumulate fortunes, and some righteous people go bankrupt. God has prospered you and allowed you to become wealthy, acknowledge everything you have as his gift to you and be unselfish in its use. Realize that God’s work in this world can be enlarged by your generosity.

On the other hand, if you have not been as fortunate and prosperous as someone else, don’t resent that person or compromise your own integrity and honesty in trying to “get a slice of the pie.” It is what you have in your heart rather than your hand that shows your worth before God.

Stealing—Its Categories

Broadly speaking, stealing falls into two categories: active stealing and passive stealing. Active stealing aggressively, willfully, maliciously takes what belongs to someone else, through a variety of means. In Leviticus chapter 6 we find several forms of active theft identified: Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “When a person sins and acts unfaithfully against the LORD, and deceives his companion in regard to a deposit or a security entrusted to him, or through robbery, or if he has extorted from his companion, or has found what was lost and lied about it and sworn falsely, so that he sins in regard to any one of the things a man may do; then it shall be, when he sins and becomes guilty, that he shall restore what he took by robbery, or what he got by extortion, or the deposit which was entrusted to him, or the lost thing which he found, or anything about which he swore falsely; he shall make restitution for it in full, and add to it one‑fifth more. He shall give it to the one to whom it belongs on the day he presents his guilt offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him before the LORD; and he shall be forgiven for any one of the things which he may have done to incur guilt” (Lev. 6:1‑7).

(1) Embezzlement. Embezzlement is the misuse or misappropriation of something that has been entrusted to us (Lev. 6:2). Embezzlement is a violation of trust, for what has been placed in a person’s keeping has been appropriated for selfish purposes. Embezzlement is frequently an offense of a bank employee or of a comptroller of a corporation.

(2) Robbery. Robbery is the act of taking what belongs to another (Lev. 6:2). Robbery, I believe, is a broad definition, covering several kinds of stealing. Robbery generally takes things directly, often by the use of superior force (frequently involving a weapon). Stealing suggests stealth. A pick‑pocket for example, uses stealth, as does a burglar. Fraud may also be included here. If so, fraud involves getting what belongs to another by deception. Here, the victim often gives what is stolen to the thief, thinking that doing so will be profitable. The only one who profits, however, is the thief.

(3) Extortion. Extortion gains possession of another person’s property by the illicit use of authority or of force (not a weapon, however). Sometimes, charging an excessive price is included here, if one feels compelled to buy the product. For example, if your child was seriously ill and there was only one medicine which would cure the child, you would be willing to pay almost anything to obtain it, even if the cost were excessive.

John the Baptist told the tax gatherers and soldiers of his day: “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” And some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:13‑14).

(4) Kidnapping. In the ancient Near East, kidnapping was considered a form of theft (Deut. 24:7), probably because the individual would be kept as a slave, rather than because he or she would be ransomed.

Passive theft is the failure to give to another what belongs to them or is due them. The following forms of passive stealing are forbidden in the Bible:

(1) A man’s negligence which results in a loss to his neighbor. Exodus chapter 22 (verses 1‑15) describes several acts of negligence which deprive a neighbor of his property, and which thus require restitution. For example, if a man’s pasture land has been grazed bare, and he therefore lets his animal loose, so that it grazes on his neighbor’s pasture, consuming it, the negligent man is guilty of passive stealing (Exod. 22:5).

(2) A man’s failure to return something lost to its owner is stealing. In Leviticus 6:3, the old adage, “finders keepers, losers weepers,” is shown to be an excuse for theft. To find what belongs to another, and not to return it, is to steal it, by one’s negligence or refusal to return it. “You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. And if your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. And thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your countryman, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to neglect them. You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way, and pay no attention to them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up (Deut. 22:1‑4).

(3) Failure to give what belongs to another is stealing. A day laborer is to be paid at the end of the day (Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14‑15). For an employer to keep a laborer’s wages, which at the end of his work day rightfully belonged to the worker, was to rob him. Withholding the charity which was to be shown to the poor, the alien, and the stranger, was also stealing. God instructed the Israelites to make certain provisions for the poor, such as leaving the corners of their fields unharvested (Deut. 24:19‑22). Whenever an Israelite became greedy and did not leave something behind for the poor, he was stealing from them, for God had given the gleanings to them.

Stealing—Its Corrective and Its Cure

For those who had stolen from another, the Old Testament prescribed restitution. The most detailed prescription of the restitution required is found in the Book of Exodus: “If a man steals an ox or a sheep, and slaughters it or sells it, he shall pay five oxen for the ox and four sheep for the sheep. If the thief is caught while breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If what he stole is actually found alive in his possession, whether an ox or a donkey or a sheep, he shall pay double. If a man lets a field or vineyard be grazed bare and lets his animal loose so that it grazes in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard. If a fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes, so that stacked grain or the standing grain or the field itself is consumed, he who started the fire shall surely make restitution. If a man gives his neighbor money or goods to keep for him, and it is stolen from the man’s house, if the thief is caught, he shall pay double. If the thief is not caught, then the owner of the house shall appear before the judges, to determine whether he laid his hands on his neighbor’s property. For every breach of trust, whether it is for ox, for donkey, for sheep, for clothing, or for any lost thing about which one says, ‘This is it,’ the case of both parties shall come before the judges; he whom the judges condemn shall pay double to his neighbor” (Exod. 22:1‑9).

It is interesting to note that restitution varies in this text, according to several factors. First, restitution varies, depending on whether of not the stolen animal is recovered. Second, restitution varies according to the value of the animal, especially with regard to the productivity of the beast. I believe that the oxen was more valuable than the sheep because it was the “John Deer,” the farm tractor of that day. If a man’s ox was stolen, the fields could not be plowed, the wagon pulled, or the grain threshed. Thus, a stolen (and not recovered) ox was to be paid for fivefold, while a sheep only fourfold. In Leviticus chapter 6, we find that the sacrificial system provided a means for the thief to repent, to make restitution, and to obtain forgiveness.

Restitution is a corrective, but not a cure for the crime of stealing. The Bible clearly prescribes the cure, especially in the New Testament. Crime would have the thief get ahead at the expense of one’s neighbor. Justice would have one person gain while, at the same time, the other party gained equally. Jesus Christ teaches that we should be willing to sacrifice our own interests if that benefit our neighbor: “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matt. 5:42).

“Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back” (Luke 6:30).

“And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same thing. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men” (Luke 6:32‑35).

Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need (Eph. 4:28).

“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14).

I learned early in my Christian ‘walk’ that “doing church is hard work.” I am here to tell you that “doing marriage is also hard work.” Both require us “to put our hands to the plow and not turn back.”

When God says, “You will not commit adultery” he is giving us a word to live by. Not just those of us who are married. Not just those who have problems in marriage. It is a word for all of us to live by. This word to live by affirms that all of us are stakeholders in certain covenants and boundaries. And when those covenants and boundaries are broken, we are all affected.

As we continue our series we’re trying to reclaim one of God’s most precious gifts. To do that today, we’re going to need to speak very candidly about it – even though we’ve never been very good at talking about it in “church.”

Have you noticed? We can talk about worship, bible study, prayer, our witness, parenting, even marriage seminars, but we are uneasy talking about s-e-x. We can talk about 5 love languages, 10 habits of successful marriages, 7 principles of good communication, but we can’t talk about s-e-x….until today. I want you to be comfortable because I am comfortable discussing this subject.

For some of us, our parents never said anything about it. For others, the only instruction we received was that sex was dirty….and it often came from equally uneducated teens our own age.

Sexuality is such a powerful part of human personality and behavior that we would naturally expect the Bible to address the subject. It is so powerful a part of human nature it needs divine direction. We need to know the rules by which this part of life is to be governed.

Scripture has a very balanced approach to matters pertaining to sex. For one thing, it is always tasteful yet very clear in what it says on the subject. That manner of approach will be our standard for this study of the seventh commandment.

For another, the Bible avoids the mistake of placing sex in either of the two extreme positions that human thought and conduct usually give it. It steers clear of the puritanical disposition to ignore or deny sexual passion in human beings; it also shuns the materialistic tendency to focus all of life around this one aspect of personality.

Sexuality is treated as an important part of human personality, and sexual acts are ordained of God as a means by which a husband and wife may express their love for and commitment to one another in a language without words.

The seventh commandment is intended to exalt and defend the sacredness of sex within marriage and to show us how destructive the same power can be when taken from its proper context and made ugly by sin.

So today we need to speak very honestly about sex and intimacy for two reasons. First of all, the Bible does! Sex was God’s idea; there is an entire book of the Bible focused on it; and in fact, there is more sexual imagery in the Bible than you can shake a stick at.

Sex was given as a gift to us: God’s children, living in a marriage relationship, trying to honor Him. He gave it to us. Shouldn’t our marriages have more sex and better sex than anyone else?

But there’s a second reason we need to talk about it: It’s about time. Our silence has in many ways allowed the world to define what sex should be. To be honest, the church has run from this topic for far too long and in doing so, we have conceded this ground to the enemy. Here’s what I mean:

• Every 2 ½ minutes, someone in America is sexually assaulted.
• Almost three-quarters (73%) of the victims knew their assailants.
• In 2010, almost 225,000 rapes occurred; 48% of the victims were under the age of 18.
• There is a serious problem found on our college/university campuses right now about sexual assaults. It is very much in the news!
• Wendy is working with a group of young girls (most under 13) in Kigali who have come out of sex trafficking, or have been raped (usually by a family friend and relative, and many are pregnant as a result. Funds that have been sent to them are now being used to pay for a Christian counselor to spend time with them monthly. After her first month with these girls, she had to seek some counseling herself to process what she was hearing. They are also providing a part-time guard on the place since they are easy victims)

Satan has been very effective at polluting what God created sex to be. In fact, it has become a double-edged sword. It can be used for the greatest good, or the greatest evil. There is no gift that on the one hand holds more promise, and on the other is more fraught with danger than sex. There is no holy act that is as susceptible to contamination. Sex is the perfect gift from God, and the perfect weapon of the enemy.

We can’t afford to tiptoe around the subject any longer. It’s time to take ownership of the dialogue. It’s time to reclaim God’s gift!

1.Sacred sex is relationship-based.

You might say “Well of course it is!” but not necessarily. The corruption of sex occurs outside of relationship: a fantasy in your mind about someone at the office, pornography after your spouse goes to sleep, adult movies in your hotel room alone, or sex with a stranger. But sacred sex is always within the context of one specific kind of relationship – married heterosexuals – and we’ll talk about why in a minute.

Sacred sex is relationship-based because it takes real courage to be fully connected to another person – to be completely vulnerable with them. It takes a lot of courage to open ourselves to another human. In fact, if you remember your King James Version Bible, you may recall that the Hebrew word for sex was translated “to know.” “Adam knew Eve, and she conceived a son…” I don’t think that’s an accident. Sacred sex is built on relationship, where we are known – where all the walls between us come down.

2.Sacred sex is grounded in intimacy. This is especially challenging for men, who need about 15 seconds to be “in the starting blocks and ready for action.” Gentlemen, I hate to be the one to break this to you, but intimacy cannot be achieved in the 15 seconds it takes you to be ready for sex. To say the same thing in a different way: men are like a micro-wave oven (fast) and women are more like a crock-pot (very-y-y slow).

Sacred sex is grounded in intimacy because it values the person more than anything else. – and that doesn’t come across so well when you walk in the door and say, “I’m ready!” During counseling one time, a woman said to a minister, “You know, I think my husband just needs my body parts to show up. As long as that happens, he’s fine. Sometimes I wish he’d love me – the person”. I suspect there is a chorus of millions of women behind her who would echo that sentiment.

I need to talk with the men here because the intimacy we’re talking about is often an issue with men. In God’s plan for sex, emotional intimacy comes before physical. That’s not how we were conditioned, but it is God’s way. Taking a sincere interest in your wife’s day…helping out around the house instead of criticizing…giving her your full attention instead of halfway listening while you check email…that builds trust that spreads throughout your marriage. God’s plan is to connect first and foremost with the person, not just the body parts.

Imagine this: what if your wife heard you praying for her? What if, in her presence, you asked God to make you a better husband, a better servant, a better father? What if you confessed your wish to please her? That, gentlemen, is Biblical foreplay. Could you imagine how turbo-charged your entire marriage would be if she saw you making provision for a romantic mood, instead of just showing up and tapping your feet?

3.Sacred lovers are servants – broken sex is selfish. “Why can’t you do what I like? Why can’t you meet my needs?” Sacred sex doesn’t sound like that – sacred sex is servant-based. Sacred sex seeks the pleasure of the other before your own. That’s what a servant does.

4.Sacred sex is based on freedom – it’s not rules-oriented. Because the world has perverted what sex was meant to be, we get into a lot of needless “what’s ok and what’s not ok” discussions.

It’s interesting the Bible doesn’t go into a lot of detail about what’s permissible and what’s not. Christians ask themselves a lot of technique questions they really don’t need to. Basically, there are two Scriptural principles:

• Is it within a heterosexual marriage?
• Does it honor your spouse and lead to mutual pleasure?

The Bible is basically silent when it comes to the “how’s” of sex – except for the Song of Solomon. …at least three things:

• Focus more on giving, and see what happens.
• They talk to each other a lot.
• Lust and seduction are wrong outside of a marriage, but terrific within one.

5.Sacred sex is open – unholy sex is secretive. Satan would have us develop a double life where our greatest fantasies are played outside of the presence and accountability of our spouses. But there is no association between light and dark, between secrecy and godliness. Is there anything about your sexuality that your mate doesn’t know? A fantasy about someone else? A habit you’ve developed while traveling on business?

Stop and think – because secrecy is one of Satan’s strongest tools. Jesus said, Those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants. (John 3:21, NLT) A compartment of your sex life that is in darkness, that is withheld from your wife or your husband, is a tool of the enemy. Make the necessary changes in your habits and in your thought patterns!

6.Sacred sex leads to fulfillment – broken sex ends in emptiness. Sex is all about achieving a oneness that fuses the two together. And we need to deal here with the most pervasive enemy of sacred sex today: pornography.

I counseled a guy who began by surfing the web for porn at night. At first it was just here and there, but then it became an hour, then two, then three. Three hours a night, while his wife slept, and he was still empty when he finished. Unholy sex always ends in emptiness. Similar stories can be told of single men who fell into similar traps.

The message that husband sent to his wife was this: “You are not enough.” Can you imagine how empty she felt afterward? How unfulfilled? I can’t imagine how ashamed she must have felt. Pornography will do that to a marriage. I wonder how he would feel if the roles were reversed?

Sacred sex, though, leaves you fulfilled because you are both servants, because your spouse seeks to honor you, so that more than anything else, you are cherished.

7.Sacred sex is a vehicle – worldly sex is an idol. Sex becomes an idol when it becomes all about you. An idol is something that takes the place of God, and sex becomes an idol when it stops pointing people to God. Sex should be a directional arrow pointing us to its Creator.

And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her; as the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” (Eph. 5:25, 31-32, NLT)

Did you catch that? “The two are united into one…it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.”

God shows you Himself through the expression of sexual love. Stop and think: What does God want from us? To join His Spirit with ours. Listen to I Corinthians 6: Don’t you realize that your bodies are actually parts of Christ? Should a man take his body, which belongs to Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never! And don’t you know that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.” But the person who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (I Cor. 6:15-17, NLT)

 “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled; for God will judge the immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4).

There is a special sort of guilt that attaches to adultery, fornication, homosexuality, and other offenses against the sanctity of sex. Paul put it this way: “Shun immorality. Every other sin which a man commits is outside the body; but the immoral man sins against his own body” (l Corinthians 6: 18). In other words, no other sin a human commits involves his person and personality so directly as sexual immorality.

Sex is intended of God to be the blending of two bodies and spirits in the most intimate and holy of relationships possible for human beings. Taking this beautiful act outside its proper context (i.e., marriage) is a sin against one’s own person, his partner’s personality, and the God who intended the act for the unique relationship of marriage.

There is a great story of a boy and his friend who were talking one day when his friend asked, “Do you know what ‘sex’ is?” The boy said he had heard about it, but really didn’t know. So he went to his mom and asked, “Mom, what is sex? Where did I came from?”

His mom then launched into an elaborate story of a very large bird, with white feathers and a big beak, and how that bird had delivered both him and his sister. Not satisfied, he went to his grandmother, who told him that very same bird had brought his mom years ago, and in fact had brought his grandmother to her parents. Completely confused, the young boy said: “That sure is complicated! Tommy said he came from South Carolina!”

The boy went back outside to his friend, who asked, “So, did you find out about sex?” To which the boy replied, “No, but I found out there hasn’t been a normal birth in our family for three generations.”

“You shall not commit murder” (Exodus 20:13)

 The sixth commandment was given to guard the sanctity of human life. Life was cheap in many ancient cultures. Unwanted or deformed infants were routinely exposed in Greek and Roman times. The brutal practice of gladiatorial combat to the death is frightening to read about in history books. Tyrannical rulers would have generals, friends, or even family members killed on the spot for the pettiest of offenses. Those were harsh and evil times.

Before we rush to congratulate ourselves on being more civilized, enlightened, and moral than those cultures, reflect for a moment on our own situation. 23,000 + people were murdered in the United States in 2015, and approximately 1.5 million abortions are performed annually in our country. There is good reason to think we have not come very far in our regard for human life.

Human life is sacred by virtue of the fact that it is in God’s own image.  On the sixth day of the creative week, God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness” (Genesis 1:27a). We honor God when we respect and preserve his image in one another; we sin against him by treating other human beings with contempt. Living by the rules calls for a healthy respect for human life.

Life is a gift from God, and only He has the authority to take life. Because we’re made in God’s image, murder is an attack against God: Genesis 1:26-27 (ESV) ²⁶  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” ²⁷  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 9:6 (ESV)  “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

The issue here is premeditated murder, which Jesus said could have its beginning in anger: Matthew 5:21-26 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’  ²²  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. ²³  So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. ²⁵  Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. ²⁶  Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

The Jews were allowed to defend themselves and the idea of self-defense is recognized in modern law: (Exodus 22:2 (ESV) If a thief is found breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him.

All nations make concessions for accidental death; but murder was a capital offense: Exodus 21:12-14 (ESV) “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death. ¹³  But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place to which he may flee. ¹⁴  But if a man willfully attacks another to kill him by cunning, you shall take him from my altar, that he may die.

As Noah stepped out of the ark to become the new head of the human race, the Almighty called his attention to the sacredness of human life and stated the penalty which was to be exacted from anyone who might dare to take a human life without justification. “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image” (Genesis 9:6). Anyone who shows such irreverence toward God as to shed innocent blood must pay with his own life.

(1) It is not enough to keep the Sixth Commandment as a precept, we must keep the Sixth Commandment in a broader context. If we are to view murder as so evil that we never wish to be tempted to kill someone, we must deal with those attitudes and actions which incline us toward murder, if not dealt with.

(2) Anger harbored against a brother can become a motive for murder. No one will ever know the number of murders which were the result of anger, but the percentage of such cases would be very high.

(3) Viewing a brother as inferior, as worthless, or as a liability to society is a motive for murder. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason with your neighbor, lest you bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear any grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Deuteronomy 19:17-18).

“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You shall not kill; and whoever kills shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother shall be liable to the council, and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22).

The terms “Raca” and “fool” are not just evil because they are names which we call another. These names betray an attitude on the part of the name‑caller that the world would be a better place without those thus named. Many who have taken the life of another have done so thinking they have done society a favor.

Hatred of another human being is also an offense against the sanctity of life.  Jesus taught that murder originates in a heart filled with hatred (Matthew 15:19). The Bible teaches that hatred is wrong of itself.

Hatred, strife, and malice are sins against personality. They have no place in the life of one who has committed himself to living by the rules of heaven.

 (4) Irreconciled relationships and unresolved conflicts can lead to murder. The Lord applied His teaching on murder by urging His hearers to promote and hasten the process of reconciliation. Unresolved conflicts only intensify, sometimes to the point murder.

Finally, let us identify some of the things in our own society which constitute violations of the sanctity of human life.

First, and most obviously, murder is a violation of the eternal principle which underlies the divine rule about life. Our world has an element which has no conscience about cold-blooded murder. Terrorists break into international sports events and waste lives; civilian and military representatives of the United States are vulnerable to kidnapping and assassination in various parts of the world; senseless and brutal murders of elderly people take place in every city in our own nation.

Second, personal injury to another person is a violation of life’s sanctity. Mugging, rape, or other forms of bodily harm are wrong. So are racism, mockery, or other psychological attacks against others. To set oneself against another human being with the intent of doing injury of any sort is an offense against one’s own humanity.

Going a step further, Scripture teaches that we are obligated to lend our assistance to people in trouble. It is one thing not to harm another; it is still another to become involved in trying to help that person with his problem. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it” (Proverbs 3:27; cf. James 4:17).

Third, abortion is a form of deliberate and unjustified taking of life that our society has come to tolerate and defend. The vast majority of the million and a half abortions performed annually in this country are for the convenience of the mother. The child is simply unwanted or inconvenient.

Of course the fundamental issue with regard to abortion is this: What is human life? From a biblical perspective, anyone conceived of human parents is human. Or, to say it in scientific terms, any organism with a human genetic code must be regarded as human life. From conception forward, every cell in the body of a developing fetus bears a distinctively human genetic code.

Some Things NOT Prohibited by This Rule

The Law of Moses distinguished at least three types of homicide. First, there is premeditated murder. This is planning ahead of time, lying in wait, taking the person off guard, and slaying him. It is killing a person in the course of committing some other crime against him, such as the case just posited of killing someone while trying to rob him. This type of criminal act is discussed at Numbers 35:16-21.

Second, there is accidental homicide. If two men are working together and one unintentionally causes a rock to fall which crushes his partner to death, no act of murder is involved. Numbers 35:22-28 discusses this sort of accidental death and specifies the right of protection an individual would have against anyone who thought his act was a malicious one. He could flee to one of three cities of refuge in Israel’s territory and claim sanctuary from the city’s officials.

Third, there is what we call self-defense or justifiable homicide. ”If a thief is found breaking in, and is struck so that he dies, there shall be no bloodguilt for him” (Exodus 22:2).

Of these three types of homicide, only the first is specified by the sixth commandment. The following, then, are not prohibited by this rule for right living or the eternal principle of respect for life underlying it.

Police action is not prohibited. Peter teaches that Christians are to acknowledge the right of the state, its rulers, and their agents to punish wrongdoers. “Be subject for the Lord’s sake for every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right” (l Peter 2:13-14).

Participation in a justified war is not prohibited. In the New Testament, soldiers are not required to give up their careers in view of the appearance of the Christ (cf. Luke 3:14; Acts 10). To the contrary, remember that Romans 13 says the state is constituted for the purpose of executing God’s vengeance on evildoers.

What is a “justified war”? War is justified when a nation uses its military force to turn back a genuine threat to the security of its people and the protection of innocent people.

Capital punishment is not prohibited. The Old Testament not only permitted but required the death penalty for murder (Genesis 9:6), rape (Deuteronomy 22:5), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), and several offenses against the theocracy of Yahweh in Israel (Deuteronomy 13:5; 17:2-7).

Moving to the New Testament, one finds that it upholds rather than repudiates the right of the state to enforce the death penalty for certain crimes. Both testaments were written by the same God, a God whose character does not change. He did not evolve from a brutal person in the Old Testament to a loving one in the New Testament. He has always been loving, but his love has never allowed him to ignore justice. So the civil circumstances identified in the Old Testament for the taking of life are acknowledged again in the New Testament.

(1 John 4:19)  We love because he first loved us.

This is one of the most important messages I could ever present! It gets to the very heart and soul of who we are as Christians! Please listen closely with your heart and mind. We’re about to go to a most important place.

 We begin with the tale of two fathers: the first on a little league baseball field. It’s a hot day and very dusty…a lot of sons around us with great emotions. (describe scene where one son –the best player on the team — strikes out at the key point of the game…his dad is leaning on the fence behind the back stop: response of his father: you’re pathetic!)

 How could anyone treat their son like that? Can you imagine what it would be like living in that house?

 The 2^nd father? His son made a series of bad decisions and ended up in the worst possible place morally a son could end up. He came to the realization that he wasn’t even worthy of being the son of this father.

 His father’s response? Luke 15:20: “So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. {21} “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ {22} “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. {23} Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. {24} For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” {32} “But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'”

 Two fathers. Two very different responses! Two different kind of relationships! Both fathers may have had broken hearts, but they handled it differently!

 Which one best describes the relationship you have with your heavenly Father! We know one is made up…the 2^nd father is the inspired description of our God!

 This is a lesson entitles “From Legalism to Gratitude.” Father #1 is the Christian legalist, while Father #2 is Christian gratitude.

Legalism is not about keeping rules; we all have truths, standards, teachings that put before us right and wrong.

 Legalism IS about our motivation for keeping those rules! It’s a twisted system that implies that it is difficult to gain God’s love. That we are always in a position of needing to earn the love of God.

 It’s a response to love withheld. It ends best with what I do, my power, my achievements.

 And it produces fear! Inside it causes us to be “scared to death” because we never know how we stand with God.

 It ultimately crushes the spirit. Our religious beliefs aren’t a blessing. Eventually we begin to realize that we’re trying to earn the love of a Father who cannot/will not be pleased!

 This legalistic attitude is 180 degrees opposite to the development of faith and maturity in the Bible. It’s completely against the teachings of both Paul and John: 

 (Rom 8:1 NIV)  “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”

 (1 John 5:13 NIV)  “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

 When God gave the 10 commandments to the children of Israel, before He began, He makes clear that He wants their response to be based on a relationship with Him:

(Exodus 20:1-3 NIV)  And God spoke all these words: {2} “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. {3} “You shall have no other gods before me.

 Listen to the words given to Israel as they are about the possess the promised land:

(Joshua 24:1-3 NIV)  Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. {2} Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abracham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods. {3} But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the River and led him throughout Canaan and gave him  wemany descendants. I gave him Isaac,

  (Joshua 24:13-15 NIV)  So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’ {14} “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. {15} But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, th Graen choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”

 (Gal 2:15-16 NIV)  “”We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ {16} know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

 (Gal 2:21 NIV)  “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!””

 (Rom 8:15-17 NIV)  “For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” {16} The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. {17} Now if we are children, then we are heirs–heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

 Our life as Christians is NOT about earning love from a God who won’t give it!! No Way! The greatest expression of God’s love is in the death of His Son. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, nasb).

 The sending of Christ into the world, and His death on the cross, were not prompted by man’s love for God. They were prompted by His love for man. The world’s attitude toward God is anything but love!

 It is important that Christians progress in their understanding of love. To love one another simply out of a sense of duty is good, but to love out of appreciation (rather than obligation) is even better.

 After Peter’s denials

(Luke 22:61 NIV)  “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.””

 Story of two husbands and the list. One never said “thank you” or “I love you.” Always had a list of things he expected her to do each day.  He died…she married someone who said/showed deep love. Found “the list” many years later and broke down in tears…realized she was doing everything on “the list” for the second husband in the midst of a very different atmosphere!

As we talk about Words to Live By, we find again an important principle from our text for today: Exodus 20:8 (ESV) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

I want to be absolutely clear from the outset: Christians today were never under the Old Testament law. It was given to the Jews but Gentiles were never under it. Those who honor a Saturday day of worship do so by their own choice and in a total disregard of the New Testament practice of the apostles and the first century church. And I have yet to have anyone explain why they would honor a Sabbath Day worship and disregard most/all the other teachings of the Old Testament.

BUT from the beginning of Genesis there is much we learn about God, the way He deals with the world and people, and principles that guide our walk as Christians. Today’s Words to Live By: : Use Your Time to God’s Glory.

Our English word “sabbath” is from a Hebrew term which means cessation or rest. This holy day of rest was observed on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.

The sabbath recalled God’s rest after six days of creative work. Beyond that, it was instituted to allow the Jews a fixed time for deliberate worship to Yahweh.

The first four “words to live by” focused on our relationship with God. The first three words reveal to us who God is and who he isn’t, but the fourth word creates the environment for the relationship with the God who delivers, the God who cannot be manipulated or made into our image. We are to keep a day of rest dedicated to worship, thus keeping it holy. God designed it as a special day for the whole community.

And it takes us to the beginning of time itself: Genesis 2:1-3 (ESV)
1  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2  And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done.
3  So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The principle contribution is to establish a precedent on which future Sabbath commandments will be based. The precedent is one that God Himself established with regard to the seventh creation day. This text draws together three separate, but related, events:

God finished His work of creating the universe.

God rested on the seventh day because His creation work was finished.

God blessed and sanctified the seventh day because on it He rested.

It also was found in actual practice early in the life of the Israelites (note this was before the giving of the 10 commandments). They were already being taught this in the wilderness: Exodus 16:22-30 Now it came about on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, “This is what the Lord meant: Tomorrow is a Sabbath observance, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning.” So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul, nor was there any worm in it.

And Moses said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” And it came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, “How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? See, the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.” So they rested on the seventh day (Exod. 16:22-30).

Then the ‘official’ law was given: Exodus 20:9: Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10  but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11  For in six days the LORD made heaven and 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.

This text makes several significant contributions to the developing doctrine of the Sabbath.

First, it is the first occurrence of the term “Sabbath” in the Bible.

Second, it is the first time in the Bible that Israel is commanded to observe a Sabbath practice of any kind. Here, the practice is specifically related to resting from the work of gathering manna.

Third, manna was not to be gathered on the seventh day because it was a “Sabbath to the Lord” (vss. 23, 26).

We see that it was first a “Sabbath to the Lord,” and secondarily a “Sabbath for the Israelites.”

God did two things differently to set this Sabbath aside as something distinct, something sanctified:

(1) God caused manna not to fall on the Sabbath (v. 27).

(2) God kept the double portion of manna gathered on the sixth day from rotting, as it did on all other days (cp. vss. 20, 24).

There are two additional features of this “Sabbath instruction” in the light of Israel’s past.

The first is that this command not to gather manna was a very gracious and positive gift from God. Moses told the Israelites that God had given them the Sabbath (v. 29). There were few if any days off in Egypt for slaves. The gift of one day off a week was indeed intended to be a blessing, to be gratefully received.

The second feature of the Sabbath was that it established a seven-day week. We might assume that this is always the way men have divided time, but research has shown that the Egyptians followed a ten day week. Thus, God was reordering Israel’s conception of time.

And when you put these two together, you have a new principle…we see the relationship between time and godliness: The relationship between the first three commandments and the fourth is becoming increasingly clear. The first three commandments impress upon the saint the necessity, indeed the priority, of worship.

The fourth commandment insures the time which is required for worship. When viewed together these commandments inform us that it takes time to be holy. The fourth commandment prohibits preoccupation with the normal activity of work so that men may have/take time to worship God.

As Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke writes: “Sabbath benefits the individual, but it is an act of grace for the individual to others. By virtue of resting, one takes the pressure off numerous others to work. A master who rests offers rest to the slaves and servants. A boss who rests takes pressure off the workers. In this light, God’s rest on the seventh day is an additional act of grace, giving sanction for all of creation to rest as well.”1

Satan has been in the business of hindering the worship of Christians in 21th century America. We are workaholics, and, in addition, worn out by the time demands of our day. It is no wonder that the quality of our worship can he less than what God deserves and wants. We must have free time to worship, and we must plan our week so that we finish in time to have that time. It does take time to be holy.

Principle 1: The Principle of Remembering [Honoring God, listening, holiness]

Our lives can get so busy that we lose the ability to reflect and refresh. “Be Still and Know that I am God” is a song we need to sing more often. Being still and quiet reminds us that He is God and we are not.

Remembering and Holiness allows us to experience true rest: We are overwhelmed with leisure. Our play is sometimes a lot of work.

“The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’” (Mark 6:30-31). True rest is rest with God.

Principle 2: The Principle of Trust. The Sabbath is about respecting ourselves and connecting with our Creator God.

The rationale for the Sabbath in Exodus is found in the created order. Cycles and patterns are part of the created order. “God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh.” The seventh day is not unimportant. It has real meaning. The seventh day is a day in which God enjoys his work. The seventh day is when God created satisfaction, tranquility, peace.

God’s creating order teaches us how life is supposed to be lived, and if we understand the principle of Sabbath Trust, then we can reflect on how we tune our lives to the rhythms of the created order.

The created order is an interconnected system and the observances of holy periods of rest are for the best. Learning to trust God’s wisdom in the created order rather becoming so proud that we do whatever we want.

Principle 3: The Principle of Humanity/Spirituality. The Sabbath is about respecting the world God made – the land and resources — rather than overusing it and abusing it.  The rationale for the Sabbath is a sense of justice. The Sabbath was a way of keeping God’s people from relapsing into slavery. The power of Pharaoh had dehumanized and demeaned the people through the overwork of slavery.

Likewise, the Old Testament has more to say about Sabbath. In Exodus 23 and again in Leviticus 25, Israel is commanded to observe a Sabbath year every seventh year, so that the land could rest and the poor and the beasts of the field could eat from it. (Exodus 23:10-11).

So, the Sabbath declares to all that “We are not slaves.” This is more than private time. This is a public feature of the community. Notice that the Sabbath wasn’t simply for the wealthy or the true members of Israel. It was communal and it even extended to servants and foreigners living among them….no one is taken advantage of.

This principle of Sabbath keeps us from serving the wrong master. Can our institutions really respect this? Chick-Fil-A is a rarity in the world of business. Every Chick-fil-a store is closed on Sunday. The only rationale is that it honors God and it honors employees. The founder of Chick-Fil-A has been told countless times about the profit he is losing by being closed on Sunday. But Truett Cathy seems to recognize a principle greater than profit. The Sabbath is about respecting human beings rather than abusing, using, or enslaving them.

Why do Christians observe Sunday as the day of worship rather than Saturday? A look at the New Testament evidence proves that Sunday has been the special day of worship for Christians from the very beginning (cf. Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). Sunday is sacred as the day on which Christ rose from the dead (Matthew 28:1) and on which the church began (Acts 2:lff). Early on it came to be known as “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10).

While Sunday did not become a state holiday until Constantine made it such in 321, it has been the special day of Christian worship from the day the church was founded.

Good stewardship of time under the Lord Jesus involves learning to live a well-ordered life which has a place for family, exercise, rest, chores, recreation, wage earning, and sleep as well as for prayer, Bible reading, and church assemblies.

We disgrace ourselves and horrify God by having a frenzy so as to break both health and sanity! Good religion is, among other things, good sense about the use of precious time.

Stewardship of your time under God involves giving priority to your family. Don’t let a busy life crowd out your husband, wife, or children. Don’t let your family go to pieces simply because you don’t have time to get involved with the people you love most in all the world.

Families that fail don’t set out to destroy each other. Their lives just get so fragmented by the careless use of time that they never have time to get to know each other and therefore can never be of any real help to one another.

Leave some time for exercise and taking care of your health. It is shameful that more hasn’t been said in pulpits about the care God wants us to take of our physical bodies.

Balance in Your Life

There is a time for work. “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work” (Exodus 20:9). Some people fail to see that a full work week is envisioned by this rule for good living. The desire to do less and less while receiving more money and leisure for it is a blight on the modern world. It is a character defect within the person who harbors such a desire.

There is a time for rest. Though we are meant to work, God did not create our bodies and minds for constant tension and uninterrupted exertion. There has to be a time of backing away for rest and renewal. At the end of the day, at the end of a work week, when some difficult project has been completed, you have to turn loose and let it go.

After you have worked hard and finished your task, don’t feel guilty for enjoying a period of rest and relaxation. Rest is as honorable as the honest and hard work that make it sweet. The two go together in God’s plan for a good life.

There is a time for worship. Christians worship God in many different settings – both private and public. But Sunday is a time for heightened sensitivity to spiritual concerns.

It is not sinful for a Christian to work on Sunday, if the work is of a vital public nature (e.g., medical services, transporation, etc.) or if he is being forced to work on that day in order to hold a job that supports his family. By the way, ministers consider Sunday as the best day of their week…but it’s the day when we work the hardest with 2-3 lessons to present.

The best response I can give to the person who asks: “Is it wrong to work on Sunday and miss worship assemblies?” is simply this: “I am more interested in knowing if you are here when you are able to be here? I think God is watching that, too.”

 

‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain” (Exodus 20:7)

 I have to begin by admitting that this is a sermon I never thought 15 years ago that I would ever need to teach in a congregation of people devoted to living lives pleasing to God.

Why? Because in moments of stress or surprise, we sometimes say things that we don’t realize would fit into this category: it is one of the rules a believer needs to observe in his life: be careful of sacred things. This general rule is expressed with particular reference to the Lord’s name in the third commandment of the Decalogue.

The first commandment dealt with the object of our worship, and the second the means of our worship, the third commandment deals with our verbal worship of God.  

Imagine a common occurrence: someone hears horrifying news and cries, “Oh, my God!” Someone else arrives on the scene of a bad accident and says, “Oh, Christ, what happened here!” Whatever else may be appropriate to say in these situations, to use some holy name as an exclamation is not appropriate.

Are you telling someone about God or Christ when you say those names? Are we speaking to them? No. Usually it’s a vain word that is used in those moments or surprise or shock or grief…but they are inappropriate. In those situations, we are using God’s name in vain. (There have been times when friends/family/members are asked if they are aware of the words they have just used, in one of these situations. They become quite angry when ‘accused’ of using God’s name in a vain way…yet in every situation, they have come back later and acknowledged they were speaking ‘in vain’ and were apologetic to the one who had pointed it out).

Anger will cause some people to use God’s name to invoke an evil curse on another person. The offended person utters a vile prayer that asks God to damn someone who is made in God’s own image and a neighbor to the one speaking.

What sort of wicked thinking has led us to think there is a point to profanity? Why do we need words that approximate the world’s gross use of God’s name as an oath in our vocabularies? The divine name is sacred, and we sin by treating it offensively or by using it to vent our frustrations and anger.

In order to determine the meaning of this commandment we must first understand the meaning of two things: first, the concept of the “name of the Lord,” and second, the meaning of the term “vain.”

Both are explained by Kaiser: “What then is involved in the ‘name’ of God? His name includes:

(1) his nature, being, and very person (Ps. 20:1; Luke 24:47; John 1:12; cf. Rev. 3:4)

(2) his teaching and doctrines (Ps. 22:22; John 17:6, 26)

(3) his ethical directions and morals (Mic. 4:5).

The ‘vain’ or ‘empty purposes’ to which God’s name may be put are:

(1) to confirm something that is false and untrue

(2) to fill in the gaps in our speeches or prayers

(3) to express mild surprise

(4) to use that name when no clear goal, purpose, or reason for its use is in mind, whether it be in prayer, in a religious context, or absent-mindedly invoked as table grace when no real heart, thankfulness, or purpose is involved.

Since the Exodus, God was known among the Israelites as Ha-shem, which means “The Name.” The people knew God’s name, but God is so holy that even his name is holy. The Rabbis would not speak or write down the Lord’s name., it was so special to them.

The third commandment came to be interpreted so narrowly among the Jewish people that they began to avoid pronouncing the divine name altogether. Their fear of some vain use of the covenant name evolved to the point that it was pronounced only once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement.

At other occasions which called for the use of the deity’s name, even when reading from the biblical text itself, they would not attempt to pronounce the holy name Yahweh but would substitute the Hebrew word Adonai (i.e., Lord) or Elohim (i.e., God).

He reveals that character in these Ten Words:

• He is jealous. There is no room for other Gods in the relationship.
• He holds generations accountable for the sins of those who reject his ways. That seems so harsh, but it is reminder that our poor choices and bad behavior remain among our children for a very long time.
• He is faithful and kind to thousands of generations of the ones who are devoted to him. God saved Israel because of a promise he made to Abraham. You and I are blessed by the devotion of saints who lived long before us. God blesses us because of their faithfulness to him.

Jesus taught us what this third word to live by really means. There’s a certain danger of misuse when it involves swearing by God’s name. Jesus teaches us to simply speak the truth. If your “Yes is Yes and your No is No” all the time then you have the character of God and are not simply dropping his name to make your point.

(Matthew 5:33-37 (ESV) “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’
³⁴  But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
³⁵  or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
³⁶  And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.
³⁷  Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

What’s In a Name?

We are sometimes too flippant and careless with words. Thus we hear people say, “Oh, there’s nothing in a name.” To be sure, a word does derive its meaning through convention and assignment.

You don’t want to be called by any of the following terms: idiot, traitor, liar, or thief. And you certainly wouldn’t consider naming your child Judas or Benedict Arnold.

In Scripture the significance of one’s name is even greater than in our customary usage. It is no mere assigned label. It stands for the person, reveals his character, and identifies his role. This is why a number of important figures in Scripture are given new names at crucial points in their lives.

Recall the father of the Hebrew nation as a case in point. The Lord appeared to him and said, “No longer shall your name be Abram [i.e., exalted Father], but your name shall be Abraham [i.e., father of a multitude]; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations” (Gen. 17:5; 17:15). The man’s name was changed to signify the new role he would play in the unfolding of the work of God among men.

When the time came for the birth of Christ to the virgin Mary, the angel told Joseph the miraculous nature of her pregnancy and said, “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus (i.e., savior], for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

The name was not accidental but was chosen to signify the position this child would occupy in the divine scheme of things. His name is so special, so sacred, that Peter could say, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4: 12).

The covenant name of Israel’s God (i.e., Yahweh) proclaimed him as the one true God whose saving power and faithfulness to his people were genuine. That is why his name was not to be trifled with or treated contemptuously. There is something in that name!

The name is not a “magic word,” but it is a sacred and holy word. It was holy to Israel because it signified the special relationship he had with those people under the Mosaic covenant.

Divine names, institutions, and ordinances must be treated with respect. It is a part of living by the rules of heaven to observe this principle. There is something in a name, then, and a generation which prides itself on its irreverence should sit up and take notice of that fact.

Ecclesiastes 5:4 (ESV) When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.

Have you any unfulfilled vows to God? Have you any to some fellow human being? Give your word cautiously, seriously, and reliably; it is a sacred matter.

This third rule to live by is not intended to discourage our use of the name of God. It is rather designed to insure that we use that name in a way consistent with its intrinsic holiness. Use the Lord’s name in your life, but use it properly and reverently.

Don’t use it to make a promise you do not intend to keep. Don’t use it to voice your shock or dismay. Don’t use it to curse another human being, a flat tire, or a smashed thumb. Don’t wear the holy name Christian if you are not going to make a serious attempt to honor the Lord in your daily life.

Do have the name of God on your lips to honor him. Acknowledge him as the giver of every good thing in your life. Let it be a natural thing to speak of him, his goodness, his will. Think and speak in terms of doing everything in your life so as to live consistently with his will for you.

Jesus said, “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

Use the Lord’s name in frequent and fervent prayer. Have it on your lips in praise, worship, and adoration. Use his name when talking to somebody who is not a believer or who is a weak brother or sister.

Yes, use the name of God constantly. Don’t take this commandment in the way the Jews took it as a prohibition against letting that holy name pass your lips; that is not the point of the command.

Conclusion

If your mouth has been foul and profane, clean it up. I know some mothers who literally wash out their children’s mouths with soap when they say bad words or use God’s name improperly.

That may be useful; it is a negative reinforcement against the child’s use of that word again. But, of course, that doesn’t really get to the root of the problem. You have to get your heart purged in order to keep your mouth clean.

Matthew 15:18 (ESV)   But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
You may need to ask the Lord’s help to get out of some vocabulary habits you have nurtured.

If you have been careless with your promises and pledges, start treating your word as your bond. It is given in the presence of God always, and your integrity is on the line whenever you speak.

We are not through with our words once they have been spoken. The Lord said we will meet them again in Judgment; we will be justified or condemned on the basis of them.

Matthew 12:36-37 (ESV)  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Exodus 20:4 (ESV) “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. “You shall not make for yourself a graven image”

I suspect most people regard this second statement as an anticlimactic rounding off of the first. If the Ten Commandments were being ranked in order of their relevant importance, this one might be placed at the bottom of the list. It might surprise you to learn that there are more references to this commandment in the remainder of the Bible than to any other of the Decalogue. This fact alone should indicate something of its significance.

The first and second commandments are similar in that both deal with the matter of Israel’s worship. They are distinct in that the first commandment has restrictions pertaining to the object of worship (God alone), while the second has restrictions regarding the means of worship. The second commandment prohibits worship by means of “visual aids,” more commonly known as idols.

Let’s settle on a very simple working definition of an idol: an idol is a symbolic representation of a god, as determined by man, which often represents the presence and available power of the god it symbolizes.

Recall, for example, that when Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving these commandments, the children of Israel grew restless because he had been away for so long. Perhaps they thought he had died or had been taken up to heaven. At any rate, they began pressing Aaron to make them gods (Exodus 32:1). Moses’ brother took gold from the people and melted it down to fashion a golden calf….which was probably very much of their environment in Egypt. When he unveiled it to the people, he said, “These are your gods, 0 Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4).

Which of the first two commandments was being violated in the series of events just described? Most would probably say it was the first one about false gods. In fact, it was the second! How can we be sure? As soon as Aaron had unveiled the golden calf, the Bible says this happened: “When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord (i.e., Yahweh)”’ (Exodus 32:5).

Aaron was not trying to substitute some new god for Yahweh but was attempting to represent the covenant God of Israel in some tangible manner. With Moses gone Aaron succumbed to the pressure to try to give the people a visible rallying sign around which they could center their devotions to the Lord.

The problem exemplified to us by the golden calf is still very much with us. Carnal minds find it difficult to think of God apart from some sort of visible representation, superstitious relic or crude totem. Heaven’s real attack in this second commandment is against false mental images of God. Thus we state the second rule for holy living in these words: Keep a clear vision of God.

Don’t drag God down to your level. Don’t let yourself believe that the high, holy, and spiritual God who has created you and whose favor you seek can be represented by something made in the likeness of anything you know in this visible world of ours.

God’s original honor to human beings was to create us in his image; we dishonor him by trying to refashion him in ours.

The challenge of this rule for living is summed up by Jesus in these words: “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth”(John 4:24).

Any religion that manufactures coins or beads or images that can be put up in the house or in our cars in a violation of this command. It is representing something that is used to remind us or represent God tous.

When people are ignorant of God, they seem driven to try to represent him by an image of some sort. Paul began the book of Romans with an indictment of the pagan world of his day for refusing the knowledge of God and prostituting the knowledge they did have of him into idolatry. He wrote: Romans 1:22-23 (ESV)  Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

We humans are incurably religious. We will have a god! There has never been a culture or civilization found that was without something it called a “god.” It may have been some part of nature – maybe the sun, moon, or stars; it may have been a totem or idol carved by their own hands; it may have been some Great Spirit who was regarded as unknown and unknowable. But there has never been a culture where religious devotions were totally absent.

In his speech in the Areopagus at Athens, Paul talked about the phenomenon of humanity’s preoccupation with the issue of God. Acts 17:26-28 (ESV)  And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, ²⁷  that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, ²⁸  for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Why are we incurably religious? God made us that way! He created us with a thirst for his fellowship; he made us with a spiritual yearning that is intended to serve as a “homing device” to encourage us to seek, find, and enjoy him.

Earlier in Paul’s sermon at Athens, he had said: Acts 17:22-23 (ESV) So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. ²³  For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.

We are naturally inclined to religion. We will have a deity. If we are not very careful, however, we will make that deity in our own image and get him down to a level where he can be managed and manipulated by us.

There can be no doubt that superstition is involved directly in the matter of image-making. An icon or “sacred object” is assigned magical powers and used to ward off evil. It may be a little silver replica of the shrine of Artemis (Acts 19:24) or a golden cross someone wears or a ‘spiritual coin’ to which a magical power is attributed.

Don’t misunderstand the point here. There is nothing wrong with a fish or cross or some other supposed “Christian symbol” as a piece of jewelry. What is wrong is to attribute to it some special power or superstitious belief. In order to get clear on this point, consider the history of the ark of the covenant among the Jews.

Do you remember the brass serpent the Lord told Moses to erect among the people to save them from the fiery serpents he sent among them at one point in the wilderness? (Numbers 21:4-9). That brass snake was preserved, and it wasn’t long until it became a superstitious icon in itself. The Bible tells us that one of the things good King Hezekiah did during his reign (715-686 B.C.) was to destroy it. “He removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehushtan” (2 Kings 18:4).

There are at least three good reasons that come to mind as to why image-representation of Yahweh was forbidden to the Jews. First, no likeness of God could be adequate. Therefore any would be false and misleading. Second, God cannot be localized or limited to anyone place. Third, God wanted their trust to be in him and not in some magical icon.

The penalty for violating the second commandment was severe. “You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6).

Notice that its violation would bring terrible consequences not only upon the individual doing such a thing but upon future generations. How could this be? It is not guilt that is imputed from one generation to the next, but the immorality that follow such an apostasy that linger for generations! Put plainly: our children seem to follow what we do and pass it down to their children.

We may think it ridiculous that someone would make their own God. We might laugh right along with Isaiah (Isa. 44) when he pokes fun of the foolish fellow who cuts down a tree and uses part of the wood to heat his house and roast his meat, but carves a god to worship out of the rest. Yes, that seems silly enough. But often the gods we shape, the gods that we end up making for ourselves, the gods that compete for our loyalty are things that really seem very good …

Isaiah 44 (ESV)
⁶  Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.
⁷  Who is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and set it before me, since I appointed an ancient people. Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.
⁸  Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”
⁹  All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.
¹⁰  Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing?
¹¹  Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together.
¹²  The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint.
¹³  The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil. He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house.
¹⁴  He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it.
¹⁵  Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.
¹⁶  Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!”
¹⁷  And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!”
¹⁸  They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.
¹⁹  No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?”
²⁰  He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?”
²¹  Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
²²  I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you.
²³  Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it; shout, O depths of the earth; break forth into singing, O mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the LORD has redeemed Jacob, and will be glorified in Israel.
²⁴  Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself,
²⁵  who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,
²⁶  who confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built, and I will raise up their ruins’;
²⁷  who says to the deep, ‘Be dry; I will dry up your rivers’;
²⁸  who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

The good things that bring us closer to God can become the trickiest of idols. It’s very easy to equate these things with God and we can be tempted into thinking that when we manage these things we manage our relationship with God.

Some Common Misperceptions of God

Our God is void of passion and slack toward sin. You and I tend to think that sin is not so bad. Know why? We are sinners! We can’t condemn sin too soundly, or we will wind up stomping on our own toes. So we learn to blind our eyes to a lot of things we know are not right. It may be an unethical business practice or devious half-truth. Since “everybody does it,” we are inclined to tolerate such things in our own lives and in others. We seem to be able to convince ourselves that even God must feel as we do about such things.

Just look at Jesus to see how false an opinion of God that is. God is never slack with sin. Twice during his early ministry, the Son of Man made himself a whip and moved through the temple precincts to free animals, dump money, and scatter men (John 2:14-16; Matthew 21:12-13). They were turning that sacred place” of worship into a den of thieves, and he was outraged. And do you remember his denunciations of the religious leaders of his time? He called the scribes and Pharisees “hypocrites” (Matthew 23). They thought they knew how to split theological hairs and find loopholes in the commands of God. They thought they could sin and get by with it because of their mock piety. Jesus showed them how wrong they were.

Our God is a tyrant and anxious to condemn. As surely as some see God as too soft and too easy with sin, others see him as a cruel and hard-hearted deity. In the Parable of the Talents, the servant who had been entrusted with one talent came before his master on the day of reckoning and said, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not winnow; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24-25). The man had a wrong mental image of his master. He thought he was such a hard man that nobody could please him.

Look for a moment at the compassion of God that was shown through Jesus, and balance that with the rage he showed in cleansing the temple and denouncing the Pharisees and scribe. One of the thmgs that the religious leaders of his day thought so unusual about Jesus was his association with outcasts and sinners. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes murmured, saying, ‘This man receives sinners and eats with them'” (Luke 15:1-2).

Our God is an absentee landlord who collects rent on Sundays and cares nothing about what we do during the week. Some Christians in my experience seem to have a view of God that allows them to practice religion after the following order: go to church on Sunday, drop money in the plate, shake hands, go home for a drink, cheat somebody in business on Monday, curse somebody who makes you mad, deliberately foul up a job to get even with an employer who was unfair, snap at the family, flirt with a neighbor, and so on for six days; then back to church on Sunday to appease God for another week. How dare anyone of us think that religion and daily life are separate spheres of responsibility!

No wonder the church doesn’t set the world on its ear, if this understanding of God is in the hearts of very many Christians. Christianity is a day-by-day, 24-hour-per-day responsibility. “And [Jesus] said to all, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me'” (Luke 9:23).

It is a small percentage of the totality of one’s religion that involves being in worship assemblies. Yet some want to make those assemblies the entirety of their religion.

Our God is responsible for all mankind’s misfortunes and tragedies. It frightens me to know how many people hold God responsible for all the bad things of human experience. Children are born blind, people have cancer, or a loved one dies; someone will say, “It is the will of God!” Most of what happens in this world is not the will of God, and it is high time we put a stop to the thoughtless things we are accustomed to saying which attribute them to him!

The will of God for his creatures calls for our happiness on earth and eternal fellowship with him in heaven after this life. He gives good gifts to his people, and he does not blight lives and inflict pointless pain. While there are many things we do not understand about pain and suffering in human experience, we do know enough to avoid the mistake of assigning it all to the will of God.

Conclusion

This rule for living is a prohibition of low, inadequate, and unworthy imaginations of God. He wants his people to have a clear and spiritual vision of him. Only then can we know him, love him, and worship him willingly.

If you will think for a moment about how sensitive we are about having bad photos or likenesses of ourselves circulated, perhaps you will begin to understand why a holy God would be angered by some of the false physical and mental images mankind has circulated of him.

RESULTS OF THE FIRST VIETNAM WAR DRAFT LOTTERY HELD DECEMBER 1, 1969

The highest number drafted in this group of men was 195. My number, based on my birthday, was 38, which meant I would definitely be drafted when I either left college or graduated (which I did in the summer 1972, from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee). I eventually served some 18 months as a conscientious objector in Chattanooga, Tennessee).

On December 1, 1969, the Selective Service System of the United States conducted two lotteries to determine the order of call to military service in the Vietnam War for men born from 1944 to 1950. These lotteries occurred during “the draft”—a period of conscription, controlled by the President, from just before World War II to 1973.

The lottery numbers assigned in December 1969 were used during calendar year 1970 both to call for induction and to call for physical examination, a preliminary call covering more men.