1st Commandments

David Owen Hasbrouck

The Ten (Commandments) • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

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Preaching through the Law of God

Notes

Transcript

Introduction.

The great Reformer Martin Luther exemplified this. “Although I’m indeed an old doctor,” he said, “I never move on from the childish doctrine of the Ten Commandments and the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. I still daily learn and pray them with my little Hans and my little Lena.” He had just as much to learn about the Lord as his children.

The First Commandment deals with the true God; the Second Commandment deals with the true religion. - Bavinck

Deuteronomy 5:6–21 (ESV)

6 “ ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 “ ‘You shall have no other gods before me.

8 “ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 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 on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 “ ‘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.

12 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 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 or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16 “ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “ ‘You shall not murder.

18 “ ‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 “ ‘And you shall not steal.

20 “ ‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 “ ‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’

How God sees False belief

Deuteronomy 5:2–4 ESV

2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,

If exclusive covenant loyalty-love is the root of all righteousness, then to give that love to someone else is the root of all sin. The true God is a jealous God, as the second commandment tells us, and he will not give his glory to someone else

(Isa. 42:8 “8 I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” ;

Isa. 48:11 “11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.” ).

As the unfaithfulness of adultery betrays a marriage, so false worship violates the covenant at its heart. Thus, Scripture often draws parallels between adultery and idolatry

(Lev. 20:5 “5 then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.” ;

Jer. 3:9 “9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.” ;

Ezek. 16; Hos. 1–4) and between faithfulness in marriage and faithfulness to the Lord (Eph. 5:22–33).

When we break the first commandment we are committing adultery against our God

Covenant and the First Commandment (Theology section)

False Gods of Today (Briefly)

When your a Christian and you commit a sin of the first commandment

Here is a list of things that can be worshipped today

The Doctrine of the Christian Life (God-Substitutes)

It is wrong also to worship our own power Hab. 1:11 “11 Then they sweep by like the wind and go on, guilty men, whose own might is their god!””

), money ( Job 31:24 “24 “If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence,”

; Matt. 6:24 “24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” ),

possessions (Luke 12:16–21 “16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”” ;

Col. 3:5 “5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” ),

politics (Dan. 2:21 “21 He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;”

), pleasure and entertainment (2 Tim. 3:4 “4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,”

), food (Phil. 3:19 “19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.” ),

or self (Deut. 8:17 “17 Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” ; Dan. 4:30 “30 and the king answered and said, “Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”” ).

Superstition

Luck or any superstitions you may passively indulge in are false gods.

Woke political structures. They are litterally the opposite of the 10 commandments

Application

So when I was thinking of applications for the text I really focused in on believing in false gods as committing adultery. And I believe the Holy Spirit pointed me to this text in Revelation.

Text

Revelation 2:18–29 ESV

18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “ ‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works. 24 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. 25 Only hold fast what you have until I come. 26 The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, 27 and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. 28 And I will give him the morning star. 29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Reading that makes you a little sick right? Sounds maybe like a situation you can observe in the news or I pray not in your case, maybe in a friendship circle or maybe in our families.

just some background

The first century AD ‘Jezebel’ in Thyatira was like the eighth century BC Jezebel, in that she encouraged her many followers to compromise true Christianity with Pagan practices in the culture around them. That way it seemed they could please the world and keep everybody superficially happy. That is what happened in many of the Protestant churches in the twentieth century. The original Jezebel and her husband, Ahab, had their people pretend to worship Jehovah and Baal at the same time. They encouraged them to participate in feasts at the idolatrous Temple of Baal, to eat and to drink with idolaters. The influential church-woman in Thyatira was doing something like that. She must have said, ‘Let’s mingle with these people during the week; let’s go to their religious services, and participate in their feasts. Then they will realize that we too know how to have fun, and are not judgmental of them. It’s fine to be in the Christian church, but do not go narrow minded’. If everybody else is doing it, why do we have to be different? If she was right, then you can serve Jesus and please the world at the same time. This is what the Jezebel at Thyatira was teaching.

This kind of disastrous compromise always attracts a certain following and if it is not rebuked firmly, soundly and bluntly, it will attract an even bigger crowd. History tells us that Thyatira, while not a strong military city, was an important commercial center because of ancient trade roads that ran through Thyatira, which was about forty miles southeast of Pergamos. This city was controlled by wealthy trade guilds. It was an ancient form of the modern labor union. These powerful guilds or labor unions controlled everything. They were the establishment. At this period of time, the members of those guilds who controlled the economy and the social life of Thyatira, were expected to participate in Pagan feasts at the temple (which frequently involved illicit sexual activities with the idol worshipers there). Apparently, if you refused to do so, it could cost you your job. They would not kill you, but they would take your job, so that your family might go hungry.

No doubt, many Christians in Thyatira would have felt the pressure of this, and would be tempted to go along with this modern Jezebel and her call to compromise. She and her group held that there are sufficient economic and social reasons for compromise with the idolatrous system in this city. Perhaps our reasonable compromise will win some of them into the Church. That was the argument, and the church was beginning to give ground. In light of the friendly easiness of what Jezebel called for, what Christ said in pointing out the disastrous sin of this compromise would not have been popular in all quarters, and never is.

False gods in the Family

We put something before our spouses or kids we are ‘worshipping’ that over them. I’m not saying you worship the family, I’m saying your looking at that over them, giving your affections, faith, love, hope and trust to that.

In the Tampa Bay lighting I put my faith, love, hope and trust. Sounds gross right?

Now go further.

When you commit adultery, by looking a porn, reading explicit romance books, having inappropriately close relationships with the opposite sex at work or in activity. That’s like worship.

When your life is cats cradle and you ignore your family for work. I’ve never hear a single man or women say “I spent to much time with my kids” I always hear “I miss the little years,” “They grow up so fast,” “I wish I was home more.”

Many of you know the feeling when your kids no longer ask to play anymore. I can feel my stomach in my throat.

Revelation 2:25 ESV

25 Only hold fast what you have until I come.

Life is more then nickles and dimes. God has made you rich already. What adultery is keeping you from God’s riches he has given you.

False gods in the church

I’m convinced that Jezebel is the name of a demon and this demon is still operating to this day. False faith in the churches is what she is doing. Hopefully not literally, but leaders, pastors are getting in bed with false gods.

This month is a constant test of the church, will we turn a blind eye to the massive idolotry and harlotry of Pride month or will the church stand firm against it?

You are going to see “pastors, and prominent Christians” try to nuance or approve their way through pride month. The’re committing harlotry with the world.

Call your people to repent because time is running short (v. 21)

Churches, families, America and the West are suffering with Rev. 2:22-23

Revelation 2:22–23 ESV

22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Don’t let false worship into your church, into your homes.

False gods in society

Don’t give your children, your life to the state. Now if you work for the state in some way you must call uncle Sam back to his first love. Lady liberty most bow to Christ. Local county officials to the president himself most know and submit to Christ. We must reject the pagan wokism that is destroying our culture whole cloth. This sickness we catch through false worship.

If you have a job, your position before Christ is that of a witness. You use what station you’ve been given to evangelize the dead around you. If you can climb in the organization and avoid the woke pagan nonsense. You use your station to create Christian order and make your company and your family money, as is the job of every business. You promote the ways of Christ ideally the second table and eventually first, when the strategic door opens. Pray for your co-workers, your supervisors.

If your retired it’s even easier for you. You can use your means to fight for the ones who come after you.

(use fuchsima nuclear plant and elderly Japanese who fixed it) You want to be a hero for Christ you need to identify what fires you can put out and what you can still build with the time given to you. You can watch the game or you can play.