The Law & The Ten Commandments Lesson 4 Lesson 4 The 4 th, 5 th, & 6 th Commandments 1
Review Three Types of the Law 1) Ceremonial - Israel s Worship of God 2) Civil - Government 3) Moral - Direct commands (Ten Comndmnts) Law & the Christian Salvation does not come through obedience to the law! Salvation comes through trust in Christ! Nevertheless, we have a new nature in Christ and our new nature desires to do good works and to keep God s commandments. 2
Law & the Christian So, even though salvation does not come by keeping the law, we are to: present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification (Rom 6:19) Be corrected, rebuked, and trained in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17) cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God (2 Cor 7:1) be holy in all your conduct (1 Pet 1:15) Law & the Christian The ceremonial law and the sacrificial system pointed forward to Christ. It was a shadow of what was to come (Heb 10). Therefore, to offer a sacrifice at this time is blasphemous because it denies the sufficiency of Christ s once for all sacrifice. 3
Three Uses of the Law 1 st Use Curb The law is used to control sin. See 1 Tim 1:9 2 nd Use Mirror The law is used to reveal our sin. See Rom 3:20 3 rd Use Rule The law is used to guide the Christian in holy living. See Psalm 119:105. The Ten Commandments, and a deeper understanding of them, can be employed in all three uses of the law. Summary of the Law Two Tables of the Law (Matt 22: 34-40) First Table of the Law 1 st You shall have no other gods 2 nd You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God 3 rd Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy 4
Summary of the Law Second Table of the Law 4 th Honor your father and mother 5 th You shall not murder 6 th You shall not commit adultery 7 th - You shall not steal 8 th You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor 9 th You shall not covet your neighbor s house 10 th You shall not covet your neighbor s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor Summary of the Law Two Tables of the Law First Table Man s relationship with God Second Table Man s relationship with men 5
Exodus 20: 12 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the Land that the Lord your God is giving you. What does this mean? Luther s Small Catechism: We should fear and love God so that we may not despise or anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve them, obey them, and hold them in love and esteem. 6
What does this mean? Luther s Large Catechism: Greatest commandment in the 2 nd table Honor is more than love. We are commanded to love our neighbor, but honor our parents. Honor includes love, plus modesty, humility, and submission. This is a unique role given to parents Parents stand in God s place Parents are to be honored in spite of their shortcomings Children may suffer wrong, and must endure this, unless it directly contradicts God s Word This is an inequality which is necessary for order 7
Ephesians 6:1-9 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. 5 Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, Ephesians 6:1-9 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him. 8
Mark 7: 9-10 9 And he said to them, You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother ; and, Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die. 11 But you say, If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban (that is, given to God) 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do. There is no work more holy and honorable than to honor your parents Feeding the needy is nice, but not as highly esteemed as honoring your parents Thus, young people should strive to fulfill this commandment first, before pursuing other good works God doesn t need your good works, your neighbor does. 9
Parents should not withhold discipline Proverbs 22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline drives it far from him. Proverbs 26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. Promise is given in Exodus 20:12 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. 10
If, therefore, you will not obey father and mother, and submit to their discipline, then obey the hangman. God is not mocked (Gal 6:7). Parents will reap what they sow. Father and mother should earnestly seek to be worthy of their calling as parents. 11
This authority extends beyond parents and includes also civil rulers, Governments, bosses, and spiritual fathers Exodus 20: 13 13 You shall not murder. 12
What does this mean? Luther s Small Catechism: We should fear and love God so that we may not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need [in every need and danger of life and body]. Matthew 5:21-22 21 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. 13
What does this mean? Luther s Large Catechism: Anger toward another person can make one guilty of murder This does not apply to the role of the civil Government to carry out execution This does not apply to the role of a parent to discipline their child Romans 13:1-4 13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. 14
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard. 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. Envy leads to anger and murder You should not harm anyone bodily, nor instigate or provoke someone to anger You must do what you can to prevent someone from being harmed 15
James 2:15-16 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? You must follow this commandment, even for those who are your enemies Matthew 5:46 6 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 16
6 th Commandment Exodus 20: 14 14 You shall not commit adultery. 6 th Commandment What does this mean? Luther s Small Catechism: We should fear and love God so that we may lead a pure and decent life in words and deeds, and each love and honor his spouse. 17
What does this mean? Luther s Large Catechism: Marriage is to be honored Marriage was created by God People are to live together in marriage, be fruitful, bear children, nourish and train them to honor God Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Hebrews 13:4 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 18
Genesis 1:28 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. For marriage has the highest importance to God so that people are raised up who may serve the world and promote the knowledge of God, godly living, and all virtues, to fight against wickedness and the devil. 19
Marriage is normative, whereas chastity is a supernatural gift Matthew 19:1-12 1 Corinthians 7 For where nature has its course since it is given by God it is not possible to remain chaste without marriage. For flesh and blood remain flesh and blood. The natural desire and excitement have their course without delay or hindrance, as everybody sees and feels. In order, therefore, that it may be easier in some degree to avoid inchastity, God has commanded the estate of marriage. In this way everyone may have his proper portion and be satisfied with it. Yet God s grace is also required in order that the heart may be pure. 20
There is rampant hypocrisy in the monestary Marriage is divinely instituted, therefore we are married in the fear of God Live chaste in thought, word, and deed Love your spouse Ephesians 5:22-33 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 21
Ephesians 5:22-33 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. [a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. Ephesians 5:22-33 31 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. 22
Questions? Next Week The 7 th, 8 th, 9 th & 10 th Commandments 23