Presque Isle Seventh Day Adventist Church
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Sermon - 8/28/2010
"Obedience of God's Law, the fruit of the Christian Life"
All eyes were focused on the mountain. Its summit was covered with a thick cloud that, continuing to darken, swept downward until the entire mountain was engulfed in mystery. Lightning flashed from the darkness, while thunder echoed and reechoed. “Now, Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace and the whole mountain quaked…The blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder.” So powerful was this majestic revelation of God’s presence that all Israel trembled.
Suddenly, the thunder and trumpet ceased, leaving an awesome silence. Then God spoke out of the thick darkness that enshrouded Him as He stood on the mountain. Moved by deep love for His people, He proclaimed the Ten Commandments…When He gave the law at Sinai God not only revealed Himself as the majestic supreme authority of the universe. He also portrayed Himself as the redeemer of His people. It is because He is Savior that He called not only Israel but all humanity to obey ten brief, all-inclusive, and authoritative precepts that cover the whole duty of human beings to God and to their fellow beings.
Exodus 20 (New King James Version) - The Ten Commandments
And God spoke all these words, saying: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—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 bow down to them nor 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 fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“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.
Matthew 15:7-9 (New King James Version)
7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:
8 ‘ These people draw near to Me with their mouth,
And[a]honor Me with their lips,
But their heart is far from Me.
9 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.
“ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
“ Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
Malachi 1:6-8 (New King James Version) - Polluted Offerings
6 “ A son honors his father,
And a servant his master.
If then I am the Father,
Where is My honor?
And if I am a Master,
Where is My reverence?
Says the LORD of hosts
To you priests who despise My name.
Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
7 “ You offer defiled food on My altar,
But say,
‘ In what way have we defiled You?’
By saying,
‘ The table of the LORD is contemptible.’
8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably?”
Says the LORD of hosts.
“You shall not murder. (Hate = Murder)
1 John 3:15 (New King James Version)
15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
“You shall not commit adultery.
Matthew 5:27-29 (New King James Version) - Adultery in the Heart
27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.
“You shall not steal. (Taking something that doesn’t belong to you!) Kissing
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (To lie or stretch the truth)
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Hebrews 13:5 (New King James Version)
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Four important points concerning God’s Law
A. The moral fiber of God’s Law.B. The eternal character of God’s Law.C. The purpose of God’s LawD. Obedience to God’s Law.A. The moral fiber of God’s Law.
As a reflection of God’s character, the Ten Commandments law is (moral = it shows us the principles of right and wrong and how we as individuals should conduct our lives) His Law is (spiritual, Romans 7:14 says “for we know that the law is spiritual; but I am carnal, sold under sin.” And His Law is (complete = it includes everything that is necessary and needed to form a Christ like character and to fit us for Heaven.) The Ten Commandments express God’s pattern of conduct for humanity. They define our relationship with our Creator and Redeemer and our duty to our fellow beings.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 (New King James Version)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God and keep His commandments,
For this is man’s all.
Psalm 19:7-11 (New King James Version)
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
Yea, than much fine gold;
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,
And in keeping them there is great reward.
B. The eternal character of God’s Law
The Ten Commandments moral law is a reflection of God’s character, its principles are not earthy or based on circumstances, but unconditional, unchangeable, and of eternal authority for humanity.
God says in Malachi 3:6 “For I am the LORD, I do not change;” and in Matthew 5:17, 18, 19 it reads like this: 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:14: “I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.
C. The Purpose of God’s Law.
God gave His Law to provide people with abundant blessings and to lead them into a saving relationship with Himself.
1. It functions as a standard of Judgement:
The Bible tells us in 1 John 3:4: “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” and in James 2:10 it says that “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” Paul makes it clear in Romans 6:23 that “the wages if sinc is death;” Also, in James 2:12 it says were are “Judged by the Law.” And in Ecclesiastes 12:14 it says “God shall bring every work into judgement, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." And finally, in Matthew 12:36, he goes as far as to say: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
2. It points our sin:
Paul in Romans 3:19, 20 says “Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Also, in Romans 7:7 it reads “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.”
3. The Law is the instrument that the Holy Spirit uses to bring us to conversion:
Paul in Galatians 3:24 says “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” And David says in Psalm 19:7 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul”. Again, Paul reminds us in Galatians 5:16 “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
Paul again addresses this issue in Romans 8:1, 2, 3, 4 “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
In Galatians 5:22, 23 Paul tells us what the fruit of the Spirit is, he says “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
D. Obedience to God’s Law
You and I cannot earn salvation by our good works. Obedience is the fruit of salvation in Christ. Through His amazing grace, especially displayed at the cross, God has liberated you and I from the penalty and curse of sin. Though we are sinners, Christ gave His life to provide us with the gift of eternal life. God’s abundant love awakens in the repentant sinner a response that manifest itself in loving obedience through the power of grace so abundantly bestowed.
Lets revisit Galatians 5:22. It says “The fruit of the Spirit is Love”. Only as we live in Love can we fulfill the will of God in our lives. The believer must become Love-inspired, Love-mastered and Love-driven. Without the fruit of the Spirit Love, we are just a religious noise! We read in 1 Corinthians 13:1 “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.” In Romans 13:10 we read “Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” and in Matthew 22:36-40 a Pharisee asked Jesus this “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
On these two commandments hang all the law.
Joshua 22:5 (New King James Version)
5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Psalm 40:8 (New King James Version)
8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, And Your law is within my heart.”
The great principles of God’s Law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ. They express God’s love, will, and purposes concerning human conduct and relationships and are binding upon all people in every age. These precepts are the basis of God’s covenant with His people and the standard in God’s judgment. Through the agency of the Holy Spirit they point out sin and awaken a sense of need for a Savior. Salvation is all of grace and not of works, but its fruitage is obedience to the Commandments. This obedience develops evidence of our love for the Lord and our concern for our fellow men. The obedience of faith demonstrates the power of Christ to transform lives, and therefore strengthens Christian witness.
John 17:3 (New King James Version)
3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
