Formula For Freedom

The Ten Commandments

God’s Formula for Human Freedom

After 400 years in Egyptian bondage, God knew Abraham’s descendants were ready by now to become His own people; His witness to the world. They needed to be separated from Egypt (symbolic of the world), set apart unto God (identified as God’s people), and TRAINED to know GOD’S WAY and to obey only Him. They needed a strong leader, which He gave them in Moses. They needed written instructions for living, which He gave them in the law. It is of supreme importance that God’s Word to His people was WRITTEN. That way, it could be preserved throughout the generations exactly He Himself gave it. And it has been. There is a satanic conspiracy to create doubt about this among believers, but God’s own Word defends itself in Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, Revelation 22:19 and other passages. This is for our personal assurance as believers in Jesus Christ, so that we can always have complete confidence in the unchanging Word to meet our needs. Don’t waste time arguing with unbelievers about this (they’ll bring it up!); simply challenge them to READ it for themselves. When they do read it, they soon get a taste of Its convicting power which brings them face to face with the awesome Gift of Christ!

So God gave His law to His people through His servant, Moses. God Himself wrote the first ten commandments on the tablets of stone that He told Moses to bring. Those got broken when Moses threw them down in anger against the Israelites when he found them partying around a golden calf on his return from the mountain. Then God wrote them again, in another set of tablets. God’s mercy endures forever. We’re going to find that a large part of the law He gave them contained commandments against the very thing Moses found them doing around the golden calf (idol worship, fornication, drunkenness).

1.      We are not to make a religion out of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     The Law cannot save: Galatians 2:16, 3:10

B.     The Law cannot give life: Galatians 3:21

C.     The Law cannot provide the Holy Spirit: Galatians 3:2

2.      We are to be aware of the Mosaic Law, because:

A.     It sets forth the perfect standard, God’s standard.

B.     It reveals the true character of man: we’re sinners.

The purpose of the Mosaic Law, therefore, is to show us the contrast between God’s perfect righteousness and our total helplessness apart from the perfect work of Christ.

The Ten Commandments are known as the Moral Code of the Mosaic Law. This code deals with our relationships to God (1-5) and our relationships to man (6-9), with one given as a judge of our innermost desires (10)! This one is the real clincher. People can know of our actions in worship, in obedience to parents, truthfulness, etc., because these are overt acts. Only God can know that we COVET! Only God’s Word can reveal to us that to covet is sin!

The Ten Commandments are a code that protects the rights and property and families of the human race. God’s Formula for Human Freedom.

    Commandment-         The Issue                 The emphasis           N. T. Reference

      scripture

1. Ex. 20:3          Whom to worship        the unity of God              Mark 12:29
2. Ex. 20:4-6       How to worship           the spirituality of God      John 4:24
3. Ex. 20:7          Spirit of worship           reverence for God         Matthew 5:34
4. Ex. 20:8-11     Rest & remembrance   thanksgiving to God      Mark 2:27
5. Ex. 20:12         Parental Authority       order and long life         Eph. 6:1
6. Ex. 20:13         Sanctity of human life                                 I Jn. 3:15, Mt. 5:22
7. Ex. 20:14         Sanctity of  marriage                humanity’s        Matthew 5:28
8. Ex. 20:15         Sanctity of property                   bill of                I Cor. 10:24
9. Ex. 20:16         Sacredness of character            rights               Eph. 4:25

1        10.   Ex. 20:17         Evil of illicit desire       corrupts the soul.           Romans 7:7
                                                                     basis for all overt sins.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 “See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse. The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today;  the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.”

Deuteronomy 12:28 "Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well  with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God."

Deuteronomy 12:32 “See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.”