- So what's the deal with a God
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who seems to insist that
you can only ever worship him?
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Does that really make sense
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or does it rob
you of your freedom?
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You might wanna
stay tuned for this.
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[rustic music]
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[rustic music continues]
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In recent programs we've been
talking about The Decalogue,
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The Ten Commandments,
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and I think the
time has probably come
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to start just
expounding on them one by one.
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Now, I'm not entirely sure
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I'm gonna go through all
Ten Commandments in order,
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but I'll try to
get to all of them.
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And what I really
want to have happen
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is that you start to
study them for yourselves.
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Today, I'm gonna
start at the very top
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with the first commandment,
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which is the law
against having other gods.
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So here's the way that it reads
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in the version
you find in Exodus 20,
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which is probably
the better-known version
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of The Ten Commandments.
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You'll find another
version in Deuteronomy 5,
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which is kind of a repeat
performance, a second telling
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that takes place a little
later in Israel's history.
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And between the two versions,
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there are some minor
variations in the wording
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that you should
probably pay attention to
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because they
provide you with all sorts
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of interesting
things to think about.
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In particular, you'll find
two different reasons given
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for keeping the Sabbath,
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or at least it seems that
way when you first look at it.
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And I'll let
you go and read that
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and wrestle with it on your own.
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But for today, let's
just start at the very top
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and look at
commandment number one.
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And here's the way that it reads
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in Exodus 20:1 where it says:
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"And God spoke all
these words, saying,
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'I am the Lord your God
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who brought you out
of the land of Egypt,
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out of the house of slavery,'"
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and here comes
the first commandment:
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"'You shall have no
other gods before me.'"
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Now, the first
commandment really does start
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right at the top of the passage
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with those words, "I
am the Lord, your God,"
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because that's the thought
that kind of provides the glue
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that holds the rest of
the moral law together.
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Because after all,
if there is no God,
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then there's not much point
to studying his commandments
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because they would just be a
list of requirements dreamed up
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by some ancient so-called
Hebrew prophet named Moses.
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I mean, it would
still be interesting
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because those commandments
have been so influential,
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but it would be like reading
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the ancient law code of
Hammurabi the Babylonian,
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or maybe the
sayings of Confucius
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or some of the
other famous sages
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who helped create the world's
most notable civilizations.
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But The Ten
Commandments are different
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because they begin
with a distinct claim
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that these are God's
words, and not just any old God,
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but the God of the Hebrews,
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the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
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Any number of
ancient cultures claim
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to worship large
numbers of deities and demigods.
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But the God of the
Hebrews was different.
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He claimed absolute exclusivity.
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This is Yahweh, the
one true creator God,
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whose very name reminds us
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that his existence is
underived and unborrowed.
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In fact, when
Moses first met this God
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at the burning
bush back in Exodus 3,
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he defined
himself as the "I am,"
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which is a very unusual
name if you think about it.
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Unless of
course you happen to be
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the very definition
of what existence is.
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You see, when you read
the myths from other cultures,
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what you find is a list of gods
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whose existence is dependent
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on something or somebody else.
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Somehow the Pagans
always felt this need
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to explain where their gods
came from, and that's largely
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because their gods were the
product of human imagination.
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In fact, when some of the
Greek philosophers started
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to feel a little embarrassed
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by the terrible
behavior of their gods,
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which is something we've
covered on other episodes,
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some of them
actually started to point out
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that their gods
were made in our image,
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the human image,
they resembled us.
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They were petty, violent,
and salacious just like we are.
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But the God of scripture
is completely different.
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In fact, you'll notice that
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when the story
of the Bible opens
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with that famous
line in Genesis 1,
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it just says "In
the beginning, God..."
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and it never bothers to
tell us where he comes from.
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And that's because, well,
he didn't come from anywhere.
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He's self-existent, which means
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that he doesn't depend
on anything or anybody else.
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I guess you could say
that the God of the Bible
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is non-contingent,
and that's a detail
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that has given some
skeptics a lot of headaches
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because, well, they can't seem
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to wrap their mind
around what that's telling us.
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In the past, I've pointed out
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that guys like Richard Dawkins
attack the existence of God
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exactly on this point.
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When believers insist
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that the universe looks
like someone designed it,
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Dawkins made fun of
them by essentially saying,
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"Well then if everything
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that appears to be
complex demands a designer,
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then who in the world
designed your complex God?"
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Now, to some
people that might look
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like a death blow
to the design argument,
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but really it isn't.
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It's kind of like saying,
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"Here's a beautiful
and sophisticated painting
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and it has all the
hallmarks of a Rembrandt.
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So we know that
Rembrandt probably painted it,"
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but then the skeptic says,
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"Well then who
painted Rembrandt?"
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Nobody painted Rembrandt
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because Rembrandt
is not a painting.
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So when somebody
says, "Who designed God"
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the answer is nobody.
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Because God is not a creation.
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He's a creator and
there's a world of difference.
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God is the great
I am, the only being
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whose existence does
not depend on anything else.
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Of course, you and I
derive our existence from him
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so it makes perfect
sense that his moral code
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would begin with a
statement reminding us
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of who he is versus who we are.
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"I am Yahweh, your God."
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It's the perfect way
to introduce the topic
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because we are not
on the same level as God
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and the one who made us
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is about to show us
the very best way to live.
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Now of course, this
was originally addressed
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to the children of Israel.
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Even though the
moral principles found
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in The Ten Commandments
are timeless and universal.
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It's not as if
these were brand new laws
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that God thundered
from the top of Sinai.
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Otherwise, you end up
with a very strange proposition
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that murder and stealing
were just absolutely fine
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before God spoke
those words from Sinai.
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And obviously that
can't possibly be true
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because the entire
Book of Genesis deals
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with people breaking God's
law long before Mount Sinai.
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I mean, why in the world
condemn Cain for killing Abel
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if it wasn't
already wrong to murder?
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And did Abraham do wrong
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when he bore false
witness to Abimelech?
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And really what was the problem
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with the serpent lying to Eve?
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The Ten Commandments, of course,
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they're timeless principles.
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Now, in the world of
21st-century Christianity,
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you'll sometimes
hear people saying
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that The Ten Commandments
were just for the Jews
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because of that opening
statement at the very top of
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them. But let's just
think about that for a moment.
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I mean, who
else was God supposed
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to give the list
of commandments to?
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To some other culture
that didn't believe in him?
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Of course not.
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Just because the
Hebrew people were the vehicle
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through which God
revealed himself to the world,
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doesn't mean that his
revelation wasn't for everybody.
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And if you take the time
to read the entire Bible,
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that becomes
really, really obvious
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because it tells
us that the Hebrews
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were supposed to be a light
to the Gentiles, my ancestors.
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They were supposed to
reveal the love of Yahweh
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to absolutely everybody.
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So yes, The Ten Commandments
were originally delivered
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to the people who were
liberated from Egyptian slavery.
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But that doesn't mean
that Yahweh is only for them.
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He belongs to all of us
because he made all of us
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and he wields
authority over all of humanity.
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Now, I know I've
read this to you before,
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but listen to this
remarkable statement
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from Revelation 4
where an assembly in heaven
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addresses God with these words,
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this is Revelation 4:11,
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"Worthy are you,
our Lord, and God,
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to receive glory
and honor and power,
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for you created all things,
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and by your will, they
existed and were created."
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Now, here's what
we've gotta think about.
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In the first commandment
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God says, "I am
the Lord, your God."
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So now we've got
to ask ourselves,
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what does it mean to have a God?
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That's a question
that Luther wrestled with
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in his "Large Catechism,"
00:09:02.24\00:09:03.84
but right now, I've
gotta take a quick break,
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so I'll be right back after this
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to tell you what
Martin Luther said.
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[gentle music]
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[bright music]
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- [Announcer] Here at
The Voice of Prophecy,
00:09:13.92\00:09:15.32
we're committed to
creating top-quality programming
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Like our audio adventure
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"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:09:21.82\00:09:24.39
for kids of all
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Your family will enjoy
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With 24 seasonal
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- I don't know if
you ever had to go
00:09:42.81\00:09:44.38
to catechism class when you
were a kid, but I really did.
00:09:44.38\00:09:47.55
We were required to go
00:09:47.55\00:09:48.95
and learn the basics
of the Christian faith,
00:09:48.95\00:09:50.92
things like the Apostles
Creed, the Lord's Prayer,
00:09:50.92\00:09:54.12
and of course
The Ten Commandments.
00:09:54.12\00:09:56.62
Now, I did not grow up
in a Lutheran tradition,
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so I actually studied a
different set of catechisms.
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But if you
happen to be Lutheran,
00:10:02.43\00:10:04.03
what I'm about to share with
you might just seem familiar.
00:10:04.03\00:10:07.04
This is from
Luther's "Large Catechism."
00:10:07.04\00:10:09.74
"What is God?" he asks.
00:10:09.74\00:10:11.64
And the answer is: "A
God is that to which we look
00:10:11.64\00:10:14.58
for all good and in
which we find refuge
00:10:14.58\00:10:16.88
in every time of need.
00:10:16.88\00:10:18.28
To have a God," says
Luther, "is nothing else
00:10:18.28\00:10:20.95
than to trust and believe
him with our whole heart.
00:10:20.95\00:10:24.09
As I have often said,
00:10:24.09\00:10:25.55
the trust and
faith of the heart alone
00:10:25.55\00:10:27.29
make both God and an idol.
00:10:27.29\00:10:29.76
If your faith
and trust are right,
00:10:29.76\00:10:31.43
then your God is the true God.
00:10:31.43\00:10:33.23
On the other hand, if
your trust is false and wrong,
00:10:33.23\00:10:36.43
then you have not the true God
00:10:36.43\00:10:38.13
for these two belong
together, faith and God.
00:10:38.13\00:10:41.34
That to which your heart
clings and entrusts itself
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is, I say, really your God."
00:10:43.74\00:10:47.31
Now, that's a
pretty good definition
00:10:47.31\00:10:49.04
and a good place
to start unpacking
00:10:49.04\00:10:50.98
the meaning of the first
commandment, which challenges us
00:10:50.98\00:10:54.02
to understand what
it means to have a God.
00:10:54.02\00:10:57.02
And it reminds us
that everybody has one
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whether they know it or not.
00:10:59.25\00:11:00.69
If you place
your absolute faith,
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your absolute trust
in your own intellect,
00:11:03.66\00:11:06.46
well then your
intellect becomes your God.
00:11:06.46\00:11:08.76
If you trust scientific
discovery to define your
00:11:08.76\00:11:12.27
existence, to go beyond material
fact and explain who you are
00:11:12.27\00:11:16.00
and the purpose
of your existence,
00:11:16.00\00:11:18.91
well then you've probably
adopted a religion of scientism,
00:11:18.91\00:11:21.51
even if you wouldn't
want to call it a religion.
00:11:21.51\00:11:24.61
We all seem to have
this hardwired sense
00:11:24.61\00:11:26.95
that there's something
out there bigger than us,
00:11:26.95\00:11:29.28
or at least we all
appear to hope there is.
00:11:29.28\00:11:31.99
And we have this instinct
00:11:31.99\00:11:33.42
that our existence is
supposed to mean something.
00:11:33.42\00:11:36.09
Even if you happen to believe
00:11:36.09\00:11:37.63
that we all just emerged
into the universe by accident,
00:11:37.63\00:11:40.73
there's still a big part of you
00:11:40.73\00:11:42.30
that tries to make sense of it.
00:11:42.30\00:11:44.10
You really want your
existence to have purpose.
00:11:44.10\00:11:48.00
And it's precisely on this point
00:11:48.00\00:11:50.24
that everybody behaves
like they're religious.
00:11:50.24\00:11:53.41
I mean, you might practice
a perfectly secular religion,
00:11:53.41\00:11:56.61
which means you're
probably gonna really hate
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what I'm about to say
and I'm okay with that,
00:11:58.41\00:12:00.82
but you will never convince me
00:12:00.82\00:12:02.85
that you have a
rational, comprehensive,
00:12:02.85\00:12:04.99
secular
explanation for everything.
00:12:04.99\00:12:07.86
I mean for
starters, how in the world
00:12:07.86\00:12:09.56
do you explain something
like human consciousness?
00:12:09.56\00:12:12.23
Here you are, self-aware,
00:12:12.23\00:12:14.23
and you even find
yourself kind of mystified
00:12:14.23\00:12:16.46
by the fact that you exist.
00:12:16.46\00:12:18.67
How in the world do you
explain your conscious mind
00:12:18.67\00:12:21.47
from a perfectly
rational perspective?
00:12:21.47\00:12:24.34
How do random molecules
smashing into each other
00:12:24.34\00:12:26.94
over billions of years
somehow give rise, well, to you?
00:12:26.94\00:12:32.01
To date, nobody has actually
been able to explain this.
00:12:33.38\00:12:36.02
And so there's a
whole lot out there
00:12:36.02\00:12:37.62
that we all take on faith.
00:12:37.62\00:12:40.26
Which means there
really is such a thing
00:12:40.26\00:12:42.32
as a secular religion
00:12:42.32\00:12:43.63
because we all
have religious beliefs.
00:12:43.63\00:12:46.63
Again, to use the
words of Martin Luther,
00:12:46.63\00:12:48.66
"That to which your heart clings
00:12:48.66\00:12:50.30
and entrusts
itself is your God."
00:12:50.30\00:12:53.30
But of course, if you accept
00:12:53.30\00:12:55.04
that Yahweh, the
God of Abraham, is real,
00:12:55.04\00:12:57.41
and you accept that we
were put here by the will of God
00:12:57.41\00:13:00.21
and that's what you trust,
00:13:00.21\00:13:02.31
well then Yahweh
becomes your God.
00:13:02.31\00:13:05.78
Now, obviously it's a
little more complex than that
00:13:05.78\00:13:08.35
and we're kind
of oversimplifying,
00:13:08.35\00:13:09.75
but still I think
Luther's definition works.
00:13:09.75\00:13:13.79
What the first
commandment tells us
00:13:13.79\00:13:16.39
is that if you choose
something besides the creator
00:13:16.39\00:13:19.26
that you're going to
trust with your life,
00:13:19.26\00:13:21.53
then whatever that
is, it becomes your God.
00:13:21.53\00:13:24.63
I know we tend to
think of other gods
00:13:24.63\00:13:26.20
as little statues
that sit in a shrine
00:13:26.20\00:13:28.67
or on the shelf in your house,
00:13:28.67\00:13:30.61
but that's just a
physical representation
00:13:30.61\00:13:33.07
of what an idol actually is.
00:13:33.07\00:13:35.41
And when we get to
the second commandment,
00:13:35.41\00:13:37.38
we're gonna look at that.
00:13:37.38\00:13:38.88
In reality, an idol
is anything you elevate
00:13:38.88\00:13:41.92
to the position of the creator,
00:13:41.92\00:13:43.55
either wittingly or unwittingly.
00:13:43.55\00:13:46.82
And because we all seem to
be wired for relationships,
00:13:46.82\00:13:50.13
I guarantee you're going
00:13:50.13\00:13:52.06
to elevate something to God's
level if you don't have God.
00:13:52.06\00:13:56.70
It might be
power or money or sex
00:13:56.70\00:13:59.40
or the writings of a philosopher
00:13:59.40\00:14:01.10
or the prowess of some
athletic team, I don't know.
00:14:01.10\00:14:05.27
But if you're
trusting something or somebody
00:14:05.27\00:14:08.01
as the very highest
guiding principle for your life
00:14:08.01\00:14:10.75
and it is not God,
00:14:10.75\00:14:12.81
well, that would be a violation
of the first commandment.
00:14:12.81\00:14:15.82
Now, I probably need
00:14:15.82\00:14:17.05
to make something
really, really clear
00:14:17.05\00:14:18.45
before I move along
because, unfortunately,
00:14:18.45\00:14:20.92
some Christians have given
the world the wrong impression.
00:14:20.92\00:14:24.59
I remember a long
time ago I was holding
00:14:24.59\00:14:26.63
a series of lectures
on a university campus
00:14:26.63\00:14:29.06
and there was this young
guy sitting in the front row
00:14:29.06\00:14:31.27
who was getting agitated
00:14:31.27\00:14:32.73
whenever I mentioned
that I had faith in the Bible
00:14:32.73\00:14:35.60
as a revelation of God's will,
00:14:35.60\00:14:37.61
and it was the
ultimate guide for my life.
00:14:37.61\00:14:40.64
I noticed that he
hung around a little bit
00:14:40.64\00:14:42.28
when I was finished.
00:14:42.28\00:14:43.21
So I went and sat with him.
00:14:43.21\00:14:44.65
We made a bit of small talk,
00:14:44.65\00:14:45.98
and then he told me
what was eating at him.
00:14:45.98\00:14:48.98
"Are you saying that we
should only read the Bible?
00:14:48.98\00:14:51.85
What about all the
other great thinkers
00:14:51.85\00:14:53.36
who helped to
shape our civilization?"
00:14:53.36\00:14:55.89
Now, honestly, I don't know
where he got that impression
00:14:55.89\00:14:58.49
because if you know me, that's
not what I teach or believe.
00:14:58.49\00:15:02.03
If you've been
watching this show for a while,
00:15:02.03\00:15:03.80
you'll know that I tend to
read a lot, not just the Bible.
00:15:03.80\00:15:08.87
So I assured this kid I didn't
mean to give that impression.
00:15:10.34\00:15:11.94
We'd be foolish to
just ignore everything
00:15:11.94\00:15:14.61
that the great
thinkers have tried to tell us.
00:15:14.61\00:15:17.21
But if you're gonna
place absolute faith
00:15:17.21\00:15:18.98
in what those writers say,
00:15:18.98\00:15:20.28
I promise you,
you're going to hit a wall.
00:15:20.28\00:15:22.78
There's going to be a dead end
00:15:22.78\00:15:24.82
because it really is
still just human opinion.
00:15:24.82\00:15:28.59
So do I read other
books? Of course I do.
00:15:28.59\00:15:31.16
But again, to
use Luther's wording,
00:15:31.16\00:15:32.79
I don't entrust
myself to these people.
00:15:32.79\00:15:35.33
I read them, I value them.
Sometimes I even admire them.
00:15:35.33\00:15:40.27
But am I gonna take my life
00:15:40.27\00:15:41.60
and place it in the hands
00:15:41.60\00:15:42.94
of a 19th-century
enlightenment philosopher?
00:15:42.94\00:15:45.11
Absolutely not.
00:15:45.11\00:15:46.51
In fact, some of them
actually lost their minds
00:15:46.51\00:15:49.11
by taking their own ideas
all the way to the end zone.
00:15:49.11\00:15:53.21
Christianity doesn't
mean shutting out the world
00:15:53.21\00:15:56.62
completely or
isolating yourself in the desert
00:15:56.62\00:15:58.72
like one of those
fourth-century ascetic monks
00:15:58.72\00:16:00.96
who disappeared from
civilization just to avoid
00:16:00.96\00:16:05.36
temptation. What the
Bible actually teaches
00:16:05.36\00:16:06.96
is that you and
I need discernment.
00:16:06.96\00:16:09.56
You're supposed to take
the ideas you're exposed to
00:16:09.56\00:16:12.13
and compare them
to what God says.
00:16:12.13\00:16:14.87
And if there's a difference,
00:16:14.87\00:16:16.24
then the
Christian goes with God.
00:16:16.24\00:16:19.11
It's a matter of faith,
00:16:19.11\00:16:20.34
but it's not a
matter of blind faith.
00:16:20.34\00:16:23.28
It's a matter of allowing
God to inform your life,
00:16:23.28\00:16:25.95
a matter of
putting him at the pinnacle
00:16:25.95\00:16:28.35
of what you're going to trust.
00:16:28.35\00:16:29.98
"I am the Lord, your God."
00:16:29.98\00:16:33.32
And if that God is real
00:16:33.32\00:16:34.69
and if the claims
of the Bible are real,
00:16:34.69\00:16:36.56
then the first commandment
makes really, really good sense.
00:16:36.56\00:16:40.20
I mean, why in the world
would you wanna trust anybody
00:16:41.46\00:16:43.70
or anything as a
supreme guiding light
00:16:43.70\00:16:45.80
if it isn't the
one who made you?
00:16:45.80\00:16:47.97
I mean, would you rather
fix your car with my help
00:16:47.97\00:16:50.91
or with the help of the
engineer who designed that car?
00:16:50.91\00:16:53.84
It's kind of a no-brainer.
00:16:53.84\00:16:55.71
It's a little like the
role that parents play.
00:16:55.71\00:16:58.15
When your child first sets
out to go and explore the world
00:16:58.15\00:17:00.88
it can be a
little bit nerve wracking
00:17:00.88\00:17:02.58
because you, as a parent, know
00:17:02.58\00:17:04.49
there are 1,001 voices out there
00:17:04.49\00:17:06.96
who will try to tell your child
what to do and how to live,
00:17:06.96\00:17:10.89
and you know full well
00:17:10.89\00:17:12.93
that none of those voices
loves your child like you do.
00:17:12.93\00:17:16.40
I mean, who else is willing
to die to save your child?
00:17:16.40\00:17:19.53
Who's gonna love you
like that? Absolutely nobody.
00:17:19.53\00:17:23.20
You know, there's a reason
00:17:24.01\00:17:25.27
that a lot of
scholars over the centuries
00:17:25.27\00:17:26.88
have suggested a direct parallel
00:17:26.88\00:17:28.58
between the first
commandment and the fifth,
00:17:28.58\00:17:31.28
the one that deals
with honoring your parents.
00:17:31.28\00:17:33.95
And there's a really good reason
00:17:33.95\00:17:35.35
that God reveals
himself as a father in the Bible
00:17:35.35\00:17:38.35
because at the end of the day,
00:17:38.35\00:17:39.92
there's nobody you can trust
like the one who created you.
00:17:39.92\00:17:43.73
Now of course, as we
make our way through life,
00:17:43.73\00:17:46.16
a lot of us learn the hard way
00:17:46.16\00:17:47.93
that our parents did have our
very best interests at heart.
00:17:47.93\00:17:50.77
And sometimes unfortunately,
00:17:50.77\00:17:52.73
we only figure that out
when it's a little too late.
00:17:52.73\00:17:56.00
I'll be right back after this.
00:17:56.00\00:17:58.07
[gentle music]
00:17:58.07\00:18:00.84
[bright music]
00:18:00.84\00:18:02.11
- [Announcer] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:18:02.11\00:18:04.21
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:18:04.21\00:18:07.62
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:18:07.62\00:18:10.05
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:18:10.05\00:18:13.12
Here at The Voice of Prophecy,
00:18:13.12\00:18:14.69
we've created the
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00:18:14.69\00:18:16.83
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:18:16.83\00:18:18.46
They're designed to
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00:18:18.46\00:18:20.93
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00:18:20.93\00:18:23.90
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00:18:25.93\00:18:28.30
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00:18:28.30\00:18:31.11
- Alright, we're
back from the break
00:18:31.11\00:18:32.67
and we were talking about
this parallel you can find
00:18:32.67\00:18:35.14
between the first commandment
and the fifth commandment.
00:18:35.14\00:18:38.91
In the fifth commandment, God
tells us to honor our parents
00:18:38.91\00:18:41.85
so that our lives can be
fulfilling and prosperous.
00:18:41.85\00:18:45.15
And in an ideal world,
00:18:45.15\00:18:46.82
nobody really has your
back like your mom and dad.
00:18:46.82\00:18:50.26
And I promise
you, in this universe,
00:18:50.26\00:18:52.73
nobody has your
back quite like God does.
00:18:52.73\00:18:55.90
I know that sometimes
people look at this commandment
00:18:55.90\00:18:58.70
as if God is some
kind of cosmic narcissist
00:18:58.70\00:19:01.67
who demands our attention,
00:19:01.67\00:19:03.84
but that's not the essence
of the first commandment.
00:19:03.84\00:19:06.94
I mean, let's just
think about this rationally.
00:19:06.94\00:19:09.81
If there really is a God
00:19:09.81\00:19:12.25
and there's only one God,
00:19:12.25\00:19:14.12
then putting
anything else in his place
00:19:14.12\00:19:16.69
is only going to lead to a
world of pain and heartache.
00:19:16.69\00:19:20.19
How in the world
would it help you
00:19:20.19\00:19:22.79
to form an intimate relationship
00:19:22.79\00:19:24.63
with something
that is not your maker?
00:19:24.63\00:19:27.76
So now let's read the
commandment one more time,
00:19:27.76\00:19:30.87
starting in Exodus 20:1 it says:
00:19:30.87\00:19:34.60
"And God spoke all
these words, saying,
00:19:34.60\00:19:37.24
'I am the Lord your God
00:19:37.24\00:19:39.17
who brought you out
of the land of Egypt,
00:19:39.17\00:19:41.41
out of the house of slavery.
00:19:41.41\00:19:43.45
You shall have no
other gods before me.'"
00:19:43.45\00:19:47.68
It really is that simple.
00:19:47.68\00:19:49.38
And if I didn't have
00:19:49.38\00:19:50.65
to fill 28 minutes
and 30 seconds today,
00:19:50.65\00:19:53.02
we'd already be done.
00:19:53.02\00:19:54.69
Putting anything that
isn't God in God's place,
00:19:54.69\00:19:58.83
that's only
gonna end in disaster.
00:19:58.83\00:20:01.00
And if God is love,
00:20:01.00\00:20:02.93
why in the world would he
turn you loose in this world
00:20:02.93\00:20:05.17
without any kind of warning
about the dangers out there?
00:20:05.17\00:20:08.80
Now, the Bible
does make it clear
00:20:08.80\00:20:11.07
that he's not gonna
force you to worship him
00:20:11.07\00:20:13.14
because, well,
that's not how love works.
00:20:13.14\00:20:16.24
But a God of love is also going
00:20:16.24\00:20:18.01
to care enough to
tell you the truth.
00:20:18.01\00:20:19.78
He's going to warn you about
the pitfalls because he cares.
00:20:19.78\00:20:24.62
Now, it might also be helpful
00:20:24.62\00:20:26.39
to look at another
important human relationship,
00:20:26.39\00:20:28.86
and that's the one
you find in marriage.
00:20:28.86\00:20:32.53
The Bible often describes God's
covenant people as a bride.
00:20:32.53\00:20:36.67
And so you might
wanna ask yourself,
00:20:36.67\00:20:38.80
what is the potential
for a healthy marriage
00:20:38.80\00:20:41.44
if you choose to
include a third person?
00:20:41.44\00:20:44.94
I mean, apart from a really
bad episode of "Jerry Springer,"
00:20:44.94\00:20:48.58
where do you think
that's going to get you?
00:20:48.58\00:20:51.21
The marriage
covenant reminds me every day
00:20:51.21\00:20:54.32
that my wife comes first,
00:20:54.32\00:20:56.72
and if I put
something else in her place,
00:20:56.72\00:20:59.12
it's going to damage the joy
00:20:59.12\00:21:00.89
that God intended us to
have in our relationship.
00:21:00.89\00:21:04.86
So in the story of the Exodus,
00:21:04.86\00:21:07.30
God's covenant
people, his wife, if you will,
00:21:07.30\00:21:10.77
they're about to
enter the land of promise,
00:21:10.77\00:21:13.10
or at least
they were supposed to
00:21:13.10\00:21:15.14
until their
violation of the covenant
00:21:15.14\00:21:17.31
led to exile in the
desert for another 40 years.
00:21:17.31\00:21:21.21
Listen to this interesting
passage found in Exodus 23,
00:21:21.21\00:21:24.21
just a few pages
after The Ten Commandments.
00:21:24.21\00:21:27.48
Listen to what God
says in Exodus 23:31,
00:21:27.48\00:21:31.09
where he explains why the
present occupants of the land,
00:21:31.09\00:21:34.72
the Canaanites, well,
they have to be removed.
00:21:34.72\00:21:38.03
Here's what it says:
00:21:38.03\00:21:39.59
"You shall make no covenant
with them and their gods.
00:21:39.59\00:21:42.56
They shall not
dwell in your land,
00:21:42.56\00:21:44.37
lest they make
you sin against me;
00:21:44.37\00:21:46.60
for if you serve their gods,
00:21:46.60\00:21:49.10
it will surely
be a snare to you."
00:21:49.10\00:21:51.67
So here's what I
want you to notice.
00:21:52.77\00:21:54.51
God's primary concern here is
for the welfare of his people.
00:21:54.51\00:21:58.21
This is not a matter
of divine narcissism,
00:21:58.21\00:22:01.65
it's a matter of
what's best for you.
00:22:01.65\00:22:04.45
If you choose to
serve other gods,
00:22:04.45\00:22:06.59
you're going to discover
it's a very painful trap
00:22:06.59\00:22:09.56
because other gods are
nothing but human fabrications.
00:22:09.56\00:22:14.60
I'm reminded again of one of
my favorite ancient characters,
00:22:16.00\00:22:17.67
Xenophanes, a guy I've
talked about on this show
00:22:17.67\00:22:20.20
over and over and over.
00:22:20.20\00:22:22.64
He was an early
Greek philosopher
00:22:22.64\00:22:24.51
who rejected the Pagan pantheon
00:22:24.51\00:22:26.71
because, well, the
gods were behaving so badly,
00:22:26.71\00:22:29.41
it was just getting
really embarrassing.
00:22:29.41\00:22:32.15
He realized that false gods
00:22:32.15\00:22:34.35
are just
projections of human beings.
00:22:34.35\00:22:36.75
And he made that
point by saying this:
00:22:36.75\00:22:39.69
"But if horses or
oxen or lions had hands
00:22:39.69\00:22:42.86
or could draw with their hands
00:22:42.86\00:22:44.26
and accomplish
such works as men,
00:22:44.26\00:22:46.83
horses would draw
the figures of the gods
00:22:46.83\00:22:49.03
as similar to horses,
00:22:49.03\00:22:50.37
and the oxen as similar to oxen,
00:22:50.37\00:22:52.97
and they would make the bodies
00:22:52.97\00:22:54.30
of the sort which
each of them had."
00:22:54.30\00:22:57.31
So in other words, the
Pagan gods were looking bad
00:22:57.31\00:23:00.74
because they were
made in our image.
00:23:00.74\00:23:02.74
They were just
projections of fallen humanity,
00:23:02.74\00:23:05.41
and they were saddled with some
of our very worst qualities.
00:23:05.41\00:23:09.28
And the problem with that
00:23:09.28\00:23:11.05
is that people tend to
become what they worship.
00:23:11.05\00:23:13.92
And if you create your own God
00:23:13.92\00:23:15.42
and your God
just looks like you,
00:23:15.42\00:23:17.56
you've got this circular problem
that gets worse with time.
00:23:17.56\00:23:20.93
The Pagan gods were nothing
more than a terrible caricature
00:23:20.93\00:23:24.20
of what a human
being is supposed to be.
00:23:24.20\00:23:27.00
And when you worship those gods,
00:23:27.00\00:23:29.27
you yourself become
something less than human.
00:23:29.27\00:23:32.14
And then you project
00:23:32.14\00:23:33.38
those new worse
qualities back on the gods
00:23:33.38\00:23:35.78
and the cycle continues.
00:23:35.78\00:23:37.31
"Those who make them become
like them," the Bible says.
00:23:37.31\00:23:41.95
So there's a good
reason that God forbids it.
00:23:41.95\00:23:45.02
It's because a false God is
gonna make you less than human.
00:23:45.02\00:23:48.82
It's gonna make you something
less than the image of God.
00:23:48.82\00:23:52.39
And at the end of the day,
you are the one who gets hurt.
00:23:52.39\00:23:56.40
I'll be right back after this.
00:23:56.40\00:23:58.47
[gentle music]
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[harrowing music]
00:24:01.37\00:24:02.67
- [Announcer] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:24:02.67\00:24:06.54
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:24:06.54\00:24:11.15
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:24:11.15\00:24:13.31
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:24:13.31\00:24:16.38
Our free Focus
on Prophecy guides
00:24:16.38\00:24:18.79
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:24:18.79\00:24:21.52
and deepen your understanding
00:24:21.52\00:24:23.12
of God's plan for
you and our world.
00:24:23.12\00:24:25.66
Study online or
request them by mail
00:24:25.66\00:24:28.06
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:24:28.06\00:24:31.57
- Well look at that.
00:24:31.57\00:24:32.47
I've run out of time again
00:24:32.47\00:24:33.77
because, well, I have
this gift for blabbing.
00:24:33.77\00:24:36.54
But maybe let me
sum it all up like this.
00:24:36.54\00:24:39.21
The Ten Commandments
are not the work of a God
00:24:39.21\00:24:42.14
who's trying to rob you
of a good and decent life.
00:24:42.14\00:24:45.41
In fact, the opposite is true.
00:24:45.41\00:24:47.38
The moral law holds the key
00:24:47.38\00:24:49.32
to discovering an
authentic human existence
00:24:49.32\00:24:51.89
because it reveals
the character of God.
00:24:51.89\00:24:55.52
And you and I
were made in his image.
00:24:55.52\00:24:58.46
Worship the real God and
live the way that he suggests,
00:24:58.46\00:25:02.70
and he begins to restore you.
00:25:02.70\00:25:04.20
He begins to give you something
definitely more authentic.
00:25:04.20\00:25:08.80
I know that in this day and age,
00:25:08.80\00:25:10.51
some people are
terribly offended
00:25:10.51\00:25:12.37
by the exclusive
claims of the biblical God.
00:25:12.37\00:25:15.74
And it's popular today to say
00:25:15.74\00:25:17.21
that there are many
paths up the mountain
00:25:17.21\00:25:19.18
that they all
lead to the same place,
00:25:19.18\00:25:22.05
but that's just not true.
00:25:22.05\00:25:23.65
In fact, it's a dangerous lie.
00:25:23.65\00:25:26.02
In the not-so-distant
past other gods led us
00:25:26.02\00:25:29.16
to things like human sacrifice
00:25:29.16\00:25:31.53
or unspeakable sexual practices,
00:25:31.53\00:25:34.66
and it really
distorted the image of God
00:25:34.66\00:25:36.93
to the point where you couldn't
see him in humanity anymore.
00:25:36.93\00:25:41.04
The pain and suffering
that follows in the wake
00:25:41.04\00:25:43.10
of putting
something else in God's place,
00:25:43.10\00:25:46.24
well, that
devastation can be unspeakable.
00:25:46.24\00:25:50.31
You and I might not
00:25:50.31\00:25:51.61
be building massive
pyramids to a sun god,
00:25:51.61\00:25:53.68
where we go and rip
out the still-beating heart
00:25:53.68\00:25:56.15
of our enemies as
an act of devotion.
00:25:56.15\00:25:58.69
But the harm caused
by worshiping other gods
00:25:58.69\00:26:01.69
is still playing
out in our generation.
00:26:01.69\00:26:04.99
Over the course of the
19th and 20th centuries,
00:26:04.99\00:26:07.60
we saw powerful people suggest
00:26:07.60\00:26:10.37
that rationality alone can
solve our very worst problems.
00:26:10.37\00:26:14.70
And we elevated
our capacity for reason
00:26:14.70\00:26:17.24
to the status of a God.
00:26:17.24\00:26:19.41
And some people who claimed
00:26:19.41\00:26:20.68
to be disciples
of rational thought
00:26:20.68\00:26:22.68
ended up elevating the state
itself to the level of a God.
00:26:22.68\00:26:26.25
And when some people
didn't fit the ambitions
00:26:26.25\00:26:28.48
of the tyrants
who ran that state,
00:26:28.48\00:26:30.72
tens of millions were sacrificed
00:26:30.72\00:26:33.56
on the altar of human ambition.
00:26:33.56\00:26:36.22
I mean, just hop on YouTube
00:26:36.22\00:26:37.66
and watch a few Nazi
rallies from the '30s or '40s
00:26:37.66\00:26:40.10
or watch some of
Stalin's propaganda
00:26:40.10\00:26:42.53
and tell me they don't
have religious overtones.
00:26:42.53\00:26:45.50
They do.
00:26:45.50\00:26:47.04
And every time we put something
or somebody in God's place,
00:26:47.04\00:26:49.34
it only makes the pain and
suffering worse for everybody.
00:26:49.34\00:26:53.27
Meanwhile, here in
the pages of the Bible,
00:26:53.27\00:26:55.61
we have a God who makes
this astonishing promise
00:26:55.61\00:26:58.98
for people who
put the one, true God
00:26:58.98\00:27:01.32
on the throne of their hearts.
00:27:01.32\00:27:03.02
The Bible says "Therefore, they
are before the throne of God
00:27:03.02\00:27:06.76
and serve him day
and night in his temple.
00:27:06.76\00:27:09.39
And he who sits on the throne
00:27:09.39\00:27:10.89
will shelter them
with his presence.
00:27:10.89\00:27:12.99
They shall hunger no
more, neither thirst anymore;
00:27:12.99\00:27:15.53
the sun shall not strike
them, nor any scorching heat.
00:27:15.53\00:27:18.80
For the lamb in
the midst of the throne
00:27:18.80\00:27:20.34
will be their shepherd,
00:27:20.34\00:27:21.77
and he will guide them
to springs of living water,
00:27:21.77\00:27:24.44
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.
00:27:24.44\00:27:28.28
So you tell me,
00:27:29.04\00:27:31.11
does the first commandment
make really good sense?
00:27:31.11\00:27:33.82
Yeah, it does.
00:27:33.82\00:27:35.35
And I can tell you
00:27:35.35\00:27:36.75
as someone who's lived
with God and without God,
00:27:36.75\00:27:39.22
this really is the
better way to live.
00:27:39.22\00:27:42.52
Thanks for joining me today.
00:27:42.52\00:27:44.06
I'm Shawn Boonstra, and you've
been watching "Authentic."
00:27:44.06\00:27:47.46
[rustic music]
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