Participants: Pastor Charles Byrd
Series Code: IST
Program Code: IST000011
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00:16 Mt. Sinai,
00:18 a mountain that tradition says is in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. 00:22 A mountain that Biblical history says was the backdrop 00:25 for the day that God met with his chosen people 00:28 and shared with them the laws 00:30 that would guide a nation of former slaves. 00:33 These laws have come to be internationally recognized 00:35 by many individuals and governments around the world 00:38 as the basis for morality and social order. 00:42 But is the Decalogue still binding today? 00:46 Didn't Jesus come to abolish the Ten Commandments 00:48 nailing them to the cross, eliminating their requirements? 00:52 Shouldn't the judges of the Supreme Court 00:54 have this moral code chiseled off the wall, 00:56 door and entrance of that institution? 01:00 Hello, I'm Karen Byrd and these are just some of the questions 01:03 we'll be considering today as we visit Mt. Sinai 01:06 and look into what the Bible really teaches 01:09 on the subject of God's moral law. 01:12 Let's join Charles 01:13 as we go in search for the answer to the question, 01:15 Are they Still in Stone? 01:57 So, what do you think? 01:59 Are God's laws still in stone? 02:01 It doesn't seem so when you look at American society. 02:05 Violent crime continues to be a serious problem 02:07 in the United States. 02:09 Every 3 and a half minutes a violent crime, a murder, 02:13 forcible rape, robbery or an aggravated assault is reported. 02:17 John DiIulio, 02:18 a leading crime researcher at Princeton University 02:21 reported that of the nearly 2 million violent crimes reported, 02:25 there are only 641,000 arrests 02:29 and of that only 165,000 convictions. 02:33 In the end, 02:35 about 100,000 convicts go to jail, 02:38 where they serve, on average, about half their sentences. 02:41 Moreover, the actual time served by the average violent felon 02:45 is a mere 43 months. 02:48 Murderers set free often serve less than six years behind bars. 02:53 This is outrageous! 02:55 Who is responsible for these depressing statistics? 02:59 Who is to be blamed 03:01 for this outrageous lack of responsibility? 03:04 I am, and so are YOU. 03:07 Yes, we are personally responsible 03:10 unless we always uphold the law. 03:14 If we violate any part of God's law or any other good law, 03:18 we destroy confidence in the law 03:20 and actually encourage criminal behavior. 03:23 Crime stalks the land today, 03:25 and things will keep getting worse 03:27 unless we do something about it. 03:30 There is only one hope for this undisciplined state of affairs: 03:34 We will have to take seriously the formula for human happiness 03:38 given by God - the Ten Commandments. 03:43 Today we're on the mountain of Moses, Mt. Sinai. 03:49 We got up at 2 in the morning and traveled by camel 03:53 and then got to watch the sun rise 03:56 here on the peak with a lot of other pilgrims. 04:05 It was on this mountain that Moses met with God. 04:08 Came up, 04:09 spent 40 days and 40 nights in God's personal presence. 04:14 It was here, on this mountain 04:16 that God chose for time and eternity 04:19 to put his character in stone as He wrote with His finger 04:23 the Ten Commandments. 04:25 It was here that Moses met with God and took those stones, 04:30 and there are a lot of stones God could have picked from, 04:33 down to the people in the valley below. 04:36 And that's why in the Bible today 04:38 we still have those Ten Commandments 04:39 that are kept by many people all around the world. 04:42 What are the Ten Commandments and where did they come from? 04:46 The story of the Ten Commandments 04:48 is recorded in the book of Exodus and goes like this. 04:52 God chose to make the descendents of Abraham 04:54 to be his chosen people. Why? 04:57 While I'm sure that there are different reasons, 04:59 to my knowledge there is only one stated reason 05:02 and it's found in the book of Genesis. 05:05 "For I know him, 05:07 that he will command his children 05:08 and his household after him, 05:10 and they shall keep the way of the LORD, 05:13 to do justice and judgment; 05:14 that the LORD may bring upon Abraham 05:16 that which he hath spoken of him." 05:19 Listen to what God says about Abraham. 05:21 He is a man of "justice and judgment." 05:25 God likes that. 05:27 He likes it when people are just, fair, and firm 05:31 when it comes to right and wrong. 05:33 God said Abraham would "command his children 05:36 and his household after him." 05:38 God saw that Abraham would teach his family the right way 05:41 and fully expect them to also be just and righteous. 05:45 Do you know why this is important to God? 05:48 Because His kingdom is built on justice, 05:51 right judgment, mercy and love. 05:55 The Bible records that Abraham was so much like this 05:58 that "he was called the Friend of God." 06:02 In both the Old and New Testaments 06:04 friendship with God is always based on obedience 06:07 to the God who loves you enough to die for you. 06:10 This is why God chose Abraham's descendents 06:13 as His chosen people. 06:15 Years pass, and now there are millions of descendants. 06:19 They are slaves in Egypt. 06:21 And God, through powerful signs and wonders convinces Pharaoh, 06:25 the king of Egypt, to let his people go. 06:28 And off they go. 06:30 First to the Red Sea that parts before them at the hand of God 06:34 and they pass through on dry land. 06:36 After three days they are almost out of water 06:39 but begin complaining as if they had none. 06:41 They finally come to Marah 06:43 where the waters are too bitter to drink 06:45 but God shows Moses a tree, 06:48 that when cast into the water makes it sweet. 06:51 On to Rephidim where Amalek attacks them from the rear 06:55 but Moses, with the help of Aaron and Hur, 06:57 stands on a hill overlooking the battle and prays and prays 07:01 and God gives Joshua the victory. 07:04 On through the desert wastes God leads the people, 07:07 supplying water from rocks, manna from the skies, 07:10 a pillar of cloud by day 07:12 to shade them from the scorching sun 07:14 and a pillar of fire by night to light their dwellings. 07:18 And now they are camped at the foot of Mt. Sinai. 07:20 God is about to do something he has never before done. 07:24 Talk to humanity en masse. 07:27 Not just to one prophet, but to a whole nation! 07:30 Whatever He is about to say must be very important. 07:34 There in the hearing of all the people 07:37 He proclaims the qualities of His character, 07:40 the nature of His kingdom. His law. 07:44 Then God calls Moses up into the mountain for forty days. 07:48 "And when He had made an end of speaking with him 07:50 on Mount Sinai, 07:52 He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, 07:55 tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." 07:59 "Now the tablets were the work of God, 08:02 and the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets." 08:07 This law written on stone was designed by the God of creation 08:11 to be a wonderful guide. 08:13 No longer do we have to wonder if we are pleasing God or not, 08:16 if we are living acceptable lives or not. 08:19 It is like the fence on a farm. 08:21 It clearly marks where the pasture ends 08:23 and the cornfield begins. 08:26 It's like the lines on the road, 08:27 clearly marking the right and the left hand lanes. 08:30 This is the law God uses to define what sin is. 08:35 "Sin is the transgression of the law." 08:39 Sin is disobedience to the clearly marked will 08:42 of your Creator. 08:44 Do you know why God gave us the Law? 08:47 Because "Happy is he who keeps the law." 08:50 That's all. 08:52 He wants everyone to be happy. 08:54 Being run over because someone crossed the yellow line 08:57 doesn't bring happiness. 08:58 Finding your spouse in the arms of another 09:01 doesn't bring happiness. 09:02 Going to jail doesn't make people happy. 09:06 So God calls us from His holy mountain. 09:09 "My son, do not forget my law, 09:12 but let your heart keep my commands; 09:15 for length of days and long life 09:17 and peace they will add to you." 09:21 I know there are many people who have misused the law. 09:24 They have used it as a club to beat and wound. 09:27 But do you know what the context is for this law, 09:29 these Ten Commandments? 09:32 If you loose this context, 09:33 the law is just a set of do's and don'ts. 09:37 For many that law has been taken out of context 09:40 and I think it would help if you could see the law 09:42 in its proper light. 09:44 The context for giving the law is a covenant relationship. 09:49 For example, 09:50 as you are about to join your life in holy matrimony 09:52 the preacher says, 09:54 "Will you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, 09:57 to have to hold and to cherish... 10:00 forsaking all others keep yourself only for him 10:03 so long as you both shall live?" 10:06 At that moment suppose she falters. 10:09 Suppose she looks away from this man 10:11 who has already promised himself to her 10:13 and looks at an old boyfriend. 10:16 Do you see the problem? 10:17 The rule of keeping yourself only for one person 10:20 is not a burden if you truly love each other. 10:24 Keeping God's law, all ten of the commandments, 10:27 is not a burden unless you don't love Him, 10:30 unless you don't know Him. 10:33 The rules, 10:34 the laws to commitment 10:36 are not a straightjacket for the one who loves. 10:39 Here is the context for God's law given at Mt. Sinai. 10:44 "I am the God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, 10:48 the God who delivered you from Egyptian bondage, 10:51 the God who with might and power brought you through the desert 10:54 and sustained you. 10:56 Based on my justification, my love for you, 10:59 my gift of salvation, will you choose to be my people? 11:04 Will you choose to enter into a covenant relationship with me?" 11:08 The people en masse cry out, 11:10 "all that the Lord says we will do." 11:14 Poor Moses. 11:15 All the people had heard the law. 11:17 All the people had agreed to keep the law. 11:20 But as he came down from the mountain of God's presence, 11:23 the people had already broken the rules. 11:27 They had made a golden calf in direct disobedience 11:30 to the second commandment. 11:32 How it must have grieved the heart of God and Moses 11:35 to see how quickly we choose to forget God's love 11:38 and His blessings. 11:40 Some have honestly misunderstood the law of God 11:43 and why He gave it to us. 11:45 They have taken it out of the context 11:47 of a loving relationship. 11:48 They have thought that if they worked hard enough, 11:51 kept His law well enough God would have to save them, 11:54 and take them to heaven. 11:56 But, can anyone be saved by keeping the law? 12:00 Let's let the apostle Paul answer that question. 12:03 "Therefore by the deeds of the law 12:05 shall no flesh be justified in His sight." 12:09 No, Paul is clear. 12:11 Keeping the law doesn't save us. 12:14 On the other hand you can't be saved without keeping the law. 12:18 You could look at it this way. 12:19 The 7th commandment says, 12:21 "You shall not commit adultery." 12:24 Now, does not committing adultery make me married? 12:27 No. 12:28 But will committing adultery keep me married? 12:31 Probably not. 12:33 Keeping the law will not make you saved. 12:36 But breaking the law may cause you to be lost. 12:40 You see, salvation comes only through grace, 12:43 as a free gift from Jesus Christ, 12:45 and we receive this gift by faith, not by works. 12:49 Well, then we don't need the law then right? 12:51 Wrong. Okay, I thought so. 12:55 You see, what we've been trying to do 12:58 is pit one vital thing against another. 13:00 For example, 13:02 what is more important, the heart or the blood? 13:05 You can't get by without either of these 13:07 and we can't get by without His grace or His law. 13:12 Another example, 13:13 what makes the car go, the engine or the wheels? 13:17 Well, the answer is... BOTH! 13:19 Do the tires and the engine function the same? 13:22 No. 13:23 But they do work together to accomplish the same purpose. 13:27 Does the engine do what the tires do? 13:30 No. 13:31 Since the tires don't function like an engine, 13:34 I would be wise not to use them that way. 13:36 But I still use both of them! 13:40 The same is true with the law. 13:42 The law does not clean us up. 13:45 That's what the water of God's grace does. 13:48 But the law is still important 13:50 just as the mirror in the bathroom is important. 13:54 I don't use the mirror to shave. 13:56 I use the foam, the water, and the razor. 14:01 But I still use the mirror. 14:03 It becomes the sounding board, 14:05 the visual yardstick or counselor 14:08 as to whether my face has been groomed properly for the day. 14:13 Listen carefully to this New Testament doctrine. 14:16 "The law is good, if a man use it lawfully." 14:21 What is a lawful or appropriate use of God's commandments? 14:25 The same author tells us, 14:26 "For by the law is the knowledge of sin." 14:30 The law is a teacher. 14:32 The law teaches us what sin is, 14:34 teaches us what God wants for us. 14:37 And what does God expect from us? 14:40 "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: 14:43 Fear God, and keep His commandments: 14:46 for this is the whole duty of man." 14:50 That's clear. 14:51 Keeping God's commandments is the WHOLE DUTY OF MAN. 14:55 And yet so many of us seem to daily fall short. 14:59 Suddenly we find ourselves 15:00 like the dinosaur in Toy Story crying out, 15:04 "Oh, now I have guilt." Now watch out. 15:09 The devil will take full advantage 15:11 of your feelings of guilt if you're not careful. 15:13 Remember how we are saved? 15:15 Through grace by faith in Jesus Christ. 15:19 What enables a truly converted Christian 15:21 to follow the pattern of God's law? 15:24 To stand before the mirror clean? 15:26 To win the race against sin and self? 15:30 That same grace that comes to us by placing our faith in Jesus. 15:35 Isn't that what Paul meant when he said, 15:37 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."? 15:42 Some might be tempted at this point to say, 15:45 "But wasn't the law fulfilled in Christ? 15:48 Isn't that good enough?" 15:50 The answer is a simple "no". 15:53 Look what Paul told us in Romans 8. 15:56 "...God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh... 16:00 condemned sin in the flesh:" 16:02 Now don't miss this next part, 16:04 "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, 16:09 who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 16:13 Where is the righteousness of the law fulfilled? 16:16 IN US! 16:18 Christ not only pardons repentant sinners, 16:21 but He restores in them the image of God. 16:24 He brings them into harmony with His law 16:26 through the power of His indwelling presence. 16:30 "Thou shalt not" then becomes a promise 16:33 that the Christian will not steal, not lie, not murder 16:38 because Jesus lives inside and is in control. 16:42 God could not change His law, 16:44 but He made a blessed provision through Jesus 16:47 to change the sinner 16:49 so that the sinner can measure up to the law. 16:52 The enduring nature of the rocks, here on Mt. Sinai, 16:56 are an apt symbol of the enduring nature 17:00 of the character of God. 17:02 The character that was written with His own hand 17:05 to let us know what He is like, what He expects of us. 17:08 Perhaps this is what Jesus had in mind when He said, 17:12 'till heaven and earth pass away 17:15 not one jot or one tittle shall in any wise pass from the law 17:19 'til all is fulfilled." 17:22 The law hasn't been fully fulfilled 17:23 in your life or in mine. 17:25 But Jesus wants it to be. 17:27 And that's why He's promised to send us the Holy Spirit 17:30 to convict us of sin to convict us of righteousness 17:34 to guide us into all truth 17:35 so that when He comes we will be like Him. 17:40 Some may be asking right now, 17:41 "But I heard that a Christian who has faith 17:44 and is living under grace is freed from keeping the law." 17:48 In this world you might hear that 17:51 and many other things that aren't according to the Bible. 17:54 So let's go to the Bible and read it for ourselves. 17:58 "For sin breaking God's law," says 1 John 3:4, 18:03 "shall not have dominion over you, 18:06 for you are not under the law but under grace." 18:11 What then? 18:12 Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? 18:16 Certainly not! 18:19 Paul had already driven this point home in chapter three 18:22 when he wrote, 18:23 "Do we then make void the law through faith? 18:26 Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law." 18:32 So when it says, "Not under the law," 18:35 what does it mean? 18:37 It means that we are not held captive 18:39 to our old disobedient natures. 18:42 It means we are free from the penalty of the law. 18:45 Remember the penalty? The wages of sin is death. 18:49 The scriptures clearly teach 18:50 that grace is like a governor's pardon to a prisoner. 18:54 It forgives him, 18:55 but it does not give him the freedom 18:57 to break one single law after his release. 19:00 The forgiven person, living under grace, 19:03 is under double obligation to keep the law. 19:06 A person who refuses to keep God's law, 19:09 saying that he is living under grace, is mistaken. 19:12 He is living under disgrace. 19:16 I have a simple question for you to consider. 19:18 The inspired book of Revelation is a New Testament book, right? 19:22 Revelation's author would have lived in the new dispensation, 19:26 right? 19:27 In this context listen to what Revelation 12 and 14 tells us 19:32 about God's end time people, His remnant church. 19:36 "And the dragon [or Satan] was enraged with the woman, 19:40 and went to make war with the rest of her offspring, 19:43 who keep the commandments of God 19:46 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." 19:49 Don't miss this, the woman, or the church is making Satan mad. 19:54 Why? 19:55 Because God's true children 19:57 are "Keeping the commandments of God." 20:00 Many people today say it is impossible 20:02 to keep the commandments. 20:04 That cannot be true for if it was, 20:06 then all the promises in the Bible would be a lie, 20:09 promises like 20:10 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 20:14 And "You...have overcome them, 20:16 because He who is in you 20:17 is greater than he who is in the world." 20:20 And this promise, 20:22 "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, 20:25 because God's seed remains in him; 20:28 he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 20:33 If God's last day people are keeping the commandments 20:36 in His strength and by His grace 20:38 then this talk of not being able to obey 20:41 must be inspired from a different source, 20:43 don't you think? 20:46 Again, notice this prophetic word. 20:48 "Here is the patience of the saints; 20:51 here are those who keep the commandments of God 20:54 and the faith of Jesus." 20:56 The devil hates the people who uphold God's law 20:59 because the law is the pattern of right living. 21:02 And if you decide to follow the pattern outlined in God's law, 21:06 you will feel the devil's wrath upon you. 21:09 It is not surprising that the devil hates and bitterly opposes 21:13 all who uphold God's law. 21:15 But it is shocking and astounding 21:17 to hear religious leaders denying 21:19 the binding claims of the Ten Commandments 21:22 while at the same time upholding the traditions of men. 21:26 No wonder Jesus asked, 21:28 "Why do you break the command of God 21:30 for the sake of your tradition?" 21:32 Listen to what happens to our covenant relationship with God 21:36 when we keep traditions instead of the law. 21:40 "In vain they do worship me, 21:42 teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." 21:46 This is not merely a church doctrine. 21:48 These were also the words of Jesus. 21:51 It says all our worship is vain or worth nothing. 21:55 It's like a young man telling a girl every evening when he calls 21:59 how much he loves her, misses her, 22:00 can't wait to marry her while he is seeing someone else. 22:04 That kind of love is worth nothing. 22:08 If we want to have a relationship with God 22:10 then the commandments must be a living part of our life, 22:13 our country, and even our national law. 22:17 Even our sixth President could see the value of God's top ten. 22:22 The law given from Sinai was a civil and municipal 22:26 as well as a moral and religious code... 22:29 laws essential to the existence of men in society 22:33 and most of which have been enacted by every nation 22:36 which ever professed any code of laws." 22:39 Some critics say that only three of the Ten Commandments, 22:42 don't murder, don't steal and don't lie 22:45 are even enforced in U.S. law and they are probably correct. 22:49 But Noah Webster, Mr. Dictionary himself, 22:52 says this is why we are in such trouble. 22:55 "All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, 22:59 crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, 23:03 proceed from their despising 23:05 or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible." 23:09 Yes, you and I are responsible for every murder, rape, 23:13 embezzlement, and lie, 23:15 every abuse, war, kidnapping, and incest. 23:18 Why do I say this? 23:20 Because James tells us that 23:22 "Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point 23:25 has become guilty of all of it." 23:27 Every time we make an excuse for our sin, our disobedience, 23:32 we are approving, excusing and encouraging every other sin. 23:37 It doesn't matter what the Supreme Court does or says. 23:41 God is holding each of us accountable to keep His law. 23:45 I can hear some of you 23:47 who are honest in heart saying right now, 23:49 "Then we're doomed." 23:51 Yes, we would be doomed 23:52 if we didn't have this wonderful promise from God Himself. 23:56 "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, 24:00 and their sins and their lawless deeds 24:02 I will remember no more. 24:04 For this is the covenant that I will make...after those days," 24:08 says the Lord, 24:09 "I will put My laws in their mind 24:11 and write them on their hearts; 24:13 and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 24:17 Listen friend. You can keep the law. 24:20 Not in order to be saved. 24:23 You can keep the law BECAUSE you are saved. 24:26 Remember where our salvation comes from. 24:29 "For it is God who works in you both to will 24:33 and to do of his good pleasure." 24:36 Some people choose to ignore God's law, 24:39 they choose to say it doesn't apply to me, 24:41 they spend their time, all their time, |
Revised 2014-12-17