Participants: Scott Moore (Host)
Series Code: LOE
Program Code: LOE000011
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00:01 The harvest truly is plenteous But the laborers are few.
00:03 Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest 00:06 that He will... He will send forth laborers into His harvest. 00:10 Also I heard the voice of the Lord say: 00:13 "Who shall I send? " 00:14 "And who will go for us? " 00:17 Then said I: "Here am I, send me... send me. " 00:23 Life on the Edge will enable you to be an effective harvester 00:26 for the Lord. We now invite you into our classroom 00:30 to come experience LIFE. 00:43 We'd like to welcome you back 00:45 to the Lay Institute for Evangelism. 00:48 We'd like to welcome those of you that are at home 00:51 into our classroom. You are 00:53 going to experience life today. 00:57 The topic that we're going over 00:58 today is the second part or the second half 01:01 of our Law of God study. 01:04 We've already covered the first half of this study 01:07 and now we're going to go right into the second half. 01:09 So if you'll go the graphic there, you'll note that the 01:12 topic of this study is The Law of God. 01:16 You'll also see there on your screen that the purpose 01:19 of this Bible study is: 01:31 Now there's some of you at home that have not seen the first 01:34 half of this presentation. 01:37 And you'll want to make sure that you watch that 01:39 because this is a continuation of the first one. 01:42 And it's in the first one where we talked about Jesus. 01:44 We talked about grace 01:46 and we talked about the Biblical definition of sin. 01:49 And we're going to give you an illustration of that 01:51 in just a moment. 01:52 Every one of our Bible studies here at LIFE 01:55 during this Life on the Edge course 01:57 are centered on Jesus Christ. 02:00 Our screen shows us that the Center It today is: 02:23 And as you recall, in our studies we are marking these 02:26 in the front of our Bible or the back of our Bible 02:29 so that we can then give the studies to other people 02:31 in their homes or at the office of wherever it is 02:34 we want to give a study. 02:35 You see there on the graphic that we have 17 texts 02:38 in this Bible study. And these 17 texts 02:43 are divided into four different sections: 02:45 Jesus, Grace, Sin, and Law. 02:50 In the first half of our study 02:53 we talked about Jesus, grace, and sin 02:56 and today we're going to be talking about the law. 02:58 The next two graphics that you see there 03:00 are just these four divisions with a larger font 03:04 so that you can see those... those references there. 03:07 And again, for those of you at home, 03:08 if you haven't gone to our website 03:11 comeexperiencelife. com 03:14 you'll want to go to our website where you can download 03:17 the handouts from our website and that way you'll be able to 03:19 follow along not only on the television screen 03:23 but you'll also be able to follow along on those notes. 03:26 The next graphic here is just the larger font 03:29 of the texts that we use to define sin 03:33 and then the texts that we're going to talk about now 03:36 as we talk about the law of God. 03:39 Before we get into this study, though, 03:42 I need to have four volunteers. 03:44 Four volunteers. So Shelleta, if you could come up front. 03:47 And, uh, uh, oh come on... what am I doing this for? 03:52 Get up here, Mike. And Tom and how about you, Marci. 03:58 Jessica, come on up here. 04:00 All right. So we're just going to start over here 04:02 on this side of the room. And Shelleta, you are going to 04:07 represent the law. OK. So Shelleta is the what? 04:11 She's the law. You are going to represent, 04:14 and I'm sorry brother, you're going to represent sin. 04:17 Sin. He does have a black shirt on today, so that's... 04:19 that's fine. You are going to represent, Mike... 04:21 you're going to represent grace. 04:23 And Jessica, you are going to represent Jesus. 04:27 Now how many of you... maybe some of you at home 04:30 maybe people here in the classroom... 04:32 you have heard others say that the law of God was nailed 04:36 to the cross. Have you ever heard somebody say that? 04:38 That the law of God was nailed to the cross. 04:40 Well, let's suppose that God's law was nailed to the cross. 04:45 So law, you're nailed to the cross. You have a seat. 04:49 If we do not have the law, 04:52 then we do not have the Biblical definition of sin. 04:57 Because sin as you remember from our previous program 05:00 sin is the transgression or the breaking of God's law. 05:04 So since we don't have a law any more in theory 05:07 then we don't have what? Sin. 05:10 Sin: why don't you just go ahead and have a seat. 05:12 Now the Bible told us in our last program 05:16 that grace was the power of God. 05:19 Do you remember that? We used three references to show 05:22 that grace is the power of God that save us through our faith. 05:27 But since we don't need to be saved from sin any more 05:31 because we don't have a law whereby sin is defined, 05:34 then we don't need grace to help us overcome sin. 05:38 You understand? So grace, we don't need you... 05:41 so you can just have a seat. 05:42 And you can see where this is going, can't you? 05:44 You can see exactly where this is headed. 05:46 If we don't need grace, the Bible told us in 05:49 John chapter 1 verse 14. John chapter 1 verse 14 05:53 says that: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us 05:58 and we beheld His glory - the glory as of the only begotten 06:01 of the Father - full of grace and truth. " 06:06 And the One that became flesh and dwelt among us - 06:09 the only begotten of the Father - is who? 06:11 Jesus. So it's Jesus that's full of grace and truth. 06:14 Since we don't need grace 06:16 because we don't have sin to overcome 06:18 because there is no law, 06:20 then who else don't we need? We don't need Jesus. 06:23 So Jesus... please, have a seat. 06:26 You see how dangerous it is for us to say 06:30 that we do not need... the law has been nailed to the cross. 06:35 That's dangerous, isn't it? 06:36 Because if the law was nailed to the cross 06:38 and thereby done away with... no longer valid, 06:42 then there is no Biblical definition of sin. 06:46 There's no standard by which to measure the difference between 06:52 right and wrong. So... no law, no sin. 06:55 No sin... we don't need grace to overcome sin 06:58 because there is no sin. 07:00 And if we don't need grace to overcome sin, then 07:02 we don't need who? Jesus. 07:05 Are you comfortable doing away with Jesus? 07:08 I'm not comfortable doing away with Jesus either. 07:12 Why am I not comfortable? Why are you not comfortable? 07:15 Because we need Jesus to give us His grace 07:21 to help us overcome sin. 07:24 And all of us, the Bible says, sin. 07:28 That was even after the cross that the Bible says 07:32 that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. " 07:35 That was even after the cross. 07:38 So we still have sin which is defined Biblically 07:41 as the transgression of God's law. 07:47 So we don't want to do away with the law, do we? 07:50 Because if we do away with the law, we ultimately do away 07:52 with our Savior who is Jesus Christ. 07:55 Now again, this is going to be a little bit more review 07:58 for those of you that are at home, for those of you 08:00 that didn't watch the first program. 08:02 So we're going to go back to our screen now 08:04 and you will see there that... Let's turn in our Bibles 08:08 to Daniel. You don't have to turn there. 08:09 Actually I have a slide for it. 08:11 You'll note there on the screen Daniel 7:25 says: 08:32 Now, the antichrist power thinks to change God's times 08:38 and God's law. 08:41 Is it possible for anyone to change God's time or God's law? 08:46 It's not. That's why this reference says 08:48 "thinks to change. " He wants to change it 08:51 but he can't change it because when God says something 08:54 it stands fast, doesn't it? 08:56 So over here on the antichrist side of your screen 09:00 we put Daniel 7:25. 09:02 We're just going to change the slide there 09:05 and you will see that antichrist wants to change God's law. 09:08 Now notice on your screen Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. 09:13 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 the Bible says: 09:41 So you notice on our next screen here 09:43 the antichrist says that God's law will change. 09:47 Jesus Christ says the law will not change. 09:52 So listen very closely. 09:54 Any interpretation of scripture 09:58 that seeks to change or do away with God's law 10:03 is a product of antichrist. 10:07 Let's... let me say that again. 10:09 Any interpretation of scripture 10:13 that seeks to change God's law 10:16 is a product of who? Antichrist. That's right. 10:21 So as we go through the rest of this study today 10:25 we are going to be... We have already looked at Jesus. 10:30 We have already looked at grace. 10:33 We have already looked at sin and now we are going to 10:35 focus on the law. 10:38 So let's go to our next slide there. You see it simply 10:42 has a title which is Law. 10:45 And now we are going to go to our 11th... 10:47 I believe it's our 11th... it is... 10:49 our 11th reference. Our 11th reference is 10:55 Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. 10:58 Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. 11:01 This is the tail end of the sin... the sin aspect 11:05 of the four divisions of this study. 11:08 So we'll pick up there at the very last reference 11:10 speaking about sin and the result of sin 11:13 and then we will go into our 12th text where it talks about 11:17 the law of God. 11:19 So we're going to the Old Testament book of Isaiah. 11:22 Isaiah chapter 59. 11:25 And I'll go ahead and read this one today. 11:29 Or this one... this text right here. Isaiah 59 verses 1 and 2. 11:35 The Bible says: "Behold, 11:37 the Lord's hand is not shortened 11:40 that He cannot save 11:42 neither His ear heavy 11:45 that it cannot hear. " 11:47 So just notice in this text 11:48 right here. When you're giving this Bible study 11:50 what you're drawing out of this text is that God's hand 11:53 is not too short to save someone. 11:55 What do you say to that? Amen! 11:59 Then it says: "Neither His ear too heavy that He cannot hear. " 12:05 So is God able to save us regardless of where we are 12:09 in our walk, in our life? HE IS! 12:12 His hand is not too short that He can't reach down and save us 12:15 nor is His ear too heavy that He cannot hear us. 12:19 Notice the first word in verse 2. 12:23 The first word in verse 2 is what? 12:26 But. But. That means in total contradiction 12:30 to what was just said. 12:32 "The Lord's hand is not shortened that He cannot save 12:35 nor His ear too heavy that He cannot hear 12:38 but... " Notice what it says here: 12:40 "your iniquities have separated between you and your God 12:46 and your sins have hid His face from you 12:51 that He WILL NOT hear. " 12:55 So sin is a thing to be avoided, isn't it? 13:00 Because sin or iniquity separates us 13:06 from God. 13:10 So if you and I cherish sin: 13:14 something that we know to be wrong, 13:18 something that we know displeases God, 13:22 if we cherish it... And some people say: 13:23 "But I don't cherish sin. " 13:26 You have something in your life that you're not struggling with 13:31 that you continually do and you know displeases God? 13:35 Some people will say to me: "But you know, Pastor, 13:37 I'm not convicted that I should stop. " 13:41 You don't have to be convicted to know whether something 13:45 is right or wrong. 13:47 If the Bible tells us that it's wrong 13:50 whether we are convicted or not, then we know that it is 13:52 what? Wrong. 13:55 So when God shows us something and we refuse to do it, 14:01 when God is working on our hearts but we refuse to follow 14:06 what God is asking us to do, then we are cherishing sin. 14:10 So when you're giving this Bible study it's very important 14:13 that the people that you're giving the Bible study to 14:15 understand that God can save anyone that comes to Him. 14:19 In a moment He can save them. 14:23 For those of us that are saved we must be very careful 14:28 not to cherish sin. 14:32 We must try to remove ourselves from sin. 14:36 But we can't do that without what? Grace... 14:39 which is the power of God. And who is full of grace? 14:44 Jesus was full of grace. 14:46 So we have seen here that in the sin aspect 14:50 that sin separates or puts a gap between us and God. 14:55 Is it because God doesn't want to be with us? 14:57 No. God wants to be with us 14:59 but God gives us the power of choice 15:04 and He'll never force us. If we choose sin, 15:07 He'll let us go that way because He won't force us. 15:12 So now we've finished up with sin there. 15:14 And again, those of you at home will want to watch the first 15:17 half of this if you haven't. 15:18 And our next reference here moving right into the law texts 15:22 is Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17. 15:26 So often I hear people say that the law of God does not 15:31 matter to the Christian experience today. 15:34 It just doesn't make a difference. 15:36 But what does the Bible say in Revelation chapter 12 15:41 and verse 17? Revelation chapter 12 verse 17. 15:46 We will go ahead and let Shelleta read this. 15:51 Revelation chapter 12 and verse 17. 16:01 So those of you at home, you're turning to Revelation 16:03 chapter 12, turning to the 17th verse, and now she's going 16:06 to read for us: "And the dragon was wroth with the woman 16:10 and went to make war with the remnant of her seed 16:13 which keep the commandments of God 16:16 and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. " 16:18 OK. So the Bible says the dragon was wroth with the woman. 16:23 Who is the dragon? Satan. 16:26 So those of you that are marking your Bibles 16:28 right above that where it says dragon you may want to 16:31 put a reference. Just put Revelation chapter 12 16:36 verse 9. Revelation chapter 12 verse 9 is what tells us 16:41 that the dragon is the same as Satan or the devil. 16:46 So just write Revelation 12:9 right above that word dragon 16:49 and then you'll be able to explain that. 16:52 So it says: "And the dragon was wroth... " 16:54 What does the word wroth mean? 16:56 It means angry or enraged, that's right. 16:59 "The dragon" who is the devil... 17:04 So the devil is enraged with the woman. 17:07 Now in Bible prophecy when we're in the 17:11 the New Testament apocalyptic or end-time book... 17:14 in Bible prophecy, 17:16 Bill, tell me what does a woman represent? 17:19 The church. That's right. Yeah, do that again. 17:23 Why don't you do that again? The church. 17:24 That's right. So in Bible prophecy, a woman 17:28 represents a church. So this text is telling us 17:32 that the devil is angry with a church. 17:37 That's absolutely right. 17:38 And then it says... as Shelleta read... 17:43 "And went to make war with the remnant of her seed" 17:47 and then it describes the children or the seed 17:50 of the church. And how does it describe them? 17:53 There's 2 characteristics there. How does it describe them? 17:57 All right, pick up that microphone and tell me. 17:59 How are they described? 18:01 Go ahead and pick that microphone up. It's all right. 18:03 Follow His commandments and follow Jesus. 18:07 That's right. So the people that Satan is angry with 18:12 are the people that are keeping the commandments of God 18:17 and those that have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 18:22 So at the end of time 18:25 does God expect His people to be keeping His commandments? 18:32 He does. 18:34 Does the devil get mad at people 18:37 that aren't keeping the commandments? 18:41 Does the devil get mad at people that are not 18:44 keeping the commandments? 18:46 No he doesn't. 18:48 The devil likes it, doesn't he? 18:49 Because you remember any interpretation of scripture 18:53 that seeks to do away with God's law is a product of who? 18:58 The antichrist. 19:00 You've always got to keep that in the random access memory 19:03 of your brain because any interpretation of scripture 19:07 that seeks to do away with God's law 19:09 pleases antichrist. 19:11 And if we please antichrist we're not pleasing Jesus Christ. 19:15 That's right. 19:16 So, now you see there on your screen 19:19 that there's another reference that we can use here. 19:22 And it's in parentheses so we're going to look at it: 19:24 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12. 19:28 Revelation chapter 14 and verse 12. 19:32 So some of you may have to turn a page; 19:34 some of you may not. 19:35 And we will go ahead and we will let Mike Mudd read this 19:38 if you don't mind. Revelation the 14th chapter. 19:41 Those of you at home, if you haven't gotten your Bible yet 19:43 you recognize now that you have a need of getting your Bible, 19:46 so go grab that. Revelation the 14th chapter 19:49 and the 12th verse. Mike: 19:52 "Here is the patience of the saints. 19:54 Here are they that keep the commandments of God 19:57 and have the faith of Jesus. " 19:59 So here's the patience of who? 20:01 The saints. And then it defines a saint. 20:05 This is the Biblical definition of a saint. 20:07 The Bible says that a saint is someone that does two things. 20:10 And what were those things, Mike? 20:12 They keep the commandments of God 20:13 and they have the faith of Jesus. 20:15 They keep the commandments of God 20:17 and they have the faith of Jesus. 20:20 So again, simply ask the person 20:23 that you're giving the Bible study to... simply ask them: 20:25 Is the keeping of the commandments of God important 20:29 to God's last day or God's end-time people? 20:33 It's important, isn't it? 20:35 Because that is the distinguishing aspect 20:39 between God's people and then the people that want to 20:43 change God's law. 20:45 You know, some people say: "God is much too gracious; 20:48 He is much too merciful 20:50 to make me keep His law. " 20:55 But you will remember in John chapter 14 verse 15 20:59 Jesus didn't say: "Keep My law because I'm making you keep it" 21:02 did He? He said: "If you love Me, 21:05 keep My commandments. " 21:09 So the question is not about "Do I have to do it? " 21:12 The question is: "How much do I love Jesus? " 21:15 And if I love Jesus with all of my heart, 21:18 then all of my heart is going to want to keep ALL 21:21 of His what? Of His commandments. 21:23 Now in our introduction we used a reference 21:27 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18. 21:30 We're going to go back to that reference in our Bible study 21:33 because that is the springboard that we are going to use 21:37 to launch into the Ten Commandments. 21:41 Now the purpose of this Bible study is simply to show 21:45 that God's law is still valid today 21:48 and the keeping of God's law is a response of love 21:51 from the one that loves God. 21:53 So the purpose of this study is not to focus on 21:57 any one of the commandments. 21:58 In this Bible study you are not focusing on 22:01 just the first commandment. 22:02 You're not focusing on just the third commandment. 22:04 You're not focusing just on the 7th commandment 22:06 or the 4th commandment or the 3rd commandment. 22:09 You're focusing on all of them. 22:12 You're laying a foundation for the study that comes after this. 22:17 And the study that comes after this one is a Bible study 22:20 on the Sabbath. 22:22 So what you have to do - for those of you that are giving 22:25 Bible studies and using these studies - you... you give this 22:28 Bible study on week 7. This is the 7th Bible study 22:32 in this series. 22:34 And then you wait a week and then in the 8th week... 22:38 at the 8th study is when you bring in the topic 22:41 of the Sabbath. Today when you're giving this study 22:44 on week seven, you're not singling out any one of the 22:48 commandments. 22:49 For those of you that love the Sabbath of God, 22:52 for those of you that love the 4th commandment, 22:54 our temptation is going to be 22:57 just to hammer home the Sabbath 22:59 during this Bible study. 23:01 But that is not the goal of this Bible study 23:03 because the other commandments are just as important, 23:07 aren't they? 23:08 They sure are! 23:10 The Bible says if we break one we have broken them all... 23:13 and that's in James chapter 2. 23:16 So this reference here in Matthew chapter 5: 23:19 we'll go ahead and let Mrs. Gloria read that for us. 23:22 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18. 23:27 We are using this reference again just as a springboard 23:31 into the commandments. And I'll show you exactly why 23:34 after we read it. So, Mrs. Gloria, 23:37 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18. 23:39 "Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. 23:44 I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 23:48 For assuredly I say to you: 23:51 Till heaven and earth pass away 23:54 one jot or one tittle 23:57 will by no means pass from the law 24:01 till all is fulfilled. " 24:04 So Mrs. Gloria, I've been studying with people 24:07 and people will tell me... 24:08 You want to hold that microphone there 'cause 24:09 I'm going to have you read one more reference. 24:11 People will tell me that that word right there 24:14 fulfilled means that Jesus fulfilled it; 24:18 therefore, I don't have to live in regard to the law. 24:23 So basically what they're saying is: 24:25 Jesus fulfilled the law. Jesus did away with it 24:28 so that I wouldn't have to live in reference to the law 24:31 or so I wouldn't have to keep God's law. 24:34 If that word fulfill... Mrs. Gloria, if that word 24:37 fulfill means to do away with, 24:41 then we've got some real concerns. 24:43 Turn very quickly to Matthew the third chapter. 24:47 This is not in your notes. This is just extra. 24:50 Extra stuff here. So Matthew chapter 3 24:53 and verse 15. 24:56 Matthew chapter 3 verse 15. 24:58 So Mrs. Gloria if you'll go ahead and read that for us. 25:01 I want you to notice the use of the word fulfilled. 25:04 If fulfilled means to do away with, 25:08 then listen to what it would mean here. 25:11 "But Jesus answered and said to him: 25:15 'permit it to be so now 25:18 for thus it is fitting for us 25:20 to fulfill all righteousness. ' " 25:23 So if that word fulfill means to do away with, 25:26 then that means that Jesus there in that reference 25:30 came to do away with all righteousness. 25:33 So certainly that's not what the word fulfill means, is it? 25:38 It can't mean that. So you may in the margin of 25:41 your Bible in Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 25:45 you may want to circle or underline the word fulfill 25:48 and then just put a little reference there 25:51 to go to Matthew chapter 3 verse 15. 25:54 That way when you're giving a study... 25:57 even those of you at home, when you're giving this study 25:59 to your co-workers, to your friends, to your family... 26:02 when they say: "Well it says right there Jesus fulfilled 26:05 the law so it's done away with, " 26:07 you can go to Matthew chapter 3 and show 26:10 that Jesus did not do away with the law 26:13 by fulfilling the law. 26:15 He certainly fulfilled it. He filled it so full of meaning 26:19 that He said: "I tell you the truth. 26:23 The law says thou shalt not commit adultery 26:26 but if any of you looks lustfully upon a woman 26:30 you have committed adultery in your heart. " 26:32 So Jesus fulfilled it. He filled it full of more meaning 26:36 than they ever thought the law had. 26:40 And so the Bible says there in Matthew chapter 5 26:44 17 and 18 that Jesus came to fulfill the law. 26:49 And then it says: "I tell you the truth: 26:51 not one jot or tittle will pass from the law 26:54 until all is fulfilled. " 26:55 As long as there is an earth, 26:58 as long as there is heaven or a place to breathe, 27:02 God's law will be valid. 27:05 Do you see that principle there? 27:07 Because we're going to use this principle... 27:10 this principle... to springboard into the commandments. 27:15 And so what I do... Again, let me just stress this again. 27:19 The purpose of this study is not to focus on any one 27:24 of the commandments. 27:25 The purpose of this study is to lay the foundation 27:29 for the following study which is a Bible study 27:31 on the Sabbath. 27:33 So when we go to the commandments it is probably 27:36 one of the hardest things - you know. I gave this Bible study to 27:39 Ronnie and Alex a couple of weeks ago. 27:42 And it's the hardest thing when you're giving this study 27:44 not to just launch into the next Bible study 27:47 which is on the Sabbath. 27:48 Because you get to the first commandment 27:50 and people like "yeah. " You get to the third commandment 27:52 "yeah. " You get to the fourth commandment "yeah. " 27:54 And then you just want to say: "But why aren't you doing it? " 27:57 But you can't do that during this study. 28:00 You need that week of time for the Spirit of God 28:03 to take this Bible study and the truth that is in this 28:06 and to just bury it in their hearts to get that seed 28:10 firmly planted so that it can grow 28:13 into a plant that will produce fruit in righteousness. 28:17 So we're going now to the Ten Commandments. 28:21 We're going to go to our fourteenth... 28:23 we're going to go to our 14th reference in this Bible study 28:27 and that's going to be the Ten Commandments. 28:30 Exodus chapter 20. We'll begin reading in verse 1 28:33 and we're going to let Bill read this. 28:35 Let's go to Exodus - Genesis, Exodus - chapter 20 28:40 and verse 1. 28:42 Now Bill, when I give this Bible study 28:44 I allow the people that I'm giving the Bible study to... 28:47 I allow them to read it to me 28:49 and then I stop them at the end of each one 28:52 of those commandments and I ask a question. 28:54 And remember, the basis - the springboard - for taking us 28:57 to the commandments was that Jesus said 28:59 that until heaven and earth pass not one jot or tittle 29:03 will pass from the law until all is fulfilled. 29:06 And so we still have an earth, don't we? 29:08 We still have heaven because we're breathing, don't we? 29:10 And so I'm just going to ask... I'm going to ask this question, 29:13 and it will get redundant but it will prove the very basic point 29:17 that God's law is still valid. 29:19 And this is the question that I ask: 29:22 According to the words of Jesus 29:25 is this part of His law still valid today? 29:28 That's the question: According to the words of Jesus 29:31 is this part of His law still valid today? 29:34 And so why don't you read the first commandment for us. 29:37 You will read verses 1, 2, and 3. 29:41 "And God spoke all these words saying: 29:44 'I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land 29:46 of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 29:49 You shall have no other gods before Me. ' " 29:52 OK. So stop right there. 29:53 According to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17 and 18 29:58 does Jesus still consider this part of His law 30:02 to be valid today? 30:03 Yes. Yes He does. 30:05 OK... next commandment. 30:07 "You shall not make yourself a carved image 30:10 any likeness of anything that is in heaven above 30:13 or that is in the earth beneath 30:16 or that is in the water under the earth. 30:18 You shall not bow down to them nor serve them 30:21 for I the Lord your God am a jealous God 30:25 visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children 30:27 to the third and the fourth generations 30:30 of those who hate Me 30:32 and showing mercy to thousands of those who love Me 30:34 and keep My commandments. " OK. 30:37 So then again I just ask the simple question: 30:39 this is the second commandment in the ten. 30:42 According to the words of Jesus 30:45 does Jesus still consider this part of His law valid today? 30:50 Yes He does. 30:53 Now I want you to notice something Bill. 30:55 At the very end there in verse 6 of the second commandment 30:58 it says: "and showing mercy unto thousands of them" that what? 31:01 "Love Me and keep My commandments. " 31:04 "Keep My commandments. " So the keeping of the 31:05 commandments comes after you and I love God, doesn't it? 31:10 So again, the keeping of the commandments is not 31:12 in order to be saved. The keeping of the commandments 31:15 is because you ARE saved. 31:17 If Jesus saves you... that's what gives you the motivation 31:21 and the love motivation to keep God's law. 31:24 So let's go to the third commandment. 31:26 That's verse seven, Bill. 31:29 "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain 31:32 for the Lord God will not hold him guiltless 31:34 who takes His name in vain. " 31:36 So according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17 and 18 31:41 does Jesus still consider this part of His law valid today? 31:46 Yes He does. 31:48 All right, let's go to the fourth commandment. 31:50 So you read verses 8 through to 11. 31:53 "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 31:55 Six days you shall labor and do all your work 31:58 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. 32:01 In it you shall do no work. 32:03 You nor your son nor your daughter 32:06 nor your male servant nor your female servant 32:09 nor your cattle nor your stranger who is within 32:11 your gates. For in six days the Lord made 32:15 the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them 32:18 and rested the seventh day. 32:20 Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath and hallowed it. " 32:23 According to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17 and 18 32:28 is this part of God's law still valid today? 32:33 Yes. It is. Absolutely. 32:35 So let's go to the fifth commandment. 32:38 Verse 12, right? OK, go ahead. 32:41 "Honor your father and your mother 32:43 that your days may be long upon the land which 32:46 the Lord your God has given you. " 32:48 According to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17 and 18 32:53 is this part of God's law still valid today? 32:57 Yes. Now friend, understand when you're giving this study 33:01 you're going to want to stop on the fourth 33:03 because it's special to you. Don't stop on the fourth. 33:06 You just keep on going 33:09 and you let the Spirit of God work on those individuals' 33:12 hearts for the next seven days until you come back 33:15 to give them the next Bible study. 33:18 And then of course the topic is the Sabbath 33:20 and you're going to be focusing on that. 33:22 But the purpose of this study is just simply to show that 33:24 every one of the commandments God still expects us 33:28 because we love Him 33:30 to keep them. So let's go to the next commandment. 33:33 This would be the sixth commandment. 33:36 "You shall not murder. " 33:39 According to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 33:42 verses 17 and 18, 33:45 is this commandment still valid today? 33:48 It is! Let's go to the next commandment. 33:51 "You shall not commit adultery. " 33:53 According to the words of Jesus 33:56 in Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18 33:59 is this commandment still valid today? 34:03 So remember, what we are doing here is we are just 34:06 walking through the commandments. 34:08 We're not focusing on any specific commandment. 34:10 We're just walking through the commandments 34:13 and we are asking: "Does Jesus 34:15 consider this still valid 34:16 according to what He said in Matthew 5:17 and 18? " 34:19 And of course, what is that 34:20 Bible student going to have to say? 34:22 They're going to have to 34:24 say "yes. " Otherwise 34:25 they're going to call Jesus a... a liar. 34:28 So let's go to our next commandment. 34:30 Let's go to our next commandment there. 34:32 "Thou shalt not steal. " 34:34 According to the words of Jesus 34:36 does He consider this command- ment to still be valid today? 34:41 He does. All right. And our next commandment: 34:44 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. " 34:47 What is... what is false witness? 34:48 Lying. Lying... that's right. "Thou shalt not lie. " 34:52 According to the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 34:56 verses 17 and 18, does He still consider this to be valid today? 35:00 Yes. He does. And let's go to our last 35:03 or the 10th commandment. 35:04 "You shalt not covet your neighbor's house. 35:07 You shall not covet your neighbor's wife 35:09 nor his male servant nor his female servant 35:12 nor his ox nor his donkey 35:14 nor anything that is your neighbors. " 35:16 So according to the words of Jesus 35:19 does He consider this command- ment to still be valid today? 35:24 He does. As long as there is an earth and as long as there is 35:27 a place for us to breathe, as long as there is a heaven, 35:31 Jesus says "not one jot or one tittle will pass from My... 35:35 pass from My law till all be fulfilled. " 35:38 And did that word fulfill mean to do away with? 35:42 It didn't. So what we've seen so far 35:45 is that every aspect of God's law is still valid. 35:51 Now, the wisest man in the Old Testament 35:55 was called who? What was his name? 35:57 King Solomon. That's absolutely right. 36:00 He's the one that wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. 36:02 Our next reference you'll see there on the screen, 36:05 our 15th Law of God reference, 36:08 is Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 13. 36:13 Ecclesiastes. So you have Psalms, Proverbs, 36:17 Ecclesiastes. 36:19 So right after the book of Psalms you have Proverbs 36:23 then you have Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 13. 36:29 And we're going to let Jessica read this for us. 36:33 Ecclesiastes chapter 12 and verse 13. 36:39 "Here is my final conclusion: 36:42 fear God and obey His commandments 36:45 for this is the duty of every person. " 36:48 So, the wisest man on this... on the earth 36:52 save Jesus Christ, of course, 36:54 says here that the whole duty of man 36:59 is to do what? Keep His commandments. 37:04 Now remember... what is our motivation for keeping 37:08 the commandments of God? 37:10 Love. Now you must - when you give this Bible study - you 37:13 must keep that underlying principle there. 37:16 It was a principle that was listed in the commandment 37:18 itself. It's a principle that is listed in our hearts. 37:23 That's where the motivation comes: it comes out of a heart, 37:27 a heart's response of love to what Jesus has done for us. 37:31 And so what we're pulling out of this reference is 37:34 the simple fact that the wisest man on the planet 37:38 save Jesus Christ said: "Fear God and keep His commandments 37:43 for this is the whole duty of man. " 37:48 God expects us to put forth some effort to obey Him, 37:53 doesn't He? It doesn't just all of a sudden happen. 37:56 You and I may actually may even need to change our lifestyle. 38:00 You and I may need to change some of our habits. 38:04 In some cases God may even require us to change 38:08 our jobs in order to keep His commandments. 38:13 But we can never forget that Jesus said: 38:16 "I will never leave you nor forsake you. " 38:19 And you can look that up. It's in Hebrews chapter 13. 38:22 It's in the first... I think it's the 5th verse actually. 38:25 where Jesus said: "I will never leave you nor forsake you. " 38:29 And Mike's going to check that for me, and then we'll... 38:31 we'll make sure whether that's right or wrong. 38:33 So what we're going to do now is we're going to go 38:36 to the New Testament. In our next reference - our 38:39 16th reference - we're going to go to the New Testament book 38:42 of I John. I John chapter 5. 38:45 So not Saint John but I John. 38:48 We're going to go to I John chapter 5. 38:51 So you find the book of Revelation and just back up 38:54 a couple of books and then you're right there. 38:56 That's what I did: I went to Revelation 38:58 and then I backed up to the left. We're in I John 39:02 chapter 5 verses 2 and 3. 39:05 And we are going to let Danielle read that. 39:07 I John chapter 5 verses 2 and 3. 39:12 "By this we know that we love the children of God 39:15 when we love God and keep His commandments. 39:18 For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments. 39:21 And His commandments are not grievous. " 39:24 So notice there in verse 2 when you're giving this study 39:27 you want to pull out the references. 39:29 Was I right about that... that text? 39:31 13 verse 5... Hebrews 13 verse 5. 39:34 Praise the Lord! We had it right. 39:35 So I John chapter 5 verse 2 says: "By this we know 39:39 that we love the children of God. " 39:43 So what is the only way according to this verse 39:46 that you and I can show true love to God's children? 39:50 What does it say there? Somebody was starting to say it. 39:54 When we love God 39:57 and keep His commandments. 40:01 So what comes first? 40:02 Loving God comes first. That is the motivation 40:06 for keeping God's commandments. Then it says 40:09 "For this IS the love of God. " 40:12 This is how we show God that we love Him: 40:15 when... that we keep His commandments 40:18 and His commandment are not grievous. 40:23 It all has to be with our motivation, doesn't it? 40:26 If we feel like we're forced to do something, 40:28 do we ever want to do it? 40:30 When you think about it growing up your folks said 40:32 "Go clean your room or you can't go play. " 40:34 We're like: "Oh, I don't like cleaning my room. " 40:36 We are forced to do it, but what made us go do it? 40:41 Our motivation for playing, wasn't it? 40:43 We wanted to go, so our parents used that internal 40:46 self-motivating aspect to get us to do things. 40:49 And God says: "Listen, you love Me; keep My commandments. " 40:52 That's exactly what Jesus says in our next reference. 40:55 Notice on your screen we're going to John chapter 14 40:58 and verse 15. So John 14 verse 15. 41:03 Tom, we will let you read this. 41:05 John chapter 14 and verse 15. 41:11 So if you'll just read that for us. Everybody's there. OK. 41:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 41:18 So what does... What color are the words there in your Bible 41:21 in John 14. They're red. They're red! 41:23 And so Jesus Himself said: "If you love Me, 41:27 keep" what? "My commandments. " 41:29 It's interesting... He calls them My commandments. 41:32 That's interesting, isn't it? 41:34 Whose commandments are they? Jesus' commandments. 41:38 Jesus said: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. " 41:42 He told us that His commandments in John chapter 5 41:45 were not grievous. 41:47 That that is how we showed others that we love Him 41:50 or them and that's how we show God that we love Him... 41:54 by keeping His commandments. 41:57 So you're giving this Bible study for the purpose 42:02 of people understanding that God 42:06 wants us to keep His commandments 42:08 not because we have to but because we love Him. 42:14 Does that make sense? 42:16 So now the appeal here. Jesus said: "If you love Me, 42:20 keep My commandments. " My question of Roberto 42:23 is how much do you love Jesus? 42:28 How much? Is it... Is it your desire 42:31 to love Jesus with all of your heart? Yes. 42:34 Is that your desire? Jesus said: "If you love Me, 42:38 keep My commandments. " 42:42 So how much, my friend, do you love Jesus? 42:47 What is your motivation for keeping the commandments of God? 42:55 Love. Praise the Lord. 42:57 And then I pray with them. 43:00 Now you, you... again... I'm just going to reiterate this: 43:04 you don't focus on any one of the commandments 43:07 during this study. 43:09 The purpose is to introduce people that have never heard 43:12 of the law of God to the law of God. 43:14 It is also to introduce people that have understood God's law 43:18 to be different than what it shows in the Bible 43:20 the REAL law of God. 43:23 And it's also used just to lay that foundation 43:26 for the study that is going to come next. 43:29 Do you feel that this study was clear? 43:31 Sure. Jesus gives us grace 43:35 to overcome sin which is the transgression of the law. 43:40 Very simple. Do away with the law then you do away with Jesus 43:43 because you don't have sin you don't need grace to overcome it 43:46 so you don't need the One that gives us grace. 43:50 So what we are going to do here: 43:52 we've just done a little quick review. 43:54 We'll go to our next reference. 43:56 We have simple questions and simple answers. 43:59 Now you remember in the very beginning of this Bible study 44:03 we used this illustration. In Daniel 7:25 44:07 it said that the antichrist wants to change God's law. 44:12 In Matthew 5:17 and 18 Jesus said that there would be 44:15 no change in His law. You remember that illustration. 44:18 So then we said: 44:27 Any attempt to change God's eternal law 44:30 is a product of the antichrist. 44:32 And so what we are going to do is we are going to take 44:34 probably the most abused reference in scripture 44:38 and we are going to look at it. 44:41 You notice on your screen there the most... what I feel is 44:44 the most abused scripture in the Bible is Colossians chapter 2 44:48 verses 14 through 17. 44:52 So I'm going to grab my Bible here. Colossians chapter 2 44:55 verses 14 through 17, and I'll just read that for us. 44:58 So you're turning to Colossians. 45:00 It's after Corinthians and you have Galatians, 45:03 Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians chapter 2 45:08 beginning in verse 14. 45:11 And let's just read it. Colossians chapter 2 verse 14 45:14 says: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 45:18 that was against us 45:20 which was contrary to us 45:23 and took it out of the way 45:26 nailing it to His cross. 45:28 And having spoiled principalities and powers 45:31 He made a show of them openly 45:34 triumphing over them in it. 45:36 Let no man therefore judge you in meat 45:40 or in drink or in respect of an holy day 45:44 or of the new moon or of the Sabbath days 45:48 which are a shadow of things to come 45:53 but the body is of Christ. " 45:56 Over and over again I hear evangelical ministers 46:00 even pastors say that this... this reference 46:04 here is what did away with God's law. 46:07 But go back to your... go back to your screen. 46:10 If we put Colossians chapter 2 verses 14 through 17 46:13 where God's... to teach that God's law has been changed, 46:17 then that is a product of who? 46:20 Antichrist. So are you and I comfortable 46:23 with Colossians 2:14-17 landing over here under the 46:26 antichrist that wants to change God's law? 46:29 We're not. So this Colossians 2:14-17 46:32 must be understood in light of what Jesus said in 46:37 Matthew chapter 5 verses 17 and 18: 46:39 That "until heaven and earth pass not one jot or tittle 46:42 will pass from My law until all be fulfilled. " 46:45 And we learned that the word fulfilled did not mean 46:48 to do away with. So, let's just look at our next slide here. 46:54 What then was nailed to the cross? 46:57 What is it that was nailed to the cross? 47:00 And I'll probably just end up reading all of these here. 47:02 What was it that was nailed to the cross? 47:05 You remember on the graphic there it says 47:08 Colossians 2:14-17. 47:10 Verse 14: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances. " 47:13 We're just going to take Colossians 2:14-17 47:17 and we're going to break it down in pieces 47:19 so that we can understand what is Paul talking about 47:22 in his letter to the Colossians. 47:24 So let's go to Deuteronomy 31. 47:26 We're going to look at this "blotting out the handwriting 47:29 of ordinances. " 47:31 So you're going to the Old Testament. 47:33 Remember, it's very difficult to understand the New Testament 47:36 if we do not have the Old Testament. 47:39 So we're going to Deuteronomy chapter 31 47:42 and verse 9. Deuteronomy chapter 31 47:47 and verse 9. 47:49 It says, Deuteronomy 31:9: 47:52 "And Moses wrote this law 47:55 and delivered it unto the priests - the sons of Levi - 48:01 which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord 48:03 and unto all the elders of Israel. " 48:06 Go to verse 24. 48:08 "And it came to pass when Moses had made an end 48:13 of writing the words of this law in a book 48:16 until they were finished... " 48:18 Let's ask this question: did Moses write a book 48:21 that had the law in it? That had a law in it? 48:24 He did. What do you suppose Moses wrote that with? 48:28 His hand. He definitely wrote it in ink, didn't he? 48:32 Or some type of writing instrument back then... 48:34 Then verse 25 says that Moses commanded the Israelites... 48:39 or the Levites which bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord 48:41 saying: "Take this book of the law 48:45 and put it in the side of the covenant... 48:49 of the Lord - of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God 48:53 that it may be there for a witness against thee. " 48:58 So go back to your graphic there. 49:01 The graphic said that: 49:20 It was there for a witness against who? 49:23 Against us. Now I want you to go back over there to Colossians 49:28 Colossians chapter 2, and you may have kept your finger there, 49:33 I didn't. It would be a good thing for us all to put some 49:35 type of marker there, so I'll do that in my Bible here. 49:40 It says in Colossians 2:14 49:42 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 49:46 that was against us which was contrary to us. " 49:51 According to Deuteronomy 31 49:54 was there something written in the law of Moses 49:59 that he wrote with his hand that was not inside the ark 50:03 itself but was on the side of the ark? 50:06 Was there something written there that was against us? 50:09 Absolutely. And so you can see very clearly 50:13 just from verse 14 here in Colossians 2 50:15 "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances 50:19 that was against us which was contrary to us. " 50:24 We can see quite clearly right there 50:26 that what was nailed to the cross was the ceremonial law 50:32 that was written by the hand of Moses. 50:36 Now let's go and let's look and... 50:38 I think our next slide is going to take us there... 50:41 Our next slide is going to take us to Exodus 31 50:46 and verse 18. Let's go to Exodus 31 verse 18. 50:50 We're still looking at this handwriting of ordinances. 50:53 So I'm going to keep my marker there in Colossians 50:56 but I'm going back to Exodus - Genesis, Exodus - 51:00 31 and verse 18. 51:05 Exodus 31 and verse 18. 51:08 The Bible says here... Exodus 31 verse 18: 51:14 "And He gave unto Moses 51:17 when He had made an end of communing with him 51:20 upon Mount Sinai two tables of testimony... " 51:24 Tables of what? "stone written with the 51:29 finger of God. " 51:32 Now Mike, you'll appreciate this because you have... 51:34 you have young children like I do. 51:35 And I told my kids one day in morning worship, 51:38 we always try to have morning worship... 51:39 we ALWAYS have morning worship before we come to school 51:42 so on and so forth. 51:43 And I said: "God wrote it with His finger. " 51:45 And my boy Brandon goes: 51:49 "How did He do that? Wouldn't that be cool to write on stone 51:52 with your finger. " 51:54 Can any human write on stone with their finger? 51:56 They can't. 51:58 Only God can write on something that will last for eternity. 52:03 And He doesn't even use His whole hand... 52:06 He just uses His finger. 52:09 The law that was nailed to the cross... 52:12 the law that was blotted out... 52:15 was the law of ordinances 52:19 that was against us which was contrary to us. 52:22 And that, according to Deuteronomy 31 and Exodus 31, 52:26 is the law that Moses wrote not the law that God wrote. 52:31 Does this make sense so far? 52:33 So again, we're just breaking down Colossians chapter 2. 52:38 Let's look now at Deuteronomy chapter 10 verses 1 through 5. 52:43 Deuteronomy chapter 10. So you have Genesis, 52:46 Exodus. You just keep turning to the right to 52:48 Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy 52:52 chapter 10 verses 1 through 5. 52:59 The Bible says here in Deuteronomy 10 verse 1: 53:03 "At that time the Lord said to me: 53:06 'Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first. ' " 53:11 You remember Moses broke the first two tables 53:13 when he came down from Mt. Sinai 53:15 and the children of Israel were worshiping a golden calf. 53:18 They broke the commandments... 53:19 he broke them by dropping them or throwing them down. 53:23 "And come up unto Me into the mount and make thee 53:27 and ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words 53:32 that were in the first tables which thou brakest. 53:35 And thou shalt put them... " Where? 53:38 "In the ark. " Where was Moses' law put? 53:42 Beside or in the side of the ark. 53:46 So God's law - the Ten Commandments - is inside 53:49 underneath the mercy seat 53:51 showing that God's law is the foundation for God's government. 53:54 But Moses' law - the law of ordinances, the law that 53:59 contained instructions about meat and drink 54:02 and festivals, the new moon celebration 54:07 and the Sabbath days. You understand there 54:10 in Colossians chapter 2 that Sabbath days is plural. 54:15 In the commandments we just read 54:17 it said THE seventh day is THE Sabbath 54:22 of the Lord thy God 54:24 and so there's a differentiation there. 54:26 There were feast days in the Jewish cultural system 54:31 that were considered Sabbaths or days of rest. 54:35 And so there are these days in the Old Testament 54:39 and in the Jewish economy, the Jewish civilization, 54:44 where they kept other days than the seventh-day Sabbath 54:48 as a holy day. And so that's the Sabbath days 54:52 that are spoken of there. 54:54 So let's continue on here. 54:55 "And make... " verse 3... "And I made an ark of shittum 54:59 wood and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first 55:03 and went up into the mount having the two tables in my hand 55:07 and He" - speaking of God - "wrote on the tables 55:11 according to the first writing the Ten Commandments 55:14 which the Lord spake unto you in the mount 55:16 out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly 55:20 and the Lord gave them unto me. " 55:21 Verse 5: "And I turned myself and came down from the mount 55:25 and put the tables... " Where? 55:27 "in the ark which I had made and there they be 55:31 as the Lord commanded me. " 55:34 Let's go now back to our graphic there. 55:50 Moses wrote a law that was put 55:51 on the side of the ark. 55:53 God writes a law that is put 55:56 inside the ark. 55:58 Was there anything in God's law that was not for us? 56:02 That was not designed to protect us? 56:05 No. God's law was designed to be for us. 56:10 "If God be for us, who can be against us? " 56:14 So we follow God's law as an expression of our love for Him. 56:20 Now if you take the time, you can read in Leviticus 56:24 chapter 23 and you can actually see when you read 56:27 that whole chapter in Leviticus chapter 23 56:30 that there are several feast days in the Jewish economy 56:34 called Sabbaths. But then it differentiates those 56:39 beside the Sabbath of the Lord. 56:42 So very quickly I'm going to Leviticus 56:44 and I'll just point out the exact verse there. 56:48 Leviticus chapter 23... Leviticus chapter 23 56:53 and verse 38. 56:57 Notice Leviticus 23 verse 38 says: "Beside the Sabbaths 57:01 of the Lord. " 57:03 So you see that there is THE seventh-day Sabbath 57:07 and then there are other Sabbath days in the Jewish economy. 57:11 When Christ was nailed to the cross, all of those things 57:14 that were a shadow of the Christ that was to come 57:18 or of Jesus Christ, when Christ was hung on the cross 57:22 no longer did the sacrifices have any meaning. 57:25 No longer did the meat offerings, the drink offerings, 57:28 the feasts... none of that had any more meaning 57:31 because the true Lamb of God had been slain on the cross. 57:35 Now you, my friend, are able to give a study 57:40 on the law of God that would draw people to love Him 57:44 and obey Him. |
Revised 2014-12-17