Post by Admin on Apr 2, 2024 16:22:17 GMT -5
The Ten Commandments
Introduction
The Giving of the Commandments
• Israel had been redeemed and delivered by God from their slavery in Egypt.
• God meets with them at Sinai to establish a covenant with His people.
o God invites Israel into the covenant, and they accept - Exodus 19:3-8
▪ “A covenant is an agreement or compact between two or more parties with
expressed stipulations showing what the two parties are to do.” – Carroll
o The place and the people are sanctified – Exodus 19:9-15
o On the third day, God meets with Moses (who acts as mediator) to pronounce
terms of the covenant – Exodus 19:16-25
o The Ten Commandments are given – Exodus 20:1-17
o The people react to God’s majesty – Exodus 20:18-21
o The first group of laws are given – Exodus 20:22-23:33
o The people agree a second time to covenant – Exodus 24:1-4
o The covenant is confirmed by blood sacrifice and a third agreement by the
people – Exodus 24:5-8
o The ratified covenant is celebrated by a feast – Exodus 24:9-11
o The giving of the Law continues… - Exodus 24:12-31, etc.
Characteristics of the Ten Commandments
• They stand in solidarity
o To break one is to break all – James 2:10
• They can have both negative and positive forms
o “But in each case, whether it be expressed or not, there are both forms; a
negation and prescription of what is right, and a proscription of what is wrong.”
– B.H. Carroll
• They have a vast reach
o Deep to the roots (ex. Matthew 5:21-22), broad in application (Psalm 119:96),
high enough to reach Heaven.
• They are moral commandments.
o “A positive enactment has only one reason; that is, that God has commanded.
A moral commandment is one which has a reason for it; to be seen by an
intelligent mind and calling forth a decision.” – Carroll
• They are personal
o In this passage God addresses the people in the second person singular.
• They are the seedbed of morals, ethics, and religion.
o Each Commandment, though brief, proves inexhaustible when mined for truth.
Faith Baptist Church - Decatur, Texas January 11, 2023
Matthew Gage - BaptistBasics.org
The Purpose of the Ten Commandments
• They function as a preamble and summary of the Law.
o The briefest possible summary of the Law is simply LOVE – Romans 13:8-10
▪ LOVE is not just emotion, but the combination of heart and actions.
o Christ shows that this LOVE has two directions - Matthew 22:36-40
▪ LOVE TOWARD GOD - “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” – Deuteronomy 6:5
▪ LOVE TOWARD MAN - “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” –
Leviticus 19:18
o We observe the same division in the Ten Commandments – Exodus 20:1-17,
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
▪ LOVE TOWARD GOD - First through Fourth Commandments
▪ LOVE TOWARD MAN - Fifth through Tenth Commandments
• They reveal our sinfulness and depravity – Romans 7:7-13
o The negative structure – “thou shalt not” – presupposes our inability to keep it.
o This does not mean the Law is evil – Romans 7:12,14; I Timothy 1:8-11
Are the Ten Commandments Relevant Today?
• Yes!
• We may divide the Law of Moses into three divisions (ref.: GotQuestions.org):
o Moral Law
▪ “The moral laws, or mishpatim, relate to justice and judgment and are often
translated as ‘ordinances.’ Mishpatim are said to be based on God’s holy nature.”
▪ These are still in effect. They are eternal expressions of God’s holiness.
▪ This is where the Ten Commandments belong.
o Ceremonial Law
▪ “The ceremonial laws are called hukkim or chuqqah in Hebrew, which literally
means ‘custom of the nation’; the words are often translated as ‘statutes.’”
▪ We are no longer required to observe these rituals – Galatians 3:23-25
o Civil Law
▪ “These laws were specifically given for the culture and place of the Israelites and
encompass all of the moral law except the Ten Commandments.”
▪ See Exodus 21 for examples. These are specific, civil ordinances that are not part
of the Ceremonial or, even though it may indeed be founded on it, the Moral Law.
▪ We recognize these as binding on the nation of Israel but not on
Christianity.
• “In brief, the Ten Commandments are the axioms of morals, the summary of
ethics, the itinerary of mankind, the framework of society, the vertebral column of
humanity.” – George Boardman
Introduction
The Giving of the Commandments
• Israel had been redeemed and delivered by God from their slavery in Egypt.
• God meets with them at Sinai to establish a covenant with His people.
o God invites Israel into the covenant, and they accept - Exodus 19:3-8
▪ “A covenant is an agreement or compact between two or more parties with
expressed stipulations showing what the two parties are to do.” – Carroll
o The place and the people are sanctified – Exodus 19:9-15
o On the third day, God meets with Moses (who acts as mediator) to pronounce
terms of the covenant – Exodus 19:16-25
o The Ten Commandments are given – Exodus 20:1-17
o The people react to God’s majesty – Exodus 20:18-21
o The first group of laws are given – Exodus 20:22-23:33
o The people agree a second time to covenant – Exodus 24:1-4
o The covenant is confirmed by blood sacrifice and a third agreement by the
people – Exodus 24:5-8
o The ratified covenant is celebrated by a feast – Exodus 24:9-11
o The giving of the Law continues… - Exodus 24:12-31, etc.
Characteristics of the Ten Commandments
• They stand in solidarity
o To break one is to break all – James 2:10
• They can have both negative and positive forms
o “But in each case, whether it be expressed or not, there are both forms; a
negation and prescription of what is right, and a proscription of what is wrong.”
– B.H. Carroll
• They have a vast reach
o Deep to the roots (ex. Matthew 5:21-22), broad in application (Psalm 119:96),
high enough to reach Heaven.
• They are moral commandments.
o “A positive enactment has only one reason; that is, that God has commanded.
A moral commandment is one which has a reason for it; to be seen by an
intelligent mind and calling forth a decision.” – Carroll
• They are personal
o In this passage God addresses the people in the second person singular.
• They are the seedbed of morals, ethics, and religion.
o Each Commandment, though brief, proves inexhaustible when mined for truth.
Faith Baptist Church - Decatur, Texas January 11, 2023
Matthew Gage - BaptistBasics.org
The Purpose of the Ten Commandments
• They function as a preamble and summary of the Law.
o The briefest possible summary of the Law is simply LOVE – Romans 13:8-10
▪ LOVE is not just emotion, but the combination of heart and actions.
o Christ shows that this LOVE has two directions - Matthew 22:36-40
▪ LOVE TOWARD GOD - “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” – Deuteronomy 6:5
▪ LOVE TOWARD MAN - “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” –
Leviticus 19:18
o We observe the same division in the Ten Commandments – Exodus 20:1-17,
Deuteronomy 5:6-21
▪ LOVE TOWARD GOD - First through Fourth Commandments
▪ LOVE TOWARD MAN - Fifth through Tenth Commandments
• They reveal our sinfulness and depravity – Romans 7:7-13
o The negative structure – “thou shalt not” – presupposes our inability to keep it.
o This does not mean the Law is evil – Romans 7:12,14; I Timothy 1:8-11
Are the Ten Commandments Relevant Today?
• Yes!
• We may divide the Law of Moses into three divisions (ref.: GotQuestions.org):
o Moral Law
▪ “The moral laws, or mishpatim, relate to justice and judgment and are often
translated as ‘ordinances.’ Mishpatim are said to be based on God’s holy nature.”
▪ These are still in effect. They are eternal expressions of God’s holiness.
▪ This is where the Ten Commandments belong.
o Ceremonial Law
▪ “The ceremonial laws are called hukkim or chuqqah in Hebrew, which literally
means ‘custom of the nation’; the words are often translated as ‘statutes.’”
▪ We are no longer required to observe these rituals – Galatians 3:23-25
o Civil Law
▪ “These laws were specifically given for the culture and place of the Israelites and
encompass all of the moral law except the Ten Commandments.”
▪ See Exodus 21 for examples. These are specific, civil ordinances that are not part
of the Ceremonial or, even though it may indeed be founded on it, the Moral Law.
▪ We recognize these as binding on the nation of Israel but not on
Christianity.
• “In brief, the Ten Commandments are the axioms of morals, the summary of
ethics, the itinerary of mankind, the framework of society, the vertebral column of
humanity.” – George Boardman