CHRISTIAN LITERATURE
& LIVING

THE LAW IS HOLY

Pastor Harold Brokke

PREFACE

Many of us have sung the words and experienced the truth Christians often sing:

"Free from the law, O happy condition."

This is a good song to sing and a necessary experience. A misconception, however, has crept into our attitude toward the law. The law is treated as a rather delinquent member of the family of God's revelation. We should not treat the law with contempt any more than we treat the police department with contempt. All of us are happy that we are free from the condemnation of the police, but we are also happy that a police department is o n duty day and night. So it is with the law. Although the Christian is not under the law, he should be happy that the law remains and through grace he can live in harmony with the law.

Most professing Christians cannot say the Ten Commandments by memory, nor do they refer to them very often. The prophets and the apostles were not forgetful or careless about the law. In fact, Isaiah declares that the advent of Christ would "magnify the law, and make it honorable" (Isa. 42:21). Paul said that by faith we "establish the law" (Rom. 3:31) and also that the "law is holy" (Rom. 7:12).

Many of these chapters were first published as a series in the Message of the Cross, and written to show that the law is a vital part of God's government of the world in our present day, and that God's holy law is a divine prerequisite to the deepest experience of grace.

The Catholics, Lutherans, and a few other groups generally consider the commandment "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . ." as a part of the first commandment. I have used it as the second commandment. This explains why the numbering of the commandments will seem different to some who read this book. The only purpose is to give the fullest statement of the Ten Commandments.

Harold J. Brokke

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Ten Commandments As Given In Exodus

Chaper 1 - - - - Foundations of Righteousness

Chapter 2 - - - - True Believing

Chapter 3 - - - - Our God Only and Always

Chapter 4 - - - - Christ, the Exclusive Image of God

Chapter 5 - - - - He Is Thy Lord, and Worship Thou Him

Chapter 6 - - - - Holy Is His Name

Chapter 7 - - - - The Day God Calls His Own

Chapter 8 - - - - Six Days Shalt Thou Labour

Chapter 9 - - - - God's Command to Families

Chapter 10 - - - - Criminal Attitudes-Hate

Chapter 11 - - - - Criminal Attitudes-Lust

Chapter 12 - - - - Criminal Attitudes-Stealing

Chapter 13 - - - - Criminal Attitudes-Lying

Chapter 14 - - - - Criminal Attitudes-Coveting

Chapter 15 - - - - Reprieve and Probation

Chapter 16 - - - - Christ Came to Fulfill the Law

Chapter 17 - - - - Soul-Saving Secrets

Chapter 18 - - - - Where Is Boasting?

Chapter 19 - - - - When the carnal Embraces the Law

Chapter 20 - - - - Love-Slaves of Righteousness

Chapter 21 - - - - How to Maintain Freedom

Chapter 22 - - - - The Gift of the Holy Spirit

All Scripture quotations unless otherwise designated are from the American Standard Version, except the commandments, which are from the King James Version.

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The Ten Commandments as given in Exodus

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Exodus 20:3-17

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CHAPTER ONE
THE FOUNDATIONS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

"If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3).

SPIRIT OF INQUIRY AND PRAYER PRECEDES A MOVING OF GOD

We are beginning to see and feel a stirring among Christians today, a desire to know the possibilities of the Christian life and the true nature of the church of Christ. This spirit of inquiry and prayer always precedes a moving of God. It is wholesome to ask questions if we are willing to accept the answers God gives to us.

One reason that God could use Gideon, the judge of Israel, was for this very thing. When God appeared to Gideon (Judges 6, K.J.V.), He said to him, "The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour." Gideon's answer to the Lord was, "O my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? And where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites." Following this, Gideon was commissioned. Gideon had an inquiring heart: he wanted to know why things weren't happening in his day as they had happened in the past.

This question should be our question also. It is wholesome and it is right that we inquire. The only place where questions are not asked and inquiry is not made is in a graveyard. When men and women ask no questions, spiritual death has set in. On the other hand, questions must stem from faith, not from contention or unbelief.. We must be ready to accept the revelation God gives us.

WHY IS THERE NOT THE SAME GREAT MOVING OF GOD NOW?

Many of us have been asking the same questions that Gideon asked: "Why is there not the same great moving of God that there was in other generations? Why do we not have the same conviction of sin, the same grand movings of the Holy Spirit, the same apprehension of the holiness of God, the same carefulness in our daily walk? Where are the signs that should follow those who believe?"

FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS

God alone knows the full answer to these questions. However, there are some foundational truths that are clearly revealed in the Scriptures.

We read in one of the Psalms, "If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?" We believe that one of the foundations is related to the term we find in the New Testament, the kingdom of God, or in more contemporary terms, the rule of God, the government of God. The government of God is a kingdom, the rule of a king over men. Where there is government, there is law. God reveals His will as to man's conduct by giving him commands. Before Adam and Eve fell, He gave a command: "Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." If they disobeyed, they would "surely die." After the flood, with the advent of Israel when man again disobeyed, God gave the law through Moses-ten rules for the conduct of His people. These laws were not only for His people but for all mankind, again stating as He had to Adam that if they were not followed, death would be the penalty.

We cannot understand salvation without understanding the law of God. If we cease to present the law as the divine requirement for human conduct and life, we cease to present the message of salvation through Jesus Christ as it should be presented. The law today has been made void by this statement to men: No one can keep the law, and no one ever will. Though this is true from the human side, it limits God's divine provision in Christ. It releases men from clear moral obligation, and it also nullifies conviction of sin. Men blame their failure on moral helplessness and therefore are justified in their own eyes. They do not enjoy the blessings of God's salvation and deliverance. One thing is very clear in the Bible: God never releases man from the obligations of being righteous. God expects holiness. God expects the practice of righteousness.

Gideon is an example of the manner in which God insists on obedience. After he had his encounter with God, the sincerity of Gideon's seeking attitude was tested by practical instructions from God concerning his relationship to the problems of his day. First was this: he showed his sincerity by his attitude of worship and reverence toward God. Secondly, he was instructed to destroy the altar of Baal, the main infraction of the law of God in his day. Everywhere in Israel the commandment "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image" was being disobeyed. Gideon revived the meaning of this law by faith and personal obedience. The law was a foundation for Israel's deliverance from Midian. Through Gideon, the law had been enforced, and it set in motion the process of deliverance.

NATURE OF LAW

Law, in order to be law, must be enforced. If it is treated as advice rather than as a command, the law becomes useless. If, for instance, all society considered stopping at a red stop light only good advice, how long would society maintain order and safety? If enforcement and penalty are taken away from law, there is no more law. The laws of God are similar to the laws of man in their purpose. They could even be compared to the rules of some sports event. Those who are in the sport realize that penalty is necessary to keep the game orderly and fair. Rules and laws were made to make society orderly and the best for all involved. If the rule is violated, a citizen or a sportsman must be penalized. Penalty in a game is rather insignificant, but the penalty for the broken law is exceedingly serious. To break the law, that is, the rules, is called sin in the Bible. I John 3:4 (K.J.V.) says, "Sin is the transgression of the law."

This is a foundation; and if it is not laid in our preaching and teaching, the very meaning of redemption is lost. By the law is the knowledge of sin. Men must come to God as sinners, that is, men who know that they have violated the law and the government of God, and that they are the very enemies of God himself because they have broken His laws. Without this realization, salvation cannot be understood, and the revelation of the shed blood of Jesus cannot be appreciated.

PRECIOUS WORDS OF REDEEMING GRACE AND THE STERNEST WORDS OF LAW

Have you ever noticed how the most precious words of redeeming grace are the sternest words of law and justice? For instance, "death," "shed blood," "crucifixion," "hangeth on a tree"-these words which we now connect with mercy, forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life-are the very words which legally speak of penalty, judgment, and condemnation. The law itself, when it is understood, is an expression of God's divine government, which is the very basis of the understanding of the death that Jesus died for our salvation.

Law is understood by all mankind. No one needs to have a special education or "a great light" to know what "Thou shalt not steal" or "Thou shalt not commit adultery" means. The gospel, on the other hand, is not naturally understood by people unless they need the gospel. The medicine of the doctor, for example, is not important to a person until he is sick. This is what Jesus himself said: "They that are whole have no need of a physician; but they that are sick." The gospel is a remedy that men must have when they begin to sense their desperate need. The purpose of the law is to make men feel their need of Jesus Christ and His gospel of forgiveness. The law condemns sins, but it cannot forgive them. The law requires freedom, but it cannot grant freedom. The law demands spirituality, but it cannot give men spirituality. The fact that Jesus can give these things to men who feel their need indicates the great importance of presenting the law of god in its full force. It is to make men know that condemnation awaits them, sinful bondages bind them, and they have no spiritual life unless they find Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

LAW HAS NO GRACE NOR FORGIVENESS TO OFFER

The law has no grace nor forgiveness to offer. It is "the ministration of death" to man who has broken the law. The more man faces the law as a transgressor, the more it necessitates someone or some power outside of the law, or apart from the law, to bring that deliverance for which the heart cries. John the Apostle heralds out the message, "The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." He is that Someone! What the law could not do, Jesus Christ, the victorious Son of God, can do. For those who will turn from all sin with their hearts and wills, Jesus Christ can bring a full release from condemnation, forgive every sin, release from every sinful bondage, and impart the Holy Ghost to make a man spiritual so that the "ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

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CHAPTER TWO
TRUE BELIEVING

"For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46, 47).

UNDERSTANDING WHAT SIN IS

The lack of understanding of the law is realized by the attitude the average man has toward this terrible thing called sin. If you were to ask the "man on the street" the question "What is sin?" you would be surprised at the hazy and sometimes unreasonable answers that would be given. Only a few people would answer right. In our generation the meaning of sin is little known. The reason for this is that the Ten Commandments have not been acknowledged as they should. We have lost the meaning of some fundamental truths which must again be accepted if we are to revive the seriousness of personal sin in the church and in the world.

The following are three verses (K.J.V.) that contain the key to this revival of true conviction of sin: "By the law is the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20); "Sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4); "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).

When a man faces these dynamic issues, he begins to know and feel the need of repentance. The repentant heart is the soil in which true believing grows. True believing cannot be produced where the heart is unbroken and hardened by sin. The Pharisees could not believe in John's ministry because of the unrepentant and condition of their hearts. Jesus said to them, "John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye saw it, did not even repent yourselves afterward, that ye might believe him" (Matt. 21:32).

The Gospel of John was written with the aim of producing faith. This is expressed in these words: "that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name" (John 20:31). In order to bring about that "true believing," the Holy Spirit led the Apostle to select different works and words in the life of Christ to reveal the hindrances and helps to faith. In John 5, following the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus had a verbal battle with the Jews; and in that conflict Jesus analyzed their resistance to His ministry in these words: "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?" (John 5:46, 47, K.J.V.).

HAD YOU BELIEVED MOSES . . .

At first this may seem to carry little significance for us, but remember these words were spoken to the orthodox, fundamental, Scripture-believing, Moses-revering Jews. Yet Jesus dared say to them, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me."

If there was any form of idolatry left among the Jews, it was their adoration of Moses and his writings. The Pharisees said they did believe Moses, but Jesus dared to say they didn't believe Moses.

This was a doctrinal, two-edged sword wielded by the Lord to cut the Pharisees loose from their lip-profession to a radical life-possession of faith in the person and words of Jesus. But they dodged it and remained bound and blind. This word was spoken not only to the fundamental Jews of His day but also to the fundamental Christians of our day. We assert that we believe Jesus, but do we believe Moses even in our day? The question needs answering! We are in the precarious position of having both the words of Moses and of Christ, and while we assert our faith in the whole Bible, it is possible that we are deceived.

Let us start with Moses. What does it mean to believe Moses? Essentially it means to believe what Moses presented to Israel and to the world. In John it says, "The law was given by Moses." In other words, we must believe in the divine authority of the Ten Commandments and that Moses had divine credentials to present the Law to the human race as the minimum requirements of righteousness.

To believe in Moses is to believe in the necessity of holiness of life. Moses said on God's behalf, "I am Jehovah … your God…ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy" (Lev. 11:45). With this command to be holy came also the promise that "the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy should, that thou mayest live" (Deut. 30:6, K.J.V.). It is this love that is the fulfillment of the law.

To believe Moses is to believe in the necessity of redemption by blood and the demand for an unfailing mediator between man and a holy God. Moses' whole life and ministry spoke of this. The Passover, the making of the tabernacle, the law of sacrifice, the office of the priest, the brazen serpent, and Moses' intercessory prayers for the sinning nation all were included in this teaching of redemption.

To believe in Moses is to believe in his prophetic message from God such as, "I will raise them up a Prophet … and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speaks unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Deut. 18:18, K.J.V.). This word alone should have made the Pharisees shudder and repent when they saw the works and heard the words of Jesus Christ. But they didn't because their faith in Moses was formal and dead and cold. It had form but no fire.

These things are the main characteristics in Moses and his writings. To believe on Moses is to believe in these things. Again we remind ourselves that Jesus said, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me." Jesus was reasoning with them and He is reasoning with us. Do we believe Moses, or have we annulled the law by omitting or toning down the message of repentance? Are we annulling the call to holiness by teaching Christians that sin must be present and active in our hearts and lives until physical death? Do we make death the means of deliverance rather than the Cross and Spirit of Christ? Have we annulled the meaning of redemption by saying that it teaches only forgiveness and assurance rather than God's total, unconditional ownership of every redeemed person? The modern convert sees the Saviourhood of Jesus but fails to see His Lordship and His right to rule the heart, mind, body, time, possessions, and all that he is. To be redeemed means to pursue no activity on earth without God's direction and pleasure. God calls anyone saved by blood "Mine."

To believe in Moses means to believe in these basic things. If we do not believe these things, Jesus asserts that we are not able to believe in Him and His words.

THE FIRST QUESTION: DO I TRULY BELIEVE IN MOSES AND HIS WRITINGS?

The question we must ask first of all is not, "Do I believe in the words of Christ, the wonderful Son of God?" but "Do I now truly believe Moses and His writings?" Moses was a simple servant of God to tutor men and prepare them for the Son of God, Jesus Christ. If we in any measure reject the servant, we in the same measure reject the son. (See Galatians 3:2, 4-7 and Hebrews 3:1-6.)

Having decided that Moses' teachings concerning spiritual truth are to be believed with an obedient faith, we may now ask ourselves whether we believe Christ and His words. What is it to believe in Christ? It is to believe that He is God's final word to man. It is to believe He is the light, life, wisdom, power, and the truth of God incarnate; that He is the bodily home of the fullness of deity, the one way in which we can come to the Father and know the Fathers; that He is the one mediator of heaven and earth. To believe in Christ means to believe that whatever Moses demands, Jesus fulfills; that when Jesus ministered on the earth, He was the example that we should follow in His steps and do the works He did and even greater. It is to believe that when Jesus died, sin's power was broken; when He arose, death's dominion was annulled; when He ascended as the Son of man, the dominion over Satan was given over to men who believe in Him; when Jesus comes again, the world will be judged, and a new kingdom will come to earth inherited and ruled by the pure and meek resurrected believers!

THE HOLY SPIRIT AS THE UNSEEN PERSON TO COME UPON, FILL, EMPOWER, . . .

One more thing that must be believed is the promise of the Holy Spirit as the unseen Person to come upon, fill, empower, teach, and direct the church in its witness for Christ unto the ends of the earth. The most evident sign that we may not be believing Moses or Jesus is that the wonderful possibilities of the promise of the Holy Spirit are strangely lacking in the church. When the promises are the true possession of the church, the world is convicted and the church increasing expresses the practical righteousness of Christ. Satan's work begins to be judged and destroyed. The sign of the Spirit's presence in the believer and in the church is the grace of the Spirit which reveal the love of Christ and the gifts of the Spirit which reveal the power of Christ and the gifts of the Spirit which reveal the power of Christ. (See Galatians 5:22, 23 and I Corinthians 12:8-10.)

A very simple explanation of the power of the apostolic church is this: Those who believed Moses received Christ, and those who believed Christ received the Holy Spirit. What power this church manifested! What love! What reality! What abundance of fruit was produced!

It is the responsibility as well as the privilege of every man to submit to God's will, as His will is made plain. We must walk in the light that we receive.

A child was told by his father to take a parcel to a town a few miles away. The child had never gone along this way before, but the father pointed out the trail over which the lad should go. The boy said, "I'm ready to go, Father, but I don't see how that path will ever reach the town."

"Do you see the trail as far as to the big tree down there?" asked the father.
"Oh yes, I see that far."
"Well, when you get there by the tree, you will see more of the trail, and so on until the town breaks into view."

With this simple illustration we can more fully understand what Jesus meant when He said, "Had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me, for he wrote of me" (John 5:46). The Pharisees had not obeyed nor followed the instructions of Moses, so how could they understand the revelation given through Christ? If, like the little lad, they had obeyed the instructions given them, they would have been prepared for the ministry of Jesus Christ and also of the Holy Spirit. The Jews through pride and rebellion had not done what Moses said. They loved their traditions and had not proceeded on the path of obedience. As long as they refused to admit their guilt, they were not ready for Christ. John the Baptist tried to show them their condition, but they refused his reproof.

MAN HAS NOT CHANGED

Man has not changed. If the Jews could make this mistake, so can we. We can call Jesus our Saviour and Lord and yet not do what He says. So many today lack the sense of moral obligation.

Even though we have not given voice to our rebellion and indifference in so many words, we may by our attitude leave God out of our daily lives. We have not been passionate advocates of His honor and His glory. We have not wanted His moral law or His government to annoy us or to cause us any inconvenience. If we will judge ourselves, we will not be judged later on. This kind of self-judgment must begin in the church before it affects the world.

During the revivals of Jonathan Goforth after the Boxer rebellion in China, revival spread through the churches, and men found cleansing in the precious blood. Sins of years' standing were washed away in the power of Christ's redemption, and the Holy Sprit filled believers' lives. These revivals started with a strong sense of conviction of sin and with a sense of God's judgment of sin. The Chinese called this time of conviction "hsiao shen pan" (small judgment). This was a judging work of the Holy Spirit while the way was still open to avail oneself of the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus.

Thus we are confronted with two certainties - the one sobering and the other very glorious. The sobering certainty is this: judgment is coming for all men before God's great judgment seat. The glorious certainty is this: Jesus has shed His blood to wash away ever sin and disobedience that might condemn us on the judgment day.

FIRST COMMANDMENT

And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. - Matthew 22:37-40

My goal is God himself; not joy, nor peace,
Nor even blessing, but himself, my God:
'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His-
At any coast, dear Lord, by any road! - F. Brook

We should fear and love and trust in God above all things. - Martin Luther

Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called: I am he; I am the first, I also am the last. Yea, my hand hath laid the foundations of the earth, and my right hand hath spread out the heavens: when I call unto them, thy stand up together. -- Isaiah 48:12, 13

Jesus, our only joy be Thou,
As Thou our prize wilt be;
Jesus, be Thou our glory now,
And through eternity. - Bernard of Clairvaux

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CHAPTER THREE
OUR GOD, ONLY AND ALWAYS

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Ex. 20:3).

WHAT DOES FIRST COMMANDMENT MEAN TO YOU?

What does this first commandment mean to you? To the materialistic or the nominal churchgoer, it may be just so much poetry. If, however, we once began to realize God's holy jealousy and holy hatred for sin (whether it be hidden or apparent), we would literally tremble.

When God says that he is a jealous God, He is not playing with words. Goforth testifies that as he ministered in a province of China, the Spirit of burning was much in evidence. Into one of the meetings came a backslidden pastor, who had despised the admonitions of godly men and refused to turn from his bad influence on other members of the church. The meeting was filled with the holy presence of God, but as soon as this ungodly man came in, God withdrew His manifest presence. For almost a full half-hour this man sat in the service. Most of the people knew he was there, and perhaps some knew that he was the influence that put a deadness into the service. Finally the man left, and again God's merciful presence returned and melted the hearts of the people. God is a jealous God.

The very inception of the Ten Commandments originated in God's holy jealousy. God wrote with His own finger these commandments, the first of which is "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Perhaps some superficial intellect will think that God should not be jealous. Well, He is-intensely so-and it is good for us that He is. It is that passionate jealousy of God that makes Him pursue fallen man and plead with him, in order to turn him from his hell-bent madness.

This first commandment is not only a law of God's nature, but it is also a law of man's own moral makeup, for man cannot give equal preference to two masters. Since such an attempt is a violation of God's rule, it is a sin. It excludes God from the life of man.

NO OTHER GODS!

"No other gods!" The word god means anyone or any pursuit that demands and receives the loyalty and preference of the creature. While attending an art school in Minneapolis some years ago, I had a discussion with my art instructor about religious matters, and witnessed to him concerning Christ. He had only a passing interest and summed up his religion with this short and nonchalant reply: "Art is my god." He had given his supreme preference to his skill in making portraits and pictures in charcoal and paint. He worshipped the god of his own making.

Paul's description of some opponents of the Cross in his day who broke this first commandment is his: "Whose god is their belly." In other words, men had seen to it that their religion assured them of social security and a full stomach. This was their highest motive for living. How closely this description applies to the pleasure- and security-seekers of our own day!

Rightly or wrongly, whoever and whatever receives our supreme preference and obedience is god to us. This first commandment indicates that if we so choose, we can give this preference to something besides God himself.

ETERNAL AUTHORITY OF GOD

This commandment also teaches the eternal authority of the one uncreated person. His is the glory, the worship, and the power. He is exalted over all. "For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things." But even if this is true, God does not force man to this loyalty to himself. He makes it plain to man that no one can be before Him, but man still has a choice to make concerning this issue. He can obey or disobey the command. God has revealed His will; man must decide who shalt be God. No dispensation or doctrine can erase or cancel the meaning of this commandment. God, revealed in Jesus Christ, ever and only has the right to be God in man's heart and life.

The greatest exposure of man's violation of the command "Thou shalt have no other gods before" was the crucifixion of Jesus. The generation that could see and even handle Jesus not only failed to believe and worship Him, but also planned and permitted His death on a criminal's cross. Did these men crucify Him in ignorance? Yes, in willful ignorance. Jesus recognized this when He cried from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

AT WAR WITH GOD

This is exactly the issue. Mankind was at war with God revealed in Jesus Christ, not theologically but dispositionally - that is, their hearts and minds were carnal and antagonistic to the heart and mind that was in Christ. At the time of the incarnation a few Israelites who were repentant, contrite, and led by the Spirit knew Him even though He was in the form of a baby. Such was the experience of the Judean shepherds and of the elderly Simeon and Anna.

The wise, astute, austere, theologically proper Pharisees and scribes did not know God. They could not discern God in Jesus. They did not know Him in the Spirit; therefore they could not know Him in the flesh. They had other gods before Him. Not only in an external way but also in their disposition they did not know; moreover, they did not want God as revealed in Christ. Hence, these men were the crucifiers of Jesus himself, who is the revelation of God.

Christ's enemies desired His death, but did His followers? In that awful hour even the disciples were passive. They were self-saving and self-protecting. They depended on themselves rather than on Christ. Very few that day who knew the facts concerning Jesus could confess that they had no other gods besides the God, Jesus Christ.

Viewing Calvary's passion and the awful crime and cowardice of sinners, every believer must cry "Hallelujah, what a Saviour," for Jesus cried out from the cross, "Father, forgive them!" For their transgressions of this first commandment, as well as of the others, he forgave them. Thereafter, those who believed in Him could receive remission of their sins. There is forgiveness in Him for those who come repenting of their sins.

REPENT!

Today if God in Christ has not been first in our lives, we must repent. We must turn from our sins. We must surrender our own preferences and affections to the Cross, for "they that are of Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with the passions and the lusts thereof" (Gal. 5:24). We must by a complete surrender to God put away forever the old manner of life and all that pertains to it, all that has betrayed Christ and crowded Him out as Lord in our lives.

Think of Peter. He betrayed the Lord even when a frail maiden asked him if he were a follower of Jesus Christ. Peter lied. Peter was a coward. Peter cursed. Most certainly he transgressed the first commandment: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." But in the book of Acts what a different Peter we see-Peter cleansed from his sins and baptized with the Holy Spirit. Later on he is the one that recorded in his epistle, "Sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, ye with meekness and fear."

The same Lord who commanded, "Let there be light, and there was light," is the One who commands, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." All His words and commands are effective. Through the gospel of Christ, men and women have been regenerated and transformed into true worshippers of God and are able to sing from their hearts:

Jesus, priceless treasure, Source of purest pleasure, Truest friend to me: Ah, how long I've panted And my heart hath fainted, Thirsting, Lord, for Thee. Thine I am, O spotless Lamb! I will suffer naught to hide Thee. Naught I ask beside Thee.

SECOND COMMANDMENT

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. -Apostle Paul (Acts 17:29)

"Jealousy is cruel as the grave." As the grave devours men's bodies, so God will devour images worshippers. -- Thomas Watson

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. - Samuel the Prophet (I Sam. 15:23)

The dearest idol, I have known, What'er that idol be, Help me to tear it from Thy throne, And worship only Thee. - - W. Cowper

If the father be a traitor to his prince, no wonder if all his children suffer. God may visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. - - Thomas Watson

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CHAPTER FOUR
THE EXCLUSIVE IMAGE OF GOD

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments" (Ex. 20:4-6).

GOFORTH OF CHINA

Goforth of China tells a story of the early Moslem idol-smasher, Mahmoud,

"who in his trail of conquest of northern India came at last to the city of Guggernatt, where there was an idol which was held in unusually high esteem by the people. The chief notables of the city came to the general and pleaded with him that he would spare to them this one idol. He might do as he wished with the others, they said, but if he took this god from them, too, they might just as well die. They pleaded with such intensity that, for a moment, the heart of the conqueror was touched. It seemed more than heartless to bereave these poor people of what was apparently life and death to them.

"Then he remembered his vow to spare not one idol. The will of Allah was plain. He had a sledgehammer brought to him, and with it he dealt the idol one terrific blow. To his amazement there poured from the rent in the image a stream of jewels and precious stones. The people had hidden their treasures in the image, hoping to move the conqueror to spare it."

Just as these people of Guggeratt stored their treasures in this idol, so all forms of inward and outward idolatry are expressions of man's lust and man's heart--treasures which are upon the earth. The demon of covetousness is the author of idolatry. The story just quoted reminds us of one of our Lord's words: "Where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also" (Matt. 6:21). Wherever men find their "treasures" in idols, holiness is never produced-whether a man has his devotions before a crucifix, or pays his respects to a St. Christopher statue on the dashboard of his car. Covetousness (or selfishness) is always and only the author of such practices.

THE FIRST FIRE-AND-BRIMSTONE PREACHER

The gentle apostle of love, John, was a fire-and-brimstone preacher when he wrote, "Idolaters, and all liars, their part shall be in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death" (Rev. 21:8). In the previous chapter we learned that the first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me," is a positive command to worship god alone. This second commandment, "Thou shalt not make any graven image," is a negative prohibition and deals with any and all representations or symbols of deity with any and all representations or symbols of deity that man may make to bow before or use in his worship of the one true God.

NEGLECT OF THIS COMMANDMENT

Although this command against idolatry has not been rejected by the church, it has been seriously neglected and considered a mere extension of the first. This neglect is a dangerous one. Long ago the Roman church sold out to the worship of images of Christ and of the saints. And even in Protestantism there are some disturbing tendencies of "Pergamos" to connect the worship of Christians with visible forms and sacred shrines (see Rev. 2:12-17). But to break t his second commandment is a grievous sin, and the penalty according to Revelation 21:8 is still the penalty of eternal death.

WHY GOD FORBIDS IDOL WORSHIP?

Why does God prohibit man from making images or representations of the Godhead? Because, in the first place, images rob men of the true knowledge of God. For instance, we read in Acts 17:24, 25, 29 that Athens was full of idols, and yet their final memorial was the monument "To the Unknown God" (vs. 23). All of man's representations of God are misrepresentations. They degrade God; they insult God. They deceive corrupt man. Paul said to the Athenians, "God … dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is he served by men's hands, as though he needed any thing … Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone) graven by art and device of man" (Acts 17:24, 25, 29).

Besides this, God is a jealous god. He prohibits the making of any images as representations of the Godhead because God has only one image of himself, a blessed and holy image-One to whom we must all bow; One whom we can serve with all our hearts; One in whom the glory of God shines. This One is Jesus Christ, "who is the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15). Christ alone can fully reveal the God of glory. No one else in all the universe had a right to say, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father." They hymn-writer was taught by the Holy Spirit when he sang of Jesus,

"O Mind of God incarnate, O Thought in flesh enshrined. In human form Thou speakest To men the Father's mind; God's thought to earth Thou bringest, That men in Thee may see What God is like, and seeing, Think god's thought after Thee."

Once we acknowledge and receive Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as the Image of God, our hearts are renewed. Any worship connected with a graven image is gross and contemptible; such a practice misrepresents both God and His Christ. The only perfect revelation of God's love is in the person of Jesus Christ. Only at His feet can we truly worship God the Father.

PETER AND THE ROMAN CENTURION

Once a Roman centurion bowed before Peter. But Peter rebuked him saying, "Stand up; I myself also am a man" (Acts 10:26). (Those who claim to be Peter's successors have failed to follow his wise example.) Also, the Apostle John fell down and worshipped before the apocalyptic angel, who likewise commanded him, "See thou do it not: I am a fellow servant with thee … worship God" (Rev. 22:9).

But when Christ was revealed in human form, He never refused worship. The blind men who had received their sight, the lepers who were cleansed, the often-amazed disciples, and the devoted women-all worshipped at His feet. None were rebuked. All were accepted.

WORSHIP IN EARTH WAS COMMANDED IN HEAVEN

The worship that was encouraged on earth was commanded in heaven, for at some great council meeting of heaven, an edict was thundered from the throne of God concerning the Christ, saying, "Let all the angels of God worship him" (Heb. 1:6). Also, the Scripture records the story of the women who returned from the garden tomb at the dawn of the resurrection morning and who met their Lord: "They came and took hold of his feet, and worshipped him" (Matt. 28:9). No one could take a better position than this before the wonderful, risen Christ.

If the Image of God, Jesus Christ, originates in God's holy love, what could be the origin of false images? In Paul's epistles the probing phrase appears, "Covetousness, which is idolatry" (Col. 3:5). Idolatry originates in the unrenewed, corrupt hearts of men. Ezekiel charged that the degenerate Jews of his time had set up their idols in their hearts (Ezek. 14:3). Outward idols are the creation of man's inward lusts.

IDOL-SMASHERS CANNOT SOLVE THE MAIN PROBLEM OF MAN'S NATURE

No zealous Moslem idol-smasher or Christian iconoclast could ever solve the main problem of man's nature. Though Israel was finally delivered from her idols through the Babylonian captivity, and whole tribes and nations and thousands of individuals have turned from idolatry, burned their fetishes, and found forgiveness and life in Jesus Christ, yet outward idols are not the basic problem. There is something within man that is the idol-maker itself. The "old self" is the chronic idol-maker and must die (Rom. 6). Certainly the Christian should have no trouble with outward idol-worship, but if self and carnality have control, they hinder the believer from truly and freely worshipping his Lord and Saviour. From God's viewpoints, Christ took that old self to the cross, and it died with Him. When He arose, we arose with Him, free from "covetousness, which is idolatry."

In obtaining our wonderful freedom in Christ, three must first be the desire and the longing in our hearts to be holy and to become true and free worshippers of Christ. James Nicholson describes this longing in a wonderful way in these words:

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole; I want Thee forever to live in my soul. Break down every idol, cast out every foe. Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. The hymn further shows the way of full, inward release by the act of full surrender. Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies, And help me to make a complete sacrifice. I give up myself, and whatever I know. Last of all, faith receives the promise and actually glories in the provision of Christ: The blessing by faith I receive from above. Oh, glory! My soul is made perfect in love; My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know. The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.

Thus is fulfilled the promise of God according to the new covenant that declares:

"From all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you … and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them" (Ezek. 36:25-27).

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CHAPTER FIVE
"HE IS THY LORD; AND WORSHIP THOU HIM"

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image …" (Ex. 29:4).

WORSHIP HIM!

This statement from Psalm 45:11, "He is thy Lord; and worship thou him," is the testimony of David concerning the deity of the Messiah. Jesus as the Messiah is the exclusive and original image of God. The second commandment prohibits any tendency in man to try to make image for the purposes of worship.

We will carry this fact further and show by the Scriptures that Christ is not only the image of God but is worthy of the adoring worship of our hearts.

NATURE OF CHRIST

Do we have problems over the nature of Christ? Of all subjects presented in the Scriptures, this is of supreme importance. The Bible is written in order that we might know Christ as Lord and Saviour. Let us consider the following evidences of Christ's deity.

The doctrine of one God does not automatically solve man's spiritual needs. Islam believes in one God and makes the doctrine of one God (monotheism) the central confession of its faith. But Islam claims no part in the redemption of Jesus Christ and denies His vicarious death and resurrection. Monotheism in itself cannot save a man. Certainly this fact was James' conviction when he made the shattering observation in his epistle, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe and tremble." Devils are not saved by this belief.

The Bible teaches one method by which God is revealed to sinful men; that is, through Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jesus told His disciples that the knowledge of God should come only through Him. This is the way Jesus put it: "No one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him" (Matt. 11:27). Jesus took on manhood to reveal the love and mercy of God. In this chapter, however, we will dwell mostly on the essential godhead of Christ.

CHRIST'S DEITY

The qualities of God are inherent in Christ. There are five remarkable qualities of God that the apostles used to describe Jesus Christ. The first one is recorded by the Apostle John when he quotes Jesus as saying, "I am … the truth:" (John 14:6). Then a second claim in the same verse is "I am … the life." Christ also claimed to be the light of the world (John 8;12). That is not all. The Apostle claimed that Jesus Christ was the wisdom and power of God. Paul says it in these words: "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:24b).

There are very important facts to be recognized in these references. Jesus claims not merely to have the qualities of truth, life, light, wisdom, and power. No, His claim goes deeper than this. He claims to be these qualities. Moreover, these five qualities are as eternal as God is eternal.

In order to clarify the matter of Christ's own claims to deity, we will approach the subject from the standpoint of a quiz. Consider the following five quotations below. A divine quality is stated in each quotation of Scripture. Each of these qualities is italicized. The two words "am" and "have" above the right-hand column of the page indicate two different relationships to these divine qualities. A Christian, for instance, may say, "I have the truth," but he cannot say, "I am the truth." Under the word that indicates what the Holy Spirit claims in the Scriptures concerning Jesus Christ, mark an x.

	I am	I have
"I am the . . . truth" (John 14:6)
"I am the . . . life" (John 14:6)
"I am the light" (John 8:12)
	He is	He has
"Christ . . . the power of God" (I Cor. 1:24)
"Christ . . . the wisdom of God" (I Cor. 1:24)

You are true to the Scriptures if you have marked an x under "I am" and "He is."

CHRIST'S ETERNITY

Now let us take another quiz and go one step further. To all believers it is plain that the existence of God is from everlasting to everlasting, without beginning and without ending. The question is sometimes raised concerning the Christ of God: Is He eternally in and from God? Answer the following statements by putting an x under the yes or the no that indicates your answer.

	Yes	No
The Truth is eternal in God
The Life is eternal in God
The Light is eternal in God
The Power is eternal in God

If all your answers are yes, you have logically concluded that Christ has been eternally in and from God. From eternity He is the very truth, life, light, power, and wisdom of God. He is the very eternal qualities of the eternal God.

WITHOUT LOCATION

Let us look a little more into the nature of God's person. There are two definite ways in which God is presented in the Scriptures. God is presented without location and with location. When we speak of God as without location, we mean that God fills all things. This is the testimony of Solomon when he dedicated the temple. He said in his prayer to God, "Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee." His father David gave the same testimony in Psalm 139:7 when he said, "Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" These are testimonies to the mighty, infinite God who cannot be contained or located.

WITH LOCATION

However, just as surely as we say that God is everywhere present (omnipresent), we also say that God has a location and He has a form. We have positive statements in the Bible about this truth. There is a location where the majesty of the infinite God is concentrated. There is a form of God in the midst of the central, majestic glory. This form of God is Christ. Christ is called by the Apostle Paul "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15). It would be good for one who has problems concerning the nature of God to meditate upon and receive these following passages with the simplicity of a child. They bear out the Scriptural truth very clearly. God has hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes.

TESTIMONIES CONCERNING THE FORM OF GOD

1. Moses saw the form of God. Numbers 12:6-8: "And he said, Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I Jehovah will make myself known unto him in a vision, I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all my house: with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the form of Jehovah shall he behold."
2. Ezekiel saw the form of God. Ezekiel 1:28: "This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake."
3. Isaiah saw the form of God. Isaiah 6:5: "Then said I, Woe is me! For I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts." (See John 12:41.)
4. Christ is that form. II Corinthians 4:4 (K.J.V.) : "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."
5. Christ had this form before the incarnation. Philippians 2:6,7 (K.J.V.): "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."
6. Moses and the elders of Israel saw this form. Exodus 24:9-11: "Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadah, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink."

All of these passages are the testimonies of men who saw God. How then can Saint John say the following?

"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him" (John 1:18).

It is plain from this verse not only that God the Father, the One who is without location or manifested form, has never been seen, but also that Jesus Christ is the One who has declared Him.

The above six verses teach that men have seen Christ and that He has been called:

"the form of Jehovah"
"the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah"
"the king, Jehovah of hosts"
"the God of Israel"
"the form of God"
"the image of God"
"the image of the invisible God."

All these phrases testify to the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ.

NOT CREATED, BUT GENERATED

A further clear teaching of Scripture is the fact that Christ is not created, but generated. The fact that Christ is uncreated is fully expressed by the phrase we find in John 3:16:

"God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." "His only begotten Son" is a very important phrase. The question, however, arises: When was He begotten? We have a clue to this in Proverbs 8:22: "Jehovah possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, before the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth."

In this verse we have the phrase "before the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth." This is the Son of God speaking, who is here presented as the divine wisdom brought forth from God-that is, begotten of God. He claims to have been set up from everlasting, from the beginning. Jesus was generated as a form before all creation. When God thy Father performed acts of creation, they were done by and outside himself, but the act of bringing forth His only begotten Son was necessarily of and from within God.

We said before that I Corinthians 1:24 testifies that Christ is the wisdom of God. Christ is not one who was made wise by God. He is the wisdom of god. The Godhead always had this wisdom, but His wisdom was brought forth in the person of Christ. Wisdom is as eternal as God. Christ, as the wisdom of God, was always in God, but He had a beginning in the sense that before the foundation of the world He was brought forth from God-not created, but begotten.

The wonder of all this truth is that this eternal Wisdom and power and Light of God (and also many other things we could say of Him) became a man. The Son of God suffered and died for His creation and bore our sins in His body on the tree that we might be forgiven. We must receive Him as our Lord and our Saviour and thus have the gift of eternal life.

SHOULD HE NOT RECEIVE WORSHIP?

This brings us to a final conclusion. If Christ is eternal, if He is the very form of God, then should He not receive worship? God the Father not only permits the worship of Christ but also commands it.

1. Angels have been commanded to worship Him. Hebrews 1:6 (K.J.V.): "And again when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him."
2. Glorified saints worship the Christ, the Lamb. Revelation 5:8 (K.J.V.): "And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints."
3. Men who recognized that He was sent by the Father worshipped Him. The Healed Blind Man
   John 9:35-38 (K.J.V.): "Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he [Jesus] had found him, he said unto him [the blind man], Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him."
   The Disciples Worshipped the Christ
   Matthew 14:33 9K.J.V.): "then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, of a truth thou art the Son of God."
4. Peter and the angels refused any worship offered them.
   Peter Would Not Accept Worship
   Acts 10:25, 26 (K.J.V.): "And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand up; I myself also am a man."
   An Angel Would Not Accept Worship
   Revelation 22:8, 9 (K.J.V.): "And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellows servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God."
5. Christ never refused worship, He always accepted it. Matthew 28:9 (K.J.V.): "And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him."
6. Christ accepted the confession of Thomas. John 20:27-29 (K.J.V.): "Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."

No man can believe in Christ-His origin in the Father, His coming in the flesh, His claims, His words, His miracles, His perfect death, His shed blood, His resurrection, his present position as the son of man and Son of God seated at the right hand of the Father-without falling down before Him in surrender and adoring worship as angels and men have done before.

Friend, have you repented of your unbelief and sin? Have you received Christ as your Lord and Saviour before men? Men may then separate you from their company and say that you are deceived; you are a religionist; or you are a fool. Yet Jesus says,

"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him" (John 5:22, 23, K.J.V.).

We honor the Son by receiving Him as our Lord and Saviour and confessing Him.

"Because if thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. 10:9, 10).

OTHER BIBLE TESTIMONIES CONCERNING CHRIST'S GODHEAD
Isaiah's Testimony

"O thou that tallest good tidings to Zion, get thee up on a high mountain; O thou that tallest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold, your God! Behold, the Lord Jehovah will come as a mighty one, and his arm will rule for him: Behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd, he will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and will gently lead those that have their young." (Compare Isaiah 40:9-11 with John 10:11.)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of peace" (Isa. 9:6).

Jeremiah's Testimony

"Ah Lord Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee, who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompenses the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name; great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men" (Jer. 32:17-19).

Angel's Testimony

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall cal his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us" (Isa. 7;14; Matt. 1:23, K.J.V.).

John's Testimony

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made though him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made" (John 1:1-3).

"And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (John 5:20).

His Enemies' Testimony

"The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them. Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (and the scripture cannot be broken), say ye of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the son of God?" (John 10:33-36).

Thomas' Testimony

"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God" (John 20:27, 28, K.J.V.).

Paul's Testimony

"For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (Col. 2:9).

God the Father's Testimony

"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom" (Heb. 1:8).

"(For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us)" (I John 1:2, K.J.V.).

Jesus' Testimony

In the Gospels, Jesus used two phrases concerning himself. He called himself the Son of man (Matt. 16:28). The Gospels record this title approximately eighty times. He also called himself the Son of God (John 10:36). Just as the phrase son of man indicates his manhood, the phrase son of God indicates His Godhead.

THIRD COMMANDMENT

We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, conjure, lie, or deceive by His Name, but call upon Him in every time of need and worship Him with prayer, praise, and thanksgiving. --Martin Luther

Nothing but truth, before His throne
With honor can appear:
The painted hypocrites are known,
Through the disguise they wear. --Isaac Watts

But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation. --James 5:12

Another form of taking god's Name in vain obtains in some sections of society. This is a light and frivolous use of the holy Name, a prevalent and fashionable joking about God. Stories are told in which the Name of God is made use of in such a way as to affect m en with false humor. Such tales should be shunned as men would shun the fire of hell. --G. Campbell Morgan

Here is a man who takes the name of Jesus, and sings about it, but is not saved from his sins. That man is breaking the third commandment. --Ibid.

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CHAPTER SIX
HOLY IS HIS NAME

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Ex. 20:7)

WHAT IS IT THAT INSPIRES US?

The one-time skeptic, Henry Stanley, sought and found the great missionary, David Livingstone, in the primitive central regions of Africa. After spending four months with Livingstone, Stanley said,

I went to Africa as prejudiced as the biggest atheist in London. But then came a long time for reflection. I saw this solitary old man there and asked myself, 'How on earth does he stay here? What is it that inspires him? For months after we met, I found myself wondering at the old man carrying out all that was said in the Bible: 'Leave all things to follow Me.' But little by little my sympathy was aroused. Seeing his piety, his gentleness, his zeal, his earnestness, and how he went about his business, I was converted by him, although he had not tried to do it.

The testimony of Stanley concerning Livingstone is essentially the issue of the third commandment, for that great missionary reverenced and glorified the name of God. Livingstone gave no man who met him a vain impression of his God.

EVERYTHING IN LIFE IS NAMED

Everything in life is named. One of the first questions concerning a newborn child is, "What is its name?" One of the first commission of Adam was to name the creatures that God had made. In the realm of religion, the name becomes an exceedingly vital issue. After the name is determined, the next issue is the reputation of the name. In the church of Jesus Christ we are representatives of His name because we are called Christians. This matter of representation is a constant problem and responsibility.

The importance of this can be easily illustrated. A shabby salesman reflects on the management under whom he works. A drunken G.I. abroad reflects on the morals of his nation. A double-tongued ambassador casts suspicion on his government. An icy pastor lowers the reputation of his church. A loose-living wife is a shame to the name of her husband. An irresponsible, leather-jacketed "hood" degrades the name of his parents. Likewise, a disobedient, carnal "fundamentalist" Christian profanes the name and misrepresents his Lord and Saviour. This is the issue of representations. We can hallow or profane the name of the one whom we represent.

REVERENCING GOD'S NAME

This reverencing God's name is a fearful issue in the life of God's people in every generation. When Christ gave to the disciples the prayer list of the Holy Spirit (commonly called the Lord's Prayer), Hallowed be thy name" was first on the prayer list. Today we cannot see God the Father, neither can we see the glorious Son of God. Our present bequest, entrusted to us by the Lord Jesus Christ and His spirit, is His name, which to us is the name of deity and of redemption.

Since this is true, think of our responsibility - God's reputation is at stake by the way we Christians represent or misrepresent the name and character of our God. We cannot divorce the name of any person from the character of that person, for the two are always united in our minds. Likewise, the world's impression of God is the impression of Him which it receives from us, His representatives. We are the church that calls itself by the name Christian. In this present age, we, the Church, have that awful responsibility of divine representation.

HOW DO WE TAKE HIS NAME IN VAIN?

We may fail to understand the full force of this third commandment because we slip over the last phrase, "taketh his name in vain." This means more than the way in which we speak the name. It indicates primarily the covenant that God has with His people. It means that mankind may take the name of God as its name much the same as a woman takes the name of her husband in marriage. Henceforth she acts and speaks and generally behaves in reference to her new name. If she acts in a foolish manner and embarrasses her husband, she takes her husband's name in vain; if she is wise and reverent, she adds honor and prestige to her husband's name. Thus the first meaning of this third commandment is not directed toward the heathen or unbeliever, but mainly toward God's own people who, having God's covenant name upon them, represent that name to the world.

This was certainly true in the Old Testament. In the days of Elijah, Israel had profaned the name of God, for Ahab and Jezebel had brought the nation into idolatry and profanity. Israel had gone so far into apostasy that Baal was being used as the Israelites' name for God. Elijah's commission was to restore the glory and honor of the one true God, and the stormy contest on Mount Carmel was a contest as to the true name of God. Its final test was this: Could Baal or could the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob light the fire upon the sacrifice of their respective altars? There was no answer by fire from Baal. But the fire of the Lord, the true God of Israel, fell and consumed the altar built by Elijah; and all the people shouted, "The Lord [Jehovah], he is the God." Elijah honored God's name which Israel, in view of a covenant they had made, had taken in vain.

IN HIS NAME

In the New Testament, the issue becomes more visible and more conclusive. All the people expected the Messiah. Their questions were, "When will He appear?" and "What will be His name?" Then Jesus of Nazareth appeared and claimed to be the Son of God. Many leaders of Israel hated Jesus and His ways and rejected Him as the promised Messiah. This rejection was so intense that they had Him sentenced to crucifixion as a blasphemer. Again the contest was on-a contest over the name of the Messiah. Through His passion, His resurrection, and His place at the right hand of the Father from whence He poured out the gift of His Holy Spirit, Jesus proved His right as Messiah. This very issue stirred the Apostle John to write his Gospel, for he testified thus: "These are written, that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye may have life in his name" (John 20:31). The early church's great commission was to represent to the world that this Jesus was the Christ and that they were His witnesses-living proofs that Jesus was alive and able to save men from their sins.

When the church fell heir to that Name, she received the ability either to glorify the Name or to take it in vain. The warning of Paul to Timothy concerning the Christians was, "Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (II Tim. 2:19, K.J.V.).

VULGAR PROFANITY

The second way this third commandment is broken is by the unbeliever's irreverent use of the holy name of God in vulgar profanity. We have all heard it-on the street corners, in the public places of our cities, in private homes. But any man who curses and swears ought to tremble with fear, like Belshazzar of old when the handwriting on the wall appeared declaring his doom. Belshazzar had just handled the holy vessels of God in a profane manner by partaking of the drink offerings to their gods from these vessels. But the hour of his sacrilege became the hour of judgment and death. Likewise, "the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Such a one shall be condemned on the day of judgment.

WHO ARE CHRISTIANS?

This third commandment clarifies the need of all who call themselves Christians. If we are representatives of Christ and of His name, all indifference toward Christ's commands, all neglect of His promises, all joylessness in service, all carnality, all binding fears, hypocrisies, cowardice, disobedience, insincerity, all lightness in our song or prayer become misrepresentations of the holy God we claim to believe in. These things are taking His name in vain. The only Christ the world really knows is the Christ that Christians represent.

Who then is sufficient for these things? Of ourselves we are not sufficient, for humanity has never been able to do God a favor. Whatever has been done for the honor of His name, God has had to produce himself because of the greatness of His mercy toward us. But by His grace we can cooperate. Why did Jesus shed His blood if it was not to cleanse us from these sins? Why does He offer the church the baptism with the Holy Spirit? Surely for this purpose-that we might be proper witnesses of His name. "Ye shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). In the life of the church, holiness and power are not optional but critical. What a dangerous thing it is to indoctrinate people with doctrines that eliminate the possibility of heart-holiness and apostolic power!

CARNAL SELF COULD NOT HONOR GOD

The Apostle Paul learned the bitter lesson that his carnal self could not honor God. This selfish "I" needed to be crucified. Here is Paul's testimony: "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me." It was the power of this experience of grace that the apostle to the Gentiles, together with a host of other saints, hallowed the name of God in the midst of a profane and unholy world.

These matters are critical issues. We are handling the holy name of God, and therefore we must be holy. We must also have power-God's power. God's reputation is at stake! If we fail, the Lord will not hold us guiltless. Our sufficiency, however, is of God. God's promise is wonderful and sure; "I will sanctify my great name … the nations shall know that I am Jehovah, saith the Lord Jehovah, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes" (Ezek. 36:23).

FOURTH COMMANDMENT

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise His Word and the preaching of the same, but deem it holy and gladly hear and learn it. -- Martin Luther

Full well the labour of our hands
With fervency of spirit stands,
For God, who all my days hath given,
From toil accepts but one in seven;
And labouring while we time redeem,
We please the Lord, and work for Him. --Charles Wesley

And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples come together to break bread, Paul preached unto them. --Acts 20:7

The little ants, for one small grain, Labour, and tug, and strive; Yet we, who have a heaven to obtain, Have negligent we live! --Isaac Watts

Our confidence in Christ does not make us lazy, negligent or careless, but on the contrary it awakens us, urges us on, and makes us active in living righteous lives and doing good. There is no self-confidence to compare with this. --Ulrich Zwingli

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CHAPTER SEVEN
THE DAY GOD CALLS HIS OWN

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservants, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, and thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it" (Ex. 20:8-11).

SABBATH DAY: NOT A SERIOUS AFFAIR?

Benjamin Franklin states in his autobiography that a godly and wise clergyman was ordered to read the proclamation issued by Charles I, bidding people to return to sports on Sundays. The congregation was amazed and horrified when he read the royal edict in church (many of the clergy had refused to read it). But he followed it with the words, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," and added, "Brethren, I have laid before you the commandment of your king and the commandment of your God. I leave it to you to judge which of the two ought rather to be observed."

It is easy to think that breaking this fourth commandment is not as serious as breaking the other nine commandments. But anyone who would break the fourth command already has it in his heart to break any and all of the other commandments.

WHO KEEPS SABBATH DAY HOLY?

Who is required to keep this day holy? The keeping of the Sabbath is not only a personal issue, but each men is to manage his family and his business affairs in such a way as not to involve anyone else in desecrating the Sabbath day. The commandment is addressed to the parents of the home, for it says, "In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter." The father is responsible to keep this day sacred in his family. The commandment is also directed to the employer, for it says, "Thou shalt not do any work, thou, … nor thy manservants, nor thy maidservant," which would mean those employed by an employer. Also, the command is for the owner of cattle, because it says, "nor thy cattle." It is addressed also to the host and his visitor, for the words again speak, "nor thy stranger that is within thy gates." If anyone will stop to think these things through, he may discern many practice in modern society that vagrantly break the holy commandment.

God says it is possible to transgress this law by "doing thy pleasure on my holy day" (Isa. 58:13). Eric Liddell was a participant in the great Olympic games of Paris, but when he found out that he was scheduled to run his race on the Sabbath day, he refused to compete, saying, "I object to Sunday sports in too." Both in Europe and America he was gibed and condemned by the press. But the stand of such a noted athlete produced some conviction so that the race was not run until later in the week. Afterwards he testified that when he was about to run in the finals, his trainer handed him a note on which was written the Scripture, "them that honor me I will honor" (I Sam. 2:30). Liddell won the 400-meter race at that time. But suppose he had not won; at least he had run a phase of a greater race toward his heavenly goal.

LETTER OF THE LAW: DOES IT BIND US?

Many may find that the letter of the law is not a binding issue, for, from the positive standpoint, all deeds of necessity and of mercy are in order on this, or any other day. (See Matt. 12:1-14). As an example, the Northern States power plant cannot possibly take a day off in our modern society. Thousands of nurses and doctrines must care for the sick at the time of their need. If such is the case, let every man see that he hallows one day of the seven for rest and the worship of God and hearing His holy Word. We must remember the Sabbath day in God's sight.

The one day for worship is for God's honor. Six days of each week industry, commerce, science, and even nature it self require the devoted labor of men in order to perpetuate the products of one single man. Men like Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, the Wright Brothers, or a host of other nineteenth and twentieth century names have channeled millions of men into factories and industries that have guided men's labors for six days. Is it any wonder, then, that the god of heaven and earth, the Lord and the Judge of the living and of the dead, should require that one day of the seven be hallowed for His glory and honor and remembrance?

WHY SHOULD A MAN KEEP THE SABBATH?

Why should a man keep the Sabbath? Because it is right! It is the same as the principle that he would not steal because it is not right. The real answer, however, in this matter of keeping this day holy must finally be settled in each man's heart. The Sabbath is often considered as free time, and man wants to do what he likes to do in his free time, whether it be fishing, camping, golfing, traveling, or watching the "pros" at the ball park. If these are our dominant desires, an hour in church will make a man feel like he is cheated. While he is singing "My Jesus, I Love Thee," his heart wanders far a field, imagining the things he could or will be doing. God says, "This people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me" (Isa. 29:13).

It is a dangerous thing to neglect this holy day. The trend of our time is toward desecration of the Sabbath day. Shopping centers are opening their doors for Sunday business. The bright spots of pleasure are making their money-mad bid for the day that belongs to God. Men are legislating for a four-day workweek and a long (wild) weekend. The weekend is already full of pleasure-seeking, God-dishonoring pursuits. A longer weekend will not give more time for God and His worship, but rather more time to get away from God and His Word. The "back-to-nature" trend is in some ways commendable in our busy world, but the greater need in this generation is to get back to God. If we do not, even our scenic America will be ravished by war, famine, and epidemics. Will nature afford any consolation then?

"While millions meet together for worship on the first day of the week," said the French skeptic Voltaire, "I despair of destroying religion." The worship day is a great anchor of morality and of continued blessing on those nations which honor that day. But any nation or any person who uses the Sabbath day for his own selfish work and pleasure is doomed to apostasy and final condemnation.

WHEN SHOULD THIS SABBATH DAY BE HALLOWED?

When should this Sabbath day be hallowed and recognized? At this point it is necessary to state a few facts about the Sunday Sabbath. This is a subject that touches some very sensitive issues. There are those who may ask, "Do we assume that those who do not hold the first day sacred are not Christians?" No, we would not conclude that. We would stand by their right to worship the Lord on the seventh day, as we would claim the right to worship on the first day. Paul said to the Colossian Christians, "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ" (Col. 2:16, 17, K.J.V.). What we share as to the reason for worshipping on the first day of the week is not treated as exclusive truth, but concerns certain issues of Christian liberty in the worship of God.

We believe that Israel had the seventh-day Sabbath as its peculiar sign, but it was not necessarily hiding on the Christian practice. The Sabbath day as the seventh day is a special sign for Israel as stated in Exodus 31:13, 16, 17 (K.J.V.).

"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. … Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed."

In the church, however, the first day of the week rather than the seventh day has been the sacred day of many Christians. It is the day when Jesus our Lord rose from the dead, and on that same day He stood in the midst of His disciples.

Also, in the book of Acts we have an indication that the disciples used this day for gathering together: "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them" (Acts 20:7).

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CHAPTER EIGHT
"Six days shall thou labour, and do all thy work" (Ex. 20:9).

A COMMANDMENT FOR DILIGENCE AND AGAINST SLOTH

It is completely clear that one day in seven is to be kept holy. It is to be kept a holy day by keeping it free from the labors of man. The sixth day terminates and brings to an end the labors of man; the one day is to be consecrated to rest in God. Then a new six days of labor follows this one day of rest. This arrangement gives an orderly and healthful attitude toward the use of time.

There is more to this commandment than the observation of a rest day; it is just as truly a commandment for diligence and against sloth.

In medieval times the monks and clerics taught what they called "the seven deadly sins. "One of these was the sin of sloth. This deadly sin we often forget when we often forget when we recite the command "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labour." This fourth command is a command to work six days heartily as well as to rest one day reverently.

IF YOU ARE OUT OF WORK, WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

In this command "Six days shalt thou labour," God gives direction to the thousands of people who come under the classification of the unemployed. Jobs are sometimes hard to find and just as hard to keep. If a person is out of work, what can he do? If we are in earnest, the Bible gives some definite instructions. Only those who are skeptical will fail to profit by them.

1. Everyone should work. If he cannot work for a wage, he should work without a wage. We should not think of unemployment as a time when we are unable to work; we can always work. The fourth commandment clearly declares to us, "Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work." To adopt an attitude of sloth during the time of unemployment is a sin against this commandment. A man without a job must not be idle.
2. In Proverbs 14:23 we read, "In all labor there is profit; but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury." This is a promise from God himself. God says that if a man will apply himself to labor in his home or neighborhood, even though he has no prescribed income, there will be profit in his labor, both morally and financially. "The talk of the lips" will not bring any profit.
3. Jesus said, "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). What things will be added? According to this section in the Sermon on the Mount, food and clothing will be added-the very things that a wage earner needs for his family or himself. God says if we seek His kingdom and His righteousness and commit ourselves to labor in obedience to God's commandment, with His kingdom in mind, He will control our lives and provide us with our necessities.
4. We have another statement in Proverbs that says this: "The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich" (Prov. 10:22, K.J.V.). This brings up the great matter of God's blessings on our lives. God's desire is to bless us. His desire is to give us all things in Christ. Part of our devotion to Jesus Christ is reflected in how heartily we give ourselves to honorable labor. This is the word of the apostle as well, for Paul said, "Whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:23,24).

EMPHASIS ON THE LIFE OF FAITH

One of the great factors that has released thousands of missionaries and Christian workers into full-time service for the cause of Christ has been the emphasis on the life of faith. This was introduced through the testimonies and examples of Hudson Taylor and George Muller. These were men who believed God to release men and money for the cause of missions. We have coined the phrase "faith workers" for those who, without definite salary, commit themselves to the spreading of the gospel. This type of worker has vindicated the words of the Lord when He said, "Seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matt. 6:33). However, in the light of the command "Six days shalt thou labour and do all thy work," we would like to say that a "faith worker" should be and must be a faith worker. Entering into the life of faith is not merely an adventure. If a man expects to live by faith and uses this as an excuse for not working six days a week, such a life discredits rather than adorns the gospel.

Jesus said that we should pray the Lord of the harvest that He send forth laborers into His harvest. A faith worker is more apt to work twelve hours a day than eight. It is morally wrong to not work. Either a man must labor in the gospel or else he must "labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that h e may have whereof to give to him that hath need" (Eph. 4:28). A man who is trusting God for his daily bread must obey the injunction of Romans 12:11. (K.J.V.), "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." The Christian is morally obligated to be a worker in whatever field the Lord has called him to.

FOURTH COMMANDMENT AND OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION

Does the fourth commandment apply also to our spiritual condition? This commandment finally speaks of the possibility of soul rest-cleansed from the wretchedness and restlessness of indwelling sin. It is a rest from inward labors and strivings, and this cannot be obtained by the works of the law. The law can only diagnose, but it can never cure the inner condition of the heart and life. The tragedy of many people of God today is that they are not taught to expect this inner rest of faith. Often they are told that this rest is not possible in this life. James points out the basic danger of this unbelief when he says, "Ye have not because ye ask not" (James 4:21).

The blessed cure for this inner restlessness and bondage is to be found in Christ's death on the cross. We must accept Him as our representative. Our old manner of life and its "works" was brought to an end in the death of Jesus. We died with Him; we were also raised with Him to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). A prayer of full surrender to Christ will bring a full release; faith in Him will bring us into this holy rest. This is the meaning of Hebrews 4:3, 9, 10: "We who have believed do enter into that rest … There remaineth therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his."

FIFTH COMMANDMENT

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise our parents and superiors nor provoke them to anger, but to honor, serve, obey, love, and esteem them. --Martin Luther

Thee, let the fathers own,
And Thee, the sons adore;
Joined to the Lord in solemn vows,
Thy covenant may they keep,
And bless the happy bands,--
Which closer still engage their hearts,
To honor thy commands. -- Charles Wesley

This commandment begins the second table of the law which has to do with our love for our fellow men or, as Jesus said, our neighbor. It is significant that it begins with the home, the obedience of the child towards his parents. If there is consistent obedience in the home, that obedience radiates into every other area of life. The child who is obedient to his father and mother is obedient to his teacher, his elders, so if this commandment is not kept at home, neither will it be kept any place else, but if it is kept at home, it will also be kept in every other place. --Selected

Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. --Proverbs 23:22

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CHAPER NINE
GOD'S COMMAND TO FAMILIES

"Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee" (Ex. 20:12).

DISOBEDIENCE CAUSES HARDSHIP AND DIFFICULTY

I read a little story to my son some years ago called "Wait-a-minute Willy." It was a story about a little boy who was playing in the barn on his parents' farm. In the midst of his little occupations his mother called him twice, but in each case the boy thought he would wait a few minutes longer. When he did appear at the door of the kitchen, he asked his mother what she wanted. She replied, "I wanted you to get some wood for the stove. I didn't have time to go to the wood pile for the wood, and the fire in the stove wasn't hot enough so my cake is spoiled." This may not have seemed important to the little boy, but it was important to the mother, and the story teaches us a lesson: A disobedient child causes hardship and difficulty for parents and superiors.

Let's change the scene. A businessman, a relative of a certain family, drives up to a very ordinary-looking home in a residential section of the city. He comes to the door, knocks, and informs the lady of the house that Uncle Jim has just arrived and he would like to know of her three children could come to a football game and afterwards go downtown with him. He has ten dollars apiece to spend on them, and he would like them to pick out some clothes for themselves. The mother is quite pleased. She calls for Jane and she calls for Paul. No one in the family can find Andy. He is not there-at least he can't be seen-so Mother goes to the door and calls out to the backyard. Andy is within hearing distance, but he has other things he is interested in doing, and so he delays. Uncle Jim says they better go because the game would soon begin. When they have left the house, Andy finally appears and hears the news. Of course he is dejected and disappointed. He wishes then that he had obeyed right away when he heard the call. Another lesson is learned! Disobedience to parents creates losses for children in matters of privilege, reward, and enjoyment.

DISOBEDIENCE TO PARENTS ENDS IN TRAGEDY

This may still not wake the young person up to the very great issues involved in this commandment to obey our parents. But let's look at another more tragic situation. The family has gone for an outing by the lake. The children all take the change to go swimming. Some are playing in the sand and some are wading out along the shore. The parents have one little boy named David. (However, he doesn't live up to his namesake, David, (of the Bible.) This David had a tendency to disregard what his parents say. He usually obeys his parents only when he is forced to do so. He usually says, "Oh, I'll do it if I have to." The parents, on the high bank of the lake look down and see little David walking out farther down the beach. The father sees a sign about five or six feet beyond the boy's depth. The sign says, "Danger, drop off." The parents call frantically for the little boy to stop and come back. He disregards their voices and keeps on walking. He thinks, "After all, they can't force me to come back. I'm down here and they are up there." A few moments later the tragedy happens. We don't have to explain what the end of this story is. Such things end in many different ways. But we learn a main lesson again: Disobedience to parents ultimately will end in tragedy.

Disobedience to parents causes hardship to others, losses for ourselves, and consequently, even sorrow and death. And more important then these issues is the fact that disobedience is a sin because it breaks God's law and grieves His heart.

PARENTS' RESPONSIBILTY

In these illustrations we look from the child's side. Now let u s look from the side of the parents' responsibility. The sham and double-dealing of the human heart is evidenced ever so plainly in the attitude that so-called unprejudiced (?) adults have toward their children. They will often let them feed on television, movies, and not-so-comical comic books filled with killing, lust, fighting, lying, hatred and "gangsterism." At the same time, however, they say they won't insist on influencing or prejudicing their children with family devotions, Sunday schools, Bible clubs, or Bible camps.

The last generation of youth has been brought up in the midst of the confusion caused by this doctrine of self-expression in the bringing up of children. If these blinded educators, parents, and psychologists (we are not speaking of those who are an honor to their professions) had used guinea pigs for their experiments, it would not have been so serious; but since they used children of this generation, many parents have trouble and regret in their homes.

According to the modern philosophy of bringing up children, Mary and Joseph should never have brought Jesus to the synagogue of Nazareth or to the temple of Jerusalem. Hannah and Elkanah should never have surrendered their child Samuel to the duties of the tabernacle in Shiloh. According to such a philosophy, Jesus Christ, the good Shepherd, can lead the sheep, but of course He should leave the lambs to find their way alone. How stupid can this enlightened age of ours go? It will not be "well with us" nor will we "dwell long upon the land" unless we repent of our disregard of this command of God.

WE ARE LIKENED TO SHEEP

We are likened to sheep in the Scriptures. This likeness is presented in Isaiah 53:6: "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Why this comparison? A sheep is an animal void of self-direction, instincts planted in the creature by the Creator. For instance, a baby crocodile that has just hatched into a vast new world, with the towering jungle on one side and a river on the other, will instinctively make its way toward that river. A marked bird, removed 3,000 miles from its home, has flown back to the exact location. A lamb, however, cannot find its way alone. Morally and spiritually, we are like these "stupid" sheep. We cannot find our way alone. We are made to be dependent on God. If adults need guidance because they are the sheep, how much more do the lambs need this direction? If adults do not guide their children to love and serve God, they sin against God.

Someone observed that "a child is a man in small letter, yet the best copy of Adam before he tasted the forbidden fruit. His soul is yet a white paper, unscribbled with observations of the world wherewith it comes at length a blurred notebook." A little child is fearfully subject to influences that mar the "white paper" of his soul.

A VISIT TO A TAVERN

A few years ago a friend of mine and I went into a small-town tavern to give our testimonies. After entering, we noticed a little tot walk over to one of the men sitting at the bar. The man set the boy on his knee, put his beer bottle to the little boy's lips, and gave him a drink. He took the cigarette out of his mouth and gave the lad a smoke. If I never understood before, I understood then what Jesus meant when He said, "Whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be sunk in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling" (Matt. 18:6, 7).

In this command, the first words are "Honour thy father and mother." This word honor is chosen by God in His divine wisdom. Children must honor someone or something. They love to have a hero. Who is that hero going to be whom they honor? If the honor does not go toward godly parents, circumstances will direct it to some unworthy person or gang. Children will give their honor wherever they find the two qualities that their natures demand. The first of these qualities is acceptance. They want to be accepted or loved. The second quality is authority; that is, authority that will direct their energies. This is not mere philosophy. This is what the Scripture teaches. This is what Paul states in Colossians 3:20: "Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing in the Lord." That is authority. Then verse 21 says, "Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged." That is acceptance. Children are commanded to honor their parents. This law expects parents to be honorable so they can command respect through the years of their children's childhood and maturity.

YIELD TO SON OF GOD

This fifth commandment is a direct command to the child. Remember, the parents are not the commanders; "God is! Disobedience and dishonor to parents is dishonor toward God. Submission to parents is the first indication of submission to God. Also, no human advice has a right to neutralize the words of Scripture concerning the rod of correction. Disobedience must be dealt with by a spanking administered in love (not in anger). The Bible says, "Foolishness [disobedience] is bound up in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Prov. 22:15).

In the Upper Room magazine some years ago were the words: "Unless there is within us that which is above us, we shall soon yield to that which is about us." If parents and children will submit themselves to the Son of God above them, yielding to Him as Lord and Saviour, there will be placed in them an ability to take their rightful place as father, mother, son, or daughter.

COLERIDGE AND CHILD-REARING

Once a visitor confronted Coleridge with the argument that he was strongly against religious instruction of children; that he would determine not to prejudice his children in favor of any form of religion, but let them choose for themselves when they grew up. Coleridge's answer was sound. He said: "Why prejudice a garden in favor of flowers and fruit? Why not let the clods choose for themselves between cockleburs and strawberries?" The parents' office is to cultivate and nurture t he garden of the child's heart for God. This is the highest purpose of the home. Here a child may discover early in life that there is a tendency in him to go his own way. It is in the home that this "own-way-ness" can best be handled.

A godly parent will discipline the child with rod and, above all, lead him to the Lord Jesus, the Redeemer from sin and self. It is in the home that children can best learn the practical lesson of honoring true authority, learning to subject themselves to parents, superiors, rules and order. Thus they are prepared to yield to the absolute claims of Jesus Christ. It is in the home they can learn the meaning of the Cross and be filled with the Holy Spirit.

No greater words could be said than those which Paul said of Timothy's youth: "That from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus: (II Tim. 3:15). "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right."

SIXTH COMMANDMENT

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair;
I saw my sins His blood had spilt
And helped to nail Him there.
Alas! I knew not what I did,
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?
For I the Lord have slain. - John Newton

We should fear and love God so that we may not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need. - Martin Luther

Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. - Romans 12:19

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man. - Genesis 9:6

The simple facts should be kept in mind. Life is of God. To take it, as to give it, is His prerogative. Man has no right to do so to save where immediately delegated to the work by the express command of the Most High. - G. Campbell Morgan

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CHAPTER TEN
Criminal Attitudes: HATE

"Thou shalt not kill" (Ex. 20:13).

KILLING INDIRECTLY

Few men who transgress this commandment ever go into a killing spree as did the notorious Starkweather in 1958, killing ten people with no other apparent motive than an unabridged desire to kill anyone who disturbed his ego.

More men who transgress are inclined to do their killing indirectly, as David did in his backslidden condition when he killed the husband of Bathsheba. Nathan the prophet declared that David had killed Uriah in the forefront of the army of Israel, and he was killed in the heat of the battle. No matter how t his commandment is transgressed, it still stands: "Thou shalt not kill." This killing is not limited to the body alone. There are spiritual qualities in the personality that can be killed before the body ever dies.

ALL ARE TRANSGRESSORS

All men have been at some time transgressors of this commandment by hidden heart attitudes of malice and resentment. We most certainly can kill by attitudes of ill will and indifference toward others.

The Good Samaritan story illustrates this clearly. By the side of the road was a man-robbed, mangled, and hanging by a thin threat of life. Scripture called this man half dead. We would say he had a fifty-fifty chance to live. His life was in jeopardy. A Levite and a priest came by that way, and because they were ruled by prejudice and self-gratification, they left him in his misery. If they had been the only ones that walked that road, the half dead would have been wholly dead. The Levite and the priest were co-partners with the thieves. Together they would have accomplished the product of murder. The Good Samaritan came and changed the picture. He made the half-living man wholly alive. Compassion controlled the Samaritan and saved a life. It is clear from this account that ill will in control can contribute to danger and death, and good will in control can contribute to healing and life.

John testifies concerning the power of an attitude when he says, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (I John 3:15). There are resentments, grudges, and attitudes of ill will that fester in human hearts for years. The heart that nurturers these attitudes may not ever commit the act of killing, but if circumstances should so develop, the act would be very possible.

MORE APPLES IN A SEED THAN SEEDS IN AN APPLE!

An apple seed, for example, does not bear apples immediately. If the seed is given a chance to grow, it will produce the fruit. In fact, there are more apples in a seed than there are seeds in an apple. The seed of hatred in the heart is what God sees, and He knows what man could do if He did not in a great measure restrain and control the human race by His mercy.

Listen to what Jesus said about these attitudes: "Ye have hard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: but I say unto you, that every one who is angry which his brother shall be in danger of the judgment" (Matt. 5:21). Jesus declared that an emotion of anger in His kingdom deserves the same judicial sentence as killing a person. In Israel a man who killed another man was judged by the elders of the local city court (Deut. 16:18). Jesus said an angry man is in danger of being judged like a murderer.

"Whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council" (Matt. 5:22). What about an attitude of contempt? One expression used among the Hebrews was "Raca" which meant "You good-for-nothing fellow." Christ considered such an attitude as incipient murder-worthy of the revue judgment of Israel's supreme court, the Sanhedrin.

"Whosoever shall say, Thou fool [moreh], shall be in danger of the hell of fire" (Matt. 5:22). Lastly, Jesus points His finger at an attitude of scorn toward others-another relative of murder. The Hebrews said, "Moreh," that is, "You fool." It was used as an expression of scowling derision. Jesus said such a person, according to the standards of the kingdom of heaven, is in danger of ending up in the burning rubbish of Gehenna; hell-fire is his destiny.

CHRIST SAYS . . .

Society says the lawbreaker is a criminal; Christ said the natural heart is a criminal, for every criminal act begins as an attitude in the heart: "From within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man" (Mark 7:21-23). Society tries to reform the man, but Jesus Christ can transform the heart from being a cesspool of sin into a fountain of love and compassion.

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CHAPTER ELEVN
Criminal Attitudes: LUST

"Thou shalt not commit adultery" (Ex. 20:14).

THE LORD'S DISCERNMENT OF HUMAN HEART

The Son of God, whose eyes are like a flame of fire, spoke words in His ministry that indicate His utter discernment of the human heart. No words are more piercing than these found in the Sermon on the Mount: "I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell" (Matt. 5:28-30). Jesus declared that adultery begins in the heart, captivates the eye, and finally captures the hand of men to manifest the actual transgression. This is the history of the sin of adultery.

ADULTERY

Adultery, in the broad sense of the word, means any impure relation or inordinate affection, no matter how it is expressed. The words that describe this corruption are uncleanness, fornication, sodomy, and the like. However, in the narrow sense of the word, adultery means the unfaithfulness of a wife or husband to each other in that they have given their affections or thoughts to another man or woman or have broken the contract of marriage in order to marry another woman or man (see Matt. 6:32). This is a sin condemned by the law of God. He who practices this sin is under the sentence of eternal death, no matter what his profession may be. Over and over in Scripture this sin is at the head of the list. Heaven's door is shut to every adulterer, fornicator, and sexual pervert (I Cor. 6:9,10).

STERNEST LANGUAGE USED

The very sternest language of Scripture is used in regard to this commandment and the breaking of it. Some people believe that the language Jesus used was more or less a poetic or symbolic approach to the subject, especially when He said we should pluck out the right eye and cut off the right hand. We know that cutting off the right hand could never solve the problem of the heart. Even though it could not solve it, let us think of the command as literal. Jesus is actually saying that if we are to compare values, a severed right hand is better than being severed from God in hell-fire because one did not repent. It is better to be maimed than to be immoral. A lost arm or a lost eye is better than a lost sense of purity. Actual amputation would be better than harboring adultery in the heart or in the life.

GRACIOUS SOLUTION TO IMPURITY

There is, however, a wonderful, gracious solution for man's impurity. What is Jesus teaching here? He is telling His disciples to deal drastically with all sin. If our hearts are full of evil and lustful imaginations, our eyes controlled by the grip of inordinate desire, and our lives involved in impure relationships, Jesus is saying, "Get radical or your eye and your hand will betray you. Deal drastically. Don't delay your deliverance. Get to God immediately. Let God deal with your sin. Be willing to adopt mortifying measures rather than let this sin control you, rather than let this evil desire live in your heart." Jesus Christ can deliver and make the mind of the Christian pure and clean. Paul said, "Whatsoever things are pure, …think on these things." (God's commands are God's enabling also in such matters as being pure in thought and life.

There are many young people who know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Saviour but have been defeated in the realm of their affections and their thoughts.

For two years after my conversion, I found a new life of victory in regard to my ways; my ways were ordered of God. But I had a difficult time ordering my thoughts and desires. I was desperate for a cleansing of mind and heart.

I went to one pastor and made my complaint and frankly told him my need. He said, "You must remember, Harold, we are only human." This did not satisfy me. I knew I was human but I had read in the Word such verses as these: "Whatsoever things are pure, …think on these things" (Phil. 4:8) and "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5). I wanted to do what these verses required, but I found it a frustrating task.

I met another pastor with whom I shared my need. I will always remember his simple answer: "This bondage doesn't have to be; there is deliverance." This pastor as showed me the truth that our "old man" (the old manner of life) was crucified with Christ and that Christ's death can be counted and experienced as our death, so that we can be free from sin's dominion and power. I received this deliverance by faith and discovered the secret of inner victory. I was a surprised and thrilled Christian. I found that I could think freely on the things of God. Praise God for this deliverance!

Jesus Christ can make us pure in the very heart and habit of our life because of His radical work on Calvary's cross for our salvation and sanctification. The power of Christ is enough. Every Christian has the inheritance of holiness in Jesus Christ. We are no longer debtors to the flesh to live after the flesh. Our former manner of life, the old man, was crucified with Christ that we might be free from sin. Jesus Christ was cut off for us; He gave not only His right arm and right eye, but He gave His whole body to the mutilations of the Cross. He put his hands and feet and head on the tree. He said "I am willing to be cut off from the land of the living that my people should be pure and clean." He freely offered His lifeblood that we should be washed in that precious blood. Therefore, what less can we do than to be radical with sin? Let us deal not just with the external acts, but let God purify the heart of our hearts by faith in His finished work.

"Oh, for a heart to praise my God, A heart from sin set free,
A heart that's sprinkled with the blood So freely shed for me.
A heart in every thought renewed And filled with love divine;
Perfect and right and pure and good, A copy, Lord, of Thine."

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor's money or property or get it by false wares or false dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and living. -Martin Luther