The Ten Commandments
Exodus 20:1-20
Sermon #1:
Gospel and Law
Ex. 20:1-2, Ps. 119:1-18, Matt. 5:17
Dr. Craig Carter
Westney Heights Baptist Church
2011
We live in a lawless age
• Our society has legalized & approved of breaking
the natural law, which is known to all from nature
• The 10 Commandments are the Biblical summary
of the moral law of God for those who can no
longer see the natural law
• But our society has also rejected the 10 Comm.
• The idea of law is viewed by modern Westerners
as inhibiting the freedom of the individual to be a
law unto himself
• But the Biblical teaching is that we find true
freedom by obeying God’s Law.
The Ten Commandments
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.
Q. Why are the 10 Commandments relevant to us;
has not Christ fulfilled the law?
A. If we understand the proper meaning of “fulfilled,”
we will understand how they are still relevant to us.
• There are 3 parts of the OT Law:
1. The Moral Law (the heart of which is the 10
Commandments)
2. The Ceremonial Law (the sacrificial system, the
tabernacle etc.)
3. The Civil Law (pertaining to Israel as a nation)
• All 3 are fulfilled in Christ
• But what does “fulfilled” mean?
“Christ is the end of the law” (Rom. 10:4)
• The word “end” here is the Greek “telos” which
means both termination & goal
• Paul says that the Law was our schoolmaster or
guardian to bring us to Christ but now we are free in
Christ & so we no longer need the law (Gal. 4:23-25)
• Christ therefore is the termination of the ceremonial
& civil law
• But we have been set free for life in the Spirit, not
give in to the sinful desires of the Flesh
• Life in the Spirit produces virtues, which are the goal
of the moral Law.
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16)
Vices - Gal. 5:19-21
“Now the works of the
flesh are evident: sexual
immorality, impurity,
sensuality, idolatry,
sorcery, enmity, strife,
jealousy, fits of anger,
rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy,
drunkenness, orgies, &
things like these.”
Virtues - Gal. 5:22-23
“The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness & selfcontrol.”
How is the law binding?
• Life in the Spirit means replacing vices with virtues
• Life in the Spirit goes beyond rules & legalities to
the transformation of character
• The virtues mentioned by Paul in Galatians are the
goal toward which the Law tended & the vices
were prohibited by the Law
• So the moral law’s intent or goal is binding on us
• But we must still understand the sense in which
we have been set free from the law & to do that
we must understand the 3 Uses of the Law.
The 3 Uses (or Purposes) of the Law
• Ref. Theol. teaches that the Moral Law has 3 uses:
1. To condemn our sins & show us our need of grace
2. To restrain wickedness in the world & preserve
human society from disintegration
3. To reveal God’s will for holy, Christian living
• The fruit of the Spirit do not contradict the Moral
Law; it is a higher not a lower standard
• So the Law should help us understand what life in
the Spirit looks like concretely
• But the Law no longer condemns us so #1 & 2 do
not apply any longer to Christians – Thank God!
Interim Summary
• The civil & ceremonial law of the OT are but
“shadows” & Christ is the reality (like a photo of a
loved one v. the actual person)
• So it is the moral law which has abiding
relevance for us
• The moral law has 3 uses & the first 2 apply to
non-Christians (conviction of our guilt & need of
grace & restraint of evil in society)
• It is the 3rd use – that of being a guide to holy
living – that is of relevance to us as Christians
• Now let us illustrate these points from Scripture
Exodus 20:1-2
• “And God spoke all these words saying, I am the
Lord your God, who brought you out of the land
of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”
Principle: “Gospel precedes Law”
• Egypt = the world, our lost situation outside of
Christ
• Slavery = slavery to our sinful nature prior to
regeneration
• The law is a blessing to a liberated &redeemed
people showing us how to live so as to be happy
(the 3rd Use).
John Calvin
from his sermon on Deut. 4:44-5:3
(the 2nd giving of the 10 Comm. by Moses on the banks
of the Jordon just prior to entering the Land)
• “. . . If we wish to allow God to be our master,
then we shall discover in his school all perfect
wisdom. For the law exists precisely to make
us prudent. Then further it contains . . .
articles whose purpose is to unite us to unite
us to our God. And that constitutes our
happiness and glory.”
Psalm 119:1-18
• v. 1 “Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk
in the law of the Lord!” - the Law is a blessing not a burden!
• v. 9 “How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding
it according to your word” – the Law helps us live a holy life
• v. 11 “I have stored your word in my heart that I might not
sin against you” – the Law must be internalized
• v. 15 “I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on
your ways” – meditation on the Law is a spiritual discipline
• v. 18 “Open my eyes that I my behold wondrous things out
of your law” – we need the Spirit to illumine our
understanding of the Law
Principle: “The Law is a blessing not a burden!”
John Calvin
Institutes of the Christian Religion, Bk. II, Ch. VII, 14
• “Now the law has power to exhort believers.
This is not a power to bind their consciences
with a curse, but one to shake off their
sluggishness by repeatedly urging them, and
to pinch them awake to their imperfection.”
Matt. 5:17
• “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the
Prophets; I have not come to abolish but to fulfill them.”
Principle: “To love Jesus Christ is to love the Law”
• To reject the law & seek to overturn it in the name of
accommodation to the world is to reject God and Christ
• Christ fulfills the Law by providing the perfect sacrifice
so that all who put their trust in Him can be justified by
faith
• Having fulfilled the Law’s righteous requirements for us,
He enables us to obey the Law by His Spirit.
John Calvin
Institutes of the Christian Religion, Bk. II, Ch. VII,
“First, let us agree that through the law man’s
life is molded not only to outward honesty but
to inward and spiritual righteousness . . .
When we say that this is the meaning of the
law, we are not thrusting toward a new
interpretation of our own, but we are
following Christ, its best interpreter.”
New Years Resolutions
• Many people make resolutions at this time of year
• The Ten Commandments are relevant for us today
• They teach us how to live so as to please God and be
fulfilled as human beings
• How about resolving to memorize the 10
Commandments, if you have not already done so?
• We will study them together one by one
• As we do, let us pray that God will help us know
them, love them, understand them, internalize them
and live in accordance with them.