Beloved Brethren, I have it before me this afternoon to take up the subject of the ten commandments and their moral bearing upon the Christian. But first let us read the following scriptures.
"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 2:1616Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. (Galatians 2:16)). "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." Gal. 2:1919For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. (Galatians 2:19). "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Gal. 3:1010For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10). "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith." v. 11. "And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them." v. 12. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."
Now the reason I have read these verses is this: In taking up the subject of the ten commandments, there might be an inclination on the part of some to think that I was taking them up in a legal way, as though we believers of this present day are under the law. No! we are under grace—pure sovereign grace-nothing of legality about it.
Our thought is to trace these "ten words" as we find their corollary in the New Testament. Of the ten commandments, eight are negative; two are positive; nine moral; one ceremonial.
God's nature is not subject to change; thus we shall find that the nine commandments that are essentially moral in character have their replica in Christianity. Let us seek to trace them. The first commandment is found in the third verse of Exodus 20, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." This stands at the head of the list. It is fundamental. It is an essential part of the Jewish economy. So also the Christian revelation preserves this truth inviolate. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 8, the end of verse 4, "There is none other God but one." How clear and unequivocal is this statement. Now read the 6th verse: "But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things." So when a Jehovah Witness comes to your door to challenge your confession of Christ as God, read to him 1 Cor. 8:4-64As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. 5For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) 6But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. (1 Corinthians 8:4‑6). We own but one God, but that one God has been pleased to reveal Himself in three Persons. You remember that Philip asked the Lord Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father." How wonderful was our Lord's reply: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father;... I am in the Father, and the Father in Me" (John 14:8-118Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? 10Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. (John 14:8‑11)). Now let us turn to John's first epistle, the last chapter and the 20th verse. "And we know that the Son of God is come, and bath 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." Oh, how definite! Crystal clear are these pronouncements; Jesus is God. Yes, in Christianity we know but one God. Sometimes He is manifested as the Father, sometimes as the Son, and sometimes as the Spirit. (Cf. Acts 5:3, 43But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? 4Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. (Acts 5:3‑4).) So in Christianity we find ourselves in hearty accord with Moses' first commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."
Going back now to the 20th chapter of Exodus, let us take up the second commandment. We will read from verse 4. "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything 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." "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image." Now turn to 1 Cor. 10:1414Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry. (1 Corinthians 10:14). "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry." See also verse 7. "Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." We are living in a period which is readying itself for the "man of sin" (2 Thess. 2:33Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3)). The world is going to plunge into the most awful idolatry that it has ever known. The Jews themselves will be sevenfold more deeply involved in idolatry than ever before. (See Matt. 12:43-4543When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation. (Matthew 12:43‑45).) The rest of the world will follow right along. This trend is apparent today. Have you noticed the rapid increase in the stock of figurines and statuettes for sale in many different kinds of stores? Among such you will see exact replicas of heathen idols. One feels that all this is moving in the direction of having all the materials ready for idol worship and worship of the image of the beast (Rev. 13). When man gives up the true knowledge of God as revealed in the Word of God, he readily falls into idolatry. Such has been his history. Behind the seemingly innocent idol of clay or wood, is the sinister power and presence of a demon. It is really demon worship. Compare 1 Cor. 10:2020But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. (1 Corinthians 10:20). (See Rev. 9:2020And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: (Revelation 9:20).) Thus we find in this 10th chapter of 1 Corinthians a solemn warning to us Christians to flee from anything that borders on idolatry. Bowing down before images has no place in Christianity. This is in full agreement with the second commandment.
Again back to Exodus 20; this time we shall read verse 7. "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." Let us turn to James, the 5th chapter and verse 12. "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." How completely this substantiates the third Mosaic commandment. Let us go a little more into detail here. I do not believe there is anyone present in this room today who deliberately takes the name of the Lord in vain. But let us notice that James takes the matter beyond this minimum prohibition. "Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." I wonder how many of us here can plead innocence as we hear that exhortation. If you will look up the word "mince" in Webster's dictionary, you will find the term "minced oath."... This provides a polite way to swear—a refined method of profanity. It is a grievous fact that many of the Lord's people fall into the habit, thus ignoring this salutary warning of James. I have here with me a little pamphlet put out by Good News Publishers, Wells St., Chicago. It is entitled "Minced Oaths." I thought perhaps you would bear with me if I read one paragraph of this tract. "A commonly used interjection is 'Gee.' It is capitalized in Webster's New International Dictionary, and given this definition: 'A form of Jesus used in minced oaths.' Two common words and their definitions are these: 'Golly—a euphemism for God, used in minced oaths; Gosh—a substitute for God, used in minced oaths.' 'Darn, darned, damnation' are said to be 'colloquial euphemisms for damn, damned, damnation.' Persons who allow their lips to utter 'gosh-darned' quite freely, would be shocked if they realized the real meaning of the word." To gain the full victory in this matter of obedience to the Word of God we need to make the prayer of David our daily petition, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, 0 LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:1414Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14). I think of you young people, especially, in the matter of forming your habits of speech. When you are young is the time to eliminate all from your conversation that borders on the rough, the uncouth, or the profane. Never allow anything of the kind to creep into your utterances. Let us heed this warning of the Word. Let us guard our speech, in the home, in the school, in the factory, in the office; let it be chaste and pure. Let it be such as can stand the Lord's examination at the judgment seat of Christ.
In Exodus 20 again, verse 8. Here we have the fourth commandment. "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." Now I will have to confess that I am absolutely unable to produce anything that answers to that commandment in Christianity. It is not to be found. Remember, that word "sabbath," which means "rest," is first used in Exod. 16:2323And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. (Exodus 16:23) in connection with the children of Israel gathering the manna. It was not to be gathered on the sabbath, the seventh day. This day was distinctly declared to be a day of rest. But when we enter the Christian dispensation, or administration if you prefer, we find no directions for the observance of any such day. There is only one mention of the sabbath in any of the New Testament epistles; that is in Col. 2:1616Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: (Colossians 2:16). "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days." But now notice the qualifying statement in the next verse, "Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ!' Evidently the only reason for mentioning the sabbath here is to show that it forms no part of the Christian revelation. On the contrary, it was but a shadow of what was to follow. As far as our day of rest is concerned, we learn from Hebrews 4 that, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." v. 9. We cannot say that the sabbath has been changed to Sunday. The sabbath was always the seventh day of the week; Sunday is the first day of the week, so it could not possibly be the sabbath. So we await our day of rest when the Lord shall take us to His Father's house, that we may rest in His love. The rest is at the end of the journey.
Some may ask the question, "What about the Lord's day, the first day of the week; is that not our day of rest?" To this we must answer, "No." Then what place does it hold in our lives? Does the expression itself not answer the question, "the Lord's day"? The day belongs to the Lord. It is to be used for Him. It is on that day that we come together to break bread. The term Lord's day is found only once; namely, in Rev. 1:1010I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (Revelation 1:10). The word in Greek here might be translated dominical. So we might translate this verse in Revelation 1, "I was in the Spirit on the dominical day." Now if we go back to the 11th chapter of 1 Corinthians, we shall find this same Greek word used in connection with the Lord's supper. Or, it might be called the dominical supper. Now, is it not significant that the only use of this Greek word dominical in the New Testament is in connection with the supper and the day? So the Lord's supper is observed on the Lord's day.
The Lord's day is definitely distinguished from other days by several significant scriptures. Our Lord Jesus Christ arose from the dead on the first day of the week; He appeared to His disciples on that day; He appeared to them again the second Lord's day after His resurrection. We note that the Holy Spirit descended on the day of Pentecost, which was also the first day of the week; the disciples came together on the first day of the week to break bread; the Apostle told the Corinthians to lay by on the first day of the week their contribution for the collection for the poor saints. All these scriptures go to show us that in Christianity the first day of the week completely displaces the Jewish sabbath. How inconsistent it would be for the Church of God to celebrate as their day, that during which their Lord and Savior lay under the power of death and the grave. But how glorious to come together on the first day of the week, the day of His victory over the tomb. How sweet and precious to give to Him this first day of the week, His day.
I desire to say something to you young people here today. It grieves me as I go about to find so many of our young folks using the Lord's day for their ordinary tasks of life. You tell me that you would not think of getting out and cutting the lawn on the Lord's day, nor, perhaps, would you consider doing your washing on the Lord's day. But now, let us come nearer home. You say you are in school. Well and good; that is a proper and legitimate part of your life. I hope you do well in your school work. But listen; is your school work of such importance that it can rightfully displace your giving the Lord's day to Him to whom it belongs? Perhaps you answer, "If I do not study on the Lord's day, I will not get an 'A' grade." Perhaps not, but even so, which is of more importance to you, an "A" or the Lord's approval? Let us seek, by the grace of God, to give the Lord His day.
Perhaps some young person is saying, "Well, how then am Ito spend my Lord's day?" I happen to know how some of our dear young brothers and sisters make use of their spare time on the Lord's day. They find various ways of giving out the gospel. Maybe it is the visiting of institutions for the passing out of tracts and speaking to souls individually about the Lord. Perhaps it is street preaching. With others it is visiting the sick and the shut-ins. Some take a part of the Lord's day to write helpful letters to Christian friends, or perhaps to unsaved relatives and friends. Others take a part of the day to mail out literature to those whom they think might be helped in their souls by some tract or pamphlet. No, there is no sabbath, no day of rest in Christianity, but there is a day we may be free to serve the Lord. May the Lord give us a tender conscience that it may be truly His day.