Returning now to Exodus 20, we will read the 12th verse. Here we have the fifth commandment. "Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." If we turn to Eph. 6:22Honor thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) (Ephesians 6:2) we find this commandment is quoted word for word. Christianity would not ask less of children than would the law. How blessed it is when we see the children of Christian parents seeking to carry out faithfully the request of the Word as given here in the epistle to the Ephesians. Such will never have cause to regret that they sought to give their parents this place of respect. God will not be their debtor. They will reap the blessing of it in their own lives.
In the 13th verse of Exodus 20 we have the 6th commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." If we will now turn to 1 Peter, 4th chapter, verse 15, we read, "Let none of you suffer as a murderer." God's standard on this matter of taking human life is no less strict under the Christian revelation than it was under Judaism. Murder cannot be tolerated in the Christian economy.
Next in order is the well-known seventh commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." Here let us turn to Heb. 13:44Marriage is honorable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. (Hebrews 13:4). We will read this verse as translated in Mr. Darby's version of the New Testament. I quote: "Let marriage be held every way in honor, and the bed be undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers will God judge." Then to 1 Cor. 6:99Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (1 Corinthians 6:9), "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolators, not adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Some of those Corinthian saints to whom Paul was writing had been guilty of these breaches of God's moral code. But is it not a wonderful thing that God has found a way through the sacrifice of His beloved Son on Calvary, to cleanse the vilest of every trace of sin, and make him a child of God? We are sanctified, set apart for God, justified—counted as if we had never been guilty. I have enjoyed so much the little girl's definition of justified. She replied to her teacher who had asked her as to the meaning of that word
justified, "It means I am just-as-if-I'd never
sinned." She was right. God so regards us. See verse 11, "Ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Notice that the whole trinity are occupied in this transaction. But let us never minimize the seriousness of immorality in God's sight. He has not changed His attitude one whit from the solemn pronouncement made at Sinai. Listen to His warning today, "Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge."
We are living in the last days, just near the end of the present economy of grace. There is a general breakdown in standards all along the line. Some of us that are older have seen a tremendous change in our lifetime. Some of you who are young may have the idea that present moral looseness has always been rampant just as it is today. But such is not the case. I am not saying that these things did not formerly occur; they did, but at that time there was a measure of public opinion against them. Those guilty of such wickedness were regarded as in disgrace. But now, if we accept Hollywood as our rule of thumb, such breaches of the moral code are regarded almost as badges of honor. These same Hollywood heroes and heroines do not forfeit their acceptability in social circles because of their conduct. But, dear young people, remember as long as you live, God's standards in these matters do not fluctuate one little bit. He is a thrice holy God, who does not by any means overlook sin. Brethren, let us not let down the bars in these matters. Keep the standard just where God has placed it, and we shall never go wrong. The longer we are left here in this scene, the more difficult it is going to be to adhere to God's judgment in this momentous matter. God still speaks with the dignity and authority of the God who knows the end from the beginning. His word is, "Flee these things."
Exodus 20 again, and verse 15 for the eighth commandment, "Thou shalt not steal." Now turn to Eph. 4:2828Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Ephesians 4:28). "Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." Stealing is just as much condemned in the Christian economy as it is in the Jewish. The Ephesian church received the highest truth that God gave to any assembly. There must have been a condition there that qualified them to become the depository of such wonderful truth. And yet after having seated them
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, God has to come down to the humiliating level of the flesh in them, and talk to them about stealing. Such is man! The law stopped with the blunt prohibition, "Thou shalt not steal", but Christianity goes beyond this and says we are to labor, working the thing that is good, that we have to give to him that lacketh. How lovely! But notice, it is working the thing that is good. Just because you may be working and making an honest living does not in itself clear you. Are you working the thing that is good—the thing that can have God's approval? We knew a brother in Christ years ago. He is now with the Lord. When he was converted he was a bartender in a saloon. He was thus making an honest living, but he felt he was not working the thing that is good, so he sought other work, and found it. We do not steal; that is negative; we work the thing that is good, but for what? That we may have to give. That is Christianity. You know the Word of God speaks about "poor saints." Nor is there any biblical inconsistency in those two words, "poor" and "saints." Let us then keep them in mind, and so fulfill the will of God.
Now for the ninth commandment, Exod. 20:1616Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Exodus 20:16), "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." The equivalent of this we may find in Eph. 4:2525Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. (Ephesians 4:25), "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor." Also note Rom. 13:9, 109For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 10Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:9‑10), "Thou shalt not bear false witness.... Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." The Christian demand in this matter is the same as in the law, but it goes far beyond the law's demands, and issues in love to the neighbor.
Our last commandment is found in Exod. 20:1717Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:17), "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife,... nor anything that is thy neighbor's." Now to Heb. 13:55Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. (Hebrews 13:5), "Let your conversation [manner of life] be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." This is the one of the ten commandments that slew the Apostle Paul. He seemed to be able to cope with the other nine, but he admits in Rom. 7:77What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. (Romans 7:7), "I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.... For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me." Paul found out what we have all discovered, that it is as natural to covet as it is to breathe. But, nevertheless, the revealed truth of Christianity condemns covetousness no less severely than did the law of Moses. Oh! the sad tragedies we have seen of saints of God sacrificing everything in order to get on in the world. Covetousness is selfishness.
"Be content with such things as ye have." Now that does not mean that if you are at present living in poverty, you will always have to live in poverty. No, it is not that; the meaning of this exhortation is that we should bow to our circumstances, and be content in them until such time as God may see fit to alter them. In other words, do not constantly be feeling sorry for yourself because things are not as you would have them. Do not be groaning and complaining; be content. If God may be pleased to better your present circumstances, thank Him for it. "Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. But thou, O man of God, flee these things." 1 Tim. 6:6-116But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. (1 Timothy 6:6‑11). How true is the Word of God! Have we not all seen the above statements of Scripture verified in the lives of saints? Sometimes our young people feel that they must keep up with the standard of living that they see in the lives of others. And so it becomes just one thing after another to be coveted. The fact that we live in the most prosperous age and land that the world has ever known has contributed to accelerate this desire to have more. The more we have the more we desire to have. There is no stopping place. But, oh, how different is the Spirit of Christ! His was the spirit of giving, not getting. So He taught us, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Now I am not saying that we are all to give away everything that we have. There was only one man in the Bible to whom the Lord addressed such advice; that was the rich ruler in Luke 18. But the Lord said this to him in order that the young man might be brought to realize what the cancer was which was eating out his own soul—covetousness. No, brethren, worldly possessions are not the secret of happiness. Happiness is a state of soul. It is the enjoyment of Christ, His Person and His work, that keeps the heart at rest and in peace.
Now to summarize. In Christianity we are not under law, but under grace. We are not under the letter of the ten commandments. We are under the moral equivalent of them as set forth in the epistles, save in the case of the commandment that was ceremonial; that is, the sabbath. This has no ritualistic counterpart in Christianity. The other nine commandments, as a matter of their moral content, we do have, but not as a matter of "Thou shalt," and "Thou shalt not." But we have them as the expression of the new nature that we have as born of God. If we thus respect them, beloved, we shall never regret it. It will be to our good for time and for eternity. The righteous requirements of the law will be fulfilled in us (see Rom. 8:44That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:4); J.N.D. Trans.) and thus the fruit of the Spirit will issue in love to God, and to all who are born of God. "Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:1010Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:10).
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