The Moral Content of the Ten Commandments: Application to Christians
Clifford Henry Brown
Table of Contents
Moral Content of the Ten Commandments: Application to Christians Part 1
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. 2:16). "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." Gal. 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. 3:10. "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.
Let us turn to the 20th chapter of Exodus where Israel found themselves in the presence of the august law of God, the "ten words" (Exod. 34:28; margin) given to them by Moses at Mount Sinai.
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. 8:4-6. 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 14:8-11). 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, 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. 10:14. "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. 2:3). 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. 12:43-45.) 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. 10:20. (See Rev. 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 19:14. 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. 16:23 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. 2:16. "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. 1:10. 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.
Moral Content of the Ten Commandments: Application to Christians Part 2
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. 6:2 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. 13:4. 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. 6:9, "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. 4:28. "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. 20:16, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." The equivalent of this we may find in Eph. 4:25, "Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor." Also note Rom. 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. 20:17, "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. 13:5, "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. 7:7, "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. 6:6-11. 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. 8:4; 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. 13:10.
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