Do the 10 Commandments Still Matter? (Blogging Through the Bible)

Today we are reading with Good Morning Girls in Exodus 20 where we find God giving Moses and the Israelites the 10 Commandments. God has fulfilled His promise to Moses back in Exodus 3:12 where God told Moses that he would know that God sent him to help deliver the Israelites when He brought them all back to Mount Sinai to worship Him. Remember Mount Sinai was where Moses had his "burning bush" experience with God. Moses had first experienced God here at Mount Sinai, and now the Israelites were getting ready to experience some of the mighty power of God here as well. But only because Moses had first experienced God here in this place and was obedient to the call God had placed on his life, were the Israelites now standing in this place. It's the same today with leadership positions. We can only take those we lead to God as far as we've gone with Him ourselves. That's why it is so important to continually be in the Word of God daily to learn more of Who God is and all that He has done.

So in answer to my question posed in today's blog post title...

Yes, the 10 Commandments still matter today because they point us to our need of a Savior! And until we realize this, we cannot help others see the value of the 10 Commandments.

It's no wonder the world continues to try to remove the 10 Commandments from court houses and other public places! It's because we come face-to-face with our sin in the light of the 10 Commandments.

The first four commandments are in regard to our conduct before God.

The last six commandments are in regard to our conduct with other people.

Here's another reason why the 10 Commandments still matter today:

They reflect the unchanging nature of God.

How Do the Israelites Respond to God?

The response of the Israelites is much like the response we see in the world today as more and more people try to push God out of their lives. The Israelites chose not to hear directly from God.

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.” ~Exodus 20:18-19

We'll see how this choice will affect the lives of the Israelites in the chapters ahead. Interestingly, there are more than 57 chapters in the Scriptures that speak to what happened to the Israelites during their one year encampment at Mount Sinai.

The Good News

Here's the Good News, friends! Jesus Christ fulfilled all the requirements of the Law that we cannot. He lived a perfect, sinless life. He died on the cross, taking on the sins of the world, so that through His perfect sacrifice our relationship with God could be restored. His resurrection from the grave has defeated the devil, sin, and death!

During His ministry before His death, Jesus also condensed all of the Law into two commandments:

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” ~Matthew 22:36-40

Love fulfills the Law and the commandments. Our obedience is inspired by the love of God living within us when we accept Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross and the forgiveness of our sins. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit living within us empowering us to be obedient to the will of God. The same power of the Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead now lives inside us (Romans 8:11).


We have God's grace, my friends!

His empowering presence...

...living inside of us

...empowering us to be

...who He created us to be

...and to do what He has called us to do.


We need to be teaching our children the 10 Commandments so that they too can learn of their importance. You can order your own copy of Christ in the Commandments, a wonderful resource from Intoxicated on Life to begin using in your home with your children. I used this with my son in our homeschool and it was very helpful to me in helping him understand the 10 Commandments.

Has there been a time in your life when you chose not to hear directly from God?

Do you go to your friends, your spouse, or a co-worker rather than going to the Bible to get a word from God about your situation?

Are you living the moments of your life in the power of God's grace?

Here are my SOAKs for Thursday and Friday.



Thursday, January 29, 2015

Exodus 19

Scripture: Exodus 19:3-6

³ And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ⁶ And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Observations: God tells Moses His plan for the nation of Israel.

1.     You shall be a special treasure to Me.

2.     You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests.

3.     You shall be to Me a holy nation.

The conditions on which this plan will happen depend on the response of the people.

1.     Obey My voice.

2.     Keep My covenant.

Application: God delivers us from a life of sin so that we can become His special treasure. We each have a unique place in God’s great plan of redemption as we become the hands and feet of Jesus while here on this earth. We are a kingdom of priests (1 Peter 2:9 also says we are a royal priesthood) that can now come boldly before the throne of God because of the work of Jesus Christ – not only with our own requests, but also to intercede for the needs of others. As the children of God, we are to live lives set apart from the rest of the world – meaning the way we live our lives shows others that we have surrendered to the voice of the Lord and have chosen to walk in His ways. When we live our lives this way we become part of God’s great plan of redemption for those who have yet to call on the name of Jesus Christ to be saved and forgiven of their sins.

As a royal priesthood, we need to be interceding through prayer for the lives of those who have yet to call on the name of Jesus.

Kneel: O God, our Father, my heart cries out this morning for the lost souls of this world. As the days here grow darker and darker, we know that our time here is almost over. Your Word says You will not strive forever with man. Yet, You are patient O God, in sending Your Son here again. So I pray that those of us who claim the names of Your special treasure, Your royal priesthood, and Your holy nation will be good stewards of the time we have left to reach lost souls for You, Jesus. Wake us up from complacent and comfortable lives and put a burden for the lost in our hearts and minds that will cause us to become intercessors on their behalf. In the saving name of Jesus I pray. Amen!

Friday, January 30, 2015

Exodus 20

Scripture: Exodus 20:1-17

Observations: The first four commandments refer to our relationship with God. The last six commandments refer to our relationship with people. The purpose of the Commandments is to show us the nature of God and how it is impossible for us to reach those standards. They point us to our need of a Savior Who lived a perfect, sinless life.

Application: Jesus fulfilled the Law for us. When we accept His atoning sacrifice on the cross, we have the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives empowering us to walk in obedience to God. My obedience is inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit and by my love for Jesus and what He has done for me.

Kneel: Heavenly Father, thank You for pointing me to my need of a Savior through the Commandments You gave so long ago. Thank You, Jesus, for fulfilling the requirements of the Law that I can never do in my own flesh. Help me to continually rely on the power of the Holy Spirit living within me to be who You have created me anew to be and to do all that You call me to do. In the victorious name of Jesus I pray. Amen!




I hope you'll join me here again on Monday as we look more into the book of Exodus! Have a great weekend!

Walking in His Grace, 

Laurie

I'm linking up with Courtney Joseph over at Women Living Well, home of Good Morning Girls. Click on the image below to read her Friday post and other Blogging Through the Bible posts too!