With Us … Here Today | Sunday, September 13, 2020

And Moses called all Israel and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive." (Deuteronomy 5:1–3)

Why should a moral code from the Bronze Age have any bearing on your life? Three reasons the law of God is still for us, here, today.

A Second Telling of the Law

If you have joined us over the last several weeks, you know we have been slowly moving through a passage in the Old Testament that deals with the law of God. Beginning in the next couple of weeks, we will look at the specifics of God's statutes and judgments, commonly referred to as the Ten Commandments. You don't even need to be a student of the Bible to have some inclination of what they are—we still carry a cultural memory of them.

By way of reminder: Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea, and eventually came to Mount Sinai, also called Horeb. There Moses received the law from God and rehearsed it before the people, recorded in Exodus chapter 20. But we have been studying the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, which takes place about forty years after Exodus 20. Just before Israel enters the Promised Land, Moses preaches the statutes and judgments of God a second time. The very name Deuteronomy comes from two Greek words, deutero and nomos, meaning "second law."

Is This Really Relevant?

By this point I may already have lost you, because you are wondering why a moral code from the middle Bronze Age should have any bearing on your life. That is a fair question. It's very similar to the question my son Ethan, in sixth grade, asked as he read a portion of the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi this week. For some people, Deuteronomy seems about as relevant as the Code of Hammurabi, or a New York Times from 1957. But is that really the case? Are the statutes and judgments of Deuteronomy still relevant? I want to give you three reasons this passage is important for us today.

First Reason: The Law Is for the Living and Will Judge Us

Notice exactly what Moses says. The covenant was made "not with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive." The statutes preached 3,400 years ago were for those alive to hear his message that day—not for those who had come before. The law was for the living.

In the New Testament, the apostle Paul says the law is binding upon a person as long as they are alive; but if the person dies, the law no longer has power over them. So what does this law have to do with me? Yes and no. The law was for those alive when Moses spoke, and they are dead now—but the law remains binding on those who are alive. And it is worth noting that the statutes of Exodus and Deuteronomy are never called the law of Israel. It is the law of God. Since God is eternal, His law remains relevant for all who are alive today.

If God is real—and I believe He is—it is His law by which He will judge. Scripture reveals God as judge, lawgiver, and king. The New Testament proclaims that God has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17), and in that day He will judge the secrets of men (Romans 2). What will God use to judge us? His law—whether written on stone tablets 3,400 years ago, or written on our hearts. And His judgment will be perfectly impartial:

For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law... for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness. (Romans 2:11–15)

Second Reason: The Law Brings Life

The next reasons for its importance are found in Psalm 19, where 3,000 years ago King David wrote:

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; the statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7–11)

In these verses David gives six descriptive titles of God's law, six characteristic qualities, and six divine effects. Don't be frightened by that number—six in Scripture is the number of man, and the law was given from God to man and for man to relate to God. The statutes and judgments are described as the law, the testimony, the statutes, the commandment, the fear, and the judgments of the Lord. Together they are perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, righteous, desirable, and sweet. In our lives they convert the soul, make wise the simple, rejoice the heart, enlighten the eyes, endure forever, and bring warning and reward.

That leads to the second reason: the law of the Lord leads to a solid society, a steady heart, and a sanctified life. At this moment in our national history we are watching society fracture—and we long ago relegated the commandments to the shelf as irrelevant. We have more people stricken by anxiety, fear, worry, and depression than ever; is it possible our rejection of God's commandments is connected to that? We are beholding the devastation of sin in individual lives and communities like at no other time. Are we willing to admit there might be a connection?

Third Reason: The Law Reveals Sin and Points to the Savior

More important than the previous two reasons is the third: the law of God brings the knowledge of sin and directs us to our Savior. Follow along as I read from Romans:

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed... even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:19–24)

Paul hammers the point again four chapters later:

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, "You shall not covet." (Romans 7:7)

And in another place: "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." The law is important because it helps us live and will be used to judge us in death; it leads to solid societies, a steady heart, and a sanctified life. But the law cannot save. It shows us our sin and leads us to our Savior.

A Word to Those Who Don't Yet Believe

If you are not a believer today, and you have often thought the do's and don'ts of the Old Testament are irrelevant in your life, let me speak candidly. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. By your good works you will not be able to stand before a holy God. The payment for sin is death—both physical death and eternal separation from God's love, joy, peace, and blessing. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. By putting your trust in Jesus, confessing Him as Lord, and trusting in His death in your place on the cross, you can be justified—made right with God.

The ABCs of Faith

Putting your faith in Christ can be as simple as A-B-C. First, admit that you are a sinner. Romans tells us that by the law is the knowledge of sin. The commandments say things like: you shall not lie, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder. Jesus made these even weightier in the Sermon on the Mount, saying the one who looks on another to lust has already committed adultery in his heart, and the one angry with another without cause has committed murder. So we realize that all of us have fallen short, and we must confess—agree with God that we have broken His law.

Second, believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, as a substitute for your sin. Third, confess Him as your Savior and Lord. Romans 10 says whoever calls upon the Lord shall be saved—the one who confesses with their lips that He is Lord and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead shall never be put to shame. If you would like to receive that free gift today, pray with me:

Dear Jesus, I recognize that I have broken Your commandments. I confess that I am a sinner, and I thank You that You are a good Savior. I pray that You would come into my life, forgive me of my sin, and help me to follow You by faith. Be my Lord and my Savior. In Jesus' name, amen.

Hide the Word in Your Heart

If you are a follower of Jesus and now see the relevance of God's statutes and judgments, I encourage you to commit them to memory. Psalm 119 says, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You." Have you hidden God's word in your heart? Our kids have been learning these as part of our home children's ministry plan, so I want to teach you a simple—and somewhat cheesy—way to memorize the Ten Commandments in five minutes or less.

We'll use word association and pictures. The first commandment is pictured as a red ribbon with a number one: "You shall have no other gods before Me"—God must be number one. The second, a figure bowing to an idol that looks like a two: "You shall not make for yourself any idols." The third, lips: "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain"—do not use your lips to dishonor God. The fourth, a neglected book on a shelf: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy"—do not neglect the things of God. The fifth, your parents: "Honor your father and your mother."

The sixth, a bomb that looks like a six: "You shall not murder." The seventh, a heart broken in two: "You shall not commit adultery." The eighth, a burglar's mask: "You shall not steal." The ninth, a number lying down: "You shall not lie." And the tenth, a thief peering through a door (the one) at a ring (the zero): "You shall not covet." These pictures are corny, but I guarantee that if you remember them you will memorize the Ten Commandments very quickly. As David said, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

A Call to Fellowship

We truly are rejoicing in the good things God is doing. As I have shared many times, this is not the ideal way to do church. We would much rather gather as a body to worship and fellowship, to sit on the patio with donuts and coffee afterward—and someday, hopefully not far away, we will. Until then, I want to encourage you to prayerfully consider reaching out to a friend, neighbor, or family member and inviting them to fellowship. We are fellowship-starved right now. The early church in Acts 2 devoted themselves not only to the apostles' doctrine, but to fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. So as the Lord leads, reach out—even if it must be physically distanced. It will be a great encouragement and will grow you in your walk with the Lord.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would help us to commit not just this, but Your word as a whole, to memory—to learn it and hold it deep in our hearts, so that we would walk in a way that is honoring to You. And when we fail—and we will all fail—we thank You that we have an advocate, a mediator. Jesus, You are the one who stands in our place, who bore our sin and offers us forgiveness. If we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Help us to share that good news with the people we interact with this week. We praise You and thank You for this time.

We pray, too, for our community, our church, and our nation—especially for those throughout California, Washington, and Oregon fighting fires and fleeing from them. Protect the firefighters and all who are in the midst of this, and bring a shift in the weather. And now may the LORD bless and keep you; may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.