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 today? Three reasons the law of God still speaks to the living.

Setting the Stage in Deuteronomy

If you've been with us over the last several weeks, you know we've been slowly moving through a passage of the Old Testament that deals with the law of God. In the coming weeks we'll look at the specifics of God's statutes and judgments, commonly called the Ten Commandments. You don't even need to be a student of the Bible to have some inclination about what they are. Many who have never attended church still have a cultural memory of them.

By way of reminder—whether you remember the Ten Commandments from Charlton Heston, The Prince of Egypt, or Exodus: Gods and Kings—Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they crossed the Red Sea, and eventually came to Mount Sinai, also called Horeb. There at the mountain of God, Moses received the law and rehearsed it before the people. That's recorded in Exodus chapter 20.

But we've been studying the book of Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible, which takes place about 40 years after Exodus 20. Moses is rehearsing the law before Israel just before they enter the Promised Land. Because this is the second time he has corporately preached through the statutes and judgments of God, the book is called Deuteronomy—a compound of two Greek words, deuteros and nomos, meaning "second law."

Is This Really Relevant?

I may have already lost you, and I'm not even two minutes into my message, because you're wondering why a moral code from the middle Bronze Age should have any bearing on your life. That's a valid and good question. It's similar to the question my son Ethan, who's in sixth grade, asked me this last week as he had to read through a portion of the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi.

You could be forgiven for thinking this is irrelevant. For some people, Deuteronomy is about as relevant as the Code of Hammurabi or a New York Times newspaper from 1957. But is that really the case? Are the statutes and judgments of Deuteronomy still relevant? Is the law of God handed down by Moses still important? I want to give you three reasons why this passage is relevant and important to us as we live here today.

First Reason: The Law Judges All Who Are Alive

Notice that's exactly what Moses says. The statutes and judgments read and preached before Israel 3,400 years ago were for those who were alive hearing his message that day. The rules weren't 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 when the person dies the law no longer has power over them.

That begs the question: what does this law have to do with me? Wasn't it for the people of Israel living at the time of Moses? To those questions I would respond yes and no. The law was for those alive when Moses spoke, but they're dead now. The law is only binding upon those who are alive. Furthermore, the statutes and judgments 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. God is revealed in Scripture 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). In that day God will judge the secrets of men (Romans 2). And what will He use to judge us? His law, whether written on stone tablets 3,400 years ago or written upon our hearts.

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... 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)

So the first reason the statutes and judgments of God are important is that they are continually relevant for all who are alive and will be used to judge us at death.

Second Reason: The Law Brings Solid Societies, Steady Hearts, and Sanctified Lives

The next reasons 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... 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 lyrical verses David gives six descriptive titles of God's law, six characteristic qualities, and six divine effects—six, six, six. Don't be scared by that number; in Scripture six is the number of man, and the law was given from God to man and for man to relate to God. The law, testimony, statutes, commandment, fear, and judgments of the Lord are described as perfect, sure, right, pure, clean, true, and 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.

All of 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 seeing our society fracture. Is that surprising? We long ago relegated the commandments of Scripture to the shelf as irrelevant. We have more people stricken by anxiety, fear, worry, and depression. Is it possible our rejection of the commandments of God is connected to all of 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 Us to the Savior

Finally, and more importantly than the previous two reasons, the law of God brings the knowledge of sin and directs us to our Savior. It's a long passage, but follow along from Romans chapter 3:

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 3:19–26)

Paul hammers the point again in Romans chapter 7: "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.'" And elsewhere he puts it like this: "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith."

The law of God is important because it helps us live and will be used as a judge 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 the Unbeliever and a Word to the Believer

If you're not a believer in Jesus today and have often thought the do's and don'ts of the Old Testament are irrelevant, 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 your failures and sin is death—both physical 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.

And if you are a follower of Jesus who now sees the relevance of these 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, and I'll teach you a simple way to memorize the Ten Commandments in five minutes or less.

How to Receive Christ

Putting your faith in Jesus Christ can be as simple as A-B-C. First, you 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 person who looks upon another to lust has already committed adultery in his heart, and the person angry with someone without cause has committed murder. When we look at the law, we realize all of us have fallen short of God's glory. We must admit we are sinners—that's confession, agreeing with God that we have broken His law.

Second, you believe that Jesus died on the cross in your place, as a substitute for your sin. Third, you 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'd like to receive the free gift of grace, salvation, and forgiveness today, pray this simple prayer 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'd 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.

Memorizing the Ten Commandments

We want you to hide the word of God in your heart, including the Ten Commandments. Many people say, "I don't have a good memory, I couldn't commit these to heart." But you probably already know some of them. So let me help you memorize them with some simple—admittedly cheesy—word association and pictures, which we'll put on the screen.

The first one is a red ribbon with the number one on it: "You shall have no other gods before Me." God needs to be number one in our lives. The second pictures a man bowing to an idol, shaped like a two: "You shall not make for yourself any idols." Do not bow down to any other god. The third looks like lips: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain." Do not use your lips to dishonor God. The fourth is a neglected book on a shelf that looks like a four: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy." Do not neglect the things of God. The fifth looks like your parents: "Honor your father and your mother."

The sixth is a bomb that looks like a six: "You shall not murder." The seventh is a heart shaped to look like a broken heart: "You shall not commit adultery." The eighth is a thief's mask, a caper coming to steal: "You shall not steal." The ninth looks like the number lying down: "You shall not lie." And the tenth shows a thief looking through a door—the door is a one and the ring he's eyeing is a zero: "You shall not covet."

These pictures are corny, but I guarantee if you remember them, you'll memorize the Ten Commandments very quickly. As David said, "Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."

Closing Prayer

Father God, I pray that You would help us to commit not just this to memory, but Your word as a whole—to learn it and hold it deep in our hearts so that we would walk in a way that is honoring to You. But when we fail, and we will all fail, we thank You so much 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 of all unrighteousness. God, help us to share that good news with the people we interact with this week. We praise You and thank You for this time. In Jesus' name, amen.

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.