Read 2 Chronicles 16:7
Where does our reliance lie? What areas of life are we relying upon someone other than God?
Here's why we can rely on God all the time...read 2 Chronicles 16:9
Praise the Lord that He said He would never leave us, nor forsake us!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Commandment #9 - Bearing False Witness
Here is the sermon transcript from today's sermon on the 9th commandment:
Exodus 20:16 – Truth-telling in a World of Lies
July 26, 2009
One of the most famous movie dialogues with regard to our subject this morning comes from the early 1990s movie “A Few Good Men”.
The scene is the courtroom where Lt. Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is questioning Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) concerning a murder incident that took place on his marine base where a young private Santiago was killed by two other marines.
In the midst of the heated exchange between Lt. Kaffee and Col. Jessup, Kaffee shouts, “I want the truth”…
To which Col. Jessup responds in classic Jack Nicholson fashion… “You can’t handle the truth!”
Truth and truth-telling in particular has become an elusive creature within our post-modern era—certainly in courtrooms, but even more so within the context of the various dimensions of human relationships.
Its elusive nature is reflected in teenage TV shows that flood the Disney channel and movies in theatres where “bearing false witness” is just the way life is done.
It can also be detected in the smallest of human beings—“Carter, did you hit your sister?”—“No” or “It was an accident”
It would seem that lying and bearing false witness and deceiving is built into our fallen human nature—
All of this began with the “father of lies”, Satan, in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve bearing false witness about God and His love and Word, thereby precipitating the eventual fall of the human race through the deliberate sin of Adam.
From there, Adam sought to blame Eve (which was really blaming God b/c God gave Eve to Adam), and then Eve sought to blame the serpent…all participating in a form of “bearing false witness” trying to “save face” and participate in some form of “self-preservation”
What happened in the Garden of Eden in the fall has bent our human nature toward a profound tendency of self-preservation and keeping up appearances before others as more important than the “truth”—
In fact this “self-preservation” is a form of idolatry because it becomes the thing that we worship and the altar upon which we sacrifice truth instead of worshiping the one who is the Truth—that is Jesus
Ever since the fall, we have been prone to outright lies, cover ups, deception, hypocrisy, “white” lies, gossip, slander, exaggerations, embellishments, flattery, half-truths, or plagiarism…
This is something that we are all guilty of at times and the consequences and repercussions of these violations differ depending upon the context and the relationship that has been damaged because of the violation…though they are all violations of this commandment
Michael Horton quotes an essay by Paul Gray about this very subject providing a good summary of the mixed bag this commandment brings to the table of our relationships in society as a whole:
“The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked ambivalent, conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everybody condemns lying. On the other, nearly everyone does it every day.”
With that being said, let us hear afresh this morning through the prophet Moses, God’s instruction and mandate for His people to be truthful in all there dealings within the context of human relationships as He declares, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
The overall biblical principle that this commandment speaks to is the principle of “truth-telling” with respect to the many and varied contexts of human relationships in which we find ourselves.
With respect to the Israelite people, God gave further instructions on the application of this commandment within their community of faith…
Here are some of those instructions from the OT…
Exodus 23:1-3
You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in a dispute.
Leviticus 5:1
If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or know of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.
The NAC says that this verse indicates that a false testimony includes the refusal to divulge pertinent information, thus creating a false impression of what the facts really are.
Leviticus 11:11, 16-17
You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
You shall not go about as a talebearer (slanderer) among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
This verse indicates that slander, that is (AW Pink) “a lie invented and circulated with malicious intentions”, is a form of bearing false witness.
On the other hand, to refuse to rebuke a fellow brother or sister who is sinning while acting as if everything is ok, is also a form of bearing false witness—this is the form of bearing false witness that the Corinthian church was guilty of in 1 Corinthians 5.
Loving our neighbor is the biblical command for us in both situations—not slandering our brother or sister, but also rebuking our brother or sister at the right time in the right place with the right movitation.
Deuteronomy 19:18-19
And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil among you.
It is true that most of these OT contexts refer to a courtroom type setting; however, the larger principle of truth-telling in all circumstances is clearly seen, particularly in the Leviticus texts.
The implications of this commandment go beyond just our words, though they are certainly and most definitely included, but to any manner in which we communicate—our actions, through telephone, email, facebook, myspace…in any of these ways, there is potential to bear false witness.
At this point, we are going to list a few ways in which we commonly violate this biblical principle of truth-telling, honesty, forthrightness, and trustworthiness—maybe without even realizing it…
The possibilities will most likely fall into one of two categories…not fixed categories, but they might give us ample room to examine our own hearts by the Holy Spirit…
Here are the two categories…
1) We can bear false witness about a neighbor to other neighbors (drawing them into our web of sinful activity), or
2) We can bear false witness about ourselves to our neighbor…(b/c who is my neighbor...everybody)
Both cases violate the biblical principle of loving our neighbor with regard to honesty, forthrightness, integrity, and truth-telling…
And, as we begin this list…let me say that it is potentially an endless list of possibilities of violating this principle because of the endless set of circumstances and situations we could find ourselves in…AND we are all probably guilty in more than one point…
So, buckle your seatbelt, change into your steel toed shoes…here we go…
1) Maliciously gossiping about someone—“circulating a false report—occurs also regardless if what is being said is true or false—masked as a “prayer request”
2) Misrepresenting ourselves to others—giving false impressions to other people—Facebook; Myspace—what’s your real age, young people?—
a. Resumes—George O’Leary—Notre Dame coach—didn’t actually play college football
3) Calling ourselves Christians—bear false witness to the world if we claim to be Christians, but live contrary to the way the Bible describes the Christian way of life
4) When we give a false impression of what the facts are in a situation instead of what the facts really are…
5) Telling little “white” lies—to ease a situation, to get out of a jam, to save face in an embarrassing situation, to avoid getting in trouble, to avoid—getting our kids to lie for us…”mommy’s not home right now”
a. What about kids’ meals at restaurants—these kids know how old they are—
6) Flattery and false praise—how often do we do this with our kids—have we allowed the self-esteem movement to keep us from being honest to our own kids?
a. American Idol – bad singers – their friends?
b. I read this lengthy quote this week..."The Bible actually has a very simple way of explaining what is at the heart of the self-esteem movement and its other not-so-funny effects. Proverbs 26:28 states, “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” No matter how sophisticated our theory, telling someone something that isn’t true just so they will feel better is flattery. This proverb makes plain that flattery is just a nice word for lying. No matter how noble our motivation, and despite its comic value, giving someone a false picture of themselves doesn’t help them, but only sets them up for ruin. Without bothering to speculate on our motivation, the Bible simply calls this “hatred” because of its effect. Love means speaking in a way that helps the other person to grow, that gives them the best shot at success, not ruin, shame, and embarrassment. As a counselor as well as a husband, father, friend, and neighbor I need to remember that sometimes speaking the truth in love isn’t easy and isn’t always welcomed by the hearer. But it is love...
c. "I think that maybe some of the contestants on American Idol would have been better served if a few trusted people in their lives had taken just a few minutes to kindly tell them, “You know, singing may not be the best use of your talents. Let me tell you what you are really good at . . ."
Does that mean, Michael, that when my wife asks me how her hair looks, I have to tell the truth?
Well, if your relationship with your husband or wife is not so that you can tell the truth about something like that…there are probably deeper issues that you need to talk about other than hair…
Having said that though, that does bring up a question…Is it ever right to lie…is there ever a situation where we must lie—because if we are honest all of these little “names” we have proposed are just fancy ways of lying
Think with me about Rahab, the harlot, in the OT…remember when the spies came from into the promised land…Joshua 2…did she lie…yes—was it still a sin?—there is a quandary for us to ponder……(battered wife or children)
Another question that arises—is it right to always be brutally honest with people?
One quote I read this week about this said… “There also seems to be an honesty threshold, a point beyond which a virtue turns mean and nasty. Constantly hearing the truth, the cold, hard, brutal unsparing truth, from spouses, relatives, friend and colleagues is not a pleasant prospect. ‘Human kind,’ as TS Elliot wrote, ‘cannot bear very much reality.” Truth telling makes it possible for people to coexist; a little lying makes such society tolerable.”
What do you think about that? I’m still pondering those statements…I’m certain that this type of “honesty” can very easily become overly critical…interesting thoughts anyway…
With regard to prohibiting the bearing of false witness, God is calling His people to be honest and to have integrity.
A few scriptures to give us direction and exhortation on this matter as we reflect on our own lives with respect to this commandment…
Let’s begin with James 3:1-12
James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
ESV Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
ESV Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
ESV Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Notice that none of these forbid the rebuking of a brother or sister in sin—but, it does give us direction and guidance in the attitude with we “speak the truth”—that it is always done in love.
ESV Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
As this command pertains to “bearing false witness about ourselves to others”, we are called in scripture to…
1) Live lives that are “above reproach”—that does not mean perfection, but it does mean we own up to mistakes made, sins committed and take responsibility for actions in such a way that no one can point fingers and bring a charge against us—this is having integrity
2) Similarly, we are called to live lives that “abstain from all appearance” of evil—we have a responsibility not to compromise our testimony or to misrepresent Jesus and the name that we claim Christian
These scriptures and principles about truth-telling and truth-living do not mince any words—some, it will cause to shake in their shoes—some it will cause to want to crawl in a hole—
But, they should drive all of us to the cross of Jesus—the one who is the truth
They should drive all of us to our knees—in confession and repentance—in total dependence on the Holy Spirit by God’s enabling grace to walk with integrity and speak with honesty in all situations from this day forward
Exodus 20:16 – Truth-telling in a World of Lies
July 26, 2009
One of the most famous movie dialogues with regard to our subject this morning comes from the early 1990s movie “A Few Good Men”.
The scene is the courtroom where Lt. Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is questioning Colonel Nathan Jessup (Jack Nicholson) concerning a murder incident that took place on his marine base where a young private Santiago was killed by two other marines.
In the midst of the heated exchange between Lt. Kaffee and Col. Jessup, Kaffee shouts, “I want the truth”…
To which Col. Jessup responds in classic Jack Nicholson fashion… “You can’t handle the truth!”
Truth and truth-telling in particular has become an elusive creature within our post-modern era—certainly in courtrooms, but even more so within the context of the various dimensions of human relationships.
Its elusive nature is reflected in teenage TV shows that flood the Disney channel and movies in theatres where “bearing false witness” is just the way life is done.
It can also be detected in the smallest of human beings—“Carter, did you hit your sister?”—“No” or “It was an accident”
It would seem that lying and bearing false witness and deceiving is built into our fallen human nature—
All of this began with the “father of lies”, Satan, in the Garden of Eden when he deceived Eve bearing false witness about God and His love and Word, thereby precipitating the eventual fall of the human race through the deliberate sin of Adam.
From there, Adam sought to blame Eve (which was really blaming God b/c God gave Eve to Adam), and then Eve sought to blame the serpent…all participating in a form of “bearing false witness” trying to “save face” and participate in some form of “self-preservation”
What happened in the Garden of Eden in the fall has bent our human nature toward a profound tendency of self-preservation and keeping up appearances before others as more important than the “truth”—
In fact this “self-preservation” is a form of idolatry because it becomes the thing that we worship and the altar upon which we sacrifice truth instead of worshiping the one who is the Truth—that is Jesus
Ever since the fall, we have been prone to outright lies, cover ups, deception, hypocrisy, “white” lies, gossip, slander, exaggerations, embellishments, flattery, half-truths, or plagiarism…
This is something that we are all guilty of at times and the consequences and repercussions of these violations differ depending upon the context and the relationship that has been damaged because of the violation…though they are all violations of this commandment
Michael Horton quotes an essay by Paul Gray about this very subject providing a good summary of the mixed bag this commandment brings to the table of our relationships in society as a whole:
“The injunction against bearing false witness, branded in stone and brought down by Moses from the mountaintop, has always provoked ambivalent, conflicting emotions. On the one hand, nearly everybody condemns lying. On the other, nearly everyone does it every day.”
With that being said, let us hear afresh this morning through the prophet Moses, God’s instruction and mandate for His people to be truthful in all there dealings within the context of human relationships as He declares, “you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
The overall biblical principle that this commandment speaks to is the principle of “truth-telling” with respect to the many and varied contexts of human relationships in which we find ourselves.
With respect to the Israelite people, God gave further instructions on the application of this commandment within their community of faith…
Here are some of those instructions from the OT…
Exodus 23:1-3
You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. You shall not follow a crowd to do evil; nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after many to pervert justice. You shall not show partiality to a poor man in a dispute.
Leviticus 5:1
If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or know of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt.
The NAC says that this verse indicates that a false testimony includes the refusal to divulge pertinent information, thus creating a false impression of what the facts really are.
Leviticus 11:11, 16-17
You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
You shall not go about as a talebearer (slanderer) among your people; nor shall you take a stand against the life of your neighbor: I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.
This verse indicates that slander, that is (AW Pink) “a lie invented and circulated with malicious intentions”, is a form of bearing false witness.
On the other hand, to refuse to rebuke a fellow brother or sister who is sinning while acting as if everything is ok, is also a form of bearing false witness—this is the form of bearing false witness that the Corinthian church was guilty of in 1 Corinthians 5.
Loving our neighbor is the biblical command for us in both situations—not slandering our brother or sister, but also rebuking our brother or sister at the right time in the right place with the right movitation.
Deuteronomy 19:18-19
And the judges shall make careful inquiry, and indeed, if the witness is a false witness, who has testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he thought to have done to his brother; so you shall put away the evil among you.
It is true that most of these OT contexts refer to a courtroom type setting; however, the larger principle of truth-telling in all circumstances is clearly seen, particularly in the Leviticus texts.
The implications of this commandment go beyond just our words, though they are certainly and most definitely included, but to any manner in which we communicate—our actions, through telephone, email, facebook, myspace…in any of these ways, there is potential to bear false witness.
At this point, we are going to list a few ways in which we commonly violate this biblical principle of truth-telling, honesty, forthrightness, and trustworthiness—maybe without even realizing it…
The possibilities will most likely fall into one of two categories…not fixed categories, but they might give us ample room to examine our own hearts by the Holy Spirit…
Here are the two categories…
1) We can bear false witness about a neighbor to other neighbors (drawing them into our web of sinful activity), or
2) We can bear false witness about ourselves to our neighbor…(b/c who is my neighbor...everybody)
Both cases violate the biblical principle of loving our neighbor with regard to honesty, forthrightness, integrity, and truth-telling…
And, as we begin this list…let me say that it is potentially an endless list of possibilities of violating this principle because of the endless set of circumstances and situations we could find ourselves in…AND we are all probably guilty in more than one point…
So, buckle your seatbelt, change into your steel toed shoes…here we go…
1) Maliciously gossiping about someone—“circulating a false report—occurs also regardless if what is being said is true or false—masked as a “prayer request”
2) Misrepresenting ourselves to others—giving false impressions to other people—Facebook; Myspace—what’s your real age, young people?—
a. Resumes—George O’Leary—Notre Dame coach—didn’t actually play college football
3) Calling ourselves Christians—bear false witness to the world if we claim to be Christians, but live contrary to the way the Bible describes the Christian way of life
4) When we give a false impression of what the facts are in a situation instead of what the facts really are…
5) Telling little “white” lies—to ease a situation, to get out of a jam, to save face in an embarrassing situation, to avoid getting in trouble, to avoid—getting our kids to lie for us…”mommy’s not home right now”
a. What about kids’ meals at restaurants—these kids know how old they are—
6) Flattery and false praise—how often do we do this with our kids—have we allowed the self-esteem movement to keep us from being honest to our own kids?
a. American Idol – bad singers – their friends?
b. I read this lengthy quote this week..."The Bible actually has a very simple way of explaining what is at the heart of the self-esteem movement and its other not-so-funny effects. Proverbs 26:28 states, “A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.” No matter how sophisticated our theory, telling someone something that isn’t true just so they will feel better is flattery. This proverb makes plain that flattery is just a nice word for lying. No matter how noble our motivation, and despite its comic value, giving someone a false picture of themselves doesn’t help them, but only sets them up for ruin. Without bothering to speculate on our motivation, the Bible simply calls this “hatred” because of its effect. Love means speaking in a way that helps the other person to grow, that gives them the best shot at success, not ruin, shame, and embarrassment. As a counselor as well as a husband, father, friend, and neighbor I need to remember that sometimes speaking the truth in love isn’t easy and isn’t always welcomed by the hearer. But it is love...
c. "I think that maybe some of the contestants on American Idol would have been better served if a few trusted people in their lives had taken just a few minutes to kindly tell them, “You know, singing may not be the best use of your talents. Let me tell you what you are really good at . . ."
Does that mean, Michael, that when my wife asks me how her hair looks, I have to tell the truth?
Well, if your relationship with your husband or wife is not so that you can tell the truth about something like that…there are probably deeper issues that you need to talk about other than hair…
Having said that though, that does bring up a question…Is it ever right to lie…is there ever a situation where we must lie—because if we are honest all of these little “names” we have proposed are just fancy ways of lying
Think with me about Rahab, the harlot, in the OT…remember when the spies came from into the promised land…Joshua 2…did she lie…yes—was it still a sin?—there is a quandary for us to ponder……(battered wife or children)
Another question that arises—is it right to always be brutally honest with people?
One quote I read this week about this said… “There also seems to be an honesty threshold, a point beyond which a virtue turns mean and nasty. Constantly hearing the truth, the cold, hard, brutal unsparing truth, from spouses, relatives, friend and colleagues is not a pleasant prospect. ‘Human kind,’ as TS Elliot wrote, ‘cannot bear very much reality.” Truth telling makes it possible for people to coexist; a little lying makes such society tolerable.”
What do you think about that? I’m still pondering those statements…I’m certain that this type of “honesty” can very easily become overly critical…interesting thoughts anyway…
With regard to prohibiting the bearing of false witness, God is calling His people to be honest and to have integrity.
A few scriptures to give us direction and exhortation on this matter as we reflect on our own lives with respect to this commandment…
Let’s begin with James 3:1-12
James 3:1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2 For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
ESV Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
ESV Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
ESV Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Notice that none of these forbid the rebuking of a brother or sister in sin—but, it does give us direction and guidance in the attitude with we “speak the truth”—that it is always done in love.
ESV Psalm 141:3 Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
As this command pertains to “bearing false witness about ourselves to others”, we are called in scripture to…
1) Live lives that are “above reproach”—that does not mean perfection, but it does mean we own up to mistakes made, sins committed and take responsibility for actions in such a way that no one can point fingers and bring a charge against us—this is having integrity
2) Similarly, we are called to live lives that “abstain from all appearance” of evil—we have a responsibility not to compromise our testimony or to misrepresent Jesus and the name that we claim Christian
These scriptures and principles about truth-telling and truth-living do not mince any words—some, it will cause to shake in their shoes—some it will cause to want to crawl in a hole—
But, they should drive all of us to the cross of Jesus—the one who is the truth
They should drive all of us to our knees—in confession and repentance—in total dependence on the Holy Spirit by God’s enabling grace to walk with integrity and speak with honesty in all situations from this day forward
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Subtle Sin
Just read this on Ergun Caner's tweet:
"Subtle Sin: That which holds my eye's ATTENTION will become my heart's ATTRACTION, and then it becomes my soul's AFFECTION."
That's good--and true.
So, what has my eye's attention--my heart's attraction--my soul's affection?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular
"Subtle Sin: That which holds my eye's ATTENTION will become my heart's ATTRACTION, and then it becomes my soul's AFFECTION."
That's good--and true.
So, what has my eye's attention--my heart's attraction--my soul's affection?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Being Courteous
Check this blog post out at Between the Times by Dr. David Nelson on being courteous in public.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Commandment #7 - Do not Commit Adultery
Here is a manuscript of today's sermon on the seventh commandment:
God’s Esteem of the Marriage Relationship
Exodus 20:14
The fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, established the importance of the parent/child relationship in all its dimensions.
Today’s commandment, you shall not commit adultery, establishes the priority, importance, and significance of the marriage relationship between husband and wife.
It brings to the forefront of our discussion the importance of faithfulness in all its dimensions within that relationship—emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally.
God instituted the marriage relationship in the beginning at creation.
In Genesis 2:18, the bible says, “And the Lord God said, “it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Then, in vv. 21-25, the bible goes on to say, “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
In these verses, God declares the uniqueness, the exclusive nature, the priority, the permanence, and the intimacy, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually, of the marriage relationship that has been designed by God Himself.
Though we do not have time to delve into all of these implications, suffice it to say that there is no other human relationship given such attention than this one.
Wives and moms, your relationship with your husband is more important, in terms of priority, than with your parents or your children.
Husbands and dads, your relationship with your wife is more important, in terms of priority, than with your parents or your children.
Arthur W. Pink says it this way: “The marriage-relationship is paramount over every other human obligation. A man is more responsible to love and care for his wife than he is to remain in the home of his childhood and take care of this father and mother. It is the highest and most sacred of human relations.”
We are certainly to honor our parents in all our lives as we learned last week, yet there are times when the priority of our spouse must be first—and that is the biblical instruction to all of us, particularly from the phrase in Genesis 2 that says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The ultimate purpose of the marriage relationship is to extol and put on display the glory and majesty of God.
It displays the majesty and glory of God as a picture of Jesus and His bride, the church.
Ephesians 5, in the context of Paul’s instruction to husbands and wives, says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Because of this reality, the scripture often refers to idolatry as an act of spiritual adultery when God’s people break their covenantal relationship with Him by worshiping and putting their trust and giving their allegiance to false gods.
This is particularly true in the OT when the Israelites went after other gods who were really no gods at all—it was, and still is, an act of spiritual adultery.
Though the glory of God and the exclusive nature of Jesus’ relationship with the church is the ultimate purpose of the marriage relationship, there are secondary purposes that flow from this ultimate purpose.
In the marriage relationship, God also provides…
• for companionship, that we are made/created to live in relationship…
• for the means for procreation…
• for the means for God-honoring sexual expression…
• for the stability of society through the family…and
• the primary means for bringing up succeeding generations to worship Him…
As all of these secondary purposes are pursued in the manner prescribed in scripture, they will point to the glory and majesty of God as the ultimate purpose for the covenantal relationship.
All of this points to the sacredness and significance of the marriage relationship by God’s design.
In God’s economy of human relationships, the marriage relationship is the foundational relationship of human society, and therefore, He gives his declaration of the importance and significance in the negative form in the seventh commandment.
You shall not commit adultery…
At the outset, let’s define what adultery is…
Specifically, adultery is when a sexual relationship ensues between a man and a woman who are not married to each other.
Adultery also occurs when a single person engages in a sexual relationship with someone who is married to another.
The scripture usually uses the word “fornication” to refer to all different kinds of of sexual immorality; it is a more general term that would certainly include the specific act of adultery.
However, this command, as the other commands, gives a general parameter—and, in this case, the general parameter is for the God-honoring manner in which to express oneself sexually.
Therefore, though we might call these ‘technical’ definitions of adultery, the violation of this commandment is not limited to the violation of one of these ‘technical’ definitions.
So, one must not come to the conclusion that if he/she has not violated one of the definitions, then he/she has not violated the commandment.
The principle and the design of the commandment as protection and honor and esteem for the marriage relationship go beyond the acts of physical sexual misconduct & immorality that married people could engage in to include any thing that would compromise the sexual purity that God desires—whether single or married.
Therefore, we can conclude that someone who lives a promiscuous life violates this command because they have respected and esteemed the context for which God has provided to express themselves sexually—the marriage relationship.
This is made even clearer when we bring Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount to bear in the discussion.
In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
At this particular time in history, the Pharisees had hi-jacked the law of Moses, added their own traditions to it, and perverted the original intent of the law.
Jesus, with his words of clarification or elaboration, does at least two things.
Number one, Jesus exposes the root heart issue that is manifested in the act of adultery—it is the lust of one’s heart for sexual pleasure.
In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus says, “What comes out of a man that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Lust occurs when the desire for something or someone, in this case, goes beyond the prescribed boundaries that God has set up within which that desire may be met.
And, although sexual expression is a gift from God and the desire for sexual expression is from God given in the creation of mankind—both men and women—God has prescribed the right context for it to be expressed for our good and His glory.
And, that context is the marriage relationship.
Therefore, lust in this context is the desire for sexual intimacy, and I would argue also emotional intimacy, that is outside the bonds of the marriage relationship.
The second thing that Jesus words do from the Sermon on the Mount is to emphasize the importance of the content and disposition of one’s heart—
The Pharisees were very good at being “externally” moral—from the outside, they looked holy, but Jesus said at one point that they were like whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones.
They prided themselves on keeping the outside of the cup clean while the inside was very dirty.
In the case of adultery, they had not committed the actual physical act, but in their heart they were corrupt.
They might even have responded as someone a few years ago, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
I know, I couldn’t resist…some will get that on the way home…
Jesus is saying that though one might not commit the physical act, he/she is just as guilty if the desire to express oneself sexually with someone outside the marriage relationship occurs mentally within the heart and mind.
That is why Proverbs says in 4:23 – “Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence…”
Prompted by that verse, Steve Green wrote a song entitled “Guard your Heart”…
What appears to be a harmless glance
Can turn to romance
And homes are divided
Feelings that should never have been
Awaken within
Tearing the heart in two
Listen, I beg of you!
Chorus:
Guard your heart, Guard your heart
Don't trade it for treasure
Don't give it away
Guard your heart, Guard your heart
As a payment for pleasure
It's a high price to pay
For a soul that remains sincere
With a conscience clear
Guard your heart
The human heart is easily swayed
And often betrayed
At the hands of emotion
We dare not leave the outcome to chance
We must choose in advance
Or live with the agony
Such needless tragedy
It only takes a moment for the temptation to lust to spring up in someone’s heart, therefore, we must be very diligent to guard our hearts.
It is no wonder that in Satan’s deception of Eve, her heart was drawn away when “she saw that it was good for food (a legitimate desire, but this particular fruit was out of bounds), and it was pleasant to the eyes…”
Many times the avenue to the heart is the eyes—particularly for men—
Today, this reality is becoming more prevalent with women as well.
The commercials on television are full of examples on both sides of the aisle—the T-mobile commercials with Catherine Zeta Jones asking the dorky looking guy to upgrade his plan as well the Diet Coke commercials with the construction workers outside the office building while the ladies watch.
Are men responsible for guarding their own hearts and minds—yes, but ladies please help your brothers in Christ out by dressing modestly in clothing that does not reveal or accentuate parts of your body in an unnecessary way.
Older ladies and mothers, please teach your daughters and young ladies that God desires and honors modesty in dress and that the way one dresses is a reflection of one’s heart.
I heard about a young adult woman in her twenties tell a teenager girl that as she got older, she could show a little more cleavage in her dress…God help us…I don’t want that young adult lady teaching anybody anything, especially my daughter.
Men, we must take the necessary steps to guard our hearts by being very careful what we watch on TV—the sexually explicit commercials are rampant, the TV programs that exploit what God has deemed sacred are everywhere…we must spend much time in prayer and in the word of God to keep our hearts in tune with Jesus’ desires…and less time watching things that we know are poison darts to our hearts that have the potential to push us closer to the edge…
We must guard ourselves from having “wandering eyes”—because all it takes is that second glance…
The temptation to commit adultery occurs at three levels—physical, mental, and emotional—
For men, because of the way God has wired us, the temptation occurs primarily on the physical and mental level.
This is why you never go to lunch with a woman who is not your wife, your mom, or your sister.
This is why you should never go on business trips with female colleagues by yourself—you probably shouldn’t go at all.
There may be times where this is unavoidable, but you must have a plan in order to guard against the temptation when the times come of which you have no control.
For women, because of the way God has wired you, the temptation may occur on the emotional level—this is the one we do not talk about as often, but it is still adultery.
This is where the wife has a few problems at home and she begins to confide in another male friend who listens to her and there arises an emotional attachment—“I wish he were my husband” or “I wish my husband were like that”—guys, we are prone to this as well if we confide in a female friend…
This is the very reason why there is a danger in all these romance novels and movies—our hearts are so wicked and deceitful according to Jeremiah, that we can even deceive ourselves—and become emotionally attached to some fantasy guy or girl who doesn’t exist instead of seeking to love the one God has given us in His providence and seek to be the one God desires for us to be for our mate.
Are these novels or movies necessarily wrong—no, but there is a danger in them if we are not careful to guard our hearts.
The two most well-known biblical examples are probably Joseph and David.
Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave in Potiphar’s house
There, Mrs. Potiphar sought after Joseph and tried to seduce him “daily”—Joseph, by the grace of God, was able to withstand the temptation and finally had to do what the apostle Paul says do in the face of any sexual temptation—“flee”—Joseph ran away.
And, that in itself is interesting in the NT…we are called to stand against the temptations of Satan, but only in the realm of sexual temptation are we told to run away—it certainly reveals that God knows our hearts better than we do.
But, Joseph, by God’s grace, is a model for us of someone who guarded his heart.
Then, there is David…the apple of God’s eye…the one who slew the physical giant Goliath…and yet fell prey to lust of his own heart with Bathsheba…
Both of these men are examples of God’s grace at work—Joseph was able to withstand Mrs. Potiphar’s onslaught, but then was thrown into prison for something he did not do…
But God through his providence used that to save multitudes of people in the famine
In David’s case, God’s grace gave him forgiveness—were there consequences to his actions—absolutely, the sword would never leave his house—
Yet, God, in his mercy and grace, raised up the wisest man who ever lived out of that adulterous relationship…that was Solomon…
And to further accentuate God’s grace, it is from the line of David that the Messiah, Jesus came.
If anyone this morning has fallen prey to adultery—mentally, physically, or emotionally—the place to go is to the cross of Jesus through confession and repentance for His forgiveness.
Then, if necessary, you need to repent to your spouse and seek reconciliation and healing.
This will only happen if the gospel is front & center in the relationship.
This message is a call to all married people especially to begin to guard our hearts and put boundaries in place to guard against the temptation to commit adultery.
It is a call to cultivate in your marriage relationship the intimacy that is necessary between husband and wife as a safeguard against adultery—this is emotional, physical, and spiritual intimacy.
It is a call to find people to hold us accountable in our dealings with the opposite gender—guys, we need some guys we can talk to and be held accountable.
Ladies, you need some other ladies that will exhort you and be willing to let you know if they think you are too emotionally attached to someone or becoming too friendly.
This message is a call to all singles, particularly young people, to guard your hearts and your bodies as God’s temple so that you can honor the marriage relationship now by abstaining from sexual immorality so that you do not take emotional, psychological, and/or physical scars or baggage into your marriage when God so desires to give you a mate.
Maybe you are here, and you know a marriage that is dealing with this very issue right now and you need to pray for them to go to the cross of Jesus for healing and reconciliation.
This morning, we have touched on a variety of implications from this commandment this morning, and I pray that we will honor the sanctity of the marriage relationship in every way.
I want to leave us with the words to a song by Casting Crowns entitled “Slow Fade”
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
God’s Esteem of the Marriage Relationship
Exodus 20:14
The fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, established the importance of the parent/child relationship in all its dimensions.
Today’s commandment, you shall not commit adultery, establishes the priority, importance, and significance of the marriage relationship between husband and wife.
It brings to the forefront of our discussion the importance of faithfulness in all its dimensions within that relationship—emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally.
God instituted the marriage relationship in the beginning at creation.
In Genesis 2:18, the bible says, “And the Lord God said, “it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”
Then, in vv. 21-25, the bible goes on to say, “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. Then the man said, "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.”
In these verses, God declares the uniqueness, the exclusive nature, the priority, the permanence, and the intimacy, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually, of the marriage relationship that has been designed by God Himself.
Though we do not have time to delve into all of these implications, suffice it to say that there is no other human relationship given such attention than this one.
Wives and moms, your relationship with your husband is more important, in terms of priority, than with your parents or your children.
Husbands and dads, your relationship with your wife is more important, in terms of priority, than with your parents or your children.
Arthur W. Pink says it this way: “The marriage-relationship is paramount over every other human obligation. A man is more responsible to love and care for his wife than he is to remain in the home of his childhood and take care of this father and mother. It is the highest and most sacred of human relations.”
We are certainly to honor our parents in all our lives as we learned last week, yet there are times when the priority of our spouse must be first—and that is the biblical instruction to all of us, particularly from the phrase in Genesis 2 that says, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
The ultimate purpose of the marriage relationship is to extol and put on display the glory and majesty of God.
It displays the majesty and glory of God as a picture of Jesus and His bride, the church.
Ephesians 5, in the context of Paul’s instruction to husbands and wives, says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Because of this reality, the scripture often refers to idolatry as an act of spiritual adultery when God’s people break their covenantal relationship with Him by worshiping and putting their trust and giving their allegiance to false gods.
This is particularly true in the OT when the Israelites went after other gods who were really no gods at all—it was, and still is, an act of spiritual adultery.
Though the glory of God and the exclusive nature of Jesus’ relationship with the church is the ultimate purpose of the marriage relationship, there are secondary purposes that flow from this ultimate purpose.
In the marriage relationship, God also provides…
• for companionship, that we are made/created to live in relationship…
• for the means for procreation…
• for the means for God-honoring sexual expression…
• for the stability of society through the family…and
• the primary means for bringing up succeeding generations to worship Him…
As all of these secondary purposes are pursued in the manner prescribed in scripture, they will point to the glory and majesty of God as the ultimate purpose for the covenantal relationship.
All of this points to the sacredness and significance of the marriage relationship by God’s design.
In God’s economy of human relationships, the marriage relationship is the foundational relationship of human society, and therefore, He gives his declaration of the importance and significance in the negative form in the seventh commandment.
You shall not commit adultery…
At the outset, let’s define what adultery is…
Specifically, adultery is when a sexual relationship ensues between a man and a woman who are not married to each other.
Adultery also occurs when a single person engages in a sexual relationship with someone who is married to another.
The scripture usually uses the word “fornication” to refer to all different kinds of of sexual immorality; it is a more general term that would certainly include the specific act of adultery.
However, this command, as the other commands, gives a general parameter—and, in this case, the general parameter is for the God-honoring manner in which to express oneself sexually.
Therefore, though we might call these ‘technical’ definitions of adultery, the violation of this commandment is not limited to the violation of one of these ‘technical’ definitions.
So, one must not come to the conclusion that if he/she has not violated one of the definitions, then he/she has not violated the commandment.
The principle and the design of the commandment as protection and honor and esteem for the marriage relationship go beyond the acts of physical sexual misconduct & immorality that married people could engage in to include any thing that would compromise the sexual purity that God desires—whether single or married.
Therefore, we can conclude that someone who lives a promiscuous life violates this command because they have respected and esteemed the context for which God has provided to express themselves sexually—the marriage relationship.
This is made even clearer when we bring Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount to bear in the discussion.
In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But, I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
At this particular time in history, the Pharisees had hi-jacked the law of Moses, added their own traditions to it, and perverted the original intent of the law.
Jesus, with his words of clarification or elaboration, does at least two things.
Number one, Jesus exposes the root heart issue that is manifested in the act of adultery—it is the lust of one’s heart for sexual pleasure.
In Mark 7:20-23, Jesus says, “What comes out of a man that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”
Lust occurs when the desire for something or someone, in this case, goes beyond the prescribed boundaries that God has set up within which that desire may be met.
And, although sexual expression is a gift from God and the desire for sexual expression is from God given in the creation of mankind—both men and women—God has prescribed the right context for it to be expressed for our good and His glory.
And, that context is the marriage relationship.
Therefore, lust in this context is the desire for sexual intimacy, and I would argue also emotional intimacy, that is outside the bonds of the marriage relationship.
The second thing that Jesus words do from the Sermon on the Mount is to emphasize the importance of the content and disposition of one’s heart—
The Pharisees were very good at being “externally” moral—from the outside, they looked holy, but Jesus said at one point that they were like whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones.
They prided themselves on keeping the outside of the cup clean while the inside was very dirty.
In the case of adultery, they had not committed the actual physical act, but in their heart they were corrupt.
They might even have responded as someone a few years ago, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
I know, I couldn’t resist…some will get that on the way home…
Jesus is saying that though one might not commit the physical act, he/she is just as guilty if the desire to express oneself sexually with someone outside the marriage relationship occurs mentally within the heart and mind.
That is why Proverbs says in 4:23 – “Keep (guard) your heart with all diligence…”
Prompted by that verse, Steve Green wrote a song entitled “Guard your Heart”…
What appears to be a harmless glance
Can turn to romance
And homes are divided
Feelings that should never have been
Awaken within
Tearing the heart in two
Listen, I beg of you!
Chorus:
Guard your heart, Guard your heart
Don't trade it for treasure
Don't give it away
Guard your heart, Guard your heart
As a payment for pleasure
It's a high price to pay
For a soul that remains sincere
With a conscience clear
Guard your heart
The human heart is easily swayed
And often betrayed
At the hands of emotion
We dare not leave the outcome to chance
We must choose in advance
Or live with the agony
Such needless tragedy
It only takes a moment for the temptation to lust to spring up in someone’s heart, therefore, we must be very diligent to guard our hearts.
It is no wonder that in Satan’s deception of Eve, her heart was drawn away when “she saw that it was good for food (a legitimate desire, but this particular fruit was out of bounds), and it was pleasant to the eyes…”
Many times the avenue to the heart is the eyes—particularly for men—
Today, this reality is becoming more prevalent with women as well.
The commercials on television are full of examples on both sides of the aisle—the T-mobile commercials with Catherine Zeta Jones asking the dorky looking guy to upgrade his plan as well the Diet Coke commercials with the construction workers outside the office building while the ladies watch.
Are men responsible for guarding their own hearts and minds—yes, but ladies please help your brothers in Christ out by dressing modestly in clothing that does not reveal or accentuate parts of your body in an unnecessary way.
Older ladies and mothers, please teach your daughters and young ladies that God desires and honors modesty in dress and that the way one dresses is a reflection of one’s heart.
I heard about a young adult woman in her twenties tell a teenager girl that as she got older, she could show a little more cleavage in her dress…God help us…I don’t want that young adult lady teaching anybody anything, especially my daughter.
Men, we must take the necessary steps to guard our hearts by being very careful what we watch on TV—the sexually explicit commercials are rampant, the TV programs that exploit what God has deemed sacred are everywhere…we must spend much time in prayer and in the word of God to keep our hearts in tune with Jesus’ desires…and less time watching things that we know are poison darts to our hearts that have the potential to push us closer to the edge…
We must guard ourselves from having “wandering eyes”—because all it takes is that second glance…
The temptation to commit adultery occurs at three levels—physical, mental, and emotional—
For men, because of the way God has wired us, the temptation occurs primarily on the physical and mental level.
This is why you never go to lunch with a woman who is not your wife, your mom, or your sister.
This is why you should never go on business trips with female colleagues by yourself—you probably shouldn’t go at all.
There may be times where this is unavoidable, but you must have a plan in order to guard against the temptation when the times come of which you have no control.
For women, because of the way God has wired you, the temptation may occur on the emotional level—this is the one we do not talk about as often, but it is still adultery.
This is where the wife has a few problems at home and she begins to confide in another male friend who listens to her and there arises an emotional attachment—“I wish he were my husband” or “I wish my husband were like that”—guys, we are prone to this as well if we confide in a female friend…
This is the very reason why there is a danger in all these romance novels and movies—our hearts are so wicked and deceitful according to Jeremiah, that we can even deceive ourselves—and become emotionally attached to some fantasy guy or girl who doesn’t exist instead of seeking to love the one God has given us in His providence and seek to be the one God desires for us to be for our mate.
Are these novels or movies necessarily wrong—no, but there is a danger in them if we are not careful to guard our hearts.
The two most well-known biblical examples are probably Joseph and David.
Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave in Potiphar’s house
There, Mrs. Potiphar sought after Joseph and tried to seduce him “daily”—Joseph, by the grace of God, was able to withstand the temptation and finally had to do what the apostle Paul says do in the face of any sexual temptation—“flee”—Joseph ran away.
And, that in itself is interesting in the NT…we are called to stand against the temptations of Satan, but only in the realm of sexual temptation are we told to run away—it certainly reveals that God knows our hearts better than we do.
But, Joseph, by God’s grace, is a model for us of someone who guarded his heart.
Then, there is David…the apple of God’s eye…the one who slew the physical giant Goliath…and yet fell prey to lust of his own heart with Bathsheba…
Both of these men are examples of God’s grace at work—Joseph was able to withstand Mrs. Potiphar’s onslaught, but then was thrown into prison for something he did not do…
But God through his providence used that to save multitudes of people in the famine
In David’s case, God’s grace gave him forgiveness—were there consequences to his actions—absolutely, the sword would never leave his house—
Yet, God, in his mercy and grace, raised up the wisest man who ever lived out of that adulterous relationship…that was Solomon…
And to further accentuate God’s grace, it is from the line of David that the Messiah, Jesus came.
If anyone this morning has fallen prey to adultery—mentally, physically, or emotionally—the place to go is to the cross of Jesus through confession and repentance for His forgiveness.
Then, if necessary, you need to repent to your spouse and seek reconciliation and healing.
This will only happen if the gospel is front & center in the relationship.
This message is a call to all married people especially to begin to guard our hearts and put boundaries in place to guard against the temptation to commit adultery.
It is a call to cultivate in your marriage relationship the intimacy that is necessary between husband and wife as a safeguard against adultery—this is emotional, physical, and spiritual intimacy.
It is a call to find people to hold us accountable in our dealings with the opposite gender—guys, we need some guys we can talk to and be held accountable.
Ladies, you need some other ladies that will exhort you and be willing to let you know if they think you are too emotionally attached to someone or becoming too friendly.
This message is a call to all singles, particularly young people, to guard your hearts and your bodies as God’s temple so that you can honor the marriage relationship now by abstaining from sexual immorality so that you do not take emotional, psychological, and/or physical scars or baggage into your marriage when God so desires to give you a mate.
Maybe you are here, and you know a marriage that is dealing with this very issue right now and you need to pray for them to go to the cross of Jesus for healing and reconciliation.
This morning, we have touched on a variety of implications from this commandment this morning, and I pray that we will honor the sanctity of the marriage relationship in every way.
I want to leave us with the words to a song by Casting Crowns entitled “Slow Fade”
Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray
The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Church
What if we stripped away all our man-made traditions and just went by the Bible?
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A profound statement
Found this over at Desiring God from John Piper this morning...
"Where a person or a group is not spreading the gospel, they are losing their grasp on what it actually is."
We can become so much about the institution of the church that we forget that the church exists for mission, not for itself in terms of maintaining an institution or organization, but for the expansion of the gospel.
This is convicting.
"Where a person or a group is not spreading the gospel, they are losing their grasp on what it actually is."
We can become so much about the institution of the church that we forget that the church exists for mission, not for itself in terms of maintaining an institution or organization, but for the expansion of the gospel.
This is convicting.
Regret
Here is a good post by Steven Furtick, lead pastor of Elevation Church near Charlotte on the subject of "regret" - The Power of Regret
The Gospel and...
I began listening to a sermon series last night by David Platt from the Church at Brook Hills.
Here is the link to get you to the sermon series: Attachment
Enjoy and be exhorted to live by the Gospel.
Here is the link to get you to the sermon series: Attachment
Enjoy and be exhorted to live by the Gospel.
All is Vanity & Idolatry
The preacher of the book of Ecclesiastes and his redundant phrase "all is vanity" was all I could think of this morning as the Early Show gave glimpses of what is happening in LA with the Michael Jackson memorial service.
It has saddened me further that there are reports of people who have committed and attempted to commit suicide after hearing of the death of Michael Jackson. One person is even reported to have said, "I don't know why they saved me. I wanted to be with Michael."
To be sure, Michael Jackson was a musical genius. That is certainly evidenced by the number of unit sold "after" his death. Has he left his mark on the musical world? Of course.
Yet, in the end, all of that is vanity without Jesus.
These events have also been a prime example of the idolatrous nature of the human heart--finding our security, peace, happiness, joy, salvation in someone other than Jesus.
Today's service will not be a memorial service, it will be a worship service--people ascribing glory and making sacrifices (paying thousands of dollars for a ticket) for a man who cannot save nor bringing joy or peace.
For those who committed suicide and attempted it, this is very sad. They put their trust and hope in a mere-man; and that's all he was, a mere-man without the capability to save or redeem.
We should use this opportunity in our culture by the providence of God to proclaim that the real hope, indeed, the only hope for true peace and joy and redemption is in Jesus--for everything else is vanity and idolatry.
It has saddened me further that there are reports of people who have committed and attempted to commit suicide after hearing of the death of Michael Jackson. One person is even reported to have said, "I don't know why they saved me. I wanted to be with Michael."
To be sure, Michael Jackson was a musical genius. That is certainly evidenced by the number of unit sold "after" his death. Has he left his mark on the musical world? Of course.
Yet, in the end, all of that is vanity without Jesus.
These events have also been a prime example of the idolatrous nature of the human heart--finding our security, peace, happiness, joy, salvation in someone other than Jesus.
Today's service will not be a memorial service, it will be a worship service--people ascribing glory and making sacrifices (paying thousands of dollars for a ticket) for a man who cannot save nor bringing joy or peace.
For those who committed suicide and attempted it, this is very sad. They put their trust and hope in a mere-man; and that's all he was, a mere-man without the capability to save or redeem.
We should use this opportunity in our culture by the providence of God to proclaim that the real hope, indeed, the only hope for true peace and joy and redemption is in Jesus--for everything else is vanity and idolatry.
Significance of a Faithful Father
I read one of the saddest commentaries about King Saul this morning in my devotion time from 1 Chronicles 10.
Here is what the scripture says in vv. 13-14: "So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse."
Did you catch that? God killed Saul. Though that is very sad, the other sad part is that Saul's sons died as well in the battle against the Philistines.
The significance of the faithfulness of the father to strive for obedience to God's will almost goes without saying.
By God's grace and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, may we strive for faithfulness in everything.
Godspeed, gentlemen.
Here is what the scripture says in vv. 13-14: "So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the Lord, because of the word of the Lord which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, and did not inquire of the Lord. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse."
Did you catch that? God killed Saul. Though that is very sad, the other sad part is that Saul's sons died as well in the battle against the Philistines.
The significance of the faithfulness of the father to strive for obedience to God's will almost goes without saying.
By God's grace and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, may we strive for faithfulness in everything.
Godspeed, gentlemen.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Commandment #5 - Honor Mom & Dad
The following is a manuscript of Sunday's sermon:
As we stand on the day after the 233rd celebration of our nation’s declaration of independence from Great Britain and though times have changed in so many ways, we are confronted this morning by the timeless and unchanging truth from God’s Word as God speaks clearly and without stutter or stammer to one of the very bedrock institutions of our country—the family.
In the 5th commandment, God begins to speak in no uncertain terms that the place that “loving our neighbor” begins is in the home—that is the family unit that God has ordained.
There is so much depth in these commandments—much more than we will cover in our time together spent on them.
It is true that to “honor” our parents covers all seasons of our lives—children, youth, young adult, and adult—but, we will focus our attention primarily on children, youth, and young adult during our time this morning.
One of the changes we have seen even in my generation is the disintegration of respect for authority, not just in the home but in society at large.
And, lest we adults think ourselves above this charge, we must ask ourselves, where did our children and young people learn this disrespect—oh, yes, in many ways from us.
We, as adults, do not want to submit to the authority that God has placed over us whether it is the government (which is ordained by God) or our bosses/employers or submitting to the authority of church leadership or even something simple as not taking outside drinks into the movie theatre—because our children and young people reason, “If mom and dad don’t have to submit to authority, why do I?”
Are there times at which even those in positions of authority abuse it—absolutely, and at that point we have a responsibility to a higher authority, namely God himself that we must obey, but only in a manner that is worthy of the gospel and mandate to proclaim that gospel to all creatures.
AW Pink writes—“Unquestionably, the blame for most of this lies upon the parents, who have so neglected the moral and spiritual training of their children that (in themselves) they are worthy of neither respect or honor.”
Parents, we cannot and must not seek to sweep under the rug our mistakes in raising a generation of young people that have little respect or honor for authority—who think themselves autonomous and free from any rules and authority except that of their own making.
We must confess and repent and re-align ourselves under the authority of Jesus Christ and His Word in order that we might re-align our families, particularly our children.
I read a quote this week from Annie Gottlieb, a cultural observer, who identified the 60s as “the generation that destroyed the American family” that says this—
“We might not have been able to tear down the state (gov’t), but the family was closer. We could get our hands on it. And…we believed that the family was the foundation of the state, as well as the collective state of mind…We truly believed that the family had to be torn apart to free love, which alone could heal the damage done when the atom was split to release energy. And the first step was to tear ourselves free from our parents.”
These rebellious circumstances of our society and our families ought not to surprise us in the least since the Apostle Paul said that they would come and indeed are now here
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes--But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
It is into this cultural atmosphere that the timeless and unchanging truth and wisdom of the 5th commandment calls for our attention this morning.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
The NT echoes these words in at least two places.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."
Colossians 3:20 - Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Exodus speaks of honoring, but the issue of “obedience” is certainly included in honoring.
The word “honor” literally means “weighty” or “heavy”.
Oftentimes in scripture, it is used to call attention to the “glory of God” in describing His divine majesty, so when God spoke this word to Moses and the Israelites about honoring their parents, he know what he was writing and saying and how serious this command was.
Phillip Ryken summarizes the meaning of this commandment by saying: “To honor one’s parents, therefore, is to give due weight to their position. It is to give them the recognition they deserve for their God-given authority. To honor is to respect, esteem, value, and prize fathers and mothers as gifts from God.”
The authority that parents are given over their children is derived from God himself because He is the creator of the family—therefore, to dishonor one’s parents is to dishonor God.
In an extended application, to dishonor any legitimate authority that God has placed over us is to dishonor God.
An early Christian teaching tool called the Heidelberg Catechism explains this commandment this way: “That I show honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother and to all who are set in authority over me; that I submit myself with respectful obedience to all their careful instruction and discipline; and that I also bear patiently their failure, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.”
Do parents make mistakes, yes, certainly we do—and in those mistakes children are to nonetheless honor their parents through forgiveness “even as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you” and continued “respectful obedience.”
Michael Horton writes in his book, The Law of Perfect Freedom, that the “rejection of legitimate parental authority is a sign of a weakness in character, not strength.”
For all those times when your friends ask, “do you always do what your parents say?”—maybe not in those exact words, but they ask and insinuate—to give in to them and go against what your parents have taught you rightly means that your character is weak, not strong.
This is one of the biggest problems with some of the “good” movies and TV shows that come out today for teenagers and children—the star blatantly disregards the parent’s instruction, even to the point of deceiving and flat out lying to their parents while pursuing their own agenda as their own boss free from authority—then, there are no consequences to their disobedience and disrespect—they are applauded and championed for their autonomous living and allowed to “fulfill their dream.”
And, in light of that reality, it is foolish and spiritually naïve and damaging for us to think that what they watch and listen to —TV and music— does not affect their heart—their thinking and feeling and reasoning—
There is more truth in that Hulu commercial about the TV industry being aliens turning our brains to mush than they realize—maybe not from aliens, but used as a tool of Satan to turn our hearts and our children’s hearts away from Jesus—particularly in the realm of authority
All of these are contributing factors to the disrespect and dishonor for the legitimate God-given authority in the lives of young people.
However, the tendency toward this rebellion is embedded in sinful hearts—it is ultimately the sin of idolatry—the idol of self—it began in the garden of Eden with the desire to be out from under the authority of God—“you will be like God” the serpent told Eve.
Therefore, the only true and lasting answer to rebellion and dishonor and disrespect is Jesus—the cross—the gospel—living under the Lordship of Jesus—the good news that Jesus died for that sin and that he can transform the sinful heart to a heart that desires to respect and honor mom and dad even when we don’t feel like it—the Holy Spirit will enable you to go against the grain of the culture and restore the honor that mom and dad deserve—
We can take away all the music and TV, but if we do not replace it with the gospel—proclaimed and lived—the change in our young people and children will be only short-lived with no lasting fruit.
Jesus not only died for your sins in this area young people, he modeled for you how to respect and honor your parents—Luke 2:51-52—“Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them…and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Later on in Jesus’ life he honored his mother’s request at the wedding in Cana in John 2—
Then, at the cross, Jesus made provision for his mother to be taken care of after he was gone by calling upon his close friend John.
In so doing, Jesus fulfilled the aspects of the commandment on our behalf—this was part of his fulfillment of the law—he accomplished the righteous requirement of the law by perfect obedience to the law for us.
Because he obeyed the law perfectly, including this particular point, he is able through the Holy Spirit to help us in obeying this commandment as well.
Now, along with the command to honor your mother and father, there is a promise—“that your days may be long in the land”
For the immediate context of the Israelites, this is a reference to the nation of Israel occupying the land that God was giving them.
There is a connection between the passing down of the spiritual heritage and authority of God to the next generation as security for staying in the land.
It was essential to pass on to the next generation the covenantal relationship with God through obedience to the commandments in order to remain in the land of promise.
There is more to honor than just respect of parental authority—it is honoring the spiritual heritage of obedience to God and the covenantal relationship.
In fact, one of the reasons given in Ezekiel for the exile of the people was that they had “made light of father and mother”—a disregard for the honor that mother and father deserved—not just them personally, but for the covenantal relationship to God that was disregarded as well.
For NT Christians, the land in the OT represents the blessing of God, which does not necessarily mean “bad things” won’t happen—even the Israelites had to go to war against the enemies in the land.
It also does not necessarily mean that you will live a long time—nor if you dishonor your parents, it does not necessarily mean that you will die young.
What it means for us on this side of the NT is this: to honor your parents, to remain under the legitimate authority that God has placed over you brings you in line to receive God’s blessing in your life—to remain in the center of his will—
Paul said it this way—“that it may go well with you” in Epesians…
When we move out from under the legitimate authority that God places over us, we remove ourselves from the blessing of God and God must discipline us to bring us back in line—sometimes that is through our parents—other times through others in the church—most often through the conviction of the Holy Spirit through our conscience.
Young people, when you remove yourself our from under the legitimate authority of your parents, you move out from under the blessing of God in your life.
The consequences for disobeying this command demonstrate the serious nature of this commandment.
Exodus 21:15 – “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death”
Leviticus 20:9 – “For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.”
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 – "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Deuteronomy 27:16 – “Cursed is the on the one who treats his father or mother with contempt”
We live in the age of grace, but these verses are intended to jolt you just a bit this morning so that you do not presume on God’s grace or take the forgiveness of sins lightly because the Bible teaches that “the fear of the Lord is beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”
Therefore, if you reject the fear of God that is taught by these words, you are a fool—according to scripture.
The fear of God ought to send you running to Jesus for forgiveness if you have been dishonoring to your parents or have cursed them under your breath or on your myspace or through a text message.
Only at the cross, the place of forgiveness for sinners, will you find the sweet, refreshing grace of Jesus who desires to forgive you and restore you and enable you to honor and respect your parents from this day forward.
Let’s ask a few questions in self-examination…
Do you ever talk back to your parents?
Do you hide anything from your parents? Deception, lies? Other myspace pages?
Do you ever curse them silently? I hate you?
Do you speak well of your parents?
Do you seek to strengthen your relationship with them?
Do you handle conflict with them biblically?
My guess is that many young people today are like the little boy who refused to sit down in class one day.
After a little while of cajoling, the little boy finally sat down with this comment—“I may sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.”
Many of you may be externally obeying your parents, but in your heart and behind their backs you are deceitful and full of lies—you may even be like the Pharisees who honor them with your lips, but your heart is far from them…
Jesus is as concerned about the heart motivation as he is the external action.
Someone, may even have an objection…
But, what if my parents are neither worthy of respect or honor—a legitimate question…
It is still your primary responsibility to honor God through honoring your parents…if your parents ask you to sin against God, you respectfully disobey that request—you continue to treat them with dignity and the respect they deserve because of their position as your parents.
God desires to use your submissive spirit and attitude, as he desires of the believing spouse with an unbelieving husband in 1 Peter, to bring your parents to the gospel, to saving faith in Jesus as they see the gospel demonstrated and displayed in your life.
This most often occurs in young adulthood, maybe sometimes as a teenager—some friends I went to seminary with were planning to go overseas as missionaries—their parents fought them tooth and nail concerning this.
My friends wanted to honor their parents, but they knew they had been called by God to be missionaries overseas—they went anyway in obedience to the call of God.
This particular instance is at least one application of Jesus’ words in Luke 14— Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus does not sugarcoat anything in these verses and we must not try to water them down because they seem so harsh—just let them speak.
There is a bond that is thicker than blood, and that bond is following Jesus—now, to some that will go against the grain, but it is true.
Having said that, there is not a hard fast rule as to when these verses begin to apply to a young adult, or even a teenager, possibly…serious times of prayer and great wisdom and counsel must be received to discern the proper response in these situations—this is not something that is taken lightly--
In this particular objection, there is the application for us as parents today…are we living in such a way that honors the authority God has placed over us in our lives so that our children will see our submission to authority modeled rightly before them?
Are we living as moms and dads who are worthy of respect and honor from our children…do they see us as thinking we are always perfect and never do anything wrong…do they see us rebelling against legitimate authority…or are we models of submission for them to observe?
My prayer is that today, families will begin to have discussions about areas of improvement and realignment under the authority of God’s Word—as husbands, as wives, as moms & dads, and as children and teenagers and young adults.
My prayer is that we will begin to ask questions and seek the answers biblically for the structure of our homes.
My prayer is that there will be a revival of respect and honor for parents and those in authority by young people beginning here at JSBC.
It will only begin with confession and repentance of where we have fallen short of God’s directives and renewing ourselves, all of us, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His Word.
We have only touched the tip of the iceberg in this one aspect of this commandment today—my prayer is that this will generate questions for all of us and that we will search for the answers that come from God’s Word.
What is God saying to you today?
If you are not a Christian here today, you are in rebellion against God—living as your own boss and your own rule-maker—you must repent of your sin and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation to God.
If you are a Christian today, particularly a teenager or child—are you living under the legitimate authority that God has placed over you…if not, you are committing sin and removing yourself from the blessing of God…confess, repent, to God and your parents…
Young people…are you hiding things from your parents…are you deceptive…how many myspace accounts do you really have—that’s just one example…
May God grant us grace this day to live under the authority he has placed over us…
As we stand on the day after the 233rd celebration of our nation’s declaration of independence from Great Britain and though times have changed in so many ways, we are confronted this morning by the timeless and unchanging truth from God’s Word as God speaks clearly and without stutter or stammer to one of the very bedrock institutions of our country—the family.
In the 5th commandment, God begins to speak in no uncertain terms that the place that “loving our neighbor” begins is in the home—that is the family unit that God has ordained.
There is so much depth in these commandments—much more than we will cover in our time together spent on them.
It is true that to “honor” our parents covers all seasons of our lives—children, youth, young adult, and adult—but, we will focus our attention primarily on children, youth, and young adult during our time this morning.
One of the changes we have seen even in my generation is the disintegration of respect for authority, not just in the home but in society at large.
And, lest we adults think ourselves above this charge, we must ask ourselves, where did our children and young people learn this disrespect—oh, yes, in many ways from us.
We, as adults, do not want to submit to the authority that God has placed over us whether it is the government (which is ordained by God) or our bosses/employers or submitting to the authority of church leadership or even something simple as not taking outside drinks into the movie theatre—because our children and young people reason, “If mom and dad don’t have to submit to authority, why do I?”
Are there times at which even those in positions of authority abuse it—absolutely, and at that point we have a responsibility to a higher authority, namely God himself that we must obey, but only in a manner that is worthy of the gospel and mandate to proclaim that gospel to all creatures.
AW Pink writes—“Unquestionably, the blame for most of this lies upon the parents, who have so neglected the moral and spiritual training of their children that (in themselves) they are worthy of neither respect or honor.”
Parents, we cannot and must not seek to sweep under the rug our mistakes in raising a generation of young people that have little respect or honor for authority—who think themselves autonomous and free from any rules and authority except that of their own making.
We must confess and repent and re-align ourselves under the authority of Jesus Christ and His Word in order that we might re-align our families, particularly our children.
I read a quote this week from Annie Gottlieb, a cultural observer, who identified the 60s as “the generation that destroyed the American family” that says this—
“We might not have been able to tear down the state (gov’t), but the family was closer. We could get our hands on it. And…we believed that the family was the foundation of the state, as well as the collective state of mind…We truly believed that the family had to be torn apart to free love, which alone could heal the damage done when the atom was split to release energy. And the first step was to tear ourselves free from our parents.”
These rebellious circumstances of our society and our families ought not to surprise us in the least since the Apostle Paul said that they would come and indeed are now here
In 2 Timothy 3, Paul writes--But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.
It is into this cultural atmosphere that the timeless and unchanging truth and wisdom of the 5th commandment calls for our attention this morning.
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.”
The NT echoes these words in at least two places.
Ephesians 6:1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."
Colossians 3:20 - Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Exodus speaks of honoring, but the issue of “obedience” is certainly included in honoring.
The word “honor” literally means “weighty” or “heavy”.
Oftentimes in scripture, it is used to call attention to the “glory of God” in describing His divine majesty, so when God spoke this word to Moses and the Israelites about honoring their parents, he know what he was writing and saying and how serious this command was.
Phillip Ryken summarizes the meaning of this commandment by saying: “To honor one’s parents, therefore, is to give due weight to their position. It is to give them the recognition they deserve for their God-given authority. To honor is to respect, esteem, value, and prize fathers and mothers as gifts from God.”
The authority that parents are given over their children is derived from God himself because He is the creator of the family—therefore, to dishonor one’s parents is to dishonor God.
In an extended application, to dishonor any legitimate authority that God has placed over us is to dishonor God.
An early Christian teaching tool called the Heidelberg Catechism explains this commandment this way: “That I show honor, love, and faithfulness to my father and mother and to all who are set in authority over me; that I submit myself with respectful obedience to all their careful instruction and discipline; and that I also bear patiently their failure, since it is God’s will to govern us by their hand.”
Do parents make mistakes, yes, certainly we do—and in those mistakes children are to nonetheless honor their parents through forgiveness “even as God in Christ Jesus has forgiven you” and continued “respectful obedience.”
Michael Horton writes in his book, The Law of Perfect Freedom, that the “rejection of legitimate parental authority is a sign of a weakness in character, not strength.”
For all those times when your friends ask, “do you always do what your parents say?”—maybe not in those exact words, but they ask and insinuate—to give in to them and go against what your parents have taught you rightly means that your character is weak, not strong.
This is one of the biggest problems with some of the “good” movies and TV shows that come out today for teenagers and children—the star blatantly disregards the parent’s instruction, even to the point of deceiving and flat out lying to their parents while pursuing their own agenda as their own boss free from authority—then, there are no consequences to their disobedience and disrespect—they are applauded and championed for their autonomous living and allowed to “fulfill their dream.”
And, in light of that reality, it is foolish and spiritually naïve and damaging for us to think that what they watch and listen to —TV and music— does not affect their heart—their thinking and feeling and reasoning—
There is more truth in that Hulu commercial about the TV industry being aliens turning our brains to mush than they realize—maybe not from aliens, but used as a tool of Satan to turn our hearts and our children’s hearts away from Jesus—particularly in the realm of authority
All of these are contributing factors to the disrespect and dishonor for the legitimate God-given authority in the lives of young people.
However, the tendency toward this rebellion is embedded in sinful hearts—it is ultimately the sin of idolatry—the idol of self—it began in the garden of Eden with the desire to be out from under the authority of God—“you will be like God” the serpent told Eve.
Therefore, the only true and lasting answer to rebellion and dishonor and disrespect is Jesus—the cross—the gospel—living under the Lordship of Jesus—the good news that Jesus died for that sin and that he can transform the sinful heart to a heart that desires to respect and honor mom and dad even when we don’t feel like it—the Holy Spirit will enable you to go against the grain of the culture and restore the honor that mom and dad deserve—
We can take away all the music and TV, but if we do not replace it with the gospel—proclaimed and lived—the change in our young people and children will be only short-lived with no lasting fruit.
Jesus not only died for your sins in this area young people, he modeled for you how to respect and honor your parents—Luke 2:51-52—“Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them…and Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Later on in Jesus’ life he honored his mother’s request at the wedding in Cana in John 2—
Then, at the cross, Jesus made provision for his mother to be taken care of after he was gone by calling upon his close friend John.
In so doing, Jesus fulfilled the aspects of the commandment on our behalf—this was part of his fulfillment of the law—he accomplished the righteous requirement of the law by perfect obedience to the law for us.
Because he obeyed the law perfectly, including this particular point, he is able through the Holy Spirit to help us in obeying this commandment as well.
Now, along with the command to honor your mother and father, there is a promise—“that your days may be long in the land”
For the immediate context of the Israelites, this is a reference to the nation of Israel occupying the land that God was giving them.
There is a connection between the passing down of the spiritual heritage and authority of God to the next generation as security for staying in the land.
It was essential to pass on to the next generation the covenantal relationship with God through obedience to the commandments in order to remain in the land of promise.
There is more to honor than just respect of parental authority—it is honoring the spiritual heritage of obedience to God and the covenantal relationship.
In fact, one of the reasons given in Ezekiel for the exile of the people was that they had “made light of father and mother”—a disregard for the honor that mother and father deserved—not just them personally, but for the covenantal relationship to God that was disregarded as well.
For NT Christians, the land in the OT represents the blessing of God, which does not necessarily mean “bad things” won’t happen—even the Israelites had to go to war against the enemies in the land.
It also does not necessarily mean that you will live a long time—nor if you dishonor your parents, it does not necessarily mean that you will die young.
What it means for us on this side of the NT is this: to honor your parents, to remain under the legitimate authority that God has placed over you brings you in line to receive God’s blessing in your life—to remain in the center of his will—
Paul said it this way—“that it may go well with you” in Epesians…
When we move out from under the legitimate authority that God places over us, we remove ourselves from the blessing of God and God must discipline us to bring us back in line—sometimes that is through our parents—other times through others in the church—most often through the conviction of the Holy Spirit through our conscience.
Young people, when you remove yourself our from under the legitimate authority of your parents, you move out from under the blessing of God in your life.
The consequences for disobeying this command demonstrate the serious nature of this commandment.
Exodus 21:15 – “And he who strikes his father or his mother shall surely be put to death”
Leviticus 20:9 – “For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him.”
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 – "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Deuteronomy 27:16 – “Cursed is the on the one who treats his father or mother with contempt”
We live in the age of grace, but these verses are intended to jolt you just a bit this morning so that you do not presume on God’s grace or take the forgiveness of sins lightly because the Bible teaches that “the fear of the Lord is beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction”
Therefore, if you reject the fear of God that is taught by these words, you are a fool—according to scripture.
The fear of God ought to send you running to Jesus for forgiveness if you have been dishonoring to your parents or have cursed them under your breath or on your myspace or through a text message.
Only at the cross, the place of forgiveness for sinners, will you find the sweet, refreshing grace of Jesus who desires to forgive you and restore you and enable you to honor and respect your parents from this day forward.
Let’s ask a few questions in self-examination…
Do you ever talk back to your parents?
Do you hide anything from your parents? Deception, lies? Other myspace pages?
Do you ever curse them silently? I hate you?
Do you speak well of your parents?
Do you seek to strengthen your relationship with them?
Do you handle conflict with them biblically?
My guess is that many young people today are like the little boy who refused to sit down in class one day.
After a little while of cajoling, the little boy finally sat down with this comment—“I may sitting down on the outside, but I’m standing up on the inside.”
Many of you may be externally obeying your parents, but in your heart and behind their backs you are deceitful and full of lies—you may even be like the Pharisees who honor them with your lips, but your heart is far from them…
Jesus is as concerned about the heart motivation as he is the external action.
Someone, may even have an objection…
But, what if my parents are neither worthy of respect or honor—a legitimate question…
It is still your primary responsibility to honor God through honoring your parents…if your parents ask you to sin against God, you respectfully disobey that request—you continue to treat them with dignity and the respect they deserve because of their position as your parents.
God desires to use your submissive spirit and attitude, as he desires of the believing spouse with an unbelieving husband in 1 Peter, to bring your parents to the gospel, to saving faith in Jesus as they see the gospel demonstrated and displayed in your life.
This most often occurs in young adulthood, maybe sometimes as a teenager—some friends I went to seminary with were planning to go overseas as missionaries—their parents fought them tooth and nail concerning this.
My friends wanted to honor their parents, but they knew they had been called by God to be missionaries overseas—they went anyway in obedience to the call of God.
This particular instance is at least one application of Jesus’ words in Luke 14— Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Jesus does not sugarcoat anything in these verses and we must not try to water them down because they seem so harsh—just let them speak.
There is a bond that is thicker than blood, and that bond is following Jesus—now, to some that will go against the grain, but it is true.
Having said that, there is not a hard fast rule as to when these verses begin to apply to a young adult, or even a teenager, possibly…serious times of prayer and great wisdom and counsel must be received to discern the proper response in these situations—this is not something that is taken lightly--
In this particular objection, there is the application for us as parents today…are we living in such a way that honors the authority God has placed over us in our lives so that our children will see our submission to authority modeled rightly before them?
Are we living as moms and dads who are worthy of respect and honor from our children…do they see us as thinking we are always perfect and never do anything wrong…do they see us rebelling against legitimate authority…or are we models of submission for them to observe?
My prayer is that today, families will begin to have discussions about areas of improvement and realignment under the authority of God’s Word—as husbands, as wives, as moms & dads, and as children and teenagers and young adults.
My prayer is that we will begin to ask questions and seek the answers biblically for the structure of our homes.
My prayer is that there will be a revival of respect and honor for parents and those in authority by young people beginning here at JSBC.
It will only begin with confession and repentance of where we have fallen short of God’s directives and renewing ourselves, all of us, under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and His Word.
We have only touched the tip of the iceberg in this one aspect of this commandment today—my prayer is that this will generate questions for all of us and that we will search for the answers that come from God’s Word.
What is God saying to you today?
If you are not a Christian here today, you are in rebellion against God—living as your own boss and your own rule-maker—you must repent of your sin and turn to Jesus for forgiveness and reconciliation to God.
If you are a Christian today, particularly a teenager or child—are you living under the legitimate authority that God has placed over you…if not, you are committing sin and removing yourself from the blessing of God…confess, repent, to God and your parents…
Young people…are you hiding things from your parents…are you deceptive…how many myspace accounts do you really have—that’s just one example…
May God grant us grace this day to live under the authority he has placed over us…
Idolatry in Jonas Brothers Music
That title should get some attention.
I heard my daughter listening to and singing the following from Jonas Brothers---
"When you look me in the eyes
And tell me that you love me
Everything's alright
When you're right here by my side
When you look me in the eyes
I catch a glimpse of heaven
I find my paradise
When you look me in the eyes"
What is the "functional heaven" and "functional savior"--the functional heaven is being with the girl--the functional savior is the girl.
Idolatry of the heart. We are all susceptible...and we are all guilty...
Psalm 24:3-4
I heard my daughter listening to and singing the following from Jonas Brothers---
"When you look me in the eyes
And tell me that you love me
Everything's alright
When you're right here by my side
When you look me in the eyes
I catch a glimpse of heaven
I find my paradise
When you look me in the eyes"
What is the "functional heaven" and "functional savior"--the functional heaven is being with the girl--the functional savior is the girl.
Idolatry of the heart. We are all susceptible...and we are all guilty...
Psalm 24:3-4
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Another good quote from "Total Church"
p. 31 - "Spiritual experience that does not arise from God's word is not Christian experience"
That goes way deep.
That goes way deep.
"Total Church" by Chester & Timmis
I just read the following...
p. 28 on "leadership and authority"
"In the church the risen Christ rules through his word. This is why the only skill required of church leaders is they they can teach, rightly handling and applying the word of God. Their authority is a mediated authority. They have no authority in and of themselves. Instead they exercise Christ's authority on his behalf as they teach and apply the word. This defines the amazing extent of their authority: when they apply the word they are exercising the authority of God himself. But it also defines the limit of their authority: they have authority only as they teach God's word. They should not exercise authority that comes because of the position they hold or the force of their personality. It is through their teaching that leaders exercise the authority of Christ, the Head of the church."
p. 29 on "the kingdom expansion"
"The growth of God's kingdom is synonymous with the spread of God's word. The kingdom grows through the word as it elicits faith."
p. 29 on "the Spirit and the gospel"
"The community formed by the gospel for the gospel is the community in which God dwells by his Spirit."
Good stuff for this morning.
p. 28 on "leadership and authority"
"In the church the risen Christ rules through his word. This is why the only skill required of church leaders is they they can teach, rightly handling and applying the word of God. Their authority is a mediated authority. They have no authority in and of themselves. Instead they exercise Christ's authority on his behalf as they teach and apply the word. This defines the amazing extent of their authority: when they apply the word they are exercising the authority of God himself. But it also defines the limit of their authority: they have authority only as they teach God's word. They should not exercise authority that comes because of the position they hold or the force of their personality. It is through their teaching that leaders exercise the authority of Christ, the Head of the church."
p. 29 on "the kingdom expansion"
"The growth of God's kingdom is synonymous with the spread of God's word. The kingdom grows through the word as it elicits faith."
p. 29 on "the Spirit and the gospel"
"The community formed by the gospel for the gospel is the community in which God dwells by his Spirit."
Good stuff for this morning.
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