Chapter 3: Hot-Button Issues
First 4 Commandments reminder:
-have us covered in our vertical relationship with God
Commandment 5: Honor you Mother and Father
-have us covered in our horizontal relationships with people
“Honor you father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord our God is giving you.” (Exodus 20: 12).
-we all understand the term “dysfunctional family”
-we all understand the derm “divorced”
-Satan has launched and unprecedented attack against the family in our nation today
-signs of the last days will be the breakdown in the family
“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3: 2-4).
-God has a countercultural word for us “Honor your father and mother”
-God’s template was one father and one mother
-we tampered with God’s template to our own peril
-modern culture pushed well funded movement to legitimize same sex marriage
-Don’t be fooled: this is not just a political issue, but a moral and Biblical issue
Biblical Worldview:
-In the Garden of Eden, the Creator brought a man and woman together
-God is not anti-gay, He is anti-sin
-He loves all people and want them to repent and enter into a relationship with Him
Phobic
-if you speak out on anything you are accused of being phobic
-if you speak your opinion on anything you are accused of being phobic
-we are all born with a sinful nature
-being born in sin we are all vulnerable in certain areas (addiction is just one example as it could be sex, alcohol, drugs, food, etc..)
Honoring Imperfect People:
-when a marriage lasts lifetimes is a testament to the power and faithfulness of God in our lives
-Bible speaks directly to children
“Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord” (Colossians 3:20).
-even if you parents are not Christians you are to honor them (not as a doormat or punching bag, but be courteous, forgiving, and an example of Christ so they may come to know him as you do)
-even Jesus didn’t reach His whole family before His death and resurrection
-Jesus’ siblings and Mary didn’t see the light until after the resurrection (John 7: 3-5)
-if your parents ask you do to anything unbiblical, you are not required to do it
Ex. We forbid you to believe in Jesus Christ
-many martyrs can attest they disobeyed in spite of their family gave their lives to Jesus
-God is your ultimate authority
Commandment 6: You Shall Not Murder
“You shall not murder” (Exodus 20: 13).
-King James version -thou shalt not kill
-better translation version- you shall not murder
-the Bible doesn’t condemn all killing
-we have a right to defend ourselves
-even Jesus told his disciples to take their swords with them
-it is in the intention of the heart
Ex. a person in the military in the middle of a war zone has to fight for his/her life and may kill the enemy
Ex. killing a shooter or terrorist bent on murdering innocent lives is justifiable
Ex. a person who attacks, rapes, steals her money, and strangles a woman to death is intentionally taking the life of an innocent victim with malice/evil in their heart is murder
-we live in a violent and murderous culture today
-God has established laws by which to govern a culture
-those who break those laws should face repercussions
Hating is sin
“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment” (Matthew 5: 21-22).
-if you have ever hated someone so intensely that you wished everyday they were dead is sin
“Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart” (1 John 3:15).
Oxymoron:
-I do not support the death penalty but I do support abortion
-life begins at conception
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that fully well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139: 13-16).
-every child is created by God
“You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman” (Max Lucado).
-obvious truths, abortion is commonly used today as a form of birth control
-abortion is a multi-million dollar industry
-terms are uses do dehumanize preborn babies
(ex. Fetus, embryo, globs of cells, uterine contents, products of conception, potential human beings)
-absurd: if the mother’s life is in jeopardy with no other option the mother needs to be saved over the baby (it is a life and death circumstance not just I don’t want to deal with this pregnancy)
-the same God who gives us laws and standards also provides a way to be forgiven
-we can be cleansed when we violate those standards
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Chapter 4: More Absolute Truth
Commandment 7: You Shall Not Commit Adultery
“You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:16
-committing adultery is having sex with someone besides your spouse
-violating this commandment is spiritually harmful and destructive in your life
-secular culture redefines the meaning and act of sex and secularity
-sex is good when it is within the bounds of marriage
-God’s way for sex is within a marriage commitment between one man and one woman
-God blesses their sexual union
-God wants to bless sex between a husband and wife
-when this union is violated the result is spiritual destruction
-sex between a man and woman is blessed with procreation and childbearing
-when this union is violated the result is destruction of the family
-sexual infidelity never can be regarded as something inconsequential or trivial
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” (1 Corinthians 6: 15-18).
-sexual sin hurts a lot of people
-it damages them spiritually and emotionally
-there is a direct correlation between sexual behavior and serious emotional problems
A casual look that is not casual:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27).
-this is a continuous act of looking (lustful)
-in our twisted culture it is hard to avoid images that could stir up lust
-seeing is not the sin, but lingering, imagining, obsessing, and motivated to lustful action
6 reasons why you should not commit adultery:
1.you do incredible damage to your spouse
2.you do incredible damage to yourself
3.you do incredible damage to your children
4.you do great damage to the church
5.you do great damage to your witness and the cause of Christ
6.you sin against the Lord Himself
Ex. Joseph fled the Pharaoh's wife a she made sexual advances
“How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).
-Joseph feared sinning against God who loved him and had blessed him
-sin grieves the Spirit of God and that is no small matter
Commandment 8: You Shall Not Steal
“You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15).
-stealing is widespread in our culture today
Survey results when asked why don’t you steal?
-I might get caught
-the person I stole from might come after me
-I might not need the item
***What was missing?
-I don’t steal because it is wrong
“Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).
Principles to live our lives as Christians
-if you have stolen, steal no longer
**restore and restitution is evidence of a changed heart and life
-Do something useful
**work with your own hands to earn what you want instead of stealing
**government, parents, or the word doesn’t owe you a living
**find a job and do it with all your strength and with a thankful heart
-Share what you have
**everything comes from God-give to those in need
**giving lightens the heart
**stealing leaves the heart empty
Commandment 10: Don’t Bear False Witness
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor” (Exodus 20: 16).
-don’t tell lies
-just tell the truth
-original use was not to perjure oneself in a judicial trial
-God hates lying
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him” haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community” (Proverbs 6: 16-19).
-lying is antithetical to His character
“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Hebrews 6:18).
-it is impossible for God to lie
-it is not part of His persona or nature
-Satan is always identified with lying
“You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8: 44).
-when we are engaged in habitual lying and deception, we are behaving like a child of the devil
-watch it when you lie for convenience or to save face or fake flattery
-worse is to be a gossip or backstabber
“A gossip goes around telling secrets, so don’t hang around with chatterers” (Proverbs 20: 19).
-don’t listen to or pass along falsehood
***If there is one thing God hates, it’s a lie
Commandment 10: Do not Covet
“Thou shall not covet” (Exodus 20:17).
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20: 17).
***This is an action of the heart
“What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead” (Romans 7: 7-8).
-coveting is not seeing something you like and wishing you had it
-it isn’t wrong to admire something
-it isn’t wrong to want something
-coveting in context is wanting something that belongs to someone else and you are to point of taking it for yourself
-coveting something that belongs to a neighbor, co-worker, friend, ro family member
-Greek word is lust
-Hebrew word is covet
-coveting: the eyes look at the object, the mind admires it, the will seeks to posses it, and the body follows with the action
-coveting doesn’t care what harm comes from it
-coveting is I don’t care th price, I want what you have, one way or another I will take it
-coveting destroys lives and families
-covet someone else’s husband or wife can blow apart a marriage and yours
-coveting can destroy a ministry
***Commandments are absolute truth and reveal the holy standards of a holy God who can never be shaken
***The law brings us and drives us into the arms of Jesus for help, mercy, forgiveness, and provision (He is our only hope)
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