Hey All,
For the last couple of weeks it has been on my heart to go “back to the basics” and look at the ten (10) commandments. This review will be from two (2) perspectives. The first and most obvious is what does God restrict us from doing, but equally important is what God is requiring of us in the commandments. We also know that Jesus condensed the ten (10) commandments into just two (2) Matthew 22:37-39 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. The second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The key directive here is that we are to Love! Over the past two weeks I have started reading a new book which discusses how we as a church body have gotten away from the basics in worship and our relationship with God. Yet we are not the first to allow this to happen. Jesus experienced the same issue in Mark 7:1-12 where the Pharisees questioned why the disciples where eating with unclean hands. The Pharisees had added a “tradition” of washing hands but this was not in the ten (10) commandments; not even in the ones Moses broke the first time down the mountain! 🙂 It’s not that washing of hands was not a great hygienic tradition for the good of public health, but it was not commanded by God. Let’s press into this review thinking about the things we have added to what God commands and are these things really important to our daily walk with Christ or our worship.
The 1st Commandment
Thou shalt have no other Gods before me.
What does this mean: We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.
We know that there is a God. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. We have looked previously at His nature. He is Eternal (without beginning or end), Unchangeable, Omnipotent (all powerful), Omniscient (all knowing), Omnipresent (everywhere), Holy (sinless), Just (fair and impartial), Faithful (keeps his promises), Benevolent (good, kind, desires our welfare), Merciful (full of pity), and Gracious (shows undeserved kindness/forgiveness). I don’t know about you but I could spend the rest of the week thinking about all these traits and how I have seen them at work over the last 50+ years. In addition though, we know that God is a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (3:1) as we looked at a few weeks ago.
What does God Want or NOT want us to do?
I think Luther paraphrases this best in the Large Catechism. What does it mean to “have” a God? A God means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in distress. To “have” Him means that our heart take hold of Him and “clings” to Him. To “cling” to Him with the heart is nothing else than to trust in Him entirely. Luther also challenges us to test our hearts. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is is in you.… Luther closes with, if your heart clings to anything else from which it expects more good and help then from God, and if your heart does not take refuge in Him but flees from Him when in trouble, then you have an idol, another God. So what gets between you and “having” God? Trusting in our own will?, money?, video games?, TV?, Hunting?,Work?,,,,,, NONE of these are bad things if we don’t place them ahead of our daily walk with Christ. God wants us to Love Him above everything else. That is a strong commandment. Do I always put God first in my life above everything else? Let’s look at how scripture supports this in the next few verses:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Matthew 10:28 Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Matthew 16:26 For what will profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?
Ephesians 5:5 For this you will know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater, has inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God
Psalm 118:8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
So to wrap up
We believe in the One true triune God, but many times we get so wrapped up in life that we do not honor Him by reflecting on His nature and all He does for us. Let’s truly take time from our schedules and think about how great our God is by reflecting on His character, nature and traits from above. Second let’s all look in the mirror and ask, Do we “cling” to Jesus and trust in Him for everything we do? I know for me I have some work to do but praise God we have a gracious God that forgives me to try again.
Father I pray this week that each who reads this blog will be convicted to draw closer to you. Lord as we draw closer to you help us to see where you are at work in our lives on a daily basis. Father I ask that you would strengthen our faith in you so that trusting in your will is not even a second thought but it is what we take confidence in every situation. Lord forgive me of my many sins, for I am weak and you are strong. Amen? AMEN!
image sourced from google images
Amen!