First Commandment

Exodus 20:3 “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Martin Luther said: “The Decalogue is not of Moses, nor did God give it to him first. On the contrary, the Decalogue belongs to the whole world; it was written and engraved in the minds of all human beings from the beginning of the world.”

It seems almost daily I read in the news about the Ten Commandments being removed from some public place here in the States. The most recent one was in Oklahoma when the Ten Commandments were removed from the state capital in the darkness of night. Recognizing the 10 Commandments as the foundation of our laws is the reason why many state capitals have the plaque of the 10 Commandments.

Johannes Althusius said: “The precepts of the Decalogue prescribe and constitute a way, rule, guiding star, and boundary for human society. If anyone would take them out of politics, he would destroy it; indeed, he would destroy all social life among men. For what would human life be without the piety of the first table of the Decalogue, and without the justice of the second? What would a Commonwealth be without communion and communication things useful and necessary to human life? By means of these precepts, charity becomes effective in various good works.”

Psalm 119:126 “It is time for you to act, O Lord, for they have broken your law.”

We see the mass shootings taking place and many other atrocities occurring and we wonder why this is happening. I think Johannes Althusius was right regarding the Ten Commandments when he said: “Take them out of politics, he would destroy it; indeed, he would destroy all social life among men.” Isn’t this the reason for the breakdown in our social life here in the USA and in other parts of the world as well? America is becoming a lawless nation and it is not just among the ordinary citizens, but also those we elect to uphold the law.

Noah Webster’s says: “The first Commandment forbids us to have any other God, before Jehovah. It forbids the worship of any and every other being. The first and highest duty of man is to reverence, worship and obey the only true God. Men are prone to consider that their social duties to their fellow man is the first in importance, and all that is necessary to be observed in order to secure God’s favor. This is a pernicious mistake, and probably the ruin of millions of the human race. Supreme love to God, and reverence for his character, and laws, is the first duty of man, and the true source of all other duties. Obedience to God’s laws, to be genuine, was to spring from love to him; and a conformity to his character is that which constitutes excellence in human character.”

The first four commandments are often called the First Table and deal with man’s relationship with God. Since there is only one God, there is only one source of law. This first Commandment has to do with the source of authority and law, both in our personal life and in our nation.

There is one God and, hence, one law, for He is the source of that one law. Polytheism (which includes humanism) implies we live in a universe with many law orders flowing from many gods. Man cannot live under man’s law in this system except by force or imperialism, and this is what we have in many parts of the world.

With the humanistic or evolutionary view of law that modern man has, every man is a law unto himself because there is no over-arching absolute law. What this eventually brings is anarchy and to enforce law upon everyone requires imperialism by those in authority. What this means is that civil government will grow larger and stronger and more intrusive in the affairs of the citizens. This is what is happening today in the United States as well as in Europe, other parts of our world. This type of government will usurp the authority and responsibilities of the individual, family, church, business, etc. The fruit of this: the loss of liberty and even life.

Since there is one God, then there is one law, and there is one truth. This first commandment tells us that we should not have any other god (or law or truth) before Him, or beside Him. Therefore, to change from a biblical law system to another law system is to change gods.

God and His Law are the source of righteousness for all members of society and also describes the outcome of those who are outside the law. God is also the source to uphold the law that He had delegated to man, through the institutions of family, church, and state which is to have the power to punish those who break the law. (Romans 13, 1 Peter 2.)

If we are to regain sanity in our world today then we must come back to this First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before me.”

Psalms 74:2 “Remember the people (NATION) you purchased of old, the tribe of your inheritance, whom you redeemed — Mount Zion, where you dwelt.”

In every society or culture we have what we call “opinion makers.” These are people who use words to make a living. We see how God used George Whitfield who came in with a message from the Lord; he brought in the right opinion and led us into the great awakening and the American experiment.

Same thing took place in Europe over 500 years ago when Martin Luther stood up with a message from God and we have the Western civilization we have today.

However, in the Western world we are in the process of losing this connection with the Lord. Consequently, we are in need of more George Whitfield’s and Martin Luther’s.

Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

There are three words that we are hearing quite often: reformation, revival and transformation. Reformation is the ministry of John the Baptist preparing the way for the Lord; revival as Martin Lloyd Jones put it is God passing by, and transformation is the result.

This past July 4th we celebrated our 239th year of when we (USA) declared our independence. God has been reminding me that before we had our independence that the Lord sent a powerful preacher to our shores called George Whitfield. He had a powerful influence upon our country and there was a spiritual awakening. One could say that before our independence we had a reformation – a calling back to God and to the things of God.

A war of independence was fought and through the revolution we gained our independence. We were set free and through that freedom a new experiment was undertaken that never had been done before in the history of mankind; that man could govern himself.

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE says “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The references to God in the Declaration of Independence provide a foundation for a moral argument within civil society that brought the transformation.

One can ‘Google’ and read the rest of the declaration, but what the Lord was showing me was the pattern that was laid down for reformation, revival and transformation. In the case with the birth of the United States we had George Whitfield (reformation) calling us back to the truths of the Word of God and to our responsibilities. Thomas Jefferson to Richard Price, in 1789 said: “Reformation in government follows reformation in opinion.” George Whitfield in his powerful preaching was bringing in the opinion of God. This was the forerunner of what was to come. It was said about Whitfield in his biography: “More than any other preacher of his day, he made the Great Awakening a vital, far-reaching force, religiously, socially, and politically, in America.” In America he preached a series of revivals that came to be known as the Great Awakening of 1740.

Revival, but in this case revolution, where we were set free with the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE – the law of the land – is what brought in transformation or reconstruction. Yes, there are many things wrong that need fixing in our country, but there is no doubt about the transformation or reconstruction that has taken place in our country over these past 239 years to be a free society with the freedom of religion, freedom of the press, habeas corpus (this is a legal action through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. It is an important legal instrument safeguarding individual freedom against arbitrary state action), trial by jury, and a representative legislature.

Thomas Jefferson said: “Every generation needs a new revolution.”  In reading the first paragraph of the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE the thought that came is that God wants to raise up tens of thousands of pastors who from the pulpit will be calling the people to exercise their responsibility and come back to the fundamentals that our country was founded on. Gary Bauer said: “Pastors were instrumental in America’s founding. The Church has long been a pillar of strength in our society. We need their leadership in turning the tide and once again making America a shining city upon a hill.”

Through this ‘reformation’ we will see a revolution of love (God is love) in the hearts of millions that will spark them into a labor of love in every aspect of society, and this will bring in the transformation. (1 Thessalonians 1:3)

Chuck Colson said: “We need to confess our moral failures and our national sins. We need to repent of the lies that justify killing innocent babies and the elderly. The road to renewal begins on our knees. And it’s there that we hear soul-searching questions from God himself, asking: ‘How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’” Psalms 82:2-4

Love – Part 5

Ephesians 4:1-2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

Another aspect or characteristic of love is the idea of forbearance, or bearing with one another; making allowances for faults and weaknesses of others without passing judgment.

Of course throughout this series we have seen that the Lord is our example. We read in Romans 2:4, “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?”

In the English NIV Bible version this word forbearance is translated “tolerance.” However, the idea is to endure and bear with, and this is why in the KJV Bible version it is translated as forbearance.

Today in our Western society we have a different understanding of what the Scriptures mean by tolerance, different than what we are looking at here. The tolerance that our society is trying to get across is having tolerance towards things and lifestyles that are in direct conflict with the Word of God. That is another kind of tolerance that has nothing to do with ‘right’ relationships.

God is tolerant towards us, but that which is not in accord with His Word He will judge and so must we. We cannot be taken in by our society that tells us that we should be tolerant (in their definition) and not make any judgments of our own as to right or wrong.

The way this word tolerance or forbearance is used in regards to relationships is that we decide in advance to bear that person up in their time of weakness. We all have faults and so we should be ready to hold each other up and encourage one another on in what is right and good.

Just like patience and forgiveness go hand in hand so does tolerance (forbearance) and acceptance. As an act of our will we decide that we are going to accept that person as he/she is with their weakness and faults. This is what love is all about: acceptance of one another. We can accept the person without agreeing with their lifestyle.

So often we have communicated to our spouse, children and others that if they change we will accept them. Christ accepted us just like we are and because of His acceptance of us, and who He is, we want to change and not because we want to be accepted but because we have been accepted.

This does not mean that God is tolerant of our sinful behavior. NO! But He is tolerant towards us as individuals. He hates the sin, but loves the sinner. When this grace is operating in us the result is unity in our homes, schools, jobs, churches or wherever. Isn’t this what we need today in our churches and society?

The Lord said: “Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Sons, not children. There is a difference between sons and children and it is a difference of maturity. Sons speak of maturity whereas children speak of immaturity. Sons are the ones who can build and maintain right relationships.

The problem that we have in many of our churches is that we have too many children and not enough sons. When it comes to our relationships might we become mature, and more like God’s own Son. Amen?