Well, this morning, I am joyfully and in a very excited way beginning a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments. Before we read the Ten Commandments in Scripture, let me begin with some questions. Don't answer the questions out loud. These questions are just for you to think about. Do you know where the Ten Commandments are found in the Bible? Do you know where the Ten Commandments are found in the Bible? There are two places where they are found in their entirety. The first instance is the account of the giving of the Ten Commandments by God to Moses, and this is in Exodus 20. The historical context in Exodus 20 is after Israel has been delivered by God through Moses from Egyptian slavery, after crossing the Red Sea, and then coming to Mount Sinai. Exodus 20 records the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. The second place the Ten Commandments are found in their entirety is just before Israel enters into the Promised Land. the land of Canaan. After 40 years of wilderness wanderings, the people of Israel are in the plains of Moab and they're about to cross over the Jordan and into Canaan. Before they enter the promised land, Moses reiterates the law of God and recites the Ten Commandments again. This is in Deuteronomy 5. The Ten Commandments are also referred to in other places in Scripture in the Old and New Testaments in part or as a unit by various designations. In fact, the Ten Commandments are found throughout the pages of sacred Scripture. Do you know where they're found throughout the pages of sacred Scripture? Do specific passages come to mind? For the 10 commandments are sprinkled throughout the whole Bible and is woven into the fabric of God's word. The moral law of God is intertwined with the gospel. Law and gospel are bound together in such a way that in order to have a right understanding of one, you need a right understanding of the other. So did you know where to find the 10 commandments in the Bible? Here's another question. How familiar are you with the Ten Commandments? Do you know each of them? Can you name them? Can you recite them? And do you understand what they mean? What they prohibit? And what they require? Have you ever personally studied the Ten Commandments as a part of your own time in the Word of God? What is the second commandment? Do you know? What is the sixth commandment? What is the eighth commandment? Again, do you know? Are you that familiar with it that I can just name the number of the commandment and you can recite what it is, you know what it is? The reality is that there is a woeful ignorance of the 10 commandments today among churches and among believers. Many believe that the Ten Commandments are irrelevant and obsolete, even abrogated and abolished. In these sermons, I hope to dispel the ignorance, increase our understanding of the Ten Commandments, and demonstrate that they are far from obsolete. Far from being obsolete, the Ten Commandments are necessary and useful in the life of the church and in the life of the believer as we seek to be witnesses in the world, proclaim the gospel, display the beauty of Christ, be salt and light in the culture, be sanctified and conformed to the image of Christ, and live to the glory of God. Now let's begin this series of messages by turning to Exodus chapter 20 and reading the Ten Commandments. Exodus chapter 20. I'll be reading verses 1 through 17. Hear the word of God. Then God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. Here's the first commandment. You shall have no other gods before me. Then the second commandment is found in verses four to six. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above, or on earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing loving kindness to thousands to those who love me and keep my commandments. Here's the third commandment, verse seven. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. For the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes his name in vain. Here's the fourth commandment, verses 8-11. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or female servant, or your cattle, or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days, the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Now those are the first four commandments, what we typically call the first table of the law. It pertains specifically to our relationship to God. And then there is the second table of the law, beginning with the fifth commandment, which pertains to our relationships with others, beginning with the parent-child relationship in the home. Verse 12 is the fifth commandment. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Verse 13, the sixth commandment. You shall not murder. Verse 14, the seventh commandment, you shall not commit adultery. Verse 15 is the eighth, you shall not steal. Verse 16 is the ninth, you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. And then verse 17, the 10th commandment, you shall not covet your neighbor's house, you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. These are the 10 commandments. The first four commandments address our relationship, duties, and responsibilities to God. And the last six commandments address our relationship, duties, and responsibilities to man, to one another. In the first four commandments, we are commanded to worship God alone and to worship God aright. In the last six commandments, we're commanded to rightly relate to others and love them as we should. The Ten Commandments, a summary of the moral law of God, are summed up by the word love. Love God, love your neighbor. Jesus said in Matthew 22, verses 37 to 40, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. This is the great and foremost commandment. There he's referring back to what we call Deuteronomy 6, verse 5. Then Jesus said, the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself, referring to Leviticus 19, verse 18. And then he said, on these two commandments, love God, love your neighbor, on these two commandments depend the whole law and the prophets. Romans 13 verse 10 says, love is the fulfillment of the law. So the 10 commandments tell us what love looks like. Love for God and love for others. And yet there are those, as I referred to, maybe many today who do not believe the 10 commandments are applicable for us. Are these 10 commandments for today? Are they perpetual moral law? Are they binding upon all? Or are they given only to the nation of Israel in the old covenant and are now obsolete and abrogated, not applicable to the church in the new covenant? What does the New Testament say about these things? Did Jesus set them aside? Did he abolish the 10 commandments? Did the New Testament writers view them as obsolete or did they assume that they're still binding? Are the Ten Commandments a summary of the perpetual moral law of God? If so, how are they to be used? What are proper uses and what are improper uses of the moral law of God? And what is the relationship of law and gospel? These are all very good and important questions. In addition to preaching on the Ten Commandments themselves, these are some of the questions that I'll seek to answer from Scripture. As I said, many churches and believers don't believe the Ten Commandments are relevant to the church or to the believer. Contrary to that, at Grace Fellowship Church, we believe that the Ten Commandments are a summary of the perpetually binding moral law of God. There is a perpetually binding moral law which comes from God. The moral law is known by the light of nature and by revelation from God. It's known by the light of nature. That is, it's written on the hearts of people. It's written upon their consciences. It's also known by revelation from God, sometimes as we read in Scripture, spoken by God, as on this occasion in Exodus 20, to Moses. Sometimes written like the tablets of stone, and now in the completed canon of sacred Scripture. In sacred Scripture, the Ten Commandments are a summary of the moral law of God. In the Bible, we have more than the 10 commandments, for the 10 commandments are the moral law summarily comprehended. That's an important phrase, summarily comprehended, as the Westminster Catechism says. We'll talk about that. We'll talk about that not only a little bit this morning, but along the way as we look at the commandments. The 10 commandments are the moral law of God, summarily comprehended. that is understood and known by way of summary. It's not exhaustive. We need the whole of the revealed word of God, sacred scripture, to have even more clarity and specificity regarding God's moral will for us. But we need the 10 commandments. For there we find the moral law of God summarily comprehended. Now, the temptation is to jump right into the commandments themselves, explaining and expounding upon them. But there's some questions that need to be asked and answered before we jump into the first commandment. Let me explain why I say that. And let me give you an illustration that might help this morning to explain why I'm doing what I'm doing and how I'm going to do it. These first things, these introductory matters may seem to be unrelated and unimportant to some of you. Kind of like watching a person who's preparing a dish, tossing in a pinch of salt here, a little pepper there, an ingredient here, an ingredient there, pausing a little bit to let something set up, or maybe putting some of those ingredients in a refrigerator as a part of preparing the dish. before adding those things to the whole. It needs to set up and be prepared. However, in the end, all the ingredients and steps are necessary for the completed dish to be tasty and satisfying. And so like watching someone put together a dish, it may seem like certain ingredients and steps are not necessary or all that important. Why is he doing that? Or why is she putting a little pinch of salt there? And why does it need to set up here? may not seem to matter, but in the end, the finished product is dependent upon each step and each ingredient. Or maybe a better way to understand it is like a building with a foundation. Think of these things, before we get into the specific commandments, these introductory matters, think of them like building blocks or foundation stones. These building blocks and foundation stones will aid us in understanding and obeying the commandments themselves. We may want to rush the superstructure itself, but the structure won't stand if we skip the building blocks and the foundation. And the building might be abandoned altogether or not used properly if we don't understand the foundation upon which the building stands. So I'm going to lay some foundation stones and some building blocks before we get into the specific commandments. So let me begin with a very basic building block and foundation this morning. Here's the first question. What are these commandments called? What are these commandments called? Now you might say, that's like throwing a little pinch of salt into some bowl. How does that really help it? Is it really gonna make a difference in the end? It may seem like an unimportant question, what are these commandments called? But they're actually very, it's very important question. And so to answer the question, let us consider the designations of the 10 commandments, the designations of the 10 commandments. Designation means a name, a title, a description. What are the 10 commandments called? What is their designation? What are the names, titles, descriptions of the Ten Commandments? This will help us lay a foundation that we might understand the commandments themselves. Now, I've been calling them the Ten Commandments. That designation is found in three places in Scripture. The first instance is in Exodus 34, verse 28, when Moses goes up to Mount Sinai a second time. You remember the first time after Moses came down from the mountain, he threw down and shattered the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written because of the idolatry of the people. You remember, while Moses was on the mountain, the people grew impatient with his return, so they made a golden calf and they worshiped before that calf. And so it says in Exodus 32 v. 19, it came about as soon as Moses came near the camp that he saw the calf and the dancing, and Moses burned with anger. And he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. So Moses goes back up to the mountain a second time and receives what is called for the first time in Exodus 34 v. 28, the Ten Commandments. The second place where it is called the Ten Commandments is Deuteronomy 4, verse 13, when Moses recounts God's dealings with Israel. Moses says there, So He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments. And He, God, wrote them on two tablets of stone. So there's a second occurrence where it's referred to as the Ten Commandments, Deuteronomy 4, verse 13. And then there is Deuteronomy 10 verse four, where Moses said, he, that is God, wrote on the tablets, the 10 commandments, which the Lord has spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and the Lord gave them to me. These are the only three places in which the tablets of stone containing commandments are specifically called the 10 commandments. So they are called the commandments, the 10 commandments. Sometimes you'll hear them called the 10 words, the 10 words. That designation comes from the Hebrew in the last three verses that I just read. The Hebrew translated as the 10 commandments is Asara Devarim, which translated more literally means the 10 words. The Greek translation of the Old Testament translates it in this way. Deca-lagus. Deca-lagus. You might hear in those Greek words another way we describe the Ten Commandments. One way they're designated. Transliterating the Greek into the English, the Ten Commandments are sometimes called the Deca-lag. Deca-lagus. in English, decalogue, 10 words. The 10 words, the decalogue, are commandments. They're called commandments. As Ted Koppel, now retired from ABC News, as he once said at a commencement address at Duke University in 1987, quote, what Moses brought down from Mount Sinai were not 10 suggestions, they are commandments. are not were, unquote. Yes, that's what Ted Koppel said at Duke University. It's true, they're commandments, they're not suggestions. This designation, commandments, is not just found in the Old Testament, they are called commandments in the New Testament. For example, Ephesians 6. We're going to be looking at a number of passages. If you'd like to turn to them, I'll give you a moment to do so. Ephesians 6. Ephesians 6, verses 1-3. The apostle Paul says there, Ephesians six, verse one, children, I think you know what this says. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. So that's Ephesians six, one. Now, why is the obedience of children to parents right? Right, in that verse, translates the Greek word, dikaios, which means righteous. On what authority is that right? On what authority is it right to obey your parents, children? Is this an arbitrary or socially constructed ethical principle? Or is there a commandment from God that binds children to obedience to their parents? And where does the Apostle Paul go to demonstrate the moral rightness and the moral righteousness of the obedience of children to parents? Well, he appeals to the Ten Commandments, and specifically to the Fifth Commandment. So he goes on to write, Ephesians 6, verse 2, honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment, he calls it, with a promise. And he goes on to say, "...so that it may be well with you, so that you may live long on the earth." The Apostle Paul, when addressing children, and he says to them, obey your parents, for this is right, this is righteous. Under what moral authority can he say that to them? He appeals to the fifth commandment. Remember Exodus 20, verse 12 that I just read? Honor your father and your mother. so that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. And remember the fifth commandment as reiterated in Deuteronomy 5, verse 16, honor your father and your mother as the Lord your God has commanded you that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you. It was a commandment that was applicable then and applicable now. So let me throw in a little salt and pepper, or let me add another building block to the foundation as we're doing that before we get into the specific commandments. And I'll explain a little further shortly and in much more detail next week. The apostle Paul appeals to what he calls the commandment, one of the 10 commandments, because it is perpetually morally binding. It is perpetual moral law. That is binding upon all people at all times in all places. Again, more on that shortly. But just make a note of it for now. Let it ruminate for now. I'm just letting that set up for now. And I'll explain why I'm saying that. Why I'm saying it in that particular way in more detail next week. He appeals to it and he calls it the commandment and he appeals to it there in Ephesians 6 because it is perpetual moral law. Binding on all people at all times in all places. But notice what Paul says. about this commandment. He says, it is the first commandment which carries along with it a promise. He says, honor your father and mother. So there's the quotation of it. And then he says, which is the first commandment with a promise. Now the original reason or promise joined to the fifth commandment, honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you was this, that your days may be prolonged, live long, as it says in Deuteronomy 5, prolonged and that it may go well with you, where? On the land which the Lord your God gives you. The commandment is the same, honor your father and mother. However, the context in which the commandment was originally given had specific implications for Israel as a nation and the covenant God made with them. The commandment is perpetually binding, but the application of the promise joined to the commandment is bound by the historical redemptive context. The command to honor father and mother is perpetually binding at all times for all people. It is immutable and unchanging because it is the moral law of God. It is the commandment of God. It always has been immutable and unchanging even prior to the giving of the moral law codified at Sinai. It always will be morally binding. However, the promise given in conjunction with it finds or is tied to the occasion in which it is given. So just note for now, that the Apostle Paul didn't say that he needed to repeat this particular commandment among the 10 commandments so that everyone in the new covenant would know that this is now binding upon them. No, instead the Apostle Paul assumes the perpetually binding nature of what he calls the commandment. So let's be clear about this. Again, I'm just throwing in a little salt and pepper. We're just gonna mix it up a little bit. And eventually you're going to see as we look at Scripture, oh, this is the end product. This is why He's doing that. Let's be clear about this. There is no place in the New Testament that says each of the Ten Commandments needs to be repeated in order for them to be binding upon new covenant believers. Now, some of you are saying, I know why He's throwing in that salt and pepper. Some of you are saying, I don't understand why that's really important right now. But just make note of it. There is no place in the New Testament that says each of the 10 commandments must be repeated in the New Testament for them to be binding upon new covenant believers. That kind of hermeneutics wasn't the hermeneutics of the apostles. And it isn't in the New Testament. In fact, as we'll see in more detail next week from Jeremiah 31, verse 33, and from Hebrews 8, verse 10, in the new covenant, the believer is enabled by the Spirit to obey the commandments, the law of God, the moral law of God, for they are written on the heart, and the Spirit enables the believer to obey those things. Someone might say, but the Apostle Paul was referring to just one commandment in Ephesians 6, verses one to three. Well, he was. However, the 10 commandments are given as a whole, a unit, not as disconnected and unrelated commandments. Jesus treated them as a whole. He didn't separate the 10 commandments as if some were applicable and some were not. In referring to the 10 commandments, Jesus himself refers to them as a unit, as the commandments. In Luke chapter 18, verses 18 to 20, it says a ruler questioned Jesus saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. But then he says this, you know the commandments. Do not commit adultery, the seventh commandment. Do not murder, the sixth. Do not steal, the eighth. Do not bear false witness, the ninth. Honor your father and mother, the fifth. When Jesus said, you know the commandments, he's referring to the whole of the commandments given on tablets of stone. But Jesus only refers to five of the 10 commandments. He leaves out the 10th commandment and the first four commandments. But it would be a wrong deduction to say that that means that they're not binding. The first four aren't binding and the 10th isn't binding for Jesus didn't refer to them specifically. No, he's simply referring to five of the 10. However, he refers to them as a whole, as a unit in the words, the commandments. You know, the commandments. And then he just recites five of them, quoting five of them specifically. But Jesus refers to them as the commandments. a unit, a whole. On other occasions, Jesus indeed speaks to the four first commandments, even the fourth commandment, the Sabbath commandment. So, mix it up a little bit. They are the commandments, the ten commandments. just by way of a very brief application, just adding again a little more ingredients to the recipe or another building block to the foundation. God gives commandments. And the commandments that God gives are good. Romans 7, verse 12 says, so then the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Now we don't tend to think of commandments as good. That is because of our sinful and rebellious hearts. It is the result of the fall. But as redeemed sinners, whose hearts have been regenerated, changed, the heart of stone removed, and a heart of flesh given to us by God, a heart that is alive, to those sinners who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, God's commandments are not burdensome, but are a delight. 1 John 5, verse 3, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. The same was true of the Old Testament saint. Psalm 1, how blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. The law and the commandments of God are holy and righteous and good because of their source, God himself who is holy and righteous and good. Again, we're just adding some ingredients. We'll explain why in more detail. I'll show you this from the scripture and then we'll see why that's so important. But understand this, the moral law of God is a reflection of his holy character. It's holy and righteous and good because the God who gave these commandments is also holy and righteous and good. So just make note of that ingredient. It's an important foundation stone for understanding the Ten Commandments and the moral law of God. We'll see how important that is in subsequent weeks. So we've already learned something important about the Ten Commandments just by what they're called, the designation. Again, we're laying some important building blocks, some critical foundation stones that will aid us in understanding and obeying the Ten Commandments. But we're not finished with the designations. There are other names which support what we've already learned. Another designation of the Ten Commandments is the testimony. The testimony, that's what it's called in Exodus 25, verse 16, which says this, you shall put into the ark the testimony which I shall give you. Exodus 25 verse 31, you shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark and in the ark you shall put the testimony which I will give to you. Now, what is the testimony? Well, Exodus 31 verse 18 tells us what the testimony is. When God had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, he gave Moses The two tablets of the testimony. Tablets of stone, it says, written by the finger of God. So there we know exactly what the testimony was. The two tablets of stone, written by the finger of God, containing the commandments, these ten words, the Decalogue, the ten commandments. And that's what it's called in Psalm 19, verse 7. The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure. making wise the simple. So the Ten Commandments are called a testimony. A testimony testifies. To testify means to bear witness to something, to attest to something, to declare something, to make something known. So the Ten Commandments are a testimony declaring something. Declares what? It testifies to what? Well again, they testify to the holy character of God and to his moral will. The commandments are moral in nature. They testify to what God requires of human beings who are made in His image and are therefore accountable to Him. The word testimony often has a legal nuance to it. There's a legal nature to the word. People testify in a court of law. It's their testimony. And a person's testimony can be for someone, demonstrating the innocence of a person, or that testimony can be against someone, demonstrating the guilt of a person. The law of God, the 10 commandments. is a testimony. As Matthew Henry wrote, the tables of the law are called the testimony because God did in them testify his will. This law was a testimony to them to direct them in their duty and would be a testimony against them if they transgressed. So here again, we see the moral nature of this testimony. The Ten Commandments are a testimony of the moral will of God because it is based upon His immutable character. Now this leads to another designation of the Ten Commandments, another name by which it's called. Ten Commandments, Ten Words, Decalogue, the Testimony. Here's another important designation. The Ten Commandments are also called the Law. I do want you to turn to Romans chapter 13. Romans chapter 13, verses 8 to 10. Romans chapter 13, here we see the Ten Commandments referred to as the law. Where the Apostle Paul writes, Romans 13 verse 8, owe nothing to anyone except to love one another. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. And then the apostle begins to recite the law. What does he recite? Again, various commandments from the 10 words, the 10 commandments. Verse nine, for this, you shall not commit adultery, that's the seventh. You shall not murder, the sixth commandment. You shall not steal, the eighth. You shall not covet, the tenth. And if there is any other commandment, and there is, or there are, of course, for there are 10 of them, He says, it is summed up by, in this saying, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Again, a reference to Leviticus 19, yeah, as yourself, Leviticus 19, verse 18. Verse 10, love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. So just note for now that he's making reference to the commandments, the 10 commandments as the law. We'll talk about love and law, Some people believe love cancels the commandments. No, fulfills the commandments, not makes them obsolete, but fulfills them. But just notice the Apostle Paul here calls the 10 commandments as he recites, not all of them, but some of them. But just because he doesn't recite all of them doesn't mean they're not all binding. You wouldn't say that the fifth commandment isn't binding because he doesn't quote it there. Well, the seventh, or excuse me, the fourth or the first, no, he's just reciting some of them. He says, it is the law, the 10 commandments are the law. So in the context, Paul is referring to the 10 commandments, and he quotes some of the commandments specifically and refers to them all generally, when he says if there's any other commandment, and he calls them the law. Turn to James 2. James also calls the Ten Commandments the law. James 2, verses 10 through 12. James 2, verse 10, says, for whoever keeps the whole law, and notice how James treats the Ten Commandments as a unit, as a whole, as, quote, the whole law. He doesn't treat them as disconnected commandments. He says, whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, that is in one commandment, he has become guilty of all. The whole law is a unit, a whole. Again, I'm just throwing in the ingredients, making some observations. They're very important. So you see here, James is speaking of the whole law as a unit. Now, what law? And why is it that if a person breaks one commandment that he's guilty of all? Well, it goes back to the source, the one who gave the 10 commandments, God himself, the one who is holy, holy, holy. So he says in verse 11, for he who said, and he's referring back to Exodus 20. Who said these things? God. He said, do not commit adultery. That's the seventh commandment. Also said, do not commit murder. That's the sixth commandment. In other words, the same God said both of those commandments. To break one is to fall short of the glory of God who gave His commandments that you might reflect His glory. Then He says, now if you do not commit adultery, the seventh, but do commit murder, the sixth, you'd become a transgressor of the law, referring to the Ten Commandments as a whole, as a unit. V. 12, so speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. Notice the legal nature of his language here. As those who will be judged. It's the law of God. To break it is to be guilty before the lawgiver, God Himself. But notice here how he talks about the law. It's the law of liberty. It's not a law of enslavement, but a law of liberty. That is the law of freedom. Sin enslaves, but the moral law of God gives freedom. But note again who said it. Who said it? He who said, verse 11, also said, God said it. These are the commandments of God. It is the law of God. Again, I'm just helping us to get some introductory things. To be reminded, this is the law of God. In Romans 7, verse 22, the Apostle Paul says, I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man. And in that chapter, he's referring to specifically the 10th commandment. Among those commandments, you shall not covet. These laws, are moral in nature, pertaining to the character of God, what He requires of those made in His image and who are accountable to Him. So what are some of the designations? What are they called? The Ten Commandments, the Ten Words, the Decalogue, the Commandments, the Testimony, the Law, the Law of God. And because they are moral in nature, we categorize these Ten Commandments and we call them the moral law of God, perpetually binding upon all people of all times and in all places. Now, next Lord's Day, I plan to demonstrate in more detail from the Scriptures that the Ten Commandments are moral law perpetually binding upon all people at all times. However, let me just explain the proposition this week and then demonstrate it from the Scriptures next week. Let me just add briefly a foundation stone that's very important, and then let me explain it more next week. Here's the proposition. The Ten Commandments are a summary of the moral law of God, perpetually binding upon all people at all times and in all places. The Westminster Larger Catechism asked this question, question 93, what is the moral law? And here's the answer that is given. The moral law is the declaration of the will of God to mankind. directing and binding everyone to personal, perfect, and perpetual conformity and obedience thereunto, in the frame and disposition of the whole man, soul and body, in the performance of all those duties of holiness and righteousness which he owes to God and man, promising life upon fulfillment and threatening death upon the breach of it." And then it asks this question, Question 98, where is the moral law summarily comprehended? The answer, the moral law is summarily comprehended in the Ten Commandments, which were delivered by the voice of God on Mount Sinai and written by him in two tablets of stone and are recorded in the 20th chapter of Exodus. The Baptist Catechism is similar to the Westminster Catechism. If you're not familiar with the Baptist Catechism, it goes back to 1693 and is sometimes called Keech's Catechism. The title Keech's Catechism refers to a man, a pastor, Benjamin Keech, who lived from 1640 to 1704. But another writer is believed to have participated in the writing of that catechism. Perhaps he was the main author of it, although his name is not often attached to it, William Collins, who died in 1702. Here's what the Baptist catechism says in question 44. What is the duty which God requireth of man? The duty which God requireth of man is obedience to his revealed will. Question 45, what did God at first reveal to man for the rule of his obedience? The rule which God at first revealed to man for his obedience was the moral law. Question 46, where is the moral law summarily comprehended? There's that language again. The answer of the moral law is summarily comprehended in the 10 commandments. Summarily comprehended. That's an important phrase. The Ten Commandments are not an exhaustive accounting of the moral law of God. It's the moral law of God summarily comprehended. Take the Eighth Commandment as an example. The commandment simply states, you shall not steal. However, along with that prohibition is joined a duty. You shall not steal, but joined to that is The understanding that you're instead to labor and to work. And therefore the Apostle Paul says this in Ephesians 4 verse 28. He who steals must steal no longer. That's the eighth commandment. But rather must labor. That is one of the adjoined duties. And then Paul describes the labor to be done in this way. Performing with one's own hands what is good. For not all labor is good. Some labor is wicked. by the nature of the labor itself, what it is. And he gives one reason why a person is not to steal, but instead should labor. He says, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. There are other reasons for labor, but that's one of them. So you see, you shall not steal is not the sum total of the moral law of God pertaining to that, it is the moral law of God summarily comprehended. There is a duty joined to that. So in the words of the Westminster Catechism, where a duty is commanded, the contrary sin is forbidden. And where a sin is forbidden, the contrary duty is commanded. Stealing is forbidden. But labor is one of the contrary duties that now is commanded. Take another commandment as an example. You shall not commit adultery. Is only adultery forbidden? What about other forms and categories of sexual morality? The commandment is the moral law summarily comprehended, not an exhaustive list of all forms of sexual morality and violations of the marriage covenant. Again, as the Westminster Catechism so aptly explains, under one sin or duty, all of the same kind are forbidden or commanded. Therefore, some of what is forbidden under the seventh commandment, you shall not commit adultery, includes this. Taking the Westminster Catechism, changing some of the words for my own. Here's what's forbidden. Adultery, fornication, rape, incest, sodomy, homosexuality, bestiality, lustful thoughts, inappropriate affections outside of marriage, immodest clothing, filthy talk, sexual innuendo, unlawful marriages and unlawful divorces. These are just to name some of those things forbidden by the Seventh Commandment. You shall not commit adultery. On the other hand, what does it say is required? Chastity and body, mind and affections, words and behavior, watchfulness over the eyes and all senses, temperance, keeping of chaste company, modesty and apparel. It also then includes what's required is marriage to those who do not have the gift of singleness, marital love, cohabitation, sexual intimacy in marriage, and also diligent labor in our callings in marriage, and the shunning of all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto. Do you see how this is the moral law summarily comprehended? So when you read you shall not commit adultery, that's a summary of one thing. There are other categories of sin, but then The opposite is now required. Faithfulness in marriage and giving attention to one's duties in marriage. So you shall not commit adultery. That's not exhaustive. It is a commandment, a prohibition more specifically, speaking of what is prohibited. Only adultery is mentioned. However, under one sin, all of the same kind are forbidden. Therefore, we have other Scriptures that explain the moral will of God more specifically and extensively. For example, Hebrews 13 verse 4, "...marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the mare's bed is to be undefiled. For fornicators and adulterers God will judge." Or the words of Jesus, "...you have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman would lust for her has already committed adultery in his heart." Jesus isn't adding to the commandment. The commandment not to commit adultery included watchfulness over the eyes and sins of the heart. There were just those who were being, or limiting that only to the external act of adultery itself. Jesus is no in the commandment. It includes this as well. Or the Apostle Paul who said in Ephesians 5 verse 4, there must be no filthiness or silly talk. That's a reference to inappropriate course, which he goes on to say, course jesting, which are not fitting. So all of that falls under that commandment, the seventh commandment. The point is this, the 10 commandments are the moral law of God summarily comprehended and understood. Again, next Lord's Day, I plan to demonstrate that the Ten Commandments indeed are the moral law of God, summarily comprehended, perpetually binding upon all people of all times and all places, and show you this from the scriptures. But these are just foundation stones, building blocks. Let me conclude by reminding us of the goodness of the Ten Commandments and the law of God. And let me do so by giving you three words and briefly applying that. Sin, Savior, Spirit. Sin. The law of God is good because it shows us our sin. As we sang in the hymn, the law of God is good and wise and sets his will before our eyes. It shows us the way of righteousness and dooms to death when we transgress. It's light of holiness imparts the knowledge of our sinful hearts that we may see our lost estate and seek deliverance ere too late. And then the fifth stanza of that hymn says, the law is good, but since the fall, its holiness condemns us all. It dooms us for our sin to die and has no power to justify. So the law of God is good because it shows us our sin. As the apostle Paul said in Romans 3 verse 20, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. For all have sinned. and fall short of the glory of God. But as we'll see as we go through these Ten Commandments and understand them, there's a Savior. There is one who rescues from the guilt of sin. That's why we sing in that hymn, to Jesus we for refuge flee, who from the curse has set us free. Set us free from the curse of sin. And therefore humbly worship at His throne, saved by His grace through faith alone. There is a Savior. The law of God, the Ten Commandments, condemns us. It shows our guilt. It's legal in nature. But there's a Savior. As Jesus said in Matthew 5 v. 17, He came to fulfill the law. Romans 5 v. 12, Through one man, sin entered into the world, and death through sin. And so death spread to all men, because all sinned. But then Romans 5.18 says, through one act of righteousness, there resulted in justification of life. Jesus was completely righteous. He was obedient to the Father. He kept the moral law of God completely. There was no stain of sin in Him. 2 Corinthians 5.21, the Father made Him the Son who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf. so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. There is a Savior, the Lord Jesus. But the third word, spirit. We sang the third stanza, to those who help in Christ have found and would in works of love abound. It shows what deeds are His delight and should be done as good and right. Those who have placed their faith in Jesus now delight in His law. We do not keep the law to be forgiven for our sins. We keep the law because we delight in the giver of the law and desire to bring him glory. And how can we, sinners that we are, keep the law? By whose power and whose strength? By the Spirit, the Holy Spirit whom he has given to us? Remember the promise of Ezekiel 36, verse 27. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. The words of Romans 8, verses 3 and 4. For what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, it couldn't justify, Because of our weakness of flesh, our sinful nature, what the law couldn't do, God did. How? Sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, there's the Savior. He condemns sin in the flesh. Why? So that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us. Listen to this phrase, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This law is a delight for those of us who've been born of the Spirit. For the Spirit indwells us and causes us to delight in the law and commandments of God and indeed enables us by his almighty power to keep them to his glory. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Our Father in heaven, I pray again as we have just embarked upon introductory matters, the beginning things, first things, just beginning to understand some things about your law, the Ten Commandments. Lord, I pray that we might come to these things and, again, understand the importance of your law, the importance of the moral law, the importance of the Ten Commandments. Lord, I pray that we might come to the Scriptures and say, what says the Word of God? Lord, I pray maybe for some who've been influenced by various hermeneutics, various ideas that really aren't in scripture, that are contrary to this, and therefore just the thought of a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments seems to be irrelevant. Or at least for some of the commandments. Lord, I pray that you might use these messages to help us to go to your word and see that indeed they are not obsolete, but they are relevant for us again in evangelism. as we live in the world, and for us as believers, as we seek to please You. For as Jesus said, if you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And there is no contradiction and should be no division between the law of God and the law of Christ. For He fulfilled this law. And so, Father, I pray, give us understanding of these things. And I pray, Father, that you would use it, even in our midst, to give us moral clarity in the midst of all the confusion around us. And Lord, even within the visible church, Lord, where there's confusion about what you require of people made in your image. accountable to you. And what you require of us is your people, the church, or those who are your own possession. Lord, help us to understand the nature of the new covenant. This law is written upon our hearts, and we're enabled by the Spirit to do it to your glory. This is how we are pleasing to you. And so, Father, we pray, help us to see the goodness of your law. in the goodness of these commandments, and help us to see the glory and righteousness of Christ, who is altogether lovely and righteous and holy. And it's in His name we pray. Amen.