The Gift of Frankincense – Matthew 2:1-12

• December 20, 2021
• Pastor
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Matthew 2:1-12

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Matthew 2. One-hundred eighteen years ago, this past Friday (just 2 days ago), we celebrated a historic milestone. It was December 17, 1903, and it involved two brothers from Dayton, OH who went down to Kitty Hawk, NC and did something historic. Ring a bell? Orville and Wilbur Wright flew an airplane for the first time. They were so excited about going a few hundred feet that they wired back to their sister Katharine (in Ohio) a simple message. It was this: “We have flown 120 feet.” And then they added a little addendum that said, “We will be home for Christmas.”

Well, she was so excited, she took the message down to the newspaper editor who read those words, and his response was this: “How wonderful that the boys will be home for Christmas.” He overlooked the most monumental news of the century. Man had flown, and all they were thinking about is “the boys will be home for Christmas.” And that happens every year at Christmas. The world overlooks the grand news that a Savior has been born. We overshadow it with gifts and wrapping and parties. Sometimes we overlook the details in the story too, like what the gold meant, and what the frankincense meant, and what the myrrh meant.

Two weeks ago, we began considering the gifts that the wise men brought to Jesus after His birth: the gold, the frankincense, and the myrrh. We started with gold and saw how that gift was emblematic of Jesus’ role as a priceless gift, as royalty – indeed, as our King. And today we’re going to resume by considering the gift of frankincense. I want us to consider the men who gave the gift, the meaning of the gift, and the ministry of the One who received the gift. But before we do, let’s read the text again (Matthew 2:1-12):

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

Now, gracious Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will be our teacher, so that the pages of the Bible might be illumined to us and that we might see Your Son, the Lord Jesus, in all of this wonderful prophetic expectation, and that we might, in being encountered by Him, come to bow down before Him and acknowledge that He is Savior and Lord, and all of this to the praise of Your name. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.

Let me quickly recap a few things we learned two weeks ago. We noticed that, unlike most of our nativity scenes and the Christmas carols that we sing and the cards that we write, the visit of the wise men almost certainly did not take place on that first Christmas. Verse 11 uses the term “child” to describe Jesus, and while that word by itself could be used to refer to a baby, it’s unlikely that Matthew would’ve used that word if, in fact, Jesus was still and infant. Another detail that supports this is Matthew 2:16; just a few verses later, Herod realizes that he’s been tricked by the wise men and seeks to have all the male children 2-years old and younger killed. And the Bible tells us that age range was chosen because it was “according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men.”

Also, the scenery seems to have changed. In Luke’s gospel, it seems rather clear that there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the house. Luke 2:7 says, “there was no place for them in the inn.” The Greek word that’s translated as “inn” is kataluma, and it’s only used 3 times in the Bible, and 2 of the 3 times it’s translated as “guestroom.” So, Luke’s narrative seems to indicate that the family was turned away from the house and pointed in the direction of a stable or at least another connected shelter for animals. When you add to that the fact that Jesus was placed in a manger, it most certainly suggests that they weren’t inside a structure where other people were residing. But by the time the wise men show up, as recorded in Matthew 2, they come “into the house” where Jesus and Mary and Joseph were staying.

Now, just make a little note here. Of all of the things in the story that we have a record of, there are certain things we don’t have a record of. For instance, Matthew left out any explanation about the wise men (the magi) except to say that they were “from the East.” We have to go back into history to find that out. And Matthew, interestingly, doesn’t tell us a lot about the star. He just said they followed a star and the star showed them where to go. So, while those details are left out, Matthew does give us details about the gifts that were presented: gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. The Holy Spirit, through Matthew, preserves those details, which I believe are symbolic and illustrative of Jesus’ forthcoming life.

With that out of the way, let’s consider the men who gave the gift, the meaning of the gift, and the ministry of the One who received the gift.

The Men Who Gave The Gift Of Frankincense

We looked at these fellows a little bit two weeks ago, but there’s just so much more and particular to this story. You’ll notice again in verse 1 they’re called “wise men.” The Greek word is magoi/magos. It’s really a word that’s untranslatable, and so, our translators just take the Greek word and phonetically transcribe the word and thus we end up with “magi.”

The historian, Herodotus, said that they were a priestly caste of Medes; that is, they came from the ancient Medo-Persian Empire. And they were a smaller group within a larger group. In many ways they were similar to the nation of Israel where you had twelve tribes, but there was one tribe set apart as the priestly tribe: that’s the tribe of Levi. Well, it would seem that the Medes had a very similar setup.

There were many tribes within the Median kingdom, but they selected one tribe to perform rituals and ceremonies and all of the spiritual functions of worship. And the Magi was the group that was chosen, and they maintained an influence not in just one empire, but through several empires throughout history. They were important, for example, in the Babylonian Empire. They were important in the Medo-Persian Empire. They would be important in the Greek Empire, and also in the Roman Empire when Jesus was born.

So, they were a hereditary priesthood, much like the Levites, who influenced kings. They were monotheistic; they worshiped one God. The primary element of their worship was fire. We don’t know exactly why that is, except they must have seen fire as being symbolic of the power of God. And they maintained an altar that was used in the sacrifice of burnt offerings. Not only that, but when it came to the dead, they were very fastidious about how they would handle the dead, because they believed one could be defiled by touching a corpse.

Now why is all of that important? It’s important because when Daniel comes into Babylon where there are magi in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, he becomes the head, the chief over all the magi (according to Daniel 5:1). When he becomes the head of the magi, he brings in this Jewish belief system that he grew up with, and all of the prophecies about the coming King, and it was much easier for these magi to receive that kind of a system because it was so very similar to their own. So, we have a hereditary priesthood with political power, and they were involved in the royal courts and governments.

The reason they’re called “wise men” instead of “religious men” or “priestly men” is because they were sought out and consulted about the future. Kings would have them in their court. Kings would want to know, for example: “How should I move my armies?” “What country should I invade?” “What did my dream mean?” And they would consult this priesthood for that information.

By the way, no Persian could become king unless he met two conditions: 1.) he had to master the spiritual disciplines of the magi; and 2.) he had to be approved and crowned by the magi. How’s that for power? They were literally kingmakers of the ancient world. Their influence became so famous that there was a phrase to describe it in the Old Testament: “the law of the Medes and the Persians” (Esther 1:19; Daniel 6:8), which refers to the law given by the king after consulting with the magi.

So, to sum it up: we have a priestly tribe, influential during many kingdoms over hundreds and hundreds of years, who came to extreme prominence during the Babylonian era under Nebuchadnezzar, influenced by the prophet Daniel who brought in the Jewish Scriptures and made predictions of the coming Messiah. They talked about a future King who would be the ruler of Israel, ruler of the world, and they had access to the Jewish Scriptures. And when they came into Jerusalem and in Bethlehem, they were seeking the true God. Matthew 2:11 says when they found Jesus, they “worshiped Him.” So, these are the men who gave the gift.

The Meaning Of The Gift Of Frankincense

Now, let’s look at the gift. Matthew 2:11 continues by saying, “Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” What’s frankincense? Well, the English word “frankincense” comes to us from two French words franc and encens, meaning “high-quality incense.” The Greek word that’s used in the text is libanos, and it has connections with the name Lebanon. Frankincense, as a thing, as an object, was a resin from a very particular tree, a very pure kind of incense. It was highly prized and highly sought after, and very expensive. It was a resin or a gum from a tree in the Arabian Peninsula. The scientific name for the tree is Boswellia thurifera. I know you always wanted to know that, and now you know. This tree was native to Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Oman, and Yemen. And it only came to Israel by caravan, as an import.

It was harvested by making an incision in the trunk of the Boswellia thurifera tree, deep inside that trunk in the winter months of the year – kind of like tapping a maple tree for maple syrup. The sap is yellow and amber, sometimes white. It’s allowed to dry, harden, crystallize, and then it’s ground into a powder. And when it’s burned, gives off its fragrance and smoke. Obviously, if you grew up as a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox, or even Anglican or Lutheran, you might recall the smell even as I’m talking about it. It’s a rather woodsy almost balsam-y smell with a hint of oil. That’s frankincense.

Knowing about frankincense is important, because it appears in the Bible 17 times. It’s almost always associated with the priesthood of Israel. It was a substance used for priests and by priests. It was used for them when they were anointed, when they were ordained into the priesthood. They took oil mixed with frankincense and put it on them as a way to mark them, to set them apart, to anoint them for service.

But it was also used by the priests in a very particular kind of an offering called the meal offering. Remember that in your Old Testament studies of Leviticus? I know you just probably read that the other day – Leviticus 2 and the grain offering or the meal offering? The Bible says, “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it and bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests. And he shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 2:1-2).

It’s as if God in heaven goes, “Ooh, that’s good.” He smells it and it’s wonderful, not because it really smells good, though it did to people. This is metaphorical language, anthropomorphic language. God doesn’t literally smell the offering like we would – rather it’s all about our obedience and thanksgiving. That’s what the offering was about. And God says, “When you do it that way, when you thank me and you’re obedient to me, oh, that smells good.”

This is that offering that Paul had in mind when he wrote to the Philippian church concerning their financial giving to support his ministry. And Paul said it is “a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). It’s what David referred to in Psalm 141:2 when he said, “Let my prayer be set before you as incense, and the lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”

So, it’s a substance used by Jewish priests in the worship of the God of Israel in the Old Testament. Are you beginning to see the picture? We have a substance used by priests given by Parthian priests to one who would become a priest.

The Ministry Of The One Who Got The Gift

Finally, let’s consider the ministry of the One who got the gift. You’ve got priestly kingmakers bringing a priestly element, and Mary and Joseph are probably scratching their heads going, “Wha-whaaat!? What’s this all about?” Well, I think it’s illustrative. It’s prophetic. We know that one of the roles that Jesus would fulfill was the role of High Priest, right? The New Testament book of Hebrews is all about showing how Jesus is superior. And one of the areas where He’s superior is as our High Priest. Eleven times in the book of Hebrews Jesus is called our Great High Priest. In other words, at this very moment, we have a representative before God the Father in heaven – One who is acting like a priest, someone who represents people to God. That’s Jesus.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Hebrews 4:14-15, which says, “Seeing that we have a great High Priest who has gone into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted just like we are, and yet without sin.” And the writer of Hebrews goes to great lengths to say that Jesus’ version of priesthood is superior to the Old Testament priesthood of Aaron. It’s so much better because (then he quotes Psalm 110), “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” It’s not temporary. It’s forever. That’s why it’s better.

So, we have a substance used by Jewish priest given by Parthian Gentile priests to someone who would become what the Bible calls our Great High Priest. Now, there’s something that Jesus did after He died, after He rose, and after He ascended into heaven. Hebrews 10:12 says that Jesus “sat down at the right hand of God.” The reason that’s important is because priests in the Old Testament never sat down. Of all the articles of furniture that were in the tabernacle and the temple, one was absent, a chair. They were on their feet all the time. The work of the priest of the Old Testament was never done. In fact, that’s exactly what Hebrews 10:11 says, “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”

They had to sacrifice and repeat those sacrifices every day, every week, every month, every year, every decade, on and on and on. It was never done. So, here’s Jesus: He comes, and He acts as a priest offering the sacrifice. And He acts as the Lamb; He was the sacrifice. He offers Himself for the sin of the world. He dies, He’s raised, He ascends into heaven, and he sits down, which means only one thing – “It’s done. It’s finished. It’s over. What Jesus did on the cross is enough to take care of the sins of the world.” And so, He sat down. That’s why it’s significant. Our High Priest has finished the task. Jesus sat down signifying, “I’m done as Savior. I’ve finished the work on the cross. It’s over.”

And yet, He continues His work as our intercessor. The same book of Hebrews says that “[Jesus] ever lives to make intercession for [us]” (Hebrews 7:25). That’s the role of a priest. He makes intercession for you. Have you ever had somebody say, “I’m praying for you,” and you go, “Oh, thank you. I really appreciate you doing that.” Jesus is praying for you. How’s that? He’s interceding for you. He’s talking to the Father about you. He’s the One who’s giving the help before the throne of holy, perfect God for you and for me. He’s our Great High Priest.

So, Jesus is our Great High Priest – making the full and final and perfect sacrifice – THE sacrifice to end all sacrifices. He’s our Great High Priest ever interceding for us. But it continues. In the New Testament, Paul calls Jesus our mediator – our ultimate middleman. Paul writes, “There is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). That’s why we have this little detail, buried in Matthew 2, about wise men presenting gifts of gold (representing Jesus’ role as King of kings and Lord of lords) and frankincense (representing Jesus’ role as our Great High Priest).

I’ll close with this story, true story. The year was 1936. Technology was growing by leaps and bounds. Radio waves ruled the world, and there was a historic radio broadcast from England to America that was about to be staged. It was King Edward VIII who was going to speak to the American people via a radio station in New York City. Everything was set. The king was approaching the microphone. Just moments before the event, one of the workers at the radio station ran across the floor and broke the wire that would transmit the sound from England to America. The producer, the executives, nobody knew what to do. But a quick-thinking intern grabbed one of the wires that was broken with one hand and grabbed the other wire that was broken. And as the king approached the microphone and spoke to the United States, the words were literally being transmitted through the body of that intern.

Do you know that’s the role of Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest? Heaven’s voice is transmitted through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). He reveals God’s intent, and God’s Word, and God’s will. No wonder Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father but by me” (John 14:6). He’s our High Priest. He fulfills the role. And that’s why Matthew tells us that frankincense was given to the Christ Child.

Our God and our Father, what monumental truth. My heart bursts at these things. How humbled and grateful we are at Your sovereignty in using a group of priests from the pagan world and making sure that at the right time Judah would be taken captive.

That a young man named Daniel would be inserted into their reign to become the head of the magi, to influence not only them, but future generations, some of which would show up at the birth of Jesus, and say, “We have followed a wonder in the sky, and we know that a King is born, and we’re here to worship Him.” And in presenting gold, they recognized He was King – and indeed He is King of kings. In giving frankincense, they recognized He would be a priest – and indeed He is our Great High Priest – the One who offered Himself as the sacrifice, and the One who is still at Your throne right now interceding on our behalf in Your presence.

Lord, God, we know that the Bible says we have an accuser of the brethren who accuses us before Your throne day and night (and that’s Satan). How grateful we are that we have an Intercessor, an Advocate. How amazed we are at how detailed You are and how much You love us. Lord, I pray if anyone doesn’t know Jesus as their Savior, their true High Priest, as well as their One and only mediator and intercessor, that that would change, and it would change today. For we pray this in His name and for Your glory, amen.

Christmas Music 2021

• December 13, 2021
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The Gift of Gold – Matthew 2:1-12

• December 5, 2021
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Matthew 2:1-12

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Matthew 2. I’ve got to say that I always find it awkward, at Christmas, because I feel like I’m sort of battling the theology of Christmas cards and Christmas carols. I’ve discovered that lots of people get information about Christmas solely on the pictures that people paint on Christmas cards or lyrics that come from Christmas carols. Have you ever noticed that? Christmas carols and cards are great, but you can’t necessarily bank on the theology they sometimes present.

For example, we’re all familiar with the song Silent Night, right? Think seriously about the opening phrase of the chorus: “Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm” – stop right there. Since when is the birth of a baby ever a silent night? Am I right? It’s not silent. Add to that the confusion in the streets of Bethlehem as people are signing up for a census that has been taken. Add to that the anthems of the angels, and the sky breaking forth in voluminous praise. It ain’t no silent night. You see what I mean?

So, it seems to me that of all of the people in the Christmas story, the group that has the most confusion surrounding them are the ones that we’re about to read about – the wise men, the magi, as some of your translations call them. And I say “confusion” because there was another great Christmas carol, written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins titled We Three Kings of Orient Are. Remember that one?

It’s a beautiful song, but the Bible never says anything about their number. It just says they presented Jesus with three gifts. However, many it was, it was enough to make Herod troubled, and I don’t think three dudes on camels would have done that. An army would have, yes, an entourage, maybe, but just three guys? Probably not so much. So, the Bible doesn’t give the number, nor does it say they were kings. The Bible calls them wise men, or magi. Now, perhaps because of that description it might be fair to think that they were more influential than ordinary folks. But kings? That’s a bit of a stretch. Finally, the Bible says they came from the East, and while the “Orient,” as we understand it today, is to the East of Israel there are other countries to the East that aren’t particularly oriental.

So, they were from somewhere east of Israel, probably ancient Persia. They weren’t kings. They were spiritual advisors, as we’ll discover. They were kingmakers, in fact. And they didn’t come on the night of Jesus’ birth. They weren’t part of the manger scene, as the Christmas cards (and our own nativity scene) suggests. By the time they show up, Jesus is a child.

So, what we learn from the cards and the carols isn’t always right. It would be more accurate to sing, “We huge entourage of Parthia and astronomers from Iran traverse afar, bearing gifts…” But that would never pass the songwriting committee, so we have to dispense with that. Starting today and continuing through the rest of the month, we’re going to look at the gifts that they give and find out their symbolic meaning. This morning we begin with gold – the metal of kings. But let’s begin by reading the text, shall we?

1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ 7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found Him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.

“Lord, God of heaven, You who have spoken, and Your Word has come to be, grant now that by the Holy Spirit You will speak into our lives, granting to us clarity and understanding and faith, so that like those who rejoiced at the discovery of this good and great news, we might do likewise. For we humbly pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Question about a Coming King

As with some of the false assumptions that we make due to the Christmas cards and displays, other legends, myths, and traditions have developed around who these men were. Some years ago, it was believed that these guys must be representatives of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the surviving families after the flood. By the time of the Middle Ages, they had developed names. The names Caspar, Balthazar, and Melchior were given to them, saying that one was from Arabia, one was from Ethiopia, one was from Tarsus, respectively.

Marco Polo even wrote that in his travels he encountered one Persian village, and the villagers claim that their village was the point of origin for the beginning part of the journey of the wise men. In the 10th century, there was a Benedictine monk named Reinhold of Cologne (Germany), who claimed to have found the skulls of the wise men. And he said when he dug them up, he knew it was them, because their eyes were still in their sockets, and they were fixed toward Jerusalem. I kid you not. I mean, this is like goofy stuff made up through history.

In fact, all that the Bible tells us is that they were “wise men” or magi from the east. Now, the word “wise men” in the Greek is the word magoi (pl.) or magos (sing.). It’s where we get the term magi. History tells us that they came from ancient Persia. According to the Greek historian Herodotus, they were a priestly caste of the Medes; that is, they were from Parthia and Mesopotamia. They had one time tried to overthrow Persia but were unsuccessful. And they became a priestly tribe – advisors to kings and different royal monarchies. They were skilled in philosophy and science. They became known as men of wisdom, and they were interpreters of dreams. Originally, they had a worship system of Zoroastrianism – a religion named after its founder, Zoroaster. It was a monotheistic religion where they believed in worshiping the god Ahura Mazda.

Why all this history about the wise men – the magi? Because they appear in the Old Testament, and one of the prominent places is in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar had hired the in his court to become his own spiritual advisors. They were among the highest-ranking officers in Babylon. And you’ll recall that one young man saved their lives, and that young man’s name was Daniel. Remember? He interpreted a dream for King Nebuchadnezzar that the magi, the wise men, of Babylon were unable to interpret. And because Daniel did that, he not only saved their lives, but Daniel was placed as the chief of the magi.

Now, why is this so important? It’s important because without it, we don’t understand the question in verse 2. The question is this: “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?” Why on earth would people from Persia come to Jerusalem asking that question? The answer can only be Daniel had primed the pump of their ancestors. Daniel had spoken – in prophetic fashion – about the fact that there would be a Messiah born who would be the King over Israel, and eventually ruler of the world (read Daniel chapters 2, 9 and 12). Daniel gave those prophecies. And then thousands of Jews stayed in Babylon, so that, over time, the magi had access to all of the prophetic Scriptures in the Old Testament, like Numbers 24 that reads, “A star will come from Jacob and a [Ruler] from Israel,” or Isaiah 9, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; and those who dwell in the shadow of death, on them a great light has shined.”

So, they followed a star, and I don’t have time to talk about all of the different conjectures of what this star was. Every year there’s some new National Geographic specialty and astronomers say it’s this or that. Here’s the point: even foreign, pagan worshipers understood that somebody significant had “been born the King of the Jews.” So, they come with a question; the question about the coming King: “Where is He?”

Reaction of the Current King

That’s followed by the reaction of the current king, as seen in verse 3: “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled.” Tarassó is the Greek word. It means “greatly perturbed,” “highly agitated,” “deeply troubled.” And the verse says that not only was Herod troubled, but “all of Jerusalem with him.” Why was all Jerusalem troubled? Because Herod was troubled. You’ll find out that Herod was the kind of guy that when he’s unhappy, everybody else is unhappy. Remember that old saying, “If mama ain’t happy, nobody’s happy?” If Herod’s not happy, nobody’s happy.

And the reason Herod was troubled is by a single word that’s buried in the question that the wise men presented: “Where is He who has been born (what?) king of the Jews.” That’s a word of competition. That’s a word of jealousy. That’s a word of threat. In the south we say, “Them there are fightin’ words.” That single word threatened rule and control and authority and power for Herod. See, because of his title, Herod was called the “king of the Jews.” Not in the same fashion that we associate with Jesus, but politically, societally and culturally Herod was the king. So, when he hears that there’s a Child born that’s possibly a Jewish-born king, well, then, his anger is stoked.

Let me tell you a little bit about Herod. Herod was not Jewish. He was Idumean. He was an Edomite. He came from modern-day Jordan east of the land of Israel. And the way he rose to power was not because of him, but because of his father. His father was named Antipater. Antipater once helped Rome, and because he had helped Rome, Julius Caesar gave Antipater rule over all of Judea.

When he died, his son, now called Herod the Great, took over and was given the title “king of the Jews.” It was a title that he held onto very, very tightly. History describes Herod the Great as cruel and paranoid. For example: he killed one of his several wives. He killed two of his eldest sons, so that they couldn’t occupy the throne. It was so bad that the saying went around: “It’s safer to be Herod’s pig than it is to be Herod’s son.” Herod was so vicious that when he was on his deathbed, he commanded that all of the chief people in Jerusalem be imprisoned. And the day that he died, he commanded that they all be killed, because he said, “Nobody will cry when I’m dead, but I want to make sure there’s mourning on the day of my death, so kill them all.”

This is the one who, just a few verses later, will attempt to have Jesus killed by having all the baby boys in Bethlehem two years and younger murdered. That’s the reaction of this king. But the story really centers around the last part, and I quickly want to move there because of time.

Adoration of the Competent King

After the question about a coming King, and the reaction of the current king, comes really the heart of this text; and that’s the adoration of the competent King, Jesus Christ.

Verses 9-11 say, “When they heard the king, and departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child…” Now notice that. They didn’t go into a manger. They didn’t go into a cave. They didn’t go into a barn. They were in a house. And Jesus wasn’t a baby anymore. He’s a child. So, this is sometime after Christmas. Verse 11 continues, He’s a “young Child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. And when they opened up their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”

Would you please notice that before they gave their gifts, they gave their hearts? They worshiped Him. They worshiped Him, then they presented gifts to Him, and I think this is an important example to us. We often talk about the Christian’s responsibility to give their time, their talent, and their treasure, and, well, we should. But before we give any of that, we have to give ourselves, we have to give our very heart so that all those things are simply an outflow of our worship to the Lord. They worshiped Jesus, and then they presented their gifts.

And the first in the list is the gift of gold. Gold is mentioned in the Scripture 385 times. More than any other metal. It’s considered the most precious of all metals. Of course, this is before modern metallurgy. Now we know that rhodium is first on the list, followed by platinum, and then the third most precious metal is gold. But back then, gold was premium. It was considered the emblem of wealth. If you had gold, you were rich. Consequently, gold was associated with kings and royalty.

In fact, it was an ancient custom that if you ever approach a king, you must bring a gift, and it’s always best to bring at least part of the gift in gold. So, here we have Matthew (and only Matthew) telling us a story of these wise men. By the way, have you ever noticed that each of the gospel-writers has their own style, their own way of presenting Jesus, their own particular audiences? Matthew’s gospel is filled with references to the kingship of Jesus. It’s Matthew who presents Jesus to us as the King. So, it’s no surprise that he would include the story of Eastern Gentile kingmakers coming and presenting gifts fit for a king, the gift of gold.

And this is what I’d like to focus on as we approach the Lord’s Table. This gift of gold reminds us that we worship the Lord because He’s King. I want you to consider that as we take these elements in just a moment. In the Bible, there’s a term used over, and over again in the New Testament, “the kingdom of heaven,” and another term, “the kingdom of God.” The phrase “kingdom of heaven” appears 70 times; the “kingdom of God” appears 32 times, and 100 times the idea of a “kingdom” and a “King” associated with Jesus is mentioned. So, we should be worshiping Him not just as our Savior. Yes, He saved us from our sin. We shouldn’t be worshipping Him just as our Redeemer. Yes, He bought us out of slavery. We should also worship Him because He’s our King, our Sovereign, our Lord. As we draw near to Easter, Jesus will come into Jerusalem on a donkey, and when He does, the people will say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! The King of Israel!”

On the cross, Pilate will have ordered the statement: “THIS IS JESUS OF NAZARETH KING OF THE JEWS.” When Christ comes back in Revelation 19, on His robe He will bear the sign: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” So, here’s the question for us today: Do we worship Him as our King? Are we, His subjects? Are we, His servants? Does He call the shots in our lives? Is He on the throne or are we on the throne? Is He the King? Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” and that can be answered right now. Does Jesus occupy the throne of your life and my life? Does He occupy the throne of your heart and mine? Jesus paid for you. He bought you. He owns you. He’s your Lord. He’s your King. Do you worship Him as your King? Savior, yes. Friend, yes. But certainly, Lord of lords, King of kings.

So, ask yourself this: Are you like Herod? Are you like the religious leaders? Or are you like the magi? Herod followed the star – that is, he followed himself. He didn’t want God or anybody else to interfere with his plans, his glory. What’s interesting about Herod is he claimed to be a worshiper, didn’t he? Verse 8 says, “Tell me where He is, so that I may worship Him.” He pretended to be a worshiper, but he wasn’t. A lot of people pretend to be worshipers, but they’re really worshiping themselves.

Then there are the religious leaders. Herod was following the star of self; the religious folks were following the star of religion. They knew all the right answers; but they had all the wrong actions. They could tell you chapter and verse. They knew the Bible prophesied that the Messiah would come, but they wouldn’t get off their duff to go see, if indeed, Jesus had been born in Bethlehem.

And then you have the magi. Oh, how I love them. You’ve seen the bumper stickers, “Wise men still seek Him?” They weren’t looking for anything but a King, and when they found that King, they worshiped him.

There’s one final verse before we take the Lord’s Supper. Look at verse 12. It says, “Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.” It simply means that they took a different route in going back home. But I thought about this verse, and I thought, you know, there’s a truth behind that. Whenever Jesus becomes your King, you’ll go out differently than you came in. You’ll leave a different way. That’s what Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation, old things have passed away, all things become new.” Is Jesus really and truly King over your life? Does He have the authority in your marriage? Does He have the authority in your work life? Does He have the authority in your thought life? Is He King?

In Revelation 4 the twenty-four elders, I believe emblematic of the church, will cast their crowns down before His throne. I look at that and I say, why wait? Let’s do it now. Let’s cast any kind of rulership, ownership that we’re holding onto in our lives and say, “You, not us, you are the King, and we worship You.”

Let’s pray, and as we do I ask the Deacons to come forward.

“Lord, what a perfect way and a perfect day to celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Only You could have orchestrated this day, the day that we consider Jesus being our King. We understand that He came to die for us as sinners and to become our heavenly Father, and yet You should also occupy a role and position in our lives as King and Sovereign and Lord.

O God, as we take these elements, I pray that the meaning of the gold would be more awesome to us than ever before – that though Jesus came from heaven and was deserving of all the world’s treasures, yet He humbled Himself to the extent of being in poverty, growing up as one of us, and ultimately facing death in order to redeem us. Lord, You are, indeed, worthy of our praise and we love You, in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

Greener Pastures – Exodus 20:17

• November 28, 2021
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Exodus 20:17

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 20:17. For those of you that may be visiting today, we’ve come to the end of a series on the 10 Commandments. Interestingly, I’ve had a number of you send me e-mails, or stop me in the hall, or call me on the phone to say that you’ve really enjoyed this series. In fact, some of you have said you wish there were more commandments so that we could keep going. Personally, I’m having a hard-enough time with the ones we have; I’m glad there aren’t any more. (Amen??)

Nevertheless, we appreciate God’s Word and its relevance for our lives today. I’ve pondered why that is. Why is it that we’ve generally resonated with this particular series, and I suspect that it’s because we long for its truths to be evident in the culture and society. First, and foremost, they’re God’s instructions to us – His people. Yet, there’s something elementary and basic and guiding in these commandments. And when the world is so chaotic and topsy-turvy, it’s good to be reminded of these truths. They’re grounding. They’re firm. They’re never-changing. And I think that many of us have been looking for something morally solid to hang onto, and these 10 Commandments are just what the Lord provided.

Of course, as we’ve studied these commandments, we’ve also discovered what we always knew was true; that is, we’ve broken every single one of them (and sometimes regularly). It’s amazing how we tend to pick up the list and say, “Oh, I haven’t murdered anybody. I haven’t stolen anything. I don’t make it a habit of lying. I don’t take the name of the Lord in vain.” All-in-all, we think we’re pretty good folks. But upon further investigation we realize that we still fall woefully short of the holiness and righteousness that these commandments require. And that recognition, that awareness causes us to be all the more excited about the gospel, and all the more gracious for the gift of Jesus Christ. Amen!?

Hopefully, you’ve found Exodus 20:17. Let’s read this 10th commandment together: “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 is your neighbor’s.”

“Our God and our Father, as we undertake this final commandment, we pray that it might please You to, once again, enlighten us and remind us of our great need for a Savior. Lord, that we might conclude this study of Your holy law and be encouraged to live it out, to influence others by it, and to confront our society with it – not as a legalistic endeavor but in humble obedience to You, as recipients of grace through faith in Christ Jesus. In who’s name we pray, amen.”

His wife couldn’t make very much of him. He’d come home, and he was obviously in a really bad mood. He didn’t want to eat his dinner and went immediately to his bed. His wife clearly understood that the problem was not with her, nor was it with any other member of the family. The gentleman had been involved in a business negotiation which had gone bad. He wanted to secure a piece of property adjacent to his own, and although he himself had plenty of property, the other man’s pasture was looking greener than his, and he determined that he would gain control over this piece of his neighbor’s property. The man who owned the property wouldn’t accept cash or barter for it, and consequently, this man found himself at home and in his bed, and he was disgusted, and he was annoyed. His problem was that he had a covetous heart.

Now, his wife might have been a help to him if she’d endeavored to talk him out of it. But instead, her sin only made it worse. She told her husband not to worry; she would make a way for him to get the property. And she arranged, at a special function, for their neighbor to be confronted by slander and dishonor, so much so that he lost not only the title to the property but his own life.

Now, the story is so common that we might anticipate it coming from the local news. But, in fact, it comes from 1 Kings 21, and it’s the account of Ahab and his wife Jezebel, and their neighbor Naboth and their reaction to the splendor of Naboth’s vineyard.

Just as there is a clear distinction between a healthy appetite and gluttony (as so many of us learned this week), so there is all the difference in the world between appreciating what somebody else has – their belongings – and coveting those things. And the 10th commandment confronts us with a problem which, if we are very honest, all of us wrestle with. The 10th commandment forbids wrong attitudes towards the possessions and positions of other people. It teaches us to be content with what God has given us.

Now, the last several commandments: adultery, murder, stealing, and lying. They all dealt with actions – things that can be seen and noticed externally by others. This one, however, is hidden. This one can go undetected because it’s at the level of the heart, the level of the soul. It’s an issue with our intentions and our attitudes. It strikes at our desires.

Watch your children and grandchildren when you buy them a vanilla ice cream cone. They’re perfectly content until they see somebody else’s banana split. That’s what happened when your pastor was just a little fella. James and Melissa enjoy telling the story (it’s one of James’ favorites). They had just started dating. I was about 3 years old. They took me out to Dairy Queen in their Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible one summer evening, and they ordered me a plain vanilla ice cream. Apparently, everything was fine until I saw James’ banana split, then I said (as only a 3-year-old can), “I want that one.” Guys, James was really being a gentleman and trying to impress Melissa, ‘cause I ended up with the banana split and James ended up with the plain vanilla ice cream cone. (I’m not sure it would still work out that way today.)

The degree to which we’re able to score victories at the level of the ice cream determines what’s going to happen to that 3-year-old in his teenage years, his college years, and the kind of husband he’ll be to his wife. That’s why when we talk about baby dedications and “bring[ing] them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4, KJV) we’re not just using a bunch of phrases. We’re actually talking about something that’s intrinsically important in the rearing and developing of character in children. If we raise greedy kids, then we’ll walk our greedy daughters down the aisle and place them in the hands of some greedy man, and the two greedy individuals will spend their lives living consumed by covetousness.

Now, it would be bad enough if everybody recognized that this was a problem. But the trouble is, we don’t. And indeed, our society is so driven by materialism that it cashes in at every turn, especially now, in these days/weeks leading up to Christmas. So, while many churches are celebrating the first Sunday of Advent, and people’s attention is already turning towards shopping and presents and all the rest, perhaps it’s not so bad that we’re considering this 10th commandment.

This morning I want us to see the evidence of coveting, the effects of coveting, and the elimination of coveting.

The Evidence of Coveting

The evidence is clear. The verse identifies it for us. It outlines a number of ways in which we’ll see the evidence of coveting. Coveting focuses on a number of things. It may focus on money. Certainly, the Bible is replete with references to those who were consumed by a concern for money. So only one reference is needed.

We’re all familiar with the story of the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. This particular story has a direct connection with Exodus 20:17 because, as you might remember, Jesus tells him to keep the commandments and the rich young ruler asks which ones. And Jesus says, “You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother,” all of the commandments that we’ve considered recently, and the young man said, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions” (Matthew 19:18-22).

But maybe it’s not money, per se. Perhaps we want clothes. We read in Joshua 7, the story of Achan and how in the conquest they are able to pull together this vast amount of plunder. And the word of God to the people of God is “Don’t touch any of that stuff.” Achan determines he knows better; he takes it, and he buries it. And the servant of God comes to him and says, “Achan, what have you done?” And Achan says, “Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them” (Joshua 7:20-21).

You been to the mall recently? You had any of those feelings? “When I saw that beautiful robe, when I saw that wonderful stuff, I said to myself, ‘I must have it.’” And guess what? They gave me a card to take the waiting out of wanting. In fact, to grease the skids of my covetous heart, they allow me to have it now and pay forever.

Coveting money. Coveting clothes. Coveting people. Here I have my wife from my youth. She grows. She develops. She bears my children. She nurtures me. She guides me. She counsels me. And society buffets me with visual images of the kind of wife that you should have. She looks different. She acts different. She is different. And the idea, the desire, worms its way into the mind of man to discard his wife or her husband and go for another. And every day across our nation, it happens again and again and again. It stems from a covetous heart.

And it’s not just limited to things, to tangible stuff, it also manifests itself in our desire for positions and power. “If only I was one further rung up this corporate ladder, I would be a happy guy. I don’t like it here. I don’t like this office. I don’t like how many windows it has. I don’t like the fact that it has no windows. If I could get one rung up, boy, I’d be good. And you know what? That joker one floor up from me, he shouldn’t be there anyway. Everybody knows that, especially me. I resent him. I resent his car. I resent his income. I resent the fact that he’s in my office.” Have you ever felt like that at all? It’s a covetous heart.

Is the Bible relevant to our day? Of course, it is! It’s powerfully applicable to our day. It gets to the very heart of the issues.

The Effects of Coveting

Now, if the evidence of coveting is plain for all to see, what about the effect of coveting? What effect does coveting have? Let me say four things that coveting will do.

First, coveting spoils relationships and lies behind many of our disagreements. You take a couple of youngsters who tracked together through school. They were the best of friends. They spent overnights together. They did homework together. They were neck and neck all the way through. They graduated together. They went on to college. They were still neck and neck. But after college, one of them became quite successful in financial terms, and the other one went on a slower track. The slower-track fellow can’t stand the success of his friend, and so when he calls, he’s no longer as interested. Their friendship is no longer cemented. Their care for one another is no longer what it was, ‘cause this guy has got a covetous heart, and he can’t stand the success of another.

That happens between brothers and sisters in a family. It happens in churches. It even happens between pastors. Pastor X and Pastor Y are in the same town, perhaps even the same denomination, and they fellowship with one another and minister side-by-side. They enjoy having lunch and comparing sermon notes and discussing ministerial highs and lows, and joys and woes. And one day, Pastor X leaves his church for a larger congregation across town, and now the two of them don’t talk because Pastor Y is nursing a covetous heart.

Second, covetousness breaks the summary commandment of Jesus: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31). It’s impossible to really love somebody and to be coveting their stuff. When we should say, “My, that’s a very pretty color on you,” our covetous hearts say nothing, and we get in our car saying, “I don’t know why she got that.” We can’t have a covetous heart and genuinely love our neighbor.

Third, a covetous heart makes me selfish, makes me always ask what’s best for me: “How will I do in this, how am I going to come out of this, what will happen to me in this deal?” Covetousness turns otherwise ordinary business transactions into cut throat, back-room, underhanded deals.

Fourth and finally, a covetous heart makes us think that life is all about material things, that the abundance of life is really what we’ve got, that he who dies with the most toys wins, that we buy the whole package. Nelson Rockefeller, interviewed by a newspaper reporter, on one occasion was asked, “How much money does it take to be happy?” and Rockefeller replied, “Just a little bit more.”

Think about it. Think about it when you were a child. Your father says you can have this much of an allowance. You’re really thrilled. You’re pleased! After all, you had nothing before he said it. Then he said it and he gave it to you. You’re thrilled. Till you walk outside, and you say to your friend, “Hey, my dad gave me an allowance. He gave me a dollar.” Your friend says, “My dad gave me two.” Now you’re gonna find out what kind of covetous heart you’ve got. You can’t be content with a dollar in your pocket for worrying about the fact that the guy next to you has got two bucks in his. That’s what happens in churches. That’s what happens in companies. That’s what happens in families.

The Elimination of Coveting

Well then, the question is obvious. If the problem is as endemic as that, if it’s as deep-rooted as that, if it’s as crucial as that, how in the world are we going to eliminate it? What are we gonna do?

Well, the answer is that we need to bring an eternal perspective into the discussion. And in order to do that, I want to take you to a story recorded for us in Luke 12. The story begins with these ominous words, “Someone in the crowd said to [Jesus], ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.’” Words that every estate lawyer loves to hear. There you have it. The table has been set. There’s the perfect recipe for a covetous heart. One guy has it and doesn’t want to give it away. The other guy doesn’t have it and he’ll do anything to get it. It’s so bad that they bring it to Jesus. So, the guy says, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” And Jesus says, “Hey, look, I’m not in the business of dividing up inheritances. That’s not why I came. There are people who can take care of that.” Then Jesus gives this one line of counsel. He says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).

He then tells them this parable: “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:16-21).

How do we eliminate the sin of coveting? We live with an eternal perspective that continually reminds us that this very day, this very night, could be the moment when God calls us to account. Today… Tomorrow… In the next 5 minutes… Or the next 5 years… At any moment we could be standing before the Lord Jesus Christ, and what then? Desiring our neighbor’s house, or our neighbor’s wife, or our neighbor’s contractors, or our neighbor’s cars, trucks, boats and RV’s, or anything else that belongs to our neighbor will be an extremely hefty price to pay when our souls are lost for all eternity.

Rather, might we find immense satisfaction and contentment in knowing and savoring our relationship with Jesus Christ. May we grow more and more eager to please Him, to live for Him. May we be reminded of Paul’s words to a young minister by the name of Timothy, when he said, “[G]odliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:6-7).

As the old gospel song says:

This world is not my home I’m just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore
Oh, Lord, you know I have no friend like You
If heaven’s not my home, then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven’s open door
And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore

What in this world is worth coveting when, as believers in Jesus Christ, we have the greatest treasure anybody could ever imagine? The truth is – nothing. But the sad fact of the matter is that many of us have forgotten just how precious our salvation is, and how blessed we already are. So, as we conclude this series and prepare for Advent, let’s take a moment and loosen our grip on the things of this world, and the things that our neighbor has that we don’t have, knowing that at any moment we could be face-to-face with the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Might we trust that in Jesus we have all that we’ll ever truly need in this life and the next.

“O God, how we’ve been reminded of our need for You, as we’ve studied these 10 Commandments. We have such a tendency to think we’re pretty good folks, especially when compared to the next guy, to the next gal, but when we stare into the pure holiness of Your Word and Your standard as outlined here, we know that apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and our faith and trust in Him we’re never going to achieve perfection. So, we thank You and praise You for the blood of Christ that washes us clean and restores us to a right relationship with You.

Father, I pray that we would all take stock of our hearts and consider the ways in which we crave more stuff, more influence, more prestige, more more more, and in the process You and Your Word get pushed further and further to the back. Enable us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to desire greater godliness and contentment in You. Lord, would we not trade a moment in the splendor and beauty of Your holy presence for the trinkets and tinfoil of this world. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Sometimes We Lie – Exodus 20:16

• November 21, 2021
• Pastor
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Exodus 20:16

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 20:16.  In Proverbs 6:16ff, Solomon lists seven things that God hates.  And on that list is a lying tongue and a false witness who speaks lies.  So, how are we doing when it comes to telling the truth?  Well, that’s a question that a couple of researchers probed.

The Patterson Kim Research Group in New York wrote a book (I mentioned it last week when we considered the sin of stealing).  The book is titled The Day America Told the Truth, and one of the chapters is captioned “American Liars.”  And they wrote (and I’m quoting) “91% of Americans admit to lying routinely about matters they consider trivial. 36% of these say they tell big lies about important matters that hurt other people.”  That’s quite an admission.

So, who’s doing all the lying?  Well, here’s the breakdown of the population, according to this research.  Men lie more than women.  Young men lie more than older men.  The unemployed lie more than those with jobs.  The poor lie more than the rich.  Liberals lie more than conservatives (their research, I’m just quoting it).

Who do we lie most to?  According to the same research group, Americans confess lying most: 1.) to parents, 2.) to friends, and 3.) to siblings.  Least of all, we lie to our doctors, accountants, clergymen, and last of all, to lawyers – though 42% believe they’ve been lied to by lawyers.

But aside from the research, we have the following standard given to us in Exodus 20:16 (look at it with me), “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”

“Father, I pray now that You will take our minds and free us from all the distractions that surround us, that You will take my words and help me to speak wisely and effectively with them, and that You will take our hearts and open them up to Your truth and set them on fire with love for Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.”

It seems as though our world is awash in a sea of skepticism and relativism.  We say we want the truth, and yet we have trouble discerning truth from lies.  Was the 2020 election stolen or not?  Was COVID-19 man-made or not?  Was Kyle Rittenhouse defending himself or committing coldblooded murder?  Is that girl really a girl, or is it really a guy that’s undergone surgery and hormone treatments, and vice versa.  Is that guy really a guy, or just a girl taking extraordinary means to achieve a desired outcome?

As people of faith, we look at these 10 Commandments and we think they’re fairly straight-forward, right?  And yet, we live in a world that’s twisted them so far out of shape that we’re not quite sure anymore whether we’re telling the truth or telling a lie.  This morning, although it’s not my intention to answer all of those previous questions, I do want us to take some time and recalibrate ourselves to the truth.

This ninth commandment touches on at least three things: 1.) the character of God, 2.) the credibility of man, and 3.) the core issue of integrity?  And I believe that every one of us here today needs to be reminded of these things.

The Character of God

The first thing that can be said with absolute certainly, when it comes to the ninth commandment, is that we’re dealing with a God who loves truth.  Jesus’ words from John 14:6 immediately come to mind, “I am the way the truth and the life.”

Deuteronomy 32 is an interesting chapter.  Moses is nearing the end of his life and he writes a song titled The Song of Moses, where he speaks on behalf of God to the nation of Israel in the form of a song.  And one of the lines in this song says, “The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He” (Deuteronomy 32:4).

David also knew this.  He knew he was dealing with a God who loves the truth.  I mentioned Psalm 51 last week.  This was David’s psalm of confession after his sin with Bathsheba, and he writes (in part), “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts” (Psalm 51:6).  So, both of these men recognized that the God to whom we worship – He loves the truth.  Thus, it follows that lying cannot be tolerated by someone whose very essence and nature is truth.  Someone who’s thoroughly true in absolutely every way is going to have a problem with falsehood.

I’m a big Formula 1 fan, and my favorite driver of all time is Lewis Hamilton.  He’s the first and only black F1 racer, and I started following Lew when he made his rookie debut in the sport.  He’s presently tied with Michael Schumacher at 7 World Championship titles, and this year he’s in the hunt for his 8th Championship.  It would be like Lewis, who’s accustomed to pure power, and high speed, and ultimate performance, having to drive a 1972 Ford Pinto.  Some of you remember that car – absolutely gutless.  I think it had something like 54 bhp, and that was going downhill on full throttle with a loaded trunk.  It was awful.

So, it is with God.  Perfect truth doesn’t tolerate evil.  That’s why, in Proverbs 12:22, Solomon writes, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.”  Well, no wonder.  If the God we claim to deal with, and love, and relate to loves the truth, then His children would also be concerned about the truth.

When Paul writes the famous chapter on love and 1 Corinthians 13, he relates truth to love.  He says, “Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6, NIV).  You know, one of the most loving things you can do for someone is to tell them the truth.

Sometimes it’s not easy to hear the truth.  It’s difficult for a doctor to say, “Sir, you have cancer.  And you have six months to live.”  Somebody hearing that would say, “That’s not very loving.”  Actually, it’s quite loving.  Because in saying that, the doctor is giving that person a chance to deal with the reality and get his affairs in order.  And one of the most loving things we can do is to tell other people the truth.  Tell them the truth about eternity.  Tell them the truth about heaven.  Tell them the truth about hell.  Tell them the truth about false doctrine and deception.  Tell them the truth.  It’s loving.

Now that doesn’t mean you just blurt it out in an unloving way.  The Bible says, “Speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).  But having said that, to speak the truth (at all) is a very loving thing to do.

Think of the Lord Jesus Christ.  He spoke the truth.  He was incarnate love.  And He spoke the truth when it was pleasant to speak the truth, and even when it wasn’t pleasant.  For instance, He said to Peter, one of His closest disciples, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah” (Matthew 16:17).  That’s a pleasant thing to say; certainly, pleasant to hear.  Wouldn’t you love Jesus to say that to you, “Blessed are you, Nick.  Blessed are you, Linda.  Blessed are you, Mike.”  I love that.  But Jesus also spoke the truth when it wasn’t so pleasant.  Only six verses later, in Matthew 16:23, Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!”  Now, Peter wasn’t Satan.  Peter was Peter.  But, in the moment, Peter was talking like Satan and thinking like Satan and responding like Satan, and Jesus called him out.

Jesus spoke the truth, and He wants His children to do the same because there’s so much at stake.  The gospel is at stake.  The truth of God’s Word and the promise of redemption is irrevocably tied to the truth, which leads me to our second point.

The Credibility of Man

The fact that it’s in the top-10 list would imply that man has a problem with truth.  Otherwise, you wouldn’t need a command saying, “Don’t lie.”  The book I quoted from earlier is right; people have problem telling the truth.  But why?  Because it’s our nature.  It’s in our very nature.

In ancient China, the Chinese wanted to secure their borders by building a great wall.  And some of you have stood at the base of the Great Wall of China, and walked along a portion of it.  It’s absolutely magnificent, the vision, the craftsmanship in building this huge thing.

The idea was this: “Let’s build a wall so high nobody can climb over it and attack us, so thick nobody can break through it, and so long that nobody can go around it.”  But in the first 100 years of the existence of the Great Wall of China, China was invaded three times.  And nobody climbed over the wall.  Nobody broke through the wall.  Nobody went around the wall.  So, how did the people get into China?

They understood human nature.  They bribed the gatekeepers.  That’s how they got in.  They said, “Let’s use human nature as our greatest ally. Let’s offer them money.”  And it worked.

So, here’s the point.  The Chinese put all of the emphasis on structure, rather than character.  Folks, our character is flawed.  And it’s flawed from birth.  Now I know it’s hard for us to imagine that that beautiful little baby just born in our family could be anything but perfect, but just wait a while.  Did any of you (as parents) ever have to teach your children how to lie?  Did you and your spouse look at each other one night after getting Junior put down for bed and say, “Hey, you know, he’s so perfect we’re probably going to have to teach him how to lie just so he’ll be like all the other kids.”  No!  Why?  Because it’s in Junior’s nature.  Rather, we come to a point in our parenting where we say, “No, no, sweetheart.  We don’t lie.  That’s wrong to tell a lie.  Telling the truth, that’s right.  That’s what we do.”

See, our approach is almost always corrective in this area.  Because lying does come quite naturally.  You say, “Now wait a minute, Lee.  Doesn’t the Bible say we’re created in the image of God?”  Yes, indeed, but the image is marred because of the fall.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they passed on something to the rest of us that predisposes us, not toward good, but toward evil.  It’s no wonder, then, that David writes, “Even from birth, the wicked go astray.  From the womb, they are wayward, and speak lies” (Psalm 58:3). And Solomon agreed, “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15).

So, the Fall is reflected in our propensity towards falsehood.  It’s such a significant problem that, if we’re not careful, if we don’t hear sermons about it, if we aren’t reminded of the 10 Commandments, if we don’t cultivate strong Christian relationships, if we don’t read the Bible, then we might become so accustomed to it that one day Jesus says to you and me, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44).

See, here’s the deal.  Here’s what other pastors won’t tell you.  Here’s what cool preaching leaves out.  Whenever we decide to deliberately engage in a lie, we’re taking the devil’s personality.  Let that sit on your shoulders for a minute.  Whenever we decide to deliberately engage in a lie, we’re taking the devil’s personality.  And I bring that up, because now we understand what Peter meant when he said to Ananias, (remember Ananias and Sapphira – they lied to the disciples about an offering they gave to the early church) he said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?” (Acts 5:3).

This commandment really then deals with the character of God, the credibility of man, and our problem with the truth, and finally, the core issue of integrity.  And that’s what I want to close on this morning.

The Core Issue of Integrity

Integrity – it means wholeness.  It means to be undivided, whole, complete, morally upright.  Integrity is being what you say.  It’s living with your life what you say with your lips.  Jesus said, “[O]ut of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  At some point, or mouths will give us away.  They’ll reveal the condition of our hearts.  If you want to find out what’s in a person’s heart, just listen.

Well, let me suggest a few areas where we lack verbal integrity.  Areas where we lie, but we don’t think about it being lies.

First is slander.  Slander is when we dismantle another person’s reputation by our words.  Proverbs 12:18 says, “There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword.”  You know anybody like that?  Sharp-tongued individual that can slice people up with a few words?  By the way, do you know what the word “devil” means?  We talk about the Devil.  It’s a biblical term.  Devil is the Greek word, diabolos, which literally means slander.

Revelation 12:10 says that he’s “the accuser of the brethren who accuses them day and night.”  So once again, to be a slanderer is to sort of put your arm around the devil, and say, “You and me, we’re like this.  We’re partners. Let’s work together.”

Second is exaggeration.  We’re famous for this form of hyperbole.  “That weighs a ton.  I’m starving to death.”  Could it be that it’s just heavy and we didn’t eat lunch?  Of course, that’s what we’re saying, but we love to exaggerate.  I should know.  I’m a fisherman.  Have you ever asked a fisherman about his day?  They started out catching 1-2 and they weren’t keepers, but by the third or fourth telling they caught 6-7 and the biggest was 8-10 lbs.

It’s innocent.  It’s culturally acceptable.  No big deal, really.  But it can become a big deal when we make a habit of it.  It can become dangerous in certain contexts.  For example, in a relationship where the wife says, “My husband is always late.  My wife is never nice.”  Be careful using absolutes like always and never.  It might start out simply as exaggeration, but over time it can erode trust and love.

Third is gossip.  The Bible calls gossip, or a gossiper, a tale-bearer.  A gossip or a tale-bearer is somebody who tells something without proper investigation.  A tale-bearer peddles gossip, because there are lots of people who love to hear gossip.  I mean, there’s an entire industry built upon gossip – tabloids and talk shows.  And it’s amazing how many Christians enjoy that kind of stuff.  Listen to what Proverbs 18:8 says: “The words of a tale-bearer are like tasty trifles.  They go down into the inmost body” (NKJV).  I’m putting a piece of chocolate in your mouth.  Yum.  Tell me more.

I did a little word study in Hebrew in the Old Testament looking up tale-bearing gossip.  I discovered the word anah in Hebrew shows up 329 times.  That’s a lot of times.  But, I also discovered the same word, anah, is translated 42 times in the Old Testament, not to speak, but to hear.  In other words, there wouldn’t be so many open mouths if there weren’t so many open ears to receive evil reports.  So, I want to challenge each one of us when it comes to gossip.

Fourth is flattery.  It’s false praise; things you don’t really mean.  It’s a form of manipulation.  You say these things because you know the other person loves to hear it.  Now I need to make an important distinction here.  There’s a difference between flattery and encouragement.  Good, wholesome, honest, biblical encouragement, we need more of that.  The Bible calls us to do that.  But here’s the catch . . . encouragement is honest.  Flattery is false.  It’s a form of lying.

By the way, the English word “flattery” comes from the French word that speaks of the flat of your hand.  It’s giving strokes.  Let me give you a pat here and a pat there, because you love it so much.  Now I’m going to throw out a name and you’ll date yourself – Eddie Haskell.  Some of you remember Leave It to Beaver, back in the black and white TV days.  Eddie Haskell was the quintessential flatterer.  He was just gush.  He would say, “Well, Mrs. Cleaver, you look so wonderful.  You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever.”  He would just go on, and on.  And everybody knew he was just talking.  So, in a while, they would say, “Shut up, Eddie!”  Flattery.

Fifth and finally are excuses.  Evangelist Billy Sunday used to say, “An excuse is the skin of reason stuffed with a lie.”  It’s what students tell teachers because their assignment wasn’t on time, or like those four boys who missed class and said they had a flat tire.  The teacher said, I understand.  Here’s a sheet of paper.  Just tell me which tire was flat.

Ephesians 4:25 sums it up quite nicely, “Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.”  What a picture.  Let’s walk away with that in our minds.  We’re part of the same body of Christ.  We have the same head, Jesus.  We have the same Father.  So, let’s put lying, and slander, and exaggeration, and gossip, and flattery, and excuses far away.  It’s easier to say something mean, and evil, and wrong than it is to say nothing.  That’s what we need the Spirit’s help for.  Jesus said, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” (Matthew 5:37).  That’s a perfect description of verbal integrity.

Telling the truth.  It’s the standard.  It reflects the character of God, it reveals the credibility of man, and it re-emphasizes the core issue of integrity.  And I wouldn’t be telling you the truth if I didn’t tell you that this – and all other sins you’ve ever committed – can be forgiven, and you can have a clean conscience before Almighty God, but only if you acknowledge that sin, turn away from it, and receive the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.  That’s the truth of the gospel.

“Our God and our Father, we thank You for the clarity of Your Word – the way it shows us up for what we are and what we need.  Some of us who name the name of Christ are skating on the edge here, and we need to resolve again the issue of truthfulness.  Some of us are so painfully aware of the fact that our lives are controlled by lies, and we need to come to the One who is truth in order that we might find forgiveness and cleansing.  Grant that before this day ends, we may address these matters of eternal significance.  And may the grace, mercy, and peace from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be the abiding portion of all who believe, today and forevermore.  Amen.”

Redistribution of Wealth – Exodus 20:15

• November 15, 2021
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Exodus 20:15; Luke 19:1-10

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 20:15 and also Luke 19:1-10. We’re up to number 8 in the 10 Commandments; so, let me ask you; how are you doing? Isn’t it amazing how on the one hand we know and believe that these moral commandments need to be taught and emphasized in our society, and yet on the other hand we’re all guilty of breaking them. I mean, we look out at our world and we want to shout from the mountaintop “Remember the 10 Commandments!” But, we know that we’re part of the problem. Thanks be to God that through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and the guidance and direction and empowerment of the Holy Spirit we can overcome, we can confess, we can live in obedience and faithfulness. Amen?

15 “You shall not steal.”

Our Father, in heaven, how You delight whenever Your children come and offer up any kind of prayer to acknowledge You and draw close to You. Surely, part of our worship is the attention we give as Your Word is spoken. So, may we do that, Lord, with a readiness of mind. Make an application of this eighth commandment to every heart that is here, just as You have done with the previous seven, that our lives would be pleasing to You. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

It doesn’t matter which continent of the globe we put our feet on, we encounter this problem of theft. It’s such a dramatic problem that thieves are making off every year with billions and billions of dollars in tax-free income. The reported figures for theft, which in themselves are astronomical, don’t usually contain the figures (which are even larger) for things like fraud, forgery, embezzlement, bribery, and extortion. The fact is that from petty larceny to multimillion-dollar fraud, stealing in the United States of America is at an all-time high.

Now, all of that would be bad enough if there was, at the same time, a shared conviction concerning the wrongness of stealing – if we could go from person to person, as we might have been able to do at an earlier point in society, and say to one another, “Do you think it’s wrong to steal?” and people would answer, “Yes!” But today that isn’t true. Rather, the Robin Hood principle (if we may call it that) is prevalent all over the place – the kind of thing encapsulated in a book published in August 2020 by Vicky Osterweil titled In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action. She says, “In terms of potential crimes that people can commit against the state, [looting] is basically nonviolent. You’re mass shoplifting. Most stores are insured; it’s just hurting insurance companies on some level. It’s just money. It’s just property. It’s not actually hurting any people…”

That’s what we’re talking about – the idea that it isn’t wrong as long as no one feels it or it’s not affecting the immediate person next-door to me or somehow or another I can explain it away. This morning I want to pose two questions and consider one example as we consider this eighth commandment.

Why Is It Wrong

Now, you might find that to be a silly question, especially in church, but sometimes we need to ask the obvious questions before we can make any significant progress and understanding in dealing with our own issues. Someone might say, “Well, the Bible tells us that it’s wrong to steal.” Yes, that’s true, but why does God tell us that? See, inherent and underpinning this question and commandment are two very important biblical principles, and they’re these: 1.) the right to private property, and 2.) the sovereign ownership of God.

Have you ever thought about that? The 8th commandment presupposes personal property rights. The logic runs like this: God wouldn’t give this commandment if He didn’t also give us the right to own property. If personal property rights weren’t somehow afforded by God, then there wouldn’t be a need to instruct mankind about not stealing. So, this eighth commandment, while given to us in the negative, also affirms the positive, which is the right to personal property.

And the second principle is closely associated with the first. Whatever personal property we own is ultimately under the sovereign ownership of God. In the grand scheme of things, we don’t own anything. We’re just stewards. Oh, sure, from a human perspective we own things, but ultimately, we don’t own anything. Ownership is only a thing as long as we’re living, and since we’re all on a one-way trip to the grave everything that we think we own is really only on loan.

James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above, in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow due to turning” (paraphrased). All that I have is God’s, not mine. Forget this “90 percent is mine and 10 percent is God’s.” One hundred percent is God’s. It’s not mine. We’re only looking after it for a while. After all, it’s all going to go in a garage sale one day or we’re going to leave it behind in some form of inheritance, but it’s not ours.

So, when we steal from another person, we don’t simply steal from them or sin against them; we also sin against God. When we steal from somebody else, what we’re doing is not only harming them, but disregarding them, and devaluing them. And in doing that, we sin against God, because it’s He who has given them what they have, it’s He who has given them regard, and it’s because of Him that they have value.

This is exemplified so perfectly when David, in his great prayer of confession in Psalm 51, after his sin with Bathsheba, comes before God acknowledging what he had done, and he cries out to God in Psalm 51:4, “Against You, [and] You only, have I sinned.” Now, what were the facts? He’d sinned against multiple people. He’d sinned against his friends. He’d sinned against Bathsheba. He’d sinned against Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) by having him killed. He violated her reputation. He violated the sanctity of her home. His theft was all over the place. And yet, when he expresses it before God, he says, “Against Thee, [and] Thee only, have I sinned” (KJV).

You take the Prodigal Son; after he’d gone off to a far country (Luke 15) and had squandered “his substance with riotous living,” then “he came to himself and he said, ‘I’ll arise and go to my father, and I’ll say to my father, “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’” Well, his sin was all over the place, but when you boil sin down, the greatest offense in sin is not what it does to me, not what it does to you, but what it does to the Father.

And when we steal, we sin against God. That’s why it’s wrong. ’Cause God said, “Don’t do it.” And He’s God, we’re not. “Do you mean it’s as simple as that?” Yeah! Then why do people do it? Well, number one, because they don’t believe in a God who has authority over creation, and two, even if they do, they don’t believe that He should have authority over us. So, we need to be very clear. We are sinning against God. It offends His holy name. It disregards His law. And it devalues His creation when we steal.

How Do We Break It

I want to move through this as quickly as I can, but I want us to notice that there are multiple ways that we break this command.

Number one, we break it by blatant theft. Going somewhere we shouldn’t and taking stuff. Most of us, if we’re honest, had our first taste of this when we were youngsters. Someone dared us, or double-dog dared us, to take something that wasn’t ours. Even if you remained squeaky clean (morally) and never swiped a pack of gum or stole anything, if you had siblings, then you likely went into their room or into their personal stuff (diaries and so forth) and you tasted the sin of stealing. Blatant theft.

Number two, we break it when we borrow and fail to return. This second one kind of creeps up on us doesn’t it. Men you’re thinking through your garages, aren’t you? Ladies, you’re going through the basement or the attic aren’t you. How about your bookshelves or your music collections? Are all of those books and vinyl records? See, if we make a career of borrowing stuff which we never return, we’re actually making a career of theft. We just call it borrowing. Psalm 37:21 says, “The wicked borrow and do not repay.”

Number three, we break this commandment when we fiddle the books – when we use false weights and measures. You get a lot of this in the Minor Prophets. Listen to Amos 8:5; this is God telling Israel what He knows they’re thinking: “’When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath… ended that we may market wheat?’ – skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales.”

So, you take the bag and you fill it with more air and less chips. You sell a used car and you don’t disclose that the sunroof isn’t working and the back door doesn’t lock/unlock and the spare tire hasn’t seen the light of day since you purchased the vehicle 10 years ago. But, oh, it’s worth every dollar you’re asking. It’s stealing. False weights and measures are a form of stealing.

Number four, we steal when we misuse our employer’s property or our employer’s time. In a book titled The Day America Told the Truth, we’re told that “workers around America frankly admit that they spend more than 20 percent of their time at work totally goofing off.” Twenty percent of every day is goof-off. If you’re working a 5-day work week, then that’s an entire day allotted to nothing. Basically, we’ve got America working a four-day week. Half the people “admit to chronic malingering, calling in sick when [they’re] not sick, and doing it regularly.” So, we steal with our time and we steal with our work. We steal when we use the phone when we shouldn’t. We steal when we fiddle our expense accounts. We steal when we walk out the door with a bucketful of supplies to do a little job on our backyard when, in reality, that material was only there for doing work for our employer.

Number five, we break the eighth commandment when we just flat-out waste other people’s possessions. In Luke 16:1, there’s the story of the “rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.” So, perhaps we rented a house, and we said, “Hey, this isn’t our house. We pay the rent. So, what if the carpet’s trashed? So, what if the hinges don’t work? So, what if I don’t take care of the windows?” What we’re saying is it’s okay just to steal from our landlord. We’re wasting what belongs to someone else.

Number six, we steal from others when we pay bad wages or we withhold wages or delay the payment of wages. James 5:4 says: “The wages you failed to pay your workmen are crying out to you from the fields.” Now, obviously, I don’t live my life in the world of macroeconomics. But something inside of me says just because a guy is prepared, because of his country of origin, to work for very little in comparison to somebody in the United States of America, that does not validate our payment of that individual at that level. I don’t see how it does. And yet we do it. We do it on a huge, national scale.

Number seven, we break this commandment when we fail to take care of our parents when they need help. When we decide that all that our parents have provided for us we can just take and forget them in their point of need, we steal from them. Proverbs 28:24, “He who robs his father [and] mother and says, “It’s not wrong” – he is partner to him who destroys.”

Number eight, we steal from other people when we take away their sexual purity. You say, “Well, wasn’t that last Sunday?” Well, in some ways it’s last Sunday, it’s this Sunday, it’s every Sunday. I haven’t forgotten what it was like to be a teenager. But I tell you again this morning: you cannot play fast and loose with the moral life of the girl you’re dating or the fellow you’re dating. Two more…

Number nine, we steal from others when we cheat in the context of the classroom. And just so you know; I know that most of you haven’t been in a classroom in 50-60 years, but we have a few that are and I didn’t want them getting off. When we follow someone else’s work, we cheat, because we steal their time, we steal their intellect, we steal their endeavor. And again, we seek to exalt ourselves on the basis of the harm and disregard and devaluation which we demonstrate towards them.

Finally, we steal by failing to give God what we owe Him. Malachi 3:8 says “Will a man rob God?” And the issue was that Israel was holding back rather than giving to God. They weren’t prepared to trust God to provide for them, to “throw open in the floodgates of heaven and pour out” the blessing that they couldn’t contain. When God’s people are prepared to trust God and not seek to steal from God, recognizing that everything comes from God, then the blessings which He will pour out upon His people are unimaginable. It has to do with money. It has to do with time. It has to do with intellect, with our will, and with our talents.

A Good Example

Finally, there’s a good example of the transformation of a thief given to us in the Bible. Let’s look at Luke 19.

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see [Jesus], for He was about to pass that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received Him joyfully. 7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” 8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

You know what I find fascinating about that story? Well, there are a lot of things, but the most obvious is that we aren’t told anything about the meeting. We aren’t given any details about what was said, or what they did inside, only that Zacchaeus comes out and promises to give back to all those he’s defrauded. See, I think Jesus and Zacchaeus went over the 10 Commandments and when they got to number 8 Zacchaeus knew he’d been found out.

Jesus would’ve told Zacchaeus, “Zacchaeus, if you were to work for the rest of your life and give money to everybody that walked the streets of Jericho, if you were never to steal again, if you were to become Mr. Nice Guy, if you were to labor with your hands, if you were to be zealous with your mind, you could never repay the debt that you owe to Almighty God for breaking His law. Zacchaeus, you’re a dead man.”

And then Jesus would’ve told him, “But Zacchaeus, if you would acknowledge who you are and what you are and look to Me, then you’ll become a new man. And as a result of becoming a new man on the inside, you’ll live a new life on the outside.” And then Jesus announces to the crowd, “Today salvation has come to this house.”

Has Jesus ever stood outside your door and made such an announcement? Don’t tell me it’s because you don’t need salvation. And why not allow today to be the day? Let’s pray:

Gracious God, we thank you for Your Word. It’s such a wonderful thing. It shines out into the darkness of our days with such clarity and purity. It pierces to the very quick of our being and shows us our need of You, and then brings this wonderful news: that upon a life we didn’t live, upon a death we didn’t die, upon Jesus’ life and death we may stake our whole eternity.

Some of us, this morning, are painfully aware of the theft in which we’ve been involved, and we want to recognize it; we want to repent of it; we want, as we’re enabled, to make restitution for it. So, we pray for Your grace, that we might be granted faith, that we might cast ourselves upon Your mercy, that You may announce for some of us, “Today, salvation has come to this house.”

Sexual Insanity vs. Sexual Intimacy – Exodus 20:14

• November 7, 2021
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Exodus 20:14; Matthew 5:27-30

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to Exodus 20:14, and also to Matthew 5:27-30. For those of you that are visiting with us today, we’re in a series on the 10 Commandments, and this morning we’ve come to number seven.

Back in 1631, the producers of an edition of the King James Bible were fined 300 pounds by Archbishop Laud. It was a significant fine. Three hundred British pounds in 1631 is roughly equivalent to $65-70,000 US dollars today. At that time, it was probably equivalent to a lifetime’s earnings. And the reason for the fine was simple: the royal printers (Robert Barker and Martin Lucas – not related to our own Mike Barker and Garron Lukas) produced a copy of the KJV of the Bible, and inadvertently left out a word.

Now, when I read that, I thought, “Goodness gracious! That seems to be a fairly hefty fine. After all, I mean, think how many words there are in the Bible. I haven’t counted them, but there are a lot.” And you’re thinking, “It must have been an important word.” And indeed, it was. It was the third word in Exodus 20:14, thus rendering the commandment, “You shall commit adultery.” This error, along with a more egregious one in Deuteronomy 5:24, which I won’t discuss, is what ultimately led to their edition of the Bible being nicknamed the Wicked Bible.

As one might imagine, when the error was discovered the remaining order was cancelled and existing copies were destroyed. There are still 15 copies in existence today in museums and libraries in the UK, US, and Australia, not to mention a few in private collections around the world. If you happen to run across one of these editions, then you’ll be interested to know that they catch a fair day’s wage at auction. As recently as 2015, one of these Bibles was auctioned online for almost $100,000.

But alas, you haven’t come to discover the monetary value of rare Bibles, but rather the spiritual and moral value of possessing the inerrant and invariable Word of God. So, let’s consider these two sections of Scripture. Exodus 20:14 reads as follows: “You shall not commit adultery.” And just to round out the fullest expression and intention of the commandment we read this from Matthew 5:27-30: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.”

“Eternal Father, part of our worship is sitting under the teaching of Your Word and listening for the Holy Spirit’s voice. It’s no less a part of worship than singing or giving or praying. It’s where our minds, our bodies, and our hearts are still in Your presence. We’re open. We want You to speak. There are parts of this message that will apply to all of us, O Lord, and we pray that the Spirit would awaken us and convict us of sin, righteousness and judgment. That we might respond in faith to what You would have us do. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

Pauline Phillips, better known to you and me as Abigail Van Buren or simply Dear Abby, wrote her advice column for nearly 45 years before passing it on to her daughter, Jeanne Phillips. Jeanne, also bearing the mantle of Dear Abby once received the following letter:

“Dear Abby, I’m in love and I’m having an affair with two different women. I can’t marry them both. Please tell me what to do, but don’t give me any of that morality stuff.”

Abby’s answer was classic: “Dear sir, The only difference between humans and animals is morality. Please write to a veterinarian.”

Whether through personal experience or through the testimony of friends and family, we all know that adultery is a weed that grows in the garden of marriage. And today, as we consider this, I know that it’s going to hit close to home for some of you. Others might say, “I’m never going to fall into that. I have a great marriage. My spouse and I love each other, plus we’re too old to entertain that kind of thing.” To that, I say, “That’s great! If that’s the case, then just let his message be preventative maintenance.” But let me add this word of caution. Be careful… We’ve got to be on guard. Paul’s words to the Corinthians are informative, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).

The 10 Commandments aren’t meant to be restrictive, as much as protective. I know it’s filled with a bunch of “thou shalt not’s”, and that leads some people to think that God is primarily negative and angry. In reality, God is for us. It’s God who created sex and instructed us to use it in a way that brings Him glory. So, these instructions are more about protection than they are restriction.

I have five things that I want us to see, this morning, and the first is this commandment is fashionable socially.

It’s Fashionable, Socially

Now, obviously this was a major problem or else it wouldn’t have made God’s top 10. God knew that men and women had a problem with this. It’s a popular sin. It’s fashionable, socially. And what I mean by that is this: Have you noticed how the entertainment industry rates movies and TV shows? When most of us were young, if a movie had themes of sexual promiscuity and nudity, then it received a ‘R’ rating. But today, and for quite some time (actually), those movies only receive a ‘PG-13’ rating, and it’s only the ones with extreme violence and some bad language that get the ‘R’ rating. And that’s because Hollywood thinks it’s fine. Sexual promiscuity is popular and fashionable, both before marriage and during marriage.

I saw a TV commercial, this week, advertising a revealing new interview between actor Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey where he opens up about his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith. Listen to part of what he said, “We realized that it was a fantasy illusion that we could make each other happy… We agreed that she had to make herself happy and I had to make myself happy. Then we were going to present ourselves back to the relationship already happy – versus demanding that the other person fills our empty cup.”

Now, this shouldn’t surprise us too much because Jesus said that one of the marks of the last days is that it would resemble the days of Noah and the days of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both of those were times in which heterosexual and homosexual activity was rampant. Lots of promiscuity. So, it is today.

Researchers, James Patterson and Peter Kim, said that 49% of married Americans consider having an affair. They go on to say, “…but only 31% actually do.” In case you didn’t get that – that’s 1 in 3. Their study also included this quote, “Today, a majority of Americans (62%) think there’s nothing morally wrong with the affairs they’re having.” In fact, there are even alibi outfits – one of them is The Alibi Agency – that provide the perfect alibi if you’re considering an affair. Their services include sending invitations to events that you need to attend, making phone calls to your spouse confirming fake business meetings and seminars, even setting up fake relationships in order to maintain social standing.

And while we’d all like to believe it’s only a problem for “those” people, or “other” folks, it’s a genuine problem for the people of God too. In fact, that’s one of the arguments in favor of the reliability of the Bible. God wasn’t afraid to memorialize the moral failures of people like Samson or Absalom or David. So, adultery is fashionable socially.

It’s Formed, Inwardly

It’s more than an outward action. We normally think of sex as solely an outward expression, but it’s an inward attitude before it ever manifests itself externally. That’s why we also read from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5. The heart is the soil where the weed grows before it’s ever an action.

In fact, if you still have your Bibles open, look at verse 28 “…everyone who looks…” In Greek, the word “looks” is a present participle. It’s an ongoing continual process. In other words, it’s not the glance, it’s the gaze. It’s not the unmistakable, unavoidable temptation of a man/woman entering the room or a scene on television. It’s not the first take, it’s the double-take. It’s the gazing and playing and imagining and fantasizing in one’s mind.

King David walked out of his palace bedroom one night to survey Jerusalem, and he got an eyeful. Not far away, down the slope, on top of a house was a woman named Bathsheba. Now, in all fairness, despite the fact that he should have been at war, there’s a sense in which David couldn’t help seeing her. But what David should’ve done was turn around and go back inside. Instead, he continued to gaze and entertain, and imagine, and ultimately, using his power and authority as king, he brought her into his bedroom and slept with her. It began in his heart.

That’s why it’s important to recall verses like Job 31:1, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman” (NLT). Or 2 Corinthians 10:5, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (NIV). Because the so-called sex experts will tell you that it’s okay to fantasize. It doesn’t hurt anybody. It’s all in your mind, and as long as it’s in your mind, then it’s just your own fantasy. It won’t hurt anybody. That’s a lie straight from the pit of hell. In fact, it’s the mind where the battle is won or lost.

Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” And Romans 12:1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” So, adultery begins in the mind. It’s fashionable socially, it’s formed inwardly, and third, it’s fatal relationally.

It’s Fatal, Relationally

Now, I know that the word “fatal” is a bit strong, but keep in mind that’s the punishment for adultery in the Old Testament. Stoning usually lead to death. Of course, there are many other consequences short of death that are included here. Adultery damages a person spiritually. You lose your peace, you lose your joy, you break fellowship with God. It might even mean something worse. If a person – over a prolonged period of time – without any repentance and no remorse whatsoever, follows that path, then no matter what they profess, they aren’t saved.

Adultery can damage a person physically. Sexually transmitted
diseases can wreak havoc on a human body over time – gonorrhea, syphilis, chlamydia, AIDS… In fact, king Solomon is trying to pass along wisdom and counsel to his son, trying to help him understand the realities of temptation, and listen to what he says in Proverbs 5:11, “…at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed.” And people think the Bible isn’t relevant for today.

Adultery can also damage you emotionally. There’s guilt associated with this. There’s anxiety that comes because of that guilt from all of the deceit. It hurts family and children and friends. Whatever trust there was is eroded. Everything you built and worked for is gone. So, it’s more than sex. It’s months/years of deception, betrayal, and lies.

There’s one more thing, and it should probably be at the beginning of the list, but it displeases God. In his confession in Psalm 51, David says, “Against You, Lord, You only, have I sinned and done this evil in Your sight.” Adultery is a form of idolatry. It’s putting self or sex before my loyalty to God.

I’ve always marveled at carpenters that are really good at their craft. It seems that they can put a nail in a stud with one stroke of the hammer. Sometimes, if they’re really good (and I’ve known one or two), they’ll move the hammer back and it’s as if they can steady the nail and move their hand away at the same time that the hammer is coming towards the nail – almost as if the nail is momentarily levitating.

If you ask them what’s the secret, they always say the same thing. “You’ll hit whatever you’re looking at.” So, always look at the nail. If you look at your thumb and forefinger, then you’ll hit them. Keep your eye on the nail. It’s a good principle for the Christian life, as well. If our eyes are on the Lord, if our worship is focused on Jesus, if our loyalty is supremely on God, then everything else will take its structure based upon that. Keep your eyes on Him.

So, it’s fashionable socially, it’s formed inwardly, it’s fatal relationally, fourth, it’s fixable presently.

It’s Fixable, Presently

Right now… This very moment… This very day… Jesus gives us part of the solution for the problem in Matthew 5? It’s only part of the solution, nevertheless it’s something that we can do to fix the situation.

Jesus says that we’re supposed to gouge our eyes out and cut off our hands. Now, certainly this is hyperbole. This is exaggeration for effect. We all know that this wasn’t intended to be understood and applied literally, because if it was then we’d have a much bigger problem than COVID-19 (trust me). What Jesus is saying is this: deal radically with sin! Martin Luther put it like this, “You can’t stop birds from flying around your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair.”

Adultery is preventable. It’s fixable. And there are two ways: kill the weeds and cultivate the flowers. Kill the weeds and cultivate the flowers. There’s something that needs to be killed, something that needs to be severed, something that needs to be ended, because it’s taking you to the brink of disaster. The best biblical illustration of this is Joseph (in the Old Testament). He was eye-to-eye with a young wife who felt neglected by her husband. Mrs. Potiphar was very blatant. She grabbed Joseph and said, “Have sex with me. Go to bed with me. Lie with me.”

What did Joseph do? Well, I’ll tell you what he didn’t do. He didn’t say, “I’d like to witness to her. Mrs. Potiphar, do you know the 4 spiritual laws?” No, he ran out of the house. In fact, he left in such a hurry that he essentially ran out of the house naked. He left his coat in her hands. He killed it. He severed it. Some places, some things, internet sites, TV programs, mail order catalogs, movies. Don’t even go near the magazine rack in the store if it’s an issue. Hang out where the cotton balls are sold, or walk the frozen food aisle. Purchase and install monitoring software for your computers and phones.

Lastly, cultivate the flowers. If you’re married, then meet each other’s needs. Be the helpmate you were intended to be. Learn to gracefully grow old together. Appreciate one another. Love one another. Reaffirm your vows. Write each other poems. Go to concerts, try to enjoy each other’s hobbies. And yes, despite the deficiencies, don’t deprive one another sexually. Paul speaks rather candidly about withholding physical intimacy in 1 Corinthians 7, and wives, your refusal doesn’t always help and it’s not always your prerogative.

The last point this morning is perhaps the only point that some of you need to hear. It’s forgivable, ultimately.

It’s Forgivable, Ultimately

We need to be reminded of 1 John 1:9. You know it well, I’m sure. You might’ve even memorized it. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Yes, even from adultery. Contrary to some people’s understanding, this is not the unforgivable sin. Some will bristle and say, “But it’s still sin.” That’s right. It is sin, and that’s precisely why it’s forgivable. Sin is the reason that Jesus came to die on the cross of Calvary.

Perhaps you’re thinking of the story of the woman caught in adultery (in John 8). You know the scene. This woman is dragged in her lingerie (or less) into the midst of none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. The people say, “Hey, we gotta stone this lady. She’s committed adultery.” And Jesus said, “You’re right. The law of Moses does say that. Okay, fellas, step right up and take your best shot. Go ahead. Aim well. But before you do, let the one without sin be the first to throw.”

And you remember Jesus stoops down and begins writing in the sand, and scholars and laymen alike have speculated for millennia what, exactly, He was writing. Perhaps their names. Perhaps their own hidden sins. Perhaps a number – the number of sinless, perfect people in the crowd. Perhaps her name, so they would know she was a real person and not merely a means to their devious ends. Perhaps the date and time, so they would remember where they were when the Son of God revealed Himself in such a mighty way. Whatever it was, the reality of Jesus words got their attention and they all dropped their stones and left. And we’re left with this scantly clad woman trying to maintain any dignity that she had left and the perfect Son of God – the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. And do you remember their final exchange? “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:10-11). Neither do I condemn you… Some of you need to receive that gift of grace this morning. Neither do I condemn you.

“Our God and our Father, this is obviously serious stuff. You knew it would be a problem for all of us. It’s in the top 10 list. We understand that it’s more than an action. It’s a seed that grows in the soil of the heart, and to follow it can be fatal, can damage us spiritually, emotionally, physically, with our family, our friends, and ultimately and primarily with You. Thank You, Jesus, for Your grace and mercy and forgiveness. Thank You for the cross, Lord. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Getting Away with Murder – Exodus 20:13

• October 31, 2021
• Pastor
• 0 Comments

Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:13

Let me invite you to take your copy of God’s Word and turn with me to two passages of Scripture: Genesis 1:26-28 and Exodus 20:13.  As you’re finding your place let me tell you a story about Alex Sanders, Jr.

Mr. Sanders was, at one time, the Chief Judge of the South Carolina Court of Appeals.  Back in 1992 he spoke to the graduating class of the University of South Carolina.  His daughter, Zoe, was a member of that class, and he told a story about Zoe when she was 3 years old.  Sanders came home to find a crisis.  Zoe’s pet turtle had died and she was crying her heart out.  His wife turned the problem over to him to solve.

First, Mr. Sanders explained that he would go to the pet store and get her another turtle.  He got nowhere with that idea.  Zoe knew that life couldn’t be transferred from one turtle to another.  She wanted her turtle alive.  She continued to cry.  Then Mr. Sanders said, “I’ll tell you what, we’ll have a funeral for the turtle.”  Being three years old she didn’t know what a funeral was, so he told her.  “A funeral is a great festival in honor of the turtle.”  She didn’t know what a festival was either, so he said, “Listen, a funeral is like a birthday party.  We’ll have ice cream and cake and lemonade and balloons, and all the children in the neighborhood will come over to play, all because the turtle has died.”  Little Zoe brightened up, got a smile on her face, the tears dried up; she was so happy.

Then, all of a sudden, they looked down and the turtle began to move.  He wasn’t dead after all.  In fact, in a matter of seconds, he was crawling around as lively as ever.  Mr. Sanders didn’t know what to say.  With all the innocence of a three-year-old, she looked up at her father and said, “Daddy, let’s kill it.”

That funny little story underscores a very sobering truth about our culture: we value life as long as life doesn’t stand in the way of our party.  We say that things and people are important, but if those people stand in the way of our party, then maybe they’re dispensable.  Let’s consider these two texts this morning:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God, He created him;
male and female He created them.

28 And God blessed them.  And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

And now Exodus 20:13, “You shall not murder.”

“Heavenly Father, we need the mind of Christ and the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, as we forge our belief system and maintain our Christian lifestyle in the midst of a world that doesn’t share these values.  From time to time we have to confront some very difficult issues that occur every day in our culture and we have to decide where we stand and what we believe.  Lord, I pray that You’d help us.  I pray that part of our worship would be the manner in which we listen to Your Word, with all reverence and all attention as You speak, even using this feeble message.  In Christ’s name we pray, amen.”

Let me begin by asking you a question.  What would you do for 10 million dollars, or 4 million dollars, or 2 million dollars?  That was a question that a couple of New York researchers asked 3,500 people across the United States.  What would people be willing to do for certain amounts of money?  And they gave hypothetical cases for people to contemplate.  They discovered that right around the 2-million-dollar mark, people were willing to do a lot.  Twenty-five percent of those interviewed said that they would be willing to completely abandon their families, and seven percent of us say we would murder someone for 2 million dollars.  That’s about one in every 14 people.  Whether we could actually pull the trigger, is another question, but 36 million of us would be willing to consider the offer.

The commandment is plain: “You shall not murder.”  And I’m glad that our newer translations correct the old King James.  If you have an old King James, I apologize – great translation, but it’s misleading.  It renders this verse as, “Thou shall not kill.”  But the best and only translation can be, “murder” and here’s why.  There are seven (7) Hebrew words that could be translated, “to kill.”  The one word that’s translated, “murder,” is the word that’s used here, ratsach.  In fact, this commandment in the original Hebrew is only two words, Lo ratsach.  No murder.

Ratsach, or murder is the intentional killing of another human being for personal reasons.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t kill animals for sacrificial purposes in the Old Testament; God gave them that command.  It doesn’t mean that there can’t be capital punishment; God gave that command in the Old Testament (Exodus 21:12).  It doesn’t mean that the people of Israel couldn’t go to war; they were given that permission in the Old Testament.  It doesn’t mean that you can’t protect your family or your house if somebody is trying to break in; that was also specified under the Torah.  This specifically deals with intentionally killing someone else for personal reasons.

And this morning I’d like for us to consider this sixth commandment by being reminded of the authority issue, the hostility issue, and the sanctity issue.

The Authority Issue

Fundamental to this sixth commandment, as with all commandments, is the issue of the existence of a personal creator God.  In Exodus 20:2 we read, “I am the LORD your God.”  And then, in verse 3, the phrase begins, “You shall have no other gods before me.”  And we noted a few weeks ago, when we were looking at those verses, that the all-caps LORD is actually the covenant name of God (Yahweh).  And the name Yahweh means “I AM that I AM.” S o, the ability of God to bring this divine pronouncement upon His creation is directly founded upon the fact that He is none other than the Creator: the great I AM.

The Bible tells us that the universe exists, and the reason that it has form and meaning is because it was created personally and purposefully by a Creator.  The Bible goes on to say (as we read a moment ago) that mankind has been made in the image of God.  There’s a continuity between us (as finite as we are) and our infinite Creator.  We have personality, and morality, and dignity, and value precisely because God created us.  There’s no other basis for the personality, morality, dignity, and value of man, except that we were created by a personal, infinite, Creator God.

But the authority issue isn’t only established on the grounds that God created us, and thus He has authority over us.  No. The Bible also teaches us that there’s a qualitative distinction between mankind and other forms of life.  That’s why we read Genesis 1:26-28, because man is set over and above animals and plants.  We’re not part of the animal kingdom like cats and dogs, and we’re certainly not part of the flora kingdom. We’re distinctly different.

Francis Schaeffer was an American theologian and Presbyterian pastor who referred to this distinction in his book, Genesis in Space and Time, as the “mannishness of man.”  Now, I know that just saying that in today’s culture can get me into trouble because it sounds ultra-sexist, but that’s not what Schaeffer meant.

What Schaeffer was pointing to was the creativity of man.  He said that it was man, not the animals, who have created art.  We’re the ones who do the flower arrangements.  We’re the ones who have created all these magnificent objects.  We’re the ones who have created supersonic aircraft, and buildings that reach thousands of feet into the sky.  We’re the ones that put humans on the moon.  You don’t see elephants making flower arrangements and orangutans flying A-10 fighter-bombers.  That’s what Francis Schaeffer meant – the very fact of our “mannishness” distinguishes us from the rest of the creative order.

In fact, in some strange way, our fear of death is an indication of the difference between ourselves and the rest of creation.  The leaves on the trees haven’t been hanging up there for the last month looking at one another and saying, “You know, I’m so afraid to fall off this branch here and get sucked up by that big thing.”  The leaves have no such notion.  They’re inanimate.  They can’t think or speak.  And there’s no apparent indication in the animal kingdom of there being much difference either.

Oh, sure, somebody says, “I saw this program on TV/internet and they showed these two monkeys, and when they did this and that, the monkeys scratched here, and then it scratched here, and they had this big thing – it lasted 35 minutes.”  Now, I’m not going to deny the ability of monkeys or other animals to communicate, but Shakespeare wasn’t a monkey, and no monkey wrote Hamlet.  There’s a distinction that is written in to men and women because we were made in the image of God.

The Bible is very clear.  God is an infinite Creator.  He made man.  He distinguished man from the rest of the creative order.  Man was made in the image of God, unlike the rest of creation.  Man was given a never-dying soul.  And no other view of the world can adequately respond to the questions of: Origin (Where did I come from?), Meaning (Why am I here?), Morality (How do I know right/wrong?), and Destiny (Where am I going?).  And the Bible’s answers are clear: God created us; God gives our lives meaning; God reveals right/wrong through His Word, God has established heaven and hell, and He’s provided the way of Salvation through Jesus Christ.

And behind this sixth commandment lies the issue of His authority.  “You shall not murder.”  Why?  Because God us the author of life.

The Hostility Issue

Second, is the hostility issue.  The problem with “Thou shall not murder,” is the thou-part; it’s the you and me part.  Our reaction to authority is one of hostility.

The apostle Paul sums this up in Romans 8 when he makes it clear that the natural man, or the mind of sinful man, is hostile to God.  Romans 8:6-8 says, “[T]o set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.  For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.  Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  There’s no problem with the Law.  It reflects the heart of the Lawgiver.  That’ the bar.  That’s the standard.  The problem is with the people who receive the Law.  We have sinful minds, and we don’t like the idea that God is in control.

There’s another famous text of Scripture that the prophet Jeremiah gives to us (many of you know it well).  It describes the human heart saying, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).  The Spirit knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men and He’s revealed that in His Word.

So anytime we see an act of evil, any crime, any act of violence, we can simply say, “It’s exactly what the Bible said would happen.”  We’re not born innocent; we’re born by Adam’s nature – depraved and in need of a Savior.  So, the problem is that man is defiled, which actually helps answer a question that a lot of people have: “Why is it that we’re not any better after all this time?”  Thousands of years, we’ve improved culturally, we have more creature comforts, we’ve made so many advancements, why is it that we haven’t fixed this?  Why is it that mankind is still angry, and violent, and murderous, and at war?  What’s the problem?  What’s the real reason for that?

Some will say, “It’s the Liberal Media!” or, “It’s the Democrats!” or, “The Republicans,” or “The United Nations!”  No, it’s us.  The problem is in every single one of us; it’s the human heart.  James 4:1-2 says, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?  Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?  You desire and do not have, so you murder.  You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.”

Why do people fight?  Why are people at war?  What’s the problem?  James says right here – it’s the desires within the human heart.  So, yes, mankind is violent.  Yes, mankind is murderous.  And no, the problem isn’t because guns exist or there’s too much access to guns.  Take away every gun in the world; destroy them all – we’ll pick up stones or clubs, or something else.

There aren’t too many times that I would ever agree with Sigmund Freud, but here’s one.  He said, very interestingly, “The very emphasis of this commandment, ‘Thou shall not murder,’ makes it certain that we have descended from an endlessly long chain of generations of murderers, whose love of murder was in their blood and perhaps is also in ours.”  I’m amazed that Sigmund Freud had right theology concerning this commandment.  I didn’t know he had any theology.

Now, you think about it: just turn on the TV or look at the internet and it actually seems like we are living on the verge of total madness.  So much of what goes on around us, we say, “This is unbelievable! This is insanity!”  Why?  Because the law of God – the Maker’s instructions that are here for all of time – have been taken, closed, put on a shelf, stuck in a museum, and we, the modern men and women, say, “We’ll carry on fine by ourselves, thank you very much.”

Why do I labor this?  Why am I taking time to say this?  Because listen, loved ones, the reason that the average person (including many of us) will give for why we shouldn’t murder is because it’s against the law and you’ll go to prison.  But when you ask them who’s law they’ll give you the wrong answer.  They won’t connect the dots and recognize that we don’t murder, not because it’s against the state’s laws, but because it’s against God’s Law, and we’re hostile to it.

The Sanctity Issue

There’s the authority issue and the hostility issue; now let’s consider the sanctity issue.

Human life is sacred.  First, because it is God’s gift, and second, because man bears God’s image.  Human life is the most precious and sacred thing in all the world, and to end it or to direct its ending is God’s prerogative alone.  So, we honor God by respecting His image in each other, which means consistently preserving and furthering the welfare of one another, especially as it relates to life.

Well then, how is this commandment broken?  Let me suggest four ways in which the commandment is broken.

First, it’s broken by homicide.  Consider how little regard there is for human personhood when daily in each of our cities men and women are blown away, drugged out, dragged out, drowned, destroyed simply as a matter of course.

Second, is suicide – the act of willfully causing one’s own death.  Suicide offends against community, in that we don’t have the right to deprive others of us.  That’s not pride to say that; that’s just true.  We don’t have the right to deprive our families of us or our friends of us.  Every one of us reacts with compassion to see a man/woman so abjectly suffering that they take their own life.  We agree that more care needs to be offered.  We agree that there are issues of emptiness and loneliness and a sense of alienation.  But the answer of the Christian is not “Here’s a gun.”  The answer of the Christian is “Here’s the gospel… Meet the Savior, the One who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities, the One who is the answer to the deepest longings of our lives, the One who endured death in order that we might discover life.”  And yet suicide is on the rise.

Third, is abortion.  The raging debate over the beginning of life should not be viewed as a matter of scientific or technical judgment.  It’s a moral issue.  Do you know that in the last 48 years there have been over 63 million abortions?  Despite the fact that we are apparently wiser, better educated, and free, no previous generation has ever been as guilty of the wholesale rejection of the sixth commandment as ours.

And may I say in passing, there will be some who are here this morning, and you have been guilty of this.  You have faced the issue of abortion.  And I want to say this to you: God is merciful and forgiving.  So, I don’t want you to go out under any man-made burden of your own past.  Don’t allow the devil to rummage around in your own areas of sin that has already been forgiven.  If it’s not been forgiven, then let’s talk and let’s pray.

Finally, this sixth commandment is broken by hidden murder.  What’s hidden murder?  It’s anger.  Most of us shake our heads in agreement when it comes to the authority issue.  We recognize that God created us in His image.  We nod our heads in affirmation of the hostility issue.  We acknowledge that our hearts are hostile to the Word of God, but we just don’t see ourselves as being guilty of murder.

Jesus knew that would happen.  That’s why in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:21-22, He said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.  But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.’”

Some of us are so proud of the fact that “Well, we never did that, and we never considered suicide, and I never shot anybody, I never banged anyone over the head.”  Well, so what?  Have you ever had a murderous thought?  Did you ever drive away from a business meeting and say, “I’d like to kill that sucker”?  Did you?  Do you ever say, “You know what?  I wish he would drop off the side of a cliff.  You know what?  The guy is a total moron.”  By the way, that’s what the Greek word “fool” means.

So just because I haven’t shed someone’s blood, I’m not innocent.  My heart has known murder.  I’ve harbored thoughts that are as foul as murder.  Contemptuous anger has ugly bedfellows: animosity and malice and hostility, and our old favorite, gossip, whereby we kill people all the time.

Tom Allen was at a cafeteria line at Asbury Seminary. A s he was going through the food line, there was a basket of apples with a sign that said, “Take only one – God is watching.”  At the end of the line some wise-guy put another sign in the peanut butter cookies that said, “Take all that you want ‘cuz God is busy watching the apples.”  Now here’s why that’s funny: because it’s absurd to think that God can’t see both the apples and the peanut butter cookies.  If God is God, then He sees it all.  God sees all the war, all the anger, all the abortion, all the suicide, all the euthanasia, all the anger boiling up in every person, in every country, in every city, in every generation.  He sees it
all.

But here’s the bigger truth – God loves life.  He’s for life, He’s not for death.  Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).  The real question is: Do you know the author of life?  Has He given you everlasting life?  Have you let all of your sins be taken upon Jesus Christ that you might enjoy everlasting eternal life?

“Our Heavenly Father, we approach You, the God of heaven and earth, the Creator of all life, Who gave life to us as a gift and also gave to us the Lord Jesus Christ and His slain and broken body, to die for the sins that we have committed.  And we have all committed, in some form or fashion, murder.  We ask for Your forgiveness.  We ask for clean hands and a pure heart and we receive the forgiveness that comes whenever we confess.  May the grace, mercy, and peace that comes from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rest upon and remain with each one, today and forevermore.  Amen.”