THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
INTRODUCTION TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
DR. JIM DIXON
JANUARY 12, 1992
1 JOHN 2:3-11, EXODUS 20
“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Thou shalt honor thy mother and thy father, that thy days may be long in the land, which the Lord thy God has given thee. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bears false witness. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, nor thy neighbor’s wife, nor thy neighbor’s manservant, nor maidservant, nor field, nor cattle, nor anything else which is thy neighbor’s.” These are 10 commandments given by God to a man named Moses on a mountain called Sinai 3,500 years ago. Those 10 commandments form the very foundation of our Judeo-Christian values. They have had greater influence upon the ethics of this world than anything else ever given or written.
Yet, many Jews and many Christians are not that familiar with the 10 Commandments. Surveys show that most people can list no more than two or three of them. But John is concerned about them, and not only with the 10 Commandments, but with all the commandments and instructions of God as contained in the holy scriptures. So, in our passage of scripture for today, John gives us three teachings concerning the place of the commandments of God in the life of the Christian.
His first teaching is this: the commandments of God provide a test of true faith. John says, “By this we may be sure that we know Him: if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ but disobeys His commandment is a liar and the truth is not in him. But if anyone keeps His Word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought to walk in the same way in which He walks.” The commandments of God and our obedience to them provide a test of true belief, true faith.
Now, as Christians, we know that we are saved by grace. We know that we are saved by God’s mercy. We know that we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ and through belief in His Lordship. We know that none of us could ever obey so perfectly that we could deserve or earn salvation.
Yet the Bible tells us that if we truly have faith—if we have saving faith, if we really believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ—it will begin to show itself in our lives. It will begin to reflect itself in our obedience to His Word. It will begin to reflect itself in our actions. James, the brother of the Lord and the great head of the Jerusalem church, said, “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says that he has faith but he has no works? Can his faith save him? If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit? Even so, faith by itself if it has no works is dead.
“But some will say, ‘You have faith, I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.’ You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe, and tremble! Do you want to be shown, you shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? Faith was active along with his works and faith was completed by works and the scriptures were fulfilled, which said, ‘Abraham believed God and it was reckoned unto him as righteousness.’ And he was called a friend of God. So you see that man is justified by works and not by faith alone. In the same way also, was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the spies and sent them out another way? For even as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead.”
We have this consistent testimony from the scriptures that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. But we also have this consistent testimony in the scripture that if we really have faith, if we really believe, it’s going to begin to reflect itself in our life. We’re going to begin to learn obedience to the one that we have come to call Lord.
Five years ago, Barbara and I bought a dog. We named that dog Doc. Sometimes I refer to Doc as my dog (sometimes—that’s rare). Sometimes Heather and Drew refer to Doc as their dog. But the truth is that Doc belongs to Barbara. And the proof of that is in the fact that Doc only obeys Barbara. If the front door is open and Doc runs out and he has the whole world in front of him, if I call him back, he won’t come. If Heather and Drew call him back, he won’t come. But if Barb calls him back, he comes because he trusts Barb and he obeys Barb. He belongs to Barb. In evening time when we put Doc into his little room, sometimes he doesn’t want to go. If I call him and tell him to go into the room, he won’t go. If Heather and Drew call him, he won’t go. But if Barb calls him, he goes. He obeys Barb.
Now of course, we are not dogs. We are men and women created in the image of God, crowned with glory and honor. But it is true that if we really believe in Jesus Christ, if we really belong to Him, then we obey Him.
According to a recent Gallup poll, more than 50% of the people in the United States of America claim to believe in Jesus Christ. More than 50% of the people in this country claim to be born again. It’s a fascinating survey. But you see, when Jesus Christ comes back and when we stand before Him face-to-face, He will not be evaluating us on the basis of a Gallup poll.
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will inherit the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of My Father who is in heaven. For in that day, many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name? Did we not cast out demons in Your name? Did we not do mighty works in Your name?’ And I will say to them, ‘I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of iniquity.’ For he who hears My words and does them, I will tell you what he is like. He’s like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rains fell, the floods came, the wind blew, but the house stood firm because it was founded on the rock.
“But he who hears My words and does not do them, I will tell you what he is like. He is like a fool who built his house upon the sand. And the rains fell and the floods came and the winds blew and the house fell down. Great was the destruction of it.”
You see, Jesus Christ wants us to know that if we’ve really taken Him as Lord, if we really believe in Him as Lord, then we’re going to begin to obey His words. Jesus said, “I know My sheep. They hear My voice, they follow Me, and I give them eternal life.” And so we have this first message from John. The commandments of God provide a test of true faith. We’re not saved by works. We’re not saved by obedience. We’re saved by faith. But if we really have faith, it’s going to begin to reflect itself in growth and obedience in our life.
We have this second message from John concerning the commandments of God, and it is this: the commandments of God are both old and new. John says, “Beloved, I write you no new commandment but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. And yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in Him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” Now, John is saying that there’s some sense in which the commandments he is speaking of are both old and new.
There are many old commandments in this world. 2,100 years before Christ, the Babylonians developed the Code of Ur-Nammu, one of the first written legal law systems and lists of commandments. They were very harsh.
300 years later, the Babylonians developed the Code of Hammurabi. I’m sure many of you have heard of that code. 1,800 years before Christ, 30 legal provisions—commandments—were inscribed on a slab of stone. In 1901 in Souza, Iran, archeologists unearthed that ancient slab of stone. It is 3,700 years old, and they saw the Code of Hammurabi and they found that many of those commandments were very harsh. If a child slapped his mother or father, he was to have both of his hands cut off. It was the law.
Then there was the code of Draco. The code of Draco was the first legal provisions—the first law, the first commandment—given to the Greeks. And those laws were said to be so harsh that they were inscribed in blood. And there were the Laws of the Twelve Tables, the first set of legal provisions given to the Romans in 450 BC. They were attached to the speaker’s stand in the Roman Forum. And for centuries, Roman boys and girls were made to memorize those commandments.
But you see, all of those commandments, all of those laws from the code of Ur-Nammu to the Laws of the Twelve Tables, were simply from men. They were the ideas of men. They were the provisions of men. They never claimed divine source, but there was one set of ancient laws that has its source in God and they are recorded in the Pentateuch. They’re recorded in the first five books of the Old Testament. They are from God and they are old.
But an amazing thing happened when Jesus Christ came into this world. Suddenly, those old commandments became new. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another even as I have loved you.” That you love one another. Now, that commandment in one sense was not new. The commandment to love others had been given more than a thousand years earlier as contained in the Book of Leviticus in the Old Testament. But Jesus was saying that there was one sense in which that commandment and all the commandments of God have become new in Him.
They take on a new example. They take on a new meaning in Christ. They take on a new power, because when we believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior suddenly the commandments are no longer burdensome. We view them differently. We view them in a new way. They become pathways to blessing. We have the illustration of their beauty in the life of Christ, and we have the power of His Holy Spirit to obey. We have the power for obedience. The commandments are new.
Almost 10 years ago, I went to Denver Presbyterian Hospital with Dean Wolf to visit an 81-year-old woman. She was not a Christian. Her daughter wanted us to go see her. When we got into that hospital room, we just talked for a while with that 81-year-old woman. And Dean began to ask her questions and he said, “When was the first time that Jesus Christ became real to you?” The woman said, “He never has.” Dean said, “Have you never asked Christ to be your Savior and Lord, to come into your life?” She said, “I never have.” Dean said, “Would you like to?” And there was silence in the room. And suddenly that 81-year-old woman began to cry and she said, “Yes, I would like to ask Him into my life.” I’ll never forget that moment when Dean prayed and she prayed after him and she said, “Lord Jesus, come into my life. Save me. Be my Lord. She was old, but suddenly in that moment, she became new. She was 81 years old and suddenly she was new.
The Bible says when anyone is in Christ they are a new creation. She only lived two more years, but by her own testimony those final two years were the best years of her life because she had a joy and she had a peace that she’d never known in the 81 years before. That woman in one moment was both old and new. She was old in the flesh, but new in Christ. And what Jesus Christ can do for a person, He also does for the commands. He makes them new. They take on new meaning. They take on new power.
When I’m counseling someone in my office and they’re living a life of promiscuity but they’re not a Christian—they don’t know Jesus Christ—I don’t lay the commandments on them. I don’t lay the laws of God on them because they would not understand them. They could not receive them, and they do not have power to perform them. I focus on their need to know Jesus Christ and to come into a relationship with Him because once we know Jesus Christ the commandments of God are new. They are no longer burdensome. They are pathways to blessing. So we have this second message from John. The commandments of God are old, but they become new in Christ.
Thirdly and finally, John tells us that the commandments of God are given as light in the midst of darkness. John says, “I am writing you a new commandment, which is true in Him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother is in the darkness still. He who loves his brother gives him the light, and in it there is no cause for stumbling. But he who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.” The commandments of God are given as light to a world of darkness.
Flowing sluggishly across the floor of India like a brown snake is the river Ganges. It is muddy and it is filthy. It’s filled with the garbage and the refuse of 100 million people. And yet, every year, thousands and thousands of devout pilgrims literally crawl on their bellies for miles doing penance until they reach the slimy banks of the Ganges. Then they wade in up to their waist and they throw their arms to the heavens and they cry aloud. And why do they do it? Because they are seeking to atone for their sins. They are seeking to find and to please God. In the midst of their desperate poverty, in the midst of their desperate hunger, in the midst of their loneliness, and in the framework of a primitive society, they are trying as best they can to find meaning and truth. But they are in darkness and they are in desperate need of the light.
God tells us that He has given His Word—He has given the scriptures—He has given His commandments to us—to the world—as light, and all those commandments are summed up in His Son who lived them perfectly. Jesus Christ came into the world and He said, “I am the light of the world.” When we follow Him, His words are a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.
Charles Spurgeon was perhaps the greatest preacher in British history. He began to preach about the year 1850 in the region of Cambridge. In the year 1854, Spurgeon began to preach in London. He drew great crowds. The Metropolitan Tabernacle holding 6,000 people was built solely for the purpose of accommodating the numbers of people that needed to hear Charles Spurgeon. But the great thing about him was not that he drew great crowds of people. The great thing about Charles Spurgeon was that he loved Jesus Christ with all of his heart. He viewed the commandment of Christ as light and he obeyed them.
Charles Spurgeon founded an orphanage in the city of London, and he loved those boys and girls. He desperately needed 300 pounds to keep the orphanage going. He accepted a speaking engagement in Bristol, England, where he was to speak to three churches. He was hoping that the congregations of those three churches would provide him through the offering the 300 pounds that he needed to keep the orphanage going. And miraculously, after he had spoken to all three of those churches, the amount of money he received was exactly 300 pounds. He went to bed that night in Bristol, England, and he felt great. He knew that he had the money that was needed for his orphanage. But in the middle of the night, a strange thing happened, something which rarely happens to most Christians. In the middle of the night, Charles Spurgeon had a vision and God spoke to him and told him to take the 300 pounds and give it to another orphanage in Bristol. God told him to give the 300 pounds to George Müller, who ran the Bristol orphanage.
Spurgeon didn’t want to do it, but he knew that the commandments of God were light and he obeyed. He went that next morning to that Bristol orphanage and he found George Müller on his knees, praying for 300 pounds. Charles Spurgeon gave the 300 pounds to his brother in Christ and they rejoiced together. When Charles Spurgeon headed back to London, he didn’t know what he was going to do for his own orphanage, but he felt great because he knew he was in the divine will. And when he arrived home in London, he found an envelope. And in the envelope there was 300 pounds and 300 shillings. It was an anonymous letter, an anonymous gift, until the day he died. He never knew where it came from, but this much he knew: God had returned his money with interest. And it’s like that, you see, when we walk in accordance with the commandments of God. They are light in the midst of darkness. We do not stumble or fall. Our lives are blessed.
Many of you I’m sure have heard of the great missionary, Adoniram Judson. He was one of the greatest missionaries of the 19th century. Adoniram Judson, after he had graduated from Brown University and Andover Seminary at the age of 25, was appointed as associate pastor of the greatest church in Boston, a church which was rich and strong. Everyone congratulated him on his great appointment. What a way to begin his ministry. But six months later, Adoniram Judson left that church. He felt the call of God to go to the mission field. He felt the call of God to go to Burma. Everyone thought he was crazy. But, Adoniram Judson said, “God has demanded me to go and I must obey.”
It’s interesting that that church in Boston still stands today. It is still strong. It is still rich. It is still great. It didn’t need Adoniram Judson. But you see, the people in Burma did. And by the time he died, 50,000 people in Burma had accepted Jesus Christ through his ministry. He had founded both the Congregational and Baptist Foreign Missionary Society, all because he was willing to walk in the light of God’s instruction.
So we have this promise from God. If we walk in the light of His Word, if we accept Jesus Christ as Lord of life and begin to follow Him, our lives will be fruitful. They’ll be blessed. They’ll be productive. We will walk in the light and we will not fall. John wants us to know that by following and obeying the instructions of our Lord we not only walk in light but we become a source of light to others as well. When Jesus Christ came into the world, He said, “I am the light of the world.” And before He left this Earth, He said to those who knew Him and loved Him, “You are the light of the world.” And so, if we would walk in His Word, He sends us forth into the world as lights.
One of my favorite writers was Robert Louis Stevenson. He only lived for 44 years. He died in 1894. But he wrote some of the greatest stories, I think. He wrote Treasure Island and he wrote Kidnapped, two of my favorite books when I was a child. I think they’re fun to read even for adults. Robert Louis Stevenson was sick most of his life. He could remember many times sitting in his bed in the evening in Edinburgh, Scotland, and looking out the window of his room in the darkness. And he would see the old lamplighter walking down the street. A lamplighter would light the oil lamps that were on the street, putting holes in the darkness. That’s how Stevenson described him. And Stevenson said that throughout his whole life he secretly admired that old lamplighter because wherever he went he left light behind him in order that people could find the way.
That’s what Jesus Christ has called upon us to do. All of us who believe in His name He’s called to go forth into the world as lights, to leave light wherever we go that people might find their way. And we do that not simply through words, but we do that through lives lived in obedience and conformity to His Word.
So, we have these three teachings from John the Apostle. First of all, the commandments of God provide a test of true faith. If we really believe, we’re going to begin to grow in obedience. Secondly, the commandments of God are both old and new. They are old, but they become new in Jesus Christ. They take on new meaning. They have new power. And finally, the commandments of God are given as light in the midst of darkness. They are given as light to a world that is in darkness. If we would walk in the light of His commandments, our lives will be blessed and will be fruitful and productive, and we will be light to all the people with whom we come in contact. Shall we look to the Lord for a word prayer?
Father, we thank You that You did not leave us in a world of darkness. We thank You that You sent Your Son into the world as a light. Lord Jesus, we thank You that You have given us Your instruction, for all of us who believe in Your name and who have received You as Lord and Savior of life. We commit ourselves anew this morning to follow You, obey You, and to honor You in our lives. Lord Jesus, we love You. We know that You love us. We know that Your Word is meant to lead us in pathways of blessing. You do not want to burden us. You want to bless us. We commit ourselves anew to obeying You. We pray these things in Your great name. Amen.