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As a motion picture it was acclaimed by the world. As the law of God, they have been loved by some and hated by others, but transgressed by all. A small few of the obedient have experienced the blessings they can bring. David said, "O how love I the law and called it perfect." Paul called it holy, just and good; Jesus honored, magnified, obeyed and commmanded obedience to the Ten Commandments.
The Bible says there is one lawgiver, who is able to save and destroy. (Jas 4:12) That lawgiver is Almighty God. When you leave the true God out, there is no real standard of behavior left. The result is spiritual chaos and lawlessness. The real message of Jesus Christ was about God the creator and supreme ruler of all the universe. His was the God who blessed men for obedience to his laws, and who punished for disobedience.
Jesus Christ always preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. (Mark 1:14, Luke 4:43) In modern language, He preached the happy news of the government of God, the rule of God. He said, "Repent ye and believe the gospel." (Mark 1:15) Before you can sincerely believe and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, and have His shed blood cover your sins, you must repent. But repent of what? Repent of sin!
What is sin? The Bible clearly states: Sin is the transgression of the law." (I John 3:4) Sin is breaking God's spiritual law- the Ten Commandments. That is definitely and specifically what sin is. Before God will forgive your past sin, you must first repent of breaking His law. You must learn to fear and respect God as the supreme Ruler of the world.
Soloman was the wisest man who ever lived. He was inspired to write: "The fear of the law is the beginning of knowledge." This Godly fear is by no means a personal dread, but a deep respect and reverence for authority of God for His divine power- His wisdom and His love. Without faith in such a great and real God, man is incomplete. Cut off from the true God of law and order, man is purposeless, empty, frustrated, and confused. The way out of man's emptiness and confusion may sound trite or simple to some people. Man must simply return to the God of the Bible, the God of creation, the God who rules the universe! Obedience to God's Commandments would bring peace, fulfillment, and joy to all the nations and people of this earth. It is the real answer to all of our problems. It is the way of life Jesus Christ is going to teach when He returns to rule this world.
The prophet David was a man after God's own heart. (Acts 13:22) Scripture says he will rule directly under Christ as king over all the nations of Israel in the soon coming millennium when Christ will bring peace to this earth. David studied and pondered God's law all day long! He learned how to apply it to every situation in life. This gave David wisdom. Throughout Psalm 119, David declared how he loved God's law, and used it as his guide in life. Do you? Probably not.
Some have been taught that God's law has been done away with or else simply have not realized that it is the only real way of life that will bring happiness and joy. You haven't realized that God's law reveals the very nature and character of God Himself. God commands us, "Be ye holy; for I am holy." (I Peter 1:16) Remember that the true christians, the "little flock" of Jesus, are described as those which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 12:17) And God gives this description of the character of His saints: "Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (Rev. 14:12)
To properly understand and feel the real impact of the Ten Commandments, let us notice the setting in which they were given. Remember that Moses and the Israelites had preserved the knowledge that their God was the creator of heaven and earth. He was the great ruler of the earth who had brought about the flood in the days of Noah, their forefather. And now the true God of Israel had delivered them from Egyptian bondage by tremendous miracles; had brought them out of Egypt through waters of the Red Sea which rose on either side of them as a mighty wall. Since the time they had passed through the Red Sea, God had begun to deal with them to remind them of His laws which they had forgotten. Before they reached Mount Sinai, God erased all doubt about which day was His Sabbath by performing a series of miracles to remind them. (Exodus 16) Moses was already judging the people according to God's laws and statutes. (Exodus 18:16)
Now that they had come to Mount Sinai, God proposed not to give them a new law, but to enter into a covenant or agreement with them so that they would be His special people and He would be their God whose laws, statutes, and judgments they would obey. Since the Ten Commandments were, and always will be God's basic spiritual law, they were made a part of this agreement between God and Israel. Since they were His holy and spiritual laws, He gave them with great power, and, unlike the rest of the covenant, wrote them with His own hand.
If you are to be counted among God's true saints who will escape the seven last plagues, you will have to have this living faith, this obedient faith in Almighty God through Jesus Christ living in you. You have to understand and keep God's spiritual law as revealed in the Ten Commandments, which will follow in my next lesson.
