The Gospel Podcast

Wisdom Cries, Are You Listening?

Continuing the gospel and the ministry of John the Baptist.

We are continuing our series on the 10 Commandments. Israel had failed to establish the kingdom that Lord had wanted them to (Exodus 19:6). They had over 1,000 years to accomplish this and even had their Messiah come (Jesus) to establish that kingdom, failed again. What about America?

To fully understand the giving of the 10 Commandments we must understand the purpose of God throughout the ages. To understand God’s purpose throughout the ages it is important in order to understand an individual age, or period of time. The smaller periods of time cannot be separated from the whole of time, but must be considered within the context of the whole.

From the beginning of man (Gen 1 -2) God wanted for man to live free from sin in a perfect environment (the Garden of Eden) with their Creator. Mankind failed. Giving in to temptation they were driven from the garden (Gen 3:23- 24). And then began man’s descent into unspeakable sin.

This grieved God at His heart (Gen 6:6), and He destroyed the sin-filled world with a world-wide flood. He chose Noah, because he found grace in His (God’s) sight (Gen 6:8). This Noah was able to do because God saw him (Noah) righteous in that generation (Gen 7:1).

Mankind, however, continues his downward progression and in Genesis 10, under the leadership of Nimrod, and his false religion, they once again rebel against God (Gen 11:5). As a result God scattered them by confounding their language and divided them.

He then chooses Abram and separates him and his family (Gen 12:1- 3) from all of the other families and thus begins the creation of nations. Abram was known by God that he would teach not only his immediate family but his entire household (servants/employees) “to do justice and judgment” (Gen 18:18- 19).

Over time, of course, this family fails and ends up serving as slaves in Egypt. There God sends Moses to lead His chosen people out of bondage.

Now as God prepares them for their intended purpose, to be a “kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:1- 7), He begins to instruct and equip them by separating them from all of the other nations of the earth.

The big picture of course is the purpose that God had intended in the beginning. That is to let man have a kingdom here on this earth where they would live righteous and holy lives enjoying the presence of their Creator and God.

The 10 Commandments were first given orally to Moses in Exodus 20. Later (Ex. 31; Deut. 9) it's recorded that God gave them in writing on tables of stone. These stone tablets were broken by Moses (Ex. 32). Later we are told that God calls Moses up to the mount a third time to receive the Law, and once again the 10 Commandments were written with the finger of God (Deut 10:1-4).

Three times the Law was given by God to Moses to give to the people. Do you think there were revisions each time? In other words, did Moses or God forget what God first told Moses or what He wrote the first time? I don't.

Man, and here I mean Christians, wants to subject the words of God to our private interpretation. How does this passage affect me? What does this passage mean to me? Now, there is no doubt that God's words do meet us where we are. And, further, DOES deal with our life in a real and personal way. But to think that you can spiritualize what God meant to be taken literally because of how you feel or your circumstances is not the proper way to interpret the word of God.

The 10 Commandments are as valuable today as they ever were because they are God's words. God said so and that settles it. Man however does not like authority. Brother Tony tells how he as well as every other MAN rejects authority. But God has the power to enforce His authority unlike any man or government.

Watch the scene from the 10 Commandments.

https://youtu.be/CoFSpoAbXLc

Today begins our Weekend only series on the 10 Commandments. There are some things that every Christian needs to know, unfortunately too many Christians are not being taught some of these simpel doctrines.