Exodus 20:14 "What is Adultery?"

                Before we really begin looking at this commandment today, I want to remind you of something that I said a few weeks ago about the structure of the Ten Commandments.  I said that the whole thing consists of what is known as the two tables.  There is a division of the commandments so-to-speak, with the first four commandments pertaining to our responsibilities to God (our vertical responsibilities) and the final six pertaining to how we relate to one another (our horizontal responsibilities).    However, if you’ve noticed thus far, all of the commandments, regardless of which table they fall on; carry within them a certain level of responsibility or commitment to God.  Obviously, when it comes to those first four dealing with worshiping Him alone, having no other gods, keeping His name holy, and remembering His day, it’s easy to see the commitment to God within them; it’s easy to see how God is honored through their keeping.  Now the fifth commandment, the one about honoring our parents, carries with it a sense of how we can’t honor and revere God if we don’t first learn to honor and revere our parents, and ultimately love all of our neighbors.  The sixth commandment, the one against murder, is a command for the preservation of creatures created by God in the image of God.  It is a command for the preservation of God’s children who bear His image.  In essence, the past few weeks we have looked at what we might could called “gateway” commandments.  By this, I mean commandments that help us to develop the principles of worship that we are to have for God by fostering them within our horizontal lives and relationships first.  Well, the seventh commandment is no different.  Also, much like the commandment last Sunday against murder, this commandment consists of only two Hebrew words, which literally translate to “no adultering.”   You see, for far too long, this commandment has been seen simply as forbidding married persons from having intimate physical relationships outside the covenant bond of marriage.  Well, this commandment does indeed forbid such behaviors, but it does so much more, and that’s what we’re going to look at today.  We’re going to look at what all this commandment actually forbids, we’re going to look at why it’s so, and we’re going to see how God is honored through our keeping of this commandment.

Out of our closest friends, Amy and I were the first to get married.  We were the first to have a child, the first to have multiple kids, and in some cases, had number three on the way as some friends were just starting to want kids themselves.  This being the case, we never understood the mentality that so many take which says “well, they’re around our age and they’re doing ____, so I guess I need to do _____.”  No, we’ve always just kind of done what we wanted to and prayed that if we were making the wrong decision that God would intervene and stop us before we got too far.  However, I have a good friend whose wife doesn’t share our outlook on things.  Several years back, she wanted kids, largely because others were having kids.  Her husband knew that she was not ready for them, but that she was letting the situations and actions of others affect her judgment.  His solution:  get her a puppy.  She would see how much time a puppy took and realize that she was in no way ready for the commitment of time that is raising children.  Also, this would cause her to begin the process of fostering the habits and mindset needed for caring for something.  Now, I could go on and tell you how many dogs they ended up getting before having kids (2, nearly 3), but I think you get the idea. 

Why do I tell you this story?  Well, much like my friend was hoping for his wife to develop an understanding of the time required to raise something, care for it, and nurture it, we learn to honor God through our earthly relationships.  Obviously this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, but I think you get the picture.  When we grow in our understanding of how we are to treat those around us according to what God has commanded, then we develop the skills (all-be-it at an infantile level) that are necessary for worship of God.  Well, marriage is a covenant; it is a covenantal relationship between a man and a women.  Even if they have not met yet, each of them have a responsibility to not defile or deprave that covenant with someone (or something) else.  It is an earthly relationship that has to do with fidelity and commitment to one person.  This being the case, I have often heard the excuse that if someone isn’t married, then they can’t commit adultery.  Well, that’s not exactly true.  It might be true from a worldly perspective, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.  Remember, we’re dealing with the Law as it was given to us by God.  God’s Law isn’t always exactly reflected in the law of this world.  Much like last Sunday, we need to look to Jesus’ own clarification of this commandment in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus says, “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.” (Matt. 5:27-28 ESV).  In other words, much like with murder, just because there is no outward act doesn’t mean that this commandment hasn’t been violated.  When one person looks upon another person lustfully, then they have committed adultery.  There doesn’t have to be anything physical for the covenant bond of marriage to be broken and the vows shattered.

I have a dear friend right now who after many years of marriage found himself burned out.  He was burned out on his career, his marriage, and really everything else around him.  He brushed it off for so long as the usual pattern of life, until one day things began to change. He and a female co-worker of his began to emotionally and conversationally invest heavily in one another.  At first, it was a little odd, but nothing that we would consider adulterous.  However, over time, it transformed into something much more serious.  These two individuals started investing a majority of their time and energy and efforts into one another and not into their marriages.  Eventually, the marriages decayed, and all that was left was hurt and sadness, hatred and anger, emptiness and loss.  There was never anything physical that happened between these two people, both of whom I call friends and both of whom are very Godly people.  However, the title that is given to what took place between them is an affair, its adultery.  Anything that has the potential to lead to the breaking or tearing down of the covenant of marriage is a violation of this commandment.  Hence why I said that adultery can take place even before someone comes to know the person with whom God has given them to enter into this covenant with.  If you don’t think I’m right about this then answer me this one question, “What if you found out that a person that you were in a relationship with of any kind (dating, business, friendship) had some deep dark past that you knew nothing about and upon finding out about it your opinion of them immediately changed?  It would cause you to think differently about that person and that relationship wouldn’t it?”  Unfortunately, I’ve seen this happen more times when it comes to marriage than with any other relationship.

So, ultimately, we have to answer the question as to how God is honored through the fidelity of an individual and the keeping of this commandment.  Well, I think the answer is twofold.  First, marriage is something that is very unique.  By unique, I’m referring to the fact that we know that it is something that is completely good and true.  How do we know this?  We know this because the first marriage existed before the fall.  That’s right, Adam and Eve were husband and wife before the fall ever happened.  There are very few things that we have a record of as they existed prior to the fall, but marriage is one of them.  Therefore, we know that it is something instituted and honored by God, and not just some man-made social construct that has the magical power to grant tax benefits.  The second, and probably less obvious, way in which God is honored through our keeping of this commandment is that it is an exercise of covenant loyalty.  When we are faithful in a marriage, then the covenant that each party has sworn to is never violated and never broken.  By showing covenant loyalty to our spouse, we are developing and building the habit of showing covenant loyalty to our God.  Think about it, when God speaks of Israel in terms of their violation of the covenant between themselves and God, He refers to them as an “adulterous nation.”  He doesn’t mean that they have had a physical relationship with another nation.  No, God, when using the term adulterous, is referring to Israel’s violation of a covenantal relationship that they have with another; in this particular case:  God. 

There is perhaps not one of these commandments that are more frequently violated than that of this commandment.  Don’t get me wrong, each and every one of them are violated by all people (even Christians) on a fairly regular basis.  However, this one, it takes the cake.  Remember back when I read the words of Jesus a moment ago when he said that to even look lustfully upon another is adultery.  Every person in her knows what I mean when I say that and every person in here ought to be scared to death at that fact.  So, how is it that we’re not all completely scared?  Well, I’ll tell you why; Jesus.  Once again (and I know that I have said it every week but it’s true every week), the blood of Jesus covers all of our sins.  It covers dishonor, it covers murder, and it covers adultery.  It covers the violation of the covenant that exists between God and His people.  As we’ve said, we are still to strive to keep the Ten Commandments, but we must also remember that we will fall short of them.  However, instead of looking at them as a set of unattainable goals, we are to see them as a mirror for how far we continuously fall short of the standard that God has set for us.  Remember this, we are to live lives that honor the covenant that we have (or will make) to our spouses, and we are to honor the covenant that we have with God as part of His chosen people.  However, never forget, that even in those moments where we slip up, we fall short, or we find ourselves violating either covenant, there is forgiveness and atonement to be found in the blood of Jesus Christ.  We all need to continue to thank God that despite our numerous failures in our earthly and heavenly relationships, that our salvation is not based upon how well we have kept these commandments, but on how fully Christ has already fulfilled them on our behalf.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Exodus 20:13 "No Immoral Killing"

                “You shall not murder.”  Only four words in English and just two words in the original Hebrew.  That’s it; pretty straight forward right?  When we look for clarity on something, we look for as concise a definition as possible.  Well, it doesn’t get any clearer than “You shall not murder.”  Or does it?  You see, if we were to rewrite or to write out this commandment in terms of its actual application in the world, it would read one of two ways primarily.  The first would be something to the effect of you shall not murder, unless it’s for war, because of illness, as a mercy killing, for the greater good, and on and on and on…until pretty much it has diluted this commandment to nothing aside from things like gang violence, random killings, and serial killers.  Now, there are some of these things that are allowable according to Scripture, which we will get to in just a moment.  The other application of these words is that nothing should be killed.  This is the type of interpretation that breeds groups like Westboro Baptist Church (the group that cheers as slain soldiers are buried because they say that war is a sin against God).  This is the interpretation that leads many to view things like capital punishment as sinful.  It causes some people to consider the eating of meat, the wearing of furs, hunting, fishing, or any other act that ends in the killing of anything; person, plant, or animal, as a sin.  Well, it is my opinion, and more importantly a more accurate biblical interpretation, that both of these interpretations are wrong, at least in their entirety.  So, what is the right view of this commandment?  Well, it is my hope that by looking at this text today a little more closely, and in conjunction some other verses of Scripture that provide some clarity, that we will see just what it is that we are called to do and not to do by this commandment.  It is my hope that we will see that the answer to how we are to live in light of this commandment falls somewhere in between these two extremes that we’ve just mentioned.

                As we study this commandment today, we have to first understand what is actually meant by the Hebrew text, by the two Hebrew words that make up this commandment.  Yes, “You shall not murder” is a correct translation, but a more accurate translation would be to say that “You shall not do any immoral killing.  You shall not unlawfully murder.”  That is the sentiment held within the Hebrew text for this verse, and we use accounts like, God’s words to Noah in Genesis 9 and even God’s own clarification of this law as it is found in Exodus 21 to arrive at this conclusion.  So, knowing that the original language carries with it such sentiment, it means that there must be such things as moral killings and lawful murders. You see, this command of “no murdering” or “no killing” is not simply a generic term for any kind of killing, it is a specific term for the violent killing of a personal enemy.  This term, found here in the sixth commandment, is never used for acts of war in the Bible.  It is never used for capital punishment in Scripture.  It’s never used for lethal self-defense.  It is never used on any occasion when God or angels are the subject or doers of this verb.  Instead, it always has to do with the forbidding of planned or premeditated murder, assassination, or various kinds of manslaughter.  So this commandment in no way forbids things like the death penalty (which God actually commanded Moses to institute), going to war, or lethal self-defense.  Now, we could sit here all day and debate whether any of these are or have been used or applied justly both today and throughout history, but this isn’t a courtroom.  I realize that wars have been started needlessly throughout history.  I know that sometimes self-defense could have been milder.  I’m not debating those things, because that’s not our goal today.  Our goal today is to determine what God’s law says about murder, and what that should look like in our lives.

                So, since we’ve looked at what this commandment doesn’t forbid and doesn’t mean, let’s focus in a little more on what it actually does mean.  See, this command is the “forbidding of any act of violence against an individual out of hatred or anger or malice or deceit or for personal gain in whatever circumstances and by whatever method that might result in death even if the person is not attempting to kill.” (Ligon Duncan).    In other words, we are to do nothing that even runs the risk of taking a human life if it is not sanctioned by God.  Abortion is not sanctioned by God, even for the purposes of stem cell research.  Now, the question invariably gets asked “What if the health of the mother is at stake?”  Well, very quickly I would like to say that this is a judgment call.  By this I mean, that either option, saving the child or saving the mother, find themselves preserving life.  There is not one life that is worth more than the other, and this is simply a decision that the parents must make together.  In addition to abortion, we are not to practice euthanasia, or mercy killings as they’re more commonly known.  Believe me, I know what it’s like to long for death to come to someone you love.  I shared with you last Sunday about my grandmother and her battle with Alzheimer’s.  There is nothing in this world that I want more than for her earthly suffering to stop, but it’s not my place to make that decision.  I have made the in-home visits that a pastor makes to check on people.  I’ve had to sit there and upon asking someone what they want or if there is anything that I can do, I’ve listened as they’ve said, “I just want to die.”  Talk about a helpless feeling; to know that that is the only way that suffering can end and being powerless to do anything about it.  It’s hard to imagine that two little words could seem so unclear, but that’s the world that we find ourselves in today.  You see, this commandment has its roots in the preservation of life.  It’s not about just not taking a life, but doing what we must to preserve it.        

I want to take just a moment and pause on our trying to interpret this commandment and look to the greatest preacher and teacher that the world has ever known.  I want to look to Jesus himself as he expounds upon this commandment in his Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus says, “You have heard that is was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable 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.” (Matt. 5:21-22 ESV).  Wow!  You know, we might have felt really good about ourselves if the command was just against senseless killings.  We might have felt really good about ourselves if it was just a command against murder, abortion, or even just against physical violence, but this, this takes things to a whole new level.  Whoever is angry with his brother, insults his brother, or calls his brother a fool is liable.  Wow!  Remember, this isn’t Jesus adding to the Law, this is him giving the fuller understanding of it.  I read these words from Matthew 5 and all I can think is that I’ve probably already gotten angry several times today.  Yes, murder is a sin, but Jesus is telling us here that anger is too, that is at least anger that is unjust.  By unjust anger, I am talking about the trivial things that we all get angry over; the anger that is directed at people and events, and not at sin.  Anger is the feeling and emotion that leads us to murder.  When we say that we sin in thought, word, and deed; well anger is the though, insults are the words, and murder is the deed.  Seeing these words of Jesus makes us even more thankful than we already were (if that’s possible) that there is no sin that is not covered by Christ’s blood.  That regardless of the regularity with which we violate this commandment, Christ’s sacrifice is sufficient to atone for our sins.  It’s not about our keeping the Law, but about Christ’s fulfilling it and the Holy Spirit applying that to our hearts.  That doesn’t mean that the Law is useless, but it becomes a mirror for us to see just how broken and shameful we are as compared to where we are supposed to be.

                So, how are we to live in light of the words, “You shall not murder.”  Well, let me try and recap or sum up all that we’ve said in a few concise statements.  Scripture commands that we defend ourselves as a means of preserving what God has created.  If that preservation requires the taking of another’s life, then so be it.  However, we must not just take a life (or even allow a life to be taken) and claim that it was simply for the greater good.  There are times when our emotions will cause us to see this commandment not as clearly as we do right now.  When it’s a choice between mother or child, things don’t seem as clear.  When it’s the choice between keeping someone connected to machines or allowing “nature to run its course” then “no” doesn’t seem so definitive.  But understand this one thing from these words, we are created in the image of God.  As such, we are precious things and we are to seek the preservation of all of our fellow created things.  However, this doesn’t begin with outward actions.  This begins with inner feelings and emotions.  This begins when love and compassion are replaced by unjust anger and malice and hatred.  This commandment is a directive from God, for all of us to erase such hatred, to erase such anger, and to look and point only to the love and refuge that can be found in God alone.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen. 

Exodus 20:12 "Honoring Honorably"

                Today we begin what is commonly known as the second table of the Ten Commandments.  Notice that I said second table, and not second tablet; there’s a difference.  As I briefly mentioned back a few weeks ago (and as many of you probably already knew) the two tablets of the Ten Commandments were actually copies of one list.  Each of the two tablets contained the Ten Commandments in their entirety.  There was a copy for God and a copy for Israel, each of the two parties in the agreement.   That’s not what I’m talking about here when I refer to the second table.  You see, the first four commandments are known as the first table.  These can be described as man’s responsibilities to God or God’s requirements of man.  The second table, consisting of the fifth through tenth commandments, contains the commandments pertaining to how man is to deal and interact with his fellow man.  It is how we are to relate to one another.  So to recap, the first four are how we relate to God and the final six are how we relate to one another.  It’s really quite astounding to think that the basis or summation of how we are to relate to one another in a Christian community can be found and summed up in such a short text (verses 12-17).  However, God is the author of all things and who better to be able to so precisely state how we are to interact with one another than the One who created all of us, the One who created all that is in this world.  And before we get into this commandment, I was to point out one thing about this second table that comes to us today.  The second half of verse 12, “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” doesn’t just apply to our text for today.  No, it applies to all of the commandments included in the second table.  It applies to the fifth through tenth commandment.  It is the reward or the promise that we receive for our keeping of these commandments.  It is the reward, promise, and blessing that Christ achieved for all of us through his atoning sacrifice. Hear that again, even though we continuously fail to live up to our part of the agreement, we still have all the blessings because of the sacrificing death of Christ.

                Now, this commandment, just like all the other commandments, has been a little misused or misunderstood historically, at least in my opinion.  Unfortunately, I have seen and heard many folks use this commandment as an excuse for improper behavior or as an attempt to get what they want.  I seen this commandment typically thought of as a directive used by parents to give order to their children.  This commandment reads, “Honor your father and your mother.”  I’ll be the first one to tell you, that of all the commandments that deal with our earthly relationships, this one is probably the one that I violated the most in my youth.  That’s not to say that I didn’t or don’t love my parents, but there was a time when my honor for them was pretty non-existent.  I’ll speak more on this in a moment, but I want to first point out why I think that this is so commonplace in our world today.  You see, we live in a world that rejects authority.  I don’t care who you are, there’s a good chance that one of your favorite phrases is “No one is going to tell me what to do.”  This (we’ll call it) authority defiance has spread over time to the realm of the family.  We live in a world where children ask regularly of their parents things like “what business is it of yours?”  As my father used to tell me, “As long as the bill still comes to my house, it’s my business” ; a statement that I used to brush off; that is, until my 5 year old, upon being asked what she was doing, told me that it was none of my business a few weeks ago.  I quickly responded by telling her that she has no business that isn’t ultimately mine.

                Now I don’t want to make too much of this because ultimately these are things that children do.  Children are still growing in their knowledge and understanding of all things, especially their Christian faiths and how they are to conduct themselves as Christians.  You see, I think that this commandment, while pertaining to children as well, is aimed equally, if not more so, at adult children.  You see, we have twisted this commandment in our world to instead of saying that we should honor our parents, it basically says, “Obey your father and your mother no matter what they tell you.”  However, that is not what God is telling Israel to do, at least not entirely.  Using the help of Jesus (Matt. 15) and Paul (Eph. 6) we could say that this commandment is actually a command to respect, revere, obey, and when necessary care for our parents.  So yes, obeying is part of it, but there is so much more to it than a simple blind obedience.

                As I mentioned just a moment ago, I have personally violated this commandment repeatedly in my lifetime.  You see, I was blessed as a child.  I wanted for nothing.  My parents both worked very hard for the well-being of our family and made sure that even when they were exhausted, there was still time for me.  As I got a little older, I didn’t want their time.  I didn’t want them as part of my daily life, so I became angry about it.  I would say things to my parents, especially my mother, which showed them, no respect, no honor, and no dignity.  I would say things that make me wonder how I even survived one of them not killing me to be quite honest with you.  We brush it off and call it teenage angst, but somehow I think this was something much more.  The way in which I dishonored my parents in my youth makes me evermore thankful for the grace and mercy of Christ that covers our sins.  It makes me evermore thankful for the sacrifice that we remember today with the elements on the table before us.  The blood of Christ has to power to was away all our sins no matter the severity of them.

                So, we’ve seen that this commandment is much more than a simple obedience to what your mother and father tell you, but it is showing them honor and reverence in the way that we talk to/about them, treat them, and care for them.  However, there is another side to this commandment that so often gets overlooked.  You see, the burden of this commandment is not always with that of the younger generation.  No, there is a responsibility on behalf of the parents, the elders, to teach their children how they are to go about honoring them.  Think about it for a second and it just makes sense.  The way in which we learned our manners was by being taught by someone.  I can promise you that little boys do not innately answer their mamas with “Yes ma’am” and “no ma’am.”  No, it is something that had to be taught to them.  Well, the same is true of authority.  The world we live in today is one where parents want to be friends first and parents second, and don’t think this is a new problem.  I have many friends today who will openly tell you that this was the case with their parents as well.  So you see, if authority and submission to authority is never learned by the younger generation, then we can’t just decide that one day we are going to start blaming our children for not knowing something that we were supposed to teach them and didn’t.  I know I wouldn’t want to be held responsible for not learning something that my superior was supposed to teach me and didn’t, and neither would you.  So it’s not just about children honoring their parents, but parents honoring their children and teaching them how they are to live in light of the saving grace that they are made heir of through Jesus Christ.

                Now, before we leave this text today, I need to point out one more thing and answer a question that no doubt at least some of you are asking right now.  What if your mother and/or father ask you to do something immoral?  What if your mother or father is abusive, neglectful, or some other type of irresponsible parent?  Well, that doesn’t free you from this commandment.  As I said earlier, this commandment isn’t a call to simple of obedience of authority.  This is a commandment to show Christ through our relationship with our parents, with our elders.  Defying God’s will is not going to show God’s grace.  And just because your parents may not have been the best parents doesn’t mean that you are not to honor them.  Like myself, there’s probably a good chance that none of us were the ideal child as well.  This commandment is primarily about the building and strengthening of the family.  The relationship between a person and their parents is one that can have life-shaping effects.  As we’ve talked about in our women’s Bible study on Wednesday mornings, it is possible for a bad relationship with our earthly father to cause us issues when it comes to our relationship with our heavenly Father.

Friends, this commandment is God telling us that it isn’t all about us.  Remember, we said that this was the first of the six commandments dealing with how we are to interact with others in this world.  Don’t think for a second that it is a coincidence that the commandment that deals with family and caring for our parents is the first one.  As I mentioned just a moment ago, a right understanding of parental authority reverence, and honor will allow us to have a right view of God’s authority, reverence, and honor.  I know that for some, maintaining a quality relationship with your parents (or even your children) can seem like such a laborious task, but it’s worth it.  We are commanded by God to build this family bond, and we must do all that we can to fulfill this commandment just as we would any other.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Exodus 20:8-11 "Keeping the Sabbath Holy"

                Our text for today, the fourth commandment, is perhaps the most debated and discussed commandment in all of Christendom.  The other nine commandments, while there is some discussion about each of them, are fairly universally understood as to what is required by them.  In other words, the basic requirements of the other nine commandments are agreed upon, but not the fourth commandment.  Part of the reason for this is because of the world that we live in today.  The former pastor of FPC Jackson, MS and current RTS Chancellor Ligon Duncan says that the fourth commandment is the commandment that “we love to hate.  Really, it’s the blessing we love to hate.”  Now I’m not going to try to convince anyone to view the Sabbath in any particular way, but I want all of us to see a few things as a result of our time together this morning.  I want us to first understand what this commandment originally looked like in its application within Israel.  Also, I want us to see how we view this commandment in light of Christ’s atoning work, and what it ought to look like for us today.

                However, before we can understand what is required in this commandment we have to understand what a Sabbath actually is; we have to understand what this word Sabbath even means.  Verse 8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  When we see the word “remember” I want all of us to think about a New Testament usage of the word.  When we partake of the Lord’s Supper, we are told that we take the elements in remembrance of Christ.  Now we all know that when it comes to the Lord’s Supper, that the remembrance is much more than a simple mental acknowledgement that we are indeed taking part in this sacrament.  We are called to remember the sacrifice that was made, the price that was paid, and the life giving atonement that was accomplished there upon the cross.  There is a spiritual presence of Christ that accompanies our receiving each of the elements during communion.  So, when we are called to remember the Sabbath, we are called to much more than a simple acknowledgement that it is the Lord’s Day.  We are called to remember the Sabbath, and not just any Sabbath, but the first Sabbath, the original Sabbath.  You see, all the way back in the beginning of Genesis, at the time of creation, after God had created all that is in this world, He rested.  God rested; he took that Sabbath, because, as Jesus says in Mark 2, we needed it, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  You see, the Sabbath was created and instituted to give us rest.  God, even at the time of creation, before the fall ever happened, knew that man was in need of rest, he was in need of a time of rest from his earthly labors, and so God provided for that need.  That’s what is referenced when we think of what the Sabbath is.  That’s what we are called to specifically remember each and every Lord’s Day.

Now before we really get into the other parts of this commandment, what is actually physically required of us, I have a confession that I need to make to all of you.  You see, when I was in seminary, one of our requirements for graduation was to memorize the WSC answers word-for-word.  The reason for this is that these answers so beautifully and precisely sum up what it is that we believe.  It was a way of helping us to more accurately shape our view of Reformed theology.  Well, within WSC there are questions about each of the Ten Commandments.  And for each commandment, there is a question that directly quotes Scripture word-for-word.  Now, as you can tell from our text this morning, this is a rather long commandment.  It’s much more than a one sentence commandment.  So, I, as a future pastor, made the theologically astute and responsible decision that this passage was just far too long and I wasn’t going to memorize it; not that it isn’t important, but it’s only one question and the chances of men getting it entirely right weren’t that great.

                I tell you this story in jest because it’s what comes to mind every time I read this commandment.  It’s what comes to me every time I begin to deal with verses 9-11 of this text.   You see, these three verses are the “how to” of verse 8.  These verses are steps for how we are to go about fulfilling our obligation of keeping the Sabbath holy.  They are what keeping the Sabbath holy looks like in our lives.  Unfortunately, our view of this commandment often does not include these later three verses.  “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work.”  Notice the work to rest ratio there; six days of work to one day of rest.  Make no mistake; our God is a God of action.  We’re not only called to this day of rest, but we’re very specifically called to labor and work in service of God’s kingdom for the other six days of the week.  And notice also that it’s not just you that God wants to rest.  There are a whole host of others called to rest as well:  male, female, family, stranger, servant, and livestock.  There is no one who is outside of this rest commanded by God.

                Now, I want all of us to take just a second and remember who it is that this commandment was originally given to.  Remember, Israel was the original audience here; the same Israel that had spent nearly 400 years as slaves in Egypt.  God gave this commandment requiring rest to be taken to a generation of slaves.  People who had very likely never known what it was like to rest were now being told that they should do so in order that they remember and keep holy the day in which God rested from his labor of creating the earth and all that is in it.  You know, it’s funny how things have changed since that time.  The nation of Israel welcomed this rest.  It was seen as nothing but a blessing to them.  It was something so precious that they were left in amazement that God would provide such rest for them.  Fast forward to today and think about how we view the Sabbath and the rest that we’re commandment to take on it.  We view this commandment as more of a curse than a blessing.  We view it as a curse and a burden that we’re told that there is a day in which we can’t work.  Many of you here today are of a different generation than I am.  Many of you remember what it was like when blue laws were really enforced. Of course they still exist today, but primarily in the form of alcohol sales being prohibited on Sundays.  You remember what it was like to have to do all of your grocery shopping on Saturday because every store and marketplace was shut down on Sundays.  You remember what it was like for Sunday to be a different type of day.  Unfortunately, Sunday is probably best known today nationally by many as the day that you can’t buy a chicken sandwich.  No doubt it has been an effective tool used by the enemy in blending the Lord’s Day into our calendar so that it seemingly has no special meaning.  The word “holy” means to be set apart or different.  So when we are told to keep the Sabbath holy, then we are told to hold is as special, set apart, and different; an area where I feel like we are not doing as we ought to.

                I think that we can all agree that the Sabbath, Lord’s Day, or whatever else we call it does have special meaning.  There is something different about this day that doesn’t exist with other days.  The biggest issue, however, comes in the application of this in today’s world.  You see, the discussion begins here with what exactly this commandment forbids.  Well, we know that we are forbidden from work on the Sabbath.  However, Jesus worked on the Sabbath.  He allowed his disciples to provide food for themselves on the Sabbath, and we know that Jesus never violated or broke any one of these commandments.  No, there is nothing against doing what is necessary and merciful on the Sabbath.  (Hey, technically I’m working on the Sabbath.)  There is nothing against work that must be done on the Sabbath.  There is nothing against acts of mercy and worship on the Sabbath.  This is one point that as we looked at John’s gospel last year, the Pharisees never seemed to quite grasp.

                The (for lack of a better word) issue that arises from this commandment for many of us today comes in the question of recreation on the Sabbath.  It’s fitting that this text should come before us on a day like today.  I, like many of you, am going to be glued to a television tonight for some 5+ hours (minus the halftime show).  Well, the guys playing in the Super Bowl, officiating the game, announcing the game, filming the game, etc. are all doing some combination of work/play on the Sabbath that I don’t believe any of us would call absolutely necessary.  Sure they are providing for their families, but it’s not like that couldn’t be done either a day earlier or a day later.  We could also look at this and talk about ourselves and our children.  Whether it be youth sports or that round of golf that starts after lunch on Sunday, how does it fit in to our understanding of the Sabbath?  How can we possibly remember the Sabbath and keep it holy while watching children run around a soccer field or while we cut grass or whatever else it is that we typically do on Sundays after church?  Well, this has been the dividing issue for many Christians when it comes to how we are to conduct ourselves on the Sabbath. 

When it comes to observing the Sabbath, there are primarily only two views:  the Sabbatarian view (no action at all on Sundays) and the non-Sabbatarian view (allowing for some recreation/work on Sundays).  In other words, those who are very literal and strict with their interpretation of this fourth commandment, and those who aren’t.  Now I want to say that there is nothing work with either interpretation in my opinion.  I tend to interpret this commandment more loosely than other, but greatly respect and to a certain extent admire those who refrain from all activities other than worship on the Sabbath.  However, if I might offer up this explanation as to my view of the Sabbath.  You see, the primary purpose of the Sabbath, as we stated earlier, is to give us rest.  Well, for me, an entire day of laying and resting will have the exact opposite effect.  I’m the type of person who is re-energized by doing something.  My wife is so gracious in this aspect.  When I’m stressed out or feeling overwhelmed, that’s usually when projects start around my house.  After seeing me do this countless times, she doesn’t even ask me why I’m beginning a new project anymore.  All she does is just look at me and say, “Stressed out aren’t you?” and then goes back to whatever she is doing.  You see, I don’t think that kicking the soccer ball in the backyard with our future Olympian is something that is to be refrained from on the Sabbath.  My rest from my labors comes in the form many times of playing with my children.  It’s not as if I am constantly working, never taking any type of break.  No, I am refreshing myself from my labors by doing something that reinvigorates me.

Now the other side of this coin, the trap that many fall into (and do indeed violate the Sabbath) is when Sunday is another work day.  Yes, we go to church and we go to lunch with our families and maybe even take a little Sunday afternoon nap.  Then, somewhere in the mid-afternoon, the work week begins.  We decide that it’s time to crank up the occupational to-do list again so that we can get a head start on the week to come.  When this happens, the Sabbath has lost its rest, it has lost its being holy, it has lost its being set apart from all other days.  The fourth commandment is reduced from “remember[ing] the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” to “thou shalt go to church on Sunday.”  Friends, the Sabbath is a great blessing, not a bothersome curse.  We should never act as if God’s commanding us to rest from our labors is a burden.  He calls us to this rest not to inconvenience us, but to provide for our need.  When we neglect the Sabbath, when we neglect resting in the Lord, then we sit in danger of falling away from Him.  When we don’t take the time to remember God and his care and providence, then we risk becoming immune to it.  Don’t allow the Sabbath to be just another day.  Don’t allow the world around you to dictate how God’s day of rest is spent for you.  Enjoy it.  Be renewed by it.  However, do not take this day for granted, because it is required by God, and need by us all.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.