Righteousness: empty, then full.

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
Matthew 5:6

This beatitude, like the first, must be taken as a whole. Taking only the first seven words ("Blessed are those who hunger and thirst”), without the second two words (“for righteousness”) may mislead readers. Jesus was not pronouncing His blessing on those with empty stomachs and parched tongues, who merely who hunger and thirst for food and water. As essential to physical life as food and water are, Jesus had a deeper spiritual point in mind.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? This is a second phase of being “poor in spirit.” It is the essential step that one takes when one is actually concerned about one’s spiritual bankruptcy. It is indicative of longing to have one’s spiritual bankruptcy remedied.

Since we have no righteousness of our own, and are incapable of producing any (Isaiah 64:6), those who are blessed by God cry out to Him to do for them what they are altogether unable to do for themselves. Those who do this rightly abandon any hope for righteousness from any source but Jesus. The perfect righteousness of Jesus is given to those who place their faith in Jesus, alone.

The result? “They shall be satisfied.” That may be one of the greatest understatements of all time. The common understanding of being satisfied is that one has enough. In one sense Jesus does provide enough righteousness. This is so because the righteousness God requires is infinite, and since Jesus is infinitely righteous, His infinite righteousness is—well, enough.

In another sense let us rejoice that the infinite righteousness of Christ, at least in our finite understanding, is more than just enough. The righteousness afforded to those who hunger and thirst for it, receive an infinite super-abundance of righteousness. It is a righteousness that will never run out and that our sin cannot undo!

A little more about what it means to hunger and thirst next time…

The strength to be meek

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
Matthew 5:5

I remember hearing that biblically, “meekness is not weakness, it is strength under control.” Although the words meek and meekness are not often heard in common conversation in our day, here in the opening lines of Jesus’ most important teaching (the Sermon on the Mount) we are told of the promise of God’s blessing on the meek. What are we to make of that?

First, meekness, as God defines meekness, is not only good, but worthy of His blessing.

Second, meekness is an antonym of pride. That makes meekness a gospel issue. How? Pride refuses to acknowledge one’s sin and to cry out for forgiveness. Those who do acknowledge their sin and who do cry out for forgiveness in Jesus’ name, do so exercising meekness. It requires true strength to admit one’s weakness.

Third, living the Christian life after having received Christ also requires meekness—as disciples understand and seek to live according to Jesus’ words in John 15:5, about abiding in Him because, “without Me [Christ] you can do nothing.” It requires true strength to admit one’s weakness.

Meekness in the Christian context is not weakness. It is the strength to know the truth about ourselves apart from Christ. It is the strength to depend on the One who is our strength, especially in light of our intrinsic weakness apart from Him.

Notice that Jesus’ promise to the meek is that “they shall inherit the earth.” This is counter-intuitive since it appears that the strong (assertive, and aggressive) are the winners in the world while the meek (weak) are seen as the losers. Let us remember that God is always right. And when anyone or anything disagrees with God, God is still right and the dissenters are wrong.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. We have God’s Word on it!

Mourning before, after, and then never again

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
Matthew 5:4

The mourning referenced here is more specific than the mourning over temporal losses in this life that are common to all people. The second beatitude is closely associated with the first who are aware of their spiritual bankruptcy.

The more one understands his or her spiritual bankruptcy, and how awful the results of the bankruptcy truly are, the more likely that person will mourn over it. This mourning arises from the heart that grieves at the thought of one’s impending appointment with the wrath of God. Those who get this, and mourn over it, are elect of God because those who are not, don’t much care! But when the elect mourn regarding their lostness, they will cry out to God for mercy, which is found only in Jesus Christ (specifically His death and resurrection to save His people). These will be saved, but is their mourning ended?

Their mourning changes but is not yet altogether ended. As believers in Christ, who have received new affections to follow Jesus, they will mourn over their continued struggles against sin that are common to every believer. This is what Paul was mourning about in the later portion of Romans 7. As we grow in sanctification, we likely sin less, but continue to mourn over our sin because as we are sanctified, we become more aware of lesser sins about which we were once oblivious. This mourning over sin in the life of believers is punctuated with sweet relief as we confess our sins and are forgiven and cleansed again and again (1 John 1:9).

But praise the Lord, there is a time coming for those who mourned over their sins that brought them to saving faith in Christ, and who mourned over their sins as believers (though forgiven), when mourning will be altogether ended! This end of all mourning will be when those who trust in Christ are glorified in Heaven with Christ, where there is no sin over which to grieve. This confident assurance will be our comfort in Christ!

Spiritual bankruptcy and Heaven

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Jewish tradition in Jesus’ day said the opposite. They believed that material prosperity was a sure-fire sign of God’s approval and blessing. And to be fair, many today agree. But is it true? Not at all. While God does bless His people, His blessings are frequently not in the form of material prosperity. If we could give only one example, Jesus would do nicely. He had nothing:

Luke 9:58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Other examples abound throughout the Bible. From this we can safely conclude that while God does bless the righteous—sometimes with material prosperity—His spiritual blessings are of infinitely greater value. And God’s greatest spiritual blessing is forgiveness of sin and eternal life in Heaven.

Another consideration on this first beatitude is whether Jesus was pronouncing His blessing on the poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3), or on those who are merely poor (as in Luke 6:20). When comparing two parallel passages, we do not weight the verse that says less over the verse that says more. On the contrary, the one that says more frequently provides information necessary to understand the one that says less.

Earthly riches often stand in the way of the wealthy keeping them from acknowledging their need for salvation because the well-to-do often falsely believe their riches will save them. The facts are, being monetarily poor does not guarantee entrance into Heaven, nor does being wealthy axiomatically exclude the rich from Heaven. Numerous examples in scripture support both of these truths.

Therefore, the ones who receive this first blessing in the beatitudes are necessarily poor in spirit regardless of their financial holdings, or lack thereof. The crucial aspect of being poor in spirit is understanding the first point of the gospel: We are all sinners before a Holy God, deserving His just wrath. This is the deepest spiritual poverty.

The good news is that those who realize their spiritual bankruptcy and who receive Christ as Savior and Lord as the only remedy, are made spiritually rich in Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9). These are the ones who receive the kingdom of Heaven.

Footnote to yesterday's sermon (lamenting)

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25

We devoted two Sunday messages to “lamenting” over our personal sins, and lack of intimacy with the Lord. It occurred to me that as we celebrate the 4th of July this week, we might be wise to think about lamenting over our national sins. Our nation is still swimming in the backwash of our first national sin: slavery. At least that sin was outlawed, though it took a civil war to do so.

Then there is our current and ongoing national sin of abortion. To give a sense of the magnitude of this current sin, 620,000 lives were lost in the Civil war. 63,000,000 babies have been aborted since the Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973. 63,000,000 is over 100 times 620,000. And the war over abortion is still being waged.

My wife and I read the book of Amos this morning, a prophecy about God’s judgment on Israel. God’s judgment on the people He blesses, but who turn from Him, is greater than His judgment on nations that never acknowledged Him. The U.S. is arguably the most blessed nation in human history. We have turned from God. May we lament over our national sin, and plead with God to have mercy on the United States!

What it means to be blessed

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

Many people wear t-shirts these days with the word “Blessed” emblazoned across the chest. I wonder how many of us understand what it means to be blessed by God. I assure you that it is so much more than anything we may desire from this world!

What does it mean when a man of God (in this case the very Son of God) pronounces a blessing. Pronouncing a blessing is a “benediction” (in Latin). The word bene-diction squeezes two words together making a new word. Bene means good, and diction means word or saying. A benediction is, therefore, a “good word.”

As a child growing up in church I looked forward to the weekly benediction at the end of the worship service, not because I was spiritual or looking for God’s blessing. I like the benediction because it signaled the end of the church service! Foolish me!

God pronounced many benedictions on His people throughout the Old Testament (OT). And acting as the ultimate Prophet, Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) with a series of nine blessings, or benedictions.

God not only pronounced benedictions in the OT, He also pronounced the opposite of benedictions: He pronounced “woes.” Woes are God statements of His displeasure resulting in judgment and curses. Luke’s version of Matthew’s SOTM (Luke 6:24-26) includes woes as well as blessings which, by contrast, help define the blessings.

The blessings encourage God’s people, first, that God delights to bless His people. Second, the blessings also give the redeemed hope as we eagerly await the ultimate blessing that we have been promised. That blessing will be ours when the Lord takes us to Himself in glory in Heaven—where there is no sin and no sorrow—only the pure vision of His perfectly holy and beautiful face.

I pray that the beatitudes will encourage you!

NOTE: For a more comprehensive treatment of the beatitudes that is still short enough to be easily readable, may I suggest the booklet “How Can I Be Blessed?” by RC Sproul.

To whom was Jesus preaching?

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying… Matthew 5:1-2

The first question we should consider is: to whom did Jesus direct the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM)?

First, an incorrect opinion. Some who unnaturally divide Israel and the Church, and the Old and New Testaments, teach that the SOTM was aimed exclusively at Israel, not Christians, because Jesus spoke these words before He died and rose again. This is yet another grave error made by those who persist in wrongly dividing the truth!

The SOTM is, in one sense, for all people of all time. The teachings of Jesus, though referencing things more known by Jews than by Gentiles of that day, are timeless and not limited to any particular people group other than human beings.

Some point out that while the multitude was present, Jesus addressed His disciples specifically. The text supports this idea, but while disciples are the ones who will most readily understand the SOTM, we dare not say it does not apply to nonbelievers!

The impact of the Sermon on nonbelievers would be conviction of sin as Jesus raises the bar from the mere letter of the Law to the spirit of the Law. The Sermon tells nonbelievers that they are guilty before God and His Law, and therefore need a Savior.

As for non-believers who think that obeying the SOTM is the way to earn entrance into Heaven, they have missed the entire point of the Sermon! They missed on this crucial point in particular:

Matthew 7:22-23 Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'

These words clearly communicate the fact that salvation is in knowing and being known by Jesus—not by doing anything, including following the SOTM—which no one but Jesus could successfully accomplish!

The impact of the Sermon in believers is that it instructs us what holy living looks like. It is not merely about actions, but about changed hearts.

The Sermon on the Mount, Intro

And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…
Matthew 5:1-2

Having spent weeks meditating on the Ten Commandments, I believe considering the Sermon on the Mount (SOTM) is a wise next step. Why?

• Because the Sermon on the Mount can be described as the New Testament commentary on the Law—by Jesus Himself!

• The SOTM was addressed to disciples of Jesus, who at that time were all Jewish, and therefore familiar with the Law (5:1-2).

• Jesus began with the Beatitudes that explain what kind of person is most blessed by God. In this way Jesus shifted the focus of God’s blessings away from mere obedience to the Law onto the godliness of one’s character (5:3-16)

• Jesus then explained the difference between the letter of the Law, compared with the spirit of the Law—which raised the bar across the board! (5:17 - 7:12).

• Jesus concluded explaining final judgement and how to prepare for it (7:13-29).

The Sermon on the Mount is three chapters long (111 verses), and touches on many subjects, so we will be considering it for some time. I pray that it will be beneficial for your spiritual growth and increase your love for the Lord!

The Law can't save! Nor can faith in Christ plus the Law!

Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. Galatians 5:2-4

Paul wrote chastising the Galatians for teaching and believing that law-keeping was necessary for salvation. The specific law that was at issue was Jewish circumcision. The legalists insisted that male Gentile believers needed to be circumcised to become Jews in addition to trusting in Christ to become Christians. Paul used this specific error to teach the broader error of insisting that keeping any law for salvation was as wrong as wrong could possibly be. He made two essential points:

First, if a person makes circumcision, or any other aspect of the law, necessary for salvation, keeping the entire law would then be necessary: “he is a debtor to keep the whole law” (v.3). (Refer to the previous blog post for a more detailed explanation of that point.)

Second, those who insist on law-keeping as necessary for salvation “have become estranged from Christ,” and “have fallen from grace.” What does this mean, and not mean?

• Paul uses shocking words to drive the importance of his point home. Associating law-keeping with salvation is contrary to the gospel and is therefore an exceeding grave error.

• Those who teach such things remove themselves from Christianity, distancing themselves from Christ and the gospel.

• Does this mean that a true Christian can lose his salvation for believing and teaching such things? True Christians can be in serious error (the Galatians are a case in point), but if they are true Christians, their error cannot undo true salvation.

• However, if they are true Christians, they will repent. If they do not repent, they only reveal that they were never really saved. (See 1 John 2:19.)

• And, by the way, it doesn’t matter if one is making law-keeping the sole means of salvation, or is adding law-keeping to faith in Christ. Both are equally wrong because salvation is received through faith in Christ, alone!

Guiltless in Christ

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. James 2:10-11

“The Law” is not “the laws.” What is meant by that is that “the Law” includes all of the laws contained therein. Break one and you have broken “the Law” even though you have not broken everyone of the laws that make up “the Law.”

What difference does that make? We cannot consider ourselves less guilty because we have only broken some laws. Nor are we less guilty because we have broken only [what we might consider to be] minor laws. There is only “the Law,” which, if broken in any way, renders the offender to be guilty of breaking the entire “Law:”

Think of “the Law” as a chain. You are hanging onto the bottom link of the chain. How many links above need to be broken before you fall? One. That is how “the Law” works.

Is the point of this merely to accentuate our guilt? Though it does do that, let us also see how this truth exalts our Savior. Jesus kept “the Law” perfectly—never breaking even one of the laws that make up “the Law.” (He is the only one ever to do this!) He did it not only to be worthy to die for His people’s sins, but also to supply those who trust in Him with His perfect righteousness. When the Father looks at those who are in Christ, He sees us as never having broken any laws and therefore as never having broken “the Law.”

That is why “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” Romans 8:1

Three uses of the Law--for believers and non-believers alike!

Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
Romans 7:12

What is the Law Good for? Historically, the Law has been recognized as having three distinct uses.

The Law convicts people of sin so they will look to Christ for forgiveness (Galatians 3:24). Jesus did not come to cheer us up and encourage us to have happier lives. He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). So what should we make of those who “accept Jesus into their hearts” with no thought of forgiveness of sin? The only thing we can think is that they are not saved.

No one thinks they need a Savior unless they know they are sinners in need of forgiveness. How does anyone know this? The Law. This does not mean that one must hear a sermon on the Law, or read the Law directly out of the Bible to be presented with one’s sinfulness. What it does mean is that to be saved, a person needs to know that he or she is a sinner in need of forgiveness. The Law is the primary source of knowledge regarding sin. The Law has never saved, nor made a person righteous. The Law only tells us how unrighteous we are so we that will respond to the good news of Christ and the gospel by trusting in Christ and turning from sin. Without the Law doing its part directly or indirectly, no one would ever be saved.

The Law restrains evil (Deuteronomy 17:7, 19:19, et al). This is true both for non-believers and believers.

• Even non-believers desire to avoid the consequences of sin. Well-intentioned people work hard these days to convince us that punishment is not a deterrent to crime. God says it is, and He is right. The only time punishment is not a deterrent is if the punishment is not severe enough.

• Believers are deterred from sin, not merely because of consequences, but because we do not want to sin against the Lord who loves us and gave His life for us!

The Law reveals holiness (Leviticus 19:2). The Law is filled with examples that teach what holy living looks like, teaching us how to live lives of grateful obedience—not in order to be saved, but because we have been saved by faith alone in Christ alone.

Whenever the Law is presented as the way to live to be saved—it is being used falsely and unbiblically.

Understanding the usefulness of the Law (1)

"Do not think that I came to destroy [abolish] the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy [abolish] but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20

Jesus made it clear that He did not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. How did Jesus fulfill the law?

First, Jesus was “born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). This means that from birth Jesus was under obligation to keep the law, observing every ritual and obeying every ordinance. Though every Jewish person was also born under the Law, Jesus is the only person—ever, to actually succeed in keeping God’s law flawlessly.

Second, Jesus obeyed the Law in every conceivable way to earn the reward due those who are perfectly righteous. Other than Jesus, there has never been, nor will there be, another who is perfectly righteous. Jesus did not earn that reward for Himself, since being God, He was already intrinsically righteous. He earned the reward due the righteous to give that reward to those He came to save namely, those who—though unrighteous—trust in Him for salvation (Galatians 4:5).

Third, since all of the ceremonial law pointed to the Jesus as Messiah, because He fulfilled it all, the ceremonial law is no longer required. By offering Himself as the one and only sinless sacrifice that actually takes away the sins of His people, the Old Testament sacrificial system has ended. By serving as the one and only Great High Priest, the Old Testament priesthood has ended. By offering His sacrifice on Calvary, the Old Testament Temple has ended.

Instead of offering sacrificial animals, etc., those who trust in Christ offer “the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). Instead of looking to mere human priests, we look to our one and only Great High Priest, the God-Man, Jesus, who “ever lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). Instead of worshiping in a temple building, those who trust in Christ Jesus are the temple of God (1 Peter 2:5, Ephesians 2:19-22).

Jesus “fulfilled the law,” but He did not “abolish the law.” What are the uses of the Law for New Testament believers? Next time.

Ten Commandments, Epilogue (4)

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." And Moses said to the people, "Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin." So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:18-21

We have already seen that Moses was a type of Christ, mediating between God and His people.

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
John 1:17

Jesus is, of course, the greater and ultimate Mediator. In what way? Moses mediated God’s law that condemns us. Jesus mediates God’s grace by which those who trust in Him are saved.

There is another difference between these two mediators and what their mediation accomplished. As the mediator of the Law, Moses (and subsequent priests) went into the presence of the Lord, but the people had to remain at a distance. This was illustrated by the veil of the temple that separated the people from God.

As the Mediator of saving grace, when Jesus died, the veil that separated the people from the presence of God was torn in two. It was torn from top to bottom, illustrating that God opened the way for people to enter God’s presence—which sinful people could never do.

Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, Matthew 27:51

Now those who are “in Christ” may enter the presence of the Lord!

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

A last thought about coming into the presence of God. Though we may come boldly because of the finished work of our Savior and Lord, let us come reverently. The presence we enter is still the presence of Almighty God. The redeemed are justified (declared holy in God’s sight, though in practice we will not be holy until we are in Heaven), but God didn’t become less holy!

Ten Commandments, Epilogue (3)

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die."
Exodus 20:18-19

When God gave the Ten Commandments, the people were terrified, rightly and understandably so. Everyone who understands the impossibility of obeying God’s law perfectly (with or without thunder, lightning, trumpet blasts or smoking mountains) should be afraid of God, of His law, and of His righteous wrath.

But those who have found grace in the sight of the Lord should have another emotion: Love. Consider David’s words on Psalm 119:

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Psalm 119:97 (repeated in vs. 47, 113, 119, 127, 159, 163, 165, & 167)

Here are a few reasons to Love God’s Law:

• It is God’s law, and God is love.

• It reveals our guilt, leading us to seek God’s mercy through faith in Christ Jesus.

• It reminds us of God’s holiness and of His requirement that believers are to be holy as He is Holy (1 Peter 1:15-16).

• It instructs us what holy living looks like (not to be saved but because we are saved by God’s grace).

• It is the basis of preaching the gospel to the lost, since without the knowledge of one’s guilt, no one will seek forgiveness in Christ Jesus.

Let us both fear and love God and His law!

Ten Commandments, Epilogue (2)

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
Exodus 20:18

When God gave the Ten Commandments, the people were terrified, understandably and rightly so. They may have been afraid primarily because of the thunder, the lightning, the heavenly trumpet blast, and by the fact that mountain was smoking. They almost certainly did not initially understand the fact that the law they were given was impossible for them to obey.

But for whatever reason they were afraid, they were rightly afraid of God! That is why they pleaded with Moses:

Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die." Exodus 20:19

Though they almost surely did not understand the theological implications of what they said, they cried out for a mediator because they were afraid to stand before God. They were looking to Moses to do for them what Christ does for all who come to God through Him. Moses is a classic example of an Old Testament “type of Christ.”

Christ’s ultimate fulfillment of this prophetic picture sets Jesus apart as the one and only perfect Mediator between sinful people and the one and only true and holy God.

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Jesus claimed to be this sole Mediator in the upper room when He said:

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6

Salvation begins with being aware that we are all—every one of us individually, and all of us together—guilty before a Holy God (Romans 3:11-12). The next and absolutely necessary step is to come to God through faith in Christ alone.

Are you aware that your sins will condemn you to God’s righteous wrath for having broken His perfect Law? Do you understand that trusting in Jesus (because of what He did by dying and rising to pay His people’s sin debt) is the only way to be forgiven? Have you, like the children of Israel did with Moses, cried out to Jesus to stand before God on your behalf for the forgiveness of your sins?

If you have, then listen to and follow Jesus. If you have not, I pray that God will reveal your need, and that you will trust in Christ’s exclusive sufficiency to present you to God!

Ten Commandments, epilogue (1)

Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.
Exodus 20:18

So what happened after God issued the Ten Commandments? Note the following.

God gave the Ten Commandments. Who else could publish His Law, complete with, “thunder, lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking”? Because the Ten Commandments are God’s commandments, given by Him, with no small amount of drama, let us all all receive them as such. What does it mean to receive and respond to the Ten Commandments as God’s commandments?

• We had better take them seriously.

• We had better receive them all, not being so arrogant as to assume we can pick and choose which ones we like—much less disregard those we do not like.

• We had better plan to obey them, understanding that to disobey even one of the commandments is to disobey God Himself and to summon His wrath upon us.

• And as illustrated by Israel’s initial reaction, we had better fear and tremble—and we had better do what Israel did in the next verse.

More on that next time.

"You shall not covet" (part five)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Exodus 20:17

One of the keys to avoiding sin is avoiding temptation. As many have long observed, Eve’s first mistake that lead to eating the forbidden fruit was hanging around the tree. Since she knew God had said not to eat of that tree, it would have been wise not to go near it or listen to the “snake.”

There are similar “trees” of covetousness. Advertising is not inherently bad. It is how those selling goods and providing services let people know of their businesses that can be bad. Advertising has changed in my lifetime. I remember when advertisements were about informing potential customers or clients about the quality and price of products or services.

Advertising has drifted. Much advertising now tempts us to be discontent with what we have, beckoning us to join the beautiful people who have what we do not have (and often cannot afford without going into debt!).

A fair share of advertising features “snakes” telling us to sample fruit from trees we do not need and cannot afford. We might be wise to beware of the tempter and not spend too much time looking at advertising—which is not easy, since in our digital age, ads are flashed before our eyes practically nonstop.

Since we cannot escape advertising altogether, let us at least be aware of our tendencies to be discontent and to covet, asking the Lord to grant us grace to resist temptation.

"You shall not covet" (part four)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Exodus 20:17

One astute legal mind mused, “What system of laws outlaws coveting?” It is virtually impossible to legislate what cannot be policed and punished. Unless you are God.

We often comfort ourselves (falsely), thinking that what we think is secret and therefore safe. Not according to God. We might imagine that our thoughts do not hurt anyone. But that is simply not so. Not only do sinful thoughts, like coveting, take their toll on our own mental and spiritual health, but if everyone is thinking sinfully, society is adversely affected. Consider:

Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Wickedness on the earth begins with evil “intents and thoughts of the heart.”

Does this matter to God? Consider the next verse two verses that led to God’s drowning all of humanity (except for Noah and his family):

Genesis 6:6-7 And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the LORD said, "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them."

Coveting may not affect others as much as stealing, for example, but do we really want to think thoughts that grieve and even anger God? I certainly hope not!

Human legal systems cannot successfully legislate what people think. But God can and does see, and judges our hearts. Therefore, coveting is not only legislated by God, God places coveting in His Top Ten list of sins!

"You shall not covet" (part three)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
Exodus 20:17

I remember as a small child, a well intentioned Sunday School teacher told our class it is coveting to want John’s bicycle, but it is not coveting if we merely want a bicycle like John’s.  She explained that the difference was by wanting John’s bike, we were not merely desiring the bike, we were sinfully desiring that John not have his bike!

It may be true that wanting John not to have his bike so you can have it is more devious, but coveting is longing for what one does not have, period.

A word of explanation is in order.  It is not wrong to desire something, to work toward earning that something by legitimate means (work), understanding that we may never get that thing, and being alright with that.  An honest desire to acquire things through lawful means (work) is not coveting.  It only becomes coveting when we:

1. Want something and are unwilling to work for it;

2. Become obsessed with that desire; and/ or

3. Are discontent without the desired thing.

Complaining and coveting are the opposite of contentment.  So let us be reminded to be content by the words of Hebrews 13:5:

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

These words remind us that our ultimate contentment is in the Lord and in His abiding presence.

“You shall not covet” (part two)

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17

Sometimes people point to the Sermon on the Mount saying that Jesus introduced the concept of “the spirit of the law” in contrast to “the letter of the law.” Jesus did talk about how the thoughts and intentions of the heart are every bit as important as what people actually do. He pointed out the connection between hatred and murder, and between lust and adultery as examples of the spirit and letter of the law.

Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount were not the first time God revealed this concept, however. The tenth of the Ten Commandments reveals the importance of “the spirit of the law.” In the Ten Commandments, God not only prohibited adultery, He prohibited coveting another person’s spouse. He not only prohibited stealing another’s possessions, He prohibited coveting another’s possessions. Clearly, the Ten Commandments address the root problem of sinful actions, which begin in sinful hearts.

Though this has been mentioned previously, it bears repeating. Sinful actions cause more damage since actions harm others. But sinful thoughts are no less damning since God knows and judges our hearts as well as our actions.

This is a great reminder that we are not done striving against sin because we refrain from acting sinfully if we are dwelling on sin in our hearts and minds. The reason is that thoughts, no matter how well we do at curtailing sinful actions, often do eventually break out into actions. Let us fight sin not only by disciplining our actions. Let us also pray that God will transform our hearts and minds.