Missing The Point
Exodus 20
A pastor began his sermon with an illustration. He placed four worms in four separate jars. The first worm was put in a jar with alcohol, the second in a jar with cigarette smoke, the third in a jar of chocolate syrup, and the fourth worm was put into a jar with good clean soil. When the sermon was done, the pastor reported the results. The worms in alcohol, cigarette smoke, and chocolate syrup were all dead. The worm in the good soil was still alive.
The pastor asked the congregation what they could learn from the illustration. A little old woman in the back raised her hand and said, “As long as you drink, smoke cigarettes and eat chocolate, you won’t have worms!” I think she might have missed the point the pastor was making.
Missing the point. We have all done it as some point. I’m sure we have all had it happen with something we’ve said. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are the most famous commandments in the Bible. But have people missed the point of them. Or at least the main point of them.
So here’s a reason for God giving the Ten Commandments: To teach us how to love God and others. When Jesus was asked which commandments in the Law were most important, He said “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: y‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
All the commandments in the Bible are intended, when obeyed, to help us love God and others well. In fact, when you look at the commandments in Exodus 20, the first four are intended to help us love God and the final six are intended to help us love others. If we fully lived out these ten, it would do wonders to our relationships.
However, there’s more to God giving these commandments. God is giving a standard that we can’t ultimately meet in and of ourselves. Even if we don’t outwardly disobey the commandments, we could still disobey them inwardly. Jesus Himself tells us so.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, told the disciples in Matthew 5:27-28, “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.”
Earlier in the sermon he said that unrighteous anger in the heart is like murder. Jesus was making it clear that we can disobey the Ten Commandments in our hearts even if it doesn’t lead to outward disobedience. Jesus was trying to help the people see that no one has what it takes to fully live out the commandments.
So what’s the main point of the commandments? To show us we need Jesus! The Old Testament Law points us to our need of a Savior. That’s why it says in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” The fulfillment of the Law is to bring us to Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the Law.
Exodus 20
A pastor began his sermon with an illustration. He placed four worms in four separate jars. The first worm was put in a jar with alcohol, the second in a jar with cigarette smoke, the third in a jar of chocolate syrup, and the fourth worm was put into a jar with good clean soil. When the sermon was done, the pastor reported the results. The worms in alcohol, cigarette smoke, and chocolate syrup were all dead. The worm in the good soil was still alive.
The pastor asked the congregation what they could learn from the illustration. A little old woman in the back raised her hand and said, “As long as you drink, smoke cigarettes and eat chocolate, you won’t have worms!” I think she might have missed the point the pastor was making.
Missing the point. We have all done it as some point. I’m sure we have all had it happen with something we’ve said. The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20 are the most famous commandments in the Bible. But have people missed the point of them. Or at least the main point of them.
So here’s a reason for God giving the Ten Commandments: To teach us how to love God and others. When Jesus was asked which commandments in the Law were most important, He said “‘And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: y‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)
All the commandments in the Bible are intended, when obeyed, to help us love God and others well. In fact, when you look at the commandments in Exodus 20, the first four are intended to help us love God and the final six are intended to help us love others. If we fully lived out these ten, it would do wonders to our relationships.
However, there’s more to God giving these commandments. God is giving a standard that we can’t ultimately meet in and of ourselves. Even if we don’t outwardly disobey the commandments, we could still disobey them inwardly. Jesus Himself tells us so.
Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, told the disciples in Matthew 5:27-28, “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.”
Earlier in the sermon he said that unrighteous anger in the heart is like murder. Jesus was making it clear that we can disobey the Ten Commandments in our hearts even if it doesn’t lead to outward disobedience. Jesus was trying to help the people see that no one has what it takes to fully live out the commandments.
So what’s the main point of the commandments? To show us we need Jesus! The Old Testament Law points us to our need of a Savior. That’s why it says in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” The fulfillment of the Law is to bring us to Jesus. He is the fulfillment of the Law.
Posted in Journey of Hope