In Love and Friendship, a movie based upon Jane Austen’s Lady Susan, the plot is typical of Austen. A recently widowed woman seeks a suitable husband for herself and a wealthy husband for her daughter. In one brilliant scene, Susan’s daughter Frederica is interacting with the wealthy Sir James Martin, who is trying to impress everyone with his knowledge.
Martin: This reminded me of many such accounts one learns in childhood. Perhaps the most significant in forming one’s principles is that of the old prophet who came down from the mount bearing the Twelve Commandments, which our Lord has taught us to obey without fail.
Gentleman: Excuse me, I believe there were only ten.
Martin: Really? Only ten must be obeyed? Excellent. Well, then, which two to take off? Perhaps the one about the Sabbath. I prefer to hunt. After that, it becomes tricky. Many of the ‘Thou shalt nots’—don’t murder, don’t covet thy neighbor’s house or wife—one simply wouldn’t do anyway, because they are wrong, whether the Lord allows us to take them off or not.
I fear we sometimes interpret the relevance of the moral law in a similar fashion today. Even if we don’t think we can pick and choose which commandments to “take off”, we do tend to misunderstand their purpose for the believer and their use (if any) for the world.
We also providentially find ourselves concluding this series on the Ten Commandments on the week of Thanksgiving. Regardless of how different Thanksgiving 2020 will be for you and your family, this remains a special time to reflect upon God’s gracious kindness to us. Ligonier sent out a Thanksgiving card that read, “The essence of theology is grace; the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude.”
That is a wonderful summary of what I want to convey in this message. We should never divorce the Ten Commandments from the grace contained in the prologue (https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Ex20.2 (Exod 20:2)). The gracious rescue of God is followed by the Ten Commandments. The only proper response to the grace of God is gratitude, and the essence of that expression is our ethics/obedience!
That is why, following John Calvin, we have placed the reciting of the Ten Commandments after the Lord’s Supper. It would be appropriate to place them just prior to our confession of sin. Since the first use of the law is to reveal our sin (Mirror), reading the Ten Commandments can remind us of the many ways in which we have fallen short of the glory of God (https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Ro3.23 (Rom 3:23)). However, it is equally valid to place them after the Lord’s Supper as a reminder of the third use of the law as a guide (Map) for the believer to live a life that is pleasing to God.
So, as we conclude this series it is perfectly appropriate to consider why we ought to be filled with such thankful hearts as we delight in God’s moral law.
Read Exodus 20:1-17
I. Keeping God’s Law One response I have frequently heard throughout this series is something like “Man, that was convicting.” While I hope I never left you without the comfort of the gospel, the conviction is by design. If you aren’t convicted by a proper understanding of the Ten Commandments, the only reason could be that you do not have a proper understanding of your deceitful heart.
No one has the ability to keep the law perfectly. No matter how extensively God has poured out His grace upon them, they will continue to fall short of the perfect standard. James emphasizes our inability to bridle our tongues as a clear symptom of how prone we are to stumble. It would take a perfect man to always communicate in God honoring ways (https://ref.ly/logosref/Bible.Jas3.2 (Jam 3:2)).
We can go a step further and say that we cannot even keep one of the commandments perfectly at any point in our lives. Think of those times when we are at the peak of holiness. Even the best of our works will be tainted by impure motives and selfish...
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