(Part 3/3 – A summary of the Sunday morning teaching on 09-Aug-15, in AFT Church, English service. From the series The Foundation For Victorious Living)
3) USING GOD’S NAME IN VAIN
When we toss around God’s name cheaply we will soon lose all respect for Him. Then the fear and reverence of God, which is the beginning of wisdom, would be absent from our lives. Lack of wisdom guarantees failure and misery. And because God wants us to succeed, He asks us not to take His name in vain. For e.g – One might say that ‘In the name of the Lord I will return the money’. In that instance, we are relegating God’s name as collateral for our dues!
4) KEEPING THE SABBATH HOLY
The Pharisees had a long list of about 1,521 laws to be followed on Sabbath. One couldn’t pluck hairs, look at a mirror, save a drowning man so on and so forth on the Sabbath! All because God had said that it is a day to be kept holy! Well, they clearly missed God’s point. Sabbath is a day of rest where we remember that we have been saved from our sins by the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. It is a day to remember that we don’t have to labor. But we are called to live in the Resurrection Power of the Cross every day.
5) HONORING PARENTS
God accords great significance to the relationship between the parent and the child. On the Cross, Jesus pointed his mother Mary to his disciple John indicating that he was to look after her as his mother henceforth. Paul in Romans 1:30 lists disobedience to parents as a sin of depraved people. Again in Ephesians, Paul highlights the importance of children honoring their parents. Respecting and honoring older parents imply that we respect God. It also implies that we are blessed by our obedience.
A story is told about a family of four – the grandfather, father, mother and a little boy. The grandfather was very old and had begun losing his co-ordination and skills. He couldn’t eat his meals without dripping and messing the table. Indignant, the mother seated him in the kitchen and gave him a wooden bowl to eat out of so that he wouldn’t break his dish or mess the dining table. The old man obeyed silently with tears in his eyes. The little boy sat by observing all this. One day his parents saw him gathering wooden sticks. When they enquired, the boy said, ‘When I grow up, you will become old and live with me. I am picking up wooden pieces to make a nice bowl for you to eat your meals out of; something like the one Grandpa eats out of now’. The same day, the mother repented and brought the old man back to the dining table!
6) DO NOT KILL
Man has been made in the image and likeness of God. When we murder a man, we are striking God. That’s why we protect a life right from conception till the time God takes it back
7) DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY
Marriage is to be honored and respected. When a spouse cheats on the other and engages in an extra martial relationship, it shakes the foundation of their relationship. Sexuality is a gift from God that is meant to be used beautifully within marriage. Anything apart from that leads to enslavement and produces grief and sorrow.
8) DO NOT STEAL
God has given us the ability to work hard and earn well. When someone steals from us, he disrespects our skills and the God who has blessed us. Stealing is contempt of others and of God. We become distrustful and feel violated.
9) DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS
Our God is a God of truth. When we lie, we allow the power of darkness to come into our lives.
10) DO NOT COVET
God commands us not to covet anything that belongs to someone else. It has a destructive power and will only end up eating our lives.
CONCLUSION
In the light of the above, we can safely trust that the Ten Commandments or laws are sure proof of God’s love for us.
