​“Therefore the Law is holy and the commandment holy and just and good.” Romans 7:12
 
God spoke the Ten Commandments with His own voice. He wrote them with His own finger upon tablets of stone. It was after the Lord God had delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. They had seen the incredible power of God poured out in the Ten Plagues upon Egypt. They had watched in awe as God rolled back the waters of the Red Sea to allow them to cross through on dry land. On the other side of the Red Sea they had seen the Lord close the waters over the pursuing Egyptian charioteers.
 
They had tasted the manna that God had sent from Heaven to feed them in the desert. They had quenched their thirst with water that had flowed from the rock at His command. They had seen the mighty power of God to save and to heal. They had also seen His power to punish, to judge, to kill and to destroy.
 
Now, as they stood before the mountain of God, it was covered with smoke as the Lord descended on it in fire. The smoke billowed up from it like smoke from a furnace and the whole mountain trembled violently.
 
This was the context in which God revealed His Ten Commandments.
 
The Law’s remarkable origin reveals its Holy character. The Ten Commandments flow directly from the Eternal character of our Holy Creator and Eternal Judge. They are the standard by which the world will be judged. The Ten Commandments provide a permanent rule of life for all people. The Law defines sin (“…sin is lawlessness.” 1 John 3:4).

​Converting the Soul
“The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7
 
The Law of God convicts of sin (Romans 7:7-11). The Law condemns transgression (Romans 4:15; James 2:10; Galatians 3:10; Deuteronomy 11:26-28). “But he who looks into the perfect Law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:25
 
The Law restrains evil (“But we know that the Law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the Law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and for murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.” 1 Timothy 1:8-11; “Your Word I have hidden in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Psalm 119:11).
 
The Law brings people to Christ. (“Therefore the Law was our Tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by Faith.” Galatians 3:24; “The Law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul.” Psalm 19:7).
 
The Law of God guides our sanctification. (“That the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:4).

​A New Covenant with Renewed Minds and Regenerate Hearts
The Law of God lies at the very heart of the new Covenant. (“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel… I will put My Law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:31-33).
 
The Law of God Remains in Force
Our Lord Jesus Christ expressly affirmed the eternal validity of God’s Law. (“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfil. 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 until 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 the pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” Matthew 5:17-20)
 
Throughout the Gospels, Christ emphatically taught the relevance of the Law (Matthew 22:36-40; Matthew 23:23; Mark 7:1-13). Christ Jesus upheld the civil function of the Law to restrain evil (Matthew 15:3-6). Christ Himself perfectly obeyed the Law during His life and ministry on earth (Psalm 40:7-8; Matthew 8:4; 17:24-27; Mark 11:16-17; John 8:46; John 15:10; 1 John 2:4-6).
 
Christ Jesus saved us in terms of the Law. (“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5; “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the Cross.” Colossians 2:13-14.)
 
While the Ten Commandments are binding on all mankind, they are especially relevant to Christians. They reflect the character of God and keep their full authority today. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am Holy.” Leviticus 19:2.
 
“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Our First Priority
When pioneer missionary, John Eliot, first translated the Scriptures into the Algonquin language of the Indians in Massachusetts he started with the Ten Commandments. His first sermons to them were also on the Ten Commandments. Of course, John Eliot did not think that the Indians could be saved by the Ten Commandments. However they needed to understand the Law of God before they could understand their need of salvation in Christ.
 
In the same way, John Paton, missionary to the cannibals in the South Pacific, began his ministry by teaching the Ten Commandments. The sharp needle of the Law needs to make way for the scarlet thread of the Gospel. Until people understand the Law of God they will not be able to understand the holiness of God. Until people understand the holiness of God, they will not understand their own sinfulness and their need for Salvation in and through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
 
The Fruit of Faith
Also, whereas Justification by Faith deals with how sin is pardoned, sanctification deals with how sin is subdued in our lives. Robert Murray M’Cheyne explained: “It is a holy-making Gospel. Without holy fruits all evidences are vain. Dear Friends, you have awakenings, enlightenings, experiences and many due signs; but if you lack holiness, you shall never see the Lord. A real desire after complete holiness is the truest mark of being born again … unregenerate men cannot bear this testimony.”
 
Regeneration and Repentance
Teaching and preaching the Ten Commandments helps put Repentance back into the Evangelistic message. Many self - deceived church members give no Biblical evidence of being born again by the Holy Spirit – despite having responded to evangelistic appeals, walked the aisles, signed decision cards, prayed sinner’s prayers, gone through the waters of Baptism, had their names entered on church memberships rolls and having attended numerous church activities.
 
Justification and Sanctification
Teaching on the Ten Commandments should help demolish the theory that one may receive Jesus as one’s “personal Saviour,” without submitting to Him as Lord. The notion that obedience to the commands of Christ are an optional extra for any true Christian will be exposed for the falsehood that it is by any exposition of the Scriptures. The cleansing of our sins by the Blood of Christ and the working of God’s Holy Spirit in our hearts here on earth, are inseparably joined together in God’s great work of Salvation. Justification and Sanctification go together.
 
Delight in God’s Commandments
King David, the writer of most of the Psalms and one who was described as “a man after God’s own heart” wrote: “Make me walk in the path of your Commandments, for I delight in it.” Psalm 119:35; “Indignation has taken hold of me because of the wicked, who forsake Your Law.” Psalm 119:53; “Oh, how I love Your Law! It is my meditation all the day.” Psalm 119:97; “I hate the double - minded, but I love Your Law.” Psalm 119:113; “It is time for You to act, O Lord, for they have regarded Your Law as void. Therefore I love Your Commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold!” Psalm 119:126-127
 
The Apostle John declared: “He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar and the Truth is not in him.” 1 John 2:4
 
The Apostle Paul taught: “Do we then make void the Law through Faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Law.” Romans 3:31; “Therefore the Law is Holy and the Commandment Holy and just and good.” Romans 7:12; “For I delight in the Law of God according to the inward man.” Romans 7:22
 
First Duty
Martin Luther declared: “The first duty of the Gospel preacher is to declare God’s Law and show the nature of sin.”
John Bunyan said: “The man who does not know the nature of the Law cannot know the nature of sin.”
​

Those Who Wage War Against God Will Lose
In one sense, you cannot break the Law of God, you can only break yourself upon God’s Law. Countless individuals and nations have violated God’s commands and sought to wage war against the Law of God. The gutters and slums, hospitals and asylums, pubs and prisons and battlefields and graveyards are filled with the results of man’s rebellion against God.
 
Love and Law
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world – our Faith.” 1 John 5:2-4
 
“Therefore the Law was our Tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by Faith.” Galatians 3:24
 
Exodus 20:1-17

1. “And God spoke all these Words, saying:
2. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3. “You shall have no other gods before Me.
4. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5. You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
6. But showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7. “You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.
8. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9. Six days you shall labour and do all your work,
10. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
11. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.
12. “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
13. “You shall not murder.
14. “You shall not commit adultery.
15. “You shall not steal.
16. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
17. “You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour's.”

 
The full message on which this study is based, as presented to Livingstone Fellowship, is available as part of the new audio MP3 and data boxset, The Ten Commandments. It is also the final chapter of the book, The Ten Commandments – God’s Perfect Law of Liberty, the Afrikaans version Die Tien Gebooie –God se Volmaakte Wet van Vryheid is also available from: Christian Liberty Books, PO Box 358, Howard Place 7450, Cape Town, South Africa, Tel: 021-689-7478, Fax: 086-551-7490, Email: admin@christianlibertybooks.co.za and Website: www.christianlibertybooks.co.za.
 
To listen to the audio of this sermon as presented to Livingstone Fellowship, click here.
 
A PowerPoint of The Ten Commandments – God's Perfect Law of Liberty is available, here.
 
The Ten Commandments – God’s Perfect Law of Liberty is also available as an E-Book.
 
Dr. Peter Hammond
​
Livingstone Fellowship
P.O. Box 74 Newlands 7725
Cape Town South Africa
Tel: 021-689-4480
Email: mission@frontline.org.za
Website: www.livingstonefellowship.co.za
​

That’s an interesting commentary on the perspective of those Theological students. When the Lord Jesus Christ was asked which was the greatest Commandment in the Law, Jesus replied: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great Commandment.” 
Matthew 22:37-38


Antinomian Hostility to God’s LawAt a Christian conference a discussion ensued over the Ten Commandments. One delegate commented that he didn’t find the Ten Commandments very challenging or useful for his personal sanctification, because they mainly dealt with extreme sins like idolatry, adultery, stealing and murder. He was puzzled over the lack of mention of more serious sins such as pride, selfishness or bad temper, which we struggle with on a regular basis. An older delegate observed that the Commandments were not specific enough. A woman delegate expressed her opinion that the Ten Commandments were “too negative.” She would have preferred the Ten Commandments to present positive advice on life, how we could live our lives reflecting the Beatitudes, or the Fruit of the Spirit. This would have surely been “more relevant” for Christians, she felt.


In this age of anti-nomianism, such pervasive hostility to and ignorance of the Law of God even dominates our Theological colleges and Christian conferences.


Christ Jesus expressly affirmed the Law, emphatically taught the Law, perfectly kept the Law and saved us in terms of the Law. The Ten Commandments are the source and summary of every other passage in the Bible about Holy living, and they cover every conceivable sin. Each Commandment actually covers a whole family of sins. And although the Commandments are mainly expressed in negative forms, they are also implicit commands to perform the opposite positive virtues. The Ten Commandments actually present us with God’s code for holiness.


Realigning our PrioritiesContrary to the opinion of the Theological students who assigned God’s First Commandment to the last place, the first Commandment is the most important Commandment. As Almighty God, our Creator and Eternal Judge, God demands first place in our lives, and it is only right that He should do so.


As our loving heavenly Father, God does not want us to waste our lives on falsehood, deception and spiritual poison. God knows what is best for His own children. He desires that we become the very best people that we can be, developing all the potential that He has placed within us to become successful sons and daughters of the living God. We will only find true peace and fulfillment when we give God His rightful place in our lives.


When God revealed the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai He declared: “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.” Exodus 20:2


When God declared: “I am the Lord” he affectively ruled out pantheism, polytheism, and New Age thinking.


When God said “I am” He revealed that He is a person. God is not, as the pantheist teaches, “an impersonal force.” Actually pantheism is the worst form of religion because if “all is God”, then there can be no distinction between good and evil. If “everything is true” then nothing is false. If “nothing is false” then everything must be true. Evangelism would be irrelevant and there would be no ultimate Truth of which anyone could be certain. If “God is all and all is good”, then a drunk driver running a red light, and killing an innocent child, would be morally equivalent to Florence Nightingale dedicating her life to caring for the sick and suffering.


When God called Himself “I” He also exposes the inherent lie of polytheism. Polytheism believes in many gods. However, God didn’t say “we are the Lord your gods,” He declared: “I am the Lord your God.” He is the one true God. There is no other. Those who worship the gods and idols of the pagan world are actually bowing before demons in disguise (1 Corinthians 10:20).


God’s revelation on the mountain also ruled out new-age thinking which is nothing but the old lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden when he said “…you will be like God…” Genesis 3:5


C.S. Lewis wrote: “We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us. We are like an ignorant child who wants to keep on making mud pies in the slum, because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday by the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”


Matthew Henry, commented that the first Commandment, does not only refer to pagan idols: “To love, to desire, to delight in, or to expect any good from, any sinful indulgence is prohibited. Equally, we are not to allow any person or created thing, however valuable or excellent, to rival God in our affections. All atheism, infidelity and irreligion is opposition to God, an attempt to be independent of Him. The proud man is his own idol because he worships himself and expects others to do the same. The covetous man makes a god of his wealth, which he loves, depends on and expects happiness from. The sensualist by his practices worships deities as filthy as any seen in a pagan temple.”


We are commanded to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Our first duty, and our soul’s first need, is to place God first, and above all else, in our lives. Those who crowd God out of His rightful place in their lives, do so to their own detriment. If the One True God is not on the throne of your life, you will never know true, lasting peace and joy.


The Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, was wealthy and successful beyond imagining. He was honoured and acclaimed worldwide for his writings. Yet, despite all of his wealth and fame, he was dissatisfied and felt empty. One day, while walking in the countryside, he came across a peasant whose face beamed with joy, peace and contentment. Leo Tolstoy later testified that he immediately realised that this man, although he clearly possessed very little in this world, yet he had a joy and a peace that eluded the successful and celebrated Tolstoy.


Leo Tolstoy could not get this joyful peasant out of his mind. He concluded that the difference between himself and this peasant was that the poor man knew God, while he did not. This began the journey that ultimate led Tolstoy to Christ. He later wrote: “To know God and to live is the one and the same thing. God is life!” Without a relationship with God we are spiritually dead.


To walk humbly before God (“He has shown you, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8).


In the light of the first Commandment, we should examine our hearts:
What, or who, is first in your life?
What is of greatest importance to you?
Where do you spend most of your time and money on?
What do you think about the most?
What are you most excited about and enthusiastic for?


If, after an honest examination of your own heart and mind, you realise that God does not have first place in your life, then you need to re-order your priorities in the light of Eternity.


“It is appointed to men once to die, and after this the Judgment.” Hebrews 9:27


The day will come when we will have to stand before Almighty God and give an account of our lives.


Examples For UsAbraham, the Father of the Faithful, proved that God was his first priority (Genesis 22:1-14).


When the people of Israel were unfaithful to the Lord by seeking to worship both the Lord and the false gods of Canaan, Elijah challenged the nation: “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21


Joshua challenged the people of Israel: “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. Whether the gods which your fathers that were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15


God revealed to Hosea that when His people sought to worship Him, and the idols of the nations, that was like Him having to marry a prostitute.


Daniel, and his three friends, remain inspiring examples to all of us what it means to obey the first Commandment. When the emperor Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol of gold and commanded everyone to bow down and worship it, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow. When they were threatened with being thrown into the fiery furnace, they responded: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18


When King Darius of the Medo-Persian empire issued the decree that for thirty days anyone who prayed to any god other than the king was to be thrown into the lions den, Daniel continued to worship God alone. And God preserved Daniel in the lions den.


As the Apostle Peter declared: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” Acts 5:29


In the light of the first Commandment, we should examine our hearts.
What, or who, is first in your life?
What is of greatest importance to you?
What do you spend most of your time and money on?
What do you think about the most?
What are you most excited about and enthusiastic for?
​

If, after an honest examination of your own heart and mind, you realise that God does not have first place in your life, then you need to re-order your priorities, in the light of Eternity.

Peter Hammond

“The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissention, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like…those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21

The Apostle John beseeches us: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” 1 John 5:21

Identifying IdolatryOf course, the second commandment prohibits the idolatry of polytheistic religions such as Hinduism. Idols of Kali before whom devotees used to offer human sacrifices, Shiva, Krishna, and Vishnu are all obviously idols forbidden by the second commandment.

The Apostle Paul taught: “That the things which the gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God." 1 Corinthians 10:20

Moses wrote : “They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God…” Deuteronomy 32:16-20

Biblical ExamplesThe Commandment against idol worship was broken before the Words burned into the tablets of stone by the finger of God had even cooled. The Israelites fashioned a graven image of a golden calf, right beneath the mountain of God.

How could God’s chosen people bow down before a cold, lifeless image of a golden calf when they had just witnessed the ten plagues of the Living God expose as powerless the false gods of Egypt? How could they have been so unfaithful to the God who had delivered them out of slavery in Egypt, carrying them on eagles wings, the One who had led them through the Red Sea with walls of water on each side. How could they have lowered themselves to worshipping an idol when they had been fed with manna in the desert, and satisfied with water from the rock, following the Pillar of Cloud by day and the Pillar of Fire by night?

When Moses confronted his brother, Aaron’s attempts to excuse this abomination seemed embarrassing like our feeble attempts to justify disobedience to the clearly expressed Word of God. Aaron claimed that they threw all their gold into the fire, and out came the golden calf! Earlier Aaron had even claimed that the feast before the golden calf would be held in honour of the Lord! (Exodus 32:5).

After King Solomon, many of the Israelites turned to the sin of idolatry. Jeroboam had other golden calves fashioned for worship in Dan and Bethel. All over Israel, on countless hills and amidst clumps of trees, altars were erected to the false gods of the Canaanites: Baal, Ashteroth, Kronos and Molech. The consequence of this idolatry was judgment.

God sent the Assyrians to destroy the Northern Kingdom of Israel and lead His people into captivity. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was later conquered under Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. It took the furnace of affliction and slavery in Babylon to purge the dregs of idolatry from the hearts of God’s people. First under the ministry of great prophets such as Ezekiel and Daniel, and then after the return from Exile under Ezra and Nehemiah, the people resolved to never again compromise with idolatry.

Christians must not worship before the idolatrous altar of pluralism, multiculturalism and the interfaith movement. Jesus Christ is “the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father” except through Him (John 14:6).

Acceptable and Unacceptable ArtWe should also note that the Second Commandment does not forbid artistry. The Second Commandment forbids idolatry. On the same day that God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He gave Moses detailed instructions for the building of the Tabernacle which included numerous visual arts. Exodus 25 and 26 include details for the Tabernacle, the curtains, the Ark of the Covenant and even for the statues of the angels over the Ark of the Covenant.

There are three functions of art. Two are acceptable, the third is forbidden by the Second Commandment.

Art may be used for decoration, or as a teaching tool, but not for devotional purposes. God is a God of beauty. He is the great Artist whose creativity and love of beauty is seen in so much of His magnificent creation, sunsets and sunrises, mountains, trees, plants, flowers, the ocean and the sky itself. God intends that we exercise the talents He entrusts us with to beautify His world further.

Art can also be used to teach and instruct and it is perfectly acceptable to produce and use pictures of Noah, The Ark and the animals, Moses parting the Red Sea, David defeating Goliath, Elijah challenging the Prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel and so many other great Bible stories.

What the Second Commandment is forbidding is the devotional use of art. God Himself is greater than His Creation and everything in it. God is infinite, eternal and perfect. How can anyone depict that artistically? How can any artist depict holiness and unlimited wisdom and power? God forbids any representation of Himself because His nature is too great to be drawn or depicted. This Commandment requires that our worship be simple and Spiritual, free of elaborate human gimmicks and ornamentation. God has designed a way of worship through intelligent, sincere, wholehearted words - said and sung. God is Spirit and we who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth. We must prepare our hearts, humble ourselves, confess our sins, be grateful for His many blessings, and rejoice in the Lord with all our hearts.

A False Vision of ChristI regularly see the unfortunate effects of idolatrous images of the Lord Jesus. One young man who came to join us for our Great Commission Course, arrived with long hair and a scruffy beard. I asked him if he was serious about missions. When he said that yes, he was, I told him to have a haircut and smarten and clean up. He was somewhat indignant: “But Jesus had long hair!”

I handed him a Bible and asked him to please show me where the Bible tells us that. “Well, I don’t know where, but didn’t Jesus have long hair?”

No, I assured him that there was no passage anywhere in the Bible that describes Jesus as having long hair. In fact, there is nothing in the Scriptures that describes His features, His hair, His eye colour, or even the expressions on His face. We are informed that His face was marred more than any man, and he had no form or comeliness about Him (Isaiah 52:14 and 53:2). It is hard to argue from silence. However the Apostle Paul did say that long hair on a man is a disgrace (1 Corinthians 11:14).

Unfortunately, because of imaginative Renaissance depictions of Jesus having long hair, that image has stuck. Although we do know that the Jewish people did not typically have long hair. In fact almost every film on the life of Christ depicts the disciples as having short hair, and the actor playing the role of Jesus stands out by having the longest hair on the set! (Although, it is interesting that in more recent films actors depicting the Lord Jesus have tended to have much shorter hair than has been traditionally depicted.) It is worth noting that Samson stood out for having long hair, this identified him as a Nasserite. If it was typical for Hebrews to have long hair, it would have been of no significance to distinguish Samson. We need to repent of having idolatrous images of the Lord Jesus, whether as some delicate Renaissance figure with surgeon's fingers, or a Californian hippie or surfer.

As the Lord worked as a carpenter, He would have had to be physically strong to chop down the trees, carry the logs, craft the wood into furniture, and to carry and to deliver it. Considering how long the Lord could survive while fasting in the desert, how he endured such cruel flogging and abuse at the hands of the Roman soldiers, and the fact the Lord could walk through a murderous mob intent on stoning him or throwing Him off the cliff, without anyone daring to touch Him, indicates that He must have had quite a different physical appearance to how He is typically depicted in Renaissance art.

Modern IdolsThere seems to be some understanding of how this Second Commandment still applies to us today, in that the popular vocabulary identifies “sports idols” , “Hollywood idols” , “sex idols” , and musicians who are described as “idols” . There is also no doubt that people make idols of their favourite political party. The Soviet Union made a god of “The Party” and instituted idolatrous pilgrimages to Lenin’s tomb.

Friends of mine who minister on a university campus related how one individual was incensed that the President of South Africa had been referred to by his bare surname. “THAT’S PRESIDENT THABO MBEKI TO YOU!” he shouted. Shortly after that this same individual cursed and blasphemed - opening himself up to the response: “That’s the Lord Jesus Christ to you!”

A False GodWhat comes into our minds when we think of God, is the most important thing about us. All too often people betray the idolatry within in their minds in how they speak of God. Bishop Desmond Tutu was quoted on the front page of daily newspapers in South Africa as declaring that “my God isn’t homophobic” , that “I could never worship a God who is against homosexuals.” Tutu even declared that if homosexuals don’t go to Heaven, then he didn’t want to go there!

When people talk like this, they reveal that they have fashioned a god in the factory of their mind. Of course, their god would never be harsh and judgmental, he would never condemn anyone to hell, because his/her god does not exist. It is a figment of his/her imagination. What people have done when they speak like this is to invent a god to suit their own purposes. This is the essence of idolatry.

The fact is that the God of the Bible is not only a God of love, but a God of light. God is not only gracious and merciful, but He is holy and just. God is not only a Saviour, but He is the Eternal Judge. The God of the Bible, the one true God who made Heaven and Earth, gave us His Ten Commandments. He sent plagues upon Egypt. He destroyed the pursuing Egyptian army in the Red Sea. He sent fire and sulphur upon the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The Day will come when each one of us will have to stand before His Judgment Seat and give an account of our lives.

What is most important to you? Anything more important to us than God is an idol. To many people the idol in their life is fame, fortune, success, their fancy car, or home, their computer, prestige, or a certain relationship. Nothing must be more important in our lives than God.

The Fruit of True RepentanceIt is noteworthy throughout the Bible that whenever God’s Word is proclaimed, the response of repentant people has been to destroy their idols. When the Apostle Paul proclaimed the Gospel in Ephesus, people brought their occultic materials and burned them. “They were all seized with fear, and the Name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour…in this way the Word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” Acts 19:17-20

We need to repent of idolatry in our hearts, minds and lives. Where there is a physical idol, we should break, burn or bury it.

“Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:21-22

Dr. Peter Hammond

“…a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37

The first petition of the Lord’s Prayer is: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.” Matthew 6:9

Writing God’s Name Worthily
God’s people in the Old Testament understood what it meant to show reverence to God by honoring His Name. The scribes who copied the Scriptures by hand had many complex rules that enabled them to copy the Scriptures very carefully and accurately. They had word counts and letter counts at the end of each page to ensure that they had not added or left out anything that they were responsible to copy. Whenever a scribe came to one of the secondary Names of God such as Elohim, or El-Shaddai, they stopped and put down their pens. They took up new pens and carefully wrote that Name. However, when they came to the principle Name that God had used to reveal Himself in the Burning Bush to Moses, Jehovah or Yahweh, for which they used the four letters JHWH, they were to rise from their seats, go and wash themselves, and clothe themselves with new, clean garments, dedicated for this purpose. Then they were to pray and confess their sins, take up a new pen, and fresh ink, in order to write those four letters JHWH – for Yahweh.

We do not do that today. However, in our mission, it has always been one of our principles to ensure that every word referring to the Lord is capitalised, including the personal pronoun Him, or His, when referring to the Lord, Saviour, Gospel, Bible, or His Word.

It is disturbing how today so many ministries, even some Bible societies, are decapitalising references to the Lord and His Word. It is even more disturbing when we notice that many of those same publications and writers will capitalise the government and the state!

Failing to Fear God is Foolish
The Bible teaches that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10). Evidently many people lack wisdom. What was once illegal and unthinkable is now broadcast on television, on the radio, in films, printed in news media and magazines. We are being literally bombarded by profanity.

“…the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.” Exodus 20:7

Blasphemers in the Barracks
I was shocked when I was called up for my military service at how many would brazenly take the Lord’s Name in vain. However, I noticed that many would feel awkward when having done so in the presence of a Christian. They would turn and apologise to us. It does hurt and offend a Christian to hear God’s Name taken in vain. However, as I often had to remind these individuals: “It’s not to me that you need to apologise. It is Almighty God, our Creator, and your Eternal Judge, that you will have to stand before and give an account for every idle word ever spoken.”

I was so distressed over this abuse of God’s Name, particularly by non-commissioned officers, that I requested to see the Officer Commanding. As I was marched into the Commandant’s office he asked me: “Well, rifleman, what is on your mind?”

“Sir,” I asked, “Is it against the law to blaspheme the Name of the Lord our God?”

“Yes, son,” he answered, “Why do you ask? Is the Lord’s Name being blasphemed in this unit?”

“Yes sir. I’m sorry to have to report to you that many corporals and sergeants are blaspheming the Lord’s Name daily.”

The Commandant’s face darkened. “I’m sorry to hear that, son. I will deal with this.” He dismissed me.

Sure enough, at the very next Battalion Parade on Friday, the Commandant addressed the unit: “The Lord Jesus Christ is the Commander-in-Chief of this army. He is the One who determines whether we live or die. Victory or defeat is in His hands. Your lives are in His hands. Any man that takes the Name of the Lord our God in vain is a traitor and he will be treated as such. I will not tolerate blasphemy in this unit!”

Indeed, he did not. Some NCOs were charged for taking the Lord’s Name in vain and some lost their rank.

We also saw the Lord deal with blasphemers in the ranks. On one occasion a new convert rebuked a notorious blasphemer for taking the Lord’s Name in vain: “The Lord will judge you!” he warned.

The blasphemer cursed again, picked up his coke tin and was stung on his tongue by a bee that he had not noticed sitting on the tin. As his tongue swelled up, the rest of the platoon couldn’t help but burst into laughter. This foul-mouthed blasphemer was not able to speak a word for days.

Another foul-mouthed pagan in our unit was warned by one of our Bible study fellowship that “God will judge the stiff-necked!” Shortly after this, this lance corporal injured his neck so severely in an obstacle course that he had to wear a neck brace for several weeks thereafter. Wherever he went other pagans were laughing at him, pointing and repeating those words that God had judged the “stiff-necked!”

In the Book of Acts we read how God struck Ananias and Sapphira dead for lying to the Holy Spirit and dishonouring God’s Name. “So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.” 
Acts 5:1-11

The Blasphemous ‘Last Temptation’
When plans were made to bring the blasphemous Last Temptation of Christ to South Africa, our mission mobilised nationwide protest against this film. We were later informed by the Publications Control Board that literally mail sacks of protest letters were received. South Africa was one of the few countries in the world that had the integrity to outlaw this blasphemous film.

However, after F.W. De Klerk’s infamous “Red Friday” when he announced the government’s intention to “liberalise” the abortion laws and publications control, along with unbanning the ANC, releasing terrorists from jail, etc, the University of Witwatersrand organised for an “academic” screening of The Last Temptation of Christ. Not that they made any mention of this when they invited me to come and debate “censorship” on the university campus. However, contacts of ours had informed us that the Publications Control Board had granted a temporary provisional exemption for Wits to screen The Last Temptation of Christ in an academic environment, on condition that they had a public debate first on the merits and demerits of the film - including a minister who would oppose the film. So when the invitation came, we knew the circumstances.

I immediately phoned Rev. Kjell Olsen of Christians for Truth who mobilised members of CFT from KwaZulu/Natal and from the Transvaal to support me in the debate. I flew up to Johannesburg and, with many CFT and ACA members in the audience supporting my position, articulated the case against blasphemy and pornography, and particularly against the “Last Temptation of Christ” in honour of the Lord’s Name.

Opposing me was a so-called “dominee” who was at that time running the SATV programme Kruis en Kroniek. His position was incredible. The only thing that should be censored is censorship itself! All censorship censors the image of God! As God has made the world in His image, anything that censors that image is blasphemy! Just in case I’d misunderstood his position he reiterated that all forms of pornography and profanity should be allowed as free speech, but that the only thing that should be outlawed was censorship. While blasphemy shouldn’t be illegal, censorship should!

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes …” Isaiah 5:20-21

“Woe to you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites!…therefore you will receive greater condemnation.”Matthew 23:14

After the debate, which evidently these blasphemers were only enduring because of the legal requirement to do so, they sneeringly announced that they would now screen the film.

Rev. Fano Sibisi of Christians for Truth came up in front of the stage and announced to everyone in the auditorium that that was not acceptable, and as Christians we intended to stand for honour of the Lord’s Name by blocking the screen and refusing to move. The smirks and sneers of our hosts quickly disappeared and a look of panic came over their faces. They threatened to mobilise “the angry youth of Soweto” against us! We looked on with amusement as a group of toyi-toying youngsters danced into the theatre in an aggressive manner shouting and singing threats against us. However, as they saw the determined Afrikaners and Zulus, standing resolute shoulder to shoulder, they fled.

There was more confusion, and then our hosts came back and threatened to call the police to have us removed by force. “Go ahead”, Rev. Sibisi challenged them. We sang Hymns of Faith, and prayed, and every pagan fled the auditorium.

The police didn’t rush to get there. It was after midnight when they came and politely asked us if we would be kind enough to leave. The officer in charge told us that he fully agreed with our position and that’s why they had ensured that they arrived after midnight. The exemption for Wits University to screen the Last Temptation expired at midnight!

The police joined us in prayer as we gathered outside on the steps of the auditorium.

Taking God’s Name in Vain
The president of South Africa at that time, F.W. De Klerk, had created much excitement when on being sworn into office, he had chosen to alter the traditional Oath of Office, swearing “in the Name of the Tri-Une god” to uphold all the laws of this land. However, it soon appeared that he was taking the Lord’s Name in vain. For, far from upholding the Constitution and all the laws of the land, F.W. De Klerk instructed the police not to enforce many of the laws of the land, including the Lord’s Day ordinances, the suppression of Communism Act and the Internal Security Act.

Soon shops and cinemas were open on Sundays, violent revolutionaries were released from prison, and previously banned terrorist organisations, like the ANC and the South African Communist Party were freely organising public meetings throughout the country. Previously outlawed pornography was tolerated. And every week Scope magazine seem to push the boundaries even further. In one particular week, while the Publications Control Board banned 65 publications, the Appeal Board unbanned 62 of them!

The National Party which had always portrayed itself as a Christian Party, hired witchdoctors to design a new corporate image for the NP. The General Secretary of the National Party, Roelf Meyer, was photographed at a witchcraft ceremony in Soweto where witchdoctors, employed by the National Party, were “dedicating” the new NP offices in Soweto to the ancestral spirits! A goat was sacrificed, and blood and entrails were sprinkled over this General Secretary of the NP, who apparently was a church member. The fact that the once powerful National Party disappeared into oblivion shortly after this, again illustrated the point that “…the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His Name in vain.”

God’s Garbage Dump
The Westminster Catechism teaches us that “the chief end of man is to glorify God.” If we profane His Name we are violating the very purpose of our existence. If some electronic item fails to work, where does it end up? On the trash heap. The Lord Jesus described eternal hell as Gehenna, the burning rubbish heap of Jerusalem. Just as the smoke continually ascended from the ongoing fire burning the rubbish of the city, the Lord described Eternal Judgement as God’s rubbish heap. Those who do not glorify God will not enjoy Him forever, they will end up separated from Him forever on the burning rubbish heap of hell.

When the existence of the Life-Giver is held in contempt, then the lives of people are also held in contempt. If God is degraded, we, His creatures, become worthless.

Worship and the Work Place
Dr. Billy Graham was horrified when the Oval Office tapes of President Richard Nixon were released. The transcripts which were quoted from and printed in newspapers worldwide revealed that every second sentence included some blasphemy or profanity. Billy Graham who had known Richard Nixon for almost 30 years declared that he had never once heard any profane or blasphemous word come out of Nixon’s mouth. This disproves a common excuse that many blasphemers claim: “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t even realise I was doing it.” How then could a blasphemer like Richard Nixon be so discriminating as to never have blasphemed in public, and yet continually blasphemed in private? The Oval Office tapes revealed that he knew e

When the great architect Sir Christopher Wren was building St. Paul’s Cathedral in London he ordered signs to be placed throughout the construction site declaring: “Due to the heinous custom of labourers taking the Name of the Lord God in vain, each person is hereby placed on notice that it shall be sufficient cause for immediate dismissal if the Name of God is heard taken in vain in this place.”

Praying and Singing in Vain
Perhaps you may never consider breaking the Third Commandment directly, but do you sometimes pray prayers or sing Hymns using the Name of God in a thoughtless or mechanical way? When we fall into cold and indifferent worship, we are actually breaking the Third Commandment.

Through His Name we may approach God in worship, love and prayer. We dare not use such a great Name lightly. We do not pray or praise Him or sing to Him in such a way that His Name registers no meaning to our souls. In all our singing, praying and preaching we must be sincere, wholehearted and enthusiastic.

“Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘these people draw near to me with their mouths, and honour Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Matthew 15:7-9

Worldly Worship
Meaningless worship is the inevitable result of a worldly spirit. In many church buildings people can be seen lounging in a lazy manner, peering around sizing up other people, whispering to one another, and making no apparent effort to focus heart and mind on worshipping the Lord. There are some who do not even attempt to try to sing the Hymns.

Many ministers encourage this halfhearted entertainment mentality by their over-casual dress and use of flippant, shallow language and inappropriate jokes. None of this helps encourage a sense of awe and reverence in worshipping the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

“So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them, for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain. Indeed you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.” Ezekiel 33:31-32

Hypocrisy in worship is frequently the result of refusing to obey the Lord’s commands. “But why do you call Me Lord, Lord, and not do the things which I say?” Luke 6:46

Wholehearted Worship
​To say the Name of the Lord with real meaning and sincerity must include wholehearted love and obedience. Those who spurn the Bible and the foundational doctrines of Christianity cannot possibly be serious when they use the Lord’s Name, for they have no respect for God’s authority. Such are laws unto themselves, picking and choosing what portions of God’s Word they will accept and mingling them with the philosophies and politics of men. “In vain do they worship Me…”

The Third Commandment forbids all insincerity, thoughtlessness and shallowness in our worship. It condemns hypocrisy, rebellion and disobedience by those who claim to serve the Lord.

The positive virtues required by the Third Commandment are thoughtfulness, sincerity and wholehearted devotion to the attributes of our Lord and Saviour.

The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.

“Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Matthew 12:34

“Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…”​
Dr Peter Hammond 

But no! No other generation in history seems to have been so determined to cram every minute full of frenzied activity. Studies indicate that every year Western people spend less and less time with their spouses, their children, their neighbours and with God.

There is a pervasive sense of dissatisfaction. In the materialistic rat race there is a constant frantic striving for more: more possessions, nicer homes, better cars, more shoes and clothes. There is an obsessive accumulation of things and a desperate desire to fill empty lives with noise and stimulation: films, television programmes, DVDs, music, magazines, newspapers, the Internet, playstation, X box, walkmans, MP3 players, Ipods, SMS, Mix-it, Face Book and My Space. In a frenzied rush for more fun and friends, more social contacts and events, lives are being flooded and swamped by a tsunami of stimulation, noise and temptations.

Time and again one hears the complaint: “I’m so tired!”. People are continually complaining of being emotionally drained, physically fatigued, spiritually empty. Burned out!

When All Else Fails Read the Manufacturers Handbook
Generally, when an electrical appliance, a vehicle or a computer malfunctions, we turn to the manufacturer’s handbook to read the instructions. In the same way it would be wise for us to re-read the Creator’s Manual. In His Ten Commandments we will find the solution to most of our problems. If we would only do what God has already commanded, we would save ourselves much grief.

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy Days, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy Day of the Lord honourable, and shall honour Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you on your heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.” Isaiah 58:13-14

A Question of Time
We are all given 52 weeks a year, seven days a week and 24 hours in each day. The question is: what are you doing with the time that God has given you? Are you expending and investing it in the way that He wants you to?

Anyone who violates the Fourth Commandment is really missing out on tremendous blessings and refreshment in the Lord. Great joy comes from taking time each week to devote to searching and studying the Scriptures, focusing on God in prayer and worship, enjoying fellowship with other Christians.

“Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord that sanctifies you.” Exodus 31:13

First Things First
The Puritans described the Lord’s Day as “The market day of the soul.”

Sir Winston Churchill declared: “Sunday is a Divine and priceless institution, the necessary pause in the national life. It is the birthright of every British subject, our responsibility, privilege and duty to hand on to posterity.”

US President Theodore Roosevelt wrote: “Experience shows that the Day of Rest is essential to mankind – that it is demanded by civilisation as well as Christianity.”

English Member of Parliament and ardent Abolitionist, William Wilberforce, declared: “There is nothing in which I would recommend you to be more strictly resolute than in keeping the Sabbath holy; and by this I mean, not only abstaining that Day from all unbecoming sports and common business, but from time consuming and frivolous conversation, which often leads to a sad waste of this precious Day.”

The 19 th Century Prime Minister of Great Britain, Benjamin Disraeli, declared: “I hold the Day of Rest to be the most valuable blessing ever conceded to man. It is the cornerstone of civilisation.”

Reformer John Calvin wrote: “The city will be safe if God be truly and devoutly worshipped and this is attested by the sanctification of the Sabbath…”

Puritan writer John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim’s Progress, wrote: “A man shall show his heart and life, what they are, more by one Lord’s Day than by all the days of the week besides. To delight ourselves in God’s service upon His holy Day gives better proof of a sanctified nature than to grudge at the coming of such days.”

Call the Sabbath a Delight
Antinomians may hate the Fourth Commandment. Legalists may make it unpleasant. However, a dedicated Christian should delight in the Lord’s Day. The Fourth Commandment is pastoral, and protective. It is an eternal moral Law. A gift from God at Creation, which was later made a Commandment from God as well. This Day of Rest and refreshment was to benefit servants, visitors and one’s animals as well (Exodus 20:8-11). This Day of rest was given as a reminder that God is the Creator and the Redeemer.

Setting aside the first day of the week as a special day is good for our spirit, mind and body. We need time set aside for relaxation, reflection and restoration. It is a matter of rhythm and routine, but also a matter of revelation and remembrance of the Lord’s great work of Creation (Exodus 20:8-11) and Salvation (Deuteronomy 5:12-15).

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…” Hebrews 10:24-25

By ordering our week to set apart the Lord’s Day as a special day for the family to rest and to worship the Lord – we proclaim to the world that Jesus Christ has risen from the dead and He is Lord of our lives.

Resting one day in seven is also healthy – spiritually, emotionally, physically and economically. It is good for business, good for families and good for any country.

God has given us this commandment, like all of His other Commandments, for our benefit. Not only of Christians, but of society in general.

D.L. Moody observed: “No nation has ever prospered that has trampled the Sabbath in the dust. Show me a nation who has done this and I will show you a nation that has got in it the seeds of ruin and decay. I believe that Sabbath desecration will carry a nation down quicker than anything else.”

As Christians, we should repent for allowing the Lord’s Day to become so encroached upon and desecrated by shopping, sports and worldly entertainment.

To Kill Christianity
The French revolutionary and atheist, Voltaire, declared: “If you want to kill Christianity, you must abolish Sunday.”
In fact, the Revolutionary Convention, during the French Revolution, attempted to abolish the Christian calendar and introduce a ten-day work week, counting the years from the establishment of their ‘republic’, beginning 1792.

It needs hardly to be pointed out that they failed, but why does our week consist of seven days? Why not make it ten or twelve for that matter? The seven-day week came from Old Testament sources and spread through the Christian influence. The seven-day week is a powerful testimony to the fact that God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The fact that Sunday, the first day of the week, is our Day of Rest, instead of the Jewish Saturday, is a weekly reminded that Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the week.

Saturday or Sunday?
Some claim that we are not observing the true Sabbath unless we are observing it on Saturday. Instead of being concerned about the ‘why’ of the Lord’s Day, they are more obsessed with the‘when’. Some will even claim that the Emperor Constantine is the one who changed the Sabbath from Saturday and the reason we observe it now on Sunday is because this Caesar of Rome established the tradition in A.D. 325.

Actually, the institution of the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s Day on the first day of the week by Christ and His Apostles. Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, on the first day of the week. We read that the Disciples gathered to celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The Apostle Paul told the Christians to set aside their tithes and offerings on the first day of the week (1 Corinthians 16:2). The Apostle John received his revelation from Christ while worshipping on the first day of the week – which he described as “the Lord’s Day” (Revelation 1:10).

Whereas in the Old Testament the Jewish believers observed the last day of the week as the Sabbath in commemoration of the Lord’s work of Creation, Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead and His work of re-creation, looking forward to the new heaven and the new earth – the everlasting Kingdom of God brought about by Christ’s victory over death, hell and the grave in His resurrection.

The early church fathers, long before Constantine, taught that Christians were to set aside the first day of the week as the Lord’s Day. These included Polycarp and Barnabas. Justin Martyr, in A.D. 150, wrote: “Sunday is the day on which we all hold our communion assembly, because Jesus Christ, our Saviour, on the same day arose from the dead.”

Clement of Alexandria wrote in A.D. 194 that: “Believers (in fulfillment of the precepts according to the Gospels), keep the Lord’s Day.”

Tertullian in the second century wrote that on the first day of the week, “on the Lord’s Day, Christians should, in honour of the Resurrection of the Lord, defer all worldly business.”

The Lord’s Day is an opportunity for us to stop, turn away from all the things of this world, and regain spiritual perspective by focusing on God, His Word and His will.

“And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread…” Acts 20:7

An Appointment with God
The Lord’s Day Sabbath rest is crucial for the health of our souls, and a vital part of our Christian witness. We are commanded to remember the Sabbath Day, and to keep it…The Hebrew word forkeep means more than to retain or maintain it, but also to honour an appointment.

The story is told of James Garfield, who went on to become President of the United States. At one point when he had been appointed President of a large business corporation he was informed of a very important meeting the next day. He replied: “I’m sorry, I won’t be able to be there.” His aides insisted that this was a very important matter, a crisis that must be dealt with. However James Garfield shook his head and reiterated: “I’m sorry, but I have a previous appointment. I cannot make it.” When they pressed him to understand what appointment could be more important than this, he explained: “I have an appointment with the Lord God Almighty tomorrow at 10:30, in His house, at His table, and I will be there.”

Another very busy businessman who had his priorities straight was J.C. Penny, whose name is still prominent in the USA in the stores he established. J.C. Penny said this: “If a man’s business require so much of his time that he cannot attend the Sunday morning and the evening services, and Wednesday night prayer meeting of his church, then that man has more business that God intended him to have.”

The Necessary Pause in the National Life
It has frequently been said that “as goes the Sabbath, so goes the nation.” Many may wonder how a day of rest could possibly be that important. The Lord’s Day promotes an awareness that God, His ways and His Laws are important to all of us. As Winston Churchill declared: “The necessary pause in the national life.”

The Testimony of Eric Liddell
Eric Liddell, the famous Olympic gold medalist whose refusal to run for the main Olympic race on a Sunday was the subject of the film Chariot’s of Fire, observed: “There are many people today who think of those who honour Sunday in the old fashioned way as killjoys. They feel that during the years of youth they ought to have a chance to have their ‘fling’. Give me the Day of the Rest, when all that savours of organised games can be put to one side, and all of life’s joys will be greater because of it. To me, personally, it is a time of communion and fellowship with God – a time of quiet, in fact a time of recreation and fellowship with God. I believe that Sunday, as we have had it in the past, is one of the greatest helps in a young man’s life to keep all that is noblest, truest and best. That is why I say: ‘young person, stand for the Lord’s Day, for by losing it you will lose far more the Day, you will lose the spirit that it stands for’”. Eric Liddell went on win an Olympic goal medal for a race he had not specifically trained for, and then became a successful missionary to China, courageously dying in a Japanese concentration camp during World War II.

Christ is Risen!
When we get up, get dressed and go to Sunday morning worship, we are joining hundreds of millions of people all over the world in testifying to the fact that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Nothing else could explain the move from the Jewish seventh day Sabbath to the Christian Lord’s Day on the first day of the week. Nothing other than the victorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead would explain the unique institution of Sunday as a Day of Rest.

Works of Mercy and Necessity
Of course, our Lord Jesus taught that it is good and right to do works of mercy and necessity on the Sabbath (Matthew 12:11-12). Christians have always recognised that. There are necessary emergency services such as those that are performed by fire fighters, paramedics, doctors, nurses, policemen and soldiers. However, we don’t abandon speed restrictions on the roads simply because the police and the emergency services need to go faster. We make laws that will be good for society in general, and then discuss the necessary exceptions.

Keep Sunday Special
The point is – the Lord’s Day should be a special day without any commercial activities. We are to make every effort to ensure that the minimum number of people are forced to work on Sundays. Many Christians have lost jobs, or failed to obtain jobs, or been denied promotions, for their principled stand on not being willing to work on Sundays. Nobody should be forced by legislation to go to church on Sunday, but it would be right for governments to make legislation to keep people free from commercial obligations on Sunday. Just as there is legislation such as compulsory wearing of seat belts for motorists and crash helmets for motorcyclists, against drug abuse and other protections, it would be appropriate for the state to pass legislation allowing people the freedom not to work on Sundays, although no government may tell people what to do with their free time.

The pioneer inventors of the aircraft, the Wright brothers, had this to say: “We were brought up to have respect for the Lord’s Day…we would never fly on a Sunday.”

Happier and Healthier
The Lord’s Day offers us a regular opportunity for gratitude and worship, to be challenged by the Word of God, stirred, inspired and moved in our hearts, drawn closer to the Lord, amazed and thrilled by the Word of God, built up in our understanding and doctrine. It is a Day for Spiritual growth, a Day to help us establish our priorities and to demonstrate our obedience to the Lord. It is a dramatic and significant Day of testimony, helping to show commitment to the Lord, and prove the sincerity of believers to neighbours, relations and doubting children. Obedience is more eloquent than any words.

Neglect of the Lord’s Day includes a whole family of offences, including lack of commitment, unspiritual priorities, neglect of Devotions, disobedience to practical duties for Christian living. The Lord’s Day leads the way in establishing the believers attitude to all these matters.

Those who honour the Lord’s Day will live longer, be happier, enjoy better health, and their relationship with the Lord will be vastly deepened and strengthened.

Jesus invites us: “Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavily laden, and I will give you rest.”Matthew 11:28
​
Dr Peter Hammond 

There are so many ways in which this Commandment is violated on a daily basis.

Argueing with an Abortionist
When I took part in an Africa Christian Action Pro-Life protest outside an abortionist’s home the“doctor” drove up and demanded, “what are you doing outside my home? Are you the people who have been distributing these leaflets?” she waved one of the You Can Stop Abortions! leaflets. “Well, I want you to stop. You are embarrassing me in my neighbourhood. I don’t want my neighbours to know what I do.”

“If what you’re doing is right, why would you be embarrassed about your neighbours knowing your occupation?” I asked.

“Because it’s controversial. Not everyone approves of abortion. You are embarrassing me.”
“You are killing babies.” I told her.

“No, I don’t kill babies. The mothers do” she responded.

“Well, the mothers pay you to kill their babies, but you are the one who actually does the procedure.”

“But it’s their choice. They sign the life of their baby away. I’m just providing a service.” She responded.

“So, you are like a hit man, who takes money to kill people?”

“You could describe it like that,” she smiled. “I’m providing a service. It’s the mothers choice.”

“You are concerned about what your neighbours, today, think,” I responded. “But you should be more concerned about what Almighty God will say to you on the Day of Judgement . You do believe in God don’t you?”

“Yes, I believe in God.” She answered. But she denied that she was a Christian.

“Well, you have an appointment. ‘It is appointed unto man once to die and after that the Judgement.’ One day you will have to stand before Almighty God and give an account of everything you have done.”

“Maybe,” she responded with a shrug, “but you are speaking to the wrong person. You need to be involved in sex education in schools. I have to do abortions for twelve-year olds. You won’t believe how many young girls come to me for help. It’s a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. There’s a tremendous demand for what I am doing and very few willing to do it.”

“Well, of course we do go to schools; and groups like True Love Waits are involved in vigorous sex-education in the schools. We do believe that education is our highest priority. I’ve worked in the Fire brigade and the Army. Those are often dirty jobs. Firemen and soldiers can say they are saving lives. Abortionists cannot say that. You are not saving lives, you are ending lives. The fact still remains that life begins at conception and abortion is murder.”

The abortionist responded: “That’s your opinion.”

“No, that is a scientific fact. Surely you as a doctor know that life begins at conception?”

“That’s not the point.”

“Yes, that is exactly the point. Make no mistake, the day will come when future generations will look back on abortion in our time the same way we now look back on the slave trade and the holocausts.”

“Maybe,” she said, “but we won’t be around then, so it won’t matter to us.”

“Don’t you believe in the immortality of the soul? It will most certainly matter to you in eternity. There is a God in Heaven, a Day of Judgment. Heaven and hell are very real. It will most certainly affect you after you have died and throughout all of eternity.”

It was remarkable that this abortionist spoke so freely about “the mother” and “the baby.” Normally abortionists try to dehumanize their victims by speaking of “the patient” and “the product of conception”,or “the foetus”. However, this abortionist had no problem consistently referring to “the mothers”, who“sign their baby’s life away.” At no time did she question the facts that life begins at conception and that abortion is the killing of an innocent baby. Her justification was merely that it is legal, and she’s doing what the mothers were asking (and paying her) to do.

We cannot only single out the abortionists for the prevalent crime of abortion. It is also the politicians who have legalised the killing of children in the womb, and those voters who continually vote for pro-abortion parties that enable this abortion holocaust to continue.

Multiple Murder Methods
There are numerous ways in which the Sixth Commandment is violated:

• Murder can be committed with the hands. “There are six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: …hands that shed innocent blood…” Proverbs 6:16-17

• Murder can also be committed with the mind. Malice is mental murder. (Matthew 5:22) “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1 John 3:15

• We can also murder with the tongue. “Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue … defiles the whole body.” James 3:5

• We can also murder with the pen. David condemned Uriah the Hittite to death by writing to his commander Joab, “… set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” 2 Samuel 11:15

• We are guilty of violating the Sixth Commandment when we consent to an innocent person’s death. Saul consented to the stoning to death of the deacon Stephen. He recognised that this made him a murderer. (Acts 22:4)

• We commit murder by not defending another when it is within our power to do so. “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say ‘surely we did not know this’, does not He who weighs the heart consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?”Proverbs 24:11-12

• Those who take part in a conspiracy to destroy the life of another are also guilty of murder.“My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, ‘come with us, let us lie in wait to shed blood; let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause’…My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from their path.” Proverbs 1:10-15

• Failure to execute capital punishment upon murderers is also a breach of the Sixth Commandment “Bloodshed pollutes the land and atonement cannot be made forthe land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” Numbers 25:33

“If anyone takes the life of a human being, he mustbe put to death…whoever kills a man must be put to death…I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 24:17-22

“Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death…If a man schemes and kills another man deliberately, take him away from My altar and put him to death…” Exodus 21:12-16

Capital PunishmentThe Bible is very clear that God has instituted civil government as “an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrong-doer.” Romans 13:4 Civil government is called to a minister of God’s justice: “To punish those who do wrong.” 1 Peter 2:14

The primary duties and responsibilities of civil government are the protection of law-abiding citizens and the punishment of law-breaking criminals. Psalm 101 reminds us that the duty of God-honouring rulers is to destroy the wicked, to root out evil and to protect the law-abiding.

In the Bible the question is asked: “Why do people commit crimes so readily? Because crime is not punished quickly enough.” Ecclesiastes 8:11

Every year 20,000 people are murdered in South Africa. And 80,000 babies are killed through abortion. It is not only those directly involved in these crimes of murder that are guilty of violating the Sixth Commandment. The guilt is shared by all those politicians who abolished the death penalty for murder, while instituting the death penalty for babies through abortion. Also guilty of being accessories before, during, and after, the fact are the journalists who promoted abortion, and who cover up the facts in order to ensure that the holocaust against the unborn continues. Those pastors who fail to faithfully expound the Scriptures on when life begins, and what a Christian’s responsibility is to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, are also accessory to murder. And of course, all those voters who continue to vote for pro-abortion parties are also accessories to murder.

“Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

Respecting and Protecting LifeThe Sixth Commandment “You shall not murder” is a very broad Commandment, requiring many duties and forbidding many sins. Negatively it forbids every unlawful injury inflicted upon our own, or our neighbour’s, person. Our neighbour may be injured by our neglecting him, or by our not assisting him, according to our abilities. Again, we may injure our neighbour by external force or violence, or we may also break this Commandment internally by anger, hatred or desire for revenge.

Positively the Sixth Commandment requires the preservation of our own, and our neighbour’s, life and safety. This is done by rendering prompt assistance to others, or by protecting them from injuries in the spirit of mercy and good neighbourliness.

Related to a Murderer
Tracing one’s ancestry is very popular. Many people spend days, weeks and months tracking down sources on the Internet and pouring over records in archives to search for their family history. One often is pleasantly surprised to discover some prestigious relative perched on a branch of the family tree. It is most encouraging to find some relative whose life and accomplishments left some positive legacy for generations to follow. On the other hand, most family trees also include individuals who we would rather forget about – relatives who did not live a good life, even some who were thieves, pirates or murderers. Each one of us can be sure of one thing. No matter who you are, you have at least one relative in your family lineage who was a murderer. In fact, did you realise that you are related to the very first murderer? The very first person to be born on the planet, Cain, murdered his brother Abel. The second person to be born on planet earth, Abel, was the first victim of murder.

Inconsistent
By obeying God’s Law and punishing murderers with the death penalty, a nation can cleanse itself from the guilt of innocent blood. On the other hand, a nation that refuses to avenge the taking of innocent human life, must share the guilt of the murderer (Deuteronomy 21:1-9).

However, inevitably, as we stand for the right to life we are accused by pro-abortionists of not being consistent. How can we support capital punishment if we claim to be “Pro-Life”?

To this we need to challenge them on their consistency: “Do you believe in abortion?”

“Oh yes, of course, we are pro-choice!”

To which we must then ask: “Do you believe in capital punishment for murderers?”

“No! Absolutely not!” they respond in horror at the thought.

Then we can respond: “It would appear that the difference between our positions is quite simple: We believe in protecting the right to life of the innocent and judiciously taking the life of guilty murderers. Whereas you believe in killing the innocent babies, but sparing the guilty murderers! The Bible declares that God hates ‘the hands that shed innocent blood.’ Proverbs 6:17 and‘Woe unto him that calls evil good and good evil’ Isaiah 5:20”.

Child Sacrifice
Abortion is a modern equivalent of child sacrifice. Just as God’s people opposed Pharaoh’s decree to murder newborn boys in Egypt (Exodus 1:15-22) so we need to protect pre-born babies from abortion today. Just as King Herod sought to kill babies in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16), so abortionists are attempting to butcher babies today.

The sanctity of human life is an essential article of the Christian faith. The Bible makes it clear that life begins at conception (Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 44:2; Jeremiah 1:5; Luke 1:41). The unborn baby is then genetically, physiologically and organically a distinct person. At that moment life begins. At about three weeks after conception, the baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Six weeks after conception the baby has it’s own lifelong brainwave. If the absence of a brainwave is considered a sign of death, why then is the presence of this brainwave not accepted as confirmation of life? Birth is not a magical act that turns a non-human into a person. Birth is only a change in an environment for a life that began many months before. Every abortion stops a beating heart. Every abortion ends a brainwave. Every abortion is the murder of a helpless and innocent person. If we do not stand up and oppose abortion then the blood of innocent babies will be upon our heads (Ezekiel 33:1-6). As Christians we must love our neighbour – and this includes our pre-born neighbours.

Being a Good Samaritan
The Good Samaritan was obeying the Sixth Commandment when he stopped and cared for the man who had been brutally attacked by robbers and left to die along the side of the road. The priest and the Levite who walked by on the other side of the road violated the Sixth Commandment by failing to give the aid necessary to this stranger in distress (Luke 10:27-37). If we are determined to obey the Sixth Commandment in a positive way, we must ensure that we do not neglect to care for people who are suffering, either physically or spiritually.

However, are we not like the priest and the Levite when day after day we pass by people who have been beaten and bloodied by satan and sin? When people’s lives are in ruins and they are in jeopardy of dying in their sins and coming unredeemed before the Judgment seat of God, do not we who have the Spirit of Christ within us have the obligation to offer the Living Waters of Jesus Christ, and the Oil of the Holy Spirit, to those who are perishing in sin all around us? Will you continue to pass by people who are rushing into eternity without Christ, without God, and without hope?

Protecting the Innocent
Obviously, we must avoid the Sins Forbidden in the Sixth Commandment by having nothing to do with suicide, euthanasia, abortion and murder. But we must also endeavour to fulfill the positive side of the Sixth Commandment: To seek to do everything we can by “all careful studies, and lawful endeavour, to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting by just defence against violence, protecting and defending the innocent.”

Loving our Neighbour
We need to be channels of spiritual life by proclaiming the Word of God, being His witnesses and leading people to the foot of the Cross. The opposite of murder is to love our neighbours, to love strangers, to even love our enemies, and to minister to their needs, both physical and spiritual.

The Worst Murder Ever
We also need to consider the most heinous, most vicious murder ever committed in history. At Calvary’s Cross, mankind’s sin resulted in the murder of the most innocent victim of all time: God’s own Son, Jesus Christ. He submitted willingly and became a victim of this heinous violation of justice so that we – the very people responsible for his suffering and death – might in turn find life and joy forever.

Have you repented of your complicity in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Have you found life in Christ?

Are you pointing people to the Saviour day by day?
​
Dr Peter Hammond 

When do you think that social commentary was written? Would you suppose it was written by Dr. James Dobson in last month’s, Focus on the Family bulletin? No, the writer of this particular article lived 4,500 years ago, approximately 2,500 BC, in ancient Egypt!

Promiscuity is not Progress
Perversion and immorality are not new. Those who assume that everything used to be more moral, and tends to get less moral with time, are ignorant of history. Sexual immorality is as old as sin. There is nothing modern about it. Those people who are promoting promiscuity, pornography and perversion as progress are lying. There is no progress in it. It is regression. It is a return to pre-Christian paganism.

Fidelity, chastity and faithfulness are a fruit of Christianity. The sexual revolution is extremely old news, True Love Waits is the real revolution and that is news!

The sexual revolution is revolting in more ways than one. It is an uprising against God Himself. It is a rebellion against His sovereign authority, a rejection of the Law of God.

Lies that Enslave and Destroy
The so-called new morality is neither moral, nor new. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). If we buy into his lies, we will find that they poison our minds, pollute our hearts and damn our souls.

Take the lie that “This is a private matter between two consenting adults.What I do in private is nobody else’s business. Nobody gets hurt.”

The Public Costs of Private Sins
Actually sexual ethics are not private matters at all. Everyone ends up paying for the private affairs of others. Many people are hurt by what others do in private. Sexual immorality has brought about the birth of literally millions of illegitimate children. Mothers without husbands, and children without fathers, living on welfare cost the rest of us many hundreds of millions of rand every year. Many of the children who grow up without fathers end up in gangs. A vast amount of the crimes that are committed are carried out by youngsters who do not even know who their father is.

Police officers have informed me that most of the young men in gangs come from single parent and broken homes. They are just some of the products of the sexual revolution. These gang members are full of anger at a world that has ignored them and abandoned them. Much of the graffiti, litter, pollution, vandalism, housebreakings, muggings, violence and armed robberies are committed by products of broken homes, irresponsible parents, absentee fathers and a result of the prevalence of sexual immorality.

All of us continually pay for the immoral and irresponsible decisions of others.

Catastrophic Consequences
Not only are there catastrophic social consequences to sexual immorality, but pervasive psychological ones too. As Dr. Braceland, Editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry observed: “A more lenient attitude on campus about premarital sex experience has imposed stresses on some college women severe enough to cause emotional breakdown.” He noted that sexual permissiveness has caused mental illness to significantly increase. Furthermore, sexual problems, confusions and relational complications that result from permissiveness are now known to be a primary factor that leads to suicide amongst high school and university students.

How then can anyone believe the lie that “Nobody gets hurt!” Those who break the Seventh Commandment open themselves to traumatic mental, emotional and spiritual turmoil. When we break God’s Law we suffer and we cause others to suffer.

Many studies have confirmed that sexual adventurers demonstrate “abnormal depression, introversion, nervous activity and even some delusional thinking.”

State Sponsored Promiscuity and Perversion
Yet, ANC government policy has been to heavily fund and promote promiscuity and perversion through “values clarification”, “life skills” and the grossly overfunded “Love Life” campaign. In this lust-saturated society the young people of South Africa are being encouraged, by government policy, to be fornicators, adulterers, whoremongers and perverts. Everyone needs to see the Doctors for Life documentary DVD: In Your Face. It is not just HIV/AIDS. There are over 65 different sexually transmitted diseases, many of which are untreatable, with symptoms so terrible that I do not even want to describe them here. Suffice it to say that those who buy into the lie of homosexuality being a normal, healthy, alternative lifestyle, forfeit about half of their life. The average lifespan of normal married heterosexuals is double that of the average homosexual.

The Facts of History
The testimony of history is that great civilisations rise and flourish on the basis of strict discipline, self-control and strong family units. However when those societies turn to sexual promiscuity then productivity wanes, things begin to unravel and soon the society plummets to destruction. Historians have studied each of the 26 civilisations, (from the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc.). They have found no exceptions to this pattern. No society survives long without strict laws, strong families and stringent self-discipline. Pervasive sexual immorality spells the death of any nation.

Free Sex is Never Free
So-called “free sex” is by no means free. The price tags include: sexually transmitted diseases, syphilis, gonorrhea, herpes, AIDS, broken homes, broken lives, crime-ridden societies, and the collapse of civilisation itself.

Marriage is Honourable“Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.” 1 Corinthians 7:2

God instituted marriage in Paradise (Genesis 2:22). He gave the man and the woman to each other in marriage. Our Lord honoured marriage with His presence at the wedding in Cana, during which He performed His first public miracle (John 2:1-11).

“Marriage is honourable among all and the bed undefiled.” Hebrews 13:4

Marriage is a type of the mystical union between Christ and His Church. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32

The Protection of Faithfulness and Chastity
The Seventh Commandment is protective. It can save us from being plunged into a world of misery and trauma. It can save us from throwing away priceless opportunities, from losing vital friendships, from derailing and destroying our lives. The Seventh Commandment is designed to hold us safely within the bonds of faithfulness and chastity.
“For the commandment is a lamp and the Law a light…to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, and his feet not be seared?” Proverbs 6:23-28

Do Not Be Deceived“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Samson and Delilah
Samson had great potential which was wasted through his lack of discipline. Samson had an eye for beautiful women. He loved to look. His roving eyes often got him into trouble with prostitutes. His weakness for women undermined his leadership for his people at a time of great crisis. Then his eyes settled upon a woman who eventually destroyed him. Her name – Delilah – has since been synonymous with beauty and treachery.

Sin Binds, Sin Blinds and Sin Grinds
Using both her body and her brains, Delilah was out to ensnare Samson. As Samson became captivated by her beauty and his lust, he began to lose discernment and control. Finally he lost all his strength and was unable to resist. Too late Samson realised that he had lost his freedom. Samson learned that sin binds, sin blinds and sin grinds.

Samson never achieved his potential, because he refused to live a disciplined life. His character flaws and sin prevented effective leadership. All of Israel suffered as a result. Samson squandered his potential on loose women. Samson dishonoured his parents, diluted his power, disgraced his profession and dissipated his potential. Samson deliberately exposed himself to the enemy with a self-confidence that bordered on carelessness and recklessness.

What We Sow That Shall We Reap
He had power without purity, strength without self-control and because he didn’t know holiness he would know defeat. While Samson was strong before men, he proved weak before women. Samson strangled a lion, but he could not strangle his own lusts. He burst the bonds of his enemies, but he couldn’t break his own self-destructive tendencies. He burned the crops of the Philistines, but he lost his own fruit of virtue by burning with lust for Delilah. The tragic story of Samson in Judges 14-16 teaches us that whoring leads to blindness, slavery and death. “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.” Galatians 6:7-8

Samson did what was right in his own eyes and his eyes were gouged out. He followed the lusts of his eyes and he lost them. He visited a prostitute in Gaza, and he ended up as a prisoner in Gaza. He pursued Philistine women and ended up doing their work - grinding the corn to provide food to strengthen his enemies. He refused to discipline himself and ended up a prisoner of war and a slave of the Philistines. The tragic story of Samson should serve as an object lesson and warning to each one of us.

“Pride goes before destruction.” Proverbs 16:18

Devastating and Destructive
As in the life of Samson, so any pastor can tell you, in all too many examples which he would have witnessed: adultery not only has a devastating effect on the adulterer personally, but on the families involved. Unfaithfulness devastates relationships and destroys families.

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” 1 Corinthians 10:12

Foundations for Faithfulness
Marriage partners must love one another wholeheartedly, thank God for each other regularly, pray for one another daily and do everything possible to strengthen and serve one another. In the Bible marital love includes honour, esteem, respect, gentleness, courtesy and affection and these must be treasured, cultivated and entrenched. Faithfulness to our covenant duties will protect us in God’s pathway of blessings, multiplying our effectiveness in ministry, resulting in great joy in our families and God’s Kingdom.

We are called to be faithful to the Lord and to the husband, or wife, with whom we have entered into covenant commitment. We must also be faithful in all other relationships to which God calls us. Faithfulness is to characterise every Christian.

Do Not be Unequally Yoked
No exposition of the 7 th Commandment would be complete without also considering its prohibition against being unequally yoked.

The Moabite women at Shittim enticed and seduced many of the men of Israel into sexual immorality. One man, Zimri, openly brought Cozbi, a Moabite woman, right into his home. The Scripture records that this incited the Lord’s anger to burn against them and a devastating plague hit the community.

One Israelite, Phinehas, had the courage to make a stand and put a stop to the degenerate wickedness, which was destroying his people. He refused to be seduced by the Moabites. He was committed to upholding the Law of God and he was angry enough about sin to do something about it (Numbers 25).

Today we have many, including so-called Christians, bringing immoral women into their homes, through DVDs, DSTV, M-Net, MMS and through the Internet. The epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases bears eloquent testimony to the rampant immorality of our times.

We need more people like Phinehas today. Clean out your cupboards. Tear up and burn the pornographic posters, magazines and books. Crush the offensive videos and DVDs. Cancel that cable channel with “adult” films. Speak to your local store managers that market modern Moabites. Mobilise other church members to clean up your community. “As free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.” 1 Peter 2:16

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.” Colossians 3:5-6

In the course of my missionary work I have all too often come across the disastrous and tragic consequences of Christians marrying unbelievers. On numerous occasions, while counselling the distraught Christian married to an unbelieving spouse, I’ve heard how the other partner appeared to be a Christian, claimed to be a Christian, made a public profession of faith in Christ, but later revealed that it had been a charade to secure the marriage. On numerous occasions the tearful Christian asked: “Why did nobody warn me?”

Marriage Involves Families
Marriage not only involves two individuals, but two families. We need to honour our parents and seek the guidance of our church leaders when we consider marriage. Those who become “unequally yoked”are being short-sighted and selfish. They are neither considering their ancestors, nor their descendants. Nor are they placing God’s Word above their own emotions.

The Bible tells us that God seeks “…Godly offspring…” Malachi 2:15

“And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you and their generations for an everlasting covenant…you shall keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations.” Genesis 17:7-9

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God; the Faithful God, who keeps His Covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His Commandments.”Deuteronomy 7:9

Abraham, the Father of the Faithful, commanded his servant to swear by the Lord “that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” Genesis 24:3-4

The Bible tells of Jacob’s twin brother Esau who took Hittite wives: “And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebecca.” Genesis 26:34-35

“Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him: ‘You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.’” Genesis 28:1

The Law of Moses declared: “Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.” Deuteronomy 7:3

Joshua warned the children of Israel that if they intermarried with the nations around them: “Know for certain that the Lord your God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. But they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.” Joshua 23:12-13

“Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons…that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.” Ezra 9:12
When Nehemiah discovered that some of the believers had “married women of Ashdod, Ammon and Moab, and half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod, and could not speak the language of Judah (but spoke according to the language of one of the other people). So I contended with them and cursed them, struck some of them, and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, ‘You shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon King of Israel, sin by these things? Yet…should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, transgressing against our God by marrying pagan women?” Nehemiah 13:23-27

As part of the Order of Service for marriage, in the Book of Common Prayer, the minister is required to say to the persons about to be married: “I require of you both, as you will answer on the dreadful Day of Judgement when the secrets of all shall be disclosed, that if either of you knows any reason why you may not be lawfully married you now confess it. For be assured that those who marry, other than as allowed by God’s Word, are not joined together by God, and the marriage is not lawful in His sight.”

Protections and Blessings
God’s Law is clear. Obeying it protects us from disaster and guides us to blessings.

“So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies…” Ephesians 5:28
​
“Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33

Dr Peter Hammond 

A survey of a number of large organisations revealed that the average employee stole six weeks per year from his employer by consistently coming in late, leaving early, taking extended lunches, spending extra time on coffee breaks and neglecting his duties. All of this amounts to billions lost to the economy each year.

A recent survey of 500 products, chosen at random, revealed that approximately 50% of them contained less items in the packaging than advertised on the label. For example a bottle of 100 headache tablets actually contained 60, etc!

Approximately one third of all business failures each year can be traced to employee theft. When businesses close down, employees lose their jobs and families suffer.

It is estimated that almost half of all employees are guilty of stealing. Retailers in South Africa report that they lose many billions of rands each year to shoplifting, and even more to “shrinkage” - theft by employees.

The South African Police Services reported 395,296 cases of shoplifting and “commercial crime” registered for 2007. 14,201 carjackings, 1,245 truck jackings and 77,984 public robbings in the streets were reported in a single year.

Why Do So Many Steal?
What has caused this pandemic of stealing? Some would like to say that poverty causes theft, however some of the richest people in the world have been guilty of theft and many spoilt children from wealthy homes engage in shoplifting. By way of contrast, there are many millions of poor people who never steal. Even during the Great Depression, when millions of families were destitute, God-fearing people did not steal.

The Bible gives a very straightforward answer to this question in Ecclesiastes 8:11“Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.”

The situation has deteriorated so badly that in South Africa we now have to have special campaigns and TV film series trying to teach basic principles to the general population. Heartlines billboards declare rather ambiguously: “We believe in the value of values: Do you?”
Some shops have felt compelled to place prominent posters declaring: “Shoplifting is stealing!” One would have thought that was rather obvious, but all too many people don’t seem to see anything wrong with blatant theft.

Hypocrisy and Deceit
Theft is saturated with pride, deceit and hypocrisy. Thieves, con-artists and perpetrators of fraud are hypocrites. They would not want anything to be stolen from them or from their children. Yet they arrogantly suspend the basic rules of society and exempt themselves from these rules. They would expect their own comforts and possessions to be protected, yet they lie to, steal from and cheat others. There is no worse level of arrogance and selfishness than this.

A Callous Crime
Stealing is a callous crime because the thief does not seem to care about the effects of his crime upon the person who is deprived. The extortioner who charges excessive rent does not seem to care about the hardship that he is causing to his tenant. The person who sells a defective product does not seem to care what trouble his fraud may cause the buyer.

Excuses
There are many imaginative excuses that people come up with to justify their theft:
“I’ve worked hard and I haven’t been fairly rewarded for my efforts.”
“I need it more than they do.”
“I can’t help myself.”
“They don’t appreciate it, I will.”
“It’s easier to steal something than to work for it.”
“I’m jealous of them and I think I deserve their possessions more than they do!”
To all of this God responds with four words: “You shall not steal.” (Exodus 20:15)

Dial-a-Porn
When Telkom launched 087 Dial-a-Porn a large insurance agency reported that their phone bills went up over five million rand in one month. Now, at that time there were approximately 5,000 employees in that firm. Assuming that approximately half of the employees used the telephones at their place of employment to access 087 Dial-a-Porn, that would mean that the average employee ran up R2,000 of unauthorized phone bills in just one month! These people broke both the Seventh and the Eighth Commandments.

Theft by Government
Government policy also steals. When the Law of God declares: “You shall not steal…you shall not covet…” this entrenches private ownership of property. Socialism is legalised theft and institutionalized envy. Any taxation of ten percent or higher is defined in the Scriptures as oppression (1 Samuel 8:10-18). Any taxation of property, or of inheritance, is strictly forbidden (1 Kings 21:3). Institutions and individuals involved in the fulltime service of the Lord are not allowed to be taxed (Ezra 7:23-24). Those involved in the fulltime service of the Lord are supported by free will offerings by people who have already paid their taxes. To tax money consecrated to the Lord’s service is to steal from God. Any unequal or progressive system of taxation is expressly forbidden in the Scriptures (Exodus 30:14-15; Leviticus 19:15).

Theft by Inflation
Biblical economics also forbids unjust weights (unbacked currency) and measures (inflation) Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 11:1; 20:10; Amos 8:5-7; Micah 6:11-12). Inflation steals from pensions and savings. It is a hidden tax.

Legalised Theft
Many people violate the Eighth Commandment by voting for political parties that steal through excessive taxation and socialist policies. Governments that increase taxes without providing equal services are stealing.

Restitution
In cases of theft, arson or malicious damage to property, the Bible decrees Restitution. Restitution is the restoration of a thing to its proper place or owner. It is reparation for injury or damage to property. The Bible requires that the Restitution goes entirely to the victim of the crime. Restitution is also required for culpable negligence.

“…he should make full restitution; if he has nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. If the theft is certainly found alive in his hand, whether it is an ox or a donkey or sheep, he shall restore double. If a man causes a field or vineyard to be grazed and lets loose his animal, and it feeds in another man’s field, he shall make restitution from the best of his own field and the best of his own vineyard. If fire breaks out … so that stacked grain, standing grain, or a field is consumed, he who kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.” Exodus 22:3-6

God’s Law is clear: The criminal is held accountable and he is responsible to pay for his crime. He is to work and earn, in money or kind, that which is required for the reparation of what he stole, damaged or destroyed.

Have You Been Guilty of Theft?
Have you ever stolen? Have you ever taken something that did not belong to you? Have you borrowed things that you have failed to return, for months or years? Have you used the telephone at work, for personal and private calls without permission? If so, that is theft. It is theft for me to use someone else’s phone without his permission and run up a bill for him. That would be the same as going and taking the money out of their wallet. It is also one of the easiest ways to steal.

Zacchaeus
Zacchaeus is an example in the Scriptures of one who did Restitution. “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today Salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham.’”Luke 19:8-9

Restoration Through Repentance
Forgiveness of sin is not a substitute for restitution, but rather a foundation of it. Forgiveness of sin is not a redefinition of sin. We are forgiven – free from the guilt and penalty of sin – in order to do what is right. Forgiveness is not a cloak for sin. It is a solution to sin.
Forgiveness does not transfer property rights to the thief . When God commanded:“You shall not steal…you shall not covet…” He ordained and blessed private ownership of property. Man has no right to abolish what God has ordained in any area – neither in the institution of marriage, nor in the institution of private property. Theft is not only a sin against the victim, theft is a sin against God. God’s Law is violated.
Repentance from sin and Restitution are inseparable. If a sin involved damage to, or theft of, the property of another, then Restitution is necessary before forgiveness can be enjoyed. Grace makes true Repentance possible; it does not eliminate the need for Restitution. Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, loves righteousness. Theft is unrighteousness.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did not die on the Cross in order to allow us to steal other peoples property and get away with it. Do not rest until you have returned what you have borrowed. Pay back what you have damaged, or broken, and pay for those telephone calls that you had no permission to make. That is what the Bible requires in Restitution.

Diamonds
Many of you may know the testimony of George Oesche. He had worked in the diamond mines and over the years had succeeded in stealing a large number of those valuable gems. He had a very nice house and comfortable lifestyle. But then when he was converted and learned about the importance of Restitution he went and confessed his crimes to the authorities. Although he had not been caught, and no longer worked for the mines, he began the painful process of repaying everything he had stolen. This involved a lot of sacrifice. And the Lord has mightily blessed him as a result.  

“Fools mock at making amends for sin, but among the upright there is favour.” Proverbs 14:9

Repaying the Bank
I also know of another brother, Lawrence Temfwe, who is the head of Prison Fellowship in Zambia. As a clerk in Standard Bank he stole a lot of money. When he was caught, he was thrown in prison. In prison he came to Christ. After he had served his prison term, he worked to repay what he had stolen from Standard Bank. Now, he was not legally required to do so. He had done the crime and he had done the time. However, as a Christian, he understood that he had to do Restitution. Can you imagine the shock when he returned to the bank that he had defrauded and made full Restitution to them? What a tremendous testimony to the power of the Gospel.

“If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live.” Ezekiel 33:15-16

Theft at Work
There are many people who steal from their employers by agreeing to work for so many hours, for so much pay, but they don’t work the agreed hours. They come late, they leave early and they only work when the supervisor is watching. They don’t put the 40 hours, or whatever amount of work is required, into the given week. However, at the end of each month, they would be very unhappy if they received less than the agreed on salary. Is that not theft? Are you taking 100% of the pay for only 40% of the work? Laziness is a form of theft. We steal from people when we do less than what we agreed on.
Imagine what a testimony it would be if when an employer handed over the salary at the end of the month, an employee responded: “Actually I’ve only earned 40% of this, you must take the other 60% back!”

Littering and Laziness
Littering is also a breach of the Eighth Commandment. We are stealing from the time of other people who must take the effort to go and clean up what we have dropped. We are damaging other people’s property by our carelessness. If we had to do unto others, as we want to be done unto, then we must not be litterbugs. The Eighth Commandment requires us to respect other people’s property.

The Many Faces of Theft
Stealing includes government corruption, inflation, excessive taxation, defaulting on loans, failing to pay bills, cheating on tests, loafing at work, cheating on income taxes, taking sick leave when we are not sick, illegally downloading or copying software, violating copyrights, and failing to tithe to God.

Stealing From God
The prophet Malachi wrote that when people don’t bring their full tithes and offerings to God they are stealing directly from God.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. ” Malachi 3:8-10

Stealing is Short Sighted
Theft can only benefit a thief for a very short time. Our Creator and Eternal Judge sees everything we do. So no one can possibly get away with stealing. The punishment God hands out to unrepentant thieves will last for all eternity.

The Repentant Thief
By God’s grace, one of the first fruits of our Lord’s Redemption was enjoyed by the thief crucified alongside our Lord. When he, in repentance, turned to the Lord and asked:“Lord, remember me when You come into Your Kingdom.” Our Lord Jesus replied:“Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in paradise.” Luke 23:42-43

The Word of the Lord comes to each one of us this day: “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give Him who has need.” Ephesians 4:28

Dr Peter Hammond