This is a lecture which lays out the grace of God very clearly and understandably. Because this Sunday, June 20, 2010 has been chosen in Louisiana as a day of prayer to pray to God for help with the oil spill, Christians ought to know what God requires to be heard of rebellious man, those who consistently claim to know Him but do not obey His instructions. So please read the article to realize what God's view is of our situation.

Opening the Mind

And Moses went up to the cloud, the dark cloud, to be with God on the mountain and in our mind we can re-enact the scenes - how Moses lived in this far off area as a fugitive from the wrath of Pharaoh, here Moses had rendered kindness to a daughter of Jethro, here he united in marriage to one of Jethro's daughters, here he followed the sheep for fourty years, here at the burning bush he received his commission to lead Israel out of Egyptian bondage, back to the shadow of the same mountain he led the nation of Israel, here he heard the voice of God saying, "Come, come up into the mount."

19:16 "And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that [was] in the camp trembled.
19:17 And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.
19:18 And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly.
19:19 And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice.
19:20 And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up." . . .

24:15 "And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.
24:16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
24:17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.
24:18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights." Exodus 19:16-20; 24:15-18.

This was the day when God revealed His glory on the day when there was heaven in the heart of Moses. Here God pronounced the high and lofty standards of His Ten Commandments which were given to Moses in written form on two tables of stone.

Today we can envision how this law was designed to bring about mighty transformations in this world if the principles of this law would be lived out in the lives of the people of this world.

Society can never be right with God unless it squares itself with Sinai and this can only be, as they individually let the Christ of Calvary live His obedient life in their hearts and actions. Christ is waiting to do just that, even now in our age and time. He wants to do it in your life, living His obedient life in your life.

The Relationship between God's law and God's Grace

It is very important that we understand the relationship between God's Standard and His abounding grace. We need so much to understand that the grace of God is not a license to sin. It is not a license to disobey God's commandments.

One of the greatest texts in the Bible is the following,

"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." Romans 6:14.

And yet, in many religious circles, that last phrase of this precious text has been awfully perverted, misunderstood, and made to teach something altogether different from what Paul, and other Bible writers, intended.

Grace is truly defined as the unmerited favor of God. It provided not only forgiveness for all past transgressions, for sin is the transgression of the law (1.John 3:4), but victory over all sin in the present.

Then, how wonderful are the texts,

". . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18.

There is also this other wonderful text,

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1.

And again,

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1.John 1:9.

How thankful we should be that the grace of God does not stop with forgiveness of the past; there is much more, it is even more wonderful in its provision for the present . . .

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." Jude 1:24.

And these words,

"But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 1.Cor. 15:17

And,

"Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ Jesus. . . ." 2.Cor. 2:14.

That is why we can say, God's grace is truly an abounding grace for ...

"But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Romans 5:20b.

Altogether too frequently and from altogether too many pulpits over a period of over a hundred years has come the teaching that the law of God was for other dispensations and not for this enlightened age. If we are under grace, we have nothing to do with the law of God, the Ten Commandments.

In all earnest we ask, `How can you tell your congregations that God's law is abolished, set aside, nailed to the cross, changed, superseded, that we now live not under law but under grace, and then be surprised that they break the law?'

Can you question the authority of the constitution God gave to man and then expect your jury to respect and obey that law?

Can you tell a teenager that this generation is not answerable to divine law and blame him for his excesses in sin?

When we set the commandments of God aside, verily we are sowing the seeds of rebellion in the name of religion. And what a crop of lawlessness has been coming up for those many years these teachings were promulgated from the pulpits of churches.

Just as we cannot have a strong, wholesome society when the laws of the state and nation are winked at and broken at will, so we cannot throw away the divine standard without reaping religious anarchy.

What a perversion of Bible truth, - when men think they have to set aside the holy law of God in order to preach God's grace.

Dear reader, the grace, power and love of God is there to bring us into harmony with God's will as the expression of the commandments.

The whole Plan of Redemption was to bring sinful man back into oneness with his Maker.

Sin, the violation and breaking of God's commandments made the plan of redemption necessary. Every Bible topic, every truth of God, every commandment of our Lord should be studied and understood in the light of the grace of God as seen in the gospel.

Yes, God' s grace is abounding. For where sin abounds, grace does much more abound, Romans 5:20.

Why, grace is so deep that the deepest and the blackest sins are not beyond its reach. It is so high that it reaches the very throne of God and is present at the Mercy Seat. It is so wide, that it removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. It is so strong, that it keeps us day by day in harmony with the will and law of God.

Grace is not a new theme! Oh, no! It is not a theme found only in the New Testament. It is so far reaching that every man who has ever lived has come under this beneficent grace, for we read that the grace of God that brings salvation, "has appeared to all men" Titus 2:11.

The grace of God, was it as abundant in the days of Adam, Moses, Job, Abraham as it is today? . . . They, as we, were wholly and only saved by the grace of God.

All who enter heaven, from any and all ages of human history can do so, because they were saved by grace. Not a single individual will be there because he was saved by his own works, or by human works. Heaven is reached by grace and grace alone.

There is a place in Christian life for baptism, communion service, Sabbath keeping, faithfulness and stewardship, zeal and good works - but mankind does not earn salvation. He does not earn forgiveness of sin or the favor of God by these things. No, not at all.

A man is not considered a legalist if he obeys the laws of his parents as the fifth commandment says. He does it based on the sense of love and devotion. Obedience is the fruitage of the love of God in the heart.

Obedience is the fruitage of the love of God in the heart.

The Ten Commandments were not given as a means to salvation. They were given as a standard of life. And how this age needs to hear that these are high standards which were set for God's people and all people on earth.

As one great preacher has said, `We need to gather our congregations around Mt. Sinai and hear the voice of God thundering for Israel.'

The Ten Commandments were given orally to man in his state of innocence at the beginning in Eden. It was transgression of that law that brought about sin, for sin is the transgression of the law for we read,

"... for where no law is, there is no transgression." Romans 4:15.

And,

"... by the law is the knowledge of sin." Rom. 3:20.

The Apostle James, by inspiration tells us that the Ten Commandments are like a `looking glass' that reveals the need of the natural sinful life,

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." James 1:22-25.

A `looking glass' cannot wash away the dirt it reveals; it cannot comb the hair or rightly arrange the dress out of order; it can only reveal the need, and so it is with the law of God. The law of God cannot cleanse or save, but it does reveal the need and thus point to the Lamb of God who only can put away sins.

Healing is the fountain for cleansing. We do not break the mirror because it does not wash off after revealing dirt? So, why do away the Ten Commandments because they only point out sin?

There is nothing wrong with the Law of God, the trouble is with sinful man, all of us. For we know that the law is spiritual, Paul cries, but I am carnal, sold under sin, Rom. 7:14.

Dear reader, `Have we crucified the spiritual law or the carnal man?

All answer the question, `By faith.' - "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Galatians 2:20.

Dear reader, it was the old man, the carnal Paul that was crucified and not the holy, spiritual law, the Ten Commandments.

This generation seems to have mostly lost the sense of the sinfulness of sin. There is no book that expounds on sin like the Bible. It makes the smallest evidence of the evil thing exceedingly sinful.

"... whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." James 2:10.

Almost upon its opening page, it caused the banishment of our first parents out of the beautiful Garden of Eden, for one act of disobedience.

On the last page of the Bible, we read, only those who keep God's commandments ". . . may have (the) right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14.

By God's infinite grace, those who keep them have a right to eat of the `Tree of Life' when Eden is restored.

There is no doubt, the Bible paints sin in its true colors. It is nothing less but rebellion against the good government of God for which eternal death is the only adequate penalty. It makes sin ugly and righteousness beautiful. It associates falsehood with folly and truth with wisdom. It makes worldliness and covetousness the most costly policy, on which man may embark.

So,

"... what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" Mark 8:36.

The Bible contrasts the blessing of goodness with the disastrous consequences of evil.

"... the wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23.

Though Satan is working overtime to make sins seemingly delightful and a thing to be chosen, the Bible describes sin, but never makes it look attractive. Sin is never praised. It is never decked out in alluring garments. Never is it made to seem what it is not. The Bible always reminds the sinner of the grim price he or she will have to pay for its indulgence. `The wages of sin is death; eternal death.'

But friends, "... the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom. 6:23.

Truly, the grace of our Lord is wonderful.

The Relationship of God's Grace and God's Law - Part II

What is sin?

Looking around we know that sin is greatly discounted these days when it counts so much that we must know something about it.

There are entire denominations that flatly deny that sinners even exist.

But sinners are here. Sin is all around us. It gets into our heart. It is the tragedy of the universe. It is like a disease. It is debilitating, deadening, deforming, dooming. Sin is a God resisting disposition. Sin is conspiracy against the government and sovereignty of our God.

God defines sin in these words,

"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." 1.John 3:4.

And as we know, the Apostle James states that God's Law is a unit, if you break one you break all, James 2:10.

But we are told that there are 700,073,746 words in the Bible. Yet, while all of these were given by the inspiration of God, it is an interesting thought that of all those words, only 297 of them were written by God Himself.

This direct writing of God is the `Ten Commandment' Law of Exodus 20:1-17; Ex. 31:18.

The Psalmist tells us that the commandments are exceedingly broad. The law of God calls first for absolute, undivided loyalty to God. It calls for discernment of spiritual values. God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth, John 4:24.

The Law of God calls for reverence for the name of God, both in word and in deed; it calls for the devotion of 1/7th of a man's life time to the worship and service of God. It calls for respect to parents, for peace and good government in the home. It calls for a high value to be set upon a human life, it calls for absolute purity. It calls for character that cannot be bought or sold; for hearts that are sterling true. It calls for absolute truthfulness, for accuracy of statements and governmental description. It calls for contentment of heart, of satisfaction which springs from faith in eternal things and makes the life so full of heavenly joy that the acquisition of earthly treasures ceases to exist.

The prophet says, "O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:18.

The prophetic forecast of the Messiah's relationship with God's law was given by the prophet in these words,

"The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." Isaiah 42:21.

When Jesus came to the earth and lived his beautiful life, he magnified the law by his example and by his precepts, his teaching. Not only did he elevate the law of God, but he also obeyed it and taught us by precept and example to do the same.

He said,

"The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable." John 15:10.

Realizing that the law of God is as eternal as the Godhead, Jesus forcefully said,

"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-19.

Jesus lived his beautiful, holy, and perfect life because, as he said, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psalm 40:8.

The crowning act, by which Christ honored the Ten Commandments was his death on Calvary.

Could the law of God have been changed, altered or abrogated? If so, he need not have died if that were possible, because its righteous principles are co-eternal with God Himself and cannot in one small particular be canceled, altered or abrogated.

Christ carried his obedience unto death, even the death on the cross,

"And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Phil. 2:8.

On conversion we come under a new covenant relationship with Christ, and we have his pledge that he will write his law upon our heart that it may become the guide of our life and the spring of every action,

"... this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." Hebr. 8:10; Jeremiah 31:33.

People were not saved in one age by keeping the law and in another age by grace. People were always saved in every age by grace.

"... as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." Rom. 5:18.

Here we see, that the only way whereby all men, from the beginning of creation to the end of the world, could obtain eternal life, was by his free gift to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are saved entirely by grace, then what becomes of the law of God? Do we then make void the law of God through faith?

What is the answer?

". . . God forbid: yea, we establish the law." Rom. 3:31.

Dear reader, being saved by grace, therefore, does not do away with the commandments, because by grace they are established more firmly and Christians are bound more fully to obey them.

Grace and law are not opposites. They are not antagonistic. In fact, there can be no grace if there is no law. And if the law does not stay in force, a person who is really saved by grace will never be hostile to the law of God. Never. If there is just one thing wrong with anyone who is opposed to the Ten Commandments he is not converted. The Bible says so. He is still a carnal man, as we read here in Romans 8:7.

It was D.L. Moody, who put it this way very plainly,

"Now man may cavil as much as they would like about other parts of the Bible, but I never met an honest man that found fault with the Ten Commandments." [D.L. Moody, `Weight and Wanting,' p. 11]

One of the greatest Bible students and commentators, D. Campbell Morgan, made this statement in his book, `The Ten Commandments.'

"The ten words of Sinai where not ten separate commandments having no reference to each other, they were ten sides of the one law of God. The teaching of Jesus reveals the fact these commandments are so interrelated that if a man offends in one point he breaks the unity of the whole law, and therefore of his own manhood. He needs to be solemnly reminded that the law of the spirit of the life of Christ sets him free from the law of sin and death, but not from the law of God. Every word of the Decalogue is repeated with emphasize and new power in the Christian economy." [Morgan, `The Ten Commandments,' p. 11,12.]

An illustration of grace in operation

Let us suppose a man commits murder. He was always a good man before, but for this one act he was behind the bar and was sentenced to die. All his good life that he lived before availed him nothing. Now, for the one wrong act they would take his life. Even though he might claim he would never break another law in the country, and to live a perfect, law abiding life, will that save him? Would it save him from the gallows? No! The one murder has cost him his life and he cannot be saved by good works or by law keeping. The law cannot then give him life. It continually cries, `Death!' It was designed as a law to protect life, but now it has become a law of death to the one who broke it. Before it was a law of liberty, and now it has become a law of bondage. They bound him in a cell and condemned him to certain death. There is no possible way to make that law save the criminal now under condemnation. Then the condemned man appeals to the governor for a pardon; and one day there walks a man into his cell with a pardon in his hand, with the words written on it, `Saved by grace!' Is the man saved by keeping of the law? No, no. He is saved by grace entirely. With a salvation by grace he becomes free from the bondage of the law. - From the law's condemnation he is free, but let me ask you a simple question, `Because the man is saved by grace, is he at liberty to go out and shoot as many as he likes? Or is the law abolished because he is saved by grace?' No. Grace frees him from the condemnation of the law, but not from its jurisdiction. Grace not only forgives past transgression, but it becomes a power in our life to keep us from sinning in the presence.

In visions the prophet John sees a worldwide message called `the everlasting gospel', which gives further emphasis towards the commandments of God. You find it here in Revelation 14, verses 6-12. By God's grace, this message produces a people to whom he can say, `Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.'

True obedience can only come as the fruitage of the indwelling Savior. When Jesus controls our life, then we can say as he did, `I delight to do Thy will, O God, yeah Thy law is within my heart.' Ps. 40:8.

No one would call Christ a legalist because he kept his Father's commandments, and taught others to do so. Why should that epitaph be applied to those who follow in his steps?

Only commandment keepers will be welcomed into heaven.

All sin will be shut out forever.

And sin is the transgression of God's law.

Jesus said,

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matth. 7:21.

Then we read,

"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14.

Dear reader, disobedience drove man from paradise, the Paradise of God, right from the beginning, and only those who by His infinite grace are obedient through the love of Christ indwelling in their heart will be welcomed back into that holy estate.

If we are willing to walk with Jesus here, we shall have the privilege to walk with Jesus forever and ever.

We must remember this. We cannot have fellowship with Jesus and be disobedient to his will.

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Oh, that thou wouldst hearken to my commandments, then would thy peace be as a river and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea. Isa. 48:18.

And we are reminded of the words, `He that keepeth the law happy is he.' A real faith, based on wholehearted love for the Savior, can lead only to obedience. `If you love me,' said Jesus, `keep my commandments.' John 14:15.

The fact that Christ endured such suffering because of our transgression of God's law, is one of the strongest motives for obedience.

We do not easily and readily repeat a course of conduct that overwhelms our earthly friends in calamity. Likewise, we can only hate the sin that inflicted such woes on our best friend of all, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The plan of `righteousness by faith' places law in its proper place. The function of the law is to convict of sin, to reveal the great standard of righteousness. The law that leads a man to Christ and the gospel, then to faith in Christ and love for Christ brings forth a new obedience to the law of God, the obedience that springs from faith as we read in Galatians 2 paraphrased.

Thus we have found that salvation is by faith plus nothing; that justification is by faith plus nothing; that righteousness is by faith plus nothing; that Jesus paid it all. At conversion the Christ of Calvary, the sinless one, the obedient one, comes into the heart, and we cry with Paul, "I am crucified with Christ."

Grace in the Law - I

In order to better understand the relationship between grace and the law, let us turn to the first commandment.

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Ex. 20:3.

Let us first point out that the Bible declares to us that God is a great king and that His throne is in the heavens, and that His kingdom rules over all, Psalm 103:19.

There can be no orderly government without law, and no happy, ordered society unless those laws are obeyed. Every game must have its rules. Man cannot do business without rules. There must be scales, measures and yard sticks; good laws are the foundation of the society. And so it is that God's Law is a transcript of His own character. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, Psalm 89:14.

The `Ten Commandments' are God's fundamental, moral law. Paul declares that they are holy, and just, and good, and spiritual, Romans 7:12-14.

His law is eternal, Psalm 111:7,8.

And Jesus said, it is easier for heaven and earth to pass than one title of the law of God to fail.

The first commandment, very appropriately begins with God, `Thou shalt have no other god's before me.' So we see it is always the best place to begin, begin with God. The Bible begins with this statement, `In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.' There is no other place to begin, but with God.

`Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' This first commandment assumes the reality of God. It begins by asserting that God is. There is no effort made to proof that God exists, this is in harmony with all the other writings of the Bible. The Psalmist does not argue about God, he believes in Him. He rejoices in His goodness. None of the prophets labored to proof God's existence, they proclaim Him; so it was with Jesus. He lived in daily fellowship with the Father. He never argued or tried to proof that the Father existed, but said, `Ye, that have seen me have seen the Father.'

There are many evidences that God's existence is true, for the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork, Psalms 19:1.

The first commandment is a condemnation of and a warning of polytheism, or the worship of many gods.

Paul puts it this way,

"There are gods many, and lords many." 1.Cor. 8:5.

The Babylonians "... praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone. Daniel 5:4.

The true God, revealed in the Bible, is the Creator of heaven and earth. The one supreme being, self-existing and eternal. The sustainer and upholder of all things, the ruler of the universe.

The gospel writer Isaiah says, the Creator ". . . has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?" Isa. 40:12.

What a wonderful heavenly Father. When God commands us to have no other gods before him, He has references to images made by hand, to gods of gold and silver, and stone and wood, lifeless and dead gods, but he has references to more than this, infinitely more, he has reference to anything and anyone, that absorbs undue time and attention, that is exulted as the chief god, or made an object of supreme devotion. It may be a person, or a thing; it may be money or food; it may be learning or humility; it may be husbands, wives, children, or a lover. It may be pleasure or lust, gambling or games. It may be secret vice or public acclaim. It may be physical powers or intellectual achievement. It may be anything or anyone that detracts from the honor due to God. Everything of that nature is condemned by God and constitutes the transgression of the first commandment.

Now, its true, these things that we just mentioned may not be inherently evil; a man ought to love his wife; he ought to love his children; he ought to spend both time and money on them; this is not only his privilege, but it is his duty; but he must not idolize them. He must not spend on them the time and the money that belongs to God. He must always let God be first. And so it is with eating and drinking. It is not wrong to eat and drink and enjoy your food; but the moment one becomes absorbed in eating and drinking; as soon as these activities take on undue proportions and importance, there is danger of the stomach becoming a god.

The first and primary lesson from the first commandment is,

"Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Ex. 20:3.

Here is the lesson: God must be first. This is illustrated by a Bible story. A boy was bringing home a loaf of bread, and someone meeting him said, `What have you here, son?' A loaf. Where did you get it. From the baker, he made it. Of what did he make it? Flower. Where did he get the flower? From the miller. Where did the miller get it? From the farmer. Where did the farmer get it?

Then the truth dawned upon the boy's mind and he replied, `From God.'

Well, then from whom did you get that loaf of bread? Oh, from God.

Here is the boy who as last resort acknowledges God as the giver of goods.

What do we hear today in this materialistic age?

They say, `I am a self-made man.'

I earned everything. I got it with my good judgment, by my own energy and hard work. I built this business that supports me and my family and we got plenty to live on.

Where did that man get his strength to work? Where did he get his mind to reading and to plan? Where did he get the life and the health that he put into acquiring so much of this world's goods?

The Bible says,

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth . . ." Deut. 8:18.

Therefore we should know that "... in him we live, and move, and have our being ..." Acts 17:28.

How appropriate that this commandment, `Thou shalt have no other gods before me,' should appear first in the list of the Ten Commandments.

If God is to have any place in our lives, He must have first place.

"... seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matth. 6:33.

We must ever associate the first verse of the Bible with the first commandment, `In the beginning God.'

God must come first, in sickness or in health, in sorrow or in joy, in adversity or in prosperity, in working or in resting, God must come first.

Are you planning matrimony, establishing a home? Counsel with God first about it. He knows the one much better than you who would fit into your life that will be a true helpmate. He is more interested into your home and your happiness than any other one can possibly be.

Are you called upon to make some momentous decisions on which your future may depend?

Counsel with God. He knows the end from the beginning. Are you investing money? Are you about to make a will? Everyone ought to. Counsel with God. Take God into partnership. Let Him be first. Only this way can one be on solid ground. Don't wait to take God into partnership until you are old, or the tragedy that some will accept God as a last resort, one has led a wicked, profligate life, now he is about to die, he feels spiritually consternation, he calls upon a minister, he wants one to pray with him, he is tremendously earnest about his soul's salvation, God now becomes supreme to him. Wonder of wonders, God graciously listens to him, but how much better it would have been if God had been put first rather than last.

God is pleading, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth . . ." Eccl. 12:1.

Dear reader, make God first in your life. And gone are the gods of fashion, immorality, the gods of lust and of inflating habits . . . the only true God wants first place in your life. It is the secret of victory, the secret of happiness, the secret of contentment.

Job said,

"Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee." Job 22:21.

Do you remember the story of the man that played God? A great musician was playing for royalty one night, when a bomb was thrown in an effort to kill the king. The king was not hurt but the explosion plunged the musician into utter silence. He never heard again. He had to give up his courier. He came back to New York City in brokeness of heart. One day, when an old friend came to see him, he took down the New Testament and read to this man the passage that had once been his favorite, "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? yet not one of them is forgotten before God." Luke 12:6.

That is not true said the great artist savagely. God does not love like that, or he would have never allowed me to be robbed of all that I hold dear.

By and by the deaf musician was induced to learn lip reading. He lived in a flat that overlooked Central Park. He began to amuse himself little by little by watching through his field glasses the passengers of life that passed beneath his window. One day he saw a frail young man with a girl on his arm come into the park. He read the lips of this young man as he told the girl that he loved her, he had just been to his physician and that he was condemned to death - `I have tuberculosis, but I could get through it,' said he, `if I only could go to the mountains. But that would take a thousand dollars and I have almost nothing.' And he lifted his face to the heights praying for a chance to live. And the great artist heard that prayer as he saw the lips of that young man form the words; and at once he sent his valet with a check for the money.

This experience brought such joy to the giver that he began to watch more closely and with increasing interest he followed the burdened men and women that came within his view . . . More and more he forgot himself as he took their burdens and their needs upon his own shoulder. At last, as he walked this roadway of sacrificial service God dawned upon him like a slow breaking of a radiant day. Doing the will of God he came to know Him.

And Jesus said,

"... this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." John 17:3.

If we let the mighty God, the Creator of the heaven and the earth, become our God; make Him first in our affections, we will know the peace that passeth understanding.

He would say to us today, `Thou shalt have no other gods before me.' He also says, `Oh, that thou wouldst hearken to my commandments, then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.'

Dear reader, I love that peace, don't you?

We can have it in Jesus.

Grace in the Law - II

We shall study now the second commandment. It reads,

"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
And showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Exodus 20:4-6.

We notice that the first and the second commandment are closely connected, but we must not unite them. They are very distinct. Some would hide under the second commandment what is in the first because it condemns practices that are hostile to the second commandment. Both, the first and the second commandment are united in their prohibition of idolatry or false worship, but we must note that there is a distinct difference between them. This is what it is:

1. The first commandment we have found deals with the question of `Who is the true God.' This commandment reveals the true object of worship, that is, who must be worshiped.
   
2. The second commandment tells us `how this true God shall be worshiped.' This commandment reveals the true mode of worship. That is, how he must be worshiped.

It was Jesus who emphasized this important truth, in his conversation with the Samaritan woman, that the question between the Jews and the Samaritans was not whether God was to be worshiped or not, but rather was it about the manner or the place where God was to be worshiped. Whether He was to be worshiped in the mountains of Samaria or in Jerusalem.

At this time Jesus laid down a great fundamental truth about worship when he said, "God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. " John 4:24.

Jesus taught, that it is not where, but how one worships.

That is it what counts, how we worship God. He whose worship is of the heart, rather then by ritualistic forms conducted at some particular place, is the one who pleases God. It is not a city, or a temple, or a particular church building in which worship is concentrated, but in the heart of individuals, the congregation of true and faithful believers.

God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth, that means in all sincerity, with the highest faculties of the mind and emotions applying the principles of the scripturally educated heart. In this context we remember the words of Jesus,

"... In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups: and many other such like things ye do.
And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition." Mark 7:7-9; Matth. 15:9.

That is a verse we should remember frequently. Though John uses the term, `God is a spirit,' we should understand this to mean that God is that infinite spiritual being. God is not something bound to the same limitations as finite, material beings are.

Consequently He is not so much concerned with physical places or forms of worship, as he is with the spirit in which man worships Him.

The Bible teaches that God is real. Jesus was declared to be the expressed image of His Father's person.

Here is what we read about that,

"Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." Hebr. 1:2,3.

At Creation's Morning God said to His Son,

"Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness. . . ." Genesis 1:26 (Emph. ours).

And in the next verse we read,

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Gen. 1:27.

The first commandment prohibits false gods; the second commandment forbids false forms of worship.

The true God is not to be worshiped through idols, nor images, or any other visible manifestation.

The "thou shalt not" of the Ten Commandments implies the policy "Thou shalt". If our conception of God is correct, then our worship of Him will be in spirit and in truth.

If our conception of God is materialistic and carnal, then our worship will also be sensual.

If our knowledge of God is pure, our worship of God will be pure.

The second commandment tells us the right way to worship God. There are some, because of misunderstanding of the commandments, who have taught and are teaching that the making of pictures of anything in God's universe or the taking of pictures with a camera is idolatry. Some will not even have a picture in their house. What is the meaning of divine intention in these commandments? Is picture taking or portrait painting addressed therein? Probably not, for shortly after the giving of this commandment among the patterns of the things pertaining to the tabernacle, the very holiest of all, two images of angels overshadowed the Mercy Seat, and also on the borders of the garments of the high priest were likenesses of bells and pomegranates, there were also stitched on the curtains between the holy and most holy images of angels. That ought to mean that man was not forbidden to make a representation of anything, but he is expressly forbidden to use the representation as an aid to worship.

`Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them nor serve them.'

Some have experienced situations where the priests or the ministers of God would come to a home with a picture of Christ in his hand, and he would command them to bow down before that picture, this the second commandment forbids man to do.

The three Hebrew friends of Daniel were thrown into the fiery furnace because they would not bow down to an image erected by the king, Daniel 3.

There are devout people who vow that they do not worship the image but that it is a representation of God, and that they do not worship the crucifix but that it helps them to think of Christ.

Yet, this is exactly what is forbidden in the second commandment. They are not to be used as a representation to help in worship, for in time it will diminish the knowledge of God in the minds of participating people and God will not be worshiped in truth anymore.

God is spiritual and they that worship Him are to worship Him in spirit and in truth, starting from Genesis to Revelation.

Material things cannot help the spiritual. No man who knows God, no man who is living in daily communion with God, needs a picture to help him to pray. None who know what it is like to live and walk with God in their heart and mind need, amidst their work during the week, divine help from an image placed in front of them when they worship, for they have their spiritual consciousness restored so that they know God and are able to commune directly with God. That is possible only for those who are keepers of all ten of the commandments of God in faith and spirit who the Holy Spirit of God can thus remind and they `hear' the still small voice in full agreement of scriptural instructions.

We must repeat that the second commandment is plainly against the making of any image, any representation of that which is heaven or on earth and bowing down to it. Yes, the commandment can very plainly be understood, `Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.'

Had the commandment said, `Thou shalt not bow down thyself to serve them,' it might be plain, but as long as the `bowing down' was not for the purpose of worshiping, it might be permitted.

The reading, however, is, that we must get it plainly, `Thou shalt not bow down thyself nor serve them.'

This states that we are not to bow down to them, nor are we to serve them. The statement `Thou shalt not bow down to them,' is complete in itself. It forbids that which millions are doing today.

The next part of this second commandment is, "The Lord thy God is a jealous God."

At this point we may want to be aware that there are some who think that to speak of God as a `jealous God', is to use language unworthy of His infinite majesty. Clark's Commentary gives this brief explanation on this expression `a jealous God',

"This shows in a most expressive manner the love of God to His people. He felt for them as the most affectionate husband could do for his spouse, and was jealous for their fidelity because he willed their invariable happiness."

Paul writing to the Corinthians said,

"For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." 2.Cor. 11:2.

To be jealous, in the sense of this commandment, is to brook (tolerate) no rival. It is to demand exclusive attention. The word also means to be earnestly and anxiously watchful, to be vigilant lest any harm come to the loved one. It means to be zealous to God and to protect.

Therefore, God's jealousy is more than the suspicion of a rival and hatred of sin; it is a divine zeal for our welfare and anxiety that no harm come to us; it is a protecting care and watchfulness exercised entirely in our behalf and for our sakes. It is the concern of the Father that his child make good. It is of the same nature as Elijah's jealousy, when he says after his experience on Mt. Carmel, `I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts,' 1.Kings 19:10.

That is also why we read,

"So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy." Zech. 1:14.

And so we can see that this kind of jealousy is entirely divorced from everything that is low and mean, and see that it is rather a protecting, watchful care for loved ones.

When the Apostle Paul preached in the city of Athens, we read that his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city given wholly to idolatry.

"Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry." Acts 17:16.

Idolatry is the serving and woshiping of the creature more than of the Creator.

"Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." Romans 1:25.

Whatever we love most and make the most of is a God. We may love and worship the Creator, but if we love something or someone more than we do Him, we are guilty of idolatry.

You may meet some who believes in money. They think of money as the god they serve. - While it is true that money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is.

Money can feed the hungry, clothe the naked and build schools; it can erect churches, and send the gospel to the ends of the earth. Money, rightly used, is the means of endless good, but the love of money can become idolatry.

So I saw onetime a news story that a young man was involved on 32 or 35 different stations playing games of poker. That is idolatry. There is no connection between such and God.

Few men can make money and remain earnest Christians.

Perhaps the most degrading of all idol worships is the idol of lust.

Impurity was never so rampant or so general as in the present. A twin god to lust is fashion. It feeds the god of lust. That is why fashion consciousness can be such a debilitating form of idolatry. Modesty and decency is thrown to the wind when the god of fashion speaks.

How pathetic that professing Christians would follow such intense extremes.

Some hold that there is nothing in the Ten Commandments about love and mercy; that all is about law.

Is that true?

Notice this statement of the closing phrase of this commandment, how God is . . .

"... showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Ex. 20:6.

Truly that is a beautiful promise. The promise is to them `that love me, and keep my commandments.'

`Love' and `keep' - these two go together.

Some claim that they `love' God, but do not `keep'; others may claim that they `keep', but they do not `love.'

The promise is to neither. It is only if you `love' and `keep' that the promise is effective and changes the inward person to the image of God.

This is in harmony with this scripture, that we . . .

"... love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments." 1.John 5:2.

The second commandment is more than a statute of law, it is a promise. In fact, it is one of the most precious promises in the Bible. It promises exemption from the visitation of the sins of the fathers upon their children, upon the condition of love to God; of cessation of hate, it promises God's jealous care over us as we abstain from worshiping other gods. It extends to us God's boundless mercy and care, and protection in exchange for our love and obedience.

In this commandment is essentially the whole gospel bound up.

These are important considerations for God's commandment is exceedingly broad.

What would the world be like if everyone, by the grace of God, had their lives ordered in harmony with the Ten Commandments?

We read it here,

"O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:18.

Let us keep these points made in mind.

III

(Left out on tape.)

Grace and Law - IV

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11.

For many it may be a surprise that our Creator God has a sign by which He is known to His people and by which they are marked as His followers. This sign is set forth in the following words by the Creator Himself,

"And hallow my sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Ezekiel 20:20.

Since therefore the sabbath was given as a sign of God's work in creation, it becomes a sign also for the power of Jesus Christ our Savior, for it was Jesus who created the heaven and the earth. This fact is clearly taught by the Apostle Paul. We read, speaking of Jesus,

"Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." Colossians 1:13-17; Hebr. 1:1,2; John 1:1-3; Eph. 3:9.

The truth of Christ being the Creator stands out in bold relief in scripture, that Jesus of Nazareth, the one who was made flesh and dwelt among us, the one by whose blood we have redemption from sin, is the one who in the beginning created all things - he made the heavens and the earth, when God said, let us make man in our image, he was speaking to His Son and His Son carried out His Father's desire. Jesus was the Father's active agent in bringing everything into existence. He was the mediator between God and all his works. It was the Son of God who spake and it was done. Who commanded and it stood fast, as we read in Psalms 33:9. It is by his word that the heavens were made, and all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth, verse 6.

He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. "He is before all things, and by him all things consist." Col. 1:17.

Question: What kind of a conclusion will this lead to?

Answer: Since Jesus Christ, God's Son and man's Savior, was this world's Creator, and since the Sabbath was given as a sign of the power of the Creator, the Sabbath is Christ's Sabbath. It was He who gave it to man and He gave it to man as a constant reminder that Jesus, who had undertaken man's salvation and sanctification, was the author of the original creation. It is therefore the Christ's, the Christian Sabbath. It was because of this that Jesus could say, "The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath." Mark 2:28.

And when was the Sabbath made?

The Sabbath was made at the close of the creation of the world. That is why we read,

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 2:1-3.

The sabbath was made when the earth was in its Edenic condition and it may be called the `Eden Sabbath.' It is, as it were, a beautiful and fragrant rose that has come down to us from Eden's Garden which is so often crushed beneath the feet of man but which is still very beautiful and fragrant to God.

Someone has said, `The sabbath is a blessed link between earth and heaven, a golden clasp of the volume of time. It is a bridge thrown across the troubled waters of the world over which man may safely pass to reach the other side. It is an oasis in the desert, were we may find refreshing drink for the soul, an island of hope amidst the billows of care. It is a flower from the Garden of Eden, still blooming for man. It is heaven's milestone on the highway of time, a golden link in the chain of days.

May it be to you and me a refreshing of our mind and soul, a cooling drink in the heat of this world's events.