GOD'S MORAL LAW
God's Moral Law was from the beginning, not just with the input of the Ten Commandments.-
God's Moral Law was from the beginning, not just with the input of the Ten Commandments.
- Adam and Eve's sin came from disobedience (Choice... in the matter of obeying or disobeying God).
- This devotion covers three (3) areas of the moral laws from God in giving practical direction for how we are to:
- 1. Worship God 2. View Ourselves 3. Value Others
- Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength,
- Love your neighbor as yourself.
- Worship Only the Lord God
How do you think the world pictures God?
Let's examine the following:
- Who God says He is,
- Why He demands exclusive worship, and
- What it means to give your exclusive allegiance to Him.
Worship = In Scripture it means to bow down:
- To God...or,
- To false gods.
Exodus 20:2-4 (NIV) 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.3 "You shall have no other gods before[a] me.4 "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth or in the waters below."
- How are believers to worship God?
- Giving God the glory and honor because of His grace and mercy.
- But, that is not all the reasons to worship God.
- What other reasons?
- God did the unimaginable: Father sacrificing His Son...One and only Son.
God's Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us..."
We should praise and acknowledge that we don't deserve this...Why did He do it? - God is Who He says He is! All promises are true. We don't understand the whys; we don't understand the reasoning...unless we read the Bible with the Holy Spirit being our teacher.
God deserves better than being One of many gods. He is the "I AM."
- Deuteronomy 4:32-40 (NIV)
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32 Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created
human beings on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has
anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard
of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you
have, and lived? 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of
another nation, by testings, by signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and
an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD
your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other. 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice to discipline you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength, 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance, as it is today.
39 Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. 40 Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
- Think of What God Has Done for You! Think of the mess you got yourself in...and He found a way to save you!
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How can we say, "Thanks for all the things you have done for me?"
Deuteronomy 4:24(NIV)24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God"... 29 "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul".... 31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath
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Do Not Worship False Gods! Exodus 20:4, "...I am a jealous God..."
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15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of
the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not
become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether
formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that
flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any
fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,
the moon and the stars-all the heavenly array-do not be enticed into bowing
down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all
the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the LORD took you and brought
you out of the iron-smelting furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of his
inheritance, as you now are.
21 The LORD was angry with me because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land; I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land. 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden.
- God does not hold back His affection...but He also does not tolerate adultery from His Bride. What book in the Bible depicts this truth?
- Moses challenged the Israelites to embrace the unseen God.
- Paul challenged the people of his day to embrace the unseen God.
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Acts 17:22-31, 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said:
"People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I
walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an
altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very
thing you worship-and this is what I am going to proclaim to you."
24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'[a] As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'[b]
29 "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone-an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."
A lesson like this is to encourage you to examine yourself and make a fresh commitment to God.
- As we take communion in response to Jesus' command to "do this in remembrance of me"...We need to do as Paul instructed us to do in 1 Corinthians 11:23-30...
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23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on
the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke
it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me."
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new
covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26
For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's
death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. 30 That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
- - How Do We Value Others?
- From the beginning, God valued life...from conception to the last breath on planet earth...then with Him for eternity.
1. God created life, making man in His own image and likeness to rule over the rest of creation. (Genesis 1:26-28)
2. God loves and cares for human life, including the pre-born, transferring His image to them. (Psalm 139)
3. Jesus, in His incarnation, identified fully with humanity, sanctifying conception through His participation in it. (Hebrews 2:14)
4. Man was made to live forever. Death is the result of, and the punishment for, sin, and was never offered by God as a solution to problems. (Genesis 2:15-17)
5. Human life is precious to God. Its wanton destruction is forbidden by God and invites His wrath. (Genesis 9:5-6; Revelation 21:8)
6. Child sacrifice is particularly abhorrent to God, combining the shedding of innocent blood and idolatry. (Psalm 106:37-38)
7. Man is commanded by God to reflect His view of human life by protecting it from wanton destruction. (Proverbs 24:11-12)
8. Man is obligated to use law to reflect God's love and justice, providing alternatives to the destruction of human life. (Jeremiah 22:1-3; Matthew 22:37-40)
9. Children are a gift from God for blessing the family, the Church and the world. (Psalm 127 and Psalm 128)
10. God is in control of the "hard cases," using them for our good and His glory. (Exodus 4:10-12; Isaiah 45:9-12; John 9:11-13)
"For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them."
(Psalm 139:13-16)
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle.
--Albert Einstein
- As we complete the lesson, do we understand the tragedy in the world today is that many Christians don't take God seriously?
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A "Gimme" Philosophy of God in lieu of an "I'll give you my life" philosophy with the Creator!
Make sure you engage yourself to have a servant's heart...in lieu of a "serve me" heart!
