Participants:
Series Code: SSOS
Program Code: SSOS190011A
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00:01 Music...
00:26 Welcome to another installment of the Sanctuary, Salvation 00:30 and our Savior. 00:32 Now, I'm really excited about today's study 00:34 because in today's lesson, 00:36 we'll be looking at the Ark of the Covenant 00:40 and specifically, the Law of God... 00:42 the Ten Commandments 00:44 which was located inside the chest 00:46 known as the Ark of the covenant. 00:49 Now, on the screen behind me is an LED of a depiction 00:54 of the Shekinah glory of God. 00:56 This was the very presence of God 00:58 that was in the sanctuary... 01:00 the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, 01:02 and inside this chest was the Ten Commandments 01:07 on which God wrote with His own finger 01:10 on tablets of stone 01:12 and God received or God gave Moses 01:15 the Ten Commandments 01:16 and instructed him to put it inside the Ark of the Covenant. 01:21 Now, there's a lot of contradictions 01:24 that seem to come out of Scripture 01:28 and there's some confusion in the Christian community 01:30 about the Law of God and the Ten Commandments. 01:33 Some individuals say that the Law of God 01:35 was done away at the cross, 01:36 other individuals say 01:38 that if you break one, you break them all, 01:41 which is it? 01:42 Is the Law still binding today 01:45 or has it been done away with at the cross? 01:48 And the solution for this seeming contradiction 01:52 is really that there are two laws in the Bible, 01:56 let's go to our screen here. 01:57 We have on the left side the Ten Commandments 02:00 and on the right side, you have Moses' Ceremonial Law 02:05 and I want to compare and contrast these two, 02:09 let's go to the left-hand column here, 02:11 the Ten Commandments was written by God 02:13 according to Exodus chapter 31 verse 18 02:16 and was written on stone. 02:18 When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, 02:22 He didn't dictate the Ten Commandments to Moses 02:26 and say, "Hey, I'm about to give you something very important 02:28 I want you to write it down. " 02:31 No, this was so important to God 02:33 that God said, "I'm going to write this Myself" 02:37 and notice the material that God used 02:41 for the Ten Commandments. 02:42 He didn't write it on parchment, 02:45 He didn't write it on a scroll, 02:48 He wrote it in stone. 02:51 Have you ever heard the saying, "Written in stone?" 02:54 Does that indicate that it's a passing nature 02:58 or rather unchangeable? 02:59 Notice the very material that God chose 03:02 to write the Ten Commandments with stone 03:05 signifying that this was of an eternal, unchanging form. 03:10 This was not to change... He wrote it Himself 03:13 on tablets of stone 03:14 and notice the location as we mentioned before, 03:16 Deuteronomy chapter 10 verse 5, 03:18 it was deposited by Moses inside of the Ark. 03:23 The location of this is very important 03:24 because the Ark of the Covenant... 03:26 the Mercy Seat... 03:28 the Shekinah glory... 03:29 the angels hovering over the Shekinah glory 03:31 was the throne of God 03:33 and it was placed inside of the Ark. 03:36 In other words, the very foundation... 03:38 the throne of God... 03:39 was to be the... the Ten Commandments. 03:41 The Ten Commandments was not to be placed in the Courtyard, 03:44 the Ten Commandments was not to be placed in the Holy Place, 03:47 the Ten Commandments was not just to be placed 03:50 in the Most Holy Place in any... any sector of it, 03:53 no, the most sacred entity in the entire sanctuary 03:56 was the Ark of the Covenant 03:58 and the Ark of the Covenant held within it... in the chest 04:01 representing the throne room of God, 04:03 was the Ten Commandments, placed inside of the Ark. 04:07 Now the very location of the Ten Commandments 04:10 indicates its significance and we'll be unpacking that 04:14 as we go in our study. 04:16 Isaiah chapter 42 verse 21, Christ was to magnify the Law 04:20 and make it honorable. 04:22 In other words, 04:23 Jesus did not come to do away with the Ten Commandments, 04:27 but as we see in the Beatitudes, 04:29 Jesus came to expound on the Ten Commandments. 04:33 He said, "You have heard, 'Thou shalt not commit adultery 04:36 but if you commit adultery 04:37 or you think about lust in your own mind... 04:40 in your own heart... 04:41 you have committed adultery in your heart. '" 04:43 He expounds on the Ten Commandments 04:47 so, we look at the Ten Commandments written by God 04:49 written on stone, 04:51 deposited by Moses inside of the Ark, 04:53 Christ was to magnify the Law 04:55 and make it honorable. 04:57 Now, let's take a look at the other Law, 04:58 Moses' Ceremonial Law... 05:01 and we'll compare and contrast these two. 05:03 Let's take a look at our screen once again, 05:05 Moses' Ceremonial Law... 05:08 it was written by Moses, 05:11 God's Law - the Ten Commandments written by God 05:15 this one was written by Moses 05:17 and according to Exodus chapter 24 verse 4, 05:19 it was placed in a book. 05:22 The third part, Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 26, 05:26 it was deposited by the Levites by the side of the Ark. 05:32 Now, notice the distinction between the two... 05:34 just in terms of location... 05:36 the Ten Commandments was placed inside of the Ark 05:40 while, the Book of Moses which was written by Moses 05:44 and placed inside a book, 05:45 was placed at the side of the Ark. 05:47 So, just by location, 05:49 the Ten Commandments had a higher place. 05:52 It was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant 05:55 while the Book of Moses 05:57 was placed outside of the Ark of the covenant. 06:01 In Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 26, 06:04 it was to be against the people 06:07 and in Colossians chapter 2 and verse 14, 06:10 it says that you blot... 06:12 they blotted out the handwriting of ordinances 06:17 that was to be against the people. 06:20 In other words, when the Bible talks about the Law of God 06:24 being done away with, 06:26 it's not talking about the Ten Commandments, 06:29 it's talking about Moses' Law. 06:32 It was to be of a passing nature 06:35 and when Jesus died on the cross, 06:38 there's something significant that took place there 06:41 in terms of the temple. 06:43 The temple veil was rent from top to bottom 06:47 indicating a transition from the sacrificial ceremonial feast... 06:53 when Jesus died on the cross as the Passover Lamb, 06:56 we don't have to kill a Lamb today anymore 06:59 and I praise the Lord for that. 07:01 Praise the Lord that Jesus is the Passover... 07:04 Jesus is the Lamb of God 07:06 who takes away the sins of the world 07:08 and all of the ceremonial feasts and festivals 07:11 that pointed forward to Jesus... 07:13 we don't have to keep them anymore. 07:16 These are not a part of the Christian ceremonies and rituals 07:22 we don't have to do these anymore 07:24 because Jesus came as the Lamb of God 07:28 and Moses' Law was nailed to the cross 07:31 but this is not talking about the Ten Commandments, 07:34 this is talking about the Ceremonial Law 07:37 which is of passing nature. 07:39 Now, this is a question that was posed to Billy Graham 07:43 in regards to the Law... 07:44 in regards to some of the confusion that is out there. 07:47 Here's the question to Billy Graham. 07:49 "Some religious people that I know 07:51 tell me that the Ten Commandments 07:53 are part of the Law 07:54 and that they do not apply to us today. 07:58 They say that as Christians, we're free from the Law 08:02 is that right?" 08:04 And here's Billy Graham's answer. 08:06 "No, it is not right 08:09 and I hope that you will not be mislead by these false opinions. 08:13 It is very important that Christians understand 08:16 what the Bible means when it says, 08:18 'they are free from the Law' 08:19 it certainly does not mean that they are free from the 08:23 obligations of the Moral Law and our liberty to sin. 08:27 You see the word 'Law' is used by the New Testament 08:31 in two senses, 08:33 sometimes it refers to the Ceremonial Law 08:35 of the Old Testament 08:37 which is concerned about ritual matters and regulations 08:39 regarding food, drink and things of that kind, 08:43 this Ceremonial Law was of a passing character 08:47 and was done away with when Christ came, 08:51 from this Law, Christians are indeed free 08:54 but the New Testament does also speak of a Moral Law 08:59 which is of a permanent, unchanging character 09:03 and it's summarized in the Ten Commandments. 09:07 This Law sets forth God's demands on human life 09:10 and on man's duties to God and his neighbor 09:13 but it definitely applies to Christians is made clear 09:16 in Romans 13:8 through 10." Billy Graham. 09:21 I agree with this assessment, there are two Laws... 09:25 Moses' Law was of a passing nature 09:27 and was done away with... it was nailed to the cross, 09:30 but the Ten-Commandment Law 09:32 which was placed inside of the Ark 09:34 is of an eternal nature. 09:36 It was not done away with at the cross 09:39 and Billy Graham's assessment here is absolutely correct. 09:43 In James chapter 1 verse 23, the Bible tells us 09:47 that the Law of God is like a mirror. 09:50 I praise the Lord for mirrors. 09:52 A mirror tells the truth. 09:56 Have you ever gone through a day and you think you just look fine 10:01 and then, you look in the mirror 10:03 and then, you're like, 10:05 "Oh, people were looking at me and I look like this?" 10:09 You know, and you don't get mad at the mirror, 10:12 you do an adjustment. 10:13 In other words, the mirror is a moment of self-awareness. 10:17 The mirror shows us our need. 10:18 In the same way, the Law of God is not the solution... 10:22 the Law of God is not like a bar of soap, 10:25 it doesn't clean us up. 10:27 The Law of God shows us our need of a Savior. 10:31 So, when we talk about the Law of God, 10:33 we must remember that we're not saved through the Law... 10:36 the Law is the standard. 10:39 The Law is a transcript of the character of God... 10:42 the Law is like a mirror 10:44 and shows us our need of a Savior. 10:46 As we looked into the mirror of God's perfect righteousness... 10:50 His perfect character... 10:52 we see that we are sinners in need of a Savior. 10:55 So, the Law points to Jesus. 10:57 The Law is not like a bar of soap... 11:00 that is, its purpose is not to clean us up 11:03 but to show us our great need. 11:06 Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments. " 11:10 John 14 verse 15. 11:11 "So, God's faithful people keep His Law 11:14 because they love Him... 11:16 not in order to be saved but because they are saved 11:20 by His amazing grace. " 11:22 This is important for us to recognize 11:25 that we're not saved through the Law, 11:27 we're saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone 11:33 and the Law is a transcript of God's character, 11:37 He writes it in our own hearts 11:38 and we love Him because He first loved us. 11:43 It is not the means of salvation... 11:45 it is the response to the love of God... the Law of God is. 11:50 Now, when we look at the Ten commandments, 11:53 we note that the first four 11:55 are in reference to our love to God, 11:58 the last six are in reference to our love to our neighbor. 12:02 In other words, if you love God, you will keep the Sabbath. 12:07 If you love God, you will have no other gods before Him. 12:11 If you love God, you won't worship idols. 12:13 If you love your neighbor, you won't kill him... 12:16 you won't take his wife, 12:17 you won't lie, cheat or steal from him, 12:19 in other words, the Law of God is fulfilled in love 12:23 and God wants to write that Law 12:25 in our own hearts and in our own minds. 12:28 The Law of God is not an imposed extrinsic idea 12:34 of obligation. 12:36 We think of the Law in terms of... 12:38 "You can't... you can't do this, 12:39 you can't do this... you can't do this... " 12:42 but actually the Law of God is written in a way 12:45 that really says, in a form of a promise, 12:48 "You will not... " 12:50 what a different paradigm isn't it? 12:52 in other words, if you love God, 12:55 you will not have any other gods before Him. 12:58 If you love your neighbor, you will not kill him. 13:02 If you love your neighbor, you will not cheat... 13:06 you will not take his wife... 13:08 so the Ten Commandments... 13:11 the fulfilling of the Ten Commandments 13:13 is God writing His Law of love in our own hearts 13:17 and you will not do these things. 13:20 The Ten Commandments, written by God, 13:23 written on stone, 13:25 were placed inside of the Ark of the Covenant. 13:28 The transcript of God's character... 13:31 the very foundation of God's throne... 13:33 was placed inside this chest... 13:35 signify that this was the foundation of God's government. 13:39 We're going to take a short break 13:41 and when we come back, 13:42 we'll continue in our study of the Law of God... 13:45 how God wants to write his Law in our own hearts... 13:48 in our own minds... 13:49 we're going to take a short break 13:51 and when we come back, 13:52 we'll continue in our study of the Law of God 13:55 which is in the Ark of the Covenant. |
Revised 2019-10-22