Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/Sermons/zz20091101.htm

THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION
Exodus: God's Forming The Nation Israel For His Abrahamic Covenant
Part II: God's Training Israel To Heed Him, Exodus 15:22-40:38
F. God's Giving His People Their Moral And Civil Law, Exodus 20:1-17
1. The First Four Commandments: Loving God, Exodus 20:1-12
c. Commandment Three: Prohibiting False Oaths In Reverence For God
(Exodus 20:7 et al.)
    Introduction: (To show the need . . . )

    In today's world, people need to be more civil to one another, to be more restrained and consider the rights of other people around them:

    (1) The often politically "liberal" USA TODAY ran a surprising editorial in its October 26, 2009 issue, p. 10A objecting to a federal court ruling that sided with six Muslim clerics in a 2006 incident.

    The clerics had been removed from a US Airways flight due to their unusual behavior as the paper noted "(p)assengers reported the men had been praying loudly in the terminal, chanting 'Allah, Allah' and cursing U. S. policies in Iraq. Once on board, the men took . . . seats in the cabin's front, middle and back. Two imams asked for seat belt extenders, which include a heavy metal buckle that could be used as a weapon, but left them on the floor. The pilot was told that three of the men had one-way tickets. A passenger who spoke Arabic said one imam expressed fundamentalist views. All told, the imams' actions appeared to be either intentionally provocative or clue less as to how others might perceive them in the aftermath of 9/11."

    (2) In the "Letters to the Editor" section of the October 26, 2009 Waterbury Republican-American, p. 6A, David V. Lanese, for 15 years a school teacher, wrote about the heinous abuse of a kindergarten girl by fifth-graders on a Waterbury school bus. He urged: "Let's leave the teachers and the bus drivers alone. Many parents . . . should . . . examine themselves as the primary cause of most of the problems . . ."

    (3) An Associated Press story by Stephanie Reitz on page 3A of the same paper ("Hartford officials differ over extent of gang influence") claims a police memo "says the city is 'infested' with 138 known gangs -- including 800 members under 17 years old and a 'prison yard atmosphere' on middle school playgrounds."

    (4) Another letter to the editor in that paper by Joseph P. Nolan mused, "With recent homicides at UConn, Yale and Wesleyan, we know evil is flourishing in places where it is least expected . . . Is there a connection between senseless violence and secularism? Even if there's not, more needs to be done . . . something more than simply increasing the number of state troopers. New ads in subways proclaim 1 million atheists live in New York City . . . Old-fashioned values don't look so old-fashioned anymore . . . Something needs to change . . ."

    We may then ask, "With people needing to be more civil in society, what causes this need, and how can it be met?!"



    Need: "As people today need to act with more civility toward one another, what creates this need, and how may it be met?!"

  1. The call that Israel not misuse God's Name (Ex. 20:7a) was given that she sense her certain accountability to God, and so act civilly:
    1. Exodus 20:7b reveals the force in the Exodus 20:7a command not to misuse God's Name was to come from the fear of divine punishment:
      1. The Hebrew conjunction rendered "for" is kiy, and in this context it has a causal force, B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 473.
      2. Then, the verb rendered "will not hold guiltless" is from yenakeh, and here it means "not leave unpunished," Ibid., p. 667.
      3. Thus, the Exodus 20:7b reason for NOT misusing God's name is fear of sure accountability to God and His resulting punishment!
    2. Then, Matthew 12:34b KJV reveals one speaks "out of the abundance of the heart," and Matthew 7:20 KJV teaches one's deeds also reflect what is in his heart, so God's call not to misuse His Name urged Israel to respect Him in thought, word and deed as a WAY of LIFE!
    3. Also, Proverbs 1:7 claims the starting point of wisdom is respect for God, and Proverbs 1:8-19 launches into a condemnation of a life of crime, an uncivil lifestyle that revering God causes one to avoid!
    4. Thus, God's call for Israel not to misuse His name was His call that she sense her inescapable accountability to Him and thus revere Him so as to depart from sin in thought and act and be civilized!
  2. In view of Bible History, the NEED for this command was GREAT:
    1. God had destroyed the world by the Genesis Flood in Noah's day due to its violence that arose from not respecting God, Gen. 6:1-3, 11-13!
    2. God had also destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's day due to their violence that arose from not respecting God, Genesis 19:1-25:
      1. The men of Sodom tried to abuse even God's visiting holy angels versus even their own custom of treating visitors hospitably, Gen. 19:1-5; H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis, 1974, vol. I, p. 558.
      2. God had thus destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19:6-25.
  3. However, even TODAY, man STILL WIDELY MISUSES God's NAME, producing INCIVILITY in SOCIETY (as follows):
    1. Exodus 20:7a prohibits any "idle, frivolous, blasphemous or insincere intent" use of God's Name, The New Bible Commentary: Rev., p. 132:
      1. The word "vain" (KJV; NIV "misuse") translates the Hebrew noun shaw' that literally means "emptiness," Ibid., B. D. B., p. 996.
      2. In this context, it implies "to no good purpose" in general, Ibid.
      3. This command then prohibits using God's name to manipulate in magic spells or to curse another (Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 272) or to misuse His Name in a profane way as in Leviticus 24:10-14.
    2. However, this rule is broken a lot today as we can briefly illustrate:
      1. Using "Jesus", "God" or text messaging "OMG" for "Oh My God" in verbal profanity as many people do violates this command!
      2. If a godless politician in insincerity says, "God bless America!" to win voters at a political rally, he violates this command!
      3. If in a religious meeting one says "Jesus" repeatedly to gain a spiritual effect without a Biblical basis, he uses it like a pagan who says a magic spell to manipulate God, violating this command!
    3. Such sins lessen man's sense of deep accountability to God, making it easier for him to sin, with the resulting decline in civility in society!
  4. Nevertheless, God's SALVATION in CHRIST offers the way to OVERCOME this sin and thus to RENEW CIVILITY in SOCIETY:
    1. Romans 3:21-26 reveals that one is saved from sin by faith in Christ and His atonement for sin, being thus pronounced just by God.
    2. At that instant, he receives the indwelling Holy Spirit, Romans 8:9.
    3. When the believer thus relies on the Holy Spirit for behavior control (Galatians 5:16-23), he will revere God in thought, word and deed, being equipped by the Holy Spirit to will and to do God's purpose, Philippians 2:12-13. He then becomes civil, thinking, speaking and acting in living out a sense of deep accountability to God, Titus 3:1.
Application: If we search for greater civility in the world, may we (1) address the lack of civility in ourselves, trusting in Christ for salvation from sin to become indwelt by the Holy Spirit, John 3:16; Romans 8:9. (2) May we then rely on the Holy Spirit to (a) WANT to respect God and (b) to DO so in thought, word and deed! (3) As we then function with civility (Titus 3:1), may we (4) disciple others unto Christ as we have been for the good of society, Psalm 128:1-6!

Lesson: The world's lack of civility rises from failing to REVERE GOD! It is OVERCOME by SALVATION through FAITH in CHRIST and a Christian LIFE LIVED in RELIANCE on God's HOLY SPIRIT for a SENSE of DEEP ACCOUNTABILITY to GOD and its BLESSED EFFECTS in the INDIVIDUAL first and thus eventually in SOCIETY!

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . . )

 Many years ago, I knew a devout Christian who was the Superintendent of Schools for Holt County, Nebraska. Among his many duties, when student behavioral issues arose that teachers or even the school principals could no longer handle, the students were sent to him as the official of last resort.

This man told me that many such students no longer respected any kind of human overseer! Indeed, this man himself was a "grand fatherly type", close to retirement, soft-spoken, gentle, humble, seemingly the least likely to get rebellious kids to mind, but he often found that telling them of their accountability to God worked wonders!

Yes, he would sit them down in his office, look them in the eye and solemnly warn them that though they might manipulate their way around their parents, their teachers, their principals or even around him, they could not avoid their accountability to God! In the end, He Who kept their hearts beating would force them to be accountable to Him for their deeds, and He would administer punishment or reward!

Such an admonition in today's "politically correct" world would raise the cry of a host of civil liberty groups, harping, "Violation of Church and State," that it was wrong for a public school official to talk to students about God! However, his addresses were often effective, and in turning troublesome kids from becoming future criminals into being productive citizens, this man felt he was doing society a favor in bringing God into the equation in talking to these students!

This man's testimony in view of the teaching of God's Word have convinced me that what our world needs for restoring its civility is a return to a healthy dose of a sense of accountability to the One Who keeps everyone's heart beating -- accountability to Almighty God!



May we thus revere Him in the power of God!

If we do not know God as Our Savior, may we trust in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, for salvation and equipping to think, speak and act in great respect for Him as civilized citizens!