The Two Witnesses
Note: This is a verbatim transcript of the live broadcast. It is presented as spoken.
Question and Answer: Karen Batchelor
KB: I wanna start with a testimony. This seminar is great! It has made as such a difference in my life. After two years of depression after losing a son hit by a drunk driver, your explanation of the Bible has helped to heal the pain. Keep up the good work. I know it is the truth. It comes straight from the Bible. God be with you in the following nights. (Audience says amen)
DB: Amen
KB: Amen
DB: Praise the Lord!
KB—Question and Answer #1: That’s right we do wanna praise the Lord, don’t we? Our first question comes from Beaver, and he writes, does a person have to go to church to be saved and live with our Lord?
DB: Well there will be a lot of people in heaven that did not go to a church building. I mean we’re hoping to see Adam and Eve redeemed and in the kingdom. They didn’t have a church. My question would be, if the church is the body of Christ, why would a saved individual not want to gather together with people of like faith? It would make me wonder about the health of their experience. And so (uh) if a person has a--you know the Bible says, “We should not,” Hebrews chapter 10, “We should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together and all the more as you see that day approaching.” Do you see that day approaching? Why would we want to forsake these opportunities to gather together? And that’s what the church is—it’s the assembly, the gathering of the saints.
KB—Question and Answer #2: Do angels really have wings like in pictures? And this is from Laura.
DB: Well sometimes the angels appeared (uh) for instance, they appeared to Lot and the people in Sodom, they looked like men. (Uh) I don’t know how they can morph their appearance. When Isaiah saw the seraphim in chapter 60 they did have wings, matter of fact they had six wings, three pair. (Uhm) But (uh) sometimes the angels are able to cloak or somehow change their appearance so they can look like men. (Uhm) It does talk about angel wings in the Bible so we believe they do have wings. I don’t know that they look like eagle’s wings or stork’s wings they may be some kind of wings of light. Angels travel very quickly and we’ll talk about that another night.
KB—Question and Answer #3: Alright. There is a lot of confusion about what day is the Sabbath and if it even matters, what does the Bible say?
DB: This is a big question that--any of you ever listen to Bible Answer programs on the radio, Bible Question Answers? (Uh) That question comes in. I have a program that we run like that from (uhm) Sacramento each week it’s on stations all over the country. And we actually have to pull that question out because we get it so often. And (uh) I don’t even have time to deal with that tonight, but if you hang with us I promise it’ll be coming sooner that you think, okay? We’ll deal with that subject.
KB—Question and Answer #4: Revelation 12:1 and 2 portrays a pregnant woman about to deliver a baby. It is later discovered this child is Jesus Christ. Some believe the woman represents the nation of Israel from which the child Christ comes. Many view this woman as the church, but the church does not give birth to Christ, Christ gives church to the church, can you please explain?
DB: We have a whole lesson that deals with that but (uh) I will say this there are also some who believe the woman in Revelation 12 is Mary, the mother of Jesus. (Uh) That woman is a symbol of the church: she’s standing on the moon, the light of the Old Testament; clothed with the sun, the light of the New Testament; 12 stars above her head, a symbol for the leadership of the church. And God said to the church, “You are the light of the world.” The dragon, the devil wants to destroy that woman. It is obvious that she is the true church. It is not just any one person, so (uh) we have a whole lesson on that but I wanted to give you some part of an answer.
KB—Question and Answer #5: So stay tuned. Okay. Is meditation okay for Christians? If so, what do you recommend for meditation? Are CDs of chants or music designed for meditation okay?
DB: Well the Bible talks about meditating many times in the Psalms. David meditates on the law and the--i--it’s a different kind of meditation. Before I was a Christian--and I’ll mention this on my testimony tomorrow morning, (uh) I was involved in some of the (uhm) Eastern religions where you repeat a word over and over again, the chanting meditation that the questioner asks about (uh) that kind a puts you in a state of self hypnosis, this is not Bible meditation. Bible meditation is where you are pondering the principles and truths of the word, instead of putting your mind in sleep mode, biblical meditation elevates your mind through conceptually thinking. You’re doing cognitive reasoning; you’re thinking about and meditating upon the attrib--attributes of God. It’s not that just where you repeat the same thing over and over again. Jesus said, “Do not pray in vain repetition as the heathen do.” And that’s what a lot of this New Age meditation is saying one thing over and over again until you’re on a hypnotic state.
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Alright, thank you very much and don’t forget if you have questions on our subject tonight or any Bible subject, email us at prophecycode.com.
Sermon Questions: Doug Batchelor
Good evening! I’m so glad to see you. And (uh) we have a very important study tonight. The presentation is called, “The Two Witnesses” and it springs from Revelation chapter 11. Turn with me to Revelation, this is where we’re gonna find our passage, Revelation chapter 11 and starting with verse 3. “And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,200 and 60 days, clothed in sack cloth.” Now do you remember that time period? That’s the same as 42 months, three and a half years, a time, a time, and the dividing of time, or a time, a times, and the dividing of time. That’s a very prominent (uh) pe--(uh) number that you find in Revelation. “These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. If anyone wants to hurt them, fire prof--proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. If anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heavens so no rain falls on the days of their prophecy.” The days of their prophecy, notice that. “They have power over the waters to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire.” Now our consideration will stop there at verse 6.
Go with me now, and I wanna show you something interesting, to the book of Zechariah, minor prophet in the Old Testament, and this and chapter 4 is where I wanna direct you. Remember what I said the opening night that out of the 400 and 4 verse in Revelation, 200 and 76 are found virtually verbatim somewhere else in the Bible. What you find about the two witnesses is drawn from this prophecy in Zechariah chapter 4. And (uh) you can read here in verse 1. “Now the angel who talked with me came back and he waken, me as a man who is waken from his sleep; and he said to me, ‘What do you see?’ So I said, ‘I’m looking and there’s a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it and on that stand seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps and two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at the left.’ So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me saying, ‘What are these my Lord’? Then the angel who talked with me answered and said, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ and I said, ‘No my Lord,’ he answered and said,” oh by the way, you should feel okay because even a prophet didn’t know he’s understand the prophets--prophecies without some help from an angel. So we all need help. “’This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel’: ‘not by might nor by power but by My spirit,’ says the Lord.’”
Now the subject of the two witnesses is a very important study because it really is a study in the word of God. There’s a story in the Bible where Jesus made a strange statement. You can find this in Mark chapter 9 verse 1. He said to the apostles, “Verily I say unto you some of you are standing here who will not taste of death, till you see the kingdom of God come with power.” Then after He makes this statement it says, “After six days He took them up to an exceeding high mountain where He was transfigured before them.” He was glorified, and when they had waken from their sleep they saw that He was communing with two heavenly beings; one on the right, one on the left. And through the dialogue he rea--they realized that these was Moses and Elijah, there on top of the mountain with Jesus were Peter, James and John.
That experience on the mountaintop with those two individuals was the greatest endorsement that Christ was the Messiah because Moses represents the law, Elijah represents the prophets. Last prophecy in the Old Testament; Malachi chapter 4, “Be--remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I gave him for all Israel on Mt. Horeb, with statutes and judgments. Behold I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Remember the Law of Moses; behold I send you Elijah: Moses-Elijah, law-prophets, law and prophets-the word of God. That’s the phrase that Jesus used to describe the word of God. The word of God is (uhm) synonymous with these two witnesses.
And so when they’re up there on that mountain top, they had this vision. When you look in Revelation chapter 11 it talks about two olive trees and two lampstands and you wonder, “What does this mean”? Well first of all olive oil comes from olive trees, and it was the olive oil that kept the lamps burning in the temple; pure olive oil. The Bible tells us, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” What is a lamp like? The Word of God! Zechariah said to the angel, “Who are these”? He says, “They are the word of God.” So these two witnesses are the word of God. Doesn’t the word of God have power to shut up the heavens when Elijah pronounced the word of God? Doesn’t have the word of God power to turn the rivers to blood? And bring all manners of plagues? And so it’s a symbol, these two witnesses represent the word of God.
Now how many of you heard before that these two witnesses are Moses and Elijah? Have you heard that? It’s not altogether wrong because it’s a symbol—Moses and Elijah are symbols for the word of God, but later in the prophecy it says that these two witnesses end up getting killed and they lie in the streets. Where are Moses and Elijah now? They’re up in heaven. Are they going to come back down to earth, do they have their glorified bodies? I Thessalonians chapter 4 says, “Once you get your glorified bodies so shall you ever be with the Lord.” He’s--so they’re not coming back now that they’ve got immortality. They’ve been eating from the tree of life, they’re not coming back to die, I mean that would be absurd.
So remember in Revelation these symbols, these (uh) images are symbolic. The two witnesses represent the word of God. Now you can also find of course in Hebrews 4, another symbol for the word of God is a sword. But not any kind of sword; the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword. You might call it the books of the Old and New Testament. The two-edged sword, the word of God is given in a dual form in the Bible. These are the two witnesses that we find in Revelation: the New and the Old Testament, the law and the prophets, a sword with two edges, Moses and Elijah, (uh) there’s a lot of (uh) symbols that we can use to help evaluate that or to demonstrate it. But even beyond that, the Ten Commandments were written on how many tables of stone? (Audience answers two) Why two? Did God (uh) you know sometimes I’ve got these little post-it notes by my desk and I’m writing down messages and I can’t get ‘em on one note so I get another. Did God cut a table and started writing the law and said, “I should have gotten a bigger table (audience laughs) when I started.” Or was it deliberate that He got two stones. I’ll tell you more about that a little later.
If you were to summarize God in one word, what word would that be? God is…one word, love. If you are to broaden that truth a little bit Jesus said, “You could go a little further and say the great commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.” And if you wanted to broaden that concept, it’s like we’re building a triangle here, I hate to use the word pyramid, but we’re going down. Then you’d have the first four commandments deal with the love for God, the last six commandments deal with love for our fellowmen.
Now as we move on in our study of Revelation chapter 13, we all wanna hear about the beast soon, it’s coming this weekend. The image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. Why would someone be killed for not worshiping an image? What’s wrong with worshiping an image? Is there anything wrong with worshiping an image? (Audience says yes) How do you know that? Does the Bible say there’s something wrong with worshiping images? (Audience says yes) So there’s something in God’s word about His commandments. If the people of God do not understand the commandments of God they will be prepared to embrace the beast and its laws in the last days. Can you understand how important it is that we have at least an elementary understanding of the law of God?
Revelation chapter 14, right after the mark of the beast, and those who received the mark of the beast is highlighted it contrasts those who receive the mark of the beast to another group. Here’s what it says, verse 12, “Here are those who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.” So don’t miss this friends, on one hand it says here you’ve got those who worship the beast and his image, and on the other hand you got the saved who keep the commandments of God. This study is a very relevant study because we’re living in an age where even among Christians—folks are in doubt about whether we are still supposed to keep the Ten Commandments. Isn’t that tragic?
I always like to promise you at least one amazing fact. Shrimp; humble, lowly, shrimp—you know what an oxymoron is right? Two words that contradict each other like “pretty ugly,” or “military intelligence,” (laughing) or somebody said, “Jumbo shrimp.” Well these shrimp have a very interesting habit. They molt about five to seven times a year where their--as they grow, their old skin gets brittle and they slough it off and they have a nice fresh skin. But they do something very interesting, right when that happens they go down to the bottom of the ocean and they pick up one tiny grain of sand, and they stick it in a crack that God designed in their heads—you could see they got rocks in their heads. They put one little piece of sand and they choose it carefully and they put it in their head, the reason for this is called “status stone” or stones of standing.
Because as they’re battered around with the various currents and the waves, they all--the shrimp typically live closer to the surface—they forget which end is up and this little bitty rock that they’ve got in their head there gives them that gravitational pull on that little piece of sand gives them standing. It helps them know which end is up, you listening? Without it, they don’t know which end is up. Have you ever been knocked over in a wave, you get twirled around you don’t know how to swim to the surface because you don’t know where it is?
A marine biologist did an experiment, he took a bunch of shrimp and right when they molted he put them in the aquarium that was filled with iron filings, little bitty bits of iron. And since there was no sand they went down, they grabbed a little piece of iron, they stuck it in the crack in their head. Then he got a very powerful electromagnet put it on top of the aquarium, they were all swimming around doing just fine, he flipped the switch they all flipped upside down, (Audience laughs) and started swimming upside down. Then, I don’t know what obsessed him to do this, he got a shrimp from another aquarium that had a real stone in his head, dropped him in with the other shrimp and you should’a seen the looks on their faces. (Audience laughs) You should’a heard what those shrimp said to that other shrimp. Here he was swimming around right side up and they all look at him like, “Boy is he ever out of his mind”? (Audience laughs) And really it wasn’t him, it was them.
You know I can’t help but wonder if that’s happening to the church today. We’ve lost our status stone. And because of a misunderstood concept regarding the law of God--I’ve run into pastors who were embarrassed to preach the Ten Commandments because they’re being told, “When you talk about it you’re accused of legalism.” How many of you heard that accusation level? Someone talks about obedience they say, “Oh legalist.” Is obedience legalism? Well this is gonna be our subject tonight because if we do not understand the law of God in connection with the prophecy, the stage is being set for us to embrace the beast and his laws. Let’s move on here. Oh, I was gonna show you another picture of my little shrimp and I forgot it.
DB—Sermon Question #1: Number one, now we’re gonna go through number of questions tonight. Question number one. Did God Himself really write the Ten Commandments?
Answer? You can read in Exodus chapter 31 verse 18, “And He gave Moses two tables of the testimony, tables of stone written with the finger of God.” And the tables were the work of God and the writing was the writing of God graven upon the tables, these tablets of stone where God wrote with His own finger. Why did God write this Himself? I believe the whole Bible is inspired, don’t you? But when it came to writing the Ten Commandments God said, “I’m not gonna commit that to any mortals, I will write that Myself, I’m not going to write it on leather parchment like the Dead Sea scrolls or papyrus, I’m writing it on stone because it is of a permanent, enduring nature.” So we ought to give priority to what God gives priority to, amen? The Ten Commandments are still very important for the Christian, at least they should be.
DB—Sermon Question #2: Question number two. What is God’s definition of sin? What does the Bible say sin is?
I mean Jesus came to save us from our sins. What is sin? Well there’s a number of definitions in the Bible one says, “Sin is knowing to do good and not doing it.” (Uh) “All unrighteousness is sin.” “Anything that is not of faith is sin.” But the most common, the clearest definition is where it says, “Sin is,” I John 3:4, “sin is the transgression of the law.” What law? There are lots of laws in the Bible but at least the Ten Commandment law. You know why the devil hates the Ten Commandments? Because when people look at God’s law and they become aware of their sin, they recognize their need for a Savior. If the devil can get rid of the law people can be hypnotized into thinking that everything’s fine when in reality they’re doomed. The devil hates the law of God.
DB—Sermon Question #3: Question number three. Why did God give us the Ten Commandments?
And (uh) there’s several answers to this but we’ll begin with Romans chapter 3 verse 20, “For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Now I (uh) I wanna take a moment to see if I can illustrate this. In the Bible you can read in James and we’ll have this Scripture later, “The law is compared to a mirror.” Now just suppose for a second, if I was to teach the remaining of the lesson, oh I just look at my monitor—thanks, that’s scary! (Audience laughs) If I was just to teach the remainder of the lesson like this, would that be distracting for you? You realize that I don’t see anything. It’s not distracting me except as I see myself through your eyes. What’s gonna help me recognize there’s something wrong with my appearance? There are probably some kids out there watching on tv right now that are nudging their parents and saying, “Ma, Pastor Doug’s got the mark.” (Audience laughs) (Laughs)
So let’s assume that this isn’t appropriate, how am I gonna know? Well if I take this mirror and I look; and this is a two-sided mirror so I’ve got one side that gives me the normal view, another side is the magnified view that looks twice as bad on that side, alright? So I look in here and say, “Oh, I got a problem.” Now since the mirror showed me that I’ve got a problem with my appearance, obviously, it should be the tool to remedy my problem and I should take the mirror and somehow try to take care of the, the mark with the mirror, is that right? Does that make sense? Is that the function of the mirror to remove the mark? No, what is the function of the mirror? To simply show me that there’s something wrong.
Do Christians still need the mirror today to help us recognize sin? (Audience says yes) The law has never been designed--this is the law. The law is never been designed to save us from our sin. The law is there to demonstrate, to help us know what the perfect will of God is, it’s inanimate in that respect. And if I should try to take the mark off with this, I just make a mess of both and I could get very frustrated and throw it away. You see why some people get rid of the law? Because they think the law is supposed to save them, the law was never designed to save them. So (uh) if I get rid of this then I’m fine now, right?
We don’t need the law because I’m not under the mirror anymore, I’m under grace. You know people like that? They say, “Hey, praise the Lord, we don’t need the law, I’m not under the law, I’m under grace.” They still got the mark. The answer is--who knows what this represents? The blood of Jesus! The mirror shows it to us but then we need--I used to do this illustration with a permanent marker and it didn’t work very well. (Audience laughs) It--the blood of Christ is the only thing that can wash away our sin. The law--can you see why the devil would hate this? Because this would help me recognize my need for this, the law helps us see how much we need the blood of Christ. To get rid of the law, you don’t need the Savior to save us from our sin—it’s a very insidious plot.
(Uhm) By the way before I put this o--object lesson down, the Bible tells us that Jesus came to magnify the law and make it honorable. He didn’t come to take away the law. As you look at the teachings of Jesus, you go through Matthew chapter 5, did Christ say, “I’ve come and you’re not under the law now, you’re under grace and so adultery is okay”? Did He make the law about adultery smaller or bigger? He said, “Not only is adultery wrong, if you think it in your heart, you’re guilty.” What about honesty? Jesus said, “Not only should you not lie but let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.’” “Don’t swear by heaven or by earth.” “Not only should you not murder but if you’re angry with your brother without a cause.” He didn’t do away with any of the commandments, He expanded them, He magnified the law—that by the way is one of the prophecies regarding the Messiah, that He would magnify the law.
Why do we need the law? Psalm one nineteen verse one sixty-five, “Great peace have they which love Thy law and nothing shall offend them.” Now I au--automatically become suspicious when a ministers or anybody, anyone claiming to be a Christian starts to fight me when I present the Ten Commandment law, because automatically I begin to wonder, “What is it that’s giving them that attitude”? You’d--you have to assume that if they hate the law there must be something about sin that they love, and the law is convicting them, right? Why else would someone be angry about the commandments of God? It gives you peace; when you’re saved from your sin, the record of sin and from the power of sin, you have peace.
If you’re always driving the speed limit, do you feel guilty when you see a policeman? No, it’s those of you with a radar detector and lead foot (Audience laughs) that whenever you see the--the blue and red lights, you could be parked and you take your foot off the gas right? (Audience laughs) Guilty conscience! “Great peace have they which love Thy law.”
And again Proverbs chapter 29 verse 18, “Happy is he--(uhm) he that keepeth the law is miserable”? I mean some preachers teach it that way, “You don’t wanna be under that burden of the law, we’re under grace we have liberty now,” liberty for what—to sin, to break it? I mean, you and I, you’ve heard these things, haven’t you? It’s--it’s doctrines of devils. And an increasing number of even Christians are being confused about a very basic fundamental truth which is this: God wants us to keep the Ten Commandments. (Audience says amen) They are not called the ten suggestions, they are not the ten recommendations—they’re the commandments of God. They were not written in silly putty, they were written in stone. And it seems so basic and yet folks get confused about it. “Happy is he.”
And again John chapter 15 verse 11, “These things I’ve spoken unto you that your joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full.” God wants us to have abundant life. If you’re out touring a precipice with your children and you see a guard rail would you think, “Oh, I wish that guard rail wasn’t here so my kids could plunge head long into the water or off the cliff.” Or are you thankful that it’s there? If you’re driving on a windy road where it’s steep, are you feeling restricted that your freedoms are hedged in because you see the guard rail there? Or are you thankful it’s there in case you should make something it--it bounces you back in? The law of God is designed here to be the protection for us. Yes it is a wall and we need it, amen?
DB—Sermon Question #4: Number four. Why is God’s law so important to me personally?
Answer? James chapter 2 verse 12, “So speak and so do,” not just speak, “as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.” If you read the preceding verses and you can check on this in James chapter 2. James cites, he lists two of the Ten Commandments and then he says, “So speak and so do as they that will be judged by the law of liberty.” (Uh) I just remembered in Psalms one nineteen, I think verse 44 and 45, it says, “So I will keep your law forever and ever and I will walk at liberty because I keep your precepts.”
The reason that you’re out roaming the streets tonight is because of the same law that puts the criminal behind bars. The reason you’re free is because there is a law and when you keep the law it gives you liberty, right? Those that break the law lose their liberty. God wants us to be free that’s why He saved us from our lawlessness and He writes His law in our hearts so we can have happiness, peace, and liberty. The idea that when Jesus came, it was to take away the law so we could sin still have peace and happiness and liberty, is a lie. You can never be happy like that.
And by the way, let’s get back to where we started, why was the devil cast out of heaven? I believe it’s Ezekiel 28 it says, “You’re cast out because you sinned.” If the devil was cast out for sinning are we going in that way? That’s a terrible mistake to make on this issue. Furthermore, Revelation chapter 12 verse 13 and 14, “Fear God,” I’m sorry, Ecclesiastes, “Fear God,” this is Solomon speaking, “and keep His commandments for this is all of man’s duty. For God will bring every work into judgment including every secret thing whether it be good or evil.” We will be judged by the law of liberty. “Fear God and keep His commandments for God will bring every deed into judgment.” That’s why we need the blood of Jesus to wash away our sin so that when our names are entered there in the book of life and we stand before the Lord, all those sins will be under the blood. But God does not save us to continue in sin, He saves us from sin. He helps us get the victory over the things that hurt us and also destroy our witness for Christ.
Now the reason that you know that the Ten Commandment law is still intact and I should pause here and just say, there are some laws in the Bible that were ceremonial laws that were symbols that were nailed to the cross, and we’ll talk about that a minute. But the Ten Commandment law is not that law. Is it now okay to steal, or to lie, or to rob, or are we under grace and so it doesn’t matter if we keep the law? That’s ridiculous, that’s--that’s absurd! When you try to get rid of the law of God, it’s really an attack on God Himself. Because, I want you to notice the descriptions of God in the Bible and then look at the descriptions of His law and you’re gonna see that they parallel.
Look at how things have happened (uh) in 1940. When I was a kid it was right during the time that they stopped showing the Ten Commandments in school. How many of you remember when you’re kids, I mean I went to public school that they had the Ten Commandments even in public school. I remember seeing them on the wall, little gold plaque, any of you remember that? Let me see your hands. Know I’m--you can date me a little bit. But they began to pull the Ten Commandments out of public school and it’s even pulled out of some Christian schools now because it’s legalism. Did you know that? Aha? I’ve seen it before. I even know a pastor that went in to his Sunday school and took the Ten Commandments down because he said it was legalism, didn’t want the kids to be feeling guilty.
Look at how things have changed from1940 to 1990. The school problems in 1940 were typically talking out of turn, chewing gum, making noise, running in the hall, cutting in line, dress code infractions, littering—1990, and we know things are maybe even worse in some places, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, pregnancy, suicide, rape, robbery, assault. Could it be because we’re not teaching the law of God anymore? FBI reports, there--there is a serious cwi-- crime in North America every 2 seconds, 1 murder every 23 minutes, a rape every 6 minutes, a robbery every 58 seconds, a car theft every 28 seconds, a burglary every 8 seconds, do we still need the law of God?
Violent crime during that same period that I showed you in 1940 has gone up 500 and 60 percent, illegitimate birth 400 percent, divorce 400 percent, single parent homes 300 percent, teenage suicide 200 percent, is it any wonder when we’re not teaching the basic fundamentals of God’s law? Someone estimated that by the time a young person in North America turns 18, the average 18-year-old has witnessed on television 200,000 violent acts including 40,000 murders. That would probably contribute to young people feeling complacent about those things. The conscience can be seared after a while when we’re not--when we lose our status stone, right? We think everyone else is upside down and we’re upside down.
Divorce during that (uh) period of time from 1870 to 1998 has gone from 1 in every 34 marriages ended in divorce, 1998 it was 1 in 2, I don’t know what it is now, I--I’ve heard some statistics that say it’s getting a little better now because people are learning that--the statistics of a marriage being successful because folks shack up before they get married are not proven to improve things at all. And it’s no wonder that (uh) the statistics are what they are when you just look at the kind of headlines we’ve got.
Adultery, the debate about the (uh) oldest sin, infidelity, it may be in our genes and the article in this TIME magazine was saying, “Well you know we come from the monkeys and monkeys aren’t all monogamous so we can’t really help our behavior. We’re not responsible.” And then let’s face it some of our role models in the sporting world and in politics have not been the very best example for honor in the marriage, amen? Well you know it’s true. And it goes beyond that, let’s assume that (uh) heterosexual marriage is the way it’s supposed to be, some people don’t even assume that anymore. I think that’s a real tragedy.
You know if--if--if we just would believe the law of God and say, “Even if there’s things we do not understand we’re not gonna change the law of God to accommodate our sin.” We’re what needs changing. That’s the whole purpose for the plan of salvation; to transform us, we become new creatures. He gives us new hearts. Corporate crime in high places, anyone know what the tenth commandment is? “Thou shalt not covet.” And people with millions of dollars are stealing billions because they’re not happy with millions. (Audience laughs)
DB—Sermon Question #5: Question number five. Canst God’s law, the Ten Commandments, ever be changed or abolished?
No, it’s permanent, it’s enduring! A matter of fact, I’ll submit to you the Ten Commandment law existed before they were given to Moses. Was adultery a sin back before the time of Moses? When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar’s wife he said, “How can I sin against God”? Adultery was wrong. He knew that. When Cain killed his brother Abel, does that go back far enough for you? God said, “Sin is at your door.” Murder was called a sin way back then. I mean the law of God has always been in existence but man had gotten so mixed up the Lord cartified it, He wrote it down so there’d be no confusion and no excuse. The Bible says, “All of His commandments,” Psalm one--111 verse 7 and 8, “All of His commandments are sure, they stand fast forever and ever.” We can count on God’s law. “I am the Lord, I do not change,” Malachi chapter 3 verse 6.
Who wrote the Ten Commandments? God the Father, God the Son. Let me quote a scripture for you and I’ll ask you again. “All things that were made were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” Who wrote the Ten Commandments? Jesus did! I’m sure the Father pr--cooperated but God created all things through Christ, the New Testament tells us. The finger of our Savior burned those letters in the stone. He says, “I am the Lord, I change not.” Jesus again said, Luke chapter 16 verse 17, “It is easier for heaven and earth to pass than for one tittle, that’s like the crossing of a “t” for one tittle of the law to fail. My covenant I will not break nor alter the thing that has gone out of my lips.” God says it’s a covenant. Is the law called the covenant? It says, “He gave you His (uhm) covenant, Ten Commandments which commanded you to perform.” Some said, “Well that’s the Old Covenant Doug.” Oh, we’ll get to that a little bit.
Furthermore, this to me is a slam dunk it you will. Revelation this is a prophecy seminar, Revelation chapter 11 verse 19, now who wrote the book of Revelation, what apostle? John the apostle—did he live before or after the time of Jesus? The vision: before or after Christ’s sacrifice? After; so New Testament, right? Last book in the New Testament he says, “And then the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of His covenant was seen in the temple.” Right after this—I should have included the next verse—he talks about the lightning and the earthquake, and the signs of the end, the second coming of Christ.
Why is he saying the temple of God is open in heaven and the ark is still there? Is it cause the golden box is there? What was the golden box for? It was the container. The golden box was nothing; it’s what was in the box that matters, it was the Ten Commandments. It’s just a con--the--the--the container, the packaging. So when it tells us in Revelation that the law of God is still in the ark in heaven, do you think it still matters to God? Oh, I believe it’s very important.
Jesus said, Matthew chapter 5, I think it’s verse 19, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” What is that mean, fulfill? Does fulfill mean do away with? There’s some people, I’ve actually heard pastors say, “See, Jesus came to fulfill the law so we don’t have to keep the law anymore.” Let me, let me restate that according to their interpretation. Jesus says, “Think not I have come to destroy the law or the prophets, I did not come to destroy but to do away with”? Would that make sense? No, that doen’t make any sense. Let the Bible interpret itself. We’re learning from the prophecy code you have to let the Bible interpret itself.
In the gospel of Matthew chapter 3 verse 15 when Jesus came to John the Baptist to be baptized John said, “Oh, you need to baptize me.” Jesus said, “Suffer to be so now, for thus it becomes us to fulfill all righteousness.” Did that mean do away with all righteousness? No, it means to fill full, that’s what fulfill means. Jesus says, “Think not that I’ve come to destroy the law; I’ve not come to destroy but fulfill. Therefore whosoever shall think to change one of the least of these commandments and teach other so, he’ll be spoken of as least in the kingdom of heaven, but whos--whosoever shall do and teach them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” So if you have a problem tonight with my teaching the Ten Commandments, take it up with the Lord don’t take it up, that’s--I’m not your problem, Jesus commanded me to do and to teach them, and I’m trying my best to be faithful to do that. He said, “Don’t think that’s why I’ve come to abolish.” He came to live it out and to give us power to do the same. He says, “As the Father sent me, so send I you.”
Furthermore, Psalm 19 verse 7, “The law of the Lord is perfect converting the soul.” Why would you dispense with something that’s perfect? Why would a Christian wanna get rid of something that has converting power? You know in what way does the law convert? Well when I look here and I see the sin then I go to Jesus for the forgiveness and that’s conversion. So do we still need the law? Romans chapter 7 verse 12, “Wherefore--wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, and just, and good.” Why would you dispense with something that’s holy, and just, and good?
DB—Sermon Question #6: Number six. Did Jesus abolish the law while He was here on earth?
And I have already touched on this a little bit. Answer? It says, “Do not think I’ve come to destroy the law and the prophets, I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” And again He says, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” Christ came as an example that you and I should walk in His steps according to Peter. Did He come to break the law? No! Some are gonna say, “Pastor Doug, the religious leaders said that Jesus broke the law.” Yeah, they lied! (Audience laughs) They also said, “He was a drunkard, and a wine bibber, and a glutton.” Was Jesus a glutton? They also accused Him of being a Samaritan and having a devil. Was He demon-possessed? No! So don’t get your information, read those things in context. He was accused with all kinds of things, falsely. He never broke the law. He said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments,” and I believe the words of Jesus more than His enemies, amen? (Audience says amen)
I Peter chapter 2 verse 21, “Christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that you should follow in His steps.” “Oh, Doug, I don’t--I get discouraged, I’m so imperfect how could I ever keep the law”? One day at a time, you follow Jesus moment by moment, you ask Him to give you a new heart and He begins to change you, and so the things that you think you can’t live without, you get to the place where you can’t live with’em. Because you’re--all things are made new, you become a new creature. The Bible says, “Don’t be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,” Romans chapter 12. And so God makes you into a new creature.
Now here’s what I was starting to read before, we can’t get rid of the law without getting rid of God because notice the characteristics of God are the same as the characteristics of the Ten Commandment law. The Bible said, “God is good,” Luke 18 verse 19; and the “law is good,” Romans 7 verse 12; God is holy, it says the law is holy; God is just, the law is just; God is perfect, the law is perfect; God is love, the law is love, Romans 13 verse 10. It says that the lord is righteous, His law is righteous; the Lord is truth, His law is truth; the Lord is pure, His law is pure; the law is--I’m sorry, the Lord is spiritual, His law is spiritual; God is immutable, His law is immutable; God is eternal, His law is eternal. Any attack on the Ten Commandment law is in effect an attack on God Himself, cause it is an expression of His character, that’s why He wrote it with His own finger. This is actually--the Law of God is a love letter. You know we keep the law because we love Him.
DB—Sermon Question #7: Number seven. Now we’re getting--get into that subject a little bit. Can people who willingly continue to break one of God’s commandments be saved?
“Oh, Doug, are you teaching we’re saved by keeping the law”? No! You’re saved by grace but you’re not gonna go to heaven deliberately breaking it. I’m gonna prove that from the Bible. “The wages for sin,” are what? (Audience says death) Death! What is sin?—the transgression of the law. If we continue in deliberate disobedience, willful disobedience, you can’t be saved—that’s--that’s simple. You know why? It means that your heart is not right.
And again it tells us in (uh) I John chapter 2 verse 3 and 4, “Hereby we do know that we know Him,” how do we know if someone knows Him? “If we keep His commandments.” I wanna pause here. Lot of people say, “I love the Lord, God knows I love Him. No, I don’t go by the law.” What does the Bible say about those who say they love the Lord but don’t obey Him? “He that sayeth, ‘I know Him’ and does not keep His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.” It’s like when Jesus said, “Many will come to me in that day saying, ‘Lord, Lord,’” and He says, “Why do you not do the things that I say? Depart from me ye workers of iniquity.” You know what that word iniquity is in the original?—lawlessness, without law.
Many (uh) these people think they’re Christians they say, “Lord, but we’ve taught in your streets, we’ve cast out devils, we’ve done many wonderful works.” He says, “But you didn’t obey my commandments, you hypocrites.” Why do we say, “Lo--Lord, Lord” and do not the things that He says? If we love Him we want to obey Him. See, love is the fulfilling of the law.
DB—Sermon Question #8: Question number eight. Can anyone be saved by keeping the law?
No! Nobody is saved by keeping the law. You think of the most perfect individual in the Bible, aside from Christ, if they’re in the kingdom they’re all there by grace. Some people have the misconception that in the Old Testament they were saved by works, but now in the New Testament we’re saved by grace, that’s rubbish, nonsense. Nobody is saved by their works. Even an elementary understanding of the Bible, you know that they were saved back then by faith looking forward to the cross, now we’re saved by faith looking back to the cross. Everyone is saved by faith in the cross. They did it through the medium of sacrificing lambs. Faith in the coming Lamb of God, we do it, looking back in faith that the Lamb came. But everyone saved is saved by grace, amen?
Which is our next verse, Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 and 9, “For by,” what? “By grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God not of works, lest any man should boast.” If anyone’s in heaven they can’t boast, “I’m here because I really worked on it. I--I kept all of God’s commandments.” And you know there are some people who think that their goodness is what’s gonna get them credit with God. Love is what the Lord wants from us. If you love Him then you’ll obey Him.
Now let me illustrate for you. In the Exodus experience, when the children of Israel came out of Egypt, did God ask them to keep the law before He saved them, or after He saved them? Let’s look at it. Moses came they’re still in Egypt, all the plagues hit the Egyptians’ broad side, they finally allowed them to leave, before they leave they kill a lamb, they applied the blood of the lamb. They begin--the last plague was a Passover and the blood of the lamb, as soon as the lamb was slain they began their journey. A matter of fact, they were to eat the lamb with their shoes on, their staff in their hand, am I right? What begins the journey? The lamb! They get out of Egypt through the Red Sea, by the way, we must go through the Red Sea if we’re gonna get out of Egypt, right?
They get out of Egypt, they go through the Red Sea, through the blood, it’s a symbol of baptism as well. Then they run out of food, they still haven’t kept the law yet, God feeds them with manna. They run out of water, He gives them water. They’re attacked by the Amalekites, their enemy, He gives them victory. How did they get the victory? Moses stands on top of the mountain with his hands stretched out. As long as they can see Moses with his hands stretched out they win. If you and I can see Christ interceding in our behalf in heaven before the Father we will win the battle. Amen?
After all these experiences, He brings them to Mount Sinai, and He gives them the Ten Commandments. Who knows what the first commandment is? I heard quite a few of you get it wrong. (Audience laughs) Let me tell you what you said and then I’ll tell you why I say it’s wrong. You said, “Thou shalt not have other gods before Me.” Oh, technically that is not the first commandment; you’re starting half way through the beginning of the Ten Commandments.
Let me quote it for you, Exodus chapter 20, “God spoke all these words saying,” here’s where you begin, here’s where if you had the stones and you could look at them this is where the writings would begin. Point number one, “I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt out of the house of bondage. I am the God who saved you. If you love me keep my commandments.” He begins the Ten Commandments by saying, “I saved—saved you. Now if you wanna make it all the way to the Promise Land show me you love me cause I can’t take you in there if you’re gonna deliberately rebel.”
First He saves us. Then as love for Him, we want to obey, that’s how it works. We don’t become saved because we obey; we obey because we are saved. That’s so important to understand. But if we deliberately disobey after we know what God has said, will we be in the kingdom? Got your Bibles? I read so many Scripture off--off the screen but sometimes I feel like it’s (uh) I’m missing something if I don’t hold my old Bible here with me.
Turn with me to Hebrews chapter 10 verse 26. “For if we sin willfully,” Hebrews 10:26, “For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,” you notice there’s more culpability after you know what the truth is. If we sin willfully after we know what God wants, there remains no sacrifice for sins, all you’ve got to look forward to is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation that will devour the adversaries. That’s pretty scary friends. If we are gonna continue in willful sin after we know what God wants, you’ll be treated like a rebel. A--and those who know what the law of God says and says, “I know what you say but I don’t care I’m just gonna do what I wanna do,” is a very dangerous way to live, amen?
So can we be saved while we deliberately disobey? After God saved the children of Israel, saved them then He gave them the law, those who continue to rebel did they ever make it to the Promise Land? (Audience says no) No! That’s the story of salvation friends, that’s how it works. We’re saved by grace then if we love Him, if we trust Him, we’ll obey Him, we’ll make it to the Promise Land. But if we lose faith along the way we’re in heap of trouble.
Why then is the law necessary? We’re not saved by keeping the law, what do we need it for? Romans 7:7, “I had not know sin but by the law. For I had not known lust except the law had said, ‘thou shalt not covet.’” Do we still need the law to help us identify what sin is? (Audience answers yes) Again Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Everybody needs the law because we’re all guilty of breaking it, we need this mirror to help us identify our need of Christ.
And you know you can all the different part of the mirror because some of us are guilty of the different parts of the law, but all ss--all of (uh) disobedience is sin. And again in Romans chapter 2 verse 13—some people believed that Paul teaches that we’re under grace we don’t need to keep the law. These are the words of Paul, “For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God but the doers of the law will be justified.” If that’s clear say, “Amen.” (Audience says amen) People try and twist what Paul says and make him say that, “Oh we don’t really need to obey cause we’re under grace.”
DB—Sermon Question #10: Number ten. What enables a truly converted Christian to follow the pattern of God’s law?
Answer? Romans chapter 8 verse 3 and 4, “God sending His own Son condemned sin in the flesh.” When Jesus came He condemned the sin the flesh in us, and even in His own life He resisted temptation. He said “If you love me,” do what? “Keep my commandments.” That’s the most important way to demonstrate our love for God. A lot of us think--I heard a story, father asks his teenage boy, “Can you go mow the lawn”? He has other plans so he grumbles and he go outside, he’s muttering under his breath, “Mow the lawn, mow the lawn,” cranks up the mower, doesn’t check the oil, takes a short cut through mom’s flowers, (Audience laughs) gives it kind of a, it looks like a checkerboard when he gets done, little ribbons of grass sticking up everywhere like Mohawk, (Audience laughs) parks the mower.
Few days later he borrows mom and dad’s car without asking, has an accident in which someone is seriously injured, boy is taken to jail cause he doesn’t have his license yet he’s driving by himself, parents have to go down to the jail, they have to give the bail bondsmen a mortgage to their house to be able to pay the bail to get him out of jail, cost him quite a bit to get their son home just so he can go to trial.
In the weeks waiting for the trial, dad says, “Son can you go mow the lawn”? He goes out there, he checks the oil, he sharpens the blade, he gives that lawn a manicuring, what’s changed things? He sees how much his parents have paid that he can be free and now these little things they’re asking out of love for them and appreciation for them changes everything. They’re still the same mom and dad but the relationship is understood differently. This is why we obey God. When we see how much He’s paid for us, how much it’d cost Him, it didn’t cost Him a mortgage on a house, it cost Him the life of His Son.
I John chapter 5 verse 3, “This is the love of God that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not grievous.” Romans chapter 13 verse 10, “Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” God is love, right? And then that’s broken down in love for God in the first four commandments, love for your fellowmen in the last six, it’s like I’ve got one head and I’ve got two arms and this head tells these two arms what to do and I got ten fingers on the two arms. Love is fulfilling of the law. Whatever we do should be motivated by love.
The law is not a bunch of don’ts, it’s really a bunch of do’s. Matter of fact, right in the law of God in the commandment regarding idolatry it ends by saying, “Showing mercy unto thousands of them that,” catch this, “love Me and keep My commandments. Love me and keep My commandments.” Moses over and over said, “Love Me and keep My commandments.” So many people are angry about the law cause they’re trying to keep it and they don’t love God. If we love God better, we’d obey Him better. That’s just the fact friends and so what if you’re struggling with the law? Get to know the Lord better cause if you know Him you’ll love Him, amen? (Audience says amen)
Let’s move on here, Matthew chapter 22 verse 37, “Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind. This is the first and the great commandment. And the second is like unto it: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’” All Ten Commandments are summarized in love: love for God and love for your fellowmen. And (uh) I think you’ve (uh) gotten this point I’ve illustrated that enough.
DB—Sermon Question #11: Number 11. But isn’t a Christian living under grace freed from keeping the law?
How many of you have heard this before? I mean when I preach this every now and then, I have a pastor he’ll come up to me and he’ll say, “Pastor Doug, you’re putting these people under bondage. Legalism, that’s Moses law, we’re not under that, we’re under grace now.” And you know what I--I actually had a debate on television, channel 42, (uh) few years ago. A matter of fact, John, were you with—yeah, you were with me on that. Yeah, John Lomacang and I had debated a couple of ministers and few subjects. This night it was on the law of God and (uh) we’re talking about the commandments and one of them said, “Nobody can keep the commandments.” And so I said do you believe the devil can tempt us to sin? “Yes.” Do you believe that God can keep us from sin? “No.” So I said, in effect you’re saying that the devil is more powerful than God?
That’s what a lot of preachers are preaching. That you know we’re human and we’re never gonna be able to obey God in this life. And so just you know, kind’a try to give some mental recognition of the law of God, and just do your own thing, say “I’m under the blood.” That’s an insult to what Jesus did for you and me. Romans chapter 3 verse 31, Paul says, “Do we then make void the law through faith”? God forbid. Listen to how Paul said, God don’t even think it. And yet this is exactly what many are teaching. “God forbid, yeah through faith we established the law.”
And again Romans chapter 6:15, similar verse, “What then? Shall we sin because we’re not under the law but under grace? God forbid!” You know I always like to illustrate this with a quick story. I’ve been pulled over once or twice for driving too fast. (Audience laughs) I could probably teach traffic school. (Audience laughs) I’m so thankful now you can do it online. One day I was driving in this (uh) down the highway and I was deep in thought, very deep in thought, because I actually passed a highway patrolman. (Audience laughs) He wasn’t parked, I went into the passing lane and passed him. (Audience laughs) And he pulled me over and he was very nice and he said, “You know you weren’t going that fast you were speeding,” says “but I s-- pulled you because I was following someone and you passed me.” And I said, “Officer, I’m sorry, I was on another road, the speed limit was 70 and I came on this road and I was deep in thought, will you please have mercy”? That’s what I asked, try that sometimes, it works. (Audience laughs)
And (uh) matter of fact (uh) what the ladies do is they start crying. (Audience laughs) So I tried that once (Audience still laughing- louder) and she didn’t give me a ticket. (Audience still laughing) So the policeman said, “Well look, you know I’m gonna let you go.” And I forget what I said, I said, “You know my insurance I finally get the rates down and I’d sure appreciate a little mercy right now.” And--and he said, “Alright.” He didn’t say, “I’ll pay your ticket for you,” but he said, “I’ll let you go.” When he pulled me over, I had to pull over, I didn’t wanna pull over, I was speeding cause I was in a hurry, right? Don’t you hate it when you’re in a hurry and a police slows you down even more? (Audience laughs)
And so he pulls me over and now I’m under the law, why? Cause I broke it. I was under liberty until I started speeding. After he said, “Alright, I’m gonna let you go,” he may have written me up a warning, he may have just said, “I’ll let you go,” I don’t remember. It happens so many times. (Audience laughs) (Uhm) How did I pull out when I left, he was still in the back on his radio. I say, “Hey praise the Lord,” as soon as he said, “You’re free,” I’m not under law, I’m under grace. So you know what I did? I revved my engine, I put it in second gear, I popped my clutch, I took off fish tailing spraying gravel all over the police hood, is that what I did? No! And I--I didn’t drive out saying, “Praise the Lord I can speed now I’m under grace.”
This is the philosophy some churches have. They think Jesus died to buy us a license to sin, just confess it every now and then to the priest, you got a free record to fill up with sin. No, I put my blinker on, I looked both ways, (Audience laughs) I took a hanky out and cleaned off the rear view mirror, (Audience laughs) so I could see the next policeman. (Audience laughs) (Laughs) And I slowed down and I waited until there’s no traffic 500 yards in any direction, right? (Audience laughs) And I pulled out I went 52 and a half miles an hour. (Audience laughs) Why? Because I’m under grace, I was more careful than ever cause he had mercy on me, I did not want to insult his mercy. And those who think we can continue in sin after Jesus died to save us from our sin, it is an insult, they’re counting the blood of Christ as an unclean thing. God wants us to keep the Ten Commandments.
You know there’s a quote, Billy Graham used to do a question and answer thing in the “Dallas Herald” a few years ago and here’s (uh) an excerpt from one of these. I agree with him a hundred percent on what he said regarding this question. (Uh) This is under--someone wrote in a question he gives the answer, here’s the question. “Some religious people I know tell me that the Ten Commandments are part of the law and they do not apply to us today. They say Christians are free from the law, is that right”?
Billy Graham’s answer: “No it is not right, and I hope you will not be misled by these false opinions. It s very important that Christians understand what the Bible means when it says they are free from the law. I--it certainly does not mean they are free from the obligations of the moral law, that’s the Ten Commandments, the moral law, and are at liberty to sin. You see, the word “law” is used in the New Testament writers in two different senses. Sometimes it refers to the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, which is concerned with ritual matters and regulations regarding food and drink and things of this kind. The ceremonial law was of a passing character and was done away with in Christ when Christ came. From this law Christians are indeed free. This law sets forth God’s demands on human life. Speaking of the Ten Commandments and man’s duty to God and his neighbor that it definitely applies to the Christian is made clear in Romans 13 verse 8 through 10. Of course it’s quite true the Christian is not saved by his efforts to keep the law but is one who is saved by God’s mercy through faith in Christ, he is under an obligation to obey God’s law. As it is been said, ‘In Christ we are free from sin but not free to sin, if you love me’ he said, ‘keep My commandments.’”
And again he said in another article, “The Ten Commandments are never out of date.” I couldn’t agree more. Praise the Lord there are still some preachers that have that right. Unfortunately it’s just some of the older ones who still remember when the Ten Commandments were on the wall in their church.
DB—Sermon Question #12: Question 12. Are the Ten Commandments reaffirmed in the New Testament?
Answer? Yes they are. Jesus said, “But if you want to enter life keep the commandments.” Now was Jesus saying we’re saved by keeping the law? Or was He saying that when you are saved, we need to obey? I believe that’s what He’s saying. (Uh) Matter of fact, all ten of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the New Testament almost verbatim with one exception, who knows what commandment you h--can’t find really stated, quoted in the (uh) New Testament? The commandment that says, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” You can’t find that in the New Testament verbatim, but the principle is there. In the Lord’s Prayer, “Hollowed be Thy name,” that’s the same thing, right? “The name of God should not be blasphemed”? And so it’s still there. All Ten Commandments are still in the New Testament, amen? Are new Testament Christians allowed to take God’s name in vain? That would be ludicrous, but haah!
Again, Revelation 22:14, “Blessed are those who do His commandments that they might have a right to the tree of life and enter through the gates of the city,” blessed or curse? Blessed! I want you folks to be blessed. Don’t you wanna be blessed? He wants you to be a doer and not a hearer of the word, amen? These are the two witnesses.
DB—Sermon Question #13: Number 13. Are God’s law and Moses’ law the same?
Now there’s a distinction that’s made in the Bible. Notice this, in Deuteronomy 4:13 Moses’ last sermon before he dies, he’s reciting when they got the Ten Commandments. “So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, even the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tables of stone.” Notice it goes on and it says, “And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments.” Do you see a distinction here between the Ten Commandment law and the law of Moses?
And again, you can read in II Chronicles chapter (uh) 33 verse 8, “Only that they are careful to do all that I have commanded them according to the whole law and the statutes and ordinances by the hand of Moses.” Ten Commandments, finger of God; statutes and ordinances, hand of Moses. That’s why Colossians talks about the hand writing nailed to the cross. Can you nail a stone to anything? No—it’s talking about the ceremonial laws.
Notice the difference: Ten Commandment law, written by who? God! Ceremonial law: written by? (Audience answers Moses) Ten Commandment law: written by the? Finger of God! Ceremonial law: written by the? Hand of Moses! Ten Commandment law: spoken by God’s voice audibly; ceremonial law: spoken by Moses. Ten Commandment law: put in the ark, ceremonial law: outside the ark. Did God make a distinction? We should make a distinction, not lump it all together. That’s how some people get mixed up.
Okay. Again, “Having abolished the law of commandments contained in ordinances,” Ephesians 2:15. We’re not required anymore to worry about the circumcision, sacrificing a lamb, the annual Sabbaths, the meat offerings, the drink offerings, all these ceremonial laws. The Ten Commandment law is the moral law that is still part of the Christian experience, amen? That’s what sin is, breaking God’s law. So you’ve got two different laws: ceremonial law, Ten Commandment law.
DB—Sermon Question #14: Number 14. So what is the difference between the Old and the New Covenants?
Very important to (uh) understand this, “He declared unto you his covenant that he commanded you to perform even the Ten Commandments and He wrote them on two tables of stone.” The Ten Commandments were the covenant that God made. When the people, Moses came down the mountain, people heard the law of God they said, “All the Lord has said we will do.” But after Moses came down the mountain were they doing it or had they forgotten already? They made a golden calf and they probably broke all Ten Commandments. There was a fault with that, that’s why the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 8 verse 8, “For finding fault with them,” does it say finding fault with the law or with them? Those who made the covenant had a fault, nothing wrong with the law. So then He makes a new covenant. Hebrews 8 verse 8, “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,” the Lord says.
And again, you can read it in Jeremiah, oh by the way, you find the New Covenant in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 31:33, “’But this is a covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days’ sayeth the Lord, ‘I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.’” So you tell me, the Old Covenant, was the law part of the Old Covenant? Yes. The people said, “All the Lord has said, we will do.” It was their promise, a bad promise. New covenant, God says is based on better promises. God says, “I will write it in their hearts,” it’s based on His promise. Old Covenant; written on stone, new covenant; written where? Is it a different law or the same law? Same law! Just written in a different place! Nothing wrong with the law, it’s just, and holy, and good. “’For this is the covenant that I will make’ sayeth the Lord, ‘I will put my law in their minds and write them in their hearts.’” This is what it means to be filled with the spirit of God. We’ll want to do those things that are pleasing to Him.
DB—Sermon Question #15: Number 15. How does the devil feel about people who follow the Ten Commandments?
Answer? “And the dragon was wroth with the woman,” this is in Revelation speaking of God’s people in the last days, “and he goes to make war with the remnant of her seed that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.” A simple law of life; two rules, live by these and you’ll be okay: find out what God wants you to do, what makes God happy and do it; find out what makes the devil angry and do it. Very simple, if it makes the devil happy don’t do it. If it makes God sad, don’t do it. If it makes the devil mad, do it. Who is the devil angry with? It says, “He has great wrath against this woman who keeps the commandments of God.”
Can you see the devil today trying to set up the Christian world to embrace the beast and his image when they’re being commanded to break the commandments of God and worship an image?
You know I heard a story a little while ago. Some of you remember this, 1995 a young man was (uh) guilty of murder and nobody knew except his father. Father was an FBI agent. And he confessed to his father what had happened on the phone. Father was the only one who knew. He had to make a decision. “Am I going to divulge my son’s lawlessness and I know that he’s guilty of a double homicide that he will be tried for this, and no doubt executed, or do I protect him and say, ‘after all I’m his father I can’t do it.’”
And even this man recognized that he had to stand up for the law. And he called the authorities and he told his son, “We have to do the right thing.” He says, “You’ve told me, I know now, I love you, I’m your father.” And in the court, this father had to testify against his own son. And he said, “I love you and I’m so sorry.” And now he’s on death row. If a human who loves his son has enough moral fiber to recognize that the law is the law, the value of the law, and you can’t push aside the law when it comes to something like murder. Does God have less value?
You know there’s three examples in the Bible of kings that wrote laws that they later regretted, they wanted to change and they couldn’t. King Darius wrote a law said whoever prayed to anyone but him for 30 days was going to the lion’s den, he didn’t realize that this was gonna end up putting his friend, Daniel, in the lion’s den. He tried as hard as he could to pull any strings he could find any loop holes, he could not change this law. Daniel went to the lion’s den.
Ahasueras signed a law that said all the Jews should be attacked on a certain day, then he found out his wife was a Jew. He couldn’t change his law. All he could do was give--make another law giving them the right to defend themselves before that date came.
King Herod said, “If Salome would dance, give her whatever she wanted.” She wanted the head of John the Baptist, he was sorry he didn’t wanna do that, but he had spoken the king’s word was law. John the Baptist lost his head, didn’t he? If these earthly, selfish, vacillating monarchs could not change their word, how dare we think that the King of the universe who wrote His law with His own finger, spoke it with His own voice, is not going to care.
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A man got pulled over by a highway patrol man, a member of his church. The driver said, “Oh, Jack, I’m glad it’s you. I was just speeding a little bit I hope that you can (uh) let it go this time.” Without saying a word the highway patrol man went behind the car and began to scribble. The driver got mad, slammed his door and said, “Hah you’d--I think he’d give me mercy just once.” When the officer came over, he just rolled down the window that far, had to hand the ticket in. When he read it, it wasn’t actually a ticket. The highway patrol man said, “Bob, three years ago my daughter was killed by someone speeding. I’ve had a real hard time forgiving that man. I’m hoping maybe this will help me forgive one more time, please drive slower.”
Do you think it made a difference when he saw how much it cost somebody? You know every time that we think that sin doesn’t matter, we’re advertising for the devil. We’re embracing the torture of Jesus. It hurts the Lord. God would never ask you to do something without giving you the power to do it, amen friends? Inherent in all the commands of God are the power to obey. Would you like to ask for the power of the blood tonight to wash you from your sin to be a doer of the word?
Father in heaven, we believe we’ve heard the truth from your two witnesses tonight; the law and the prophets, that your word does not change, that it is written in stone. Tonight we would also like to ask that Thy law of love be written in our hearts. Help us to embrace the new covenant. Be with all these people who are watching. I know that they’re struggling in their lives as we all do with sin. I pray that we can experience salvation. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.