1st Commandment: The 10 Commandments Show Us Our Sins And Preach Repentance

With all the "Antinomian" (a.k.a. "anti-Law") flavored talk on social media lately that completely boggles the mind when it's coming from Lutheran Pastors who should know better, I thought it might be good for us to get back to basics and revisit the Ten Commandments.

Remember, as Lutherans, we firmly believe that a proper distinction between Law and Gospel is vital and that the Law is good just as the Gospel is good.

So, with that in mind, let's take an in-depth look at one of the 10 Commandments. The following is quoted from "What About...The Ten Commandments" by Dr. A. L. Barry (10th Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod President, 1992-2001)...

 

Here is the tenfold sure command, God gave to men of every land, through faithful Moses standing high, on holy Mount Sinai. Have mercy, Lord! 

This [article] will help you study the Commandments and use them in your daily life. We recognize sin in our lives as we examine ourselves according to the Ten Commandments. Sin takes a gift God has given and uses it in a way God does not want it used. Each commandment also teaches us how God’s gifts are used to His honor and glory.

1. You shall have no other gods. 

I, I alone, am God, your Lord; all idols are to be abhorred. Trust me, step boldly to my throne, sincerely love me alone. Have mercy, Lord! 

Where the heart is right with God, all the other Commandments follow. When a Commandment is broken, this is symptomatic of the fact that the human heart, by nature, is turned away from God. God made us to be His own. He has given Himself to us through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever claims our greatest loyalty, fondest hopes or deepest affection is our god and takes the place God alone wants to have in our lives. Through the Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit works in our hearts true fear, love and trust in God above all things. (Isaiah 42:8; Matthew 4:10; Proverbs 11:28; Psalm 118:8; John 14:15; Philippians 2:13).

That's a good, succinct summary for us.

However, in an attempt to make it a little more personal (and uncomfortable) for us, let's consider some specific examples of what would classify as "breaking" this Commandment as put forth by Rev. Dr. Ken Korby from a piece titled "The Ten Commandments Preach Repentance; That Is, By Them God Shows Us Our Sin And How Much We Need A Savior" that I found at the Steadfast Lutherans website.

You shall have no other gods. 

What does this mean? 

We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. My God is that which I love, trust and fear most in my life. I expect my comfort, good and delight from my God.

-- Do I look to God my heavenly Father, for all love, good and joy? 

-- Is everything measured for me by what pleases me? 

-- In all things am I self-centered and selfish? 

-- Do I see my worry and fretting as sin against trusting God? 

-- Do I complain about the troubles, people, work and suffering God lays on me? 

-- Do I love the things God gives me more than I love Him? 

-- And do I cling to what God takes away, even though He gives me Himself?

The correct answer we're looking for here is "Yes!"

Surely, each and every single one of us has fallen short of living up to those standards, haven't we? Of course, recognizing how we fall short of God's perfect Law, and then repenting of those sins, so that we can receive His forgiveness and mercy offered to us freely through the death and resurrection of His Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the whole point!

How does God use the Ten Commandments in our lives then? Here's Dr. A. L. Barry again with the simple answer...

How Does God Use The Ten Commandments In Our Lives? 

You have this law to see therein, that you have not been free from sin, but also that you clearly see, how pure toward God should be. Have mercy, Lord! 

Lord Jesus, help us in our need; Christ, you are our go-between indeed. Our works, how sinful, marred, unjust. Christ, you are our one hope and trust. Have mercy, Lord! The Ten Commandments cause us to ask ourselves the following questions: Do I fear, love and trust in anything or anyone above the Triune God? Have I honored the Lord’s name on my lips and in my life? Have I gladly held His Word sacred, listened attentively to the preaching of that Word, and made use of it in my daily life? Have I honored and obeyed all the authorities placed over me? Have I maintained the purity of my marriage and my sexual life in my thoughts, words and deeds? Have I stolen property or not helped my neighbor protect his? Have I gossiped, either by listening to it, or spreading it myself? Have I been content with all that the Lord has given to me? The Law is a blinding reflection of our sin. The Law of God is what the Holy Spirit uses to make us realize how much we need the forgiveness Christ won for the world and now distributes through His Word and Sacraments. The Holy Spirit calls us by the Gospel, to turn to Christ Jesus, who is our only hope, for He has fulfilled the Law perfectly for us and died so that our sin would be forgiven. Through His resurrection from death, He conquered death. In Christ, we have been adopted as the Lord’s own dear children. Therefore, God uses His Law in three ways: First, like a curb, by which outbursts of sin are controlled. Second, and most importantly, like a mirror, to show us our sin and our need for a Savior. And then, like a guide, to teach us what is pleasing to Him. Living in the forgiveness won by Christ, throughout our lives we pray, "Have mercy, Lord!"

The Law and the Gospel do not stand in opposition to each other as if they are rival systems of salvation (see Galatians 3:15-29).

Scripture, which contains God's Law, incarcerated the whole world with no hope for release. Sin's dreadful power subjugated all of human existence. The Law discloses sin for what it really is -- a violation of God's revealed will.

Therefore, the Law does have a purpose in God's plan, which is to simply show us our need for deliverance from the wages of our sins (Romans 6:23). The Law serves the good purpose of revealing our sin and our need for a Savior.

The good news? Christ redeems us from the Law's curse by becoming a curse for us! One sin, no matter how "trivial" it may seem to us, makes us a transgressor of the whole Law and accountable to God (James 2:10). Christ's death on the cross releases us from the guilt of every sin.

So, the 10 Commandments show us our sins and preach repentance; that is, by them God shows us our sin and how much we need a Savior.

In a Lutheran layman's terms, the Law is good and necessary, but Jesus Christ does for us what the Law cannot do -- He gives us forgiveness of sin and eternal life though we did not deserve it one bit.



NOTE: Please understand that I'm not a called and ordained minister of God's Word and Sacraments. I'm a layman or just a regular Christian, Corporate Recruiter, Husband, Father, Friend who lives in the "City of Good Neighbors" here on the East Coast. As another Christian Blogger once wrote, "Please do not see this blog as me attempting to 'publicly teach' the faith, but view it as an informal Public Journal of sorts about my own experiences and journey, and if any of my notes here help you in any way at all, then I say, 'Praise the Lord!' but please do double check them against the Word of God and with your own Pastor." To be more specific, and relevant to the point I want to make with this disclaimer/note, please understand that I'm a relatively new convert to Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism a little more than 3 years ago now. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is inconsistent with our Confessions and Lutheran doctrine (in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word, which our Confessions merely summarize and repeatedly point us back to over and over again) so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray (James 3:1). Also, please be aware that you might also discover that some of the earlier/older pieces I wrote for this blog back in 2013 definitely fall into that "Old Evangelical Adam" category (and they don't have a disclaimer like this) since I was a "Lutheran-In-Name-Only" at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a Christian "Book of Concord" even existed (Small/Large Catechism? What's that!?!). This knowledge of the Lutheran basics was completely foreign to me even though I was baptized, confirmed, and married in an LCMS church! So, there are some entries that are a little "out there" so-to-speak since the subject matter was also heavy influenced by those old beliefs of mine. I know that now and I'm still learning. Anyway, I decided to leave those published posts up on this website and in cyberspace only because they are not blasphemous/heretical, because I now have this disclaimer, and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life (Hebrews 12:2; Philippians 1:6). Most importantly, please know that any time I engage in commenting on and/or interpreting a specific portion of the holy Scriptures, it will always closely follow the verse-by-verse footnotes from my Lutheran Study Bible and/or include references to the Book of Concord unless otherwise noted. Typically, I defer to what other Lutheran Pastors both past and present have already preached and taught about such passages since they are the called and ordained under-shepherds of our souls here on earth. Finally, I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the length of most entries (this disclaimer/note is a perfect example of what I mean! haha). I'm well aware that blogs should be short, sweet, and to the point, but I've never been one to follow the rules when it comes to writing. Besides, this website is more like a "Christian Dude's Diary" in the sense that everything I write about and share publicly isn't always what's "popular" or "#trending" at the time, but is instead all the things that I'm studying myself at the moment. For better or for worse, these posts tend to be much longer than most blog entries you'll find elsewhere only because I try to pack as much info as possible into a single piece so that I can refer to it again and again over time if I need to (and so that it can be a valuable resource for others -- if possible, a "One-Stop-Shop" of sorts). Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time, help, and understanding. Feel free to comment/email me at any time. Grace and peace to you and yours!

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