If Everyone Does It

Memory Verse: Romans 7:12 “So then, the law is holy, the commandment holy, righteous and just"

When God created man and woman, He knew that people would need rules. They would need a set of rules to live peaceably with each other. These rules would define what things we should not do because doing those things would endganger and destroy our relationships with Him and our relationships with each other. He wrote these laws down on stone with His own finger

Ex. 31:18 18 When the Lord finished speaking with Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, written by the finger of God."

He wrote them wih His own finger so we would know they were from Him and not man. He wrote them on stone so they would be permanent and unchangeable. Someone could not come along and re-write or erase any of them. He gave these “do nots” to Moses to give to the children of Israel. We call these “do nots” the Ten Commandments. Breaking any of these breaks relatationships with God (the first 4) by dishonoring Him, and breaks relationships with others (the last 6) by dishonoring, using, exploiting, and hurting them.

Governments know that in order to have peace, the people must abide by certain laws. Your book uses the illustration of traffic laws and gives examples of what would happen without them. We have speed laws to keep traffic flowing smoothly on the highways and freeways and in the cities the speed limits are regulated even more to keep children, pedestrians, and other cross traffic safe.

The activity we started our class with demonstrated what happens at an intersection when there are no laws to regulate the flow of traffic. We have crashes and pileups. Once the yield law is put into effect, as long as everyone obeys it and yields the right-of-way to the person on their right, traffic flows smoothly. If stop signs are added, it becomes even safer as long as everyone obeys those laws.

If everyone kept all of God’s laws, we would not need so many of the laws that governments, states, and cities have passed that we now have to obey in addition to God’ s laws.

Let’s examine God’s laws and see how breaking them breaks relationships and destroys peace.

Exodus 20:1-3 – 1st Commandment 1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other gods but Me."

Why does God demand we worship only Him? (He is our Creator and Savior) (All other gods can’t measure up – are creations of man’s imagination – are not the Creator/Savior God)

What other gods could we worship? (ourselves, famous people, anything or anyone that takes the place of God in our lives).

How do we worship these false gods? (spending the time with them or doing them than the time we should be devoting to God – they take up so much of our time that nothing is left for God).

How would worshipping other gods – things – people – activities break our relationship with God? (We would have no time for Him and you can’t have a relationship without investing time).

Exodus 20:4-6 – 2nd Commandment 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands.

Why can’t we make statues of God? (God is a Spirit – has no form – no one knows what God looks like – any statue would be something from man’s imagination – a creation of man and not God—we would worship the statue and not God. We are commanded to worship in spirit and truth) John 4:20-24

Why would God lay the sins of the parents and put them on the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren? (The parents’ sins would affect the lives of those children and they too would continue to sin as did their parents, affecting their children and children’s children.)

Are those descendants of sinning parents trapped in sin with no escape? NO! By accepting their sinful natures, repenting of their sins and accepting Jesus’ sacrifice they can they escape this trap. Jesus is the answer for them as He is for us.

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

How would worshipping statues break our relationship with God? (It would reduce Him in our minds to our level – He would not be so special to us – we would not be worshipping Him as He wants us to (in spirit and truth).

Exodus 20:7 3rd Commandment 7 “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name."

How does misusing God’s name break our relationship with Him? (When we misuse or abuse or make fun of someone we reduce the worth of that person in our eyes – we reduce the worth and greatness and glory of God in our hearts and minds)

Exodus 20:8-11 – 4th Commandment 8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. "

How does breaking the Sabbath break our relationship with God? (We don’t have a relationship with Him because we aren’t spending time with Him and learning how to live as He wants us to live -- you can't have a relationship without investing time)

Exodus 20:12 – 5th Commandment 12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

How can you honor your parents? (Obeying them -- treating them with respect and love) How does dishonoring them break our relationship with them. (You can't honor someone you show disrespect or contempt for and it destroys relationship) Are we supposed to honor evil parents? Why or Why not? Are we honoring them or honoring their position in our lives, or both? (we honor them because they are our parents -- their position as a parent gives them that -- you may not like how they live or how they treat others, but they are your parents as long as you live.) Is there a blessing for honoring your parents? (God promises a long, full life)

Exodus 20:13 - 6th Commandment 13 “You must not murder.

What is murder? (the calculated, intentional killing of another human being) Is it the same as killing in self-defense? No. Why or why not? (intent -- murder is offensive and considered -- self- defense is defensive and not intentional) What else is covered under this commandment?

Matthew 5:21-22 21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.

Why would breaking the 6th commandment break relationships with others?

1 John 3:15 "Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them."

Exodus 20:14 – 7th Commandment 14 “You must not commit adultery.

What is adultery? (a married man or woman who has sex with another man or woman to whom they are not married)

What else is covered.? (All sexual sins)

1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9 Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, 10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God."

1 Corinthians 6:18-20 18 "Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. 19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."

How does breaking this command affect relationships with others? (selfish use of one person with another for his own pleasure -- destruction of trust and love in a marriage)

Exodus 20:15 – 8th Commandment 15 “You must not steal."

How does breaking this command affect relationships with others? (destroys trust -- creates dishonesty) What else would be covered under this command? (cheating, embezzeling, dishonesty, deceit)

Exodus 20:16 – 9th Commandment 16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor."

How does breaking this command affect relationships with others? (breaking of trust, false accusations, innocent people victimized)

Exodus 20:17 – 10th Commandment 17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.”

How does breaking this command affect relationships with others? (Causes us to want things we don’t need or shouldn’t have – causes us to hurt ourselves and others in the process of getting those things or persons)

James 4:1-3 1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure."

Just as traffic laws were established for our safety, the same thing is true with God’s laws. They have been given to us for our own good. When we don’t keep these laws it becomes a problem. Then we suffer the consequences. Excusing ourselves by saying “Everybody else does it” won’t save us from the consequences.

God’s law is truly holy, righteous and just. Jesus promised you that if you will keep His laws and teach others to keep them, that you will be “great in the Kingdom of Heaven”.

Matthew 5:17-19 17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. 19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."

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