Princeton Presbyterian Church

Princeton Presbyterian Church (EPC) Sermon # 1734

June 7, 2026

Exodus 20.1-21        Click here for audio worship.

Dr. Ed Pettus

(This is an extended outline, not a verbatim transcript.)

 

“Introduction to the Ten Commandments”

And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.  For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.” Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.

 

• Old Testament Laws

 

I know my sermon title may not be necessary, I mean who really needs an introduction to the Ten Commandments? We know them. Some may have them memorized. We all know they are there. We all have seen the last 30 or so years when our society and culture has turned against them to some degree. But we also need reminders. The apostle Paul used to remind the churches of the gospel they had learned and we all have a propensity to forget things when we do not refresh our minds about things that are important. So, we are going to work through a series of sermons on the Ten Commandments. It will be fun!

Let’s begin by addressing the variety of opinions on how we handle the Old Testament laws. Some suggest that all the laws are to be kept, all 613, and in that thinking all the laws are equal in value and relevant for our time. I commend to you a rather humorous look at one person’s journey attempting to keep all 613 laws over a one year period: The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs.

Our own Larger Catechism divides the laws of the Old Testament into three categories: Ceremonial Law, Civil Law, and Moral Law. We might also recognize Dietary Laws, kosher foods and cleanliness laws that could be lumped under the ceremonial category. For now we will stick to the three!

*Ceremonial Laws no longer bind us as they did in the Old Testament because they were nullified under the New Covenant in Christ. So, for example, we need not offer any more animal sacrifices because Christ is the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1.29). Or, if we place Dietary Laws here we know that all those laws no longer affect us because of Peter’s vision: “[Peter] became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance 11 and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” ¹⁵And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common” (Acts 10.9-16).

**Civil Law (Judicial) – According to our Catechism this includes moral law with the exception of the Ten Commandments and were specifically laws for the nation of Israel as a political body. They have no binding to us today with the exception of where they might be of importance to our own civil laws and legal system.

*** The Moral Law is binding to all people for all time! It is God’s will for humanity, for the good of human relationships, for the good of the world, society, and cultures. The promise of Scripture is life for obedience to the moral law and destruction for disobedience. We are called to live by the moral laws of God.

There may be overlap between the three categories. Moral laws may inform civil, for instance.

What is important is that we are not under the Old Testament law, but we are in Christ who fulfilled the law and the prophets. The law is still useful, as we read in 2 Timothy 3.16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

One of the misconceptions about God’s Commandments is that they were spoken by God for the sake of punishment and to burden people. But the opposite is true. The commandments were not given out of an intention to strip the world of fun and enjoyment, but were directed from love to bring life and joy and peace. The world has always needed these commandments. Without the Ten Commandments we cannot know right from wrong, we cannot not know hope, and we cannot not know the love of God. While the commandments are directed to God’s people, they are exactly what the world needs to keep a civilized community and a peaceful world. They are for the whole world, all of humanity.

To break commandment is to bring death or brokenness to the world. There is an interesting text in Hosea that speaks to this truth. Hosea 4:1-3, Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land;
²there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. ³Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away. Verse two is considered a reference to the Ten Commandments, swearing, lying, murder, stealing, adultery. Breaking the commandments destroys peoples, societies, cultures, and even affects creation itself.

 

• Structure of the Ten Commandments

 

The Westminster Confession divides the Ten into two sections: 1-4 establish our duty to God and the last six our duty to one another. Moses was given two tablets that included these two sections. We have an obligation to the Lord to worship Him alone, to forsake idolatry, to carry His name with integrity and faithfulness, and to worship Him on the Sabbath. We have an obligation to honor the Lord in how we treat one another in love. Every commandment to one’s neighbor, that is, our fellow man, is not only proper instruction for right relationships between people, but also a reflection of God’s glory in us when we are obedient to love our neighbors.

The Commandment to honor our parents reflects God’s order in the family. Commandments against murder, stealing, adultery, bearing false witness, and coveting all reflect God’s order for society. Each Commandment requires something of us and forbids something. These are the topics we will explore with each Commandment in the coming weeks, that which is required of us and that which is forbidden for us.

 

• Introduction to the Ten Commandments

 

This message is a twofold introduction of the Ten Commandments. First, is what we have already covered in the description of Old Testament laws and the structure of the “top ten”. Now we will look at the introduction to the Ten that is given in Exodus 20.1-2, And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

In the Larger Catechism we are taught that these verses reveal the sovereignty of God. God spoke these words. It is a direct revelation from God. “I am” spoke these words. “The Lord” spoke these words. “Your God” spoke these words. Just in that introduction “I am the Lord your God”, we have the name of the one who revealed His name to Moses, the “I Am”. This is our Lord and God who spoke creation into existence, who is, and was, and will be. He has no beginning and no end. He is the living God. He is the only God with the wisdom and authority to create these commandments. These words from God are to be heard, remembered, believed, and obeyed.

Secondly, this is the God who brought Israel out of Egypt and out of the house of slavery. He is the Redeemer, the Deliverer, and Savior. This signifies a covenantal relationship with His people. It was only by His mighty hand that they were delivered. It is only by His hand that we are delivered in Jesus Christ from any spiritual bondage. Because He has saved us in Christ, we are compelled to obedience to His commandments.

Ten Commandments stand at the core of Israel’s life under God’s care and direction. The Ten Commandments intend to produce a people no longer enslaved by injustice and for people not to enslave others. The Ten Commandments are not a one time historical contextual antiquated offering, but an ongoing living memory for continued life in the community of faith, Jewish and Christian. The Ten Commandments affirm three life giving truths: 1. There is one God and only this God is to be worshiped and served.

2. The community of faith is set by boundaries that offer life without exploitation, abuse, or greed.

3. The rhythm of life includes the recognition that rest is vital to a people who honor God and neighbor. The Ten Commandments are a counter claim to the modern claims that we need no rules outside of ourselves. The Ten Commandments are a defense against the nonsense that we can claim our own identities by how we feel about ourselves.

The Ten Commandments are something like a love language for us. They are the directives given to the ones whom God loves and requires of us a joyful obedience. The God who loves us calls us to practice love for Him and for neighbor for the good of all and that obedience comes by and through the grace of God. The Ten Commandments bring the best out of us when we place our lives before God, embracing what God gives, resisting the cultural tides that seek to drag us under the water. God has given us Ten Commandments that we might live before God and neighbor in love. May we know and cherish these laws, for these are indeed gifts from God. Amen.