#9 “The nice thing about crime,” someone said, “is that it usually happens to someone else.” However, rising crime statistics tell us more and more that “someone else” is likely to be you. Robbed. Victims of road rage. Sued by someone we don’t know. Facts are crime’s showing up in surprising ways. Enron. Anthrax. Shoe bombs. Snipers. No longer can we shrug our shoulders and sigh, “Aw! Crime is something that happens to someone else.” Crime and violence is everywhere. It’s big business! Weaseling into politics and government. Infecting police departments and Washington D.C. Students bomb their schools, kids murder teachers and fellow classmates. Even small children carry guns. Cult murders, assassinations, hijacking, jihad, terrorists, mail box bombs – Wall Street and government corruption – reported every day in countries all over the world. Why all the lawlessness? Whatever happened to right and wrong? Sports writer, the late Jim Murray, said Americans have bred a generation of rebels – questioning, skeptical, challenging. Children who imitate the TV’s role models. “TV violence, Mom? No, just watching ‘Rambo.’ Fathers cheat at work. Both parents cheat on each other. The children see it all! And the broken homes are leaving ugly scars! And who’s to instill a sense of right and wrong if parents won’t? Schools can’t teach morality. We’ve outgrown the Bible’s moral standard! Well, maybe Jim Murray’s right. But would you like to know how all this snowballed, especially in our 21st century modern society? This may shock you, but it started with preachers! Of all people! In one of the strangest developments of the 20th century religious world, we’ve watched this amazing spectacle of churches adopting attitudes that disregard God’s “boundaries” calling it “freedom.” Churches saying God’s laws no longer apply. His commandments have been abolished, are no longer relevant, and are impossible to keep. This whole convoluted philosophy got started a few years ago. And it catapulted in popularity with the publication of a book by Dr. Joseph Fletcher called “Situation Ethics.” He claimed to be a Christian psychologist. But he shocked the world when he announced: “Hey, modern Christians! You don’t need rules or laws to govern behavior.” God wants us to be “love children.” Free love. He gave us a brain. So you decide what’s right or wrong for you, depending on the situation, and I’ll decide for me. Do the “loving thing.” It exploded in the Haight-Ashbury hippie era of the 70s and the drug culture of LSD and marijuana. But then preachers got on the band wagon and said, “Makes sense, we’re not under law, we’re under grace!” And the result? Fletcher scored a real “hit,” because now all of a sudden adultery, for example, could be okay for some people – “depending on the situation.” “Do your own thing,” meant everyone was right. Drugs, the thief, the crook, the murderer. And tens of millions of Christians for the past 50 years have bought into this. Psychologists jumped on the bandwagon. When Dr. Spock wrote in his parenting manual, he said: “Moms, Dads – don’t discipline your children. That stifles creativity and freedom. Let ‘em do their own thing!” But folks, you know what? All this is twisted thinking! Dr. Spock finally apologized in “Redbook” magazine. He realized, “Oops! We made a big mistake! I was wrong for breeding a whole generation of rebels.” I’m glad priests and preachers are back-pedaling now, too. But “uh-oh! Too late!” In 2003 we’re reaping a bumper harvest of broken homes, children out of control, and crimes so violent we shudder. And the Voice of Prophecy SPEAKS once again to us today, in the words of Hosea, the prophet, in Chapter 8 and Verse 7. He predicted a last-day prophecy of our day almost quoting sports-writer Jim Murray word for word: “They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind...” You see, Dr. Fletcher forgot something! He forgot human nature! Because who determines when a situation is right or wrong? Isn’t the moral judgment of even good people often imperfect at times? We’re not good judges. <Proverbs
14:12> Dr. Fletcher, you forgot that even love doesn’t tell you what to do. Now, justice can. Laws can. Rules can. They come to our rescue and help us. They are like a map. They give us direction how to express ourselves. Humans need a standard of right and wrong outside ourselves. Not just “our own feelings and desires,” Paul says. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4) Folks, we don’t get freedom by throwing out the rules! In 2001, we were in Caracas, Venezuela. President Chavez, in order to gain political votes, made a campaign promise: “If you vote for me, I’ll give you new freedoms. I’ll remove all the traffic signs and stop-lights. No traffic rules!” And he did. Result? Total chaos downtown. (He even allowed stealing! Results? Terror. Barred windows.) You see, whenever you remove standards of right and wrong, whenever you suspend the rules, whenever humans have no laws and total license, chaos follows. Friend, listen: do people need rules in 2003? What are the rules? Who decides what’s right or wrong? In God’s prophetic Word, the Bible, God gave humans a 10-word formula for a crime-free society. Just ten words. Had they always been followed, even preachers like Billy Graham now admit crime would never have existed! Everyone would be safe and happy any place on Earth. Let’s hit the “rewind” button...and go back in our Bibles to when the wild-west shoot-em-up bandito outlaw Israelites blasted their way out of slavery in Egypt, the Bible says they were so wild-eyed and criminal, they didn’t know their right hand from their left. For 400 years, caged up slaves living like animals. Total totalitarian terror reigned. Killing, raping, stealing. embezzling. Immoral scum. What a motley bunch when the dear Lord came down to meet them at Sinai. Thunder rolled its kettle drums and lightning shook its fiery white lances, and God said, “Enough already! Can’t live like this. I’m going to write some rules etched on stone with My own finger.” So, you can learn to get along and enjoy each other! Are you listening? <Exodus 20:12> I’m the One who opened up the Red Sea before you. I’m your Deliverer. Protector. “Because I care about you, trust Me. These rules are for your own good.” Like buying a new car. In the glove compartment is the Owner’s Manual. Tells you what grade of motor oil for the engine; type of gasoline to run in tip-top optimum performance. My divine law it is the Manufacturer’s Specifications so you can live life in peace and safety. Simple. Easy. Clear, quick reference point to know right from wrong. Because they are a reflection of what God is like. I want you to be like God! Here, take a look. #1: I guarantee, you’ll be happiest if you don’t get confused about who to worship. <Exodus 20:3> #2: Don’t worship “STUFF!” Materialism. #3: Don’t swear. #4: Don’t forget to take time off with Me! #5: Your family is holy! #6: Life is holy. #7: Marriage is holy. #8: Right to property is holy. #9: Truth is holy. No lying. #10: Have holy motives. As the people of Israel listened to this voice of thunder, they were greatly impressed. Just “ten words!” (Compared to all the libraries of law books, awesome!) Great! If that was God’s will! “We’ll do it!” God, of course, knowing how forgetful we humans tend to be; not wanting to trust the frail memory of man, wrote down the Ten Commandments in writing. <Exodus 31:18> This wasn’t the first time God gave the Ten Commandments. In written form, perhaps. But it existed from all eternity. Long before Sinai or Adam, Paul says it existed. God’s eternal, unchangeable standard of right – the basis of God’s government in heaven. Angels were governed by those Commandments. Given the choice of either following God’s law or ignoring it and rebelling against it. Satan and his angels chose situation ethics – “do your own thing.” Make our own rules. And this rebellion led to their expulsion from heaven. <Revelation
12:7-9> Why? Because they chose NOT to remain loyal to God’s law. Notice: <Psalm 103:20> The reason heaven is a perfect place of perfect happiness is because they don’t have any law-breakers up there! Adam and Eve had a knowledge of those commandments in Eden. As long as they kept God’s law and obeyed, the Garden of Eden was Paradise. Perfect happiness. Perfect peace. Perfect bliss. That’s why when they sinned and broke that law. They felt the emotions of shame and guilt. When Cain became angry and killed his brother Abel, God asked him, <Genesis
4:6, 7> God’s law of the sixth commandment had to be in effect at the time because Paul says, <Romans 4:15> The Bible clearly says long before Mt. Sinai’s Ten Commandments, God blessed Abraham because he obeyed the law. <Genesis
26:5> Long before Sinai, you recall the O.T. story of the young movie star hunk Joseph? His almost-affair with the original Madonna – Potipher’s wife? How did Joseph’s sensitive conscience lead him to resist her sexual rendezvous temptation? When he pushed her aside, listen to what he said, <Genesis
39:9> How could Joseph know adultery was wrong when the 10 Commandments hadn’t been written for another 500 years? Because he already knew of God’s standard of right and wrong. Long before Pharaoh placed the children of Israel under bondage in Egypt, they knew God’s Law. But during slavery they forgot. The point is: the Bible is consistent. God’s Law has always been there! Because His perfect laws govern His universe: Laws of nature; physics; gravity; flight; astronomy; medicine; nuclear fission; instinct. <1 Corinthians
14:33, 40> No government, no society can exist without laws. Even children can’t play games without rules! The Bible says, <Romans 2:13> Yes, it’s important to know the rules. But, more important to play by the rules. If you want to win the Olympics spiritually, God says follow the rules – but for the right reason. Or, you’re just a legalist – a Pharisee. Don’t keep them, Jesus said, unless “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” In fact, love is the basis for commandments. <Matthew
22:37-40> Every Jew knows what Jesus was saying here: That you can boil the Ten Commandments down to just two sections: (1) The first tells us how to love God (that’s the first four); (2) The second tells us how to love mankind (that’s defined in the last six). Our vertical obligation to God, first. Second, our horizontal relationships with each other. Ten words. Ten Commands. That’s all you need, God says. But do you know what man says? “Well, thanks, God! Ten isn’t enough. We’ll try to come up with our own sets of laws.” Estimates indicate lawyers and attorneys and law schools have come up with 35 million laws drafted by man to control behavior! And look at the mess! Not God. Just Ten Commandments – in ten words – He drafted a code of conduct that covers all human behavior. Only God could write such a law. No defects. <Psalm 19:7,
11> That’s because the Ten Commandments are a perfect “mirror” of God Himself. They reflect His character of love. They are “codified love.” As theologian August Strong wrote: “Law is only the transcript of God’s nature.” And say! Guess what’s happening in churches in the last 25 years? Theologians and preachers are now saying, “We need the commandments! More than ever!” Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s book, “The Ten Commandments,” is a best-seller! Listen to radio and TV evangelists: they’re all preaching about the 10 commandments. They’re don’t say any more, “Well, we’re not under the law but under grace.” They’re saying we’ve misunderstood that text. Even Billy Graham says Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Law – He came to make it tougher than ever to keep! Because any change in the Law of God would make it less than perfect. But a perfect law need never be altered. Jesus said: <Matthew
5:17> <Luke 16:17> If Jesus could have done away with the Law, there wouldn’t be any more sin. Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die on the cross. His death would have been a meaningless charade. If there’s no law, there’s no sin, and Jesus didn’t have to die! No friend, Jesus didn’t come to destroy the Law. He came to free us from the penalty of the Law – from the wages of sin. To free us from the slavery of breaking it and disobeying it. Someone says, “Rules restrict my happiness! Sort of fence me in!” On the contrary, God intended His law would guarantee freedom and safety everywhere. Think about it this way: If all those terrorists on September 11 were born-again Christians obeying all God’s laws we would all be flying safely today! God says, <Deuteronomy
5:29> Why do we build guardrails on bridges and mountain roads? To restrict us? No! To protect us from danger. God gave us His law like a guardrail to protect us on the road of life. <Romans 3:20> <Romans 7:7> What Paul is saying is God’s Law is like this mirror. It perfectly reflects what God is like; His perfect character. Each morning I look at myself in the mirror. I don’t like what I see: hair askew; beard; face needs re-arranging. Tells me, “Lon, you been eating dirt?” You need to get into that sink, reach for the soap and water with washcloth and clean up! But do I take this mirror and try to clean myself with the mirror? No! I don’t rub it on my face or try to shave with it. Or, clean myself with the mirror. Can applying this mirror to my face solve my cleansing problem? Absolutely not. It simply points me to the water and soap. Same with God’s Law. When Paul looked in that mirror, “Ouch!” That mirror of 10 Commandments reflects God. Perfection. The perfect standard shows us, “You got problems. Smudges. Sins; you look pretty bad.” (Compared to God, yikes!) But what’s the solution? If I really want to get cleaned up, I need soap. I need forgiveness. I need to go to Calvary for cleansing through Jesus’ blood. Obeying the Ten Commandments can’t cleanse me. They only tell me, “Lon, you need soap and water. You need the blood of Jesus Christ to clean up. But some Christians have said, “Hey! Why not just get rid of the mirror! Do away with those Ten Commandments and you won’t be guilty of breaking them.” That ol’ law? It’s too technical. The mirror is too legalistic. We don’t need it! So I just take that mirror and throw it away. [LONNIE: SMASH IT] Does doing away with the mirror clean up my face? Doing away with God’s mirror doesn’t solve our sin problem either. Doesn’t clean up our spiritual face. But as we look into God’s mirror – we may not be pleased with what we see – but that Law is a guide – to remind us we need cleansing in the blood of Calvary. We need Jesus’ soap and water of salvation. His blood that forgives. His blood that has power. Power to change us and help us obey the Law so we can start living a life of victory. Happy and guilt-free! How does God do this miracle? At the very gates of the Garden of Eden, God instituted a graphic reminder that disobeying brings death. Walking along beside Adam and Eve were two pets. He had named them. God says, “Take one of those pets, Adam.” What for? “Because you don’t understand what sin does to you and what it does to me, Adam, I’m going to show you. Where’s the knife...?” “Now take the knife and prune its throat.” Repulsed, Adam says: “What do you mean? Why would you ask me to do this?” Adam pleads, “No! Please!” Finally he takes the knife and he slits its throat. In horror they watch. An innocent lamb was slain to show the sinner what sin does: it causes death. To us; and to the heart of God. Then God says, “Take the other lamb, Adam.” “What for?” (Your wife.) And he goes through this horror again. And Adam began to understand God’s law: the innocent Son of God must die to pay for breaking God’s Law. Christ, the Lamb of God, Who would one day take man’s punishment, and suffer his death. The law could not save anyone. Never has. Never will. <Galatians
3:21> Keeping laws doesn’t bring cleansing. Keeping laws doesn’t forgive. Only Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary pays the price for my sin. <Romans 6:23> You don’t earn Salvation by keeping the law: <Ephesians
2:8, 9> Someone says, “Well, if we’re saved by grace, aren’t we free then to go out and disobey the law? NEVER. Paul wrote: <Romans 6:1,
2> The King James Version says, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law!” The Good News of the Gospel is God’s amazing grace doesn’t do away with God’s law. When He forgives me, He also gives me the power to start obeying it. Bill was a Hippie in 1960s living at Hermosa Beach. Working as a caricature artist in Hollywood’s Universal Studios he made good money. Most of his friends were on drugs or in jail. Not Bill. Parties. Good life. He rented a nice pad. Got a maid. (Wrote out a list of “rules” on a blackboard: Monday – Clean-up, Tuesday – Washing, Wednesday – Ironing, Thursday – Cooking, Friday – General Clean-up) She obeyed: It was good $$. But...they fell in love. And one day he asked her to marry him. Need rules? No: Written where? On her heart! It’s identically the same when we fall in love with Jesus. The Bible says when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, He takes His law and writes it on our heart! <Hebrews
8:10> It’s easy to do nice things for someone you love, isn’t it? Friend, that’s the only way I’ll ever be able to obey. Love has to motivate me to WANT to love and obey His Law! That’s the only way Jesus was able to keep the Ten Commandments! Because of love. <John 15:10> Jesus never demands: “Lon, keep my Law.” No! He says: <John 14:15> “I’ll help you love Me and help you keep them, too.” Come with me in your imagination to a garden outside Old Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Gethsemane. Jesus is praying there. It’s not a Hollywood scene, with every hair in place, cameras clicking. Cypress trees wept heavy dew on His stricken form. He clutches the ground as if to be kept from separating from His Father. In agony He sweat so hard it became great drops of blood trickling down His face, <Matthew
26:39> The fate of the human race hung in the balance. The universe held its breath! Would this young Galilean wipe the sweat from His brow and say, “Let the wretches suffer the consequence of their own sins.” Or, would He carry the cross? For you. For me. Pay the price to pardon our sins. Let wicked men nail Him to a cross. In that awful crisis when everything was at stake I’m so thankful Jesus dipped His pen of love in the crimson ink that drained like liquid love from His own veins and wrote “pardoned” across your record and mine! The old rugged cross. Amazing grace, costly grace! Forgiveness cost something, friend! The infinite price God was willing to pay to satisfy the claims of His broken law and save guilty humans. The life of His precious Son, Jesus. Do you see? God could not ignore guilty man’s sins! And He couldn’t change His law. That’s why we needed a Savior. Thank God He gave us Jesus to die as our substitute! <John 3:16> Now here’s why this is so important tonight. The Voice of Prophecy SPEAKS through the book of Revelation. It tells us God’s people ready to meet Jesus; ready to go home with Him to spend eternity in that Heavenly City; God says something stunning about them. You can know exactly who they are. They stand out. Tonight. Identifiable. <Revelation
14:12> Revelation 14 paints the most spectacular picture of the second coming of Jesus in all the Bible: <Revelation
14:14> A metaphor for harvest, the end of the world. But notice. God’s people will be doing something. Making Satan furious! <Revelation
12:17> There you have it! The blackboard. God’s law is written in their hearts. The last book of the Bible says God’s people love their Creator and their Redeemer so much that they want to do all that He asks. His will is written on their hearts! With outstretched arms tonight, Jesus is inviting, “Come! Tonight I want to give you forgiveness. Tonight I also want to give you power to live. To obey. I want to wash away your sins.” “Friend, If Ye love Me, will you keep My Commandments?” <Revelation
22:17> STORY: It was 40 below zero in Borislav, Ukraine, 1992. Jeannie and I were conducting Bible meetings like this – the first ever! Thousands came in the cold to hear the Gospel. Orrest, a young retired soviet naval officer, spoke a little English. He told me his story. He was stationed on a Soviet sub off Miami. Playing cat-and-mouse with the U.S. Navy. “The Hunt for Red October.” He drank; lived an immoral life. Broke God’s Laws. But as he came to our meetings he felt strangely drawn to accept Christ. When he did, a mysterious change came over him: Now he loved spiritual things (Bible, hymns. No carousing). When he was baptized, what a thrill! From an enemy, Orrest became my friend! God’s law written in his heart. This salvation can be yours, too. Jesus not only wants to forgive you. He wants to change you. Give you power to begin a brand new life that wins! Tonight He’s inviting: “Friend, Don’t let anything hold you back. Pleasure. Money. Career. Don’t let anything separate you from eternal life.” Jesus is calling for you: “Come! I can change your life completely. I not only want to forgive you and give you peace. By My grace and my power you can keep My Law.” You may feel weak, but Jesus is strong. No matter what you have done in the past, Jesus will forgive you. Cleanse you. He will give you His strength to live a new life. Friend, do you
have a longing deep down in your soul for the peace that only Jesus
can give? Quietly respond, “Jesus, I am coming – I am
coming right now.”
|