TEN COMMANDMENTS STUDY
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I copied this from a friend's sermon notes about eight years ago...... (I think he got it from someone else) Some of you might find it interesting.
It must have been a strange feeling for Moses to return to the place where God had spoken to him out of the burning bush. On his first visit, a flock of sheep had surrounded him. Now, two million people surrounded him. God called him back up Mount Sinai to give him the commandments by which His people are to live. The Law of God was never a ladder for unsaved people to climb to heaven. It was always a pattern of life for God's people who had been saved from judgment by the blood of the Lamb.
A New Dimension of God's Grace
God was not saying, "I'm giving you these commandments, so that by keeping them you may become My people." He was saying, "I am giving you these commandments because you are My people." The message of the Law to us today is NOT that we must keep the laws in order to be saved, but rather that, because we are saved, we should keep these laws. The Law tells us how people who belong to God ought to live.
This is important, because some people have the idea that the Old Testament is a book of law, and the New Testament is a book of grace, and that the OT has nothing to do with us because we're not under law, we're under grace. That is a complete misunderstanding of the Bible. The whole Bible is a book of grace. God has one plan from beginning to end, and it all fits together. God promised a Redeemer on the very day that sin entered the world. God has always saved His people by grace and through faith. We've seen this in the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, and the Exodus. There is one God, and there is one story.
Get a Glimpse of the Glory of God
In the NT, sin is defined as "fall(ing) short of the glory of God" and as "break(ing) the law" (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 3:4). Put these two truths together, and we make an interesting discovery. The Law is an expression of God's glory. Every one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:3-17) reflects some aspect of the character of God. When God declared, "You shall have no other gods before me" (v. 3), it was because: He is the only God. There is no one like Him. He said not to misuse His name because: His Name is above every name. The reason we should honor our father and mother is that: all fatherhood derives from God, and all authority, even within family life, derives from Him. Why should we not commit adultery? Because God is faithful. Why should we not steal? Because God is trustworthy. Why should we not lie? Because God is truth. Why should we not covet? Because God is at peace, and content in Himself.
The Ten Commandments are not an arbitrary set of rules. They are a direct reflection of the character of God. So as you think and meditate about the Law, let it lead you to worship and to the realization that the greatest challenge for God's people is to reflect God's character in the world. When we obey His law, we reflect something of His glory.
The Greatest Battles of Your Heart
A second reason for God giving these Ten Commandments is that they speak to the ten most significant struggles of human experience. Parents know all about this. They always give rules to their children to target areas of struggle. They give instructions like, "Eat your dinner!" or "Do your homework!" or "Clean your room!"… to help kids overcome their struggles. When God gave the Ten Commandments, He spoke directly to the primary struggles that all of us experience. Take a moment to read Exodus 20:3-17. These are the battle of our lives, are they not? The Law is like a light. It shines into our souls, and when we look at what God says to us, we have to admit that He is speaking directly to the primary battles of our own heart. This should drive us to God like nothing else.
The apostle Paul wrote that the Law is a good thing, just like X-rays are a good thing — even if they may bring us bad news. Through the Law of God, I discover that I'm a person who finds it difficult to let God be God, and I am a person who is naturally more interested in myself than in the interests of other people. The Law announces my need of Jesus Christ.
The Law is like a teacher to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). When you learn what the Law has to teach, you will, if you've learned the lesson properly, come to Jesus Christ. if the Law does not bring you to Jesus, then you have missed the greatest purpose God intended for it. This is the point of Jesus' statement to the Pharisees, "You diligently study the Scriptures...yet you refuse to come to me" (John 5:39-40). The first reason you need Jesus Christ is NOT that you'll have richer, fuller, and more satisfying life. It is that you are a sinner in nature and practice, and the X-ray of God's Law shows it, even if you feel no pain!
Laying Track for the Train
God's ultimate purpose is to restore in us the true refection of His glory. Since God's glory is expressed in His Law. That means that the purpose of the gospel is to bring us to the position where we begin to live according to the Law of God. This transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit, and is spoken of in the Old and New Testament. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you... I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
The Law of God is like the rails for a train. The rails give direction, but the train will not go anywhere unless there is power in the engine. It is the special work of the Holy Spirit to give God's people power to move in the direction that is laid out in God's law. The Christian life is not a matter of believing in Jesus and then trying your best to live according to God's Law. The Holy Spirit resides in your life and He will make the difference between a battle in which you are destined for defeat, and a battle in which there will be ultimate victory.
Delighting in the Law
If you have understood the Law of God, it should cause you to fall down in worship, because the Law shows us who God is and what He is like. It will make you cling to Jesus Christ because you will be absolutely clear about why you need Him. It gives you direction for a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit that is no longer a list of impossible demands, but a description of new possibilities!
The 10 Commandments as a Promise of New Possibilities.
It must have been a strange feeling for Moses to return to the place where God had spoken to him out of the burning bush. On his first visit, a flock of sheep had surrounded him. Now, two million people surrounded him. God called him back up Mount Sinai to give him the commandments by which His people are to live. The Law of God was never a ladder for unsaved people to climb to heaven. It was always a pattern of life for God's people who had been saved from judgment by the blood of the Lamb.
A New Dimension of God's Grace
God was not saying, "I'm giving you these commandments, so that by keeping them you may become My people." He was saying, "I am giving you these commandments because you are My people." The message of the Law to us today is NOT that we must keep the laws in order to be saved, but rather that, because we are saved, we should keep these laws. The Law tells us how people who belong to God ought to live.
This is important, because some people have the idea that the Old Testament is a book of law, and the New Testament is a book of grace, and that the OT has nothing to do with us because we're not under law, we're under grace. That is a complete misunderstanding of the Bible. The whole Bible is a book of grace. God has one plan from beginning to end, and it all fits together. God promised a Redeemer on the very day that sin entered the world. God has always saved His people by grace and through faith. We've seen this in the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, and the Exodus. There is one God, and there is one story.
Get a Glimpse of the Glory of God
In the NT, sin is defined as "fall(ing) short of the glory of God" and as "break(ing) the law" (Rom. 3:23; 1 John 3:4). Put these two truths together, and we make an interesting discovery. The Law is an expression of God's glory. Every one of the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:3-17) reflects some aspect of the character of God. When God declared, "You shall have no other gods before me" (v. 3), it was because: He is the only God. There is no one like Him. He said not to misuse His name because: His Name is above every name. The reason we should honor our father and mother is that: all fatherhood derives from God, and all authority, even within family life, derives from Him. Why should we not commit adultery? Because God is faithful. Why should we not steal? Because God is trustworthy. Why should we not lie? Because God is truth. Why should we not covet? Because God is at peace, and content in Himself.
The Ten Commandments are not an arbitrary set of rules. They are a direct reflection of the character of God. So as you think and meditate about the Law, let it lead you to worship and to the realization that the greatest challenge for God's people is to reflect God's character in the world. When we obey His law, we reflect something of His glory.
The Greatest Battles of Your Heart
A second reason for God giving these Ten Commandments is that they speak to the ten most significant struggles of human experience. Parents know all about this. They always give rules to their children to target areas of struggle. They give instructions like, "Eat your dinner!" or "Do your homework!" or "Clean your room!"… to help kids overcome their struggles. When God gave the Ten Commandments, He spoke directly to the primary struggles that all of us experience. Take a moment to read Exodus 20:3-17. These are the battle of our lives, are they not? The Law is like a light. It shines into our souls, and when we look at what God says to us, we have to admit that He is speaking directly to the primary battles of our own heart. This should drive us to God like nothing else.
The apostle Paul wrote that the Law is a good thing, just like X-rays are a good thing — even if they may bring us bad news. Through the Law of God, I discover that I'm a person who finds it difficult to let God be God, and I am a person who is naturally more interested in myself than in the interests of other people. The Law announces my need of Jesus Christ.
The Law is like a teacher to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24). When you learn what the Law has to teach, you will, if you've learned the lesson properly, come to Jesus Christ. if the Law does not bring you to Jesus, then you have missed the greatest purpose God intended for it. This is the point of Jesus' statement to the Pharisees, "You diligently study the Scriptures...yet you refuse to come to me" (John 5:39-40). The first reason you need Jesus Christ is NOT that you'll have richer, fuller, and more satisfying life. It is that you are a sinner in nature and practice, and the X-ray of God's Law shows it, even if you feel no pain!
Laying Track for the Train
God's ultimate purpose is to restore in us the true refection of His glory. Since God's glory is expressed in His Law. That means that the purpose of the gospel is to bring us to the position where we begin to live according to the Law of God. This transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit, and is spoken of in the Old and New Testament. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you... I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." (Ezekiel 36:26-27)
The Law of God is like the rails for a train. The rails give direction, but the train will not go anywhere unless there is power in the engine. It is the special work of the Holy Spirit to give God's people power to move in the direction that is laid out in God's law. The Christian life is not a matter of believing in Jesus and then trying your best to live according to God's Law. The Holy Spirit resides in your life and He will make the difference between a battle in which you are destined for defeat, and a battle in which there will be ultimate victory.
Delighting in the Law
If you have understood the Law of God, it should cause you to fall down in worship, because the Law shows us who God is and what He is like. It will make you cling to Jesus Christ because you will be absolutely clear about why you need Him. It gives you direction for a new life in the power of the Holy Spirit that is no longer a list of impossible demands, but a description of new possibilities!
If Paul is telling us the truth when he says the Christian is not under the Law, has died to the Law and has been released from the Law.
( Which I do believe he is telling us the truth ). - Then how is our relationship to be to the law in regards to the "good" that is in the ten commandments from the Old Covenant?
Live "from" the 10 promises instead of "by" the 10 commandments which have been fulfilled in Christ because we are now in Christ in the New Covenant. It's in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the grace of God that we live by now.
This is life eternal that they know Me and my Father who sent Me.
1) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will have no need for other gods because you have a loving Father who loves you deeply and unconditionally.
2) When you know Me ( Jesus ), the idols in life will fade like mist in the sun.
3) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will never stop speaking My name to establish freedom - My name is Jesus.
4) When you know Me (Jesus ), you will cease from your own works and rely totally on what I have already done for you.
5) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be honored as fathers and mothers to nations.
6) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will restore life.
7) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will experience deep authentic relationships which you will treasure.
8) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be established in abundance and generosity.
9) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be My witness.
10) When you know Me ( Jesus ), your love which is My love flowing in and through you for your neighbor will bring restoration to this world.
The 10 commandments are now 10 promises fulfilled in us through relationship with our loving Father because we are in Christ and the fruit of His life will bring true life.
( Which I do believe he is telling us the truth ). - Then how is our relationship to be to the law in regards to the "good" that is in the ten commandments from the Old Covenant?
Live "from" the 10 promises instead of "by" the 10 commandments which have been fulfilled in Christ because we are now in Christ in the New Covenant. It's in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the grace of God that we live by now.
This is life eternal that they know Me and my Father who sent Me.
1) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will have no need for other gods because you have a loving Father who loves you deeply and unconditionally.
2) When you know Me ( Jesus ), the idols in life will fade like mist in the sun.
3) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will never stop speaking My name to establish freedom - My name is Jesus.
4) When you know Me (Jesus ), you will cease from your own works and rely totally on what I have already done for you.
5) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be honored as fathers and mothers to nations.
6) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will restore life.
7) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will experience deep authentic relationships which you will treasure.
8) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be established in abundance and generosity.
9) When you know Me ( Jesus ), you will be My witness.
10) When you know Me ( Jesus ), your love which is My love flowing in and through you for your neighbor will bring restoration to this world.
The 10 commandments are now 10 promises fulfilled in us through relationship with our loving Father because we are in Christ and the fruit of His life will bring true life.
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This is original with me..... because I actually experienced it.
CoC Men's Bible Study
Instructor: "Brother Smith, will you please read verse #1?"
Brother Smith reads it.
Instructor: "Brother Brown, what does that mean to you?"
Brother Brown: "Just what it says!"
All the class: "Amen!"
Instructor: "Thank you. Now, Brother Jones, will you please read verse #2?"
*******************
This is the sort of "Frozen Chosen" Bible Study I think God wants us to avoid falling victim to doing.
CoC Men's Bible Study
Instructor: "Brother Smith, will you please read verse #1?"
Brother Smith reads it.
Instructor: "Brother Brown, what does that mean to you?"
Brother Brown: "Just what it says!"
All the class: "Amen!"
Instructor: "Thank you. Now, Brother Jones, will you please read verse #2?"
*******************
This is the sort of "Frozen Chosen" Bible Study I think God wants us to avoid falling victim to doing.
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God loves when people obey authority,and children are in a less position then parents,and the children came from the parents,so children should honor them,and obey them.
Like humans came from God,and we are in a less position than Him,so we are to honor Him,and obey Him.
God even says do not rebel against government,rulers,because they cannot rule unless God allows it,so obey their authority,unless it goes against the will of God in which we heed Him.
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise
Eph 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Children honoring their parents,and obeying their parents,is the first commandment with promise,which means if children obey the authority of their parents,they will most likely acknowledge God,and obey His authority,at least in the truth.
The 1960's was a time of a counterculture movement where the youth rebelled against authority,and we see the results of that,as a lot more do not acknowledge God,or acknowledge Him but are hypocritical,not representing goodness.
The majority of the younger people do not fear the LORD representing goodness,and humbling themselves before Him,as many children do not obey their parents at times,and do not humble themselves before them like they should.
But it is a two way street,for while children have to honor their parents,and obey them,parents have a responsibility to act right themselves,and fathers provoke not your children to wrath,for if you do not act proper it may cause your children to be in defiance against you.
And I see both instances,where children are sometimes unruly,but then parents are very short with their children,and given more parents are alcoholics,druggies,and do not act with the decency they have in the past,it causes children to act unruly.
There are not too many parents that act like the Leave it to Beaver parents today.
Parents look at children as rebellious,with the attitude,children are crazy today than what they were years ago,and children look at parents the same way,which it is true in a lot of cases,because majority wise they do not act with the decency and sophistication as in years past,and that is why it is going downhill.
Children do not honor their parents like in the past,because parents do not act with the decency they did in the past,which the 1960's caused quite a situation with their rebelliousness,have your own way,do your own thing,and be your own boss,in which I view it as a selfish movement.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
Disobedient to parents is one of the traits of the last days.
Pro 30:11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
Pro 30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
Pro 30:13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
Pro 30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
The last generation before Jesus takes over the world,which the children will be disobedient to parents,will think they are right in their own eyes,but not washed from their filthiness,which means not right with God,highly selfish,and highly arrogant,and very aggressive towards each other,and will be so obsessed with heaping money to themselves that they will not care about the poor and needy.
Children honoring,and obeying,their parents,is the first commandment with promise,for if they learn humbleness from their parents,they are more likely to acknowledge God,and if they do acknowledge God,more likely to humble themselves before Him,and obey Him,instead of being hypocritical,and not washed away from their filthiness.
Indeed the 1960's caused quite an upheaval with the youth rebelling against authority,have your own way,do your own thing,be your own boss.
The beginning of the end of people's rulership on earth,and we are at the last generation,where children do not obey their parents like they should,and aggressive towards each other,believing they are alright with God despite their filthiness,and people heaping money to themselves in a ludicrous fashion,and are greedy dogs that can never have enough.
Pro 30:15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
Like humans came from God,and we are in a less position than Him,so we are to honor Him,and obey Him.
God even says do not rebel against government,rulers,because they cannot rule unless God allows it,so obey their authority,unless it goes against the will of God in which we heed Him.
Eph 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Eph 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise
Eph 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Eph 6:4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Pro 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.
Children honoring their parents,and obeying their parents,is the first commandment with promise,which means if children obey the authority of their parents,they will most likely acknowledge God,and obey His authority,at least in the truth.
The 1960's was a time of a counterculture movement where the youth rebelled against authority,and we see the results of that,as a lot more do not acknowledge God,or acknowledge Him but are hypocritical,not representing goodness.
The majority of the younger people do not fear the LORD representing goodness,and humbling themselves before Him,as many children do not obey their parents at times,and do not humble themselves before them like they should.
But it is a two way street,for while children have to honor their parents,and obey them,parents have a responsibility to act right themselves,and fathers provoke not your children to wrath,for if you do not act proper it may cause your children to be in defiance against you.
And I see both instances,where children are sometimes unruly,but then parents are very short with their children,and given more parents are alcoholics,druggies,and do not act with the decency they have in the past,it causes children to act unruly.
There are not too many parents that act like the Leave it to Beaver parents today.
Parents look at children as rebellious,with the attitude,children are crazy today than what they were years ago,and children look at parents the same way,which it is true in a lot of cases,because majority wise they do not act with the decency and sophistication as in years past,and that is why it is going downhill.
Children do not honor their parents like in the past,because parents do not act with the decency they did in the past,which the 1960's caused quite a situation with their rebelliousness,have your own way,do your own thing,and be your own boss,in which I view it as a selfish movement.
2Ti 3:2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy.
Disobedient to parents is one of the traits of the last days.
Pro 30:11 There is a generation that curseth their father, and doth not bless their mother.
Pro 30:12 There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.
Pro 30:13 There is a generation, O how lofty are their eyes! and their eyelids are lifted up.
Pro 30:14 There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men.
The last generation before Jesus takes over the world,which the children will be disobedient to parents,will think they are right in their own eyes,but not washed from their filthiness,which means not right with God,highly selfish,and highly arrogant,and very aggressive towards each other,and will be so obsessed with heaping money to themselves that they will not care about the poor and needy.
Children honoring,and obeying,their parents,is the first commandment with promise,for if they learn humbleness from their parents,they are more likely to acknowledge God,and if they do acknowledge God,more likely to humble themselves before Him,and obey Him,instead of being hypocritical,and not washed away from their filthiness.
Indeed the 1960's caused quite an upheaval with the youth rebelling against authority,have your own way,do your own thing,be your own boss.
The beginning of the end of people's rulership on earth,and we are at the last generation,where children do not obey their parents like they should,and aggressive towards each other,believing they are alright with God despite their filthiness,and people heaping money to themselves in a ludicrous fashion,and are greedy dogs that can never have enough.
Pro 30:15 The horseleach hath two daughters, crying, Give, give.
Last lesson
V. Rationalized Worship, 25-26
“You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 'And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.”
The first principle of the altar was that of possession. God says the altar is MINE! This establishes the authority base for everything that was to surround the worship at the altar. It construction was clearly defined. It was to be made of earth or uncut stones. No tool was permitted to be used upon the stone. Nothing more, nothing else, and nothing in the place of would be accepted by the Lord as MY altar.
If the altar of uncut stone was substituted for one made of cut stones with steps engineered for ascent, then that would profane the altar and constitute a desecration of MY altar and of the worship. Substitutions to the will of God expresses a state of mind belonging to the worshiper. The force driving such a desecration was an overt, conscious insertion of human will, motive, and reason beyond the word of God. This amounts to the rationalization of worship and religion. This is certainly not a new thing. We see this every where we look. The world is, always has been, and always will be consumed by the rationalism of worship. The effects of rationalized worship are especially non-trivial. “And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.” Such a rationalism of the will of God is not an enhancement. Human reason is not permitted to determine man's own approach to God. “Oh, it won't matter, it is a small detail and that would make the altar so much more appealing. Surely, God will not mind. In fact I think he would quite approve.”
God's prescribed demands for worship are not a matter for human debate or subject to human approval. God says this is MY altar and if you want me to accept your worship, you will do this my way. You shall not profane MY altar. Once we displace the revelation of God that is given to regulate how we are to worship, this sets the stage for the desecration of worship that knows no bounds. One may expect even the savage and unthinkable.
Revealed altar worship was given to us to collapse the distance between God and the worshiper. Conformity to the will of God's desire for worship is our personal and collective expression of complete relativity to God. Rationalized religion, worship, and understanding if the Bible will not deliver create such results. Today, as always the most immediate threat that confronts the Lord's Church is that which comes from within. Genesis was the beginning of the rationalization of the word of God. What is often allowed to pass for spiritual leadership is nothing more than the professionalism of this sin. “The Bible is too old to really understand and our values are not the same as those of such an antiquated past. At the mountain, the people were confronted with the “thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking” and they trembled with feat at the presence of God and the word from his mouth. However, it did not take long for them to begin to rationalize away the fear and worship very quickly descended into a perverse thing. I am afraid that today, too many have rationalized away the word of God and I wonder is there remains any fear of the Lord. When I look at the state of many of the Churches of the Lord's body, the state of our society, our nation, and the world I cannot help but think there is no fear of God left in the land.
V. Rationalized Worship, 25-26
“You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it. 'And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.”
The first principle of the altar was that of possession. God says the altar is MINE! This establishes the authority base for everything that was to surround the worship at the altar. It construction was clearly defined. It was to be made of earth or uncut stones. No tool was permitted to be used upon the stone. Nothing more, nothing else, and nothing in the place of would be accepted by the Lord as MY altar.
If the altar of uncut stone was substituted for one made of cut stones with steps engineered for ascent, then that would profane the altar and constitute a desecration of MY altar and of the worship. Substitutions to the will of God expresses a state of mind belonging to the worshiper. The force driving such a desecration was an overt, conscious insertion of human will, motive, and reason beyond the word of God. This amounts to the rationalization of worship and religion. This is certainly not a new thing. We see this every where we look. The world is, always has been, and always will be consumed by the rationalism of worship. The effects of rationalized worship are especially non-trivial. “And you shall not go up by steps to My altar, so that your nakedness will not be exposed on it.” Such a rationalism of the will of God is not an enhancement. Human reason is not permitted to determine man's own approach to God. “Oh, it won't matter, it is a small detail and that would make the altar so much more appealing. Surely, God will not mind. In fact I think he would quite approve.”
God's prescribed demands for worship are not a matter for human debate or subject to human approval. God says this is MY altar and if you want me to accept your worship, you will do this my way. You shall not profane MY altar. Once we displace the revelation of God that is given to regulate how we are to worship, this sets the stage for the desecration of worship that knows no bounds. One may expect even the savage and unthinkable.
Revealed altar worship was given to us to collapse the distance between God and the worshiper. Conformity to the will of God's desire for worship is our personal and collective expression of complete relativity to God. Rationalized religion, worship, and understanding if the Bible will not deliver create such results. Today, as always the most immediate threat that confronts the Lord's Church is that which comes from within. Genesis was the beginning of the rationalization of the word of God. What is often allowed to pass for spiritual leadership is nothing more than the professionalism of this sin. “The Bible is too old to really understand and our values are not the same as those of such an antiquated past. At the mountain, the people were confronted with the “thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking” and they trembled with feat at the presence of God and the word from his mouth. However, it did not take long for them to begin to rationalize away the fear and worship very quickly descended into a perverse thing. I am afraid that today, too many have rationalized away the word of God and I wonder is there remains any fear of the Lord. When I look at the state of many of the Churches of the Lord's body, the state of our society, our nation, and the world I cannot help but think there is no fear of God left in the land.