July 2 Sermon and Announcements

 CERRO GORDO CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN

July 2, 2023

Back to the Basics

Do these still apply?

Exodus 20:1-17

This morning I am going to refer back to some of what we

read last week in Jude. In the 3 rd verse of Jude we read

how he had planned on sending a letter to the church

about their shared salvation. Kind of a letter to pump

them up and help them to keep moving forward. However,

just like John, Jude became away that there were people

distorting the word of God and Jesus’ message about

righteousness and how to achieve true salvation. So Jude

changed his letter to bring the churches back to the

basics.

I would like to read again from the commentary to show

what is meant in verse 3 of de as he explains the

importance of this letter. Jude explains the important

relationship between correct doctrine and true faith.

Loving God means obeying Jesus. The truth of the Bible

must not be compromised because it gives us the real

facts about Jesus and salvation. The Bible is inspired by

God and should never be twisted or manipulated. When it

is we can become confused over right and wrong and

lose sight of the only path that leads to eternal life. Before

writing about salvation then, Jude felt he had to set his

readers on the right track, calling them back to the basics

of their faith. Then the way to salvation would be clearer.

The 4 th verse of Jude explains exactly what is happening

in the churches. It says, continuing from verse 3, “I say

this because some ungodly people have wormed their

way into your churches, saying God’s marvelous grace

allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of

such people have denied our only master and Lord,

Jesus Christ." What brought such concern to Jude was

false teachers were teaching that Christians could do

whatever they liked without fear of God’s punishment.

In chapter 6 of Romans Paul voiced the same concerns.

He went as far as to say in the final verse of chapter 6,

“The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal

life in Christ Jesus, our Lord." Before we go over and look

again at the 10 commandments I would like to share with

you about what Jesus said about the laws and how

important he felt they were.

In Matthew 5, verse 17 and 18 Jesus says this, “Do not

think that I have come to abolish the law and the

prophets. I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill

them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth

disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of

the pen, will by any means disappear from the law until

everything is accomplished.”

So, we see not only what Jude was saying about what

Jesus taught and about God’s word, we see Jesus went

as far as to say that until heaven and earth disappear not

the least of what is written will disappear. The law has

always been considered to be contained in the first five

books of the Bible (the Old Testament). So when Jesus

was talking about the law he meant all the things

discussed in the history of those five books, which are

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers.

So, with that setting the stage, let us take another look at

what we call The Ten Commandments. Basically, the first

4 commandments have to do with what God sees as our

relationship, honor and respect for him. The last 6 have to

do with our relationship with one another. All ten taken

together will show how much we love and respect the

Lord, not just by how we treat the first 4 commandments,

but also how we treated the people God has put in our

lives.

The first 2 commandments are closely tied together. The

1 st simply states, “You shall have no gods before me.”

There is a very simple message to this commandment.

God knows he is the only true God and there is no point

in believing there is any other God to honor. The 2 nd

commandment warns that in spite of what I just told you

in the first commandment some of you may still be

tempted to make other gods to worship.

At the time Moses was given these laws by God they had

just come out of Egypt. Egypt had many gods including

the Pharoah who himself thought of himself as a god.

God didn’t want his people confused by what they had

lived in and seen for their whole lives in Egypt. Once

again God felt it necessary to bring his people back to the

basics, especially since they would soon be ruling

themselves in the new land God was leading them to.

In the 2 nd commandment God warns about making idols

from things the true creator of all things had created. God

also then warns that he is a jealous God punishing those

who ignore this commandment to the 3 rd and 4 th

generation but blessing those who keep this

commandment to a thousand generations. The 3 rd

commandment being about misusing the name of God.

The King James version warns of taking the Lord’s name

in vain. We should only use God’s name in ways to glorify

him, never carelessly or in ways that do not show respect

to God.

The 4 th commandment talks of respect for the Sabbath. At

this time, it meant Saturday, the last day of the week. The

way to remember the Sabbath as God wants us to is to

have a day of rest and reflection on God’s goodness and

mercy. This was to apply to everyone in one’s household,

including servants.

Once again, these first 4 commandments have to do with

how we relate directly with God. The next 6 have to do

with our relationship with our fellow man or with one

another. The 5 th commandment has to do with our

relationship with our parents; it is also a commandment

with a promise. “Honor your father and mother and I,

God, will grant you a long life in the land I am about to

give you.” The 6th commandment, “Do not commit

murder." Pretty simple and straightforward. What is meant

by murder is an intentional, unjustified taking of another

person’s life. The 7 th commandment has to do with

marriage between a man and a woman. God expects men

and women to be faithful to one another. The 8 th

commandment, “Do not steal.” Once again pretty simple.

God never believes stealing cannot be justified for any

reason. The 9 th commandment, “Do not give false

testimony.” This may have meant in a court type setting,

but basically God is saying it is never good to lie. The 10 th

and final commandment is, “Thou shall not covet.” God

then explains several examples of what he means. God

knows if people are more worried and obsessed with

what others have than being content with what you do

have you will never be happy. And it could lead you to do

things that will cause you to sin against your fellow man

and that is sinning against God.

So, do these apply to us today? Were these given only to

God’s people so they would get on the right track after

leaving Egypt. Over 1,000 years after God gave these to

Moses Jesus stated they were still in effect. After Jesus

ascending back to the Father, John and Jude were

warning the people what Jesus said about God’s word

was still important to apply to your life.

Here we are 2000 years after John and Jude wrote to the

churches, does their warnings still apply to the church

today? These 10 commandments are an overview of what

God gave Moves later in Exodus and in the book of

Leviticus in much more detail. The warnings John and

Jude gave were to the churches, not to unbelievers. They

knew before the church can make a difference n

unbelievers’ lives the church need to honor and respect

God and His word.

Does the church believe the 10 commandments and all

the laws given to Moses by God have purpose and

meaning today? What do you and I believe?

Annual Conference begins Tuesday. What does our

denomination believe about these laws and Jesus’ words

about these laws? Is Satan and this world shaping what

we believe as a church or is the word of God?

Next week we will get into the details a bit more before we

try to come up with that answer.

Pastor Larry

Announcements:

NO Bible Study this week

Sunday School 9:00

July 4-8 Annual Conference in Cincinnati

July 26 Full Board (note date change)

July 31-Aug 4 VBS at Methodist Church

Offering plates are in the back of the sanctuary. Thank you for

your continued giving!

Donation Box: AC bills

First Sundays: food donations for food banks

Pastor Larry Traxler- (217) 454-2362

Keep in Your Prayers

Carolyn Fansler; Iva Traughber Brunner; Nora Hanaver; Todd

Henricks; Jonah Martina; Jan Bower; Larry Traxler; Michelle

West; Michelle’s mom; Carolyn Hirsch; Eli Brunner; Nancy

Fansler; Joe Waltz; Doug Larrick; Ron & Kathleen Petersen;

Debbie Leibrock; Dorthea Wood; Tina Wilhelm; Mindy Sawyer;

Carl and Wilma Cable; Mike and Carol Seidenstricker; Adiline

Young; Kim Lehmann; Doug Fansler; Shawn Cain; Robert

Cripe; Mayo & Darlene Hanaver; Patty Cripe; Stacie Warren;

Nancy Gorrell; many unspoken requests; healthcare workers

and first responders; victims of disasters; victims of shootings;

shut-ins; the Nigerian church; Haitian Brethren; Ukraine

Military and Other Services and their families

Brethren Volunteer Service workers; Disaster project workers

District Prayer Calendar: Pray for Annual Conference and the

work of delegates, officers, and Standing Committee. Also pray

for safe traveling for all who attend.