Sunday School Lesson

1. Exodus 20:1-17
Commanded
“A Different Look at the 10 Commandments”
October 8, 2017
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA
What’s the number one thing?
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The Glory of God!
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1 Corinthians 10:31
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.
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2. October Memory Verse
Zephaniah 3:17
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
References
• ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishing, 2011).
• Unless otherwise stated, scriptures are quoted from the ESV.
• Swindoll, Charles R., Moses, A Man of Selfless Dedication (Nashville: Word
Publishing, 1999).
• Smith, Collin, Unlocking The Bible in Exodus (YouTube Video) on
www.unlockingthebible.org.
• Feiler, Bruce. Walking The Bible (New York: Harper Collins, 2001).
3 Points of the Lesson Today in Exodus 20
1. The law affirms the glory of God.
2. The law announces our need for Christ.
3. The law anticipates the power of the Holy Spirit.

3. God’s first written words are the 10 Commandments on stone.
• There was no Semitic alphabet when God spoke to Abraham in 2000 B.C.
for written language.
• The Semitic alphabet developed over the next 500 years while Israelites in
Egypt.
• Moses was trained in languages while being raised by Pharaoh’s
daughter.
• Moses and the Israelites could read the Semitic alphabet and language
by 1500 BC.
Exodus 19:1-8
1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of
Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from
Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the
wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up
to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to
the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen
what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought
you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my
covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the
earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’
These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
7 So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all
these words that the Lord had commanded him. 8 All the people answered
together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported
the words of the people to the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am
coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with
you, and may also believe you forever.”
Mount Sinai
• God called Moses from the burning bush here and told him that he would
come back to this place.
• Exodus 3:12
12 He (God) said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you,
that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you
shall serve God on this mountain.”

4. Mt. Sinai with St. Catherine’s Monastery
What is the Law? (Mosaic Law)
• God’s instructions given to Moses for His chosen people (Israelites).
• The Law was divided into 3 parts:
1. The 10 Commandments.
2. The Ordinances.
3. The Worship System – priesthood, tabernacle, offerings, festivals.
Exodus 20:1-3
1 And God spoke all these words, saying,
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the
house of slavery.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:4-7
4 “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. 5 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 the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast
love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “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.

5. Exodus 20:8-17
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do
all your work, 10 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.
11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and 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.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land
that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 “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.”
“I am the Lord your God. You are my people.”
• The law was given to people whom God had already chosen and
redeemed.
• They were a people of faith who had received the word of God and acted
upon it.
• They were saved from judgment in Egypt and brought out of slavery to a
new life of freedom.
Purpose of the Law?
• The law of God was never a ladder for unsaved people to use to try to
climb to get to heaven!
• The law always was a pattern of life for those who were redeemed by the
blood of the Lamb.
‐ Whether by blood on the doorposts in Egypt, animal sacrifice system or
the blood of Christ.

6. What is God saying here?
• God is not saying, “I am giving you these commands to obey and
become my people.”
• God is saying, “I am giving you these commands and you should keep
them because you are my people.”
Saying this another way.
• It is not if you want to become a Christian these are the commands you
must obey.
• It is because you are a Christian you keep these commands.
‐ This is the way you are to live.
What about grace vs. the law arguments?
• Some have taught that God tried to save people by getting them to keep
the Law, but they just could not do it.
• God then devised another plan by sending Jesus.
• Christians are saved by the grace of the New Testament and the Law (10
Commandments) have nothing to do with them.
• They claim to live under grace and not the law?
This “Grace vs. Law” is False Doctrine!
• The whole Bible is a book of grace, beginning with the Garden of Eden.
• God had one plan from the very beginning to the end and it all fits
together.
• God has always saved His people by faith through grace.
• The Bible presents one God and one plan.
What is “Salvation by Works?”
• A false doctrine that believes that your good deeds and trying to keep the
Commandments (Law) will get you to heaven.
• This belief appeals to man’s pride and desire to be in control of his own
destiny.
• Man has an inherent sense of justice and a scale of “good outweighing
bad” seems right in man’s eyes.
Three Purposes of the 10 Commandments (Law)
1. The law affirms the glory of God.
2. The law announces our need for Christ
3. The law anticipates the power of the Holy Spirit.

7. 1. The Law Affirms the Glory of God.
• Sin is defined in 2 ways in the New Testament.
1. Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
- Sin is defined as falling short of God’s glory.
2. 1 John 3:4
4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness;
sin is lawlessness.
‐ Sin is contravening the law of God.
Definitions of Sin.
• When you put these 2 definitions together, you see that the Law of God
and the Glory of God are pointing in the same direction and are
expressions of the same thing.
• The law reflects God’s glory and the law affirms the glory of God.
God’s Character in the 10 Commandments.
• Why does God say you shall have no other gods before me?
- Because He is God.
- There is no one like Him.
- No one can take His place.
- Monotheism.
• Why does God say you shall have no graven images?
- Any way you try to give God a physical representation, it will only
detract from His greatness and His Glory.
• Why does God say honor your father and mother?
- All authority derives from God, beginning with the authority of parents
in the home.
• Why does God say do not commit adultery?
- Because God is faithful, and we are to be the same.
• Why does God say do not steal?
- Because God can be trusted with all things.
• Why not lie?
‐ God is truth, and we are to be likewise.
• Why not covet?
‐ God is at peace in himself, and we are to be at peace and content.
‐ Covetousness is the forerunner of all manner of sin.
Summary of “The Law Affirms the Glory of God”.
• We are God’s people and our lives have to be modeled after who God is.
• The 10 Commandments are what your lives should look like.

8. 2. The Law Announces Our Need for Christ.
• Why did God choose just these 10 Commandments?
• Answer: These 10, point to the most common struggles that we experience
in life.
• God knows where our biggest struggles are!
Jesus answers this commandment question.
Matthew 22:35-40
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is
like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two
commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus’ Answer
1. Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
• Commandments 1-4 describes the battle for total dedication to God.
• Commandments 5-10 describes the battle to love our neighbor as
ourselves.
The Struggles of Life
• Loving God with our total being is our greatest struggle.
• We want to keep ourselves on the throne of our life.
• We have difficulty submitting to authority beginning with submission to our
parents when children.
• We battle for sexual purity – including our thoughts.
• We battle in honesty and in contentment.
The 10 Commandments as a Tool
• The law is like a bright light to help us identify the struggles in life.
• The law has been described as an x-ray of the soul to be able to see what
we actually are.
• We can only keep these commandments with the help of something
bigger & outside ourselves.
Keeping the 10 Commandments
• Prayer of St. Augustine: “O Lord, command what you will, only give what
you command.”
• St. Augustine asked God to give only those commandments that he was
able to keep.
• Paul in Galatians said that the law is like a teacher to bring us to Christ.

9. The Law is Like Sandpaper
• Sandpaper is used to prepare a surface for the application of paint.
• It abrades to remove the unwanted coatings and also to smooth the
surface so that the paint can be applied.
• The law, when applied, makes us ready and receptive to Jesus.
• The work of the law is to prepare us for the Gospel.
3. The Law Anticipates the Power of the Holy Spirit.
• God’s ultimate purpose is to restore us to the glory before sin entered the
world.
• The New Testament describes this as a process of growing and becoming
more like Christ.
• The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to help us become more like Christ.
Ezekiel 36:26-27
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I
will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and
be careful to obey my rules.
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit for us.
John 14:26-27
26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will
teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to
you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives
do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
Paul explains the Spirit controlled life.
Romans 8:5-8
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of
the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the
Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God,
for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the
flesh cannot please God.
A Story by Pastor Charles Price.
• A man was released from prison after serving his time.
• He had become a Christian in prison.
• He went to church and at the front were posted the 10 Commandments for
all to see.
• He kept staring at them and could only think about his failures and the
ones he had broken.

10. • The man kept staring at the 10 Commandments and suddenly he realized
that these were now Jesus’s promises to him.
• “You shall not steal because I have put my Spirit in you and I will move
you not to steal!”
• Sin was no longer his master.
• The hope of the Gospel is the power of Jesus in you!
Closing Scriptures:
Romans 8:1-4
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For
the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and
death. 3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.
By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned
sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The Plan of Hope & Salvation:
John 3:16
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.”
Romans 3:23
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the one who doesn’t deserve death, died in this life to pay the
penalty for our sin.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second death explained in
Revelation 21:8.
Revelation 21:8
8 “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the
lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

11. Romans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Romans 6:23b
23b but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revelation 21:7
7 "The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will
be my son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to be conquerors.
Romans 10:9-10
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart
one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:13
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Have questions or would like to know more?
Please, contact First Baptist Church Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/