Tidbit #7: Ten Commandments: Mere Monument or Living Law?

#1 · September 9, 2003, 12:35 am

Quote from Forum Archives on September 9, 2003, 12:35 am
Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE HOPE CHEST

with Virginia Knowles

Tidbit #7 on September 9, 2003

The Ten Commandments:

Mere Monument or Living Law?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Hope Chest readers,

I know its not yet Sunday, but Im sending this "Tidbit" now because I sense that someone (I dont even know who!) is going to need it before then! Please feel free to forward it to everyone you know! Contact information is at the end of this message, which is not copyrighted in any way.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: MERE MONUMENT OR LIVING LAW?

I dont know about you, but Ive gotten an awful lot of e-mail messages recently regarding Judge Moores protest about removing the Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama court house rotunda. Honestly, I can see both sides of the story. The thing that most excites me is that this controversy calls international attention to the Ten Commandments! I do hope that people think about what they really mean! Its only been this year that Ive given much thought to them, and thats because Ive been reading two dynamite books: Hells Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort, and One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill. Both of these authors urge the use of the commandments in piercing the stony hearts of those who need to meet the Savior. In light of that, whether or not the Alabama monument stays or goes, this is an excellent opportunity to start redemptive conversations about why people need Jesus so much! Why settle for a mere monument when we can all have a Living Law that points the lost to the cross? Lets take advantage of its powerful message! Here are a few verses to enlighten us as to the role of the Law in the salvation process:

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7 NKJV

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:19, 20 NKJV

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet." Romans 7:7 NKJV

"Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:24 NKJV

"For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV

(See also Romans 2:15-16. While youre at it, just read the whole book of Romans!)

Here is what the great preachers of the past have said about this, as quoted in One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill:

Charles Finney: "It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not to the impression that he is unfortunate. Do not be afraid, but show him the breadth of the divine Law, and the exceeding strictness of its precepts. Make him see how it condemns his thoughts and life. By a convicted sinner, I mean one who feels himself condemned by the Law of God as a guilty sinner. I remark that this [the Law] is the rule, and the only just rule by which the guilt of sin can be measured... Every man need only consult his own conscience faithfully and he will see that it is equally affirmed by the minds intuition to be right."

Charles H. Spurgeon: "God be thanked when the Law so works as to take off the sinner from all confidence in himself! To make the leper confess that he is incurable is going a great way toward compelling him to go to that divine Savior, who alone is able to heal him. This is the whole end of the Law toward men whom God will save."

D.L. Moody: "God, being a perfect God, had to give a perfect Law, and the Law was given not to save men, but to measure them. I want you to understand this clearly, because I believe hundreds and thousands stumble at this point. They try to save themselves by trying to keep the Law; but it was never meant for men to save themselves by."

John Wesley: "The first use of [the Law], without question, is to convince the world of sin. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig-leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked." The Law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His mouth is stopped and he stands guilty before God."

John Bunyan: "The man who does not know the nature of the Law cannot know the nature of sin."

Ray Comfort and Mark Cahill recommend that when you share the gospel with someone who is not a Christian, you should first lead him through some of the Ten Commandments, and gently ask which ones he has broken. You wont need to accuse him of anything, because he will incriminate himself very quickly. This is rather enlightening to someone who thinks of himself as a "good person" but then finds that according to Gods standard he is guilty and deserving of eternal punishment. This is especially true when they hear that Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said that the command "Thou shalt not murder" is broken by anger in the heart, and "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is violated by lust. Any halfway honest person will have to admit that hes probably broken all Ten Commandments. At this point, a sinner should realize how he desperately needs the Savior!

I wish I had the space in this Hope Chest Tidbit to tell you more, but Id rather point you to some web resources for further equipping and encouragement:

Mark Cahills ministry web site: http://www.markcahill.org

(If you live in the Orlando area, he will be speaking at the New Life Church of God near UCF from September 12-14. Call 407-644-8292 for more details. Also in the rest of 2003, he will speak in Lakeland (FL), Nashville, Gainesville (FL), Stone Mountain (GA), Wyoming (MI), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN), Woodbury (MN), Greer (SC), Kansas City (KS), Lexington (KY), Cedarville (OH), Atlanta (GA). Check his web site for details.)

One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill -- read the book on-line or download http://www.markcahill.org/onething.pdf

Ray Comfort / Kirk Cameron web sites:

www.raycomfort.com

www.livingwaters.com

www.wayofthemaster.com/

(I especially like Ray Comforts Optical Illusion and 100 Best Jokes tracts. I hand them out saying simply, "Heres something to brighten your day.")

Need God? A clear interactive walk-through of the Ten Commandments: http://www.needgod.com/

Personal witnessing: How Jesus Did It: http://www.livingwaters.com/wdjd.shtml

Downloadable booklet on Biblical evangelism: http://www.livingwaters.com/BiblicalEvangelismBooklet.pdf

I hope this lights your fire for sharing the gospel. How long has it been since you have passionately pursued our most important mission on earth? As Spurgeon said, "To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here upon earth." Go win souls!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

(P.S. A big thanks for Rich and Mary Lou Graham, our home group Bible study leaders, for equipping and encouraging us in evangelism, and for giving me a copy of One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven for my birthday! What a great gift!)

The Hope Chest is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips for home schooling families. The writer is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.

Web: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

(Please note that this web site will be moving by September 21! Details to follow!)

Resource info: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription: [email protected]

Unsubscription: [email protected]

Posted by: homenews <homenews@...>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THE HOPE CHEST

with Virginia Knowles

Tidbit #7 on September 9, 2003

The Ten Commandments:

Mere Monument or Living Law?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Hope Chest readers,

I know its not yet Sunday, but Im sending this "Tidbit" now because I sense that someone (I dont even know who!) is going to need it before then! Please feel free to forward it to everyone you know! Contact information is at the end of this message, which is not copyrighted in any way.

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS: MERE MONUMENT OR LIVING LAW?

I dont know about you, but Ive gotten an awful lot of e-mail messages recently regarding Judge Moores protest about removing the Ten Commandments monument from the Alabama court house rotunda. Honestly, I can see both sides of the story. The thing that most excites me is that this controversy calls international attention to the Ten Commandments! I do hope that people think about what they really mean! Its only been this year that Ive given much thought to them, and thats because Ive been reading two dynamite books: Hells Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort, and One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill. Both of these authors urge the use of the commandments in piercing the stony hearts of those who need to meet the Savior. In light of that, whether or not the Alabama monument stays or goes, this is an excellent opportunity to start redemptive conversations about why people need Jesus so much! Why settle for a mere monument when we can all have a Living Law that points the lost to the cross? Lets take advantage of its powerful message! Here are a few verses to enlighten us as to the role of the Law in the salvation process:

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul." Psalm 19:7 NKJV

"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:19, 20 NKJV

"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, You shall not covet." Romans 7:7 NKJV

"Therefore, the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:24 NKJV

"For godly sorrow produces repentance to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death." 2 Corinthians 7:10 NKJV

(See also Romans 2:15-16. While youre at it, just read the whole book of Romans!)

Here is what the great preachers of the past have said about this, as quoted in One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill:

Charles Finney: "It is of great importance that the sinner should be made to feel his guilt, and not to the impression that he is unfortunate. Do not be afraid, but show him the breadth of the divine Law, and the exceeding strictness of its precepts. Make him see how it condemns his thoughts and life. By a convicted sinner, I mean one who feels himself condemned by the Law of God as a guilty sinner. I remark that this [the Law] is the rule, and the only just rule by which the guilt of sin can be measured... Every man need only consult his own conscience faithfully and he will see that it is equally affirmed by the minds intuition to be right."

Charles H. Spurgeon: "God be thanked when the Law so works as to take off the sinner from all confidence in himself! To make the leper confess that he is incurable is going a great way toward compelling him to go to that divine Savior, who alone is able to heal him. This is the whole end of the Law toward men whom God will save."

D.L. Moody: "God, being a perfect God, had to give a perfect Law, and the Law was given not to save men, but to measure them. I want you to understand this clearly, because I believe hundreds and thousands stumble at this point. They try to save themselves by trying to keep the Law; but it was never meant for men to save themselves by."

John Wesley: "The first use of [the Law], without question, is to convince the world of sin. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All his fig-leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is wretched and poor and miserable, blind and naked." The Law flashes conviction on every side. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His mouth is stopped and he stands guilty before God."

John Bunyan: "The man who does not know the nature of the Law cannot know the nature of sin."

Ray Comfort and Mark Cahill recommend that when you share the gospel with someone who is not a Christian, you should first lead him through some of the Ten Commandments, and gently ask which ones he has broken. You wont need to accuse him of anything, because he will incriminate himself very quickly. This is rather enlightening to someone who thinks of himself as a "good person" but then finds that according to Gods standard he is guilty and deserving of eternal punishment. This is especially true when they hear that Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount said that the command "Thou shalt not murder" is broken by anger in the heart, and "Thou shalt not commit adultery" is violated by lust. Any halfway honest person will have to admit that hes probably broken all Ten Commandments. At this point, a sinner should realize how he desperately needs the Savior!

I wish I had the space in this Hope Chest Tidbit to tell you more, but Id rather point you to some web resources for further equipping and encouragement:

Mark Cahills ministry web site: http://www.markcahill.org

(If you live in the Orlando area, he will be speaking at the New Life Church of God near UCF from September 12-14. Call 407-644-8292 for more details. Also in the rest of 2003, he will speak in Lakeland (FL), Nashville, Gainesville (FL), Stone Mountain (GA), Wyoming (MI), Minneapolis/St. Paul (MN), Woodbury (MN), Greer (SC), Kansas City (KS), Lexington (KY), Cedarville (OH), Atlanta (GA). Check his web site for details.)

One Thing You Cant Do in Heaven by Mark Cahill -- read the book on-line or download http://www.markcahill.org/onething.pdf

Ray Comfort / Kirk Cameron web sites:

http://www.raycomfort.com

http://www.livingwaters.com

http://www.wayofthemaster.com/

(I especially like Ray Comforts Optical Illusion and 100 Best Jokes tracts. I hand them out saying simply, "Heres something to brighten your day.")

Need God? A clear interactive walk-through of the Ten Commandments: http://www.needgod.com/
Personal witnessing: How Jesus Did It: http://www.livingwaters.com/wdjd.shtml
Downloadable booklet on Biblical evangelism: http://www.livingwaters.com/BiblicalEvangelismBooklet.pdf

I hope this lights your fire for sharing the gospel. How long has it been since you have passionately pursued our most important mission on earth? As Spurgeon said, "To be a soul winner is the happiest thing in the world. And with every soul you bring to Jesus Christ, you seem to get a new heaven here upon earth." Go win souls!

In His Sovereign Grace,

Virginia Knowles

(P.S. A big thanks for Rich and Mary Lou Graham, our home group Bible study leaders, for equipping and encouraging us in evangelism, and for giving me a copy of One Thing You Can't Do in Heaven for my birthday! What a great gift!)

The Hope Chest is a free e-mail newsletter with encouragement and practical teaching tips for home schooling families. The writer is Virginia Knowles, wife of Thad, mother of nine children, and author of Common Sense Excellence: Faith-Filled Home Education for Preschool to 5th Grade, and The Real Life Home School Mom.

Web: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/welcome.html

(Please note that this web site will be moving by September 21! Details to follow!)

Resource info: http://www.hopechest.homestead.com/resourceorders.html

E-mail: [email protected]

Subscription: [email protected]

Unsubscription: [email protected]