Part 2: Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord (Leviticus 19:18).
I will ask you to number your pages now from 5-10 and we will start the second part of our test, sub-titled, ‘Love Your Neighbour’ (cf. Romans 13:9). This part is important as shown by the fact that Jesus addresses a number of these items specifically (Matthew 5:21, 27, 33; Mark 12:29–31; Luke 10:27; 18:20; cf. also Romans 2:21, 22; Galatians 5:19f.; Ephesians 4:28; 5:3; Hebrews 4:9; James 2:11, etc.).[11]
5. Do we honour our fathers and our mothers, as the Lord our God has commanded us (Deuteronomy 5:16, Exodus 20:12)? This has many applications. Obviously it relates to children living under their parents’ roof. Do they do as their parents ask; do they respect their wishes; do they avoid doing anything that can bring embarrassment or financial or other hardship upon the family? This passage also, however, refers to us in dealing with our elderly parents. Do we provide for them, as they need provision? Remember there were no pensions, Medicare, or old age security while the Israelites were wondering around the desert. How adults honoured their parents had a great bearing on their culture and society (cf. Ephesians 6:1-3). Question 5: Do we in this room love our neighbours by honouring our parents?
6. Have we ever broken the command not to murder? (Deuteronomy 5:17, Exodus 20:13). Matthew 5:21-22 records Jesus as saying, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Have we ever been angry with a Christian brother or sister? Have we ever referred to someone as “you fool”? Question 6: Have we ever broken the command not to murder?
7. Have we ever committed adultery? Deuteronomy 5:18 (Exodus 20:14) records, ‘You shall not commit adultery’. Jesus says, Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have we ever committed adultery in our hearts?
8. Have we ever stolen? Deuteronomy 5:19 (Exodus 20:15) says, ‘You shall not steal.’ Have we ever not put in the time that we are paid to put in at work? Have we ever not claimed all of our income on our income tax? Have we ever withheld payment from someone for something they have done? Have we ever ‘borrowed’ something from a sibling or friend without asking? Have we ever stolen?
9. Have we ever given false testimony against our neighbour? (Deuteronomy 5:20, Exodus 20:16). This command is primarily referring to a court action but it can most certainly be extended to include any false statement about a neighbour.[12] Have we ever made false claims about a political or historical figure? Have we ever passed along falsehood about a colleague or community member? Have we ever repeated a rumour or gossip as if it was truth? Have we ever given false testimony against our neighbour?
10. Do we ever covet our neighbour’s wife or anything that belongs to our neighbour? (Deuteronomy 5:21, Exodus 20:17) Do we ever wish we had our neighbour’s car? Do we ever lament that we don’t have a job as cushy or with as big a paycheque or with as many holidays as someone else’s? A big part of the advertising that helps prop up our whole economic system in this country is the desire to have what someone else has? Do we ever need to ‘keep up to the Joneses?’ Do we ever fall prey to that temptation? Do we ever covet someone else’s life or someone else’s possessions?
Let’s review the second part of the test:
5) Do we love our neighbours by honouring our parents? (Yes)
6) Have we broken the command not to murder? (No)
7) Have we committed adultery in our hearts? (No)
8) Have we ever stolen? (No)
9) Do we ever give false testimony? (No)
10) Do we sometimes covet someone else’s life or someone else’s possessions? (No)
So how did you do? How did we do on the Decalogue Holiness Test? How are we at reflecting or emulating the Lord’s holiness through loving God and loving our neighbour? I know that everyone here probably aced this quiz (of course!) because we are all living the holy, sanctified lives that God calls us to in Deuteronomy here (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 14:21, 26:19, 28:9), in the Old Testament (cf. Exodus 19:6, 22:31, 31:13; Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7-8), and in the New Testament (cf. Ephesians 1:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:4-7; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 12:4; 1 Peter 1:13-16; cf. also Matthew 5:48). But, if for some reason we didn’t get the test perfect, I would like us to take it home and work on it. You can use the book to help you too. Actually I would encourage that. The more you read the textbook (the Bible), the more you will understand about the holiness exam. I want to point out two quick things before we go here:
1) No matter how you did on the test, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). He is patient and as we study for the tests this life will send – and this life will have many test – the Lord will always be there to help us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). \
2) Don’t worry about transforming yourself into a holy person. The Gospel itself has the power to transform us (Romans 1:16-17). As we read the Bible and as we pray and as we spend time with God, God will naturally transform us into His likeness (cf. TSA doc. 10). God loves as and as we seek Him and His Kingdom and His righteousness, He promises that we will find Him (Matthew 6:33). So that is how we ace the holiness exam, simply seek first the kingdom of God and everything else we need will be added unto us.
So now I will leave us with this prayer of encouragement from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Let us pray:
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls us is faithful and He will do it.’ Amen.
Go now and live a holy, sanctified life in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
[2] Thompson, J. A., Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 128
[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today, Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army. Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./ptl4covenants.htm
[4] cf. Thompson, J. A., Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 129 for a good discussion of the division of the Decalogue into two holiness parts: your God and your neighbour.
[5] John J. Kilgallen, “The plan of the 'nomiko' (Luke 10.25-37), New Testament Studies Vol.42 (November 1, 1996): This idea was common enough by the 1st Century that this was Jesus anticipated response to the question in the Lucan account.
[6] Cf. Paul Foster, “Why Did Matthew Get The Shema Wrong? A Study of Matthew 22:37” Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 122, Iss. 2 (2003): 309-333 re. Matthew’s version of the Shema
[7] Cf. Ronald P. Byars, Between Text & Sermon: Deuteronomy 6:1–15, Interpretation Vol. 60 (April 2006): 194-196, for a good practical discussion on this topic.
[8] S. Dean Mcbride, Jr., ‘The Essence of Orthodoxy: Deuteronomy 5:6–10 and Exodus 20:2–6’, Interpretation Vol.60 (April 2006): 145
[9] Earl S. Kalland, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Deuteronomy/Exposition of Deuteronomy/III. The Second Address: Stipulations of the Covenant-Treaty and Its Ratification (4:44-28:68)/B. Basic Elements of Life in the Land (5:1-11:32)/1. The Ten Commandments (5:1-33)/a. Exhortation and historical background (5:1-5)/(3) Prohibition against misusing God's name (5:11), Book Version: 4.0.2; but cf. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Exodus/Exposition of Exodus/II. Divine Morality (19:1-24:18)/C. The Decalogue (20:1-17), Book Version: 4.0.2
[10] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Exodus/Exposition of Exodus/II. Divine Morality (19:1-24:18)/C. The Decalogue (20:1-17), Book Version: 4.0.2
[11] Cf. Rev. Allan McCafferty, ‘Always Another Question?’, The Expository Times, Vol. 121, Iss. 9 (June 2010): 457-458
[12] Cf. R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1973 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 2), S. 168
I will ask you to number your pages now from 5-10 and we will start the second part of our test, sub-titled, ‘Love Your Neighbour’ (cf. Romans 13:9). This part is important as shown by the fact that Jesus addresses a number of these items specifically (Matthew 5:21, 27, 33; Mark 12:29–31; Luke 10:27; 18:20; cf. also Romans 2:21, 22; Galatians 5:19f.; Ephesians 4:28; 5:3; Hebrews 4:9; James 2:11, etc.).[11]
5. Do we honour our fathers and our mothers, as the Lord our God has commanded us (Deuteronomy 5:16, Exodus 20:12)? This has many applications. Obviously it relates to children living under their parents’ roof. Do they do as their parents ask; do they respect their wishes; do they avoid doing anything that can bring embarrassment or financial or other hardship upon the family? This passage also, however, refers to us in dealing with our elderly parents. Do we provide for them, as they need provision? Remember there were no pensions, Medicare, or old age security while the Israelites were wondering around the desert. How adults honoured their parents had a great bearing on their culture and society (cf. Ephesians 6:1-3). Question 5: Do we in this room love our neighbours by honouring our parents?
6. Have we ever broken the command not to murder? (Deuteronomy 5:17, Exodus 20:13). Matthew 5:21-22 records Jesus as saying, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” Have we ever been angry with a Christian brother or sister? Have we ever referred to someone as “you fool”? Question 6: Have we ever broken the command not to murder?
7. Have we ever committed adultery? Deuteronomy 5:18 (Exodus 20:14) records, ‘You shall not commit adultery’. Jesus says, Matthew 5:27-28: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have we ever committed adultery in our hearts?
8. Have we ever stolen? Deuteronomy 5:19 (Exodus 20:15) says, ‘You shall not steal.’ Have we ever not put in the time that we are paid to put in at work? Have we ever not claimed all of our income on our income tax? Have we ever withheld payment from someone for something they have done? Have we ever ‘borrowed’ something from a sibling or friend without asking? Have we ever stolen?
9. Have we ever given false testimony against our neighbour? (Deuteronomy 5:20, Exodus 20:16). This command is primarily referring to a court action but it can most certainly be extended to include any false statement about a neighbour.[12] Have we ever made false claims about a political or historical figure? Have we ever passed along falsehood about a colleague or community member? Have we ever repeated a rumour or gossip as if it was truth? Have we ever given false testimony against our neighbour?
10. Do we ever covet our neighbour’s wife or anything that belongs to our neighbour? (Deuteronomy 5:21, Exodus 20:17) Do we ever wish we had our neighbour’s car? Do we ever lament that we don’t have a job as cushy or with as big a paycheque or with as many holidays as someone else’s? A big part of the advertising that helps prop up our whole economic system in this country is the desire to have what someone else has? Do we ever need to ‘keep up to the Joneses?’ Do we ever fall prey to that temptation? Do we ever covet someone else’s life or someone else’s possessions?
Let’s review the second part of the test:
5) Do we love our neighbours by honouring our parents? (Yes)
6) Have we broken the command not to murder? (No)
7) Have we committed adultery in our hearts? (No)
8) Have we ever stolen? (No)
9) Do we ever give false testimony? (No)
10) Do we sometimes covet someone else’s life or someone else’s possessions? (No)
So how did you do? How did we do on the Decalogue Holiness Test? How are we at reflecting or emulating the Lord’s holiness through loving God and loving our neighbour? I know that everyone here probably aced this quiz (of course!) because we are all living the holy, sanctified lives that God calls us to in Deuteronomy here (Deuteronomy 7:6, 14:2, 14:21, 26:19, 28:9), in the Old Testament (cf. Exodus 19:6, 22:31, 31:13; Leviticus 11:44-45, 19:2, 20:7-8), and in the New Testament (cf. Ephesians 1:4,18; 1 Thessalonians 4:4-7; 2 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 12:4; 1 Peter 1:13-16; cf. also Matthew 5:48). But, if for some reason we didn’t get the test perfect, I would like us to take it home and work on it. You can use the book to help you too. Actually I would encourage that. The more you read the textbook (the Bible), the more you will understand about the holiness exam. I want to point out two quick things before we go here:
1) No matter how you did on the test, there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). He is patient and as we study for the tests this life will send – and this life will have many test – the Lord will always be there to help us. He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). \
2) Don’t worry about transforming yourself into a holy person. The Gospel itself has the power to transform us (Romans 1:16-17). As we read the Bible and as we pray and as we spend time with God, God will naturally transform us into His likeness (cf. TSA doc. 10). God loves as and as we seek Him and His Kingdom and His righteousness, He promises that we will find Him (Matthew 6:33). So that is how we ace the holiness exam, simply seek first the kingdom of God and everything else we need will be added unto us.
So now I will leave us with this prayer of encouragement from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. Let us pray:
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify us through and through. May our whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls us is faithful and He will do it.’ Amen.
Go now and live a holy, sanctified life in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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[1] Earl S. Kalland, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Deuteronomy/Exposition of Deuteronomy/III. The Second Address: Stipulations of the Covenant-Treaty and Its Ratification (4:44-28:68)/B. Basic Elements of Life in the Land (5:1-11:32)/1. The Ten Commandments (5:1-33)/a. Exhortation and historical background (5:1-5), Book Version: 4.0.2. Kalland hold the minority opinion that this passage is referring to the patriarchs rather than to the encounter with God in Exodus 20.[2] Thompson, J. A., Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 128
[3] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today, Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army. Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com./ptl4covenants.htm
[4] cf. Thompson, J. A., Deuteronomy: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1974 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 5), S. 129 for a good discussion of the division of the Decalogue into two holiness parts: your God and your neighbour.
[5] John J. Kilgallen, “The plan of the 'nomiko' (Luke 10.25-37), New Testament Studies Vol.42 (November 1, 1996): This idea was common enough by the 1st Century that this was Jesus anticipated response to the question in the Lucan account.
[6] Cf. Paul Foster, “Why Did Matthew Get The Shema Wrong? A Study of Matthew 22:37” Journal of Biblical Literature Vol. 122, Iss. 2 (2003): 309-333 re. Matthew’s version of the Shema
[7] Cf. Ronald P. Byars, Between Text & Sermon: Deuteronomy 6:1–15, Interpretation Vol. 60 (April 2006): 194-196, for a good practical discussion on this topic.
[8] S. Dean Mcbride, Jr., ‘The Essence of Orthodoxy: Deuteronomy 5:6–10 and Exodus 20:2–6’, Interpretation Vol.60 (April 2006): 145
[9] Earl S. Kalland, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Deuteronomy/Exposition of Deuteronomy/III. The Second Address: Stipulations of the Covenant-Treaty and Its Ratification (4:44-28:68)/B. Basic Elements of Life in the Land (5:1-11:32)/1. The Ten Commandments (5:1-33)/a. Exhortation and historical background (5:1-5)/(3) Prohibition against misusing God's name (5:11), Book Version: 4.0.2; but cf. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Exodus/Exposition of Exodus/II. Divine Morality (19:1-24:18)/C. The Decalogue (20:1-17), Book Version: 4.0.2
[10] Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Exodus/Exposition of Exodus/II. Divine Morality (19:1-24:18)/C. The Decalogue (20:1-17), Book Version: 4.0.2
[11] Cf. Rev. Allan McCafferty, ‘Always Another Question?’, The Expository Times, Vol. 121, Iss. 9 (June 2010): 457-458
[12] Cf. R. Alan Cole, Exodus: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1973 (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries 2), S. 168
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