What Really Happened to the Ten Commandments?

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30-minute walk through the Scriptures, teaching in-depth Bible truths that change people's lives. Now, here's your host, Les Feldick. Okay. Hi. It's good to see everybody in this afternoon, and again, we just have to thank the Lord and we thank the LaCie people for our new expanded room, and we've got more room and better facilities, and so we are. We're thankful for all that, and we just trust that you'll enjoy the afternoon. We have visitors here from Minnesota again, and the camera will be sweeping across you, so be sure you keep smiling. You know, I have a rule of thumb for my television program. I tell the guys I don't want anybody on there more than a second or so, because if you keep people on the screen longer than that, they're going to do something silly. So don't be alarmed if the camera just sort of keeps moving, because that's at my request. But anyhow, we do like to let you folks be able to go back to your hometown and say, Hey, I was on television, and so we're just glad you're here and enjoy the afternoon with us, and we just pray that as we labor, the Lord will just continue to open hearts and lives. Oh, if you could just hear our phone calls. In fact, one day a while back we had some company, and we were on the phone off and on all the time, and finally ours said, Would you like to hear what some of these people say? And they said, Yeah. So we just turned the speakerphone on, and they were just amazed at what people are saying about the program, and what they're learning, and how the Lord is just opening their eyes. And so we don't take credit for that. That's the Lord's doing. You've heard me say it so often. I pray every morning, God give me Lydia's today, whether they're men or women, boys or girls, they can all be Lydia's, because what was unique about Lydia in the Scripture? The Lord opened her heart, so that she attended to the things spoken of by Paul. And so that's what I mean when I say I pray for Lydia's. Oh I've got to mention, I've got another sweet young granddaughter over here. So those of you on television, when you see that young teenager over here, we've got some in the back from Minnesota. But anyway, Tara is the one who does most of your packaging and gets the books and stuff to you. Okay, now again we've got to always remind our listening audience, because we get calls every day. Do you have books? Do you have tapes? Yes. All the past programs are available on video, on the printed page, and on the audio cassettes. I wouldn't even venture to give a number on how many have gone out in the last 12 months, but it's phenomenal. And so always remember that these things are available. You call us or write to us, and we'll get the information to you. Alright, so much for that. Now let's get into what we're here for, Bible study. Colossians chapter 2, and we're going to pick right up from where we left off in our last program. Colossians 2. And verse 14. In the previous verse we saw, and I'm going to read that for just a moment. Verse 13. Where Paul remember always writes to the believer. Paul never writes to the unsaved world. And of course the whole purpose is, and even in my purpose of teaching, if we can equip the believer with right thinking, you're going to go out and share it with others. Now I maintain this is why most Christians are scared to death to open their mouth. Because they're afraid that if somebody turns right back and asks them a question, they can't answer it, and then they're embarrassed. And so this is the whole idea of teaching, become skilled. Don't just take it in. That's a dead sea. See, the dead sea is dead because all it does is takes water in from the north, which is beautiful. Fresh water from the Jordan River. But as soon as it gets into the dead sea, it stops, and it can't go anywhere. And so what happens? It becomes dead. And so the fresh part of the water evaporates, and all the other stuff is left behind. Well it's the same way with Christians. See if all you do is sit there and take it in and take it in without ever giving it out, you're going to be a stale Christian. So learn to use the Scriptures, even if you don't know all of them. You know some of these people that come to your door, aren't you aware that they know what Scriptures they're going to use, and they know how to use them, and that's why they can hook so many people. Well, you be the same way, only get it right, and you can have the same thrill of winning someone to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Colossians chapter 2, we'll start at verse 13. And you, he says, being dead in your sins, that is in the old Adamic part of us, and the uncircumcision of your flesh, in other words he's writing primarily to Gentiles, he hath quickened, or made alive, brought us out of that spiritual deadness, together with him. In other words, how many times haven't I put it over the years. We were crucified with him, we were in the tomb with him, and we're resurrected with him. That's the whole concept of Scripture, identification, that as he died, we died. As he was buried to the old life, we were buried. And as he was raised in resurrection power, so we are raised. Alright, this is exactly what Paul is putting together. He hath made you alive, together with him, having, past tense, forgiven all your trespasses. Now that's hard for people to swallow. Oh, I have to constantly show these verses to people. Yes, every sin of every person that ever lived was forgiven by virtue of that work of the cross. Hebrews says that Christ tasted death, not just for believers, but for how many? For every man. He tasted death for every man. Yes, an Adolf Hitler, a Joseph Stalin, a Mao Tse Tung, or any of the other horrible persons that have gone across the stage of human history. He tasted death for every one of them. And why couldn't they cash in? Because they never believed it. And so this is the problem with the human race, even right around us wherever we live. It's all been done, but they will not appropriate it by faith. And that's what we have to do. Take it by faith. Now verse 14, one of my favorite verses, because I'm always separating Law and Grace. You're not under the Law, you're not under the Ten Commandments, you're under Grace. Now look at what this one says, "...blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us." What is the first thing that happens to the human makeup, and especially when they're young, when you say you can't do that? What's the first thought that comes in their mind? Why not? Why not? You know I've used the illustration over and over. You put a wet paint sign on the wall, and 99 out of 100 people that walk by it are going to say, I've got to find out. Isn't that right? Now that's what the Law did. Just as soon as the Law said, Thou shalt not steal, what's the first human reaction? Well why not? Now it was against us. It was contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, and what did He do with it? He nailed it to His cross. Now in that plain language, you know I'm always teaching that when the Lord gave Moses those Ten Commandments, put them on tables of stone, and Moses brings them down to the nation of Israel, that is after he wrecked the first set, and he got the second one. But he brings them to the nation of Israel, and presents them to the nation. And you've heard me put it this way more than once. They were strictly on tables of cold stone. And those Ten Commandments had no power whatsoever, and all they could do was point the finger of condemnation. That's all it could do, condemn, condemn, condemn. And so from God's point of view, yes it was perfect. It was the very perfect Constitution for human living, wrapped up in Ten Commandments. But for men to keep them, it was weak and fleshly, because it was contrary to human nature, and like I've already said, had no power to help us keep them. And so consequently what happened to Israel under the Law? Oh they failed miserably, over and over. And I think maybe that's why they were so prone to fall into pagan worship, because that was easy compared to keeping the Law. Keeping those Ten Commandments was severe. It was a tough go, because it was so demanding and so commanding. Now along comes the work of the Cross, and I guess this is as good a place as any. Let's go back to Romans chapter 3. And see this is so hard for the run-of-the-mill church member to get through their head, because most of them are still of the thinking that, if I keep the Ten Commandments, if I do the best I can, surely God will accept me. In fact I had a young lady again just the other night, oh she was almost depressed. She had had a class of some of her peers for the last two years, using our tapes and herself explaining we're not under long grace. And then she asked one of her students about her salvation and where she would spend eternity if she died. And you know what her answer still was? Well, I'm keeping the Ten Commandments the best I can, and I'm doing the best I can. And this young lady said, it just made me want to scream. How can you have been hearing this for two years, that it's by simply believing that Christ died and rose from the dead, and then come back and tell me that you're still trying to do the best you can? Well that's the human race. Unless the Lord does like He did with Lydia, and opens their understanding, that's what we're up against. We just sort of beat a concrete wall until the Lord opens it. But here we are in Romans chapter 3, and Paul is telling us exactly how the Law operated. Now we know that what thing soever the Law sayeth, sometimes the word Law will mean the whole gamut of what we now call Judaism. The Civil Law, the Worship Law, and the Moral Law. The Moral Law being the Ten. Well that's the Law he's talking about here, the Ten Commandments, the Moral Law. Now we know then that what thing soever the Moral Law sayeth, it sayeth to them who are under the Law. Not for goodness sakes. Who was under the Law? Well the Jews were, Israel was. The Gentiles had no contact with Israel's Ten Commandments. But in the mind of God now, it went beyond Israel, and it didn't just stop the mouths of the nation of Israel, but it went to the whole human race, that it might stop every mouth, that it could stop every mouth, and that all the world, not just Israel, but all the world could become guilty. See that's all the Law can do. All the Law can do for any human being, Jew or Gentile, is point the finger of condemnation, and it says you're guilty. A little book of James says that if you've broken one, you're guilty of how many? All of them. And so you can't win. The Law is something you can't beat. We can't keep from breaking it, and there's nothing we can do short of what Christ has done, and we're going to see that in just a minute. Now verse 20. "...therefore by the deeds of the Law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight, and here's the reason. For by the Law is the knowledge not of salvation, but the knowledge of sin." See how plain that is? That's all the Ten Commandments can do, is point the finger of condemnation. It can't save anybody, but oh goodness how the world thinks that if they at least try to keep the commandments, that somehow they'll merit favor with God. No way. God never intended the Law to do that. All He intended to do was show what His mind was concerning human behavior, and then human behavior of course couldn't be affected by the Law, because there was no power of the Holy Spirit behind it. Consequently, when Christ went to the way of the cross, now let me see, can I take you over to chapter 7 in Romans while we're there? Come over to Romans chapter 7, verse 4, and this of course is all what we're talking about that has been nailed to His cross. And this is why. It was cold stone without power to help anybody keep it. Verse 4 of Romans 7, "...Wherefore, my brethren, you also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ, that you should be married, or united to another by the body of Christ." Even to Him who is raised from the dead. Now you see, you and I can have no connection with the Jesus of Nazareth as He walked in Galilee. He told Andrew in John's Gospel, and he said he couldn't have anything to do with Gentiles until he had been put to death, buried, and risen from the dead. And so it's only the crucified Christ that you and I now as believers in the Age of Grace can have any union with. The Christ of Nazareth, or the Jesus of Nazareth and His earthly ministry, that was still strictly to the nation of Israel. It was still under the Law. And now this is why Paul says that you've become dead to the Law. It's a done deal, and we're going to see it in another verse in just a minute, that you should be married to another, even to Him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God as newborn. Now let's keep going in Romans and go on over to chapter 13. And maybe this will nail it to the cross, as He says in Colossians. Romans 13, and drop in at verse 8. Romans 13, verse 8, and it says, Romans 13, and drop in at verse 8. Don't defraud anyone, don't cheat anyone, but that's not the part I want. But to love one another, for he who loveth another hath fulfilled the Law. Now just stop and think a minute. What was the crowning word concerning the work of the cross? What put Christ on the cross? His love. His love. It was his love for lost humanity that drove him to the cross. And so consequently Paul can say that love now then is the fulfilling or the ending of the Law. And then he goes on to say, he doesn't give us license to do the things that the Ten Commandments forbade, no. But it's under a whole new economy because now he says, under law, instead of under law, under love rather, instead of under law, thou shalt not commit adultery. And if you truly love everybody you can't get involved with illicit relations. It won't fly. Love won't permit it. If you really love everybody you can't kill someone. If you love someone you can't steal from them. If you really love someone you can't gossip about them. It just flies into the face of love. So once we've experienced that love of Christ that was epitomized at the cross, we don't have to worry about keeping the commandments. They become secondary. Now then come on down in that same chapter, verse 10, "...love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the Law." See how simple all that is? Now then let's come back quickly to Colossians, and maybe now this statement of Paul will make a little more sense, as he died on that Roman cross, fulfilling all the demands of those Ten Commandments, and was capping it with love. Now in order to settle the question completely, what does he do with it? He crucifies it. He nails it to his cross. Now we know that the Law as such was an inanimate thing, but spiritually it certainly wasn't, and yet when he finished the work of the cross, he could say that the Law had been nailed to the cross in the person of Christ, and what does that mean? It's dead. It no longer has any power over the human race. The cross settled it, and so he nailed it to his cross. Now I don't know how anybody can overlook that, that when you nail something to the cross and crucify it, what is it? It's done. It is done. It's finished, and you can't continue to say, well I'm trying the best I can. Now don't misunderstand me. For the unsaved world, those Ten Commandments are still a criteria for behavior. We know that. But once you become a believer, the Law means nothing. It's dead. It's crucified. And you say, well then I can do as I please? No. How many times haven't I said over the years, grace is not licensed, but instead of having the heavy hand of Law keeping me from committing adultery, and keeping me from stealing, now what have we got? The indwelling Holy Spirit. And that indwelling Spirit will never tell a believer to steal. It will never tell a believer to be a false witness or lie. It will never tell a believer to do anything contrary to the Ten Commandments, which of course is part of our whole social structure. Just stop and think. What if everybody in a society constantly broke all the Ten Commandments? What would you have? We would have anarchy. You wouldn't have a society. It would be pandemonium. So they are still the basic structure of human behavior, but the difference is for you and I as believers, we're not under that condemnation that if we've broken one, we've broken them all. We're over here under grace. And the Law has been crucified. It has been set aside, and we are now free. Let's just back up a couple pages to Galatians. I've got a lot of favorite verses, haven't I? But here's another one. Galatians 5. And this is all because we're not under the Law, we're under grace. And I trust you all understand that grace is that unmerited favor that was poured out in the term of mercy and compassion. And that, of course, was God's prerogative. But all right, now look at Galatians 5, verse 1 and 2. Oh, especially verse 1. Galatians 5, verse 1. "...stand fast therefore in the liberty..." Now the Law didn't give anybody liberty. The Law, as I've said so often, was severe. And back when it was in full force, if someone broke these Ten Commandments, what was the sentence? Death. No questions asked. Death. But since that has now been set aside and nailed to His cross, we now stand in liberty. Total freedom. "...wherewith Christ hath made us free." And then the admonition from the Apostle is, "...and don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage." Isn't that plain English? You can't make it any plainer. You've been set free. All the binding power of Satan has been severed. All of the binding power of the Ten Commandments has been severed, and you're set free. Then why try to come back under and say, Hey, tie me up again? And that's exactly what people do. That's exactly what they do. Tie me up again. And oh listen, enjoy the freedom and the liberty that we have under grace. And then He comes down a little further. As soon as you start doing things pertaining to legalism, and you start doing things that are of the flesh, then He makes this tremendous statement that if you do, now of course circumcision was the big factor here in the Galatian churches, but it can be anything that you can do in the flesh. I don't care what it is. And so He says, if you be whatever, Christ shall profit you nothing. Now that's a hard statement, and yet that's where most people are putting themselves. They're saying, Well, I've got to do this, and I've got to do that. Boy, I had the most exciting phone call early this morning from a fellow out east, and he saw it. And he was a pastor, and oh, he was just elated. He said, I've never seen it before. And he said, As soon as I saw it, how that you separate law and grace, I just shouted, Hallelujah. And I said, And I knew what kind of a pastor he was. I talked to him a couple of weeks ago. And I said, Do you mean in the last two weeks the Lord's opened your eyes? He said, Totally. Totally. And I said, something that I even find hard to believe. But oh, listen, when they see it, Paul back there can tell you, when you see it, you just wonder, Why did it take so long? But it's so evident, it is so plain, and just like he says here, that if you're going to do something that can be of the flesh, then Christ and the grace and the gospel shall profit you how much? Nothing. Because he says, anyone that does something in verse 3, and again he uses circumcision, that anyone who's going to try to do something, then he becomes a debtor to how much? The whole law. Now you see, since the temple is destroyed, that leaves the whole human race in a dilemma, doesn't it? Because you can't keep the whole law unless there is temple worship, and sacrifices, and a priesthood, and none of that is available. So when someone says, Well I'm going to keep the commandments, hey, they're barking up the wrong tree. It just won't fly, because there is no way you can keep the whole law. All the things that pertain to the law have been set away, and they're no longer operating, and so if it weren't for grace, hey, we'd be in a dilemma. But we don't have to worry about temple worship. We don't have to worry about the law. We don't have to worry about the things pertaining to the Old Testament economy. We are set free, and we are under grace. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner-supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the Scriptures, and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Tinta, OK 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.