For over 35 years I have attended the Church of God and have found a home among the body of Christ.  Just like you, I have been in awe at how God has opened the minds of His people and shown them His great plan to bring Peace and Life to a troubled and dying world.  We have accepted His calling and begun to transform our lives.  We want to be a part of what He is doing through His Son Jesus Christ.  Each of us is placed into this body which is Christ’s.  As members of Christ’s body we are His to direct, mold and shape into members of the Family of God. 

This process involves a transformation process where we put off the old self and take up a new life to grow and mature and reflect the light of God in our lives.  This is a deeply personal process.  Although we share our lives together it is not always possible to express the very personal transformation that Jesus Christ is directing in our lives.  Although we can see and share the fruit of that process with one another each of us has a unique relationship with God.   Each of us come from a different starting place and although we are all moving toward God we each have slightly different paths.

As God open’s our mind               s to His truth we learn much more than just understanding scripture.  We are convicted of sin and we begin to change.  God expects us to change as he opens our eyes to see ourselves as He does.    Jesus tells us in John 14:15 if you love Me Keep My Commandments.  So we put great effort at doing so.  We try to be the best Christians we can be.  As we learn we begin to respond to God and do more as we put more things into practice. 

But there are many pitfalls along the way and we are constantly attacked by Satan and we often stumble.  Satan wants us to become discouraged and to quit and he uses every weapon in his arsenal to attack us.  We often think about Satan as only using evil to divide and discourage God’s people.  But this is not always the case.  Remember Paul’s warning to the Church in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15   13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.  14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.  15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

If we are not careful we can be deceived and believe we are following God when in fact we are being led astray.   There have been so many divisions of the Body of Christ in the last few decades because people have been persuaded to leave the trunk of the tree and reach for the tiny limbs.  It’s not that those limbs are wrong.  The truth may be out there; then again, maybe it’s not.  What we know is that the footing out in the branches is not sure and it is easy to become dislodged by ideas and understandings of various kinds.  

Disagreements can happen between likeminded people.  In the Mid 1960s, the chairman of the Republican Party issued what he called the 11th commandment which was to not attack members of your own party.  It was done because Ronald Reagan was running for Governor of California and the old guard in the Republican Party did want to see him rise in the party so they started making negative and even false accusations of him and even called a Communist.  When likeminded people get too far out on a limb it is easy to fall off.

The Idea of an 11th commandment has been around for many years,  There has been numerous movies, books, and plays with this title each espousing  some virtue or wrong that must be undone in this life.   The purpose is to take an issue and raise the conscience of others of some topic.  If people viewed this injustice as a commandment then they might change their behavior.  Colin Ray sang a song called “The 11th Commandment” where he raises awareness of child abuse.  In it he asks the question “Did God overlooked what should have been written, the 11th Commandment, Honor thy children”. 

It is a popular idea to take some issue or problem and bring light and even action to right some wrong.   Which of us can say there are not problems in this world we would like to see special attention to?  Recently I watched the movie version of the play Les Miserable and struck by the horrible life the underclass was forced to endure in 19th century France.  People exploited, mistreated, and used up and cast aside by those with wealth.  There was no middle class, only a few at the top and most living in abject poverty. 

What if you were given the opportunity choose one of the injustices you struggle with or witness in this world and see it raised to a commandment?  What would you choose?  Would it be a big issue like Racism or war?  Or would it be something smaller like:

• Thou shalt Not charge Compound interest.
• Thou shalt build goods to last a lifetime.
• Thou shalt make Coffee taste as good as it smells

These are humorous examples but you could choose an issue and give much greater importance to it? 

The title of the Sermon today is:

Beware the 11th Commandment

If we are not careful, we can take a truth, or a perceived truth, and raise it in importance to one of the 10 commandments and it can have just the opposite effect on our lives.  Rather than helping us grow it can become a stumbling block for ourselves and others.

Another way to look at this concept of an 11th Commandment is elevating something to such importance that it is basically a De Facto Commandment.  Here is where we want to beware, the 11th Commandment.  The 11th commandment is something I have heard applied to many things.  But for the sake of this sermon, I will use it to refer to things that become stumbling blocks for us or for others. 

Many things can become stumbling blocks for others.  Usually, when we see this trait in someone we notice that they are out of balance.  For instance, think of people that are referred to as:

 

• Exercise Nut
• Sports fanatic
• Health food junkie
• Music Freak

 

It’s not that any of these things are wrong or bad, but if you put too much emphasis on them, then you become out of balance.   We can embrace different activities as long as we maintain moderation and balance.  

Now, we know this right?

Many will remember the “Odd Couple”, a story of two opposites trying to live as roommates.    One is hyper clean where the other is extremely messy.  Our clean and organized person looks at cleanliness as more than just an option but an obsession and for Felix it became an 11th Commandment. 

He might say “Cleanliness is next to Godliness “ and therefore it should be a commandment in our daily lives.  But the problem here is it is not a commandment and you can’t even find this phrase in the bible.   You can extrapolate this concept by putting a number of passages together and there are many principles of living found in our bibles we can turn to but that doesn’t make this a commandment.   Felix, in this example, drives everyone around them crazy with his compulsion to clean because he has learned this is the way to live.

Each of us has quirks that make us unique.  We each have a point of view and each of us has a relationship with God.  It makes us who we are.  But if we are not careful, some of those things that make us unique can become a stumbling block to others.   Each of us are working out our own salvation with fear and trembling and in doing so will make decisions that we feel is best for our spiritual wellbeing.  Some of these decisions are clearly found in scripture whereas others are extrapolated from this passage and from that.

So today we are going to talk about these things that we learn and how to keep them in perspective even when we are passionate about them.  Everyone has things that we are passionate about.  Lessons that we have learned and pitfalls we have learned to avoid.  But each of our perspectives is unique.

As a minister, I am sometimes approached by well-meaning people asking me to judge some behavior or that we should have a sermon on this topic or another topic because of some issue that needs to be fixed.  Now I don’t say this because it is necessarily a bad thing but shows that we are all invested in the congregation and want it to thrive.  We are all members of the Body of Christ and as such are family.  Families often times find areas of disagreement and if we are not careful, we can let it grow to open conflict.  Jesus was often challenged on some point of Law where the Pharisee’s thought they could pin Him down on some aspect where they thought He was breaking. 

Now it is easy to dismiss the Pharisee’s actions as trying to preserve their power and influence.  While there is truth to this, there is another truth that should be remembered.  Israel’s history is one marked by disobedience and punishment by God.  The leaders of the faithful saw a responsibility in preserving the obedience to God for what they saw was obvious punishment from God in the form of Roman occupation.  God’s people turned their back on Him and His Laws and He punishes them for it.

While there was hypocrisy in the leaders of the Jews, there also was a desire to see their nation return to the good graces of God and to be given their kingdom back.  To this end, these leaders tried with great effort to get the people to remain faithful to the Law.  This was such a powerful motivator and influence in the people’s lives. 

 

In an effort to prevent people from sinning, the leadership, over time, erected fence laws to guard from sin.  How much can you travel on the Sabbath?  The bible does not say, so traditions of men, created rules and regulations to prevent you from sinning.  Topics like what constituted work and what did not; who they could associate with, who they could marry, and who they could do business with were all turned into fence laws.   Statues were added to statues until the meaning of the laws were often obscured. 

While they had intent to do good, they often had the opposite effect on God’s people.  Jesus came to free people from that oppression, but not to abolish the law as some Christians have taught.  Turn over to 2Cor. 3.  Paul told those in Corinth that who they were and were becoming was the focal point of their relationship with God.

2 Corinthians 3:2-3   2 You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men;  3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

This is a clear contrast to what Jeremiah condemned Judah for hundreds of years prior.

Jeremiah 17:1  NKJ "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars,

Each of these passages talk about writing God’s word on the Heart, but in Jeremiah’s time you could not write on the heart without and Iron Pen, or a Diamond, which is the hardest naturally occurring object; their hearts where that hard. 

God wants each of us to have a pliable heart and so each of us are tested with lessons we need to learn from and grow to overcome that will bring us closer to God.  It is different for each person based on their own growth and needs.  God has customized a growth plan for each of us.

You see, each of us has a different educational plan that we need to learn.  It’s like going to a special school where some kids have lots of math, but other kids have lots of reading.  Each child is recognized for their strengths and weaknesses and you don’t put every kid through the same material because there is only a limited amount of hours to learn and to grow and if many of those hours are wasted teaching children what they have mastered you miss many opportunities. 

Because we learn at different rates and are learning different things, our values can be shaped by this process and we may place a higher degree of adherence to certain things.  We can even be offended if we are not careful and therefore place too high an emphasis on certain things raising them to the level of one of the Commandments.

To us, these things are most important because God is working heavily on those things in our lives, and we can be dismayed when we run across others that don’t share our views. 

Many of our older members remember 11th commandments like not eating white bread or processed sugar; to drive a plain car and not to meet in large groups without minister present.  While some of these seem silly or strange, they were based on desires of some to protect the flock just as ancient leaders tried to protect those people.  We see others doing things we see that are unhelpful or harmful from our point of view and we want to straighten them out.

The point is that whether our motives are pure or not, misses the point that Jesus tried to make over and over when challenged in the law.  If the two greatest commandments are based on Love, then without Love, no obedience is worth anything at all.  We have to come to the love of God and His way of life, not through burdensome obligations that we impose on one another, but on the love we have for His way of life, that transforms us into the very family of God.

The lessons we learn in this life are a prime example.  If you talk to the others in this congregation and ask, what is the most important lesson you have been taught since your eyes have been opened, what would that be?  You will get different answers and that is because each of us has strengths and weaknesses that shape our thinking.  God has to look at where we are and point us in the right direction. 

Proverbs warns us about trusting ourselves over God.

Proverbs 3:5   5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;

The problem is knowing when an understanding is ours and when it comes from God.  Now we can contrast this with Paul’s admonition on faith in Romans 14:

Romans 14:22-23  22 Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God.  Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.  23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin.

We have all either used or heard the phrase, “What is not from faith is sin.”  But what does it mean?

The way I most often hear it used by people is this.  “I have come to understand something and now if I don’t do it, then I am sinning”. 

Here is where we risk the idea of creating an 11th commandment.  We can put up fence laws of our own to protect us from breaking God’s law and create a burden that we now have to live with.  With this in mind turn over to Mathew 12 and let’s read about a challenge given to Jesus by the Pharisees.  This is the first recorded challenge on Sabbath conduct recorded and His answer deserves a deeper look.  Now usually when Christ is challenged on the Law He points them to the weightier matters of the law to give them perspective.  But here, he takes a direct approach and challenges them back.

 

NKJ Matthew 12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.   2 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!"   3 But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:   4 "how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?   

 

So let’s consider what Jesus is telling them.  He admits what David did was not lawful and if you read the account of this in 1 Samuel 21 you will see that David deceived the priest to even get the bread.  Some commentators even note that while David makes the argument that since the bread is about to get replaced with new loaves that this proves that they were there on the Sabbath.  Either way, the Pharisees would have known that while this was against the law, there was no comment from God on the infraction.  David seems to have gotten away with it.  Furthermore,  Jesus cites this example when challenging them on a point of law.   Surely Jesus is not saying that it’s OK because David did it too.

Continuing on to verse 5.

5 "Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 

Priests had to do a lot of physical hard work in their duties on the Sabbath.  Here Jesus is stating what should have been obvious to them, it’s not the work or how hard it is, but the purpose.  6 days we are to do all of our work but the Seventh is to be set apart for a special purpose.  It is that purpose that deserves our attention and focus each week.   The Pharisees were focusing on what they could see with their eyes and not what was in the hearts of the disciples. 

Then Jesus makes an argument to end all arguments when he says the following in verses 6-8. 

6 "Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple.   7 "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.   8 "For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

There is so much here in these last two verses.  First of all, He is saying, if the Priests were justified working in the Temple, then Jesus Christ, one greater than the Temple, should never be questioned.  Also, at the end he tells them that He is Lord not just of men but of the Sabbath and has authority to decide what conduct is and is not sin.  So there is no legal case to be made about Jesus Christ and Sabbath Conduct but he also gives them an important point to ponder. 

But between these two points is even a greater concept they were missing.  When you read verse 7 you will notice that there are quotes around 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ that is because it comes from Hosea 6:6 and he tells them they never learned what that meant.  He also quoted this passage in Matthew 9:13 where he tells them to go and learn what this means. 

Three chapters later he challenges them again with these words written in the book of Hosea.

Hosea When you read through Hosea you see a lament for the disobedience of God’s people that led to their separation from Him.  Hosea was a prophet of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the last years of that empire.  Soon God would send them into captivity and they would be ultimately lost to history.  Here is what Expositors says of the Book of Hosea.

Expositor's Bible Commentary

                The central thought of Hosea concerns God's covenant with Israel that the people had broken. The covenant had been made at Mount Sinai in the wilderness, at which time God found the people like "grapes in the desert" and "early fruit on the fig tree". God "loved" the people and called them his "son". Through the passing years, however, they had wandered away from God, and the more he had called after them, the further they went from him. They fell into deep sin, breaking the covenant so graciously made with them.

                Along with these descriptions, however, he told also of God's love and patience with Israel in her sin in wanting Israel to return to him.

                Hosea not only described Israel's sin but also warned of the people's coming punishment. Israel's reprimand for breaking God's covenant was long deserved, but he had thus far been patient. The time would come, however, when patience would no longer be appropriate and punishment would be necessary. This punishment would come in the form of desolation for the land and exile for the people.             

What Expositors eludes to a number of times, what God laments is not the covenant-breaking but the result of what happens when the covenant is broken.  The people are separated from God.  He wants a relationship with His people and their Sin has separated them.  That’s what you have to keep in mind when you read the passage that Jesus quoted in Chapter 6:6. Starting in verse 4 of Hosea 6:

Hosea 6:4-6   4 " O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away.  5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth.  6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

RSV Hosea 6:6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.

God is comparing mercy and love to the sacrificial system which had the purpose of reconciling His people back to him.  If you turn over to Micah 6:6-8 you see this illuminated.

Micah 6:6-8   6 With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?  7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

 

God wanted their hearts, the sacrifices for sin did not turn their hearts.  He gave them so much time to get things right.  In the time of Christ, you had Pharisees that did follow the Law and covenants.  It is understandable that people would want to take what they have learned and be zealous in their obedience.  But if the heart is not zealous, the actions of men mean nothing.

Turn over to Psalm 81.  The Psalms have so much to tell us about God’s relationship with His people.  The Psalm starts off with the words we sing in our hymnal at feast time “Praise the Eternal with a Psalm!”  We read in the beginning of the psalm that God brought them out of Egypt and loosed them from their Burdon.  He delivered them from their enemies and took care of them.  But notice how he lists their crimes starting in verse 8.

 

Psalm 81:8-16  NKJ 8 "Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you! O Israel, if you will listen to Me!  9 There shall be no foreign god among you; Nor shall you worship any foreign god.  10 I am the LORD your God, Who brought you out of the land of Egypt; Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.  11 "But My people would not heed My voice, And Israel would have none of Me.  12 So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, To walk in their own counsels.  13 "Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!  14 I would soon subdue their enemies, And turn My hand against their adversaries.  15 The haters of the LORD would pretend submission to Him, But their fate would endure forever.  16 He would have fed them also with the finest of wheat; And with honey from the rock I would have satisfied you."

 

God’s first complaint is that they would have other gods instead of Him.  That they would have “None of Me” as it says in verse 11.  If only His people would listen to Him.  If only they would seek God First, then He would open up the treasures of the earth and fed them with the finest things to eat.  God wanted them to walk in His ways because God is love.  He wants them to have His Heart.

This problem of the relationship started early on with God’s people.   In Deuteronomy 5, God tells Moses to assemble the people and that He would speak directly to them.  But they rejected that and told Moses to stand between them and God.  In verse 29 you see God’s reaction to His own people.

Deuteronomy 5:29-30   29 'Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever!  30 'Go and say to them, "Return to your tents."   

What God’s wants first and foremost is our Love, loyalty and a desire to follow Him.  As fallible Humans, it can be difficult to have that heart in us.

 Sometimes it is easier to do physical things rather than those involving the heart.  How many years can you remember removing Leaven from your house but allowing bad attitudes to remain in our hearts?  Sometimes we focus on physical things we can be doing and neglect what God wants most.

We can build fences around our faith and we can create Commandments to make sure we are right in God’s eyes but they will never take the place of a relationship with God.  Furthermore, the fences we create often separate us from our fellow workers in Christ.

If we are convicted of some practice or activity, then it might be a perfect and acceptable sacrifice to God if it brings us closer in relationship with Him.  But we want to be mindful of how our actions will be interpreted by others who may not have the same understanding as us.  We are told to work our own salvation, not work out our neighbor’s salvation.   If our neighbor is in error, let God bring them to a better place and relationship with him.  Set the proper example not judging or disputing with one another as Paul tells us in:

Romans 14:1  Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things.

Remember that this chapter in Romans talks about disagreements on what is not only lawful but wise and prudent Christian behavior that can be applied to many different topics.  The bottom line for us should be the same as God’s.  That is Love and relationship should be first and foremost our motivation.  Back a few chapters we see where Paul talks about how this change of heart happens.

Romans 8:3-6 3 The law of Moses could not save us, because of our sinful nature. But God put into effect a different plan to save us. He sent his own Son in a human body like ours, except that ours are sinful. God destroyed sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.  4 He did this so that the requirement of the law would be fully accomplished for us who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.  5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.  6 If your sinful nature controls your mind, there is death. But if the Holy Spirit controls your mind, there is life and peace. 

When that is where it should be, then there is no need of fences and extra commandments.  We desire to follow God and walk in His ways.  His Law of Love is written in our hearts.

But if you insist on defining an 11th commandment, not better choice can be made than that of John 13:34-35  

John 13:34-35   34 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.  35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."