#7
Whatever Happened to Right and Wrong?
Does it Really Make a Difference?

“The nice thing about crime,” someone said, “is that it usually happens to someone else.” However, rising crime statistics tell us more and more that “someone else” is likely to be you. Robbed. Raped. Murdered. Cheated in business

Facts are crime’s showing up in surprising ways. Maybe you heard about the anthrax scare in America – someone was sending spores of this deadly disease through the mail. Not long after that, snipers began shooting random people around Washington, DC. No longer can we shrug our shoulders and sigh, “Aw! Crime is something that happens to someone else.” Crime and violence is everywhere. Even in the finest neighborhoods.

It’s big business! Infecting police departments and elected officials. Students bomb their schools, kids murder teachers and fellow classmates. Even small children carry knives.

Cult murders, assassinations, hijacking, corruption – reported every day in countries all over the world. Why all the lawlessness? Whatever happened to right and wrong?

Both parents cheat on each other. The children see it all! And the broken homes are leaving ugly scars! And who’s to instill a sense of right and wrong if parents won’t? Schools can’t teach morality. People live as though they’ve outgrown the Bible’s moral standard! Even in a Christian nation like Zambia.

But would you like to know how all this has come about? Especially in the 20th century? This may shock you, but it started with preachers! Of all people! In one of the strangest developments of the 20th century religious world, we’ve watched this amazing spectacle of churches adopting attitudes that disregard God’s “boundaries” calling it “freedom.” Churches saying God’s laws no longer apply.

His commandments have been abolished, are no longer relevant, and are impossible to keep.

I’m glad priests and preachers are back-pedaling now. Some have begun to realize that God’s laws are still important, and even to preach it from pulpits. But “uh-oh! Too late!” In 2003 we’re reaping a bumper harvest of broken homes, children out of control, and crimes so violent we shudder.

And the Voice of Prophecy SPEAKS once again to us today, in the words of Hosea, the prophet, in Chapter 8 and Verse 7. He predicted what things would be like in the Last Days.

“They sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind...”

You see, those who said we no longer need God’s laws forgot something very important. They forgot human nature! Because if you don’t have laws to base your decisions on, who is to determine what is right or wrong? The moral judgment of even good people is often imperfect. Let’s face it, when we have to make moral decisions, we’re not very good judges.

<Proverbs 14:12>
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Some would say, “Just do the most loving thing. But love doesn’t tell you what to do. Laws can. Rules can. They come to our rescue and help us. They are like a map. They give us direction how to express ourselves. Humans need a standard of right and wrong outside ourselves. Not just “our own feelings and desires,” Paul says. (2 Timothy 4:3, 4)

Folks, we don’t get freedom by throwing out the rules!

In 2001, we were in Caracas, Venezuela. President Chavez, in order to gain political votes, made a campaign promise: “If you vote for me, I’ll give you new freedoms. I’ll remove all the traffic signs and stop-lights. No traffic rules!” And he did. Result? Total chaos downtown. (He even allowed stealing! Results? Terror. Barred windows.) You see, whenever you remove standards of right and wrong, whenever you suspend the rules, whenever humans have no laws and total license, chaos follows.

Friend, listen: do people need rules in 2003? What are the rules? Who decides what’s right or wrong?

In God’s prophetic Word, the Bible, God gave humans a 10-rule formula for a crime-free society. Just ten rules. Had they always been followed, even preachers who once spoke against the law now admit, crime would never have existed! Everyone would be safe and happy any place on Earth.

Let’s hit the “rewind” button...and go back in our Bibles to when the Israelites came out of slavery in Egypt. The Bible says they had been enslaved and told everything they should do for so long, that they didn’t know their right hand from their left. For hundreds of years, caged up slaves living like animals. What a motley bunch of criminals and thieves when the dear Lord came down to meet them at Sinai. Thunder rolled its kettle drums and lightning shook its fiery white lances, and God said, “Enough already! You can’t live like this. I’m going to write some rules etched on stone with My own finger.” So, you can learn to get along and enjoy each other! Are you listening?

<Exodus 20:12>
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

I’m the One who opened up the Red Sea before you. I’m your Deliverer. Protector. “Because I care about you, trust Me. These rules are for your own good.” If you buy a new car or bicycle or motorcycle, you receive an Owner’s Manual. Tells you what grade of oil for the engine and gears; the type of petrol to use to keep the car running at maximum.

God’s law is the Manufacturer’s Specifications for our lives, so we can live life in peace and safety. Simple. Easy. Clear, quick reference point to know right from wrong. Because they are a reflection of what God is like. I want you to be like God! Here, take a look.

#1: I guarantee, you’ll be happiest if you don’t get confused about who to worship.

<Exodus 20:3>
“You shall have no other gods before me.” Don’t worship idols. Don’t put your faith in the spirit doctors or worship ancestors, or anything else that would turn you away from God.

#2: Don’t worship “STUFF!” Materialism.

#3: Don’t swear.

#4: Don’t forget to take time off with Me! Keep holy My Sabbath.

#5: Your family is holy! Honor your parents.

#6: Life is holy. Don’t murder

#7: Marriage is holy. No adultery – no sleeping around. Friends, God says keep sex for marriage with your partner – no one else. And do you know, if people had listened to God, we wouldn’t have the terrible problems with AIDS that we have today.

#8: Right to property is holy. Don’t steal things that belong to others.

#9: Truth is holy. No lying.

#10: Have holy motives. Don’t covet your neighbor’s things.

As the people of Israel listened to this voice of thunder, they were greatly impressed.

Just “ten laws!” (Compared to all the libraries of law books, awesome!) Great! If that was God’s will! “We’ll do it!”

God, of course, knowing how forgetful we humans tend to be; not wanting to trust the frail memory of man, wrote down the Ten Commandments on stone.

<Exodus 31:18>
“When the Lord finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, He gave him the two tables of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.”

This wasn’t the first time God gave the Ten Commandments. In written form, perhaps. But it existed from all eternity. Long before Sinai or Adam, Paul says it existed. God’s eternal, unchangeable standard of right – the basis of God’s government in heaven.

Angels were governed by those Commandments. Given the choice of either following God’s law or ignoring it and rebelling against it.

Satan and his angels chose to ignore God’s law and make their own decisions about what is right and what is wrong. “Do your own thing.” Make our own rules. And this rebellion led to their being thrown out of heaven.

<Revelation 12:7-9>
“And war broke out in heaven…”

Why? Because they chose NOT to remain loyal to God’s law. Notice:

<Psalm 103:20>
“Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments.”

The reason heaven is a perfect place of perfect happiness is because they don’t have any law-breakers up there!

Adam and Eve had a knowledge of those commandments in Eden. As long as they kept God’s law and obeyed, the Garden of Eden was Paradise. Perfect happiness. Perfect peace. Perfect bliss. That’s why when they sinned and broke that law, they felt the emotions of shame and guilt. When Cain became angry and killed his brother Abel, God asked him,

<Genesis 4:6, 7>
“...Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.”

God’s law of the sixth commandment had to be in effect at the time because Paul says,

<Romans 4:15>
“...where no law is, there is no transgression.”

The Bible clearly says long before Mt. Sinai’s Ten Commandments, God blessed Abraham because he obeyed the law.

<Genesis 26:5>
“...because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge, My Commandments, My statutes and My laws.”

Long before Sinai, you recall the O.T. story of the young Joseph? His almost-affair with Potipher’s wife? How did Joseph’s sensitive conscience lead him to resist her sexual rendezvous temptation? When he pushed her aside, listen to what he said,

<Genesis 39:9>
“My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

How could Joseph know adultery was wrong when the 10 Commandments hadn’t been written for another 500 years? Because he already knew of God’s standard of right and wrong.

Long before Pharaoh placed the children of Israel under bondage in Egypt, they knew God’s Law. But during slavery they forgot.

The point is: the Bible is consistent. God’s Law has always been there! Because His perfect laws govern His universe: Laws of nature; physics; gravity; flight; astronomy; medicine; nuclear fission; instinct.

<1 Corinthians 14:33, 40>
“For God is not the author of confusion...Let all things be done decently and in order.”

No government, no society can exist without laws. Even children can’t play games without rules! You can’t play soccer without rules! The Bible says,

<Romans 2:13>
“For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”

Yes, it’s important to know the rules. But, more important to play by the rules. When Samuel Matete trained for the Olympics in Seoul and Barcelona and Atlanta, don’t you think he had to follow the rules of the Olympic Committee? The same is true if you want to win the Olympics spiritually, God says follow the rules – but for the right reason. Or, you’re just a legalist – a Pharisee. Don’t keep them, Jesus said, unless “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” In fact, love is the basis for commandments.

<Matthew 22:37-40>
“...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Every Jew knows what Jesus was saying here: That you can boil the Ten Commandments down to just two sections: (1) The first tells us how to love God (that’s the first four); (2) The second tells us how to love mankind (that’s defined in the last six). Our vertical obligation to God, first. Second, our horizontal relationships with each other.

Ten words. Ten Commands. That’s all you need, God says. But do you know what man says?

“Well, thanks, God! Ten isn’t enough. We’ll try to come up with our own sets of laws.” In the United States, we estimate that we have about 35 million laws drafted by man to control behavior! And look at the mess!

Not God. Just Ten Commandments – in ten words – He drafted a code of conduct that covers all human behavior. Only God could write such a law. No defects.

<Psalm 19:7, 11>
“The Law of the Lord is perfect...and in keeping them there is great reward.”

That’s because the Ten Commandments are a perfect “mirror” of God Himself. They reflect His character of love. They are “codified love.” As theologian August Strong wrote: “Law is only the transcript of God’s nature.”

And say! Guess what’s happening in churches in the last 25 years? Theologians and preachers are now saying, “We need the commandments! More than ever!” Dr. Laura Schlessinger wrote a book, The Ten Commandments in 1999, and it immediately became a best-selling book in America ! Even television evangelists there are preaching about the 10 commandments. Most don’t say anymore, “Well, we’re not under the law but under grace.” They’re saying we’ve misunderstood that text. They admit that Jesus didn’t come to do away with the Law – He came to teach us to live by the spirit of the law – not just the letter. And that actually makes the law tougher to keep! It doesn’t change the law – just shows us that there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Because any change in the Law of God would make it less than perfect. But a perfect law need never be altered. Jesus said:

<Matthew 5:17>
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” [EXPLAIN: “Fill up to full measure.”]

<Luke 16:17>
“...it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the Law to fail.”

If Jesus could have done away with the Law, there wouldn’t be any more sin. Jesus wouldn’t have needed to die on the cross. His death would have been meaningless. If there’s no law, there’s no sin, and Jesus didn’t have to die! No friend, Jesus didn’t come to destroy the Law. He came to free us from the penalty of the Law – from the wages of sin. To free us from the slavery of breaking it and disobeying it.

Someone says, “Rules restrict my happiness! Sort of fence me in!” On the contrary, God intended His law would guarantee freedom and safety everywhere. Think about it this way: If all the criminals in the world were born-again Christians obeying all God’s laws, we could walk down the street in any part of town at any hour of night and never have to worry about our safety! God says,

<Deuteronomy 5:29>
“O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children forever!”

Why do we build guardrails on bridges and mountain roads? To restrict us? No! To protect us from danger. God gave us His law like a guardrail to protect us on the road of life.

<Romans 3:20>
“...by the Law is the knowledge of sin.”

<Romans 7:7>
“...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.’“

What Paul is saying is God’s Law is like this mirror. It perfectly reflects what God is like; His perfect character. Each morning I look at myself in the mirror. I don’t like what I see: hair askew; beard; face needs re-arranging. Tells me, “Lon, you been eating dirt?” You need to get into that sink, reach for the soap and water with washcloth and clean up!

But do I take this mirror and try to clean myself with the mirror? No! I don’t rub it on my face or try to shave with it. Or, clean myself with the mirror. Can applying this mirror to my face solve my cleansing problem? Absolutely not. It simply points me to the water and soap.

Same with God’s Law. When Paul looked in that mirror, “Ouch!” That mirror of 10 Commandments reflects God. Perfection. The perfect standard shows us, “You got problems. Smudges. Sins; you look pretty bad.” (Compared to God, yikes!)

But what’s the solution? If I really want to get cleaned up, I need soap. I need forgiveness. I need to go to Calvary for cleansing through Jesus’ blood. Obeying the Ten Commandments can’t cleanse me. They only tell me, “Lon, you need soap and water. You need the blood of Jesus Christ to clean up.

But some Christians have said, “Hey! Why not just get rid of the mirror! Do away with those Ten Commandments and you won’t be guilty of breaking them.” That ol’ law? It’s too technical. The mirror is too legalistic. We don’t need it! So I just take that mirror and throw it away. [LONNIE: SMASH IT]

Does doing away with the mirror clean up my face?

Doing away with God’s mirror doesn’t solve our sin problem either. Doesn’t clean up our spiritual face. But as we look into God’s mirror – we may not be pleased with what we see – but that Law is a guide – to remind us we need cleansing in the blood of Calvary. We need Jesus’ soap and water of salvation. His blood that forgives. His blood that has power. Power to change us and help us obey the Law so we can start living a life of victory. Happy and guilt-free! How does God do this miracle?

At the very gates of the Garden of Eden, God instituted a graphic reminder that disobeying brings death. Walking along beside Adam and Eve were two pet lambs. He had named them. God says, “Take one of those pets, Adam.” What for? “Because you don’t understand what sin does to you and what it does to me, Adam, I’m going to show you. Where’s the knife...?” “Now take the knife and cut its throat.” Repulsed, Adam says: “What do you mean? Why would you ask me to do this?” Adam pleads, “No! Please!” Finally he takes the knife and he slits its throat. In horror they watch. They had never seen death before. This was terrible!

An innocent lamb was killed to show the sinner what sin does: it causes death. To us; and to the heart of God. Then God says, “Take the other lamb, Adam.” “What for?” (Your wife.) And he goes through this horror again. And Adam began to understand God’s law: the innocent Son of God must die to pay for breaking God’s Law.

Christ, the Lamb of God, Who would one day take man’s punishment, and suffer his death. The law could not save anyone. Never has. Never will.

<Galatians 3:21>
“...For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.”

Keeping laws doesn’t bring cleansing. Keeping laws doesn’t forgive. Only Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary pays the price for my sin.

<Romans 6:23>
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You don’t earn Salvation by keeping the law:

<Ephesians 2:8, 9>
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

Someone says, “Well, if we’re saved by grace, aren’t we free then to go out and disobey the law? NEVER. Paul wrote:

<Romans 6:1, 2>
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

The King James Version says, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law!”

The Good News of the Gospel is God’s amazing grace doesn’t do away with God’s law. When He forgives me, He also gives me the power to start obeying it.

Bill was a Hippie in 1960s living in California. Working as an artist in Hollywood. He made good money.

Most of his friends were on drugs or in jail. Not Bill. Parties. Good life. He rented a nice pad. Got a maid. (Wrote out a list of “rules” on a blackboard for her: Monday – Clean-up, Tuesday – Washing, Wednesday – Ironing, Thursday – Cooking, Friday – General Clean-up)

She obeyed: It was good $$. But...they fell in love. And one day he asked her to marry him. Need rules? No: Written where? On her heart!

It’s identically the same when we fall in love with Jesus. The Bible says when we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, He takes His law and writes it on our heart!

<Hebrews 8:10>
“...I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts...”

It’s easy to do nice things for someone you love, isn’t it? Friend, that’s the only way I’ll ever be able to obey. Love has to motivate me to WANT to love and obey His Law! That’s the only way Jesus was able to keep the Ten Commandments! Because of love.

<John 15:10>
“...I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”

Jesus never demands: “Lon, keep my Law.” No! He says:

<John 14:15>
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

“I’ll help you love Me and help you keep them, too.”

Come with me in your imagination to a garden outside Old Jerusalem 2000 years ago. Gethsemane. Jesus is praying there. It’s not a Hollywood scene, with every hair in place, cameras clicking. Olive trees wept heavy dew on His stricken form. He clutches the ground as if to be kept from separating from His Father. In agony He sweat so hard it became great drops of blood trickling down His face,

<Matthew 26:39>
“...O my Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

The fate of the human race hung in the balance. The universe held its breath! Would this young Galilean wipe the sweat from His brow and say, “Let the wretches suffer the consequence of their own sins.”

Or, would He carry the cross? For you. For me. Pay the price to pardon our sins. Let wicked men nail Him to a cross. In that awful crisis when everything was at stake I’m so thankful Jesus dipped His pen of love in the crimson ink that drained like liquid love from His own veins and wrote “pardoned” across your record and mine!

The old rugged cross. Amazing grace, costly grace! Forgiveness cost something, friend! The infinite price God was willing to pay to satisfy the claims of His broken law and save guilty humans. The life of His precious Son, Jesus.

Do you see? God could not ignore guilty man’s sins! And He couldn’t change His law. That’s why we needed a Savior. Thank God He gave us Jesus to die as our substitute!

<John 3:16>
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Now here’s why this is so important tonight. The Voice of Prophecy SPEAKS through the book of Revelation. It tells us God’s people ready to meet Jesus; ready to go home with Him to spend eternity in that Heavenly City; God says something stunning about them. You can know exactly who they are. They stand out. Tonight. Identifiable.

<Revelation 14:12>
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”

Revelation 14 paints the most spectacular picture of the second coming of Jesus in all the Bible:

<Revelation 14:14>
“...I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.”

A symbol of harvest, the end of the world. But notice. God’s people will be doing something. Making Satan furious!

<Revelation 12:17>
“And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

There you have it! The blackboard. God’s law is written in their hearts. The last book of the Bible says God’s people love their Creator and their Redeemer so much that they want to do all that He asks. His will is written on their hearts!

With outstretched arms tonight, Jesus is inviting, “Come! Tonight I want to give you forgiveness. Tonight I also want to give you power to live. To obey. I want to wash away your sins.” “Friend, If Ye love Me, will you keep My Commandments?”

<Revelation 22:17>
“...And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.”

STORY: Hannah Ramatu stood in the shadows, a safe distance from the Christian evangelist's tent. A good Muslim would not be seen here, but she wanted to hear the health lectures, and she enjoyed the music.

She stayed to hear the pastor's message and found she knew some of the Bible characters mentioned - Abraham and the prophet Jesus. One evening, as the pastor described the death of Jesus, the Holy Spirit convicted her heart. "Jesus died for me!" The thought overwhelmed her; she had to learn more about Jesus! Before the meetings ended, Hannah decided to follow Christ.

Hannah's father was outraged. How could his daughter commit this great sin of becoming a Christian? A struggle ensued. First he burned her Bible to bring Hannah to her senses. Then he had her hair cut off to remove the evil that "infected" her soul. But she remained faithful to her new Friend, Jesus.

Then he sent Hannah to her Muslim uncle's home with instructions to confine her to his house. He hoped that, away from her Christian friends, she would _~ forget her new faith. However, another Christian preacher was conducting evangelistic meetings near her uncle's home, and Hannah listened from her window! She thanked God for strengthening her in this way.

When Hannah returned home, her father beat her with a horse whip. Her arms and back were covered with blood. Desperate, Hannah ran to the local police for protection. The police told Hannah's father, "Your daughter is an adult now, free to choose her own religion. You will be in trouble if you harm her." Hannah is now living at home, learning to become a seamstress. Her parents no longer force her to deny her faith. Jesus worked a miracle and answered her prayers! Today Hannah knows that there is no greater freedom than living in the presence of Jesus, who freed her from sin. Hannah is free indeed!

God’s law written in her heart.

This salvation can be yours, too. Jesus not only wants to forgive you. He wants to change you. Give you power to begin a brand new life that wins! Tonight He’s inviting: “Friend, Don’t let anything hold you back. Pleasure. Money. Career. Don’t let anything separate you from eternal life.”

Jesus is calling for you: “Come! I can change your life completely. I not only want to forgive you and give you peace. By My grace and my power you can keep My Law.” You may feel weak, but Jesus is strong. No matter what you have done in the past, Jesus will forgive you. Cleanse you. He will give you His strength to live a new life.

Friend, do you have a longing deep down in your soul for the peace that only Jesus can give? Quietly respond, “Jesus, I am coming – I am coming right now.”