不可雕刻偶像 No Carved Image
出埃及记 Exo 20:1–6
Remember these points
I put these points at the top of my sermon-prep template to remind myself every week:
- Show that main point of passage relates to Jesus and his saving work
- (1 Cor 1:18) A truly gospel-centred message will not be acceptable in a synagogue or mosque
- Did I proclaim the gospel as the headline news of the sermon, rather than as a “by the way…”?
- Unbelievers are called to repent, believe, and be saved
- Believers are encouraged to abandon their old self, renew their minds, put on the new self in Christ
- Preach simple sermons, so that God’s people can see Christ more clearly and love him more dearly
News
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Recap
Hook
Some Questions to ponder…
We often think that if everyone keeps the Ten, then the world will be a much better place!
This idea is certainly good, but that’s not why we keep the Ten.
In fact, asking unbelievers to keep the Ten is wrong!
Making unbelievers obey the Ten actually undermines the reason for the gospel:
The gospel is to change unbelievers into believers, not to make them into better people, etc.
If we preach “keep the Ten…,” we’re missing the entire point of the gospel.
We’re saying God demands a higher standard of behaviour apart from the work of Christ.
Proper behaviour doesn’t make us right with God.
Proper behaviour comes AFTER we become disciples, with the indwelling Holy Spirit.
So don’t teach the wrong idea or wrong gospel!
Passage
Carved image: Something carved out of wood or stone, used for worship
Likeness: Anything that represents God in any way, it could be based on a real object (like some animal or the sun, etc.), or something of our imagination.
YHWH is our (each individual) God.
He’s a jealous God.
Is jealousy good? What about envy, covetousness?
We can see jealousy as a strong desire or emotion to protect what belongs to us.
What is God protecting? His honour, his glory, his people.
When we worship other gods, we’re sharing God’s glory and honour with other things.
When we make a carving or likeness of God, we’re restricting his glory and honour.
So how should we worship?
In spirit and truth!
This is from John 4:23–24, when Jesus was teaching the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well.
What is spirit? With our spirit and the Holy Spirit.
What is truth? With God’s Word, the Bible
Not obeying God has consequences, and these consequences can affect not just yourself, but your descendants.
We often, as parents, care more for our children than for ourselves. So this is a good way to warn the Israelites (and ourselves) of the corrupting consequences of disobeying God.
“Steadfast love” (ESV) or “covenant love” (NET), etc., all attempt to translate the Hebrew Chesed.
It appears over 200x in the OT, especially in the Psalms, like Psa 23; Psa 118; Psa 136; etc.
You see the word every week in all my slides, it’s part of my PowerPoint template.
This steadfast love extends to a thousand generations. This is just saying forever!
与我有什么关系? So What?
