A COMPLICATED COMMANDMENT

Berean Baptist on July 1, 2019

Exodus 20:12

            I believe the fifth commandment may be the least understood of the ten. It seems direct without much room for interpretation—simply respect our father and mother. However, the commandment is much deeper than appears on the surface. A careful study of its placement as the hinge-pin connecting the first and second divisions of the law reveals the mystery of its complexity.

            God is the father of all life which provides the strongest argument for the insistence of obedience to all the commandments, especially the first four which are revelations of His transcendence. Respect is due Him as He is God alone and worshipping Him because of His divine favor in granting us life flows from this. Providential wisdom juxtaposed this to the commandment to honor our parents who are secondarily responsible for giving us life. These two spheres are linked in the fifth commandment which produces a perpetual duty to respect the highest authorities in both spheres of influence.

            Secondly, the commandment stands at the head of all human relationships. The next four commandments proceed with directions for the treatment of our fellow man. Thus, as Ezekiel Hopkins describes, we have the basis for handling all spheres of influence, that is the relationship to those in authority, the relationship of those in authority to their inferiors, and the lateral relationships with those who are our equals. The fifth commandment reflects the first sphere, namely, how do we respond to those in authority?

            The command is more complex than imagined because it encompasses all authorities, not just the authority of parents. The scope is broad starting with God who gave the command, down to every relationship of every kind in which others are placed over us in the societal order. The command is difficult because of our natural resistance to authority. This begins with the resistance of man against God, as men do not like to retain God in their knowledge (Rom. 1:28). The rejection of God filters down into reluctant submission to all authorities. For this reason, children must be trained to respect their parents. If we fail here in the second greatest level of authority, there is no hope for the final commandments to be obeyed.

            The fifth commandment produces an explosion of theological implications making the exposition of it a journey into some of the most important doctrinal concepts in scripture. This short list of statements caused Jesus to preach His most important sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, which relates the law of the Kingdom to the hope of eternal life.

Thomas Watson wrote, “By the first table, we walk religiously toward God; by the second, we walk religiously toward man. He cannot be good in the first table that is bad in the second.” This tells us there is no way to rest secure because we are through with the severity of disobedience to the first table. The way becomes harder now because of 1 John 4:20: “…he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Perhaps you thought you could escape extreme scrutiny because God is invisible leading us to subconsciously believe no one really knows if our heart is right towards Him. Oh, no—the image of God is in that person you just cursed and treated badly. The recesses of your heart are cracked open and made visible every day with your treatment of every human being. Learn these complications or miss obedience to all the commandments.

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

A Complicated Commandment

Berean Baptist on November 5, 2018

Exodus 20:12

The fifth commandment may be the least understood of God’s Ten Commandments. It seems direct without much room for interpretation—simply do this—respect your father and mother. However, the commandment is much deeper than appears on the surface. A careful study of its placement as the hinge-pin connecting the first and second divisions of the law reveals the mystery of its complexity.

God is the father of all life which provides the strongest argument for the insistence of obedience to all the commandments, especially the first four which are revelations of His transcendence. Respect is due Him as He is God alone and worshipping Him because of His divine favor in granting us life flows from this. Providential wisdom juxtaposed these thoughts to the commandment to honor our parents who are secondarily responsible for giving us life. These two spheres are linked in the fifth commandment which produces a perpetual duty to respect the highest authorities in both spheres of influence.

Secondly, the commandment stands at the head of all human relationships. The next four commandments proceed with directions for the treatment of our fellow man. Thus, as Ezekiel Hopkins describes, we have the basis for handling all spheres of influence, that is the relationship to those in authority, the relationship of those in authority to their inferiors, and the lateral relationships of those who are our equals. The fifth commandment reflects the first sphere, namely, how do we respond to those in authority?

The command is more complex than imagined because it encompasses all authorities, not just the authority of parents. The scope is broad starting with God who gave the commandment, down to every relationship of every kind in which others are placed over us in the societal order. The command is difficult because of our natural resistance to authority. This begins with the resistance of man against God, as men do not like to retain God in their knowledge (Rom. 1:28). The rejection of God filters down into reluctant submission to all authorities. For this reason, children must be trained to respect their parents. If we fail here in the second greatest level of authority, there is no hope for the final commandments to be obeyed.

The fifth commandment produces an explosion of theological implications making the exposition of it a journey into some of the most important doctrinal concepts in scripture. This short list of statements caused Jesus to preach His most important sermon, the Sermon on the Mount, which relates the law of the Kingdom to the hope of eternal life.

We need to take time with this commandment as its concepts are woven throughout many Bible passages. Thomas Watson wrote, “By the first table, we walk religiously toward God; by the second, we walk religiously toward man. He cannot be good in the first table that is bad in the second.” This tells us there is no way to rest secure because we are through with the severity of judgment for our disobedience to the first table. The way becomes harder because of 1 John 4:20: “…he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” Perhaps you thought you could escape extreme scrutiny because God is invisible leading us to subconsciously believe no one really knows if our heart is right towards Him. Oh, no—the image of God is in the person you curse and treat badly. The recesses of your heart are cracked open and made visible each day in regards to your treatment of every human being. Learn these complications or miss obedience to all the commandments.

 

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Faithful Friends

Berean Baptist on April 18, 2016

 

Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalms 41:9)

As I read the 41st Psalm, I am reminded of John’s words in 1 John 2:5-6: “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” Psalm 41 is another psalm that gives a glimpse into events in the last week of Jesus’ life. Perhaps we can call it coincidence that we would read so many psalms like this that so closely parallel our Sunday morning series in Matthew.

The connection between 1 John 2 and Psalm 41 becomes apparent to me as we see the integrity of Christ despite the false actions of His friends. In verse 7, there are whispers and plots of harm. In verse 9, a trusted friend who sat at Jesus’ table turned against Him and betrayed Him. This is an obvious reference to Judas who received only goodness and love from the Lord. Judas brought Him down, or so he thought. However, as we saw in Psalm 40 last week, the resurrection was Christ’s triumph. In this Psalm He says, “Mine enemy doth not triumph over me” (v. 11).

Where do we find the 1 John connection? In verse 12, Jesus said: “And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face forever.” Those that truly love the Lord have this same kind of integrity. As John said, we desire to walk as He walked. If we do, charges of evil against us are always false charges just as they were false when hurled at Him. When betrayed by a friend, which sometimes happens, it is not because we deserve it. We have kept God’s word by loving our brother as we do ourselves.

In the last week of Jesus’ life, He was set upon by those who had no real cause against Him. The constant questions intended to entrap Him, the denial of His authority and earlier claims that the good deeds He did were actually works of Satan, were so outside the pale of reason that the most skeptical should have said, “Look for something else. We know this cannot be true.” Nevertheless, the charges stuck in their mind and when the betrayal of the trusted friend came there was no doubt as to the outcome of His trial.

His integrity didn’t really matter to them. No matter how justly He walked they were going to crucify Him. This would be a major concern if it was the accusers that were the final judge. They were not. Jesus stood justified before God because of His perfect obedience to His Father. God would cause Him to triumph in that integrity.

This is what I am saying to you today. When you walk the way Christ walked and you know you have been obedient to His commands, how people judge you does not really matter. God will vindicate you at the last day because you stand in the perfect righteousness of Christ.

As a pastor that must preach on unpopular topics, I think about things like this. I will be accused by some who do not like what I preach. If I do not compromise the truth, I have no fear because God will stand by me. I do not want to be overly cryptic, so let me just conclude by saying, I hope faithful friends remain faithful friends even when telling them the truth is unpopular.

Pastor V. Mark Smith