Sermon for the Third Sunday in Lent
I AM the LORD Your God, Who Brought You Out
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus
Christ! Amen! In today's Old Testament, God our heavenly Father repeatedly
delivers from Mount Sinai His "You shall not," "You shall not," "You shall
not." These are the Ten Commandments.
Dear Christian friends,
When you have a beautiful piece of artwork to display on your wall, it is
important to choose the right frame for the piece. A well-chosen frame adds
beauty and appeal to the art. A poorly chosen frame will rob the art and
perhaps even misrepresent the art. For example, I have an oil painting of my
youngest son displayed in our living room. The gold-painted frame is
streaked with red lines that look somewhat like lightening. I think this
frame adds to the painting of this particular child because the red lines
approximate the electricity he brings into every room he enters. Some might
even say that the red-painted lightening on the frame highlights the ornery
glint painted into the child's eyes and the impish smile that curls his
lips. A frame with flowers and butterflies might have missed the point. A
frame with flowers and butterflies might lead you to the wrong conclusions
about the child.
"You shall not," "You shall not," "You shall not." The Ten Commandments in
today's Old Testament are like a piece of art. These Ten Commandments paint
us a picture of our God and a picture of ourselves. The commandments show us
a God who takes our sin seriously-more seriously than we take it. The
commandments depict a God who hates our sin sincerely-more sincerely than we
hate it. The commandments give us a picture of the one true God who alone is
holy and righteous and just. By showing us this holy and just God, the Ten
Commandments require us also see how unholy, unrighteous, and unjust we are.
We might not enjoy the picture the commandments paint of a sinless God and
His sinful people; we might feel tempted to deny or ignore the picture; we
might feel terrorized and condemned by this picture; but this is
nevertheless the picture that the Ten Commandments paints for us. Having
looked at the portraiture of the Ten Commandments, not one of us can
honestly say, "All these I have kept from my youth" (Mark 10:20).
Into what frame shall we place this Ten-Commandments-portrait, in which we
get to see not only who God is, but also who we are? Be careful which frame
you select. A well-chosen frame will add beauty and appeal to the art of the
Ten Commandments, so to speak, but a poorly chosen frame might end up
misrepresenting the art.
· Some people think of the Ten Commandments of having been spoken by
a doting, somewhat senile, grandfatherly god who doesn't notice very much.
The frame they would choose for the Ten Commandments would be a frame that
depicts a god who is not really in touch with way things work in the real
world-sort of like an absent-minded professor. This frame makes commandments
such as "Remember the Sabbath day" and "Honor your father and your mother"
and "You shall not commit adultery" sound a little out of date. Framing the
Ten Commandments with this kind of god-a god who winks at your sin-would be
somewhat like using a frame decorated with flowers and butterflies for a
portrait of my youngest child. That kind of frame about that kind of
imaginary god might seem nice, but it will lead you to the wrong
conclusions. It might even cost you your eternal life.
· Other people might head in another direction. Rather than framing
these commandments with a god who does not take sin seriously, these other
people will frame the Ten Commandments with a god who will not be happy
unless you show evidence that you keep on doing better and better. This is
the false god of the television preachers, who wants to bless you with lots
of money but can't do it because you don't believe enough and make yourself
holy enough. This is the false god of self-improvement. This is the god who
leaves your faith and piety up to you. This is the god who will help you out
by giving you His Son Jesus, but you had better ante-up and get the job
done. But again, this is the wrong frame for the portrait that gets painted
by the Ten Commandments. The frame ends up taking away from the picture,
rather than serving it.
Both of these frames are poorly chosen and ill-suited for art as beautiful
as the Ten Commandments. Both of these dime-store frames end up
misrepresenting the art.
Today's Old Testament provides you with a much better frame for these
commandments. This frame not only befits the beauty of these Words from God
in the Ten Commandments, but this frame also provides you with a true and
accurate picture of the God who says to you, "You shall not." Before a
single commandment gets spoken in this Old Testament, God provides you with
the framework for these commandments by saying to you, "I am the LORD your
God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."
With these Words, your God does not want you to think of the Ten
Commandments as given to you by an old fool who is out of touch with your
reality. With these Words, your God wants you to know that He has taken
great measures to secure your freedom from sin, freedom from slavery,
freedom from certain death. Just as God your heavenly Father delivered His
ancient people Israel from the captivity of Egypt, so also has He set you
free from a greater bondage-the bondage of your sins-by means of the cross
of your Christ. The Ten Commandments should not be thought of as shackles
you must wear. The Ten Commandments should be thought of a strong wall and a
secure hedge that shields you from many hazards. Having delivered you from
your captivity, the Ten Commandments are now given to you, not so that you
may have a new form of slavery, but so that you may know your safe
boundaries, beyond which there is only danger and guilt and shame.
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of
the house of slavery." This is the picture frame in which God wants you to
hang His Ten Commandments. He does not for you to think of Him as leaving
the hard work of obedience up to you, as if you must find a way to measure
up to His expectations and perfect your own holiness. Your heavenly Father
wants you to think of Him as the God who gives you the gift of faith, the
gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of love for neighbor. He wants you to
believe that "He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made
our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption," as you
heard in the Epistle of the Day (1 Corinthians 1:30). By these gifts-by this
picture frame of a gracious and loving God-your heavenly Father wants you to
see the Ten Commandments as something much greater than requirements you
must fulfill. God wants you to see the Ten Commandments as living
expressions of love themselves, the very means by which you love your God
and your love your neighbor.
The Ten Commandments are not joking. Each commandment must be regarded with
utmost seriousness, both in thought and in deed. The Ten Commandments are
unavoidably condemnatory, too, not only for unbelievers but also for us
believers. So long as we remain in this life, we will inevitably fall short.
That is why one of our communion liturgies begins with those words from St.
John, "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not
in us" (1 John 1:8). Luther said it well:
The Law and works do not justify; yet the Law and works must be taught and
performed, in order that we may become aware of our wretched estate and
accept grace all the more eagerly (AE 3, p. 26).
Stated another way, the Ten Commandments are not ONLY about Law and
condemnation and death. They are about the Law given to us by the God who
loves us, who has given His Son for us, forgiven us, and has set us free
from the bonds of our sins. "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery": That is the picture frame
for your God's "You shall not," "You shall not," "You shall not."
The peace of God which passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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