In response to many questions about Christian world-view, I have prepared a message series called, “What’s the Big Deal?” This message is designed to show the foundational truths to a Christian world-view of birth and life. With a Biblical view of birth and life one understands the extreme importance God places upon sexual purity.
Setting the stage for our conversation today
• God has chosen to relate to humans through covenants.
• As a human being, you are under a covenant with God. For example, God has covenanted that the earth will rotate; seeds will produce food, etc.
• Christians are in a unique category of the covenant; obedient covenant partners with God.
The Ten Commandments are foundational for our Covenant Relationship with God
• The original language, against popular belief, clearly states that the same honor is to be given to both mother and father. Exodus 20:12 – father first and Leviticus 19:3 – mother first.
• Intentionally, there is no mention of the father and mother’s characteristics, qualities, popularity, or of parental power and authority; honor is the active attitude and action of the daughter or son.
• Honor is comprised of two primary elements: Reverence (morah) and honorful service (kibbud).
• Both reverence and honorful service are:
• Expressions of the high value you give to your mother and father in your inner being.
• Life long.
Biblical honoring of mother and father flows from understanding Covenant Partnership with God
• There are three partners in a person: God, her father, and her mother.
• Creator God continues creating through the creative acts of mother and father. Job 10:8-12
• Therefore, we are to respond to mother and father the way we are to respond to God.
o Honor your father and mother and honor the Lord. Ex. 20:12 and Pro. 3:9
o Fear your father and mother and fear the Lord. Lev. 19:3 and Deut. 6:13
God gives the Ten Commandments in an Intentional Order
The first four commandments guide our covenant relationship with God.
• No other gods.
• No man made images of God.
• Do not take God’s name in vain.
• Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy.
The last five commandments guide our covenant relationship with people.
• Do not murder.
• Do not commit adultery.
• Do not steal.
• Do not bear false witness.
• Do not covet.
The Pivotal Commandment is the Fifth, “Honor your father and mother.”
• Honoring your father and mother is pivotal because honoring father and mother is both part of your covenant relationship with God AND your covenant relationship with people.
• Honoring your father and mother recognizes that there is something of God in you AND something of your parents in you.
• Although we aren’t 100% positive, for thousands of years it is believed that the Ten Commandments were written on two tablets of stone. One tablet guiding the covenant Partnership with God and one tablet the Covenant Partnership with people. “Honor your father and mother” is on the first tablet.
Honor
• Honoring your mother is recognition that you are not the source of your own being. You owe your existence to the Covenant Partnership between God and your father and mother.
• Honoring your mother is, in fact, a direct honoring of God Himself.