The Duty of Man

The Duty of Man

A sermon by Keith D. Wallace

I. Ec 12:13

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

A. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter

1. Solomon wrote Eccl near end of life

2. Eccl is all about the vanity of man and how man is worthless without God

3. v13 & 14 Solomon wraps it all up and says this is what it’s all about

a. Fear God

b. Keep His commandments

i. this is the whole duty of man

II. Ex 20:1-17

A. 1^st Commandment – Thou shalt have no other gods before me

1. other gods not just “gods” like Roman or Greek gods and goddesses or even Lucifer which some people regard as their god

2. anything that takes the place of God in your life – idolatry

a. sports, cars, jobs, people, movies, hunting, fishing, money

b. had a fellow tell me one time that the outdoors was his god

c. an environmentalist’s god is the earth

d. a humanist’s god is himself

e. the UN has no god

– atheists say they have no god, but it really is themselves

B. 2^nd Commandment – thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image

1. also idolatry

2. not to bow to statues or pictures

3. not to pray to statues or pictures

a. Ex 32:1-10 Aaron making the golden calf while Moses getting the Law

4. we are to live by faith – seeing is not faith

a. without faith it is impossible to please him Heb 11:6

5. God is a spirit – can’t see a spirit

a. John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

i. bowing/praying to graven images is worshipping those images and is done in the flesh with no faith involved – not pleasing to God

C. 3^rd Commandment – thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain

1. first thing in every mind is God d--n

a. “Well I don’t say that because it’s wrong”

2. first thing out of most mouths when surprised, hurt or scared is “Oh God!”

3. read Melton sheet

4. God takes this very seriously

a. punishment for breaking this command is found in Lev 24:10-16

i. death

ii. other sins requiring death in the OT were murder and adultery among a few others – taking the Lord’s name in vain is on par with murder and adultery

D. 4^th Commandment – Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy

1. this was a commandment to the Jews and we are under grace now and are not bound to keep this commandment in the New Testament

a. Num 16:32-36

E. 5^th Commandment – Honour thy father and mother

1. our society is terrible at this

a. rebellious, disobedient, unloving, unthankful children abound – parents wonder why

b. television and movies make this to seem normal and acceptable

i. show kids as the boss

ii. parents portrayed as mean and just wanting kids to not have fun

iii. shows parents who have “given up” because kids will be kids

iv. Pr 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

c. kids going to school shooting people

d. parents not wanting to discipline kids

e. government trying to tell parents how to raise kids

f. but blame isn’t all on parents – kids have free will to honour or dishonour parents

2. Deut 21:18-21

a. breaking this commandment was punishable by death

b. certainly have a lot more obedient kids these days if we did this

F. 6^th Commandment – Thou shalt not kill

1. Matt 19:18 Jesus clears this up and says murder

2. most people in the world are not guilty of murder but…

a. Mt 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

3. being angry with your brother without cause is the same as murder – Lev 24:17 says this is punishable by death

G. 7^th Commandment – thou shalt not commit adultery

1. “Never stepped out on my wife”

2. Oh no? Mt 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

3. uh oh. No man living today can honestly say he is innocent from this, especially if he has ever:

- watched TV or a movie

- looked at a magazine or newspaper

- left his house with his eyes open

* the way women dress today makes it very difficult for men to do anything with out lusting after some women dressed like she’s a harlot

- men are attracted to what they see and a man’s instinct is to lust after a beautiful woman. Not that this is right—we should do everything to keep from doing this:

- avoid places where you will be tempted

- stay away from TV and movies

- keep your eyes off them

4. looking at a woman and lusting after her is the same thing as carrying on an adulterous relationship or visiting a prostitute

5. well noone saw me do it, my wife doesn’t know

a. Job 24:15 The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. 16 In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.

b. Pr 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

6. you may have your wife fooled and everyone else, but not God and He is your judge

a. Heb 13:4 Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

7. John 8:4-5 says the penalty for adultery is death

H. 8^th commandment – thou shalt not steal

1. “Well I’m OK on this one”

2. Ever stolen:

a. a man’s good name talking bad about him? Pr 22:1 A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches

b. the innocence of a young lady? Deut 22:28-29

c. years off the lives of your parents from worry because of your wicked lifestyle?

d. a pumpkin from someone’s doorstep in a “childhood prank?”

e. 30 minutes from your employer while taking a full day’s pay?

3. stealing isn’t just taking something from a store you didn’t pay for

a. if we locked up everyone who stole anything, the streets would be empty

I. 9^th Commandment – thou shalt not bear false witness

1. All these things are bearing false witness

a. flattering

b. suppressing the truth

c. not telling the whole truth

d. refusing to tell the truth

e. exaggerating

f. giving false information

g. backing out on your word

h. refusing to fulfill an oath or vow

i. lying under oath

j. false accusations against someone

2. you don’t have to be taught to lie

a. babies will cry to make their parents think something is wrong so they can

get some attention – that’s lying

3. there’s no such thing as a “white lie”

a. we think that some lies are OK

i. How do I look in this dear?

ii. Does this dress make me look fat?

iii. How do you like my new hairdo?

b. “gray lies”

i. use these to get ahead in life

4. lying is of the devil

a. Joh 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

b. devil is lying to some of you right now

5. Rev 21:8 tells us what happens to liars

J. 10^th commandment – thou shalt not covet

1. big problem in America

2. gotta keep up with the Jones’s

3. covetousness is a serious and deadly sin that involves many other sins all at once

a. covetousness is idolatry – Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

i. 1^st, 2^nd and 10^th commandments broken all at once

b. covetousness leads to other sins like

i. adultery – 7^th commandment

ii. stealing – 8^th commandment

iii. lying – 9^th commandment

4. if we followed the 1^st commandment this wouldn’t be a problem

a. Ps 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

5. if our hearts are where they should be—with the Lord—we wouldn’t have a problem with covetousness because we’d be content

6. we think we have to have it all

a. TVs, cars, computers, boats, RVs, vacation homes, skis, fishing rods, guns, games and anything else you can think of – all covetousness

b. probably some committed this since coming into this room

7. 1 Tim 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

8. covetousness leads to all evil and God hates it

III. Eccl 12:13-14

A. duty of man to keep the commandments of God

1. How’d you do? Get 2/10, 3/10, 4?

2. Jas 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.

3. no man can fulfill his duty – Jesus Himself told us this

a. John 7:19 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?

4. keeping the commandments isn’t the whole duty of man though – also fear God

a. do you fear God?

b. the Bible links fear of God to the judgment of God

i. Luke 23:40

ii. Rev 14:7

5. if you truly fear God because you know that He will judge you someday you will uphold your duty – but nobody truly fears God and thus never totally fulfills his duty

6. Eccl 12:14 – so what about this judgment?

IV. Judgment of God

A. Rev 20:11-15

1. this is what happens to all who do not fulfill their whole duty

2. if you don’t fulfill your whole duty God will give you what you deserve

a. just like a job in the world except God’s judgment is perfect and forever

B. none of us can fulfill our whole duty to God, but thankfully there is One who did and He can be your substitute in the judgment of God

1. Rom 8:1-4

C. you have not done your duty. You fail in one area, you fail them all and must pay the price. But God commendeth his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

D. Even if you start now and are able to fulfill your duty for the rest of your life you still have the time in the past that you didn’t do it and will pay for that time. Christ is your only hope.

E. He fulfilled the whole duty of man and can be your substitution if you’ll accept Him

F. No matter how many commandments you have broken –

Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Joh 6:37 him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

F. Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.