The Rules of Right Relationship

Rules dominate every area of our lives.  There are rules for everything.  Rules about how fast we can move on a pool deck, “no running”.  Rules about entering a business, “no shoes, no shirt, no service”.  Rules about how fast to drive.  Rules about politeness and etiquette.  Rules about clothing and fashion.  Rules make life complicated, but they are important because they make known necessary boundaries and expectations.  Rules are important because they provide safety and security.  Rules are important because they provide a fixed standard that applies to all people, in all places, at all times.  Wouldn’t it be nice if life had a list of rules to live by?

READ: Exodus 20:1-17

God created humanity in His relational image.  Humanity was given God’s relational nature.  And just like everything else in life there are rules for relationship. Therefore, God revealed TEN RULES to establish the STANDARD of a right relationship with Him and with others!  The Ten Rules, more popularly known as the Ten Commandments, were revealed to the people of Israel during their wandering in the wilderness after God used Moses to deliver them from slavery in Egypt.  The Ten Rules were spoken by God directly to the people and written on tablets of stone by the “finger of God” (Ex. 24:12, 31:18, 32:16).  God said that those who obeyed these Rules were His “treasured possession” (Ex. 19:5).  Many consider these Rules archaic and out of date, but when we obey them, life tends to work.  When we don’t obey these rules, life tends to be more challenging and difficult.  What are the 10 rules of right relationship with God and others?

Rules for being in right relationship with GOD (Exodus 20:3-11) – The first 4 commandments are rules for our relationship with God.  God revealed to humanity His expectation of how we are to relate with Him.  Obeying these rules bring about God’s blessing and favor while disobeying these rules bring about God’s curse and displeasure.
No Other GODS Before Me (vs 3) – We are to give our whole lives in worship to the one true God and Him alone (Ex. 23:13; Deut. 13:1-18; Rom. 12:1-2).
Do not make for yourself a CARVED image (vs 4-6) – We are to worship God, as He is, in spirit and truth (Lev. 19:4; John 4:23-24).
Do not take the name of the Lord your God in VAIN (vs 7) – We are to use God’s name and speak about Him in a worthy and reverent manner (Lev. 19:12).
Remember the SABBATH day, to keep it HOLY (vs 8-11) – We are to physically rest and devote ourselves to the Lord 1 day out of 7 (Ex. 31:12-17; Lev. 23:3).

Rules for being in right relationship with OTHERS (Exodus 20:12-17) – The final 6 commandments are rules for our relationship with others.  God Himself revealed to humanity His expectation of how were are to relate with one another.  When we live obediently to these rules our relationships will be characterized by harmony and peace while living disobediently to these rules will result in tension and division.
HONOR your father and your mother (vs 12) – We are to give our parents honor, respect, and obedience as a result of the authority given to them by God (Ex. 21:15, 17; Lev. 19:3; Deut. 21:18-21; Eph. 6:1-13).
Do not MURDER (vs 13) – We are to value and protect the life of other human beings (Lev. 24:17, 21).
Do not commit ADULTERY (vs 14) – Marital companions are to experience and enjoy sex only with their husband or wife (Lev. 20:10; Deut. 22:22).
Do not STEAL (vs 15) – We are to acquire our own property and possessions rightly through hard work.
Do not bear FALSE witness (vs 16) – We are to speak honestly and truthfully to and about others.
Do not COVET (vs 17) – We are to be content and satisfied with our property and possessions.

CONCLUSION
READ: Deuteronomy 30:15-20 God did not establish these Ten Rules as suggestions, they were established as requirements to be obeyed.  God reveled His Ten Rules to us and we must choose whether we are going to obey. The consequence of our choice is either life or death, blessing or curse.  Right relationship with God and others depends on our desire and efforts to live according to these God-established Rules.  Is it your desire to obey and live by God’s Ten Rules of right relationship?

Right Relationship is an Act of Faith

Our beliefs have a dramatic impact on our lives.  We hold a belief when we are convinced that something is true or right.  Our beliefs determine how we interact with and experience reality.  For example, what we believe about gravity dramatically impacts whether we are willing to walk off the edge of a cliff or not.  This example reveals that our beliefs, whether true and right or false and wrong, have very different consequences and outcomes.  Therefore, it is important that all, or as many of our beliefs as possible, align with what is true and right in reality.

Our beliefs have a dramatic impact on our ability to have a right relationship with God and others.  The foundation of right relationship is BELIEVING what is right and true!  RIGHTEOUSNESS = to be in RIGHT RELATIONSHIP.  God Himself is perfectly righteous, He is the STANDARD of right relationship.  In order for us to be in relationship with God we must be righteous as well.  The bad news is, none of us is righteous. So, how does unrighteous humanity obtain righteousness?  We obtain it in the exact same way Abraham did!  Genesis 15:6 says that “(Abraham) believed the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness.”  Throughout Abraham’s life he believed God and acted obediently according to His words.  Abraham believed God when He told him he was going to have a son in his old age (Gen. 15:4-5), he believed God when He told him to be circumcised (Gen. 17:10-14), and he believed God when He told him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice (Gen. 22:1-12).  In each of these instances Abraham believed and obeyed.  The foundation of Abraham’s obedience was His belief.  BELIEF/FAITH = FULLY CONVINCED that God and His Word are TRUE.  What is the result of believing what is right and true?

Belief/Faith in God results in us BEING right in relationship (Romans 4:1-5) – In most areas of life we receive what is due for our work.  We are due a paycheck based on the hours we work we do at a job.  We are due a grade based on the work we put into studying for a test.  In contrast, in our relationship with God we “do NOT work but believe in Him who justifies the ungodly” in order to be counted as “righteous”.  Right Relationship Tip #1: Righteousness can only be obtained from God as a gift as a result of our belief in Jesus’ work on the cross.  Romans 3:22 says, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”  Jesus Christ has done all the work necessary for us to be in right relationship with God!  Righteousness is a gift of grace from God through Jesus Christ for all of us who believe.  At the moment we believe, righteousness is “counted” to us (Romans 4:22-25).

Belief/Faith in God results in us DOING right in relationship (James 2:14-24) – While belief is all we need to be righteous before God, there is at the same time work to be done.  Righteousness is not just a spiritual thing, it is a practical thing as well.  Being right results in doing right.  That’s why James uses Abraham as an example when he asks the question, “was not Abraham our father justified by his works”, his “faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works.”  Abraham’s righteousness (which he obtained by faith) at the same time, expressed itself in real life!  Right Relationship Tip #2:  Belief is proved genuine by obediently doing righteous actions in relationship.  If we believe, if we are fully convinced that God and His Word are right and true, our belief will simultaneously have a dramatic impact on what we do in our real lives.  If we believe God, it will result in the righteous works of love, kindness, goodness, patience, and forgiveness etc we do in relationship with others.

CONCLUSION
Right relationship (righteousness) with God and others starts with belief/faith! What has God revealed to us that we must believe in order to have a right relationship with Him?  We must . . . 1) Believe that God EXISTS, LOVES us, and wants a RELATIONSHIP with us, 2) Believe that our SIN destroys our relationship with Him, 3) Believe that JESUS died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, 4) Believe that Jesus death provides FORGIVENESS for our sin and restores RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Him. Do you believe?  Our righteousness before God and our righteousness before others depends on it.

Right Relationship Begins With the Family

Where do babies come from?  At some point, every child asks this embarrassing question and the answer usually has something to do with “the birds and the bees”.  It should not be too shocking of a revelation that babies are not delivered by a stork.  When children ask this question parents often squirm and try to avoid giving a direct answer for as long as possible.  In reality, the answer to this question should not be embarrassing or a topic that is avoided.  This profound question is answered very early on in the book of Genesis.  In fact, the answer comes as the very first directive given by God to male and female humanity . . .

READ: Genesis 1:28

Marital companions are COMMANDED by God to have CHILDREN!  Once a permanent commitment of faithfulness has been established by God between one man and one woman children are to follow quickly behind.  The childhood rhyme has it right, “first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage”!  This amazing combination of relationships is a family, the God-established foundation and beginning place of right relationship.  In Deuteronomy 6:4-7 God said, “Here, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  You shall LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these WORDS that I COMMAND you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children.”  A family consisting of a male father, a female mother, and child(ren) is the environment God created for humanity to learn to love God and love His commandments.  What is God’s design for marriage, children, and family?

God designed children to be the FRUIT of marital companionship (Gen. 1:28a) – A “greenhouse” is a building where a perfect environment is maintained for the purpose of growing new plants. The family is the perfect relational “greenhouse” established by God where His image is newly planted in children and grows to maturity.  In Malachi 2:14–15 God condemns the breakdown of the marriage and family saying, “the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.  Did He not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.”  A God established marriage and family exist for the purpose of reduplicating His image that He originally created within Adam and Eve.  The desired product of God’s love for humanity and marital companion’s love of one another is godly children.  Family Relationship Tip #1: Be grateful for your PARENTS and allow God to use them to help you GROW into His image.  No matter what family situation we come from, whether godly or not, we exist in this world as a product of a father and a mother in order to bear the image/likeness of God!

God designed family to MULTIPLY His image throughout the whole EARTH from generation to generation (Genesis 1:28b) – Our family tree is a history of relationships from where we descended.  We individually are the result of a long lineage of family relationships in the past.  At the same time, we individually are the seed (beginning place) of a potential long lineage of family relationships into the future.  God wants His image to multiply throughout every branch of our family tree and every family tree that exists (remember, He is the source that started them all). Family Relationship Tip #2:  Commit and prepare now to become a godly SPOUSE and PARENT in the future!  God’s image is currently growing in our life, and we’re next in line to pass the image along.  A spouse and the children we produce have the potential of multiplying God’s image for generations to come.

CONCLUSION
God designed the family to pass the baton of His image from one generation to the next until the whole earth is full of humanity who worship Him.  During our teenage years it is important that we simultaneously reach back for the “baton” of God’s image being passed to us in preparation of passing it on to future generations!  Are you reaching back to receive the baton of God’s image from your parents?  Are you preparing to pass the baton of God’s image forward to your children?