Listen here.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

To recap the first three Commandments: God has told us to have no other gods than Himself, to not misuse His name, and to keep the Sabbath holy. In those Commandments, God has given and protected for us the gift of Himself as our God, the gift of His name to use in prayer, and the gift of His holy Word which gives us rest in His mercy.

Tonight, we move to the second table of the Law which has to do with love for our neighbor. But before we dive into the Fourth Commandment, it is good for us to briefly consider the order God has given in these Commandments because it is no accident. Turn in your hymnal to p. 23 because it might be helpful for you to see these Commands since I won’t quote them verbatim. Notice, the order: #4 – Honor your parents. #5 – Don’t murder. #6 – Don’t commit adultery. #7 – Don’t steal. #8 – Don’t harm your neighbor’s name or reputation. And for tonight, I’m going to skip over #9 and #10 both for the sake of time and for the fact that the 9^thand 10^thCommandments bring us back to the 1^stCommandment according to Colossians 3:5.

Again, these Commandments, this second table of the Law, have to do with love for our neighbor. If it were up to us to order the Commandments, we might think the most important Commandment about loving our neighbor is to not murder because that is the most unlovingthing we can think of, but God puts the honor of parents as the first Command when it comes to loving our neighbor. Here is why: The 4^thCommandment is about setting up and protecting order in creation. Without the gift of order, life is filled with only chaos and anarchy, so the 4^thCommandment comes first. The 4^thCommandment is the link between our love for God and our love for our neighbor (more on that in a minute). Now, on to…

The 4th Commandment

Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not despise our parents and superiors, nor provoke them to anger, but honor, serve, obey, love, and respect them.

This Commandment is unique. Of all the Commandments, only two are positive Commands. By ‘positive’ here, I don’t mean that it makes us feel good or something. Instead, this Command is telling us, “Do this,” just like the 3^rdCommand told us, “Remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy.” All the others are negative, “Don’t do this.” But the main way this Command is unique is that it is the first Command with a promise (Eph. 6:2), “that your days may be long…” The first three Commands don’t contain a stated promise and blessing, but the 4^thdoes.

And notice that God does not command that we love our parents; He commands that we honorthem. To honor someone is a higher command than to love because honor includes love but it also includes service, obedience or submission (more on that word in a minute), and respect. In the 4^thCommandment, God puts parents right next to Himself as the most important thing in all creation because parents are a manifestation of God on earth.

Think about it this way: Where does your life come from? It comes from God; He is the Author and Giver of life (Act. 3:15; Ps. 139). But through whom does God give you life? Through your parents – through the role, the office, the vocation of father and mother. In that office and vocation, God has hidden Himself.

When you are (or were) a child God gives you protection, food, clothing, shelter, and education, but He did all of that through your parents. When you grow up (or now that you have grown up), God continues to give you all of those things through your boss and through the authorities over you. No one is ever free from being under authority. Even if both of your parents have died, you are still not free from the requirements of this Commandment because there are still parent figures over you either in your workplace or in the government.Romans 13:1connects the civil authorities to the 4^thCommandment when it clearly states that everyone is to be subject to the authorities over us because there is no authority except what God has established.

The home is the foundation of all order in all society. Unfortunately, today we have largely lost sight of this, and cultures around the world are suffering because of that. It is from the home that other institutions get their authority. Parents, God gave your children to you, and your children are your responsibility. It is your responsibility as parents to raise your children in the faith, to educate them, to feed and clothe them, etc. There are times when it is good and right to delegate those responsibilities to someone else. But do not think that because you have delegated those responsibilities that you are free from them either. The further you delegate your responsibilities, the more likely it is that those responsibilities will not be carried out well. I don’t want to get too political here, but this is why socialism will never work. Socialism upends the way God created because it tries to replace the government as the source of order and authority instead of father and mother as the source of order and authority.

So, kids listen up, you are to honor your parents simply because they are your parents. It doesn’t matter if they are good parents or not. Their role or vocation as parents demands honor because God has given you life through them. So, if you want to show love for God, listen to God when He says, “Honor your father and mother.” And parents, listen up. You are to serve in your office as a parent in an honorable way because you are the visible, tangible, manifestation of God for your children to protect and enrich their lives which brings us to…

The 5th Commandment

Thou shalt not kill.

What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do our neighbor no bodily harm nor cause him any suffering, but help and befriend him in every need.

God has given you a body and life, and in this Command God protects that body and life because after the order that God established in the 4^thCommandment, your body and life are the most important gift God has given you.

I’m going to be brief on this one because I spent so much time on the 4^thCommandment (and I could have gone on for hours on the 4^thCommandment). The devil has done a very good job of diminishing God’s gift of life in our society. From abortion to euthanasia and assisted suicide in between, the sanctity of life has been lowered.

Because God created human life by joining body and soul to make a living being, all life from womb to tomb is sacred – period. Jesus tells us how serious God is in this Commandment by saying that anger toward another is the same as murder (Mt. 5:21-22).

With regard to both of these Commandments, we see how we have not lived up to God’s requirements of us. We have not honored our parents and the other authorities over us as we should. We have not helped our neighbor when we have had the opportunity to do so. Repent.

Repent and remember that is why the Son of God became flesh. Jesus had parents and was submissive to them (Lk. 2:51). Jesus loved you perfectly by taking on a body just like yours. In that body, Jesus perfectly loved you by taking all your sin into Himself as He suffered the wrath of God against your sin on the cross. Christ has given you His obedience and taken all your sin. Because of His righteousness and His self-sacrifice, you are made right with God. And know that when He returns, He raise up you and all the dead. And He will grant everlasting life – body and soul joined perfectly together – to you and to all who believe in Him. Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.