As you did the previous week, when you meet together, spend some time as friends, pray, share what God is doing in your lives, encourage one another to be faithful in your daily prayers, ask if anyone has any needs the group can help with, and then, begin the following lesson.
The is the first of several lessons on forgiving and being forgiven. To help us do that, we are going to be studying the Ten Commandments. These are commands of God that teach us how to live. As we read them, we will learn that we have not obeyed God's commands, and for that, we need to be forgiven. As we are forgiven, we will learn to forgive other and enter into the great freedom of the people of God.
The Ten Commandments are found in Exodus 20:1-19. Before reading this passage, you will need some background. It would be helpful if someone in your group would read the following paragraph as background to the Ten Commandments.
In the beginning, God created the world good, and he made human beings for fellowship with him and each other. He gave human beings all they needed for life, and warned them not to disobey his kind commands, for if they did, they would surely die. Human beings disobeyed God, and as a result, sin, conflict, sorrow and death entered the world. All of this is described in Genesis 1-3. God, in his goodness, chose a man, Abraham, and to this man and his descendents, he promised a land, a land of blessing (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham had a son, Isaac, who in turn had a son, Jacob, who himself had twelve sons. Jacob was also called Israel, and he and his twelve sons went down into Egypt because of a famine. Their descendants stayed there for many years, and eventually, were enslaved by the Egyptians. God, however, under the leadership of Moses, delivered the children of Israel from Egypt, showing his power over the Egyptians with great plagues. Once they left Egypt, they came to a mountain, Mount Sinai, where God appeared to them and gave them his Law. This law, above all the Ten Commandments, taught his people how to live and they also teach us how to live. Let us study this law, and let us ask ourselves if we have kept the law of God. We will see that we have disobeyed God's commandments, and as a result, life is filled with torment and sorrow. This law can be found in the book of Exodus. Have someone in your group read Exodus 20:1-19 aloud, at least twice, so that all of us can fully consider the Ten Commandments. Then read and act upon the following comments which will help you receive forgiveness.
The first four commandments address our relationship with God, as well as how to avoid the power of the evil one. The first commandment is of supreme importance. We remain in right relationship with God by putting him first in everything. We are to worship the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and no other. We are not to worship idols, nor seek our greatest happiness in sex, power, or money, or give our final allegiance to any other person, spirit, or power. Nor are we to make images of these things. We are to gather for worship each week, which, for Christians, is Sunday. We are not to take the Lord’s name in vain, or profane the name of Jesus by cursing or frivolous talk. As we obey these commandments, we come into right relationship with God, and the devil has no hold over us.
The final six commandments begin the healing of our relationships with each other and with the land. All of us have sinful parents, but we are to honor them by recognizing the good they have done, by refusing to speak ill of them, and never cursing them or harming them. Adultery breaks the relationship between husband and wife and has terrible consequences for the family and community. Scripture places sex within marriage between a man and a women, and sexual relationships outside of marriage are sin. As will be seen in subsequent lessons, God will permit killing as the lesser of two evils such as, for example, legitimate defense, but murder, hatred, and malice are deadly sins. Even if people do not kill each other, entire communities have been destroyed by hatred and malice. Stealing is more than simply taking what belongs to others. Stealing is taking land that does not belong to us, paying wages that do not sustain life, driving people into poverty, taking bribes, and using political influence to gain wealth. There are many forms of stealing, just as there are many forms of bearing false witness. A false witness is anyone who gives false testimony, who lies, who gossips, or spreads rumors. To covet means to desire what others have, and if allowed to grow within us, will lead to theft, deceit, and even murder.
Questions for Discussion
For each of the Ten Commandments, listed below, discuss how these commandments are most commonly violated in your life and the life of your community, and how one can be best obey each commandment. All these commandments are taken from Exodus 20:1-19.
1. "You shall have no other gods before me."
2. "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
3. "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."
4. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Christian keep this commandment by dedicating Sunday, the day of the resurrection, to God through worship, prayer, rest, and time with other believers, family, and friends.
5. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you."
6. "You shall not murder."
7. "You shall not commit adultery."
8. "You shall not steal."
9. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor."
10. "You shall not covet ..."
By means of the Ten Commandments, God teaches us how to live. As we know, however, none of us are able to keep the Ten Commandments, and this has led to terrible consequences, consequences we shall study in the next lesson.
Action Steps
Our next step is to begin the process of repentance. As we shall soon show, we are forgiven through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. For the moment, however, we are going to help each other confess our sins and receive forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process and sometimes it takes time for us to receive the forgiveness, time for God to make it real in our hearts. We are going to give God time by entering into a process that begins with confession and ends with a service in which we nail our sins to the cross. This will take several lessons. Now, how can we help each other confess?
Repentance is much stronger if the sins are confessed to God in the presence of others who can then proclaim the forgiveness of Christ. For example, Peter sinned against Jesus by betraying him, and Jesus brought Peter’s sin and his forgiveness into the light for all to see (John 13:36-38, 21:15-19). Even more, the gospel accounts of the crucifixion made public the sins committed against Jesus. Sins live if they are hidden, they die when they are brought into the light.
Divide your group into smaller groups of about three persons each. Once in your smaller group, let each smaller group say this prayer together, or have someone read it aloud and all end the prayer with "Amen" which means "So be it."
O merciful and just God, thank you so much for revealing your law. Thank you for forgiving me through Jesus Christ the Lord. Please, by your mighty power, help me to honestly face my sins, to confess them to my friends, and to receive your great forgiveness. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Once you have prayed this prayer or any others you wish, begin to think about your sins as they have been revealed to you by the Ten Commandments. To begin, write them down, each of you, on a sheet of paper. Do not write details, just a short phrase for each. Write down how you have violated the Ten Commandments. You do not have time to write them all down, just write the worst in short phrases. You may have to help each other in case some members cannot read and write. Keep this paper for the service in which we nail our sins to the cross.
Then, after about fifteen minutes of writing, you need to confess yours sins, aloud to God in the presence of the other persons who are with you. Be utterly honest with God. Pour out your heart before him. Ask for his mercy. Hold nothing back. God knows the secrets of your heart. This is good for you. It will cleanse your heart and give you great relief. As each confesses, let the others pray silently that God would help them confess and purify their hearts. You may have to wait at times, giving the one confessing time to collect his or her thoughts. Once a person has finished confessing, let one of the others proclaim these words, “Your sins are forgiven in the name of Jesus Christ.” Remember Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). After all have confessed and forgiveness has been proclaimed, then read these saving words aloud,
Come to me,all who labor and areheavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).
The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).
If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:1-2).
Remember that nothing said in this small group should be used for gossip and the ruining of other persons.
You will not be able to meet all the needs for repentance in this meeting. For that reason, what was begun in this lesson needs to be continued at other times and places. Over the next couple of weeks, continue to work on your written list. If you think of sins, put them on the list. Review the whole of your life. What was done in this lesson is only the beginning of a process that will last the remainder of your life.
Do not forget to pray for each other in the week ahead. We are moving closer and closer to the great gift of Jesus Christ. We will need God’s help if we are to enter into his Kingdom, the renewal of ourselves, our families, our community, nation, and world. Let us end with a prayer said aloud by all.
Heavenly Father, we give you great thanks that you have shown us how to live. Pour out upon us your forgiving love that we might be empowered to keep your holy laws, to love you with all of our heart, mind, and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves. Thank you, above all, for the gift of your Son who suffered sin that we might be set free from sin. In his name we pray. Amen.
The Rev. Robert J. Sanders, Ph.D.
