 Good morning. This morning, we're beginning the fifth commandment, and if you remember in the Ten Commandments, we often describe them as two tables of the law. The first four commandments deal primarily with loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the last six commandments have an emphasis toward loving our neighbor as ourself. The law is a unit, a whole, and when you love God in the first four commandments, you will be loving your neighbor. And when you love your neighbor as God commands in the six, the last six commandments, you will be loving God. So there is distinction in the Bible, but also unity. So I hope that's not lost on you as we consider one another with the fifth commandment. And remember that the fifth commandment is the first commandment in the last six. And remember that its emphasis is on loving our neighbor. And as we begin to unpack it and go through the other commandments, come with soft hearts so that we can grow in our understanding of God's commandments for us and His will with reference to how to live the Christian life by faith. There should be a handout that's been passed around. It has two sides to it, and it's broken up into four catechism questions. The first is which is the fifth commandment. The second is what is required in the fifth commandment. The third is what is forbidden in the fifth commandment and what is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment is the fourth one. Okay. These notes up here are partial notes for the first question. So if you're a note taker and want to save this, you can go ahead and begin to write some of this down. And let me just begin by reading that. Which is the fifth commandment. The fifth commandment is honor your father and your mother that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord, your God is giving you. Exodus 2012. What I would like to do this morning is focus and go a little in depth on the scope of this commandment. I was reading Peter Masters on the Ten Commandments and he was focusing on an aspect of this commandment applied to the church because he said that most people understand it applied to the family. And that's not disputed very often, but not many people seriously consider how this commandment applies to other areas outside of the family. It does say honor your father and your mother. So it's not excluding the parents. It starts there, but it's going to be more broad and I want to show you that. And also if you're wondering as we go through this first question why we don't cover the last half of this commandment that your days may be long and so forth, it's because it's addressed in the fourth question. What is the reason annex to the fifth commandment? So I'm not going to focus on the second half of the commandment. I'm focusing on those six words honor your father and your mother. Okay. So we're in the Bible outside of Exodus 2012. Do we see that God commands us to honor our natural paternal or parent parental authority? I say it that way. If you look up here natural and you could take that too far. That's why I put it in quotes. It's looking at your physical parents. Okay. So Pastor Michael what verse were you thinking? Ephesians chapter six verses one to three. I could read it if you'd like. Yes. Yes. Please read that. Ephesians chapter six one through three says children obey your parents and the Lord for this is right. Honor your father and mother. This is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land. I just want to make a comment like in my in my reading of the commandments when it especially like talking about the fourth commandment and how there were specific aspects of the fourth commandment for Israel in redemptive history. It's interesting how you know Paul here he's referring to the fifth commandment but it's not something that is particularly for the land for the people of Israel in that time in redemptive history. Like it's clear that he is appealing to that commandment. He says this is the first commandment with a promise that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the in the land and he's speaking to like a predominantly Gentile church in Ephesus. It's very interesting. Yes amen. So that promise is not just limited to Jews in the day that they received it as they would consider the land of Canaan. It applies today to Gentiles in America. Yeah amen. Okay any any other verses that come to mind? Brenda? In Colossians 3 20. Children obey your parents and all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Amen. Colossians 3. Let's also look at Proverbs 23 verses 22 and 25. Let me read that. Listen to your father who begot you and do not despise your mother when she is old. So you can see how the commandment does narrowly focus on your biological parents. If you don't have a biological parents you're adopted your parents who adopted you or your legal parents. They're the ones who within the sphere of the family have parental authority over you. Look at also 25. Let your father and your mother be glad and let her who bore you rejoice. And then let's look briefly at Hebrews 12 verse 9. Furthermore we had human fathers so that's where I get natural from. Human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect. Shall we not more much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live? We had that reference up here. So why we go over those texts is to show the commandment in other places in scripture and to further reinforce that the commandment does in its scope apply to your parents. And that's not really like confusing or disputed by many people. But it is good for us to see texts and to be reminded that it is throughout. And also if you will remember that in the Ten Commandments they're her synecdoche. If you've never heard that figure of speech it means we use a part. We use a part for the whole. When I say copper and I'm talking about change I'm talking about the material but I mean the pennies. Or I can't think of another one off the top of my head but we'll use in our figure of speech a part. We'll say a part but we mean the whole thing. And the commandments are like that. God will in its published form deliver it to us in his word and he's hitting on a part but that part is representative of the whole. And what God is hitting on in this commandment the part that he chose to give us is our biological family. That's the part that he wanted it to be front and center. But it's a part for the whole. What's the whole of the commandment? Does it stop just with our parents? Like when I go to work and I have an employer when I if I'm in the military and I have a sergeant if I'm here at church with my elders and they direct me in the way to go or admonish me in the way not to go. Does it apply there? Yes it does. So I want I want you to be convinced of that from the scripture and the reason why I think it's important that you see it in scripture is the age in which we live. We live in a very perverse generation with respect to authority. We are very egalitarian. We are the land of the free and we carry equality to degrees we ought not. Even with authority and we justify rebellion against God's appointed authorities. So I want you to be convinced as God's people what God commands and you to see that the scope is very broad. And that's the next point. Broadly we're looking at what is the fifth commandment and we're looking at its scope. Its scope includes the natural parental authority but broadly speaking its scope includes authority belonging to everyone in the several places and relations as superiors, inferiors or equals. And I know that that's long but I'm getting that from the catechism I think it's helpful. I could have I could have just focused on church, state and family but that still is limited. It goes down to inferiors and equals. So one way I want to begin to demonstrate this from scripture is let's do a biblical survey of the terms father and mother and in what context they're used. Okay any questions so far Sergio? I was going to ask in regards to like inferiors or equals how would that play out as far as honoring as far as the commandment. I'll give you an example if you'll turn back to Ephesians chapter six. So I think the question was heard because you had the microphone I was going to repeat it. So Pastor Michael read verses one and three three but if you look in verse four there's the other end. Not only are the children to obey but and in this particular authoritarian authority, I don't know how to word that authority, the authority structure between a father and a child. Not only does the Bible address the child and how they ought to relate to the father and his authority as father but the Bible addresses the father in that authority authoritative role and how he ought to address the child. And if you look in verse four and you fathers do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. So this commandment when we get into its broader reach it's not I know personectarchy it's part for the whole it focuses on the inferior honoring the superior in authority. I don't mean like quality like one's less value than another. When I say inferior superior I'm talking about authority only. So yes the Bible when it publishes the commandment on Sinai and puts it in tablets it's directed at those who have the inferior role and how they relate to those who have the superior role. But when we look at the commandment in its broad sense in its scope it does the vice versa. It also commands the father and how he ought to relate to his children. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah another example of like honoring with equality those those inequality as far as it goes with authority would be Romans 1210. It says love one another with brotherly affection outdo one another in showing honor. So so so those who may not hold a position of authority like a mother to her children or father to his children or maybe a pastor to his his church say you know a good application is amongst members of a church who don't hold a position of authority in the church they are to honor one another. They are equal in regards to authority and they're called here to outdo one another in showing honor and particularly honoring one another as it said love one another with a brotherly affection. I want to look up Senecta Key now is okay I really want because Sergio's question it makes me want to reemphasize what I meant by that figure speech per Senecta Key Senecta Key what does that mean here is an example when I when I use the word bread they got their bread they might not have even had bread at all. What I meant is their food or maybe they got bread with a bunch of other food. I'm using that word bread to to talk about food so another one I might instead of referencing the army and say the whole army I might just say soldier and then I told you the copper for a penny. A penny is more than just copper it actually takes a particular form and has an imprint on it instead of saying penny I say copper. So when we get the commandments the ten commandments it's not the way it's revealed it's not an exhaustive verbal explanation of what it requires. It's a part and I would say the most preeminent part the way that God focuses on publishing it that way but it is still a part for the whole and it's up to us through scripture to learn what is the whole and what I'm telling you and maybe you're not maybe y'all have we haven't maybe you haven't thought about this is that when we get into the whole it doesn't just address children to parents and it doesn't just address inferiors to superiors it address superiors to inferiors. Just just thinking about what you're saying when so at the time it was given in the Old Testament you know Exodus 20 would the people of Israel would have understood that broader sense at the time or only the superior and inferior relationship. I think that they I think our understanding of the ten commandments is very dependent on our relationship to God by the Spirit so I would think that there were many Jews who probably didn't see it as they ought but Jesus indicts you know the Pharisees when he comes and he says I tell you this is what it means it's always always meant that and I don't think it was concealed it's just from the hardness of the hearts of men we elect to lower God's standards all the time so that we can boast in our own righteousness so but did God make it in his word did he reveal that he meant more yes and that's why let's let's go let's look at the survey of the term's father and mother now okay so we already looked at natural those texts up there now I want to show you how the word father or mother gets used with reference to rulers and I'm going to give you the references but because of the sake of not having a lot of room you'll have to write them down as we we go over them so let's turn to Genesis 45 verse 8 this is Joseph he revealed himself to his brothers and I'm going to read from verse 8 and God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance so now it was not you who sent me here but God and he has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt he didn't become the biological father of an Egyptian but yet he says I'm like a father and if you would say it's he narrowly is focused on Pharaoh when he says I'm a father to Pharaoh and this isn't the best application for ruler we'll go to another text but what you can see is the usage of the word father not meaning biological so when the commandment comes to Pharaoh honor your father and your mother he has a peculiar relationship to Joseph and he ought to honor him in the authority that he's given him that God has given him let's look at judges five seven and because the pastor marks preaching I'm sure you're a more familiar or refreshed on judges you remember what judges focuses on more of the context well we haven't got there yet but one of the judges who comes along is Deborah in place of Baylack Barak so look at judges five verse seven village life ceased it ceased in Israel until I Deborah arose arose a mother in Israel so you can see how the word mother gets used with reference to Deborah because she has a peculiar authority in her relation to Israel you also see that so this commandment when God gives it he does not just intend your natural parental authority he intends other fathers and other mothers look at Isaiah 49 verse 23 I'm still showing you rulers Isaiah 49 23 kings shall be your foster fathers and their queens you are nursing mothers they shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth and look up the dust of your feet then you will know that I am the Lord the relationship here to see is how God likens kings to fathers and queens to mothers what are some of the rulers in our land either our city our state or our nation Ben commissioner mayor governor president state yeah all those guys yeah jenna come in we have a lot of fathers in that sense it's metaphorical but the commandment applies to them God is not afraid to call people in a place of ruling fathers and mothers and though they're not our biological parents they relate to us in their authority like a father or like a mother I know that their sin in various rulers and God requires of them to relate to their citizens a particular way but he also requires us to honor them I was just thinking I want to ask a question so so the fifth so the fifth commandment really could be applied you know like the passage in Romans where it says be subject to the governing authorities right so say somebody who doesn't want to pay taxes you know or wants to break the law of the land in some way like it would be a legitimate use and application of the fifth commandment to quote and command them to honor their their father and their mother in that regards yes sir yes sir if if if you like that that's a good application like it goes so broad like when you sit down to do your taxes on turbo tax or you sit across from an accountant and you start telling them things and they're drumming up ways exaggerating or inciting you to exaggerate or you're not sure but yet you're providing information as if it's true that's not honoring them and that is a violation of the fifth commandment you wouldn't do that to your pastor you wouldn't do that to your biological dad dad where's your wallet and then take money out and steal it we don't have the freedom in god's law to steal I mean we could go to the we could go to theft but the the honor that we ought to have towards our rulers is governed by the fifth commandment you know we could go to other areas too like law enforcement you know we're not getting into the nature of what it means to honor today I want to look at that term but we're gonna with the other commandments what is required what is forbidden we're gonna look at the the nature of it and how it would look when you honor them but just in principle when you meet an officer who's on duty he has a particular authority over you as a citizen of this nation or county and you are to relate to him according to the fifth commandment and honor him and it's not necessarily because intrinsically there's worth in him he could be a very vile man but it's by virtue of the position that he has in in your relationship to him okay let's look at military chiefs if you'll turn to 2nd Kings 513 2nd Kings 513 and his servants came near and spoke to him and said my father if the prophet had told you to do something great would you not have done it how much more than when he says to you wash and be clean so this is a Naaman he was if you look in chapter 5 verse 1 he was commander of the army of the king of Syria and he's being told by the prophet how he can be cleansed of his leprosy but you can see how the servants multiple servants come to him and they call him father so this commandment applies to people who are in position in military let's look at prophets 2nd Kings 212 and Elisha saw it and he cried out my father my father the chariot of Israel and its horsemen so he saw him no more and he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in the two pieces so you can see how Elisha references Elijah the prophet he calls him my father my father so the bible will use the term father with reference to one relating to another as their prophet or as a prophet just teachers wisdom teachers you can get that name if you look at Psalms Psalm 34 11 I say it this way I don't you could relate it to ruler because of David's place and relation to others but I put it there I think that it's not bad to do that because he's talking about how I will teach you the fear of the Lord and it doesn't say father but he references all those who listen as children come you children listen to me I will teach you the fear of the Lord giftings someone who is gifted by God to be skilled at something look at Genesis 4 this could be like trade trade work some trades like today like welding photography uh engineering um and I want to show you in this context Genesis 4 20 through 21 and Ada bore Jable he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock jubbal those who dwell in tents and if you keep going you can see how there this is related to their giftings because the next one it says his brother's name was jubbal he he was the father of all those who play the harp and flute so it's dealing with a trade a skill it's not biological it's just those who play the harp and flute as for Zilla she also bore two Balkan an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron so you can see there how uh instead of using the word father it's using the word instructor so we're going father father instructor because they're synonyms here uh in other words when you're under someone's tutelage they relate to you metaphorically like a father and you ought to honor them in so far as they have authority in their skill and ability to teach you i'm trying to think out loud here if someone is um has placed themselves in authority that's not ordained by god um always still to hold to this command this particular point of the command i'm thinking through when christ tell some of the jewish people that they're of their father the devil um he he's he's not ordained by god in any way shape or form as an authoritative figure so if someone were to do that in another land and say nope i'm your governor whatever should those people still be applying this no is the quick answer but because of sin uh we each even as believers have this proneness to want to throw off authority and we need to be careful that when we are not going to honor someone in a position of authority that we have biblical warrant for it so you know if someone comes along and says i'm your i'm now your king uh well i can and recognize that this is just a self-proclaimed king and i'm not obligated to honor him as my king yeah i was just thinking while he was talking like when we talk about honoring and not honoring even if we don't honor someone because of kind of a situation that you guys are describing there's a godly way to do that yeah so like when we say that we're not going to honor somebody who holds like some false position of authority what we're not saying is that we're going to in some ungodly way give them dishonor right like that's not what we're saying what we're saying is we're not recognizing the authority that they're holding and we're responding to it as christians whatever that looks like in that situation yeah and thank you so and that brings us back to what is the summary of the law is to love love god and love your neighbor so even when they're not in particular authority over me and they're trying to impose it upon me i still as an equal need to relate to them as god commands so even though it doesn't deal with him as a superior it does deal with him as an equal so i need to honor him as an equal now not as a superior and what does the bible say about how to do that it and to be a little more specific remember who they are they are a man or a woman made in the image of god i need to consider how i relate to the lord and then how i relate to his image bearer even when they're sinning against me so amen it's it's and we got to remember like our heart is should be to love god and love others we can't do that apart from the lord he must give us a new heart and cause us by the work of his spirit to be motivated to do that but as he works in us we obey and if you remember like our disposition is to love others our disposition is to love them biblically so my disposition is not to isolate from people and to hate them and god's keeping me under some kind of ball and chain to relate to certain people a certain way and as soon as the chains broke i can just run in my separation from you and be an enemy the disposition is how can i love you okay well you're not over me as an authority but i can love you as an equal and authority wise okay let's look at church leaders let's look at first chranteans four verse 15 i hope this is helpful for you to to begin to meditate on the law of god it and to consider what god requires of you with reference to other spheres of authority in your life i think when we think about this commandment we don't immediately run to all these other areas we just kind of run to our immediate parents and that's it and we just stop and we don't think about it when we speak ill of our president i know that there are corrupt people in office but that doesn't give you warrant to speak ill of them because god has given them that authority and that's going to get it the word honor it you know i want to get to that word so let's look at first chranteans four 15 for all things are for your sakes no i'm reading second printings for though you might have 10 000 instructors in christ yet you do not have many fathers for in christ jesus i have i have begotten you through the gospel so this is paul in reference his real peculiar relationship to corrent he was in a he is was an apostle and god used the gospel and paul having preached it to them to save many in corrent and they had a particular relationship to him as a apostle and church leader as metaphorically a father so the commandment applies to them how they relate to paul tau so um i don't remember where it is but um where i think paul says um that we have maybe it's in um titus chapter two i don't remember but where he says that we have spiritual fathers or like in in mark where jesus says you you know you leave your father and you know you leave your friends and everybody but then you gain 100 fathers and 100 mothers is he speaking about he's not talking about people that are older than you in the church he's talking about people who are in positions of authority over you in the church oh in that text where jesus said that i'm not necessarily okay you know just a concept yeah there there are uh in that text that jesus did i think he didn't use the word fathers he used mothers and brothers um but that's not really what your question is does the bible use the word fathers with reference to church leaders is that the right way to ask that yeah yeah like yeah it does it does um and sometimes you don't always see it as i'm a father metaphorically and i know that it's not i'm just adding it um sometimes we'll say you are my child my son if you look at galatians 419 paul says my little children and now you can bring into contact or into your memory all those texts where the apostles call them my little children my little children for whom i labor and birth again until christ is formed in you and then look at first timothy one two is that helping yeah um so i'm asking for myself because if people older than me in the church are my everybody's my father you know oh okay yeah um is it my church leaders okay i got you uh the bible does and that's one of the ones i want to go to is older people um the bible does liken older people as metaphorical parents and it dot likens church leaders who actually have offices within the church as metaphorical parents so uh the bible would apply to both the commandment plus to both and there's distinctions it's not like okay well everybody has the all these different roles and spheres of my life church state work home and now they're all even that's not true uh we need biblical wisdom to know how to apply when things aren't easy you know like i was listening to uh jeff smith and he was talking about how at a former church that he was a member of there were certain leaders who had been discovered embezzling money with the church funds and there were other believers or members in the church who did not want to go to the state with the crime thinking that it only was a church matter so i know this is opening a can of worms and i'm not planning to address it today uh and it's more interworkings i'm just trying to make a point that everything's not even and when they recognize not only have they dishonored in a very grievous way the authority that they had over the people and therefore are subject to church discipline they also are subject to civil disciplinary action because of their their relation to civil authorities but uh there are many things that civil authorities they don't have any right they don't have a right to come into your home and tell you not to pray so are all these spheres of authority are limited and that really brings me back to the ultimate authority is god this commandment deals with god i mean god is the the very word father gets its meaning from god the moment we try to define fatherhood apart from him we're already false so and he his authority's ultimate so if someone in any sphere is commanding you to dishonor god the father or uh dishonor um dishonor another authority um then you can disobey that authority if they're commanding you to sin and it would have to be a biblical basis because god is who we ultimately are subject to and we're subject to one another because we're subject to him that's why it's that's what paul brings out in roman 13 the governing authorities are from god they're god's ministers you know why you should obey them because god put them there you know why we aren't so we are we are to treat donald trump with honor in the way we speak about him is because god put him there okay uh let's church leaders uh let me just read this for time's sake first Timothy chapter one verse two paul said to timothy a true son in the faith and in titus chapter one verse four grace mercy and peace from god the father and the lord jesus no i'm sorry to titus a true son in our common faith and then there's older people i'd say uh it's in effect first timothy five one do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as a father that's physically an older man he's just older than me i need to treat him as i would a father and then if you go back to just carry with that leviticus 19 verse 32 it was in the old covenant god even said this you shall rise before the grayheaded and honor the presence of an old man and fear your god i am the lord you think about like how that's just completely forgotten age is very very much disrespected in uh in my experience um but but god is telling the the israel i want you to stand up and i want to honor the presence of a gray-haired man so the commandment is broad broad and this last point is bringing it back to what we've already brought it back to god is our ultimate father our definition of fatherhood comes from him our abject absolute submission is to god the father all other authority submit all other fathers submit underneath his fatherhood and to to kind of wrap things up what are superiors i've just did a survey of the biblical terms father and mother oh but here's some more categories for we've already kind of discussed them your parents church officers passers-and-deacons they're your fathers civil officers political law enforcement military they're your fathers and mothers employers and masters they are your fathers and mothers older people as we shown and for those of you who have people under you this commandment applies to you with reference to those inferior in authority your children church members so officers have a particular relationship to their members they need to shepherd the flock of god and tend to the lambs the commandment addresses them and tells them how to relate as uh in their positions of authority citizens if no matter what political office you have you have a particular obligation in your authority to minister to those citizens employees slave servants younger people you know with our children the commandment applies to how we relate to the children in this church just because they're younger you're older you need to be careful how you father them and then equals so maybe there is no authority difference between you and your brother or you and the person on the street but they are made in the image of god and let me last read james 219 you believe that uh is that three nine james three nine i'ma start in eight but no man contain the tongue it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison with it we bless our god and father and with it we curse men our equals who have been made in the similitude of god he's talking about the duplicity you you honor god with your mouth and then you speak evil of your neighbor but they're made in the image of god it's duplicitous why we're not why we honor god and then not honor the one that's made in his image so even equals deserve an honor from us because of who they are made in god's image and i could go to first peter where he says honor all men so i'll leave it there we'll pick up with the word honor next time what does it mean and then go from there to the next catechism question any questions okay yep it comes from the literal word to weigh much or be heavy so i like the net honor is to give parents and i'm using it in the broad sense respect and honor that is appropriate for them it could be said this way give them the weight of their authority that they deserve don't when you go and you say man this thing is this iron weight that i'm carrying is 45 pound weight it is heavy you know well when you go over here and you say man his office my employer my boss his his position over me is is like a feather i don't mean anything to me you know it's it's weighty it has weight to it you need carry care about the weight and feet and get and attribute in your understanding and in your heart much weight to that position that he has over you okay let's pray and we'll close father in heaven we praise you for the clarity of your word thank you for teaching us your people having been given new hearts how we ought to honor others our parents please help us lord not lose sight of the broadness of this and the scope of this in our own lives but to put on new obedience and to put off our sin with reference to honoring those that you have put in our and in over us or under us and even our equals in christ's name i pray amen