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Application & Practicality of Biblical Law

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• Well, I'm thankful he did indeed come to us, that's for sure. As good as each one of you here tonight. We probably had some folks here last night like some folks I met years ago. I was preaching in a little town in southern Alabama at the Baptist Church. And right beside the Baptist Church, probably no further from here than the first cars parked out there, in fact, closer, was a Methodist church. They were right side by side. Well, I had some good friends at that time who were about an hour and a half away, and he pastored an independent Methodist church. And so they came down to hear me preach one night, and the pastor's wife said, well, Brother Johnson, let me ask you a question. I said, OK. She said, have any of our good Methodist folks been over to hear you? I said, well, they came one time and they haven't been back. Oh, she said, Brother Weaver, you don't understand.

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• We Methodists have a unique ability. We're like sponges. We can soak up enough in one night that'll last us for a month. She said, we just don't have to go to church as often as the Baptists. I said, hey, I know a lot of Baptists like that too, you know. So maybe we had some last night that got all they could handle, but that's all right. I know better. All right.

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• I want you to open your Bibles tonight to Matthew chapter 5. We're just going to read the passage that I preached from last night. I'm not going to preach from this text tonight. I'm going to read it to begin with because we're going to be looking at a lot of text because of the nature of the message tonight. I'm going to be dealing with what is known as case law in the Bible. Case law in the Bible. So look in Matthew 5, verse 17. Jesus Christ says, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law of the prophets, I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."

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• For I say unto you that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. May I remind you that last night I preached a message on the abiding validity of the law where our Lord says very plainly in verse 17, do not even begin to think that I've come to destroy the law of the prophets. I've not come to destroy, but to fulfill or to put it into full force as continuous. The truth is all of God's law is applicable to God's people today. Now many people will balk at the extent of God's law. And what a lot of people try to do is limit the law of God to the Ten Commandments.

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• Now, let me just tell you something. The Ten Commandments are an excellent summary of God's law. I'm going to show you they are major principles that summarize God's law, but a summary does not cancel out the whole. I've taught college courses. I've taught high school courses. And many times I would ask my students to do a book report or a summary of a book. And here they would come in with four or five tight written pages of a book maybe that was 200 pages long. Now that summary that they wrote may have summarized that book, but it certainly did not cancel out the entirety of the book. So the Ten Commandments then are indeed a summary of God's law, and it does not cancel out the totality of God's law. If you'll look in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 22, I'll show you another summary of the law of God.

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• beginning there with verse 35. In fact, love is a summary of the law of God. Notice, if you would please, Matthew chapter 22, beginning there with verse 35. The Bible says, Then one of them who was a lawyer asked him a question, tempting him, saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And I want you to watch this statement. Which is the great commandment in the law? What a tremendous question. Jesus said of him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbors thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Now when Jesus Christ was asked, What is the greatest commandment? He did not say, Thou shalt not have any other gods before me. He did not say, Thou shalt not make unto thyself any graven image. He did not say, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord by God in vain, or remember the Sabbath day, or honor thy father.

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• He never quoted any of the ten. He said the first and great commandment is this, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment, and the second is likened to it. And you remember I showed you last night where love is the fulfilling of the law. So love is an excellent summary of God's law, but it certainly does not replace the law of God.

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• Now let me just tell you, although most of us know the Ten Commandments, I want you to understand that you cannot comprehend the extent or the fullness of even of the Ten Commandments until you understand the case law that is given to us in the Bible. It's absolutely essential that we understand case law. You say, what are you talking about? Well, let me give you an illustration, okay? Here's an illustration that everyone can understand.

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• Let's suppose that Greg Stiles and I get into a fight. He starts it, of course. I never start anything like that. Greg starts it, all right. And let's suppose that Greg hits me first, and he hits me so hard he knocks a tooth out. Well, maybe I hit him back a time or two, but anyhow, finally somebody separates us. And so finally I said, look, Greg, you're the one that started this fight, and it's going to cost 250 bucks to get my tooth replaced, and it's going to take a day's work that I'm going to have to leave to get it done, so say another 150 bucks. So Greg, you just need to give me 400 or 500 bucks and we'll call it even. He says, oh no, I'm not going to do that. I said, now Greg, now listen to me. You're going to have to do this or I'm going to have to take you to court because you're the one that started this thing.

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• And I don't have to do that. So, Greg, you just need to give me four or five hundred bucks and we'll call it." No, he said, I'm not going to do that. I said, well, all right, I'm going to go see a lawyer. So I go see a lawyer. And I tell the lawyer what happens. I said, Greg won't pay me. He said, now, wait a minute, he hit you first? That's correct. He started the fight? That's correct.

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• And how many witnesses do you have? Seventy-five. Everybody in here will testify to it. And how much damage is done? Say 500 bucks. He said, you can substantiate that. I said, I surely can. He says, you know, there was a case just like this nearly a year ago. It was a case called Wardlaw versus Wilson, where two fellows by the name of Wardlaw and Wilson got into a fight. And, you know, it was Wilson who started it. And Wardlaw sued him, and he had some witnesses to testify, and he said, you know what?

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• The judge ruled in his favor. Now, since the circumstances are the same in your case, probably the judge will rule in your favor as well. Yeah, I'll take this case, and we'll win it.

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• Now, what did that lawyer just do? You see, in that lawyer's office, he's got a bunch of law books. But those law books are full of what is known as case law. Cases that have already been tried and adjudicated, okay? And so what he does is this. He understands the broad principle of the law, and then he thinks about a specific illustration that has happened, maybe the one I'm telling him, and then he'll talk about the application that the judge will probably make. Well, in the Bible, there is that which is known in case law as the same principle.

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• You say, what are you talking about? Well, I've heard people say, well, Brother Weaver, I wish the Word of God covered everything. The truth is, it does. It does. You see, what most people want is this. They want a Bible that will spell out everything in detail. Listen, folks, if you had a Bible that could spell out everything in detail, number one, you would never, ever be able to read it all, and number two, you couldn't carry it with you. But God's Word does cover everything, but it's there in principal form. And what God expects you to do is this. He expects you to take those broad principles and look at those specific illustrations that illustrate those principles and then make the application to your personal life.

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• Now, what in the world is case law? I just told you. First of all, in case law, you have what is known as a broad principle or a broad truth, such as one of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness. Then secondly in the Bible, you will always have a specific illustration or a specific case that will illustrate that broad principle, and then you will always have an application. Now listen to me. If you don't understand case law, if you don't learn this tonight, then your definitions of God's law and your understanding of God's law is going to be basically pharisaical. That is, you're going to take the letter of the law and apply it externally, and you'll never see the real intent and the real extent and the real application of God's law. So, to not understand case law, then, is to rather be limited and act like a Pharisee in our understanding. Now, I'm going to make a statement tonight, and I'm going to repeat it two or three times.

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• So, I want you to remember this, alright? I want you to remember this. Circumstances change. But principles never change. Okay? There are many principles in the Old Testament. We are not having the same circumstances today as they had in the Old Testament. But the principles are still the same exact truth today as they were 4,000 or 5,000 years ago. Now, what I want to do tonight is this. I want to give you three illustrations of case law in the Bible.

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• And I'm going to proceed what I'm going to say from the simple to the more complex. So I'm going to start at one that I believe that every one of us can comprehend and understand, and then we're going to look at them one at a time and then go to the more complex. So first of all, let's take Exodus 20 and verse 13. That happens to be the sixth commandment. Everyone in here probably knows the sixth commandment.

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• It simply says, Thou shalt not kill. Now anyone can read, Thou shalt not kill. I mean, a first grader that can read can read, Thou shalt not kill. There are no hard words in that commandment. There are no big words in that commandment. So if I were to ask you, what in the world does it mean when God's Word says, thou shalt not kill? Most people would respond, well now, Brother Weaver, it means exactly what it says. It means it's never right to take life.

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• Now once you say that, I'm going to ask you another question. Is it right to take life under certain circumstances? And I'm going to back you into a corner and you're going to finally admit, well, yes. And then I'm going to say, well, you just said thou shalt not kill means it's never right to take life. So your interpretation must undoubtedly be wrong because you've just admitted based upon certain scriptures that it is right to take life at certain times. So literally what we're saying is this, when we read thou shalt not kill, what we really understand is this, thou shalt do no murder or more specifically, thou shalt not take life except on God's terms.

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• Since God is the giver of life, since God is the sustainer of life, God is the only one who can tell us on what grounds life may be legitimately taken. Now, it may surprise you to understand that there are 18 reasons given in the Bible why life may be lawfully taken.

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• Now, I will grant you that most of these are given to the state as a minister of justice. The state is supposed to do the executing. But still, here are 18 reasons that life can be taken on God's terms. I'll give them to you. Number one, first of all, God says life can be taken for murder, but not for accidental killings. Exodus chapter 21 verses 12 through 14. You'll also find that in the book of Numbers chapter 30. God says that the murderer shall be put to death. God said in Genesis chapter 6, whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. Genesis chapter 9 it is. Whosoever shedeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed. So God says life may be taken for murder, but not for accidental killing. Secondly, and I'll explain this one later, God says that life can be taken for striking or cursing a parent.

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• Now, how does that grab you? Let me give you the Scriptures. Exodus 21, v. 15. Leviticus 20, v. 9. Proverbs 20, v. 20. Proverbs 30. Matthew 15. And Mark 7. And we'll look at those. Matthew 15, v. 4. And Mark 7, v. 10. So life can be taken, number one, for murder. Number two, for striking or cursing a parent. Number three, for kidnapping. The Word of God says in Exodus chapter 21 verse 16, Deuteronomy 24 and verse 7, Whosoever stealeth a man shall surely be put to death. And then fourthly, adultery. Leviticus chapter 20 verses 10 through 21. Adultery merits the death penalty. Now there's a lot to be said concerning that, but basically God still said in this passage that the adulterer wants to be put to death. Number five, incest. Leviticus chapter 20 verses 11 through 12 and verse 14.

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• Now, let me tell you something, folks. Child abuse is one of those growing concerns today. Now, I know that there is such a thing as child abuse. I understand that. I can assure you, though, a lot of what is called child abuse today is not child abuse at all. In fact, you can get reported for child abuse just for striking or spanking your child the way you were spanked when you were a child.

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• I was in a store the other day. And here was a mother that had a little child in her basket, and the kid was, I don't know, five or six years old. And the kid was just screaming to beat the band. And she had the child in her basket, and she pushed him over to her husband. And I heard her say this, here, you take him. I can't control him.

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• He wants a toy that he already has. You know what I wanted to say? Lady, give him to me. I know how to control him. I can stop that. You see what I'm saying? But God says someone that is guilty of incest and all this kind of stuff is to be put to death. Let me tell you something, folks. You take someone who brutalizes a child like that, especially one of their own, and you put him to death, I will guarantee you he will never, ever abuse another child. It will stop him. And I guarantee you it will cut down on it for other folks as well. So incest is one of the reasons that you can put someone to death. Number six, bestiality. Exodus 20, verse 19.

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• Leviticus 20, verses 15 and 16. God said, "...whosoever lies with a beast, as with womankind, shall surely be put to death." Sodomy, Leviticus 20, verse 13. "...whosoever lies with man, as with womankind, shall be surely put to death." Number 8, unchastity. Deuteronomy 22, verses 20-21. Number 9, the rape of a betrothed virgin. Deuteronomy chapter 22. We'll cover this one later tonight. 23 through 27. Number 10. Witchcraft. Exodus chapter 22 verse 18. God says thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Number 11. Offering human sacrifice. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 2. Number 12. How about this one? An incorrigible delinquent. Deuteronomy 21, verses 18-21. Blasphemy. Leviticus 24, verses 11-14, and then verse 16 and verse 23. Number 14, propagation of false doctrine.

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• Deuteronomy chapter 13. Number 15, sacrificing the false gods. Exodus chapter 20 and 22 and verse 20. Number 16, and we'll cover this one tomorrow night, refusing to abide by the decision of a biblical court of law. Deuteronomy 17 verses 8 through 13. And then number 17 is failing to restore the bail or the pledge, Ezekiel 18, verses 12-13, and the 18th reason why life may be lawfully and legitimately taken on God's terms is self-defense.

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• Now, I've got two messages and I don't have time to preach them tonight on the biblical doctrine of self-defense, but let me just point this out. When God says, Thou shalt not kill, I want you to understand this, that every negative has a positive. Every positive has a negative. And many times when we consider truth, we don't ever consider the opposite of it. But when God says, Thou shalt not kill, that's a negative. There is a positive. What is the positive of Thou shalt not kill? The positive is, Thou shalt preserve life. That means you have the responsibility to preserve your life and the life of others. You have the responsibility to preserve the life of your family. You see, self-defense is obligatory according to the sixth commandment.

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• For instance, if Kevin were to come up to me tonight and stick a pistol between my eyes and say, Brother Weaver, I'm fixing to blow your brains out. And if I looked at Kevin and said, well, Kevin, you just do whatever spins your wheels. If it makes you happy, you go right ahead and do it. Why? Kevin, I'll just go to heaven. Listen, if I allowed Him to kill me, I would be guilty of participating in my own murder.

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• I would be murdering myself at the hands of another. In other words, I am obligated before God and the sixth commandment to do everything I can to preserve my life, even if it means taking His life. The sixth commandment has the positive, thou shalt preserve life.

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• Now, let me show you that. I want you to look in your Bibles, if you would, first of all, to Deuteronomy, chapter 22.

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• Now, we've just mentioned this broad principle, thou shalt not kill. But it is not so much the emphasis of the negative that is given to us in the Bible, but rather the emphasis of the positive. For instance, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 22, and let's begin reading there with verse 23. Watch carefully. Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 23. The Word of God says, Deuteronomy 22 verse 23, if a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto a husband, and a man find her in the city and lie with her, then you shall bring them both out into the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones that they die. The damsel, because she cried not being in the city, And the man, because he hath humbled his neighbor's wife, so shalt thou put evil from among you." By the way, every time you will find anything where God demands the death penalty, He will always use this phrase, so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

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• Now watch verse 25, "'But if a man findeth a troth damsel in the field, and the man force her and lie with her, then the man only that lay with her shall die. But under the damsel thou shalt do nothing.' There is in the damsel no sin worthy of death. For as when a man rise up against his neighbor and slayeth him, even so it is in this matter. For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her."

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• Now I want you to note what God says. God says if a man find a betrothed damsel in the city and lie with her, then God said you take the man and the woman both out and you stone them, you kill them. You take the man and you kill him because He has forced his neighbor's wife. He's humbled her. And you kill her because she cried not. Now, he says, if a man is out in the field and he finds a betrothed virgin and he forces her, God said, you just put the man to death. You don't put the woman to death. Now, have you ever stopped to wonder why is it God demands that both man and woman be put to death in the city, but only the man out in the field? Here's why.

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• Look at it very carefully in verse 24. He says, Then you shall bring them both out into the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones that they die. Watch, the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city, and the man, because he had humbled his neighbor's wife. Why was the woman put to death? Because she had to have been consenting to the sin, or else she would have cried out.

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• You say, what does that mean, Brother Weaver? It means this. Anyone who had heard her cry out would have had the responsibility of preserving her and protecting her and defending her. If she didn't cry out, she must have been cooperating and consenting to the sin. But God said if she had cried out, Someone would have protected her. Why? Because the sixth commandment is, thou shalt preserve life. That's the positive. He said when the woman is in the field, she cried out, but there was no one to hear her. There was no one to save her. So don't put the woman to death there in the field. Just kill the man. Do you realize what God is saying? God is saying that you and I have a responsibility not only to preserve our life, and the life of our family, but we have the responsibility to preserve the life of other folks who are around us.

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• I don't know if you remember this or not, but a number of years ago in New York City, there was a woman by the name of Kitty Genovese. She was raped on the sidewalk and repeatedly stabbed until she died. The woman cried and screamed for someone to save her until finally her wife's blood flowed from her, and there were 21 people either walking by, standing by, or looking out their windows and doors, and not one lifted a finger. Not one called the police.

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• It is true the man was caught. It is true the man was punished. But let me tell you something. According to the law of God, those 21 people who stood by and did nothing are just as guilty of murder as the man who plunged the knife in her heart. Because they had a responsibility to preserve life. And they did not. I want to show you how fastidious God is about this.

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• Look in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 22 and verse 4. Deuteronomy 22, verse 4. In fact, let's begin reading there with verse 1. God says, Thou shalt not see thy brother's ox or sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother. Whoa, wait a minute. Here you are riding down the road, and you see your neighbor's cow out along beside the road.

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• Evidently, he's jumped the fence or the fence is broken. God says you can't drive on by pretending like you didn't see that cow out. You are obligated to stop and to inform your brother and to help him get that cow back into the pasture. Watch verse 2. And if I, brother, be not nigh unto thee, or if thou know him not, then thou shalt bring it into thine own house, and it shall be with thee until thy brothers seek after it, and thou shalt restore it to him again. In like manner shalt thou do with his ass. So shalt thou do with his raiment, and with all lost things of thy brothers which he hath lost and thou hast found, shalt thou do likewise. Thou mayest not hide thyself." Watch verse 4, "...thou shalt not see thy brother's ass, or his ox fall down by the way, and hide thyself from them. Thou shalt surely help him to lift them up again." Now, why is God saying this? Is God just filling space in the Bible?

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• I mean, is it just the fact that all we're looking at is the big truth? Oh, hey, listen, folks. All of these that I'm reading are case laws for the sixth commandment, thou shalt not kill. God is saying if you see your neighbor's animal going astray, you're responsible to stop and help Restrain that animal and possibly even save that animal's life. God said if you see your neighbor's animal fall down, maybe it's a horse that is stuck in mud. And if you've never seen a horse stuck in mud, you're in for a treat. Because it takes a great deal to get a horse out when he is stuck. I've had one stuck twice. God said, if you see an ox or an ass fall down by the way, you are not to hide yourself. You must surely help him. What in the world is God telling us? Before I tell you what God is telling us, let's look in our Bibles to the book of Exodus chapter 23. OK? Look in Exodus chapter 23. You see, so many of us would say, oh, Brother Weaver, I'd be willing to help my brother I'd be willing to help my neighbor.

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• Oh, well, that's wonderful. I'm glad. But let's see how far God goes. Exodus 23, verse 4. If thou meet thy enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden and wouldst forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help him.

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• Now it's not just your neighbor. Now it's not just your brother. Now it's your enemy's animal.

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• Now I want you to understand what God is doing. God is giving us an argument in the Bible from the lesser to the greater. He's telling us if this is true in the least, how much more is it true in the greater?

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• Now, if you are obligated to help save the life of your neighbor's animal, how much more are you obligated to help save your neighbor's life? If you're obligated to help save the life of your enemy's animal, how much more are you obligated and responsible to help save his life? So God is arguing from the less to the greater. Let me tell you something. God has a unique way of making you practice what you preach.

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• In fact, I was preaching on this text one Sunday morning. In fact, I was explaining the fact from the sixth commandment that God demands that we preserve life. And I use these very texts concerning the animals. Well, my wife and daughters went on home a few minutes ahead of me after that Sunday morning, and I had a little bit of counseling to do afterwards. So after about 15 or 20 minutes, I was through and I jumped in my truck and I started home.

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• And just as I got to where we would turn to go to our house, I noticed my car parked over the side of the road. I said, oh, no, the car is broken down. I wonder what's wrong now. And as I got a little closer, here were my girls out beside the road with their arms around one of the dirtiest, ugliest, skinniest, stinkinest nanny goats you've ever seen in your life. And so I stopped and I said, what's going on?

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• Oh, Daddy, this goat is loose. This goat is in the road. And the goat almost got hit two or three times. Other people tried to catch the goat and couldn't. I said, well, how did you catch the goat? They said, it's very simple. We just kneeled down and called her and she came to us. They always had a way with animals. And they said, Daddy, look, we don't know who this goat belongs to. And if we leave this goat, the goat is going to get killed. Daddy, can we take her home with us? Daddy, you remember what you preached this morning, don't you? Yeah, I remember. So I had to pick the old stinking goat up with my suit on and put her in the back of the truck. And the twins, of course, rode in the back of the truck there with the goat till we got home. And when I got that goat home out in my yard, we started feeding that goat.

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• And I'm going to tell you, I believe she hadn't eaten in 15 months, it seems like. She ate everything around. And so I started calling around all my neighbors trying to find out to whom that goat belonged. Could not find anyone. I wouldn't claim her either, you know, if she had been mine. It was bad as she looked. And finally, we kept that goat for three or four days. And one of my neighbors came up to me three or four days later and said, I hear you've got a goat at your house. I said, sure do. He said, is the goat ugly and stinking and skinny and a bag of bones?

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• And he gave me the colors. I said, sure is. He said, that's my goat. He said, I bought her Saturday at the sale. He said, I was going to fatten her up. And Saturday night, she got away. I said, well, brother, you may have her. The greatest comfort of my soul, you may have her." And I gave her back to the man to whom she belonged to.

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• Now, the point I'm making is this. Why in the world were we obligated to do that? Because God is saying, if I'm responsible to save the life of an animal, how much more am I responsible to save my neighbor's life?

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• Now, I want to show you the application of this. Look in your Bibles to Mark 3. You'll see Jesus Christ Himself making this very same application. Mark chapter 3. Remember, here's the broad principle. The broad principle is thou shalt not kill, or literally the positive, thou shalt preserve life. Here are specific cases that illustrate that. The woman who cried out The opposite was going astray, or the asset was going astray. Here's the specific cases. Now we have an application from Jesus Christ Himself. Look in Mark 3, verse 1.

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• And He entered again into the synagogue, and there was a man there who had a withered hand. And they watched him, whether he would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him. And he saith unto the man who hath the withered hand, Stand forth.

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• Now look what he says to these Pharisees. And he said unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath days, or to do evil, to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And of course, our Lord went ahead and healed him. He said, Let me ask you, is it lawful to save life, even on the Sabbath day? Well, of course it was.

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• And they knew it was. But they were not going to say that because they were not going to do anything that would encourage Jesus Christ. And so Jesus Christ is saying it is lawful to save lives. Let me tell you something, folks. You can make this as practical as you want to. When God says thou shalt not kill, the positive is thou shalt preserve life. That means you are required before God to do everything that you possibly can to preserve your life. What does that mean? It means whatever you do that will shorten your life or destroy your life is contrary to the sixth commandment.

  #55 | 32:36 to 33:15 | cleaned

• If you overeat, that's a sin. If you overwork, that's a sin. If you oversleep, that's a sin. God is saying that we are required before Him to preserve our lives. We must eat right. We must exercise right. We must work right. Somebody says, bless God, I'd rather burn out than rust out. I want to tell you something. I don't want to burn out and I don't want to rust out. I want to go as long as I can go for God's glory and for the good of His people.

  #56 | 33:16 to 33:47 | cleaned

• And I better use some wisdom. And I've got news for you. When you start hitting 50s and 60s, you find out you're not 20 and 30 anymore. And I'm obligated before God to preserve my life. And you're obligated to preserve your life, whatever it takes. If you don't, you're violating the sixth commandment.

  #57 | 33:48 to 34:12 | cleaned

• Now let's go with a second illustration. I want you to look back in your Bibles, Exodus chapter 20 and verse 15. Here's one very simple.

  #58 | 34:12 to 34:21 | cleaned

• Now, surely everybody knows what this means. I mean, I could understand you not knowing the positive of the sixth commandment, but here in Exodus chapter 20 and verse 15, you have the eighth commandment. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not steal. By the way, there's a positive there too. And the Apostle Paul, of course, gives you that positive in Ephesians chapter 4. "Wherefore, let him that stole steal no more, but let him labor, working with his hands that which is good, that he may have to give to him." So God says there's a positive here. I'm not going to deal with the positive as such right now in that sense, but have you ever stopped to ask, what does it mean, thou shalt not steal?

  #59 | 34:21 to 35:09 | cleaned

• Now, I told you before, if you don't understand case law, your definition of the law is like the Pharisees. It's limited to the externals. Most of us understand that if I reach in my pocket and take out my pocket knife and walk up to you and put it to your throat and say, give me all your money, we recognize that's theft. That's thievery. If I threw a pistol between your eyes and say, hand it over or die, you understand that's thievery. But you see, most of us never ever understand theft beyond that. Did you know, and I hate to say it, but it's the truth, most Christians are thieves and don't even know it. You say, Brother Weaver, how can you say that?

  #60 | 35:10 to 36:07 | cleaned

• Let me show you how. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 25. I'm going to show you the case law for thou shalt not steal. Look in Deuteronomy 25, verse 4. Here is the case law for thou shalt not steal. Deuteronomy 25, verse 4. Here it is, black and white. Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. You say, Brother Weaver, you have got to have flipped your lid because what has that got to do with the eighth commandment, thou shalt not steal? In fact, Brother Weaver, that has nothing to do with anything because, number one, we don't have oxen. And number two, if we did have oxen, we wouldn't use them to tread out corn.

  #61 | 36:07 to 36:51 | cleaned

• I'd just go down to Winn-Dixie and get my cornmeal. I don't need oxen. Period. Well, let me tell you something. This verse is quoted twice in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul himself basing it on the fact, thou shalt not steal. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, and let me show you the first application of this. Let's note 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Look what the Apostle Paul says. In fact, let's begin reading there, maybe with verse 7. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Note if you would please at verse 7.

  #62 | 36:51 to 37:39 | cleaned

• Actually, Paul's argument here goes verses 1-14, but we're going to make it a little short tonight. Paul begins by setting folks up. He asks this question. Who bought the warfare any time at his own charges? And the answer is no one.

  #63 | 37:39 to 37:55 | cleaned

• Now as much as you may have disagreed with the Vietnam War, the fellows that went over there did not go at their own expenses. As much as you may have disagreed with the Korean War, the fellows that went over there did not go at their own expenses. The folks over in the Gulf today are not over there at their own expenses. So no one goes to warfare at his own charges. Watch now.

  #64 | 37:55 to 38:16 | cleaned

• Who planted the vineyard and eateth not the fruit thereof? If I've got a grapevine, I'm going to eat the grapes off that vine. It's just that simple. He said, and who eateth not the fruit thereof? Or who feedeth the flock and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Listen, if I've got a herd of cows, I'm going to drink all the milk I want and eat all the meat I want.

  #65 | 38:17 to 38:34 | cleaned

• They belong to me, I can do it. Now watch what he says in verse 8. Say I these things as a man, or saith not the law the same also? Ah, now Paul is quoting the law. He's quoting case law. He's not quoting the Ten Commandments. He's quoting case law. "...saith not the law the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." Now watch.

  #66 | 38:34 to 39:02 | cleaned

• Does God take care for oxen? Now let's stop there.

  #67 | 39:02 to 39:05 | cleaned

• Now the answer is yes and no. God does take care for oxen, but that's not why God said this. Let me give you the illustration. You see, back in Bible times, they would have the two stones that would grind the meal and they would have a long pole went out and they would have an oxen that would be pulling that pole that would turn those wheels and grind that grain. And every now and then some of that grain would fall from between the grinding wheels on to the floor. And that oxen would stop and take him a bite and walk another revolution, maybe stop giving another bite and the owners got thinking, you know, we're losing some money like this. What we'll do is we'll put a muzzle on this ox and then we'll sweep this grain up, and then we'll put it back and re-grind it, and then of course we'll put it in a sack and we'll make more money." God said, no, no, don't you do that. You don't muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn.

  #68 | 39:07 to 40:02 | cleaned

• Why? Because the ox has a right to eat because he is doing the work. Now watch it. He asked in verse 9, doth God take care for oxen? The answer is yes and no. Yes, He does take care of them, but no, that is not why this law was written. Or saith it altogether, for our sakes, for our sakes, no doubt it is written, that he that plows should plow in hope, and he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of that hope.

  #69 | 40:02 to 40:31 | cleaned

• Then Paul says, if we have sown in you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things? And then he goes on.

  #70 | 40:32 to 40:37 | cleaned

• Now look what he's saying. His argument is this. You give the laborer his hire. You give the laborer his reward. He says in verse 14, he makes his application, even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

  #71 | 40:37 to 40:55 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5. Let me show you the second time. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Note, if you would please, verse 17. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 17. I'll get to the explanation in just a moment. 1 Timothy 5, verse 17. Paul writes, "...let the elders that rule well..." That's pastors, by the way. "...let the elders or the pastors that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the Word and doctrine. For the Scripture says..." See, Paul didn't know anything about the law being done away with, did he? "...For the Scripture says..."

  #72 | 40:55 to 41:40 | cleaned

• Thou shalt not muzzle the ox and treadeth out the corn." And he gives the application the laborer is worthy of his reward.

  #73 | 41:41 to 41:49 | cleaned

• Now, let's go back to verse 17. He says, "...let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor."

  #74 | 41:49 to 41:55 | cleaned

• Now, I've already told you that an elder is a pastor. Well, what does it mean when it says, "...let the elders that rule well..." And by the way, the ruling well is described as those who labor in the Word and doctrine. He says, elders, these pastors who labor in the Word and doctrine, they're to be counted worthy of double honor. What does that mean? Does that mean you walk up to your pastor, if your pastor is one that labors in the Word and doctrine, and you look at him and you say, Pastor, Pastor? Or if he asks you to do something, you say, Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Is that double honor?

  #75 | 41:55 to 42:32 | cleaned

• No, that's not what he's talking about. What is double honor? It's double pay. Now that's what he's saying. Watch. Let the elders of the pastors that rule well be counted worthy of double honor or double pay, especially they who labor in the Word and doctrine. Why? For the Scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. And the laborer is worthy of his reward. What is God talking about? God is saying, here's a man that works. Here's a man that labors. And if he labors in the Word, if he labors in doctrine, he's worthy of double pay.

  #76 | 42:32 to 43:11 | cleaned

• You've got a preacher over here who hardly does anything. He hardly studies. And somebody says, well, he makes 500 bucks a week. You've got a pastor that studies. You've got a pastor that labors in doctrine. God says, pay him a thousand. You say, oh, come on, Brother Wayne. That's what he's talking about.

  #77 | 43:11 to 43:28 | cleaned

• Now, let me explain this. You know, I said earlier, that Christians were thieves. Now listen to me. You know what we do? We always take the worst that we have or the things that we do not want or the things that we no longer need or can use to give to the ministry. Have you ever noticed that? Notice the next time you take a missionary offering, and I'm not just talking about money, I'm talking about food or clothes or toys or whatever, and you look at the things that we give to the people who are laboring for the Lord. I have a pastor friend who was a missionary in a foreign land, and he got a card in his box that said he had a package.

  #78 | 43:28 to 44:24 | cleaned

• And what this dear man did was this. He looked and he thought, hmm, customs due. So I went up and here was this neat little package about like that wrapped. And he asked how much the customs tax was. They said 35 bucks. Well, he said it took everything he could do to scrape up the 35 bucks, but he didn't recognize the address. He didn't recognize the name. He didn't know what was in the box. So he finally scraped it for thirty-five bucks and he got the box. When he opened it, a lady from the States, a little Christian woman, had sent this missionary – I'm not exaggerating, it's the absolute truth – she had sent this missionary a box of used tea bags. He could have bought a box of tea for three bucks.

  #79 | 44:26 to 45:21 | cleaned

• That just shows you the mentality that we have. You look at Christian school teachers. Here's a public school teacher. I'll guarantee you a public school teacher usually makes two to three times what a Christian school teacher does. You say, Brother Weaver, we have to sacrifice. Isn't it strange that it's usually the ones who are in the ministry that do the sacrificing? Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not averse to sacrifice. I believe in sacrificing. But I'm going to tell you what, brother, if I've got a hundred men, I want the hundred men to sacrifice with me. That's lawful. That's legitimate. Why should it just be one individual who does the sacrificing?

  #80 | 45:24 to 46:15 | cleaned

• I wish I had time to talk about the tithes tonight. There was more than one. I will talk about them in just a minute. But there was the Levitical tithe. That Levitical tithe was 10%. And it went to the Levites. Do you know how it happened in the Old Testament? If they wanted a synagogue, as long as there were 10 men, you could have a rabbi or a master or a teacher. Why? Because those 10 men tithed And that 10% from each of those 10 men would equal 100% and they would give it then to their teacher.

  #81 | 46:17 to 46:49 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to understand the teacher was no better off nor any worse off than anyone that was paying. And you see, there was that average. Everything averaged out just exactly right.

  #82 | 46:50 to 47:00 | cleaned

• Now, let me just try to get this down to brass tacks. You see, there is a great deal more to thou shalt not steal than just sticking a gun in somebody's head. Let me give you an illustration. Let's suppose I need my house painted. And I get the estimate from a professional painter. And the painter tells me, Brother Weaver, it's going to cost $1,500 to paint your house.

  #83 | 47:01 to 47:27 | cleaned

• And I think, hmm, that's a lot of money. I don't want to pay $1,500. And I thank him. But then I find out that Sean's out of work. Well, Sean's a Christian brother. And I find out he's pretty low financially speaking. He needs some help. So I call him out there and I say, Sean, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you 500 bucks to paint my house. He looks at me and says, oh, Brother Weaver, that's a big house. That's a lot of work.

  #84 | 47:28 to 47:56 | cleaned

• It's worth more than that. But Brother Weaver, I'm hungry. I don't have any food in the house. And I'm hard up and I'll take it. So he works three days as hard as he can and he paints my house. And when he gets through. He calls me out there and I said, oh, Sean, that's good, man, that is so good. That's as good as that other guy could have done. Here's your 500 bucks. You know what I've just done? I've just stolen a thousand dollars from Sean.

  #85 | 47:57 to 48:28 | cleaned

• Because the laborer is worthy of his hire. Now, let me tell you, dear friend, there is a vast difference between me doing that and Sean coming to me or me asking Sean about painting my house. And he says, Brother Weaver, man alive, this is fifteen hundred dollar job. But I tell you what, Brother Weaver, I love you and I appreciate you and I'll do it for five hundred bucks.

  #86 | 48:31 to 48:53 | cleaned

• Now, there's a big difference between that and me cheating him out of a thousand dollars. You see what I'm saying? So, when we defraud someone of his honest worth, of his honest labor, God says it is theft. Let me show you something else. Look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 24. Deuteronomy chapter 24. Deuteronomy 24, let's begin there with verse 14. Let me show you how we steal even more. Deuteronomy chapter 24, verse 14. God says, Thou shalt not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of thy brethren or of thy strangers that are in thy land within thy gates. Watch, at his day thou shalt give him his hire.

  #87 | 48:54 to 49:44 | cleaned

• Neither shall the sun go down upon it, for he is poor, and he set his heart upon it, lest he cry against thee unto the Lord, and it be sin unto thee." Now what does that mean? Well, let me tell you what it means. Let's suppose I... Go back to this illustration about having Sean paint my house. And so I tell him, look, Sean, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'll give you 500 bucks. He says, all right, Brother Weaver, I'll do it. And let's suppose he knows it's worth 1,500 bucks. But he's willing to do it for 500 bucks because he loves me. And I said, Sean, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll give you your money this Friday. Well, Friday comes. He said, Brother Weaver, are you satisfied with the paying job?

  #88 | 49:44 to 50:31 | cleaned

• I said, I surely am. He said, well, I finished it and I've come to collect the 500 bucks because I've got some bills to pay myself. And I said, Sean, you know what? I forgot to get the money out of the bank today. I tell you what, if you'll come back next Wednesday at two o'clock, I'll have it for you. Now, he may come back at next Wednesday at 2 o'clock, but you know what I've just done? I've just stolen the use of his money from him from Friday until Wednesday at 2 o'clock. Why is it you think that you can ever get money from these humongous companies on time? These companies that are worth billions of dollars, they got money laying everywhere, but man, it'll take them six months to get a $29.95 refund check to you. I'll tell you why.

  #89 | 50:31 to 51:21 | cleaned

• because they're holding on to it, getting usury to the very last, nth day and nth degree, and they're not going to send it to you until they absolutely have to. And they're stealing the use of that money that is yours from you. That's theft. Look in your Bibles to the book of Luke 10, verse 7. Luke 10, verse 7. Jesus Christ says it the same way. Luke 10, verse 7. In fact, He's telling His Disciples about going out preaching. He says this, "...and in the same house remain..." In other words, you go in someone's house, lodge there. "...in the same house remain eating and drinking such things as they give." Why?

  #90 | 51:23 to 52:05 | cleaned

• "...for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house."

  #91 | 52:06 to 52:09 | cleaned

• Now, I'm thankful that Brother Ron and his wife invited my wife and I to stay with them this week. But let me tell you, whatever she sets in front of me, I'm going to eat. I don't care if it's a T-bone steak. I don't care if it's a bowl of peas. I'll eat that. God said I'm not to go around saying, now, brother, stand up. Do you have a nicer house? Is your wife a better cook? Are you having a better meal? Well, I might just stay with you tomorrow night.

  #92 | 52:10 to 52:35 | cleaned

• No, no, I can't do that. But God says I can tell you this, wherever you go, you eat and drink whatever's set before you. Why? For the labor's worthy of His reward. Let me tell you something. When I sit down at His table, I eat all I want to eat. I do. You know why? Because this is where God has me, and I'm laboring, and I'm preaching, and I feel just as comfortable eating everything that is set before me that I want to eat.

  #93 | 52:35 to 53:03 | cleaned

• That's part and parcel of it. But you see, folks, when we defraud someone, his just due is theft. When we fail to pay our bills when they are due, it is theft.

  #94 | 53:04 to 53:21 | cleaned

• Now, if I owe Brother Ron some money and I don't have it, I'd better be beating a path to his door explaining to him what has happened in the providence of God and asking for some further consideration. I don't just ignore him and pretend like it's not due. That's theft. Isn't that interesting? Thou shalt not steal. By the way, since I quoted this verse, look in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 4.

  #95 | 53:24 to 53:59 | cleaned

• Let me show you how the Apostle Paul himself makes the application. Ephesians chapter 4. Do you realize it's also theft to be stingy and selfish and miserly? You say, what are you talking about? Well, look in Ephesians 4. He says this in verse 28, "...let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good..." What? "...that he may have to give to him that needeth." So when we're miserly and selfish and stingy and unwilling to share, God says that's theft as well. Isn't that amazing? Now, let me make an application.

  #96 | 53:59 to 54:49 | cleaned

• Once again, let's argue from the lesser to the greater, okay? If it's wrong for me to defraud Sean of his just pay, if it's theft for me to do that, and it is, how much more is it wrong for me to defraud God of His due Remember what he said in Malachi chapter 3? Will a man rob God? Yeah. And yet you say, where in he we rob God?

  #97 | 54:50 to 55:28 | cleaned

• In tithes and in offerings. There were three tithes in Israel, not just one. There was a 10% Levitical tithe. There was a 10% Festival tithe. And there was the 10% poor tithe which was taken once every three years. So actually, those Israelites were literally tithing 23 and a third percent per year.

  #98 | 55:28 to 55:49 | cleaned

• Now I grant you, and I'm not going to explain the festival tithe tonight, 10% of that was used on themselves and for their family. But it was still a tithe. It was still an offering. Let me tell you something else. You know how else we rob God? We rob God by failing to give Him the glory and the honor that's due in His name. Here maybe you have a near accident. And you know, you swerve and somehow you just miss another car and you say, boy, wasn't I lucky. That wasn't luck. That was God's providence. Well, I was sick, but boy, I liked to die, but I got well. Wasn't I fortunate? That wasn't fortune. That was God's providence. God does things for us on a daily basis. And we fail to give Him praise and honor and recognition and glory. We're thieves. We're robbing God of His due.

  #99 | 55:49 to 56:49 | cleaned

• So when God says, Thou shalt not steal, it means more than don't stick a gun in somebody's face. It means you've got to learn to deal honestly and openly And you've got to learn not to be stingy and miserly. It means you've got to learn to give to him that needeth.

  #100 | 56:50 to 57:10 | cleaned

• Now, I'm not going to say give without wisdom and without knowing, because there's certain people in the Bible that God forbids us to give to. Okay? For instance, God said, if any will not work, neither should he eat.

  #101 | 57:11 to 57:25 | cleaned

• Now, I'm going to tell you, if Chuck comes to Me and he's hungry, And he's out of a job through no fault of his own. The providence of God just worked it out that way. I'm more than willing to share with him and to help him. But if he's out of a job because he's too lazy and too sorry to work, let him starve. That's what the Scripture said. So you've got to use wisdom because there are some people that God forbids you to even give to.

  #102 | 57:27 to 57:57 | cleaned

• Thirdly, let me show you this one. Look back in your Bibles to the book of Exodus, chapter 20. Note, if you would please, verse 15. Surely, here is one that everyone understands because this is the fifth commandment. Notice Exodus, chapter 20, verse 15. God says, or not verse 15, but Exodus 20, verse what? Verse 12. He says, Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. Honor thy father and thy mother."

  #103 | 57:58 to 58:30 | cleaned

• Now, everybody certainly knows what that means, do they not? Well, I can assure you in this day and time, most people do not know what that means. In fact, most folks think it just means saying, yes, sir, and no, sir, and yes, ma'am, and no, ma'am, and that's the way I was raised. And certainly, I recommend that. But there's more to honor than just that. Let me show you the case law in the Bible for honor thy father and thy mother."

  #104 | 58:30 to 58:59 | cleaned

• Look in your Bibles to begin with, Exodus 23, verse 19. You're going to be amazed at some of this case law, but I think you'll see how very clearly it comes together and points to the fifth commandment. Look in Exodus 23, verse 19. The Word of God says, "...the first of thy firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God." Watch. "...Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk." He said, Brother Weaver, what's that got to do with the fifth commandment? Just hang on. Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk. Look in Exodus chapter 34 and verse 26. Exodus 34 verse 26. Here's the second time that God says exactly the same thing. The first of the firstfruits of thy lamb thou shalt bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe the kid in his mother's milk. Interesting, God said exactly the same thing two times in a row. Now look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 14.

  #105 | 59:00 to 1:00:10 | cleaned

• Deuteronomy chapter 14 and verse 21. Deuteronomy 14 verse 21. God says, You shall not eat of anything that dieth of itself. Thou shalt give it unto the stranger that is in thy gates, that he may eat it. Or thou may sell it unto an alien, for thou art a holy people unto the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk." That's three times God has said exactly the same thing. How many times has God had to say something to make it true? Only once. Why would He say it three times? For emphasis, look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 22 and verse 28. Leviticus 22, verse 28. Are you ready? Leviticus 22, verse 28.

  #106 | 1:00:10 to 1:01:07 | cleaned

• God said, whether it be a cow or a ewe, you shall not kill it and her young, both in one day. Now, God forbids you to kill a mother and the baby in one day. Did you know that God is a greater conservative than the state. He's a greater conservationist. You see, down in Georgia, and it's probably this way in South Carolina as well, we have so many deer. We can always kill a buck.

  #107 | 1:01:07 to 1:01:39 | cleaned

• But then we have doe days. On those days, you can kill bucks and does. So here comes a big doe. And let's say she's got her little one with her, and he's got antlers just sticking up out above the hairline about a half inch. Very clearly he's a buck. Well, according to the state, I could kill the mother, and I could turn around and kill that yearling buck as well, because it's buck or doe. But according to God's Word, I can't do that. I can take the mother and leave the young buck, or I can take the young buck and leave the mother, but I can't kill them both in one day.

  #108 | 1:01:39 to 1:02:13 | cleaned

• Have you ever wondered why? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Deuteronomy chapter 22. Deuteronomy 22. And let's look at verse 6. Deuteronomy 22 verse 6. God says, if a bird's nest chanced to be before thee in the way in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, and the dam, that's the female bird, the mother, sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not Take the dam with the young. But thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee, that thou mayest prolong thy days." Now look what he said. That thou let the dam go and take the young with thee. Now why is it God said you let the mama go and take the young? Why did He not in this case say, well, you can take the mama and leave the young? Because in this case, if you took the mama, and left the young, the young would die because they need the mother.

  #109 | 1:02:13 to 1:03:16 | cleaned

• So God says, in this case, no, you can only take the mother. Or take the young. You have to leave the mother.

  #110 | 1:03:17 to 1:03:22 | cleaned

• Now, I want you to hold Deuteronomy 22. And I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Ephesians chapter 6. And I want us to do some comparison. Look in Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6.

  #111 | 1:03:23 to 1:03:41 | cleaned

• Now, let's begin reading there with verse 1. Ephesians 6, verse 1. Children, obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee that thou mayest live long on the earth. Now, wait a minute. You said, Brother Weaver, you have been reading case laws for the fifth commandment, and now you read the fifth commandment in the New Testament. That's correct. You say, well, I don't understand this.

  #112 | 1:03:42 to 1:04:14 | cleaned

• What have all these animals got to do with families? Well, first of all, God says, thou shalt not seethe a kid in its mother's milk. Now, the word seethe means to boil. So God says if you've got a young kid of a goat, you don't boil that young kid in his mother's milk to make it more tender or to fry it or whatever. Or if you're going to kill a young calf, you don't boil that young calf in his mother's milk. Why? Well, you could say, well, Brother Weaver, that's very obvious.

  #113 | 1:04:14 to 1:04:46 | cleaned

• I mean, we are not supposed to take that which is a form of life and turn it into a form of death. Well, that's very good, and that's true as well. But that's not why God says that. Why did God say not to boil a kid in his mother's milk? Why did God say you cannot kill the mother and the young on the same day? Look back in your Bibles. Deuteronomy 22. Hold Ephesians 6. But look back to Deuteronomy 22, verse 6.

  #114 | 1:04:47 to 1:05:13 | cleaned

• I want someone to please tell me what these two passages have in common. That is, Deuteronomy 22 and Ephesians 6. Look in Deuteronomy 22, verse 6. If a bird's nest chanced to be before thee in the way, or in any tree or on the ground, whether they be young ones or eggs, or in the dam sitting upon the young or upon the eggs, thou shalt not Take the dam with the young, but thou shalt in any wise let the dam go, and take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days." Now look in your Bibles very quickly to Ephesians chapter 6. Note, if you would please, verse 2. Honor thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with promise, that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest live long on the earth. What do these two passages have in common? Longevity or the promise of long life. The promise in Deuteronomy 22, verses 6 and 7, is the same as the promise in Ephesians 6, 2 and 3.

  #115 | 1:05:13 to 1:06:08 | cleaned

• So when God is saying, now listen to me, when God is saying, don't kill a mother and her young on the same day. When God is saying, don't seethe or boil a kid in his mother's milk. He is not saying, look at me, I'm the great conservationist. God is that. This is His creation. And He certainly has the right to tell us on what terms we may take life. But what God is doing is this. He is saying, watch, here is an argument from the lesser to the greater.

  #116 | 1:06:08 to 1:06:34 | cleaned

• I demand that you respect even the families of animals. Watch. If God demands that you respect the families of animals, how much more does God demand that you respect your own family and the family of others?

  #117 | 1:06:34 to 1:06:53 | cleaned

• Now, let me tell you something. He who will be disobedient and disregard the lives of animals will be equally disobedient and disregard the lives of mankind. You say, Brother Weaver, how can you say that? I'm going to show you in just a moment. But you know the Bible says even the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. The Bible says the wicked man regardeth not the life of his beast.

  #118 | 1:06:56 to 1:07:29 | cleaned

• I want you to turn in your Bibles. First of all, to Exodus chapter 21. I told you I was going to cover this. So I want you to see it. This is in light of the fifth commandment now. I want you to see it. Exodus 21, verse 17. Exodus 21, verse 17. I want to show you how most people dishonor their parents. Exodus 21, verse 17. God says, "...and he that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death." God demands the death penalty for the man that curses his father and mother. He said, Brother Weaver, what does it mean to curse father and mother? I'm going to show you in just a moment. But look in your Bibles to the book of Leviticus chapter 20 and verse 9. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 9. Watch it. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 9. God says in this passage, For everyone that cursed his father or his mother shall be surely put to death. He hath cursed his father or his mother, his blood shall be upon him.

  #119 | 1:07:32 to 1:08:41 | cleaned

• God says, you curse your mother and father, you deserve to die. Look in the book of Proverbs chapter 30. I'm going to skip a passage, but look in Proverbs chapter 30. Note, if you would please, in this passage, Proverbs chapter 30. And let's look at verse 17. God says, the eye that mocketh at his father and despiseth to obey his mother The ravens of the valley shall pick it out and the young eagle shall eat it." In other words, he's going to be killed. He's going to die. You say, Brother Weaver, man, I'm glad that's in the Old Testament. It's also in the New Testament. Look in the Bible, Matthew 15. Matthew 15. You will also find this in Mark chapter 7, but let's read it from Matthew chapter 15, beginning there with verse 1. I'll explain the passage and then I hope you'll understand what it means to curse your mother and father, what it means to dishonor your mother and father. Matthew 15, verse 1, Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?

  #120 | 1:08:43 to 1:10:05 | cleaned

• For they washed not their hands when they ate bread. But He answered and said unto them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Here's the principle, Honor thy father and thy mother, and he that curseth father and mother, let him die the death. But you say, Whosoever shall say to his father's mother, It is a gift. By whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me and honor not his father and mother, he shall be free. Thus have you made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."

  #121 | 1:10:06 to 1:10:40 | cleaned

• So they come to Christ and said, Why do you not keep our traditions? He says, Why do you disobey the Word of God? God said, Honor thy father and thy mother. God said, He that curses his father and mother, let him die to death. You're dishonoring your father and your mother, and you're not being put to death.

  #122 | 1:10:42 to 1:10:59 | cleaned

• Now, if you were to read Mark 7, the parallel passage, he talks about these individuals, and he tells you what they were doing. They were going to the priest, and they were dedicating their goods to the Lord. In other words, he says there, if you say it is korban, and the word korban means dedicated. So hear what these young people were doing. Now watch. The young people, young adults, they were going to the priest, They were giving the priest a portion of their money or a portion of their goods and saying, we want to dedicate all this to the Lord. And so they would dedicate it to the Lord. The priest would get his portion and the young family would take their other portion and keep it to themselves.

  #123 | 1:11:01 to 1:11:43 | cleaned

• And along came father and mother who are now elderly. Maybe they're sickly. Maybe they're unable to work. And they come to son and daughter and they say, We've been sick. We haven't had any food. We need some help. Would you please get us some food?" And those young sons and daughters said, you don't expect us to take money that's been dedicated to God and use it for such a mundane purpose as buying food for my parents. You say, oh, Brother Weaver, folks would never do that.

  #124 | 1:11:43 to 1:12:22 | cleaned

• I want you to look in your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 5. Let's look closely. 1 Timothy chapter 5. Note, if you would please, what the Word of God says. 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 4. 1 Timothy 5, verse 4. God says, but if any widow have children or nephews, Let them learn first to show piety at home and to requite their parents, for that is good and acceptable before God." Now, wait a minute. But if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home. Now, I don't know if you know what the word piety is. It's an old English word, and most of us have forgotten what it means. But piety is a synonym for godliness, holiness. God said, if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn to show holiness and godliness and piety at home and to requite their parents. Now the word requite, if you don't understand that one, it literally means to pay back. So God says, if any widow have children or nephews, let them learn to show God in his home and let them pay back their parents, for this is good and acceptable before God.

  #125 | 1:12:24 to 1:13:51 | cleaned

• Now let me show you what God says. God says, I've got this thing worked out. If folks would just follow my law, I've got it worked out. How did God work it out? Well, our parents took care of us when we could not take care of ourselves. They fed us. They clothed us. They educated us. They changed our diapers. They took us to the bathroom. They took us everywhere.

  #126 | 1:13:51 to 1:14:14 | cleaned

• They did everything for us. They paid all the bills. We could not do one thing for ourselves. And if they had left us alone, we would have died. God says, now when your parents get older, and they can't do for themselves, God says you better learn to pay them back and do it for them. I don't care if it's giving them money, taking them to the doctor, running errands. I don't care what it is. You have a responsibility before God to honor your father and your mother. You have a responsibility not to curse them. My father has been dead about three years, soon before. He was a farmer.

  #127 | 1:14:14 to 1:15:05 | cleaned

• And when he retired from farming, and he did so for medical reasons, he had to have a garden, just had to have a garden. A two acre garden. I planted it. I plowed it. And my wife and I are the ones that harvested it.

  #128 | 1:15:08 to 1:15:33 | cleaned

• Now, Mom and Dad would help some, but you don't expect a 75-year-old person to help much, especially when the sun gets up. I forget how many quarts of corn my wife has put up in one day, something like 150. She put up 80-something quarts of beans in one day. Listen, something would go wrong at the house. My father would call me. He would say, son, I need some help. Come over here and help me. Guess what I'd do? I'd go over and help him. My wife's father just died. He was 89.

  #129 | 1:15:34 to 1:16:14 | cleaned

• Would have been 90 this July. When things went wrong at their house, they'd call me. I'd go up and take care of it. He said, Brother Weaver, you must have made a lot of money doing that. Didn't make a dime. In fact, it cost me. Because many times I would pay for whatever was needed and I would never ever get it back from them. You say, well, why did you do it? Because it's my responsibility. It's my duty. It's my privilege.

  #130 | 1:16:14 to 1:16:40 | cleaned

• They did for me what I could not do for them, for myself. And now since they can't do for themselves, I can do for them. I had an uncle that lived 60 miles one way from me. He and his wife never had any children. So he got him some horses. Guess what? The horses' hooves need trimming. Can you come trim my horse hooves? The horses kicked the back of the barn down. Can you come fix the back of the barn? The wind blew the barn open.

  #131 | 1:16:41 to 1:17:09 | cleaned

• Listen, I want to underpin my trailer. Can you come do that for me? Yes, I can come do that for you. He said, Brother Weaver, why would you do that for your uncle? Let's read the Bible again. If any would have children or what? Nephews. Let me ask you a question. Whose primary responsibility is it to take care of mother and dad? It is the children's responsibility. It's not the government's. It's not Social Security and Welfare. It's your responsibility to take care of them. If there are no children, then it is the extended family, the nephews. He said, Father Weaver, man, I would never do that for my family.

  #132 | 1:17:09 to 1:17:56 | cleaned

• Well, skip down to verse 8. But if any provide not for his own, and especially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, he's worse than an infidel. Did you hear what I just read? God said if you fail to honor your parents, you've denied the faith. You're worse than infidel. You're cursing your parents. And God said you deserve death. What is it to curse your parents? To curse your parents is not to use God's name in vain and then reproach them. That certainly is one way of cursing them. But cursing them is when you dishonor them, when you fail to provide for them, when you fail to help them, when you fail to treat them the way God tells you to treat them.

  #133 | 1:17:56 to 1:18:41 | cleaned

• You say, but what do you mean, Brother Weaver? What if there's a godly widow woman? She has no children. She has no extended family. Well, it's still not the government's responsibility. Look down, if you would please, in verse 16, 1 Timothy chapter 5. He said, "...if any man or woman that believeth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be charged, that they may relieve them that are widows indeed." Guess whose responsibility it becomes? For godly widows? If there's no family? It's the church's responsibility. Not the government's.

  #134 | 1:18:43 to 1:19:15 | cleaned

• Now, let me clear up something right here. Because inevitably, when I say this, somebody says, oh, Brother Weaver, why should I ever support somebody I don't even know? I mean, normally that, bless God, I'm not getting anything out of it. Well, first of all, God lays down the qualifications for a godly widow, and I'm not going to go over those. You can read them for yourself. But I want you to understand something. A godly widow is someone with a testimony that you know. Or at least you know that she's a saint of God. If you will study the Word of God, you will find that these widow women do not get a free ride, although the church is taking care of them. The Bible says that a widow is one that serveth God with prayers and fastings day and night. First of all, I don't mind helping support a woman that I know that is constantly praying for me and even fasting for me. I don't mind that. Secondly, the Bible says that the older women are to teach the younger women to be good, obedient to their husbands, keepers at home, that the Word of God be not blasphemed.

  #135 | 1:19:16 to 1:20:23 | cleaned

• We are living today in a generation where most young wives can't sew, can't cook, never make a biscuit from scratch. They don't know how to do anything. They don't know how to bathe their husbands. They don't know how to raise their children. They don't know how to do anything. God said it's the responsibility of the older women to teach them. So, you see, the widow that the church supports, she has a ministry as well. She has to teach the younger women. So, it's not that she's getting a free ride, so to speak. You see, folks, God says that we're to honor our father and our mother. What does that mean?

  #136 | 1:20:23 to 1:21:00 | cleaned

• Not just say, yes sir and no sir, and yes ma'am and no ma'am. It means we provide for them. We take care of them. We love them. We help them when they can't do for themselves.

  #137 | 1:21:00 to 1:21:11 | cleaned

• Now, I realize there may be extenuating circumstances, but most Americans and most professing Christians, when their parents get old, they just pitch them in a nursing home and forget them. Well, if you do that, may I remind you, God has a law, and that law is you reap what you sow. Don't get upset when your kids do that to you. God said, Honor thy father and thy mother. You see, folks, there's more than just saying yes or no.

  #138 | 1:21:13 to 1:21:44 | cleaned

• Let me go a little bit further. I'll tie it together for you in just one minute. Do you know God says that children have two responsibilities? The first one, children, obey your parents. And then secondly, honor your parents. Now listen to me. There comes a time, children, when in one sense of the word, obedience to your parents That's a general statement. You say, what are you talking about, Brother Weaver? That's when you get married. For man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and there shall be one flesh. Now, there came a time when I left my mother and my father, and I married my wife, and I became the head of my house. My daddy didn't come over and say, now son, you do this and you do that. No, no. He didn't have any right to do that. I was now the head of my house. Now, as a wise son, I would always consider what my father told me and I would ponder it and I would ask his advice.

  #139 | 1:21:44 to 1:22:50 | cleaned

• But I was the head of the house. I had to make the decision. You follow me? But let me tell you what I did. Whenever I went back to his house, I had to remember that he was the head of his house, and I was still his son, no matter how old I was, and whatever he asked me to do, I did my best to obey him.

  #140 | 1:22:51 to 1:23:11 | cleaned

• And I said, yes, sir. I even went with him one day. He said, son, let me show you my new hog pen. He was a farmer, remember? We went down the pond dam. I had a suit on. And when we got down to Pond Dam, he looked down there and there were 15 or 20 of those little chokes out running around. Oh my, he said, son, the pigs are out. He said, get in that hog pen and stop that hole up.

  #141 | 1:23:11 to 1:23:40 | cleaned

• And you know what I did? I jumped in with my suit on and I stayed there and I stopped that hole and kept the rest of them from getting out. I didn't just stop to argue, but Daddy, you don't understand. No, he would have understood, I can assure you. You can always buy more shoes. You can't buy more parents. Now watch it. Although there may come a time when obedience ceases, generally speaking, there never comes a time when honor ceases. Honor thy father and thy mother.

  #142 | 1:23:43 to 1:24:23 | cleaned

• This is the first commandment with promise, that your days may be long upon the earth." The old scholars used to say this, that honoring your parents included at least several things. Number one, children listen. Number one, you always stood when your parents entered in the room. You know something? I remember as a boy in public school, When I was a boy, we had to stand every time the teacher came into the room or any adult. And we remained standing just like this by our desk until the teacher or that adult said, you may be seated. The old scholar said, first of all, you always stand when your parents are in the room.

  #143 | 1:24:24 to 1:25:16 | cleaned

• Secondly, you never sit in a chair reserved for your parents. Daddy has his chair. Mama has her chair. You don't sit there. They said, thirdly, you never carp their statements. You don't understand what the word carp, let me give you an illustration. You don't understand what it means? Here it is. Sugar, would you wash the dishes for mother tonight? She starts, oh mama, why you always want me to wash dishes? That's carping. Belly aching, whining, complaining. You never carp.

  #144 | 1:25:17 to 1:25:48 | cleaned

• Son, would you go out and cut the grass? Oh daddy, don't you know I got things? No, no, you just go do it and shut up. That's what they said. And then fourthly, and I like this one, I never quite succeeded on this one, but the fourth one was this. You always refer to your parents as my lord and my lady. My wife, bless her heart, she looked out the door one day.

  #145 | 1:25:49 to 1:26:15 | cleaned

• We had four daughters, had identical twins, and I had a hammock strung up between two trees. And here was one twin. I was lying in the hammock. One twin was pushing the hammock that way. The other was pushing the hammock back that way. The oldest girl had a palm frond fanning me. And the baby girl was dropping grapes in my mouth every time I came by. My wife said, boy, have you got it made. But I never got them to say my lord or my lady.

  #146 | 1:26:16 to 1:26:55 | cleaned

• But let me tell you something, folks. We laugh at that. But the saddest commentary is we've lost the true meaning and intent of God's law. And consequently, we've lost our families. We've lost our children. We've lost our parents. We've lost our obedience to God. You can't understand any of the Ten Commandments without understanding the case laws in the Bible. God always gives you a minimal example so that you can see the maximum reach of His law.

  #147 | 1:26:57 to 1:27:50 | cleaned

• Honor thy father and thy mother. And he that curseth mother and father, let him die the death. If you don't honor them, you are cursing them. May God help us to be obedient. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask tonight for Your grace to be given unto us. We must search our hearts because, Lord, just in these three illustrations of case law, we have to confess We fail to protect and preserve. We failed, Lord, to not to steal. We've defrauded. We've deceived. We've beat people out of things. And Lord, not even thought it was theft. And we've dishonored our parents. We've complained and whined about having to help them and do things and murmured and bellyached, never remembering everything they did for us. And Lord, help us to remember that we who provide not for our own, especially they of our own household, are worse than an infidel. We've denied the faith. Enable us to honor Thee by honoring Thy law in every area of our lives. In Thy name we pray, Amen.

  #148 | 1:27:52 to 1:29:17 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T05:15:39Z